More than Friends

Curtis, Sandra and Hayward Burton

One of the great things about the Christmas season is getting together with old friends and that is what we did last Sunday just before Christmas. We invited the Burtons over to share a traditional (for our family) pre-Christmas dinner of lamb. Hayward is an elder at the Livonia church and has been for over thirty years. He was also the elder over missions most of the time I was in Kenya and he and Sandra visited us several times over the years. They have a big house and everytime we came back on furlough we stayed at the Burtons. Our kids looked at the Burton's house as our home in America and still have many fond memories of our staying there.

Hayward and Sandra were more than friends to Diane and me, they were often sources of wisdom and advice when we faced various challenges in Kenya. They were our advocates at the Livonia church and were staunch supporters of missions. One summer while we were on furlough they came and took a course at the ACU Summer Seminar in Missions with us. It is hard to describe how much they mean to Diane and me and our life and ministry with and in the Livonia church but we are very thankful to the Father for their love, support and influence in our lives. Every missionary ought to have someone like them here in the States and yet so many that I knew didn't and their lives were harder as a result. It is great to have friends, it is even better to have friends in the Lord like the Burtons.

What to Preach

One of the challenges that preaching presents is the continuing question of what to preach. I've been at Livonia for seven and a half years and that means over 300 sermons preached during that time. There are always several issues to deal with. One issue is balance. It is fairly easy to neglect parts of scripture such as the prophets in the Old Testament. The narrative parts are usually easier to prepare lessons from but I have also done series from the Psalms and Proverbs. I have been looking at Zacharia and asking, "How would I preach from that book?" I still don't have an answer so I probably am not doing anything from there any time soon. But I'd like to. For me the prophets present maybe the biggest challenge for preaching. I will preach at least one series from the Old Testament this next year but I'm not sure what it will be or when.

The second challenge is preaching to the needs of the congregation. There are always various problems certain people face. Some issues are simply life issues that we all face such as sickness or why bad things happen to us. Some needs are things I see that the congregation does not see. Certain idols that we construct that we are not even aware of present one of the biggest challenges to preaching. For example in this country security has become an idol both individually and nationally. The desire to be secure causes us to avoid the very areas where we should be ministering and serving. Nationally our leaders make decisions that put security above justice and basic human rights. This is just one example of an area where preachers need to speak but often people don't want the listen.

There is also an even more important question, what does God want to say to the church? I am constantly aware that when I preach I don't speak for myself but I am God's spokesperson. What a privilage and responsibility that is. As I prepare a series of lessons this is the one question I pray the most about. So I read and study and pray that God will give me a message for his people at Livonia. I love what I do but the challenge is always before me.

Memphis Trip

This past week Diane and I traveled to Memphis for me to work in the library at Harding University Graduate School of Religion (HUGSR) and also to spend time with Laura, Rusty and Alex. We had a great time and actually stayed with Evertt and Ilene Huffard. The Huffards are long time friends from our first stay at HUGSR from 1972-75. Diane and Ilene are friends from our Lubbock Christian days. Evertt is now dean at the school and has been a friend and mentor to my two sons-in-law as they have prepared and entered into ministry. I always come away from time with Evertt encouraged.

We spent as much time as possible with the Campbells. Alex broke his arm a few weeks ago but it didn't slow him down. Grandkids are a blast! Rusty and Laura have a two bedroom apartment on the HUGSR campus. Diane stayed with Alex while Laura and Rusty worked and I was in the library. We had a lot of fun.