In Praise of George

I’m glad that Living Faith Alliance Church has pastors who listen to God and have made themselves available to him. Take, for example, our executive pastor, George Davis. He is, on the one hand, known for having a “slightly skewed sense of humor,” if I may quote his LFA staff profile (here). On the other hand, he’s quite spiritually insightful.

For example, a week ago, he preached the exact sermon that my new wife, Ellie, and I needed to hear. His message—found here, on YouTube—touched on a few things, including the parable of the virgins, as recorded in Matthew, Chapter 25 (here). The parable discusses those who were found to be wise and others found to be foolish, those prepared for the bridegroom’s arrival and those who were not.

Pastor George asked us to consider which kingdom is the source of our strength and joy. In terms of the parable, the answer is: those who were eagerly anticipating the bridegroom’s arrival; those who had the King, Himself, as the source of their strength and joy—because the bridegroom is the coming King and the church is His bride.

And guess what day it was that our pastor had shared this message? It was on May 17th, which was to be the date that my wife and I had been eagerly anticipating to be married—that is, until a little thing called the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Sunday, the 17th, we had plans for a late-afternoon wedding at LFA; a reception at the Inn at Sugar Hill, in Mays Landing; and a honeymoon in the Poconos. But for the pandemic.

As it turned out, my wife and I were married in another state, back in March, right before the statewide lockdown had begun (I say, “Back in March,” as if that was years ago, because, by now, it seems like we’ve been married for years). There was no fanfare, reception, or announcement, aside from a Facebook post that made me wonder if the governor would be watching and we’d be investigated for unauthorized travel.

So, May 17th was somewhat bittersweet for me and mine. Though, as we were reminded, without any of the above happening for us, George’s message became a chance for us to remember that there’s more to be focused on here than a public wedding and reception. Without the realization of our original plans, we now had the opportunity to focus on another wedding; we had the chance to consider a much greater, more glorious wedding feast.

George asked us to set our eyes on another prize: a bigger, better wedding—the Marriage Feast of the Lamb. He asked us to consider an event where, unlike the foolish virgins of Matthew 25, the bride has “made herself ready, … arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints” (Revelation 19:7-8, NIV, here).

As much as we were looking forward to our wedding day, with all the trimmings, Pastor George helped us adjust our minds. And he helped me to remember that, when I was young in the Lord, a singer/pianist named Keith Green gave me a heart for the great Marriage Feast.

Keith—whom I’ve been missing, ever since his untimely death in a plane crash, at age 28—wrote a song to his parents (found here, on YouTube). He wrote the song hoping to tell them that one day there would be a feast and only those responding to the invitation would be allowed to enter in. He said:

Close the doors, there're just not coming!
We sent the invitations out a long, long, long time ago—
We're still gonna have a wedding feast,
Big enough to beat them all!
The greatest people in the world just wouldn't come
So now we'll just have to invite the small!

Pastor George also looked at the work of the prophet Zechariah (shown below, in Michelangelo’s mind, on the Sistine Chapel). In Chapter Eight of the prophet’s work, we’re told that Jerusalem will be filled with:

Old men and old women [who] will come back to Jerusalem, sit on benches on the streets and spin tales, move around safely with their canes—a good city to grow old in. And boys and girls will fill the public parks, laughing and playing—a good city to grow up in. (v. 4-5, The Message, here)

George encouraged us to consider this passage as something that the Bride of Christ has to look forward to. That is, believers—those who consider themselves the bride, the Lamb’s wife (Revelation 21:9-21, found here)—can look forward to peace and safety within the walls of the New Jerusalem, and actually become Jerusalem, herself. Within this Jerusalem, where everyone is playing their part, will be all that is needed for the young to grow up in safety and the old to be well-taken care of.

Pastor George might have known that I was to be married on the 17th of May, as this may have been shared among the pastors, as a group. But he couldn’t have known about Zechariah, Chapter Eight, and that my wife and I had studied this passage just the day before his message. So, it was fresh in our hearts, from less than a day earlier.

How could his sermon, as a whole, be so in sync with the place that Ellie and I were, that very weekend? He couldn’t have known. He couldn’t have addressed us so specifically, had not the Spirit of God been with him to confirm to us God’s message to our hearts. Yet, he did address us quite specifically, speaking to us just what we needed to hear—by being the vessel we needed to speak to us, that day.

***

We are thankful for Pastor George. We’re grateful that he was available to God on the 17th of May, to share with us a comforting message. We appreciate that he was there for us, to tell us God knows of our disappointment and understands our hearts. We’re blessed to have a pastor who would share a message that would tell us we will always have another wedding date, one that cannot be cancelled.

I’m grateful for a man of God, such as Pastor George Everett Davis, one with a sense of humor at least as skewed as mine. I’m happy that, because of his sense of humor, I can get away with titling this post “In Praise of George,” because he knows that I know better than to actually praise him, where the praise really belongs to God. (Sorry about that; I had to get the reader’s attention! 😉)

I’m grateful for the God of all comfort. I’m thankful for He who would use a humble man like George and reach down to my wife and I, in our disappointment, and encourage us.

I’m blessed to know that God would turn to us and assure us that any wedding plans we might have had in mind—or still have, for that matter—cannot compare to all that God has in mind, when his Son, betrothed to the church, finally invites us all in to celebrate with Him the union of us, his people, with His Son, the Lord our God.

—Kevin Hutchins

Quarantine: Counting Your Losses and Your Gains

In "How do we face the various non-death losses and disappointments caused by the pandemic?” Alasdair Groves, counselor at CCEF, shares good perspective that may be beneficial to all of us. I personally have been encouraged to consider my losses and my gains during this quarantine. In Psalm 90:12, Moses asks God to help him to “number his days so that he may gain a heart of wisdom.” One of the ways we gain a heart of wisdom is by making an inventory of our losses and our gains during quarantine. Alasdair offers a good perspective as we consider our losses. To listen to the video blog click here.

—Diego Cuartas

What's Happening With You?

Hello LFA! 

How is quarantine life going for you this week? We’re on, what? Week Seven? Week Eight? I think almost every week or so, I get completely overwhelmed and have a personal meltdown. (Maybe that’s how I subconsciously keep track of the weeks passing by? Not sure.) But, whatever the reason, my weekly meltdown showed up yesterday, and I realized that, under the surface, I have A LOT of feelings about A LOT of things. However, I don’t acknowledge those feelings to myself or to my family, or to God. I mostly ignore and deny my feelings because…I feel guilty for having them. I feel like I shouldn’t be irritated at the hundredth request to ‘Look at this, Mom,’ and when I call back, ‘Look at what?’ the answer is, ‘Just come! Come look at it!’ <Insert a huge eye roll> I feel like I shouldn’t be irritated at the lack of silence in my home. I shouldn’t be mad at the nuances of an interaction I had; I should probably be able to rise above anything that comes my way and just love. Ugh. So not only am I feeling the complexity of my feelings, but I am also feeling guilt and shame for feeling those feelings. And there you go: that’s a guaranteed meltdown in my world. 

Well, I’m not writing to tell you how the meltdown ended or what I’m learning about the beauty of being seen, known and loved just as I am, with all the complexity of my emotions and who I am, although those things are very dear to me. Instead, I’m writing to ask, and wanting to know, what have these seven-eight weeks been like for you? What have you been noticing, pondering, processing, concluding? What themes keep popping up?

Did you happen to tune into our church’s service this past Sunday? Don and Theresa were talking about this exact theme. They shared a video of what they’ve been thinking about in their lockdown lives. And our church is asking all of us to send in our own videos with our own thoughts. I love that idea. You know why? Because it reminds me that we need each other. We don’t just need our own thoughts or our own voices. Together, we’re the Body of Christ. And just like a human body, sometimes life is pretty normal and we get to just function. But other times, we need to check in with the various parts of our body that make up the whole, to be able to see, understand, and assess something more clearly. Our church’s request reminds me that each one of us is significant, a gift, necessary. We need each other’s stories, each other’s voices, each other’s thoughts. 

So, for me, besides this new revelation that I have A LOT of feelings going on under the surface, one thing I‘ve been thinking about a lot is ‘What makes me good? What makes me worthy of taking up space in this world?’ Most of my life I have believed that I am not good enough, that I don’t measure up. I’m not a good enough mom, my house isn’t clean enough or pretty enough (and that means there’s something wrong with me as a woman), I’m not pretty enough, funny enough, special enough for anyone to want to know and enjoy. That has been the belief that has defined me and secretly fed so much of what I do. I’m still right in the middle of recovering from that mindset, but in the middle of the pandemic, I am finding a good place in social media to keep practicing my new mindset of what makes me good: as I post my real family, with my on-purpose not-situated hair, my real house, my real face, me in comfy clothes, my real struggles, I find that I am having so many chances to say to the Lord with my heart and with my actions: ‘This is me. And You made me. And You like me. Just the way I am. Not a better me. Just me. Your real love and Your creating of me makes me good.” 

The second theme I’ve been processing has come up because…ugh…my husband Caleb and I have gotten in what feels like more than our share of conflicts! When I say ‘I had a meltdown,’ I mean it also caused a huge argument. There have been quite a few doozies. But as we’ve fought, we’ve found something we never realized before, (even though it’s sort of like, ‘Duh!’): we are VERY different. It should have been glaringly obvious. I like a slow, unstructured, measured pace, with lots of free time for creativity…and Caleb likes…Structure! Organization! Responsibility! I can’t say that I really like any of those three items very much! So I am finding that we are different…and as I acknowledge that, I am finding that it is good that we are different. I can ‘own’ my own strengths in new ways as I more clearly define who I am, and who Caleb is. I don’t have to get mad at him for not valuing what I value. I can realize that he was…sigh…never really meant to value what I value. I was actually supposed to carry that value to our family. I was supposed to be the one championing it. (Yikes! Scary stuff!) 

Anyways, what about you? What are themes that keep popping up for you as your world has turned upside down? What are things that you’ve been mulling over in your mind throughout these seven-eight weeks?

We need each other. We are a gift to each other. At LFA, we’re part of the local expression of Jesus’ body. When we hear each other’s stories, when we hear what we’ve each been sorting through in our minds and emotions, I think we get a more full-bodied understanding of what Jesus might be saying to us as individuals, as families, and as a group. So your voice matters. Your thoughts matter. 

So, that being said, would you consider jumping on the bandwagon and making a video? Would you consider commenting below? Would you take the brave step of believing that your story and your voice and your thoughts are a gift to all of us, and help us to hear God better together? Whether big or small, still formulating or already articulated, would you share what have been some themes in your mind and emotions and in your family in these weeks? 

Note:

If you feel stuck in starting to figure out what some themes might be or what you’ve been thinking/feeling, here are a few questions you can use. I’d suggest grabbing a journal and starting to write out some answers to a few of these questions: 

What are a few things that stand out to you in this season of Coronavirus? 

What’s been happening in your soul, your emotions, your home? Have you felt mostly peaceful or mostly irritated? What’s irritated you? What’s brought you peace? 

As you’ve been experiencing all the changes COVID-19 has brought to you and your world, what are some conclusions you’re coming to? What are some things you’re realizing? 

Are there things that you weren’t really that aware of about yourself previously that you’re much more aware of nowadays? Do you notice that you are struggling with something that feels exaggerated or exacerbated because of some factor of COVID-19 or lockdown? Are there tensions within you that seemed small in the busyness of regular life that now feel rather large as everything has come to a screeching halt?

Are there changes you are drawn to implementing as a result of something you’re experiencing? 

What are things you’ve enjoyed? Have any of the things that you’ve enjoyed surprised you? 

What are things that have been very difficult? Do you notice what you cling to or turn to when you feel the difficulty?

Share videos on social media with the hashtag #livingfaithlive or #Glasstownchurchlive 

Or you can email them to churchoffice@lfachurch.org

—Sarah Howard