Just another TheoBloggers Online Community weblog

Facebook is the new internet phenomena. Young and old alike have enrolled on this social networking site. As your page develops it amazing to see all the relationships you’ve had over the years. If you ever think you don’t have many friends just get a facebook page. You will be amazed at the number of friends showing up.
This week my facebook page had a barrage of old friends show up. The most at any one time. Some from 40 years ago showed up. On one hand it is amazing that a simple computer concept can become so useful and addictive. It shows how our world literally shrinks with technology. Nothing is ever out of touch with someone somehwere.
The benefit is the the “RECONNECT FACTOR”. Reconnecting with friends new and old shows how important the relationship factor is in our lives. Dr. Carl Menninger many years ago discovered that without the human touch we do not develop completely emotionally and physically. This reconnect factor relives memories that are good and healthy. Even though nostaglia takes over it makes me thankful for the many pepole that have crossed my path over the years. Most of them are Christians and they each have a special place in my journey of faith. Many were beacons of light who showed the path during dark times. Others were golfing buddies who loved to hit the little white ball around the woods. These are blessings that need to be counted. As God saids “It is not good for man to be alone”.

Allan Jenkins

My journey in preaching started over 26 years ago. Preaching is a passion and every Sunday it is a thrill to preach to God’s people. Those messages hit home in ways that you can only imagine. Those messages from God hit hearts and many of those hearts are broken and full of pain. Sometimes it is death that breaks a heart, sometimes it is divorce or unwanted pregnancies or just a particular sin a brother or sister is struggling with.
Recently such brokeness has come from family situations. Parents hearts break for their children no matter what age they are. This hurt is deep and it is painful. The tears just come in wavesand seemingly never stop. Parents are hurt and broken when their child develops mental illness in some form. It can be bi-polar disorder or depression or the many other things . Excuse the phrase but there is a certain amount of Craziness that comes with such illness. Situations literally become uncontrollable and impossible to bear. The pain of such situations is real.
From experience this is where many resources have to come together. Medical, psychological and spiritual must all unite. All three are vital elements. One critical moment that helps abudnantly is that we realize we must let go of control and let God be in control. All things are possible with God.

Allan

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. This past weekend we were in Ft Lauderdale for Jason’s graduation. He graduated cum laude from Florida Atlantic University with a degree in History. Leading the ceremony was the president of FAU Frank Brogan. He is the past Lt Governor of Florida and a very impressive person. He got up prior to the ceremony and stated it would be a time that brought a tear to the eyes of fathers and mothers and sure enough it did. Elaine and I are so proud of Jason. In a span of 5 years he has turned his life around in a remarkable way. He will be attending Law School at Saint Thomas University in Miami in the Fall. Way to Go Jas.
While in Fort Lauderdale we worshiped with the Griffin Road Church of Christ. The preacher for this remarkable church is John Palmer. They truly exude a family atmosphere. Their kindness and love were evident from the time we entered the building to the time we left. In Florida the church is small so Christians bond together for strength. This bond goes deep in everyones life. In a secular culture all they have is each other.

Allan Jenkins

We live in a little part of the world. Each day our travels, relationships and conversations take place in a limited area. We largely see and talk to the same people day in and day out. The daily newspaper tells us some of the big stories about the world but mostly about our little niche. In some ways the internet has changed this but much remains true.
Many judgments are based just on what we know from our own little part of the world. Our evaluations come from what we know, see and hear and experience in our little corner. If we don’t take this into account it will cloud our judgments and perspectives. We are one fish in a big ocean.
Being a minister in the Church of Christ for over 25 years has made me realize many of my conclusions are based on facts and experience from my little world. One judgment we make on such limited experience is about the health of the church. The statisticians among us count numbers and record decreases and sentence us to death. This has led to a pessimistic view about the future.
This weekend 13 from Hidden Valley went to the Lads to Leaders Convention in Memphis, Tennessee. This is a strategic guess but there were close to 2000 adults and children present. From one perspective (mine) it was evidence a deep commitment exist toward future leaders in the church. There are young people who live in this crazy world and still remain committed to him. There is an energy present to Love God and serve him that is contagious. From one little niche this is encouraging and helps cast the future in positive light.
It help to remember when we make judgments about the world and especially the church we need to remember how limited our place in this world really is. We can’t see it all or know it all.

Allan Jenkins

I am a dog lover. There are no if’s and’s or but’s a bout that. Dogs have been a part of my life from its earlies days. I can’t recall not having a dog. When we lived in south Georgia our neighbor had hunting dogs. I managed to spoil several of them to the point they were worthless for hunting. As a matter of survival he brought me a half beagle/half poodle mutt we called Abraham. He became known as “Old Abe” He was quite a dog. He loved to chase squirrel up the trees. When we moved to Texas my Uncle Claude gave him to a friend in the country. A week later he showed up on my grandmothers front step. She kept him. He lived to be an old dog.
Since Abraham there has been Sissy the Dachshund, Brandy the Pom, Fred the Basset Hound and even a Cockatiel named Max. Now there is Armani. Armani is what they call a hybrid. He is half Chihuahua and half Yorkshire Terrier. They call them CHORKIES. Out of all our pets he is the most high strung but he is a lot of fun. He is always in my lap or wanting to play tug of war or getting into the trash can. We call him our dumpster diver. He plays tug of war with the covers on the bed and chases Josh up and down the stairs. Why watch TV when you have him. Dogs are man’s best friend.

Allan Jenkins

Allan

Last night Don Ball, who is one of the Elders at Hidden Valley and myself went visiting. We went to see one of our homebound couples. Don and this couple had gone to church together in Houston for many years. Most of the visit was spent recalling all the people they knew from their years in the Lord’s church. As they went through the different congregations and names of people it was evident they had a deep appreciation for those relationships whether the people were still alive or not.
The benefit of that visit for me was to have a deeper appreciation for all the Christians that have been a part of my life through the years. Approaching 50 years on this earth makes me realize my time in fellowship has been wide and deep in many regards. From my youngest days there are the memories of many men and women coming through our home and sitting at our table. These people were dedicated to preaching and ministry. They had a deep love for souls and the well being of God’s people.
In many ways our disjointed culture is beginning to miss the precious nature of Christian fellowship. We live more as individuals instead of groups and our many interests cause us to focus more inwardly that outwardly. The singing group Acapella had a song that contained the words “There nothing as sweet as fellowship”.

Allan Jenkins

In September Hurricane Ike came up the Texas Coast with high wind and large amounts of rain. Because Houston is near sea level it floods rather easily. The swelling creeks and bayous in Houston sent several inches of water through our church building. The result has been many months of tearing up carpet, replacing sheet rock, painting and wallpapering and roofing. It has been quite a task to recover physically from the devastation.
This past week we put the last piece of the restoration in place. As far as I know we have completed the task. Going through this process has brought many lessons both good and bad. One of the main lessons is that the church isn’t the building. The building is just a location for the church to meet. It is a convenience at best. In many ways a luxury when compared to where the church meets in other countries.
Even though these words are made up it may describe a problem. The words are Church-olatry or building-olatry. It is simply the worship of a structure. The building in our culture has come to mean so much it can be worshiped just like God. It comes to represent God and our relationship with him. Many people will tell me “I go to so and so church down off I-45 and so and so street.
Lets keep in perspective that the church is just a place to connect. It is where we come for worship and fellowship. Our relationship to God is much more than just a building.

Allan Jenkins

Even though many revisionist think that history has a minimal or netural impact on the world it is evident they haven’t lived in reality for very long.  Whether we  admit it not we are  products of our past.  Our families of origin, our genetics, our traditions and even our beliefs are formed in the furnace we call history.  As time goes forward we discover history has a significant impact upon our actions, our thinking and our habits..

This is especially true of churches as well as individuals.  Churches especially in America have existed for variable lenghts of time. Many have histories dating back more than a hundred years. Some churches have ceased to exist.  Others have merged and some have kept going.  Those that keep going are presently benefiting either positively or negatively from their history.  

This is evident because of the many past factors that play into the churches health.  Preachers and their tenures, the preachers personality, their leadership ability.  Elders and the culture they create, Bible school teachers and members have all played a part in the past that effects the present.

It is evident that churches are entities steeped in tradition and personalities.  Many of these are tied to faith and faithfulness to God and scripture.  Some however can become dysfunctional and lead the church down paths that are unhealthy.  Where does this leave the church? Let me hear from you?

Allan Jenkins

What gives?.  In the media Steroids  has been the big news once again.   The sports talk shows have hashed it up, down and every other way possible.  Steroids has effected some of the biggest stars. Rafeal Palmiero, Roger Clements, Jason Giambi and now Alex Rodriquez.  More revelations are still to come.

As all these revelations play out the different sides of humanity..  In the recent congressional hearings Rafeal Palmiero sticks his finger in the air and states his innocence concering steroid use.  Only later does his drug test come up positive.  Roger Clements before the same panel declares he has not used steroids.  Syringes and other stuff show up later.  Then there is  Alex Rodriquez who after the story broke confesses  he used steroids during a certain period of time with the Texas Rangers.  

The different face of humanity have come out.  Some lie and some come clean.  Some questions persist. Is the pressure of being star so great one can’t be transparent enough to tell the truth?.  Is revealing a sin and shortcoming so terrible one is  forced to lie to save face?  Is a legacy so precious one can’t be honest.

The fact is that the heart of man is fickle.  Each persons hard drive is programmed differently.  All the physical mechanisms are present but the heart is different.  Honesty is not the virtue is once used to be.  Yet the age old Biblical principle comes forth.  ”A man will reap what he sows”.

Allan Jenkins

You can call this my pet peeve or my soapbox or whatever you like.  Recently several e-mails and articles have come to me concerning material for sermons. The question being asked “Is it okay for a preacher to take and use someone else’s sermons or is it plagiarism?”  

At lectureships and the sort many of the books available have been “books of sermons”.  Many  popular preachers have put sermons into print. Today they put them into  MP3.  According to one publisher they are some of the best selling items. Some even had the mistaken notion that all you needed to preach were a bible a a few sermon books.

What does such a discussion say about the state of preaching.  Preaching is the sacred moment when the word of God builds a bridge into the lives’s of Christians.  It is the moment when God confronts life on the street and in the world.  It is one of the great challenges for a preacher to be effective from the pulpit.  There are no shortcuts or easy streets when it comes to effective preaching. Professors from my undergraduate days to my graduate work stressed the need for a sermon to be “OWNED”.  A sermon is “Owned” when it has come from solid exegesis and good hermeneutics’s.  IT is “owned” because the preacher has struggled with the text and it’s communication of God’s truth. He has put in the time and effort.  The task of preparation is much more than just getting a sermon for Sunday.  When the preacher stands before the congregation on Sunday morning the sermon is a part of his heart, soul and mind.  If he has done the studying and praying over the week the sermon is there.  This is much better than if it was borrowed from someone else. Preaching  is more than just saying something but having something to say.  In my own small part of the world taking another persons sermon violates a sacred process.  It shortchanges the preacher and the congreation.  Like cold leftovers they are not quite as good the second time around.

Allan Jenkins