A Complete Weirdness

Yesterday was weird.

For six straight hours, our local ABC affiliate, WLOX, aired flashbacks and coverage of current conditions left over from Hurricane Katrina. Most every community had multiple memorial services remembering lives lost, celebrating recovery, and honoring the countless thousands who have come and volunteered on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of America’s greatest national tragedy.

Our tragedy.

Our storm.

One year later and we are nowhere near through with the recovery. Most of the mountainous piles of debris are gone, but still the air of brokenness and uncertainty lingers.

It’s the feel of the thousands who are still awaiting relief money to pay for rebuilding houses and lives.

It’s the sense that nothing will ever quite be the same again.

I don’t think I was quite ready for the emotions this anniversary stirred.

Yesterday was weird.

Les, Jr.

Ernesto No Es Mi Amigo

 All eyes–at least those belonging to bodies living on the Gulf Coast–are looking at whatever hurricane forcasting/ weather authority is available to them.

And while it is way to early to tell where, it looks like Ernesto is headed to the northern Gulf.

Frankly it scares me.

It scares me because so many are still living in conditions that are not ideal.

It scares me because so many are still living with fragile emotions.

It scares me frankly because on the eve of Katrina’s one year anniversary, we are ill-prepared for more of the same.

If you are reading this from some location other than the Gulf Coast, please remember us in prayer–from Fla, to AL, to MS, to LA, and to TX.

Thanks and may God bless!

Les Ferguson, Jr.

Jesus Wept

Romans 12:15, Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.  (NIV)

That’s a fairly straight forward command. But as simple as it seems, it can be one of those commands hard to follow through.

Sometimes we fail to rejoice with those who are rejoicing because it’s not about us. Or maybe there is some jealousy in play. Or maybe we just can quite get our minds around the happiness factor at work in another’s life.

And then there is mourning. There are times when the grief and suffering of others is so real as to seem itself like a living thing. Depending on how close to home the impact of such grief can determine how empathetic we will be.

I’m not sure how well we do with the grief of others as a culture. Certainly some of us are more sympathetic and maybe more caring than some. But as a culture—a generality to be sure—it sometimes appears as if we are embarrassed by grief and mourning—as if we see it as a sign of weakness.

In the resurrection story of Lazarus, John 11:35 tells us that when Jesus saw the palpable grief of his friends and countrymen, he too began to weep. He had the power to make all things right and would do so in just a few short minutes. And even though he knew what was coming, the despair of others moved him to compassionate tears.

The fact of the matter is this: while we live in a world with many wonderful places of beauty, it is still a world broken by sin and dominated by death. No matter now much rejoicing we are able to do, grief is always waiting around the corner to rear its ugly head.

Our role is not be unfazed by or numb to the suffering of others, but to recognize it for what it is, validate the hurt, share the tears, and then point them to the One who can make a difference no matter what the source of pain might be.

Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (NIV)

May God help each us to become His instruments of mercy and grace!

Les, Jr.

Hurricane Preachers Club

Having a blog like this and folks who seem to check it regularly for updates can sometimes generate a little self-induced pressure. The fact of the matter is that I enjoy writing about as much as anything else I could do in this great big world (with the exception of preaching which does involve lots of writing and being a race car driver which I haven’t actually got to experience yet–but at the age of 44 I can still have little boy dreams if I want to–just ask my mother).

How quickly I digress.

However there is a constant tension with the ownership and responsibility of a place like this.

Do I make it purely theological in nature?

Should it be about current events or even the current events of my own ministry and life?

How much of my own struggles and weaknesses and foibles should I share?

In the end I think I have to make it some of all of the above.

And from that standpoint, let me tell you about last Thursday.

That was the day after the funeral of my friend, brother and elder, Carl McCaughan. As you might well imagine, I, like so many of our church family, was drained emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually. So Thursday, I hooked up with Al Sturgeon, preaching minister for the Ocean Springs Church of Christ and drove to Pascagoula where we met John Dobbs, preaching minister for the Central Church of Christ. And then we all piled into John’s van and drove to Mobile where we met Danny Dodd, preaching minister for the Gateway Church of Christ in Pensacola, FL for lunch. The meal at O’Charlie’s was good, but the fellowship of the Hurricane Preachers Club was just what I needed.

As far as time goes, Al is fairly new to this friendship. However, he has been a great mix to the lifelong friendship that has existed between Danny, John, and myself.

Even though we are all getting older, we are unfortunately, unable to forget some of the escapades we were involved in as young Bible college students. The stories about me are highly exaggerated–those about Danny and John seem to be right on the mark. After all, this is my blog so I can tell it and remember it how I want to.

Again, I digress.

We didn’t talk about much that was overly serious or theological–but we did share laughter and love and encouragement. What we experienced together was a time of refreshing. What we experienced was the spirit of Barnabas. In Acts 4, the Apostles renamed a new Jewish Christian convert Barnabas which means Son of Encouragement. We know that Barnabas became a traveling/ ministry partner of Paul, but the name given him early in his new found walk with God speaks volumes about his character–volumes about his ministry–volumes about how he interacted with others.

We need more Barnabas’ today. Unfortunately, what we seem to get more of is Sons of Thunder, a reference to James and John who wanted to call down fire from heaven on a Samaritan village.

It reminds me of the old adage, you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.

There are times when a zealous boldness is called for. But probably not as much of those times are needed as times and people of encouragement.

I pray that God give me the wisdom to know when each is needed. I pray that God take my personality and character and make it such that encouragement becomes my true nature. And I thank God for the encourager’s I have been blessed with in my life.

How would your life and ministry and disposition be best characterized? A son of encouragement or a son of thunder?

Danny, John, and Al

Questions and more…

Tonight, I am tired.

Emotionally.

Physically.

Mentally.

And yes, spiritually.

I am all of the above and then some. Hurricane Katrina has done such a number on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. And it is more than just buildings and structures and damage and insurance. It is a weariness that seems to seep through to your very soul. Whether you had much damage personally or hardly any at all, the weariness and the fatigue has a way of sapping us all.

For those of you who read this and are not a member of our church family (Orange Grove Church of Christ, Gulfport), you may be completely unaware of what we are dealing with. Our plans long before last year’s hurricane season were to accommodate our growth with the building of a new facility on a new piece of land. We sold our current building and signed an agreement to begin construction of a new–just two days before Katrina made landfall in South Mississippi.

Long story short, we spent about eight months after the storm trying to secure building permits only to see the initial building bids come back in at about 2 million more than we had originally planned to pay.

It was time to punt and so we did. We are in the middle of trying to figure out what to do and I see some real glimmers of hope building-wise on the horizon.

And then Saturday, August 5th came along. That was the day that Carl McCaughan passed away.

Carl was a friend, brother, and elder to the Orange Grove Church family. He was also a son, father, husband and brother to his physical family.

However you were related, his death brings a separation hard to swallow.

How do you get beyond the passing of a man whose heart, soul, love, and laughter was such a tremendous inspiration and encouragement?

What do you say to his wife and kids? What do you say to the church who looked to him for so much strength?

There are moments when I have nothing to offer. No words of comfort. No words of peace. Only sorrow.

But then a little clarity finds its way inside and I know. I know that just as my friend and brother Carl is safe in the arms of Jesus, so am I.

So are his family.

So are we.

Our reality is still earthbound, but we belong to the same Lord and Savior who promises life. The same Savior who has rescued Carl from the bonds of death.

Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

Carl did. Of this I am sure. And his life reflected his belief.

The following is a sonnet written by John Gillespie Magee, a pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force in the Second World War.

"Oh I Have Slipped
The Surly Bonds of Earth…
Put Out My Hand
And Touched the Face of God"

I don’t know all of the answers to the difficult days ahead, but one great day, we too will slip the surly bonds of earth and fly home to the God who made us, loved us, and redeemed us.

In the meantime, fair winds and following seas, my friend.

Les Ferguson, Jr.