Lessons From Wuhan: Recalculating As We Emerge From Coronaville

There’s nothing so disconcerting as driving down the highway listening to a favorite song, only to have the Siri lady w/ the uppity-sounding British accent disrupt with: RECALCULATING! What she REALLY means is: “You are an idiot! You weren’t paying attention, & now you’ve gone off on a wrong path.” I have been thinking a lot this past week about the idea that our God often uses disruption to get our attention. When we are going off track (or perhaps we’re just stuck & not going anyplace in particular), our disrupting God awakens us, challenges us, jolts us out of our lethargy with a cosmic dope slap, sometimes of epic proportion. COVID-19 has upset our collective apple cart beyond anything we could have ever foreseen. What lessons will you take with you as we finally see Coronaville disappear in the rearview mirror? Time to recalculate the direction you are heading. We’ll talk about it more when we are back in the Book of James on Sunday morning.

Lessons from Wuhan -- Remember That Easter We All Met Online? -- April 12, 2020

One night as Easter approached during my senior year at Mizzou, Sam stormed into my room and got right in my face. He was a Jewish kid who was pretty tired of hearing about Jesus from the growing number of guys on our floor who had come to faith. Some of them had “One Way” posters on their walls with an index finger pointing up. Not Sam. He had a poster that read: “No Way” …with a different finger displayed. So there we stood, nose to nose. No social distancing. And he angrily asked, “Do you believe the Jews killed Christ?” He and his family had been branded Christ-killers more than a few times. Ever have that assurance that the Holy Spirit was whispering in your ear? I quietly responded: “Yes, Sam. The Jews back then killed Jesus. And the Romans killed Jesus. And, if I had been there, Sam, I would have killed Jesus, too.” His accusing finger was still in the air, ready to poke me in the chest. But he was disarmed. He murmured: “That’s a good answer.” And then he walked out of my room.

John Stott put it this way: “Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us.” The sacred symbol of our faith is the cross, an instrument of torture and death. That would be quite unexpected except that we’ve had a few thousand years to process the irony of it becoming our reminder of deliverance from sin and the joy of sins forgiven and the only path to life everlasting. Let us remember, as we celebrate so uncharacteristically this Easter, that our sins made it necessary for Jesus to become our Perfect Sacrifice. Some of our cherished traditions will have to be put aside this year. Instead of the new life sprouting across our city, we are assaulted with daily box scores of deaths in various parts of our planet. Such things need to push us closer to the foot of the cross, forcing us to look beyond the trappings of the season to the heart of it—Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Newness of life purchased by His blood.

Lessons from Wuhan -- Triumphal? -- April 5, 2020

 We are going to be looking at The Triumphal Entry in John 12 when we gather on Zoom this Sunday. Traditions of this season will be set aside this time as we “shelter in place.” Seemed a good idea to depart from the Epistle of James for a few weeks in order to focus on why we celebrate Palm Sunday and Easter. I took some time yesterday to explain the meaning of Palm Sunday to a friend from another country. Can you imagine waking up in Tunisia during Ramadan later this month and trying to figure out what everyone was doing? And not doing? And why? A number of years ago, I got stranded in a Tokyo airport for what I thought would be a brief layover. All flights out were full, and I was doing standby. Turns out, it was a big three-day weekend there. Evidently, Japanese people like to go to Bangkok at such times. I still have no idea what the holiday was even called.

No time of year should provide more reasons for hope and joy and peace of mind during these days of forced seclusion than Holy Week. I found it impossible to explain THIS Sunday to my friend without also explaining NEXT Sunday. He’s heard it from me before, but he appreciated getting the historical context and insight into a culture not easily understood. Let’s draw near during the coming week, worshipping our risen Lord in a fresh, simple way. And let’s tell somebody about it.

Gary

Lessons From Wuhan -- Not A Building! -- March 28, 2020

It’s been often pointed out that the church is not a building--WE are the church. The sanctuary is not that big room with pews—We are God’s sanctuary. He dwells in us. Even so, I missed being in the church building last Sunday, and I missed being with all of you in the…auditorium. Sitting at home just didn’t seem right. I wanted to wish Shirley James a happy birthday in person! Something special happens when the people of God gather to worship. I found myself missing those minutes before most people arrive when doors are unlocked and coffee is brewing and pastries are put out and bread is bagged up for distribution. The early crew has a good time as they put things into place for what will follow. The Bible Study Hour’s conversations and sharing of prayer requests and diving into the Scriptures builds us up spiritually and allows us to share our lives together. And then the worship service begins. There’s a routine to it all, but no two weeks are the same.

Take away all of that for a number of weeks, and we are forced to discover ways to connect and encourage and learn together. This week we will be using Zoom technology to live stream. Your patience with this rookie will be greatly appreciated. I hope you will find ways throughout this coming week to deliver a word of hope and care to someone in the church family. It might be a phone call or a note or a meal or something else. And if the rest of us can meet a need for you, please let us know! By the time we get good at this new normal, it will be over. Hopefully, we will have grown in our love for the Lord and for one another in the process. And the next time we gather will be a time of great celebration.

Lessons From Wuhan -- Embrace the Challenge -- March 22, 2020

 Last Sunday, we were reminded in James 4:13-17 [ http://odbcmemphis.com/podcast/ ] that our best plans are uncertain, life is fragile…and short, and that our God is very much in control. Open Door’s Board of Elders met Monday evening and made the decision to suspend all classes and services for the week. Not meeting together this Sunday (March 22) was a tough decision, but we agreed it was the right and responsible thing to do. Some (though I should say no one from our congregation has suggested this) question the faith of those who would “cancel church.” I would simply point out that we will only be calling off church services. The church, Open Door Bible Church, is not a building. Nor are we a bunch of services. We are “the church.” The challenge in these days of “social distancing” becomes how we can continue on as the family of faith God has called us to be. I’ve been thinking of this scheduling upheaval as God’s gift—a sort of Sabbath rest. Busyness is often the enemy of holiness. The tyranny of the urgent pulls us away from His presence. Routine causes us to miss opportunities to meet specific needs as we “pass by on the other side” the way nice people avoided the injured man on the road in the Good Samaritan story. What Lessons from Wuhan remain for us to learn? What “first things,” important stuff, have we been missing in the rush of life? Perhaps it is as simple as “self-quarantining” to get time alone with the Lord. Maybe we will capture (or recapture spiritual truths that have eluded us in the crush of living life.

Yesterday I received an email from Brittany. She attended Open Door for a couple of months back in 2018. Her boyfriend, Connor, came a few times when he was in town. Then he left for Marine officer training school, and Brittany moved back to Colorado. I told them about a church near Ft. Collins. And, as happens sometimes, I was left to wonder what God had in mind in that brief turn of events. We observe life as a passing parade. God’s view is more like that a person atop a skyscraper, seeing the beginning and the end all at once. He was doing so much more than any of us imagined. It would be silly to try to take credit for any of it. But it reminds me that God has a plan in all of the craziness of these CoronaVirus days. Brittany gave permission to share the story, so here it is:

Pastor Starbuck, 

I am not sure if you remember me, my name is Brittany. I came to Open Door for a few months of 2018. My boyfriend, Connor, came with me a time or two. That year he was in training to be a USMC Officer. 

I write today to say THANK YOU. I grew up in a Bible church and accepted Christ as my Savior when I was 6 years old. Though I still had faith in high school, I began to stray. During my 20s, I completely stepped away from my relationship with God and from a church family. I was questioning many things. I wasn't sure what I believed or what was true. Your church was the first church that I attended that started to bring me home. I hadn't consistently gone to church in about ten years. Connor and I started dating before I came back to God. One thing you didn't know was that Connor was an atheist at the time we started dating and the time that he was attending Open Door. Surprisingly, he was the one who encouraged me to seek out a church family. He said he saw that it was something important to me. In the background, God was drawing him to Himself as well. Your church was the start of God moving in our lives in big ways. Open Door welcomed us both with open arms, your sermons are enlightening and true food for the spirit, the worship is genuine (no strobe lights and overdone theatrics), and the church's doctrine and values hold true to Biblical standards. It was exactly what I needed to press me to step back into a relationship with God. 

Before I moved back to Colorado, Connor tried out Loveland Bible Church, one of your recommendations. He was "just doing it for me," but I could tell God was slowly pulling on his heart. He called me after church, excited. He IMMEDIATELY knew that was where we were supposed to be. He met a former Marine there (who is also an elder of the church) and had some other conversations and meetings that day that I now know God intended him to have. He texted me this later, "I have to admit that the connections were not just random...My belief is still the same (him speaking of not believing in God), but if I'm being honest I have been thinking about the sheer chance of all of these things coming together in that one little room the way they did, all day. And I felt good there, I was happy. Just the way I felt at Open Door." That began the journey of us going to Loveland Bible Church, a journey that God has blessed. It took many months, but Connor came to know God and has come to see and know Jesus Christ as his Savior. He is a man ON FIRE for God. It is such an incredible thing for me to witness. He truly feels God's call to him is to make a difference and be a witness in the lives of the young enlisted Marines that so very much so need God and godly counsel. We are also now married. :) We were in CO together until last fall. I am still in Colorado and Connor is on temporary training duty in Virginia. We are hoping that I will be able to move to be with him soon. Between the Marine Corps and the unfortunate times our nation is seeing with COVID-19, we don't know when that will be. However, I continually ask God to guide us and to help us bear the burden of our separation. He has been so good to us, and I know He will continue to keep us in His loving arms. 

I wanted to share all this with so that you would know what a difference you and the congregation at Open Door made. You were/are a true light for Christ. His love, His radiance, and His truth show through you and others at that church. It drew me back to God and started Connor down his path to salvation. I would be happy for you to share this with any others that remember us. Thank you so much for all you do. 

Love in Christ, 

Brittany

Seeing As God Sees

Reminded this past weekend, once again, of what the family of God looks like. Edwina has been a part of Open Door for a lot of years. In the past four months, she and her husband Lester joined the church, Lester was baptized, and he shipped off to Army boot camp--leaving Memphis right after the burial of his father. As Edwina traveled to Ft. Leonard Wood, MO, to bring him home for Christmas, she received word that her father had died. Last Friday, Lester successfully completed Basic Training. That night, Edwina stopped by our Couples Fellowship. She was on her way to Regional One to deliver Lester IV. In each of these events, people from Open Door were deeply involved. Sacrificially giving of their time and resources to meet needs. I am thankful for our family of faith!

BROADENING HORIZONS

Wedding receptions are a curious thing. They are attempts to bring together in celebration those people who are near and dear to the bride and groom. It can seem a curious mix. Some attendees only know either the bride or the groom, so we separate them in the chapel with his friends on one side and hers on the other. As if it were the marriage of Mr. Hatfield to Miss McCoy. The reception can offer glimpses into what the new family recently minted during the ceremony might look like. Had a similar experience recently in Orlando. Two great loves of my life involve the ministry of Open Door Bible Church and that of a mission organization called Pioneers. I had the privilege of inviting friends from the church I’ve pastored for 38 years to meet friends of the mission organization that I’ve been a part of for 33 years (if I can include the 23 years on the boards of Arab World Ministries before the merger). No question that the one group would bond with the other in mutual admiration and commitment to the same goals. Pioneers captures their passion in the tagline: “The relentless pursuit of the unreached.” Open Door has always had that same heart for the world. And it was a powerful couple of days! New friendships formed. New opportunities to explore working together for kingdom glory. I’m excited to see what the Lord has in store in the coming days.