Happenings

Dear Readers,

This week has been full of pleasant surprises. Wednesday night I attended my first church administrative meeting at the Fellowship Baptist Church. It was a learning experience to be sure. Considering that I plan to be a minister in the near future, it opened my eyes to the world behind the Sunday sermons, and the Wednesday Bible studies. It was an interesting meeting and I was able to get a grasp on church polity.

Different things were discussed, nothing too dramatic, besides some lively commentary between Beau and his mom Beth. Summer activities, community outreach, missions, and a new garage for the church van. On a side note, we've been having some break-ins in our old house behind the church, and it seems that soon these burglars will get a little more bold and go for the church itself. It seems to me that these people have no good conscious to break into a holy place, but I digress. The last thing that we talked about was a church website, and that's where I came in.

In the meeting, I was given somewhat of a job, to be the webmaster of the church's website. I initially began the website on a volunteer bases, expecting no compensation. However, I may in the future may be paid for it. Either way is fine for me. I enjoy the creative side of life, and to make a website without pay is okay by me. You can take a look at what is up already by going to: http://fellowshipbaptistchurch.kk5.org.


I've been thinking a lot about missionary trips lately. A couple from my community is now in South-East Asia on a missionary trip, and periodically send back letters about their time there. This has heightened my interest in a missionary trip, especially to China. To me, China is the virgin territory of the unchurched, and likewise it reflects almost First-Century Christianity. House churches, persecution from the empire, martyrdom, and Paul-like figures. It is risky to go to China and try to plant churches or bring people to follow Jesus, but it is a noble act that people do. It takes time to establish churches in the abandoned places of the empire, and this is where the doubts and excuses come in.

I have a family, a soon-to-be wife, bills, college, job...the list goes on. These are the excuses that come to mind whenever I think about actually going through with a missionary trip. It makes me feel guilty that I put all these things before the advance of the good news. I'm sure I'm not alone in these things, but it still makes me wonder, have we become a generation of "when I have time" Christians?

"Leave your things and follow me." This is the request that Jesus made to the apostles almost 2,000 years ago, and it is still made to us today. They all had their daily lives to contend to, families to support, taxes to pay, obligations to uphold, but yet they left it all behind to follow a poor rabbi from a backwater town. This is what makes me feel guilty. Did not these people two millenia ago have greater or the same challenges as we do now? Did they not drop what they were doing and follow Jesus? So, the true question arises..."when can you drop what you are doing and follow me?"

I don't think of myself as a when I have time Christian, but sometimes that is what I become. "I can't go to church, I don't have time." "I can't do this at church, I don't have time." "I'll do that mission trip when I have time." As all these things rumble around in my head, I can't help but think of the episode of the rich man who wanted to follow Jesus. He asked Jesus what he must do in order to follow him, and Jesus replied that he must give away all his wealth to the poor and then he could follow him. The rich man, in his heart could not give away his wealth or his time to follow Jesus so he went away sad. This is what many Christians are becoming today, including myself.

I hope that one day, very soon, I will be able to answer that question, "when will you drop what you are doing and follow me?" with a better answer than, when I have time or I have too many obligations.

What about you reader, can you relate?

- Ιάσων