Grady D King

Yesterday, I met with John, my new best friend. He is one of those healthy, in shape, committed to exercise, stewardship of the body brothers in Christ. I shared with the elders and some other brothers that one of my goals at this double nickle age is to be healthier in body.

John did the assessment by taking my history, listening to my struggles and doing a lot of writing and nodding.  His questions got more specific and I did my best to answer candidly.

What are my goals? How do I see myself in three months?  What will motivate me?

Today, I walked hard for  30 minutes and am already making good choices.

It’s a start!

It’s time!

The Rock Church, Cranfills Gap, TX

I like to visit old places of worship.

Yesterday on my way home after a few days with friends in San Antonio and Fredericksburg I stopped at the “ROCK CHURCH” (St Olaf Lutheran Church, Cranfills Gap, TX). I had been there before to officiate at a graveside of a friend’s father. The cemetery is about 100 feet from the front doors of the 18876 structure.  But someone gave funds to restore and preserve the building. It was built by Norwegian immigrants who settled this area in the late 1800’s.

I arrived just before the sun set and could see the white stone structure with steeple and bell tower a mile away. The wooden floors creaked with faith and years of hope of days gone by.  It was simple church to the max.  I sat in the pew and imagined a full house and the sounds of fellowship, worship and life in this area in the late 19th and early 20th century.

I walked to the front, knelt down at the kneeling rail and thanked God for the generations of faith that called this place home.  Most all of them are buried in the cemetery next to the church.

I opened a hymnal greeted by these words, “Alas and did my savior bleed and did my sovereign die. Would he devote such sacred life for such a worm as I.” Luther would have been proud even though “worm” theology has taken it’s toll on us. I sang a few bars, humbled by the reality that a sovereign Lord died so that WE can live.

It was a serene and soul refreshing visit to an old church with lots of history. I drove away slowly as the setting sun turned the sky red-orange and the stillness  of the place called me back to why I am a minister of Jesus Christ.

Tim Woodroof has written a much needed and provocative book–”The Holy Spirit for the Rest of Us.”  I have known Tim personally for over 30 years.  He is a faithful student of God’s Word, passionate about following Jesus and helping believers and unbelievers grapple with faith and truth.  Somewhere between no experience of the Holy Spirit and extremist experiences that the majority of Christians do no have is the ‘Spirit for the rest of us’.  And it is indispensable to life in the Jesus way.  Tim has lots of resources for this series that will help any believer, minister or seeker.  Go to: timwoodroof.com

After 33 years of full time congregational ministry in five churches here is some candid truth about ministers.

1.  We are just as insecure as any other believer in Christ.

2.  We struggle with cynicism.

3.  We take way too much credit for what goes wrong and what goes right.

4.  We do not preach for money or we would do something else.

5.  We know we can’t fix the church but try anyway.

6.  We simply do not like some people who just wear us out with the same logic and demands.

7.  We do like power, but not for power’s sake, rather, as influence for making a difference.

8.  We fear failure and feel it more than we want to admit.

9. We preach better than we live–our worst sermons are better than we live.

10. We know that some people sleep during our preaching and tell ourselves that it’s not about us.

The biggest truth is that God still uses us and this life of being a minister is an act of grace.

Thank God!!!

Maybe you can add to the list…go ahead.

After nearly 15 years of serving as Senior Minister in one church it’s time to let go. Almost one-half of my ministry life has been spent with the So Mac church, Irving, TX.  Although I have chosen to leave (not fired or forced out), it is not easy.

Ministry is not just a job, it is a life. This is the church where, for the most part we have raised our children, developed meaningful relationships and lived in the same house.  I went into the attic last week and began looking at all the boxes.  I tease my wife that if Jesus came to the world through our attic, he would never reach the rest of the world.  The attic is filled with memories (boxes of girl and boy toys, pictures, stuffed animals, etc.)  For every box, there are memories, holidays, events, people and places.

Ministry is not just a job, it’s a life. As in all churches, there have been times of laughter, victory, tears and joy. There has also been hurt and pain, and some great pain–usually about people, brokenness, and irreconcilable differences.  Most of it has little to do with doctrine, but personality, and in many cases, pride and immaturity. It shows as power, blame, shame and of course, anger. Guarding one’s heart is full time spiritual work (Prov 4.23).

Ministry is not just a job, it’s a life. Teaching, praying, encouraging, rebuking and being rebuked in the midst of my own weaknesses and blind spots is humbling to say the least.  It is all consuming. The mind is seldom at rest, but the minister’s heart is still most important.  When I came to this church I promised two things, honesty and weakness. Honesty about my own life, honesty in teaching–if I don’t know, I’ll say. If I don’t get it, I’ll say it. If I am not living it, I’ll admit it.  And weakness, well, that’s self-evident. My competence as a minister is not a matter of intelligence, good education or talent. My competence is from God, his grace, mercy and the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 3.5). As one sweet, respected sister in Christ told me after a few years in this church, “You promised honesty and weakness, and you have certainly lived up to it on both counts.” She was not kidding, but neither was she mean spirited.

Ministry is not just a job, it’s a life. There is a certain triumphalism that goes with ministry expectations, particularly the “foolishness of preaching.” Here’s what I mean. Too many ministers and churches measure everything by the  BIP & CIP factor. That is, “Bottoms in Pews” and “Cash in Plate.”  It seems to be the bottom line no matter what.  If more people sit in the pews and contribution increases, the minister and the church is doing great. If not, someone is to blame and the church is failing.  When it come to this, preachers accept way too much responsibility for what goes wrong and what goes right.  Being human–even with the Spirit of God in us is complex. Couple this with all the discontinuous cultural change, hundreds of years of church conditioning and the result is less than triumphant.  The church, however, still belongs to God in spite of human choices, expectations and immaturity.

Enough for now.  Ministry is not just a job, it’s a life. It is the life I have chosen. And after nearly 35 years, it has chosen me. I trust the love of Christ compels me more and more. I still believe in the Good News of Jesus Christ and am grateful for the body of Christ, warts and all.  I am one blessed person in the body of Christ.  Letting go of this church is not easy, but it does belong to God, not me.

Sunday’s coming. Job or life?

I am fortunate to have some good friends who speak truth to my heart.  They speak truth when I am seeking direction, feeling anxious, needing perspective or simply just need a spiritual “kick in the pants.”  You know exactly what I mean, don’t you?  There are three or four questions that always provide the kick I need.

• As someone who trusts God, reads God’s Word and follows Jesus, who and whose are you?
• What are you really passionate about?
• What really matters?
• What about ten years from now?

Ouch. Ten years from now, will it matter? The capacity to think and act strategically demands the ten years from now perspective. The question keeps all the wallowing in the present with likes and dislikes in perspective

Paul, Peter, John, James all deal with the “kick in the pants” questions in some form. Each of them were involved in and writing to communities of faith–real people who needed to think and act beyond themselves and for the sake of others.  Each of them had their “last words” to believers about spiritual identity, how to think and act in light of God, the Gospel, the Spirit in them, and most importantly, God’s mission of redemption of all things and THE END. In other words, it was the ten years and beyond stuff.

At this time in our congregation’s history, we are compelled to think and act with the ten years from now perspective.  Strategic thinking goes beyond our feelings. It takes faith and courage. It is hard work. It involves change.  But with God’s people, change and adventure is the norm. Or is it?  Ten years from now will tell.  It’s bigger than you and me. It’s more important than now.   Hold to Christ. Be flexible. Serve others.

P.S.  I am in transition from So Mac Church of Christ, Irving, TX to Mansfield, TX.  Last Sunday is August 15.

I am in transition from the So MacArthur Church of Christ to the Mansfield Church of Christ.  After 14 and one-half years with a great group of God’s people I am in ministry transition.  No, I am not mad at anyone. I wasn’t “let go” (fired).  I am not bitter.  It’s simply a transition time in my life. So Mac is a compassionate, service centered, mission hearted church in a global community. It’s time for new birth and my transition will clear the way for seeing a new future.  The church belongs to God and the Holy Spirit is in the people of God at So Mac.

My last Sunday is August 15.  Right now, I am doing the leaving and cleaving work or as I like to call it–the sad, mad and glad work of separation.   Here’s what I mean.  Healthy ministry is about relationships–of carrying people through life as God’s servant; of marrying people in the name of Christ and burying people, some in Christ, some not. Ministry involves one’s own fears and tears and after nearly 15 years in one church my mind is flooded with so much carrying, marrying and burying. So it stands to reason that there are those who are sad I am leaving.  For others,  their sadness involves some hurt, sense of abandonment and being mad. It’s part of the process.  And for others, they are polite, even detached and frankly glad I am leaving.  They are not mean people or dare I say, “unchristian,” they are merely ready for a change. As one person told me, “It’s not that I don’t like you, it’s just time for a change.”

What I do know is that God is God and I am not. This is a great line by a priest in the movie Rudy.  I also know that life is short, so many things just don’t matter and nostalgia will not sustain Christian faith.  Neither will nostalgia sustain the church.  Ps 137 is about God’s people in a strange land yearning for the good ole’ days. They were singing and weeping but when the song is over they have to be God’s people.  I am there. We are there.  God is present.

Things change. People change. Life is change. As human beings we are always in transition.  I am amazed at how much us church folk hasten to days gone by as if no change was involved during those days.  Granted, the speed of change in our world in every way is exponentially greater than ever before. The pace of change tends to make us want to hibernate wringing our hands in fear of the future.  It is exhausting. This posture and constant rhetoric has no power whatsoever to make a difference. It robs us of seeing God at work in the present.  To forsake the ability to change diminishes our capacity for hope.

I have been reading Kathleen Norris as of late. She is a pulitzer prize winner. In her book, “DAKOTA: A SPIRITUAL GEOGRAPHY” about life on the plains she describes small town struggles concerning CHANGE.  Her reflections on a conversation with a friend says it all.

“We don’t need change.  What we need, as my friend suggested, is to turn back the clock to the way things were twenty years ago, when the town was booming and the world made sense. There was nothing that couldn’t be judged by the values we all shared. But she may find, as Gatsby did, that disconnecting from change does not recapture the past. It loses the future.”

I can identify. God is not threatened. He knows about change and how to lead his people.

Lord, help us change the conversation about change.

Flew to Pepperdine University yesterday for annual Bible lectures.  I was running a bit late.  I did the self-service swipe the credit card to check in routine.  Too late to check bags…it gave me a flight two hours later.  No way. If I obeyed technology I would not have got on the plane.  I simply asked if I could carry on baggage ( of course, it was the right size) and still make the flight.  The nice desk person said, “Let’s see–handed me a boarding pass and I headed out.”

When I got on the plane–I saw lots of people I knew headed to Pepperdine as well.  Some of them I had not talked to in a while, but we picked up as if we talked the day before.  With the hurry and scurry of getting on the plane, when I saw and conversed with friends I relaxed.

There is something to be said about face-face conversation in a world of emails and high tech communication.

Traveling with friends makes a difference.

Well, I have been off this blog since our trip to Africa. I came home with hard drive problems and all passwords on accounts lost.  But as one who knows what it is to fall off a horse…I am back in the saddle again.

• Zambia was a challenging, rewarding trip.  Once again, we were reminded of just how much material stuff dominates our life in good ole’ USA. Every culture has its challenges. No such thing as being cultureless. Good to know the gospel is embodied and transcends culture in many ways.
• I am reading lots of things right now.
  • Dakota: A Spiritual Geography by Kathleen Norris is delightful, engaging, humorous and essential for anyone who has grown up in small town America–the good, bad and ugly.  Norris speaks of “finding her soul again” after years in NYC.  It is a great read,
  • STUCK: Navigating the TRANSITIONS OF LIFE & LEADERSHIP by Terry B. Walling. Walling has simplied the extensive work of J Robert Clinton.  It is practical, sensible and theological.
  • A Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln kept his rivals close by appointing many of them to his cabinet.  Wow! I am just beginning it but it is intriguing and very interesting strategy in light of our current political positioning, loss of civility and ethical crisis in our country.

Of course, the gospel of Luke is my present study and preaching. That’s it for now.