Pastor Appreciation Month, part 3: Dustin Janney

Dustin Janney is the "Worship and Youth Pastor" at Avalon Church. This means he is in charge of all the music at church and is also responsible for the middle and high school ministry at the church. I heard a rumor a while back that Dustin had been asked to pick just one of these jobs to do, as he was so overworked trying to do both. Apparently whoever asked him that is still waiting for a decision.

Dustin is one of the most unassuming, charming, "aw shucks ma'am" southern gentlemen you could imagine - until he picks up his guitar and starts to sing. Then it's all passion and power. You'd never think that someone as soft-spoken as him could belt like he does until he goes and does it. I've often said that Dustin and Ross Fengfish (our extremely talented piano player) could sell a million albums if they wanted - but then they'd have to go on tour and I wouldn't get to hear them every week. So never mind.

I may not like or agree with all the choices that Dustin makes with the music at church (that's because I'm an old stick in the mud when it comes to contemporary Christian music) but there is no doubt that he believes every word he sings with all his heart. He is a fantastic embodiment of Psalm 57:7-11.

So no matter what the kids in 220 might say about you, Dustin, you're not a dork. You're a valued and appreciated member of my church family.

Also, his wife is hot. I know I'm in trouble for that, and she just might die from embarrassment, but I dare anyone to disagree with me.

Pastor Appreciation Month, part 2: Jim Groves

Pastor Jim is the Executive Pastor at Avalon Church. This means he handles most of the day-to-day administrative duties, staff management, and a bunch of other not so fun stuff that no one else wants to do. He's also the first one off the bench if Pastor Dale can't preach on Sunday for any reason. When he does take over the Sunday service he likes to do things a little differently, to give you a new perspective on things. Or, as he puts it, "I'm going to hit you in the head with a 2x4." So in that spirit, I'm going to let you look over my shoulder as I write a letter to him.

Dear Pastor Jim,

First of all, I want to thank you for all of your behind the scenes work at church. I know that things would not go as smoothly as they do without the hours of preparation you put in each week. I would also like to thank you for not clipping me with the hand truck before we moved into the church building.

The training and guidance you have provided in getting the life groups started has been invaluable. If it hadn't been for your help I would probably still be "wandering in the wilderness" wondering how in the world I'm going to get this thing off the ground. And now it's poised to become a great outreach of the church, as five of the seven people who are interested do not even attend Avalon. We're going to change lives with this, and I can already see a change in mine just from preparing to facilitate the group.

You have a unique gift in your speaking style, in that it never really feels like a sermon when you speak, but I always leave thinking how powerful and personal it was. I'll never forget the message you gave pretending to be Peter, demonstrating the process of Christian maturation. If a hotheaded blowhard like Peter can reach the point that he writes "Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (1 Pet. 5:5) then there really is hope for the rest of us.

As an interesting side note, did you know that when I first started attending Avalon, you approached me four weeks in a row to ask if it was my first time at church? Apparently I blend in pretty well.

One final thought, I wanted to point out that the most powerful part of your testimony (to me, anyway) is that when you talk about what you used to be like, when you were hurtful and a not-so-good husband, I have to take your word for it, because I can't for the life of me imagine that you were ever like that. Again, showing there's hope for the rest of us.

So thank you, for everything you've done and continue to do. I thank the Lord that He allowed me to find Avalon and to come to know you.

Sincerely,

Matt



While I've still got your attention I wanted to tell you that Pastor Jim is one of the funniest guys you'll ever meet - if you "get him." If you don't he'll just leave you confused and wondering how in the world this guy got to be in charge of anything. Which, in the end, just makes it even funnier to the rest of us.

Pastor Appreciation Month, part 1: Dale Brooks

October is Pastor Appreciation Month. You didn't know that? Maybe you would if you went to church. Why don't you come with me next week and see the man I'm talking about here.

Dale Brooks is the Senior Pastor at Avalon Church. I've been attending Avalon for a little over two years and I can honestly say that I love him, and he loves me right back. He exudes the joy of the Lord and you can't spend a minute with him without smiling. Just prepare to be hugged if you happen to wander within reach of him.

When I started attending Avalon, I used to take my notes from the service and compare them with my "old school" upbringing, my KJV Bible, commentaries, and whatever other theological resources I could find looking for ways he was liberalizing or diluting the message. Basically, I was looking for a reason to stop going. And in all that time I never found one. Pastor Dale loves the truth of Scripture, and that's what he preaches. It's been very exciting to see the church grow both in number and in spirit under his leadership.

Even in the face of great personal tragedy I never saw Pastor Dale's faith dim or even flicker. He truly is one of the rocks upon which the church (in both senses) is built. Avalon has grown to the point that total weekly attendance is now around 800 people, and I swear he knows every person's name, and their children as well. It is simply inspiring to watch him in action.

I went to see Pastor Dale for counseling almost two years ago, when I was experiencing an overpowering sense of insignificance, as I was approaching age 40 and didn't feel my life had amounted to very much. He gave me one of the greatest lessons I've ever learned that night. "Don't attach too much significance to significance," he told me. Just love God, study His Word, pray, and look for opportunities to serve. Significance will come on its own. And look at me now - less than a week from launching my life group, and I got you to read all the way to the bottom of this entry. So, how's that for significant?

Thank you, Pastor Dale, for being like a big neon arrow pointing to Jesus. I appreciate you greatly.

Answered Prayers +2

Last week at the man alive group Pastor Skip covered the first part of Philippians 4, which contains this gem in verses 6-7:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Then on Sunday a friend of mine, who is attending graduate school to obtain a Doctor of Pharmacy, mentions that he has a big pharmacotherapy exam coming up and he's convinced he's going to fail. Well, look what I just covered two days ago. What a coincidence...or not. I shared these verses with him, and started praying. Not that he would pass the exam, but I prayed for calmness and recall, and asked God that when my friend knew the answers that God would show it to him and reward the work he put in learning the material. Every time I thought of him, every time I saw a facebook update from him, I sent that prayer up fresh.

On Wednesday I see an update that he scored 93 on the exam. Yup, the one he was convinced he would fail. And for once I had the right reaction as the first thought I had was to thank God for helping him.

Then today I went to my doctor to get a prescription. After the nurse took my vitals and sat me down in the exam room, she told me the doctor was going to order blood work before giving me the prescription. I don't like blood work, mostly because I don't like getting up early to trudge off to the lab before work, and because the results always come back normal. So as I was waiting I simply asked that we could do this without having to get lab work done. And as soon as I said that I heard the little voice in my head say "OK." The doctor comes in, we have a five minute conversation, and he writes the prescription for me. Afterward the nurse said "No blood work? Wow, aren't you lucky?" Actually, no, there was no luck involved in that. As an added bonus, they gave me a coupon to cover my copay. Heh...Ephesians 3:20-21.

So that's two, just this week. I think I'm on a bit of a roll...dear God, the Powerball is $48 million this week...

The Next Step in the Journey - My Very Own Life Group!

A few weeks ago I received a card from my church inviting me to a "special event" at the pastor's house where he would share his vision for the future. When I discovered it was invitation only and not an open house I had to resist a small swell of pride - Pastor Dale likes me! He likes me better than some other people! You know, juvenile crap like that.

Turns out it was less of a sharing session and a little closer to an ambush. Pastor Dale, Pastor Jim, and Pastor Dustin explained that the church was going to put a major focus on creating new small groups (and changing the name to life groups) for midweek meetings, and that everyone there had been invited because they would like each of us to create and lead, or at least host, one of these groups.

Being publicity shy and having the mild phobia of public speaking that comes with being an introvert/geek, I surprised even myself by immediately turning to Heather and saying we need to do this. My only explanation is the leading of the Holy Spirit. I had been thinking that I needed to find a place to give of my time to the church, not just of my money, and now this opportunity is just dropped in my lap. As if I needed more convincing that there are no coincidences.

So now here we are, about to do a recruiting open house at church and a month away from our first meeting. We're going to go through Grace to You's Fundamentals of the Faith series for starters, because 1) I love John MacArthur, and 2) they left me in charge of picking the curriculum.

You don't have to go to my church to come to the group, or go to church at all. A simple desire to want to know God better is all you need. I even started a fancy facebook fan page to keep everyone updated. Feel free to like the page, or contact me by any of the usual means if you want more details.

It's time to earn that "choice and mighty" name I gave myself here.

John 6, part II

Part I available here.

So, what took so long to get this part up? Well, one answer is I'm a little lazy, another answer can be found in verse 60, which we'll get to shortly.

Picking up where we left off, Jesus was just beginning what has come to be known as the Bread of Life Discourse. Verse 36 indicates that the crowd still just isn't getting it.

But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. 

How is this even possible? How could anyone have been in the physical presence of Jesus, seen His miracles, and not believed? He expands further on His mission in verses 38 and 39:

For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent me. This is the will of Him who sent me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.

This brings us to the difficult part of the chapter, where one of the longest-lasting controversies of Christianity still rages. Call it election, predestination, or just the dreaded U in Calvinism's TULIP. There are thousands of pages for and against, Augustinian vs. prescient view, enough to make your head spin if you let it. If you're at all familiar with the debate you've most likely already chosen a side. But verse 44 seems to come down in Calvin's favor: "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent me draws him" - note that it's can, not may or will or shall. It's a matter of ability, not permission. If God didn't choose you out of death and into life before time began (cf. Eph. 1:4) you will be unable to draw yourself out. Salvation truly is of the Lord.

A very touchy subject and I haven't even scratched the surface of the centuries-old debate. Or, you'll notice, explained any opposing viewpoints. My blog, my rules.

Jesus continues with the bread of life theme through verse 59, and people continued to take Him literally when  He said in verse 51 "The bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh." So He has to explain again. And again. The thickheadedness and willful ignorance of these people continues to astonish me. But they did capture the sentiment perfectly in verse 60, and I think the NKJV translation totally nails it: "This is a hard saying, who can understand it?" I hope you now understand a little of the difficulty I'm having with this post.

And indeed, by verse 66 the difficulty was sinking in with a lot of people:

As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.

To the point it may have been down to just the twelve that Jesus chose as His inside group. And Peter, who always fluctuates between knucklehead and genius, thankfully brought his A game in verses 67-69:

So Jesus said to the twelve, "You do not want to go away also, do you?" Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God."

Wow. No need to ask if that's his final answer, is there?

The death of my other Dad

Uncontrollable love. How fitting.

Last Sunday evening, the town of Monson lost an icon, and my wife and I lost a Dad. Michael Kane went to his eternal reward on May 2 after a heroic battle with cancer. I am grateful that Heather and I were able to be there with the rest of the family when it happened, but that certainly didn't make it any easier.

Mike was a lifelong educator who worked at Monson Jr.-Sr. High School for thirty-seven years, proceeding from teacher all the way to principal. After his "retirement" he made a second career at the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, and volunteered for pretty much every education cause you could think of, and a bunch more that you can't.  He was also one of the finest woodcarvers I've ever seen. The birds, Celtic spoons, and assorted other figures he made for us over the years are among our most cherished possessions, and displayed a little more prominently now.

But I think the most important thing I can say about him was that he was more like Jesus than pretty much anyone else I've known. Giving and kindness were his default settings, so to speak, and whenever someone needed something, anything, his first answer was always yes. Even as his health declined and he had every right to start making demands of people, he continued to ensure that everyone else was taken care of first. I knew Mike for fourteen years (which still makes me the "new guy" in that circle) and while I heard stories of his flashes of temper, which usually occurred when someone refused to carry their weight or was acting strictly for their own advantage, I never actually saw him become angry. How many people have you known for fourteen years that you can honestly say that?

More evidence of what Mike was like came during the visitation time at the funeral home on Wednesday night. That was probably the most emotionally draining experience I've had, to say nothing of the physical challenge of standing and shaking hands for four hours. If that's anything like a political rally I am never running for office. Visitation started at 4:00; at 6:50 I noticed the line was no longer all the way out the door; at 8:15 we were finally able to stop, breathe, and attempt to sit down. To say there was an outpouring of affection doesn't do that evening justice -- this was more of a river, though I think deluge or burst dam would also apply equally. Some of the things I heard that night:

• "I was in the class of 1968, Mike was my science teacher. I'll never forget how enthusiastic he was about learning."
• "I was in the class of 2001, Mr. Kane was my principal. I'll never forget that he was always fair with us."
• "Mike was the only person who welcomed me when I moved to Monson thirty years ago. I'll never forget the kindness he showed me then."
• "Mike took our son, who was dying of cancer, to lunch every week. Mike was the only person who wasn't afraid of the machinery he had to travel with. We'll never forget how sweet he was."
• "Mike wrote an amazing letter of recommendation for my daughter. I'll never forget how much he did for her."
• "Mike was the most important mentor I had in life, and the reason I became a teacher."
• (From a former state legislator) "Mike and I worked on several education bills together, his dedication to students was amazing."
• "Mike was instrumental in promoting my anti-bullying book and program to the schools. I'll never forget how much he helped me."

I started to notice a pattern, maybe you saw it too. "I'll never forget." Not just empty words or expressions of sympathy, but a promise to all of us that Mike would continue to live in thousands of hearts, minds, and changed lives. Well, I'll never forget either.

I hope I made you wish you could have known my second Dad. I wish you could have known him too -- then you would never forget.

Bye Pop. We'll see you soon.

P. S. There are a couple of newspaper columns about Mike available here and here, there is an obituary with a guestbook here, and the legacy.com guestbook is available here.