Flashback, Family, Faith and Fun

This has been a whirlwind month.  On February 5, my sister went home to be with Jesus after a long battle with brain cancer.  A week later, we honored Marilyn, her life, her faith, and her family.  I'm so grateful for the hope we have in Jesus Christ.  Two days after Marilyn's death, our grandson Sully was born - the first child of our second daughter and her husband.  We've been looking forward to meeting him face to face.  They live in Michigan, over 500 miles away.

This past weekend, I preached at Northside, our three regular services - Saturday night and two Sunday morning, and then Kathy and I headed for that precious little family in Michigan and frankly couldn't wait to hold that baby boy in our arms.  We arrived late - around midnight and he was already in bed.  We caught a glimpse of him, and then went to sleep.  The next morning, we met him and were thrilled to enjoy these past three days with family!  We feel blessed to know that 16 days after he was born, we were celebrating with him in person!

As I reflect on the journey, I have have four thoughts.  To get to their home, you can go the long way around the great lakes through the US - or take the shortcut and go through Canada.  For the first time on this trip, we went through Canada.  At the border, Kathy and I both turned our cell phones off not to incur any extra charges.  For three plus hours it was a flashback to the old days.  No phones, no distractions, just each other - and may I say - it was fabulous.  We talked and shared stories and memories.  I'm so grateful for that time.  I'm so grateful for my wife.

The family part for us this month has meant saying goodbye and hello.  We grieve the loss of my sister, but rejoice in knowing she is with the Lord.  We welcome Sully and can't imagine all the wonderful things God will do in and through his life.  To celebrate the birth of a firstborn with now yet another of our children was priceless.  The trip was also fun.  We bought donuts at Krispy Kreme, and coffee at Starbucks.  I took my son-in-law to class at his seminary, and we visited the church where he serves as an intern and leads the junior high ministry.

We visited our daughter's workplace at Baker Books and enjoyed meals together at favorite places throughout the stay. We even got to watch our favorite Syracuse Orange beat #9 Notre Dame as I proudly wore Syracuse gear all day.  Flashbacks.  Family.  Faith.  Fun.  It's been a month of extremes, but through it all God is faithful!  I'm so grateful.

Reflections On My Sister

Marilyn was just a few months shy of turning eight when I was born.  I grew up as the pesky little brother who was probably a pain in the neck most of the time.  Nevertheless, I knew how much she loved me, and I always looked up to her.  We grew even closer in our adult years. We shared lots of joys and sorrows.  We’ve rejoiced at the birth of our children and celebrated wonderful events in their lives together.  We’ve shared many a meal – she was an amazing cook. 

We stood together and buried our Dad.  She was 28 and I was 21.  Never did we think we would say goodbye so early to the man who was our hero.  Nevertheless, she married a man who has become a new hero to me.  Today I saw again the depth of the love of her husband, Rocky, and I can’t begin to describe how grateful I am for the care he provided for her in these years. 

In October of 2011, I got a phone call from my brother-in-law.  Marilyn had been diagnosed with a brain tumor.  Two months later we gathered in Burlington, Vermont, where she received great care and had a successful surgery considering the extent of the tumor. 

We knew from that day on her days were numbered, but we also cherished the time we had.  In his mercy God gave us just over three more years.  Though her days were challenging, she was amazingly strong to the end.  The day after Christmas her condition deteriorated.  January 2, she was admitted to the nursing home.  Today she went to be with Jesus. 

I’ve believed in Jesus as my Lord and Savior, since 1973.  I have never believed Him more than I do today.  In good days, and bad – happy times and sad – He is faithful and trustworthy.  Marilyn’s hope was in the Lord.  The Bible says that to be ‘absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.’  She’s with Jesus now. 

Her sons had both had wonderful extended visits with her recently.  Kathy, Emily and I had visited her just a couple of weeks ago.  Mom and I just went up yesterday and came back this afternoon.  I watched her Mom say goodbye to her today knowing we would not see her again and her time was short.  I spoke my final words to her and said goodbye.  I told her I would see her on the other side!!! 

My brother-in-law, called tonight.  She had passed into eternity.  She was so ready to meet the Lord.  I can’t imagine the joy, and delight there is now.  What she believed by faith, she now sees in person. 

Pray for her husband, her two sons, and daughter-in-law.  Pray for her Mom, and pray for me.  Pray for our extended families and the multitude of people Marilyn’s life impacted way beyond what she realized.  We are all grateful and far richer for having her in our lives. 

I like large families, and I believe God does too.  The story of redemption illustrates his desire for all to come to Him who will believe.  He has already paid the price.  The door is open.  Trust in Him.  My grandfather was one of eleven children.  My wife was one of six.  I’m blessed to have five  - four living and one with Jesus (a miscarriage and a happy reunion one day). 

I only had one sibling.  She was enough.  He never makes a mistake.  God knows how easily distracted and sidetracked I can get, so call me crazy, but I believe this amazingly personal God said – I’m going to give this guy one sibling – a sister.  She will be kind, strong, an encourager, she will love to serve others, she will fall in love with Jesus and demonstrate genuine faith in simple ways before a watching world, and before her younger brother. 

To see someone like Jesus, I never had to look farther than Marilyn.  In recent years she was my go to person.  When I needed an objective ear, someone who believed in me, and someone who would tell me I wasn’t crazy, and God could use me, she spoke life into my soul.  I could never thank her enough for that.  I missed her when I left the nursing home today.  I miss her now.  But I am relieved.  She is home.  No pain.  No sickness.  No death.  Like my pastor used to say – ‘They’ll be no grave stones on the hillsides of glory!’ 

Marilyn, I would have been grateful for more years, but I cherish the 56 we had.  You are amazing.  You are my hero.  I will never forget you.  You have left a beautiful legacy through your sons, and your husband was a champion to the end.  Until we meet again, I’m going to keep working on bringing some more with me just like you did!!! 

Humbled with a New Perspective

Today I joined our community connections director at the church where I serve and we went to the Syracuse Rescue Mission to help serve lunch as volunteers.  So many moments already impacted my life from this two-hour event.  I’m trying to grasp them all.  Be patient with me as I highlight them in this post. 

First, in my 21 plus years at Northside, I’ve never been to the Rescue Mission to serve a meal.  I’ve led the church to support the Mission, I’ve participated in chapel, preached there, helped with some special outreach events, and respected their work greatly. 

The Rescue Mission does much more than serve meals, but the reality is they serve more than 700 meals a day.  Scott and I were privileged to help set up, and then we both took spots on the serving line.  I watched over 200 people come through and receive lunch.

I saw young and old, male and female, black and white, as well as other ethnicities.  I saw a staff that is committed to excellence and in a very busy environment serves a quality meal.  I saw faces that needed hope, and many that looked very cold. 

I was deeply moved by those who said ‘thank you’.  I can’t begin to imagine the varied stories represented in that long line.  I also can’t believe that at the age of 56, I never recall a time before when I fed the hungry up close and personal.  Jesus words ‘I was hungry and you fed me’ took on new meaning today. 

I saw a lot of people today who work at the Rescue Mission who call Northside home and call me pastor.  That was humbling and a blessing.  The director of their culinary institute with a 95% placement success rate, calls Northside home and is doing a fantastic job serving the Lord in this wonderful place.  He is one of many. 

As I left, I found myself thinking of the 21^st century church.  I love the church, and I mean no disrespect, but honestly, I struggled today to realize how easy it is to talk the right talk, but not serve and back up those words.  My life was changed today.  I will go back there again, and I hope that is many times.  

The director of the operation has nearly 20 years experience, and she did a remarkable job running the food line.  After the main course, my spot was the soup.  It was my honor to fill more than 200 bowls with soup.  The young man next to me served the salad.  I learned he is from Brooklyn, attends Syracuse University, and comes weekly to volunteer at the mission.  The next generation is rising up to serve and value life in ways that are humbling. 

One last thing:  I grew up thinking that if you do enough good deeds (like I did today), you earn your way to heaven.  Works could never save us.  Only Jesus saves.  That being said, those who follow Him will serve out of love and obedience, not to merit eternal life.  I’m learning again – it’s life’s privilege. 

Starting a Prayer Movement - 5 Minutes a Day

Lately, I have found myself as a pastor preaching with the bottom line 'so what?' question on my mind at the end.  I imagine the congregation saying - "Ok Bruce - you've said all this - so what?"  This ending section of the message is designed to leave the hearers with a few very practical applications.  Sometimes these are thoughts to chew on, but often include simple actions to transform life.

At Northside we are calling 2015 'A Year of Impact'.  Our theme for the first five weeks is 'Break Camp'.  We've discussed the value of three simple actions that will be a game changer for 2015 and that is to  look down less, look up more, and look around often!  Let's be less self-absorbed, call on the Lord more often, and watch for divine appointments all around us.

I also began the series with the reminder that we must raise the prayer temperature at Northside.  This past weekend (week 2), I offered some simple encouragements in the area of prayer.  Begin each day with a simple prayer - giving that day to the Lord, and surrendering our lives to Him for His glory.  Secondly, pray for our families and with them as we have opportunity.  Third, I asked the congregation to give five minutes a day this year to pray for Northside.  If you take this past weekends attendance, and everyone would pray five minutes a day this week for the church, that would amount to an accumulation of 634 hours of prayer for Northside this week.

What would happen in any church if all the people would simply commit to five minutes a day praying for the church where they worship and serve?  There are 1440 minutes in a day.  5 minutes is .003% of our day - but we simply need to start somewhere!  We have the time and we have the opportunity.  Eternal matters are at stake, and lives are in the balance.  I challenge everyone reading to start a prayer movement in your church.  It begins with you praying five minutes a day.  Spread the word!

At Northside, worship is one of our top three priorities.  We call it 'I Can't Wait for the Weekend'.  Today I'm finding this especially true as we continue to raise the prayer temperature.  I'm trusting God to do great things for His glory.  It might all start with just five minutes.  Let me encourage you to start now!

Frank Wood - Celebrating the Ministry of My Pastor

Today in a church in a Georgia, people will gather to honor and celebrate the ministry of the Lord Jesus through His servant, Frank Wood.   Frank has been serving the Lord for 50 years.  When I think of pastoral ministry, my mind drifts to Lanny Fox, the man God used to preach and influence me to Christ.  I think of Norman Bell who blazed a trail in the north country and had a huge impact on my life for many years.  I think of Jeff O'Brien and the staff I serve with at Northside.  Jeff has been my pastor (serving as my associate) for more than 20 years.

Today, I want to honor the man I will always call my pastor.  His name is Frank Wood.  Frank graduated from seminary in Memphis, Tennessee in 1978.  He had already been serving the Lord for a number of years but God led him to Memphis to get his seminary education and more ministry training at Mid-America Seminary.  From there, God would lead Frank, his wife Diane, and their daughter Kimberly, to a small remote town in Northern New York on the Canadian border.  That town is Malone, New York which was the home of my family.

I was a junior in college when Frank Wood came to be pastor of the Shiloh Baptist Chapel, which under his leadership would become the Shiloh Baptist Church.  We were a young mission, but with a bright future.  Malone is the county-seat town of Franklin County.  I remember gathering in a rented location for services before we had our own buildings, and 30-40 of us would gather with great anticipation about what God had given our pastor for a message for us each week.  I saw his passion to preach, his love for Jesus, and his heart for Jesus.  I was in college studying for ministry.  He set the bar for what it meant to be a pastor.

As it turns out he would serve as my pastor for four years, 1978-1982.  You may think that is a short amount of time, and in many ways it was.  However, in those four years, Frank baptized me, led the church to license me to the ministry, ordained me to the gospel ministry, encouraged me to go to the same seminary he did (which I did), preached my father's funeral, and performed Kathy and my marriage ceremony.  It may have only been four years, but it was arguably the most critical four years of my life.  From the time I was 20 until I was 24, Frank was my pastor.  I will be forever grateful.

He taught me to care.  He taught me to preach with passion.  He connected me with friends of his in Memphis as he drove from Malone to Memphis when I first started seminary.  I soon was on staff with one of his former classmates and would serve in that church for seven years.  He taught me to believe God for great things, and be bold with vision and faith.  He fueled my heart for evangelism and bringing people to Jesus.  He challenged me, prayed with and for me, spoke deeply into my life and encouraged me.

Many people I have served as pastor have never heard or met Frank Wood - but the truth is - they hear him and see him every week.  God put this man in my life and the lives of thousands of others at just the right time for maximum impact.  I regret not being in Georgia today to bring this greeting personally, but I will preach the gospel in the state Frank grew to love in 1978 and trust God to change lives here today for God's glory with a grateful heart for the man who will always be my pastor.  God bless you Frank - and on behalf of my family - and many more - thank you, thank you, thank you for obeying God's call on your life.

December, 2014 and More

This has been an amazing month.  It's one of the best Christmases I've ever had.  The month began with the birth of our first grandson.  That was amazing!  He joins two beautiful sisters and we love him so much.

The following day I  defended my thesis for a graduate degree at Liberty University.  My degree is now finished and I thank God for that chapter in my life and all I've learned.  I'm grateful to my family and my church family for their incredible support through this process.

On December 8, my youngest daughter and I enjoyed a trip to Albany to hear Michael McDonald in concert.  I realized again how much I love music, and how it has shaped my life.  The concert was fantastic - great musicianship, soul and it was a Christmas concert.  Simply wonderful.

During the month we have now been able to spend time with all our family.  I'm so thankful for three daughters and a son.  I'm thankful for two amazing son-in-laws and a wonderful future daughter-in-law.  I'm very grateful for my wife of 32 years.  I can't imagine my life without her.

Christmas Eve was the best ever at Northside with more than 2100 people gathering to worship the Lord.  What a privilege it was to share the awesome message of the gospel with all who gathered.  I'm thankful for our staff and the team effort this night exemplified.

Easter will long be a great memory, recalling the 3300 people who gathered for worship.  I am especially grateful for more than 50 people who surrendered their lives to Christ that day.  There is no greater message in life than to know that Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again.

The year has had its challenges as well.  My sister is fighting a valiant battle with the dreaded disease - cancer.  Her hope is in the Lord and she will always be my hero.  I'm praying for her family and for her - in fact for all of us - to trust the Lord day by day as we walk through this valley together.

This post is entitled December, 2014, and More because this is New Year's Eve.  Tomorrow is January 1, 2015.  Wow.  How can that be?  Needless to say, there is much to be done.  Our first series at Northside this year is called 'Break Camp'.  The theme for the year is:  2015 - A Year of Impact.

I believe the Lord has great things in store and I welcome the New Year.  Through the highs and lows, He is Lord.  I trust Him.  I urge you to do the same.  For every victory, I give Him the praise.  For every opportunity, I thank Him for the privilege of serving Him.

Trusting Him,
Bruce

Just a few miles from a storm

Today, the nation watches as so much snow falls in lots of places.  One of the biggest storms is taking place just miles from me.  I'm sitting in my office at church, soon to go home and join my family for dinner.  There is no snow on the ground, and though it is cold and windy, it's hard to comprehend what is happening just miles away.

To our north, there is the ever present snow belt area of Pulaski, Mexico, Sandy Creek, and Watertown.  There are getting a lot of snow.  To the west of us, the interstate is closed from Rochester to Buffalo and south to the Pennsylvania line.  I've travelled that road many times.

I've lived in New York all but seven years of my life.  Snow storms can be fun, and they can also be scary.  They switch gears without warning at times.  Today with all the communication and technology, often we have an idea what is coming in just a few hours or days.

Tonight my heart goes out to those living in western New York.  Some places are for sure going to get 5 to 6 feet of snow and some are now saying it could be up to 8 feet.  The cold air coming across the warm great lakes has created the perfect storm.  I just read that in West Seneca (an area near Buffalo) 10 of 22 snowplows are stuck.  Now that's a storm.  Our road crews do an amazing jog in New York winters - pray for these workers as well.

I know what it's like to drive on the interstate and not be able to see anything in front of you.  We call that a 'white out'.  It's a helpless feeling for sure.  Join me in praying for everyone impacted by this storm in my home state and across this country.  It's hard to believe with what it looks like outside, I'm just a few miles from a storm.

One final word - people go through storms everyday.  You may be going through one now, or you may know someone who is - and then again you may not even realize it.  This morning as I walked out of the gym where I workout, one of the trainers who is a member of my life group was standing on the sidewalk and looked somewhat distraught with his phone in his hand.  He had just received word from his mother, that his grandfather had died.  My friend was in a storm.  I was so grateful God put me right next to him when he found out.  We prayed together and looked to the Lord in the midst of this painful moment.

Stay sensitive to those all around you.  They may be in a storm.  You never know when a storm is coming.  Trust God, pray much - and please join me in praying for my friend, his family, and for all those in the snow storms as well.