My son is stepping up

My son is stepping up from 8th grade to High School soon, and we have some of our members who have graduated from schools, some moving in, and some moving out. This has a lot to do with what I have been talking with about Dave these days. Change.

It's been said the only thing that ever stays the same is that everything changes, and I think that's pretty true. Has our church changed in the last year? Well, the meeting house has got new carpet, a new podium, a new roof, a new projector, and a little paint. It seems to me somehow or another we got a couple extra pews in the front, and those pictures in the back look shiny, too. I never said the changes were extreme, only that they happen!

The Mitchells moved away, and so did some Hayes, Youngs, and Garths. These Maddox people seem to be here to stay for a bit, though. Some people who had fallen away have returned to us, which is a wonderful change! Unfortunately, some people who were once close to us have chosen to walk away from us and God, and that's a sad change.

Carol Picanso has passed away, but we have this bumper crop of babies lately. A change in mortality is an abrupt thing, isn't it, but we've had them both and they will always be with us. Sometimes they are expected, sometimes unexpected, and boy that happens with both deaths and babies!

With Dave, though, I try to stress change in and of itself. Yes, I want him to consider his life, and perhaps service to God one day. I want him to grow up and behave himself and be true and honest, a change for the good. But lately we've been talking about change that is not from within but from without. And what to do about it!

Kieran will not always be the preacher here, and that could be for many reasons. Our elders could move away, or "retire" suddenly, or many other things. What will happen to our church? What if we suddenly had no preacher here, or no elders, or both? Are we ready for that to happen? Are we other men considering how we will replace Mo and Skip and Wally one day? Do we study, preach, and practice hospitality? It's not something you just suddenly acquire a talent for, that's a change that's gradual.

For Dave, I try to get him to see things closer to home. What if good ol' dad croaks off? Or what will he do if I lose my job and we have to move somewhere else? Is it the end of the world? (Now THAT would be the ultimate change!!!)

In the scriptures, Jesus came. God in the flesh. And he started making changes, by preaching. Over time, many came to believe on him. Our world's entire history has been altered by him, and the monumental event of his coming. Suddenly, he was killed and things looked very black. About 50 days later, some great preaching had thousands taking up his banner, and things looked very good! Not long after that, persecution caused the church to scatter all over the place. But out of these rapid fire changes, the word was brought into the world, the word was established, the word was spread. People were brought back to God. Even the bad changes were good ones in disguise.

And I think I have Dave seeing that change, even when it seems like a bad thing, can be a very good thing. It all depends on what you do about it. I was a small town Ohio boy that ended up in Colorado because I flunked out of college. Was it the end of the world? Because I moved to Colorado, I learned a lot about construction, I got a college degree, I got a cool job at Sun, I found the perfect wife, I have this son named Dave...

Randy