Art: Scenes from a Garden IV

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Art: Scenes from a Garden III

Art: Scenes from a Garden II

Devotional: Work

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for people" (Col3:23).

This verse has always been a strong motivator for me during athletics. Back when I played football, I would try to use this as a mantra to get me through practice; but if I were honest with myself, the screaming of my coach was typically a stronger motivator.

Likewise, meeting the boss's expectations, assuring that bonus, getting the book published or making the dean's list, are often bigger motivators than working for the Lord.

The challenge is that those motivations focus our eyes upon a prize and upon earning a particular "end." In contrast, "working for the Lord" is this strange way to live. And a way that may not take us in the direction we expect.

If we work for particular ends, then we actually do not care about the means by which we get to those ends. We manipulate things in order to provide the best outcome; we seek self-preservation.

The challenge is that working for the Lord is self-sacrificial. It says that the outcome is actually in God's hands and not mine; so long as I work with the integrity God has called me to demonstrate, then whatever the outcome is, it is honoring to God.

Yet, that is the risk involved in faith. Rather than managing our work in order to assure the outcome we desire, God is calling us to venture into the unknown and allow us to be lead by Him.

This type of work will be far more adventures, immediate, exhausting and risky, but through this experience we will discover that God is there with us.

Why is it easier to be motivated by the "ends" rather than God? What are ways that we can be working for the Lord?

In Christ,
Wes Barry
wbarry@firstpres-charlotte.org

A year past

What a strange, strange day. Ellie slept longer than both Lindsay & I for the first time. She is growing so quickly. Her attention and focus is amazing. And her smile melts my heart everytime.

So at 8:00am, Ellie, Savannah and I walked around the block as I bragged to friends what a joy Ellie is. It was a beautiful and sunny day; nothing could have been more perfect. As I walked I just watched Ellie, she was wide awake taking in every sound and sight her mind could absorb.

When we got home from the walk, Lindsay's friend had cancelled their get together. So Lindsay and I were able to spend the morning together.

Then the phone rang.

You know it is never good when the doctor's office wants you to come in to talk about your "test results." I've had professors make similar requess, but their results were never a matter of life and death. So I was schedule to come at 4:15 that afternoon. Also, it's never a good sign when a doctor who is hard to get an appointment weeks ahead of tiem, needs to see you today.

Therefore, I was given seven hours to wait and wonder and worry.

I decided I would go to chapel. Unfortunately, this was the worst thing I could have done. I snuck into the back row filled with deep anxiety about my progoniss, wearing my sunglasses as long as possible to the inadvertent tear would not be noticable.

This experienc was unfortunate because for the first time in a long time, I cam to church deeply hurting, the one with a deep need, hoping that God would speak softly into my heart.

What I received, instead, was a 20 minute lecture about liberation and feminist theology. At the end of the sermon, people clapped! A sat there in saddened shock.

It made me wonder; I truly was the one was about to find out he had an illness. nd I sought God's words of comfort, healing and hope. But instead I found myself in a self-consumed tirade as to why the women were added to Matthew's geneology. No Gospel, No Cross, No Hope. I was in need of the good news, and a seminary campus' chapel could not provide it--how sad.

The rest of the six hours were uneventful meandering as I sought solitude and distraction.

I tried to life weights, but found myself consumed with thoughts. Have I cherished the moemnts with Ellie? Why not? Why do I watse my time doing x, when I could be holding her. Not the most motivational ideas for lifting. So I left.

Finally 4:15 rolled around.

And the doctor entered.

Level III, Malignant Melanoma--before today I could not even spell nor decipher malignant from benign, always trying to remember which was the "good type"--now I know.

He tried to explain--but honeslty, the words flew over me. The information came too fast. What to do, when to come back, what the success rate was. Like a waterfall I was so drenched in information I could not feel the weight of the water rushing over me...I have cancer.

After meeting with the doctor, I was given serveral references and tasks to complete while still really unsure as to why or what I am supposed to do.

And the final page of today was going to dinner with my four closest friends at PTS. Being near them, but being so distant. I would sit and just watch them talk; unable to listen. The words rushed over me once again. But the words that echo in my head are the words of a leper in Mark 1: "If you are willing, make me clean..."

I beg of you Lord, make me clean.
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It has been a year to the day that I wrote these words. I have had two surgeries and multiple biospies. I still have not gone to an exam where they have not removed another mole to check for skin cancer. Thank God, we believe we have removed it from me. And I know that I am extremely lucky to have discovered the melanoma at such an early stage that I only needed surgery and not chemotherapy.

Survival

Though my Outside subscription has mysteriously stopped coming. I have come to love Man vs. Wild and Survivorman.
However, it appears I need some work; while I survived the Discovery Channel's quiz, I was severly maimed in this quiz (13 out of 17). Better luck next time?

Survival Quiz How well would you survive dangerous situations?

"meet my needs" summed up

Our culture is asking "how is this message (church in general) relevant to my life?" In asking this, we are seeking to transform God's message to meet our particular situation, rather than allowing God's message to transform us. In other words, we remain unchanged, but God's message changes--and that is the problem.

"Meet My Needs"

I just finished reading a fascinating article by Elizabeth Steele in the Alban Institute Magazine called, "How Responding to People's needs hurts the Church." Pretty bold title, but I believe that this is the difficult place the church finds herself in right now.

As a marketplace mentality has firmly rooted itself in the church culture--we create programs to respond to expressed and felt needs--we are seeing less people committed to the church as a means of being a witness, and more people pounding on the door asking to be fed (both physically, emotionally and spiritually).

For me, the question comes back to--does Jesus meet the needs of the people he encounters?

We can point to Christ healing the sick, comforting the widows, bringing the social o
outcasts into relationship and community. Here it does seem as though Christ's main focus was on meeting and responding to the particular needs of individuals.

But, this article makes an interesting point: "What occurs when [congregants] do not get what they want? They believe the church is letting them down..."

Going back to Jesus' example...what about the sick people whom Jesus did not heal, or the fact that he says "the poor will always be among you," calling us to "deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him." Is he failing in his mission? Is he letting people down?

No and Yes. He is not failing in his mission because his mission is not to respond to people's needs and wants. Yet he may have been letting people down in the process.

Therefore, the church needs to revaluate her mission: not in seminary, not in the ministerial offices, or in committee's...but from the ground-up through a self-reflective question, "Why do I go to church?"

art: springtime

Charlotte Half-Marathon Racefest 2008

Life has come full circle. My first ever road race was the 2000 Charlotte Half-Marathon, so when we returned this past fall I was excited to learn that they had continued this race, and even moved it closer to our neighborhood. The start line was about a mile and half up the road from us.

So myself and a friend from church decided to run the race. The weather was ideal 60 and misty all race long. The route was not ideal. Charlotte is surprising with the number of hills it hides in the tree lined streets. Mile 7, 9 and 12 all had ridiculous hills to climb.

All in all, I survived the run and put in a good time.
For me, I was wanting to gauge my overall fitness level because I did zero official training for this race and ran only one long run--last weekend.

The greatest moment of the race was running by the church friend's home at mile 12 and seeing Ellie and Lindsay standing in the front yard. As I approached Ellie--sweaty and tired--she looked confused, but as I ran past she waved and said "bye-bye." Chatting with another runner, that is a huge shot of adreline near the end of a race. It awesome having a family that supports and cheers for my silly little adventures like they do.

Next adventure: a Triathlon in May.

Devotional: An Offseason

As Davidson amazed and impressed the country with the run in the NCAA, Lindsay and I were reflecting on the impact sports can have on us. While watching the game, we noticed that we were edgy, nervous and consumed by the game. But when the buzzer rang and the season ended, we sat at the dining room table and realized how fun the run had been, but also how fleeting that experience was.

While the newspaper headlines were filled with Davidson stories all last week, this week our city has "moved on." Sports, along with a host of other activities, can provide us a sense of escape from the day-to-day doldrums, and it can provide a common purpose for a community-to cheer for "my" team. Both of which are necessary and important because they give us a sense of connection and acknowledge that life is bigger than just ourselves. I think, however, we also know that this is not sustainable because eventually an off-season appears; eventually the buzzer sounds.

So when the cheers fade, the banners and jersey get stored back into the closet, the headlines return to discussions of politics and war, what do we do now?

The challenge for us as followers of Christ is discover how our faith can be not just another aspect of who are during a particular season, such as Christmas and Easter or Sunday mornings, but rather allowing it to be central to who we are at all times. Paul encourages his friend Timothy, and us, to be prepared to demonstrate our faith in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2).

Therefore, how are we challenged to "come and follow Him" in season and out of season? Do we see our faith as an opportunity to actively engage the world rather than escape from it? What are some ways we can demonstrate that our faith is a priority in our life?

Strange Day

Went to Starbucks,
And they said they were out of coffee
--told me to come back in 5 minutes.

Walked over to Caribou instead.