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Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Sorry, Bro. I CAN’T Help You.

“Don’t put your pastor on a pedestal.”

“Worship God, not the preacher.”

“Remember, he’s just a man, just like you.”

We repeat the above clichés to remind people that clergy have limits, to warn admirers not to GIVE too much to the preacher.   That’s a danger, a real possibility that I’m sure happens in some congregations.

But most of the preachers in my circle of friends do not have to worry about their congregations forgetting their limits and GIVING too much.  Most of us have to worry about people forgetting our limits and EXPECTING TOO MUCH.

Acts chapter 2 records the great Day of Pentecost, when the disciples of Jesus, led by Peter and the rest of the Twelve Apostles (clergy) had launched a Holy Spirit empowered revival in Jerusalem.  Peter had preached a powerful, multi-lingual (Acts 2: 5-14+) sermon that brought 3,000 new members into the New Testament church (Acts 2: 41).  The new church then launched a campaign of giving that brought in huge donations to support new community ministries to the poor (Acts 2: 44, 45).

So it’s no wonder that in the very next chapter, a brother on disability stopped by the church to ask Bishop Peter and Apostle John to give him “a little something just to help me out for a little while.”

Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. (Acts 3: 1-3)

Everyone in Jerusalem had heard about the phenomenal growth of their church.  When you have great worship, and great fellowship, and new people joining every day then word gets around. 

So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2: 46, 47)

So here was this disabled brother already waiting in Peter’s and John’s office when they arrived to prepare for worship----- and he assumed, he EXPECTED these two preachers to have some money. 

Cause: “If your church is growing then you must be getting PAID.”

Cause: “Preachers make all the money.”

Cause: “If ya’ll can help all those folks, you must have some money to help me.”

Cause: “You’re the pastor, ain’t you?  Then you decide what they do with the money.”

But wait.  Remember where we started.

Pastor is just a man (or woman) ----- like you.  A human with utilities, a lease, bills, debts, and a credit score that may be way lower than you suspect.

An anointed man or woman of God draws from a bottomless well of Holy Spirit power, but not from a bottomless, self-refilling bank account.

Most preachers receive a salary, that is not keyed in proportion to the wealth of the church.

And, a deeply ministry minded church may give away quite nearly as much as it takes in.

Plus there’s the fact that most churches have their own institutional utilities, lease, bills, debts, and (yes) credit score.

And though far too many preachers are stingy and selfish.  A negative response to your request does not necessarily mean that the preacher is being stingy or selfish.

Sometimes it just means that the preacher is BROKE.

And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.”  So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 
Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have...”  Acts 3: 3-6)

Peter said, “Sorry, bro.  I ain’t got it.”

Because he didn’t.

No preacher should be treated like he/she is entitled to everything from you. 

And no preacher should be treated like you’re entitled to everything from him/ her.

Sometimes a preacher doesn’t give material help because the preacher just CAN’T.

But.

But the truly anointed men/ women of God should not be judged solely on their capacity to provide immediate material assistance. 
The truly Holy Spirit called preacher operates in a realm of spiritual power and authority that can reach deeper than your overdue power bill and get to the root reason why you keep getting behind on your bills.
Truly called clergy are not gods, but we do work for God.  And our Boss  has authorized us to effect change in a willing heart---- change that won’t necessarily have a job waiting for you in the morning but can open the door for deliverance from the addictions, anger, and foolish decision making that got you fired from the last 3 jobs.

But, of course, that’s not what you expected when you stopped by to ask for help.

Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. (Acts 3: 6, 7)

When God calls a man or woman to be a shepherd of God’s people, the Lord already knows both the limits of the shepherd and the needs of the flock.

God knew that Peter and John would be broke on that Sabbath afternoon even though their church was experiencing exponential growth.   But God also knew that what the disabled beggar needed most wasn’t a donation. He most needed deliverance. 

The man stood on his own legs for the first time in his life.  He walked.  He leapt.  He launched into a freestyle praise dance.  He became a living testimony of God power, God’s grace, God’s provision. (Acts 3: 8-10)

But he was still broke.

The answer may be, “Sorry, bro.  I ain’t got it,” but that should only be the beginning of the answer.  And if it isn’t, keep asking. 

Ask, “Well, what did Jesus give you to give me today?”

Receive that.  It might be even better than what you asked for.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church (5220 Myron Massey Boulevard) in Fairfield, Alabama;  executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO);  and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com

You can help support this ministry with a donation to Miles Chapel CME Church.

Support by check or money order may be mailed to 
Miles Chapel CME Church
P O Box 132
Fairfield, Al 35064

Sunday, July 27, 2014

HANDICAPPED PARKING

My wife Sheila will not park in a handicapped spot.  She won’t sit in a wheelchair, nor will she lean on someone else’s crutches or cane.  She has this semi-superstition that if she acts like she needs the help then God will make it so she really needs it.

Other people don’t share Sheila’s apprehension----like the driver in the picture above.  I think that if you asked the driver why he took the handicapped spaces, he’d say what an associate once told me when I asked why his able-bodied tail parked in handicapped spaces. 

He said, “It’s a good spot, and I’m in a hurry.”

And that’s why King David of the Old Testament parked in a handicapped spot.

Let me explain.

In 1 Samuel chapter 21, David was a fugitive from his jealous and homicidal king.  David had loyally served King Saul, protected Saul’s kingdom as an elite soldier, ministered to Saul’s distressed spirit as a musical therapist in his court, saved the king from assassination on at least 2 occasions, befriended Saul’s son, and --- by Saul’s own arrangement--- married Saul’s daughter.  Still King Saul wanted David dead, so David had to leave town.  In fact, David had to leave the country.

Then David arose and fled that day from before Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. (1 Samuel 21: 10)

Gath was Goliath’s hometown. You know--- Goliath, the giant, champion of Philistia, blasphemer of God; David hit him in the head with a rock and cut off his head.  That Goliath.  That Gath. (1 Samuel 17)

You wouldn’t think that David would find a safe place in Gath, having decapitated their local celebrity and all.   But Saul was closing in and David was in a hurry to find sanctuary.  So, David found a spot for the handicapped.

So he changed his behavior before them, pretended madness in their hands, scratched on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva fall down on his beard. (1 Samuel 21: 13)

David feigned mental illness.  He pretended to have a cognitive disability. 

He played crazy.

And they let him stay parked in Gath.

Then Achish [king of Gath]  said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me?  Have I need of madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?” (1 Samuel 21: 14, 15)

Instead of bringing David into his house (in chains), Achish told his people to leave ole’ crazy David alone.

Cause ancient peoples (pagan and Jew) kept reserved space for the mentally ill.

Long before researchers began to understand the true nature of mental illness, God understood.   Long before advocates began to call on societies to stop mistreating those who used to be called handicapped, God had already codified special protection for them in His Word.

You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:14)

Cursed be anyone who misleads a blind man on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen. (Deuteronomy 27: 18)

Supposedly religious people (including supposed Christians) have in various times and settings horribly mistreated the disabled, and done so in the name of God.  But God Himself---- God has always been in favor of towing the non-disabled guy double-parked in the handicapped spaces.

David wasn't really disabled, so he didn’t stay parked in Gath very long.  1 Samuel chapter 22 says that David moved to a non-handicapped space in Adullam.  It wasn’t as close a space.  In fact it was way out in a cave.   (1 Samuel 22: 1)

David, a student of God's Word, understood that YOU AIN’T SUPPOSED TO PARK IN HANDICAPPED SPACES.

God wants and expects us to set aside space in our land and our resources for those with special needs, i.e., the especially needy. 

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 
 And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19: 9, 10)

As Jesus said in Luke 14: 13, 14,
“When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.
And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

In His Word, God is up front that when we set aside those resources, someone will exploit the system.  Somebody who isn’t disabled will park in front of the wheelchair sign.  Somebody who could have a job will choose to draw unemployment.  People will park in the fire lane when nobody’s even on fire.

It's gonna happen.  

Set aside the space anyway.

David’s playing crazy did not invalidate God’s Word in Leviticus and Deuteronomy.  And, none of the very real abuses of charitable systems invalidate our obligation to care for those who are especially needy.

Just cause some jerk double-parks in the handicapped spot doesn’t mean you take down the signs.

But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?  (1 John 3: 17)

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church (5220 Myron Massey Boulevard) in Fairfield, Alabama;  executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO);  and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com

You can help support this ministry with a donation to Miles Chapel CME Church.

Support by check or money order may be mailed to 
Miles Chapel CME Church
P O Box 132
Fairfield, Al 35064

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Audio of Eulogy for Isabell Seawright: OUR WISDOM

The eulogy for Mother Isabell Seawright, preached at Hall Memorial CME Church. 

The message is called: OUR WISDOM


Listen well.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II was Sister Seawright's pastor at Hall Memorial CME Church.  He is now pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield, Alabama;  executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO);  and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Subscribe to my personal blog  www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com .

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com

You can help support this ministry with a donation to Miles Chapel CME Church.

You can help support Rev. Graves’ work by visiting his personal blog and clicking the DONATE button on the right-hand sidebar.

Support by check or money order may be mailed to 
Miles Chapel CME Church
P O Box 132

Fairfield, Al 35064

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

I HOPE THEY LAUGH WHEN I DIE

There’s an old Southern tradition of “sitting with the family” when someone dies. (It might not be strictly Southern, but it seems Southern-ish.)  This means that when a member of my congregation dies, it is my duty as pastor to visit the home of the deceased and make myself available to talk, to listen, to counsel-advise, and otherwise shepherd the family through the grieving process.

That’s what I’ve been doing the last few days since Isabell Seawright, the oldest member of Hall Memorial CME Church, passed away.  The people who gathered in the family house had lost their mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, auntie, mother-in-law, best friend, neighbor, mentor, and matriarch.  We were a house full of people in mourning. 

And we spent most of the time LAUGHING.

Now this wasn’t the forced, nervous laughter of people pretending that their hearts aren’t broken.  Nor was it the bitter laughter of people diverting attention from their guilt by ridiculing others and revealing their hurtful secrets.

The laughter at Mother Seawright’s house was pure, peaceful, genuine, and virtually continuous.

Mother died, and we laughed.

It was beautiful.

It was the sound a pastor prays for (or should pray for), because it was the sound of a family whose individual and collective memories of 92 ½ years were full of joy.

The laughter was the sound of peace--the kind of peace that people have when they are absolutely certain that if there is a Heaven, Mama’s there; and if there isn’t a Heaven, God will make one just for her.

The laughter was the sound of a family diverse as any other, but united in their love for this one woman.  It was the sound of 4 generations who each and all honored their matriarch and had received her smiling blessing in turn.

The laughter was the sound of the legacy of a loving life so well lived that not even death could diminish her spiritual presence.

I want to live that well. I want to raise up a family--- a tribe--- like Mother Seawright did.  And when I pass on, I want to leave them with unreserved joy.  I want them to gather without drama even when I’m not there to preside and mediate.  I want to leave my family, my church, and my community such a well-lived life that compliments, flowers, and resolutions are insufficient.  I want to pass on the kind of peace and hopefulness that cannot be contained in silence or corralled in words and so must manifest as only the greatest joys can---- in laughter.

I’ve always looked up to Mother Seawright, but I admire her more now than I ever did.

She gave me one more goal:  to make my family laugh when I die.

Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.  (Luke 6: 21)


---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield, Alabama;  executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO);  and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com

You can help support this ministry with a donation to Miles Chapel CME Church.

Support by check or money order may be mailed to 
Miles Chapel CME Church
P O Box 132

Fairfield, Al 35064

Sunday, July 20, 2014

BLANK-AND-MISDIRECT

Good classroom teachers develop an armory of looks. 

There’s the child-if-you-don’t-sit-your-butt-down-right-now look, the no-before-you-even-ask-NOOOOO look, the I-dare-you-I-double-dog-dare-you-to mess-with-her-one-mo’-time look, and of course the forget-about-them-you-can-do-this-I-got-your-back look.

But my favorite look is the blank-and-misdirect.

The Look
Ask a kid a question they're unsure of or  feel vulnerable (because they have to take a public stand on some topic) and the kid will look at the teacher for clue. The student will watch your facial expression and body language, trying to figure out which answer you WANT to hear.

So when I asked those question I’d immediately blank my facial expression and adopt neutral body language.  No clues. No cues.  BLANK.  When the student started answering, whether the answer was right or wrong, I’d twist my face to look like they were uttering the most ridiculous thing in the history of uttering. MISDIRECT

And if I felt really mischievous, I’d phrase the question to make it seem like the wrong answer was the right answer.

I’d ask something like, “Moses and Aaron were brothers, but only one of them came back to save his people from slavery.  Aaron was the oldest, so it wasn’t Moses, was it?”

Oh, yeah.  I still use blank-and-misdirect when I teach adult Bible study.

I didn’t develop the blank-and-misdirect look to torture my students (that was an unexpected bonus).  I want my students to KNOW their stuff, not just know my face.  I want them to study themselves into confidence, to KNOW the right answer for themselves no matter how people look at them.

And that’s what God wants for us.  Which is why some of the greatest leaders of the Bible also used the blank-and-misdirect.

Joshua’s Blank-and-Misdirect
Joshua, protégé of Moses and general of the Israelite armies that took possession of the Promised Land, gathered the leadership of Israel and offered what seemed like a blankly neutral choice.

If it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. (Joshua 24: 15)

When the people answered the way they figured Joshua wanted them to answer, Joshua misdirected.

They said, “We also will serve the Lord, for He is our God.”
But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the Lord, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.” (Joshua 24: 18-20)

Despite Joshua’s blank-and-misdirect, the people stood by their answer. 
So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord for yourselves, to serve Him.”
And they said, “We are witnesses!” (Joshua 24: 22)

Jesus’ Classroom Review
In Matthew chapter 13, after a long day of teaching and preaching a series of parables, Jesus pulled His disciples aside for a review and asked, Have you understood all these things?” (Matthew 13: 51)
            The disciples immediately auto-replied, “Yes, Lord.”

And I think that Jesus’ expression at that point said, “Yeah, right.  Of course you don’t,” because Jesus didn’t just accept their answer. 

Good teachers know that “We understand” may really mean, “We don’t want you to ask us anymore questions.”

The Lord pushed His disciples to demonstrate mastery of the concepts He’d taught. 
He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.” (Matthew 13: 52)

When you, the scribe/ scholar/ student,  understand what God is saying out of His Word, when you really get it then you’ll have some evidence.  You’ll be able to show your work as treasure:  new treasure and old treasure.

Your new treasure will be revelation and applications for your specific life in this particular moment.  Like when you read the Sabbath laws in Leviticus and you realize how to reorder your financial practices to achieve prosperity without working yourself to death, compromising your integrity, or waiting to hit the spiritual lottery.

The old treasure is a deeper reassurance of God’s Word.  You read 1 Thessalonians and come away knowing that Hell is as real as Heaven.  You don’t like that old truth, but you receive it because you really studied.  You didn’t just look around at your teacher or your peers and repeat what you think their faces say they want to hear.

Joshua wanted for his people what I want for my student, which is what Jesus wants for all of us who call ourselves His disciples.

We want you to KNOW the truth in the Bible. We want you to know FOR YOURSELF that the Bible is true for always and true for right now.  We want you to stand on that Truth and for that Truth no matter how many blank stares you get.  We want you to stand on that Truth no matter what forces try to misdirect you into compromise or quasi-intellectual rejection of God’s Word.

Because when you can stand for God’s Truth against the blank-and-misdirect, then you will discover the treasures of the kingdom of heaven.

Therefore prepare yourself and arise,
And speak to them all that I command you.
Do not be dismayed before their faces,
Lest I dismay you before them.  (Jeremiah 1: 17)

And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, though they are a rebellious house.  You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious. (Eekiel 2: 6-7)

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield, Alabama;  executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO);  and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com

You can help support this ministry with a donation to Miles Chapel CME Church.

Support by check or money order may be mailed to 
Miles Chapel CME Church
P O Box 132
Fairfield, Al 35064

DO YOU GET IT?

In other words, Jesus wanted to know, “Do you get it?”

The Lord is asking that question of all of us still today.  What is “it”?  And how do you get “it”?

Find out in this message.  Find out: DO YOU GET IT?


Listen well.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield, Alabama;  executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO);  and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Subscribe to my personal blog  www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com .

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com

You can help support this ministry with a donation to Miles Chapel CME Church.

You can help support Rev. Graves’ work by visiting his personal blog and clicking the DONATE button on the right-hand sidebar.

Support by check or money order may be mailed to 
Miles Chapel CME Church
P O Box 132
Fairfield, Al 35064


Wednesday, July 16, 2014

When the Bad Dreams Come

Last night, Sheila had a nightmare.  In her sleep she cried out, “Help me! Help me!”  And then she called for me by name.

I was in bed, too, but I was awake.  When she called my name, I immediately wrapped my arms around her and whispered, “It’s alright, baby.  I’m here.”  She relaxed, cradled my arm in hers, and slept on--- at peace.

I was happy that I could make it all right for my wife, but after thinking a bit I realized: I hadn’t stepped into her dream and altered the events of the nightmare.  So what had I done to give my bride unconscious peace in the midst of her bad dream? 

I'd done what God does.

The church is Jesus’ bride (Matthew 25; Revelations 21), and in the darkness of this world we are beset by subconscious fears:

Are we still important?
Are we still relevant?
Are we still right?

Without thinking we cry out, “Help us!  Help us, Lord!  Help us!  Help us, Husband!”

Jesus is awake.

Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.  (Psalm 121: 4)

Jesus is right there beside us, when we cry out.

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. (Psalm 145: 18)

Jesus hears and answers.

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ …(Isaiah 58: 9)

We wish that our Groom would step into the dream and cast all the nightmares away.  That’s why we pray for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done on this dark Earth as it is already done under the light of Heaven.  We wish the Lord would just make all the bad dreams go away.  And sometimes He does.   God heals disease.  He provides resources.  He answers questions.  He casts out demons and fixes real life problems.

But a lot of the time He doesn't.

Instead He wraps His arms around us.  He holds us tight by His Holy Spirit, and He sweetly whispers in His still small voice, “It’s alright, Baby.  I’m here.”

Through scripture, through the many small miracles we see and soon forget, through the revelatory touch of the Holy Spirit, God gives us peace that passes the understanding of our half-conscious Earthly minds.

He reminds us that the darkness can’t hurt us because He is awake and He has already overcome the darkness.

All we have to do is accept the comfort of the reality of His presence.

All we have to do is soften into His embrace, and let God be God to us.  Even in the darkness where we fear for our status, our relevance, and our theology--- let Jesus be Lord.  Let Him be our peace.

Because that’s what Husbands do.

And that, as it turns out, is how you make the bad go away.

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He also will hear their cry and save them.
The Lord preserves all who love Him,
But all the wicked He will destroy.
My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord,
And all flesh shall bless His holy name
Forever and ever. (Psalm 145: 18-20)

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield, Alabama;  executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO);  and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com

You can help support this ministry with a donation to Miles Chapel CME Church.

Support by check or money order may be mailed to 
Miles Chapel CME Church
5220 Myron Massey Boulevard

 Fairfield, AL 35064

Sunday, July 13, 2014

BIRTHRIGHTS, BLESSINGS, & BURDENS

What does it mean when someone says, “I’m trying to ‘find myself’ “?  Sometimes we treat the statement as a joke, a clichéd cover for irresponsibility. But, “finding yourself” is a deep and important task for every individual and every church.  But still, what does it mean to find yourself?

These were the questions God placed on my heart on my first Sunday as pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield, Alabama.  The answers are important for all of us, wherever we worship. 

The message is called: BIRTHRIGHTS, BLESSINGS, & BURDENS.


Listen well.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield, Alabama;  executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO);  and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Subscribe to my personal blog  www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com .

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com

You can help support this ministry with a donation to Miles Chapel CME Church.

You can help support Rev. Graves’ work by visiting his personal blog and clicking the DONATE button on the right-hand sidebar.

Support by check or money order may be mailed to 
Miles Chapel CME Church
5220 Myron Massey Boulevard

Fairfield, AL 35064

Saturday, July 12, 2014

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL


I am no longer the pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama.

Hall Memorial is the first church Sheila and I joined as a family.  Pastor Freddie Carger baptized both of our children and me.  Hall Memorial is where Sheila and I went from new Christians to mature/ maturing Christians.  It’s where I first publicly accepted my call to preach.  But I’m not the pastor there anymore. 

My bishop unexpectedly transferred me to pastor Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield, Alabama.  The transfer took place according to church law and the Methodist-Wesleyan tradition with all of the appropriates forms, certificates, and protocols.  It was nothing unusual for the church.  For the church.

But for me and my family it was like….. it was like…. it was like that movie, “The Day the Earth Stood Still.”

“The Day the Earth Stood Still” was a 2008 remake of a 1951 sci-fi movie about an alien spacecraft landing on Earth.  There were a lot of special effects and dramatic moments in the movie, but the thing is---- the Earth never actually stood still.

In the movie, everyone’s attention was drawn to the spacecraft and all the immediate activity that swirled around it, so for them it SEEMED LIKE nothing else was happening. 

They were wrong. 

Children still played.  People still went to work.  Babies were born.  Funerals were held.  Life went on.

In Joshua chapter 10, the Bible records a day when the Earth stood still.   

Joshua was leading the people of Israel in battle against the Amorites, and the Israelites were winning.  But around noon, Joshua--- tactical genius that he was---- realized that a conclusive victory would take more hours than they had left in the day.    Joshua also realized that if he won the battle without totally finishing off the Amorites before sunset, they would regroup and pose a continuing threat to Israelite national interests.

What Joshua needed was more time, so he gave the most audacious order in the history of audacious military orders. 

He said in the sight of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon; and Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.” (Joshua 10: 12)

And the sun stopped.  The sun and the moon stopped tracking across the sky until Israel had totally eliminated the Amorite threat.

Some read that and say, “Wow!” Others read that and say, “Yeaaah, right.”

See, Joshua and Jasher, the scribe who originally recorded the event ( Joshua 10:13), didn’t know that the sun and moon don’t actually move across the sky.  The Earth rotates in space and the moon orbits around our planet.  It’s the earth and our sky that move.*  So for Joshua’s order to be carried out, the Earth would have had to stand still.

There are swarms of websites that will quite scientifically and sarcastically explain how that couldn’t have happened.  If the Earth stopped rotating, our atmosphere would dissolve into space, the oceans would pour over the land, super volcanoes would erupt all over the planet, the electromagnetic shield would wink out and cosmic radiation would burn away whatever life hadn’t already smashed into the nearest mountain at 1,000 miles per hour. 

The Bible says that a miracle happened all those centuries ago on the battlefield of Gibeon and the Valley of Aijalon.  So a miracle did happen----- but the Earth didn’t actually stand still.

God created what scientists and sci-fientists call a “time dilation field.”  God wrapped the battle field in a bubble of exotic particles or special relativity or something and made time pass at one rate for Joshua and the other combatants while it passed normally for everyone else.    Scientist say this would require a massive amount of mass and or energy, but since God created mass and energy, I’m thinking He could pull it off.

To the warriors, looking up beyond that time dilation field, the sun and moon weren’t moving at all.  But for everybody else, life was going on as usual, at the same pace.   Fields were being plowed.  Weddings were being arranged.  Somebody in Canaan was giving birth.  Somebody else was performing a burial ceremony.  Life was going on.

When God spectacularly or surprisingly makes a major move in our lives it occupies so much of our attention that we feel like….. like…. like the whole Earth stands still. 

It doesn’t.   All around our crisis, or miracle, or transfer to a new pastoral post, life continues as usual.  While we are mourning, rejoicing, contemplating, second-guessing, and otherwise obsessing over this one thing;  EVERYTHING else is happening.

Someone new will take my place as pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church. He/she will love that congregation as much as I have and serve them (hopefully even better than I did). 

I will be the “new pastor” at Miles Chapel, who  love outgoing pastor, Rev. Dr. Larry Batie.  I will love them and serve them and they will emerge from their time dilation field and realize that their world has not stopped spinning either.

I am comforted by the truth: That while we have been momentarily frozen in our respective bubbles, God has been moving the universe along and positioning new opportunities, responsibilities, and blessings that we have yet to see.

I’m excited about that.  About the future, which--- as the name “future” implies—is waiting on us to unfreeze from the present and keep it moving.

I hope I’ll see you in church on Sunday at Miles Chapel CME Church, 5220 Myron Massey Boulevard, Fairfield AL 35064.    We’ll be the ones praising God and moving forward.


*I do realize that the moon, the sun, the solar system, and the galaxy are all in motion as well, rotating and revolving in their respective orbits.  So, yeah, we all technically move around each other. 


---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield, Alabama;  executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO);  and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com

You can help support this ministry with a donation to Miles Chapel CME Church.

Support by check or money order may be mailed to  
Miles Chapel CME Church
5220 Myron Massey Boulevard
 Fairfield, AL 35064


A beautiful, much more poetic blog called “Time Dilation” was written by   on Makala Doulos.  You can find it at  http://blog.ps1611.org/2014/02/time-dilation.html