Counting the Omer

How often have you said "I'm counting the days until ..."? We are in the middle of counting the days ... Today is twenty-eight days, which is four weeks of the Omer. While most Christians are totally unaware of "Counting the Omer," counting days is Biblical. We read about the requirement to count in Leviticus 23:15-16. There are fifty days from Passover to Shavuot, or fifty days from the spring harvest of barley until the summer harvest of wheat. The Jewish people count the days in anticipation. Actually, the count is not in anticipation of the wheat harvest. Although we enjoy wheat products, the count really anticipates the giving of the law at Mount Sinai. The Midrash Rabbah Parashas Emor explains that when the Children of Israel left Egypt they were told by Moses that 49 days after the exodus, they would be given the Torah. The Jews count the days in anticipation. When Moses came to Egypt he came into an unformed, dis-unified group of slaves. He worked to bring them together, leading them out of Egypt to the place where the law would be received. The people of Israel became a distinct people when they received the law at Mount Sinai. Many point to this as the birth of the nation of Israel. In Acts 1 there is a numbering of days. This is because Jesus told the disciples, "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." On the day that Jesus died, the disciples were disorganized. Fifty days later they became a distinct people with a mission through the giving of the Holy Spirit. Many point to this as the birth of the church.

Sunday School in High Definition

Last week I attended the conference "Sunday School in High Definition" at First Baptist Church, Woodstock, Georgia. The meeting was a great time of renewal and retraining. We all need that sometimes.

During the conference we looked at the three things that must happen each and every week in each Sunday School class:
Reach People for Christ
Teach the Bible
Minister to People.

We all understand the task of teaching the Bible to our class. We do this in various ways. Some groups barely scratch the surface. Other groups dive deep, extracting Greek or Hebrew words, doing tense studies and cross references. Other groups teach relationally. Lessons can be taught by lecture, discussion, or with creative methods.

One of our leaders pointed out that Teaching is only part of the class. Sunday School classes are not College Classes, but they are Great Commission communities.

We were encouraged to reach out. There are many in our world who do not know the Gospel. There are many who do not know the name of Christ. We must share the Good News. Long ago Arthur Flake thought a Sunday School was a failure if at least a third of the attendees was not lost. Sunday School is a great place to share the Gospel as we share God's Word. Sunday School is an ideal place for members to invite friends if they fully understand the purpose of Sunday School.

Sunday School is also a community where we serve on another. Care Leaders are enlisted to accomplish this in the class. contacts are made each week to every member of each Sunday School class. If needs are found, the class reaches out and ministers. The Sunday School classes pass ministry needs and prayer requests to the Pastor each week.

Sunday School classes are created with the purpose of Reaching the Lost, Teaching the Bible, and Caring for members. We need to weekly re-commit to these tasks.

Haman vrs. Mordachi

Recently we celebrated Purim. (You did, didn't you - it's in the Bible - Esther 9:26)

Have you ever thought about the difference between Haman (BOOO!) and Mordecai (YEAH!!) Haman was totally interested in self. Haman loved his seat of honor (3:1-2). He hated it when Mordecai would not bow down to him (3:5). Haman was pleased when he was honored (like the king 5:9-12). He bragged about his wealth (5:11). Haman was a Narcissist.

Mordecai cared for others. He raised his cousin Esther because her parents had died. When he heard a plot to kill the King, he shared it with the King and saved his life. He worshiped only God. He would bow down to no man. Mordecai served God. When his people were in danger, Mordecai was willing to put his own life in danger to save them. Mordecai had his priorities right.

So a thought for Purim ... Who are you more like. Is your main interest self, or do you care for God and others. Do you look out for "Number 1" or are your priorities balanced.

Jesus said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' and `Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." Mark 12:30-31

My Thanks to BACE

Last week I attended the annual meeting of The Baptist Association of Christian Educators (BACE)at Dallas Baptist University in Dallas, Texas. I look forward to going to BACE. Although I do not make it every year (cost, distance, other obligations), this meeting is something I enjoy.

BACE is the professional organization of Religious Educators. Their website says it is a global network that assists practitioners responsible for helping others grow in Christ. (http://www.baptisteducators.org/) BACE is made up of Ministers of Education (like myself); college & seminary professors; and denominational leaders. I always come back from this group with new ideas and encouragement for the work I do.

BACE gives me opportunities to connect with people whom I have known over the years. It allows conversations with friends from all over the United States. Friendship with others in my field is something I need. Many Ministers of Education seem to work as lone rangers. I have found networking with others who share the same passion as I have to be encouraging. When I have problems, I know experts who can help me solve them. When I get discouraged I have friends who are not part of my church, and who truly understand what I am facing. BACE, CENC and a SYBA group have provided great friendships and support.

Recently BACE has gone beyond a network of friends, for my daughter Chelsea felt led to follow me into the field of Christian Education. It is a joy to watch the second generation follow in your footsteps. She has an advantage as a Religious Educator. She has learned from my mistakes. She has helped me throughout her life, actually serving as a Religious Education apprentice.

My younger daughter Sarah has also had the opportunity to participate in BACE (many thanks to leaders in BACE). She has served as videographer for BACE. This is a field where I feel she has a talent (see her website www.sjsimon.com). Her passions have led her to a ministry very close to my own. She is videographer for Centrifuge (Baptist Youth camp) and recently has been writing articles for the Charlotte Examiner.com (See http://www.examiner.com/religion-and-media-in-charlotte/sarah-simon)

Last week in Dallas, TX, the Baptist Association of Christian Educators presented me the Distinguished Leadership Award. I am honored and grateful. I am grateful that God has given me over 30 years of productive ministry. God has given me a wonderful family. I also appreciate friends that I have known through the years. Thank you BACE for allowing me to be part of this organization.

Spring: Connecting with God

As I stepped out of the door of my home today I saw my daffodils are in bloom. I pulled them all up last fall - they were clumped together in big clumps - and I replanted as single bulbs. About a third of them are in bloom.

I addition there are some trees in bloom at the entrance of our neighborhood. They are pink. God is at work to bring enjoyment to our eyes.

Each season has it's beauty (there was snow on the ground two days ago). As we see the complexities, the varieties, the intricacies of the world around us, we know God is in control. He loves us.

Do we love Him? God desires us to connect with Him more than daily. God desires for us to thank Him, praise Him, and just to talk to Him about His love for us and our love for Him. He is the Creator of the universe, and He does listen - to you and to me.

Advent

Christmas is a great time of year. Christmas is the time we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. I say "we" because the whole world seems to celebrate. We sing songs about our Lord, decorate our homes (sometimes with Nativity sets), and we talk about Jesus and His birth.

"We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19) We can celebrate Christmas because Jesus first loved us. He loved us enough to He "but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant," (Philippians 2:7) being born in a stable so He could bring us the gift of Salvation. Jesus lived and taught so we could know God. He gave us the gift of eternal life through His death on the cross, taking our sins upon Himself, if we allow it. And then conquering the grave and death, proving that He gave us the gift of forgiveness and eternal life.

Advent is a season to celebrate, not the gifts we will give or receive ... but to Celebrate the Birth of Christ, with anticipation and joy. Let us share His message so others will receive the gift of life available only through the giver of life.

Thanksgiving Day

Forty years of wandering … Just as the Feast of Tabernacles symbolized a time of hardship for the Hebrew people, the Pilgrim movement was a period of hardship for a group of English Separatists. Both groups of people searched for a place where they could practice their faith without hindrance from government opposition. Opposition for the Hebrew people came in the form of slavery. The Egyptians feared rebellion from this “foreign” people. They forced them into hard labor, and refused to allow them to gather for true worship. God sent Moses to Pharaoh with this request: “The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the desert.” (Ex 5:1; 7:16) Pharaoh refused, and a struggle resulted. A struggle resulted, where God fought for His people. Following ten plagues, the nation was freed.

Following their freedom, the Hebrew people still struggled. First from lack of water (which God provided), then from lack of food (God gave Manna), and then from ignorance of their faith (God called Moses up to Mt. Sinai). Rebellion among the Hebrew people resulted in forty years of wandering in the wilderness. God used the crucible of hardship to forge a faith that would endure for centuries.

The Pilgrim movement was born out of a struggle in England. In unsettled times, The Church of England was formed to allow King Henry to divorce his wives. A battle ensued between Catholic and Reformed factions to determine the doctrines and worship of the church. The religious settlement emerged in the reign of Elizabeth I which resulted in a Church that consciously retained a large amount of continuity with the Church of the Patristic and Medieval periods. Catholic creeds, its pattern of ministry, its buildings and aspects of its liturgy (a rite prescribed for public worship). Embodying Protestant insights in its theology were all used in the overall shape of its liturgical practice. The way that this is often expressed is by saying that the Church of England is both 'Catholic and Reformed.'

Not all were pleased with this resolution. Within England there were some who desired to practice their faith in the Calvinistic tradition of the Reformation. They sought to remove some of the liturgical enslavement forced upon them in the form of Episcopal Church government and required readings from the Common Book of Prayer.

At first these men sought to practice their faith from within the church. As this met resistance, some clergy separated from the church. In 1602 one such minister, John Smyth was dismissed by the Bishop of Lincoln and moved to Gainsborough, where his group of 60 or 70 Separatists were allowed to worship secretly in Gainsborough Old Hall. The number of Separatists grew. In late 1606 a second Separatist church was founded at Scrooby Manor. Some of the men who joined this movement were John Robinson (a Cambridge professor who was forced to resign because he got married), William Brewster (worked for the government), and William Bradford.

In 1603, the Millenary Petition was presented to the new King James I by a number of Puritan ministers. King James convened the Hampton Court Conference in January 1604. Through the conference the Puritans established their strong belief in the words of the Bible, resulting in King James commissioning a translation of the Bible into the English vernacular. Following Hampton Court, King James sought to enforce ceremonial conformity and the use of the Book of Common Prayer within England.
Because of arrests in 1608, both congregations moved to Holland. While there, the Separatists struggled with the culture and language, so in 1619, they decided to immigrate again, this time to America. They obtained passage on two ships, the Mayflower and the Speedwell. Leaving from the Dutch port of Delfshaven, they met others in Southampton. The Speedwell was determined not to be seaworthy and returned. The Mayflower was blown off course and arrived at Cape Code in November, 1620. Actual landing did not take place until December.

Forty five of the 102 emigrants died the first winter. Additional deaths during the first year meant that only 53 people were alive in the fall of 1621. Friendly relations developed with the Indians who were invited to celebrate the harvest feast which modern Americans know as "The First Thanksgiving.