The last Monday in May is a unique holiday. Memorial Day does not generate as much holiday enthusiasm as Christmas, Easter, or Independence Day, perhaps because it is more an observance than a celebration. This important holiday is not just another “day off” but a day to remember those who have lost their lives in the military service of our country. This is a day to remember those who, according to Henry Ward Beecher, “hover as a cloud of witnesses above this Nation.”
In a culture that is increasingly attention-deficient, remembering is a painful but necessary discipline. Remembering historical facts should help us to remain consciously aware of the harsh realities of global conflict. Revisiting stories from the battlefield may enable us to learn from both the successes and the failures of our national ancestry. When we remember the fallen we keep alive the individual and corporate legacies of valor and courage that inspire and challenge us to be responsible citizens of the free world.
To fail to remember is to develop a convenient amnesia that eventually robs succeeding generations of acquaintance with our national heritage. To fail to remember creates a contagious apathy that leads to a neglect of both our freedom and our citizenship. To fail to remember can produce a false sense of protection and a perceived exemption from future warfare. A loss of memory eventually leads to a loss of national identity. Remembering is a painful but necessary discipline, a discipline that forges vision from memory, and a discipline that extracts wisdom from knowledge.
In The Roadmender Margaret Fairless Barber suggests that “To look backward for a while is to refresh the eye, to restore it, and to render it the more fit for its prime function of looking forward.”
This year take time to observe Memorial Day…A day to remember the past with gratitude and to look to the future with hope and faith.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Dr. James Pleitz: A Pastor's Best Friend
Dr. James Pleitz departed for his eternal home on Sunday evening. He was ready to go and looking forward to the trip. Dr. Pleitz told me that over and over again. I told our congregation last Sunday morning that Dr. Pleitz was "sitting on the launching pad awaiting liftoff." The launch sequence reached zero shortly before 8 o'clock.
While we have no doubt about his destination, he will be missed. In addition to serving as a legendary pastor at both First Baptist Church of Pensacola and Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas, Dr. Pleitz spent his final years as our Pastor Emeritus. He fulfilled the responsibilities of that role more effectively than any emeritus pastor I know.
"Pastor Emeritus" is an honorary title given by a congregation to honor their founding or long-time pastor. It means, "We know you are retired, but we still look to you as a senior shepherd." With that honorary title comes an extremely important job description, which includes encouraging the congregation, supporting the current pastor, and utilizing his or her influence to advance the ministry of the church.
A few of my pastoral colleagues around the country have had the misfortunate experience of serving alongside rogue emeriti....that is, emeritus pastors with control issues, inflated egos, or a bad case of "retired preacher syndrome."
Dr. James Pleitz could have written the book on how to be an effective and influential emeritus pastor. He encouraged the congregation in every way imaginable, even giving me words of encouragement to share with them during his final days. He was my number one encourager, always sending me handwritten notes and placing well timed phone calls to inquire about my family or to ask how my week was going. He would often stop by my office unannounced....request a cup of coffee...one cream, two sugars...and once the door was closed, he would say, "I just wanted to come by and pray for my pastor." He would lay his hand on my shoulder and pray in way that would lift my soul heavenward and fortify my confidence for the day. He will be missed.
And he was an ambassador for the kingdom. He knew how to work a room by learning names and listening to stories. One of our associate ministers said, "Dr. Pleitz had a way of making you feel like you were the most important person in his life at the moment he was speaking to you."
Although there is a great reunion occuring this week in the heavenly realm, there is a great hole in the heart of First Baptist Church of Pensacola and their pastor because our pastor emeritus is no longer with us. His presence will be missed but his influence will be felt for generations to come.
And I hope that other retiring pastors around the country will learn from Pleitz' example of how to be a great Pastor Emeritus, and how to be the new pastor's best friend.
While we have no doubt about his destination, he will be missed. In addition to serving as a legendary pastor at both First Baptist Church of Pensacola and Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas, Dr. Pleitz spent his final years as our Pastor Emeritus. He fulfilled the responsibilities of that role more effectively than any emeritus pastor I know.
"Pastor Emeritus" is an honorary title given by a congregation to honor their founding or long-time pastor. It means, "We know you are retired, but we still look to you as a senior shepherd." With that honorary title comes an extremely important job description, which includes encouraging the congregation, supporting the current pastor, and utilizing his or her influence to advance the ministry of the church.
A few of my pastoral colleagues around the country have had the misfortunate experience of serving alongside rogue emeriti....that is, emeritus pastors with control issues, inflated egos, or a bad case of "retired preacher syndrome."
Dr. James Pleitz could have written the book on how to be an effective and influential emeritus pastor. He encouraged the congregation in every way imaginable, even giving me words of encouragement to share with them during his final days. He was my number one encourager, always sending me handwritten notes and placing well timed phone calls to inquire about my family or to ask how my week was going. He would often stop by my office unannounced....request a cup of coffee...one cream, two sugars...and once the door was closed, he would say, "I just wanted to come by and pray for my pastor." He would lay his hand on my shoulder and pray in way that would lift my soul heavenward and fortify my confidence for the day. He will be missed.
And he was an ambassador for the kingdom. He knew how to work a room by learning names and listening to stories. One of our associate ministers said, "Dr. Pleitz had a way of making you feel like you were the most important person in his life at the moment he was speaking to you."
Although there is a great reunion occuring this week in the heavenly realm, there is a great hole in the heart of First Baptist Church of Pensacola and their pastor because our pastor emeritus is no longer with us. His presence will be missed but his influence will be felt for generations to come.
And I hope that other retiring pastors around the country will learn from Pleitz' example of how to be a great Pastor Emeritus, and how to be the new pastor's best friend.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
The Church That Became a Submarine
(Several years ago, in warning the First Baptist Church, Pensacola, Florida, not to turn into "a submarine," Pastor James L. Pleitz gave this submersible parable.)
Once upon a time in the twentieth century there was a church that became a submarine. It wasn't as difficult as it might seem. One day it just shut the hatch on the outside world and submerged into its own sea. Occasionally it ran up the periscope to see where it was going.
Once the captain got a real vision through his periscope and when he demanded that they get back to the surface and fast, the crew quickly developed the bends and the sub stayed down.
While submerged there was a lot for the crew to do. In fact they were kept on alert and asked to make maximum efforts. They tinkered with the machinery constantly. They overhauled their kitchen. They inventoried their ammunition at least once a week but they never used it. They paid salaries to the officers and went through endless drills occasionally interrupted by prayers that no depth charge would disturb their isolation. The air got stale too, so did the routine, but they put up with it because the alternatives were too demanding. Several committees even decided the stale air was good for them.
One of the members who had sneaked a look through the periscope suggested a change in course and the giving away of their surplus supplies. He was immediately eliminated for mutiny.
The last entry in the captain's log book read, 'Have probably set a new record for being submerged and maintaining predetermined course. See no reason why we should change directions. Crew continues to give maximum effort. We did sight an enemy and appointed three committee members to study the situation."
(Dr. James Pleitz is the beloved pastor emeritus of First Baptist Church, Pensacola, Florida)
Once upon a time in the twentieth century there was a church that became a submarine. It wasn't as difficult as it might seem. One day it just shut the hatch on the outside world and submerged into its own sea. Occasionally it ran up the periscope to see where it was going.
Once the captain got a real vision through his periscope and when he demanded that they get back to the surface and fast, the crew quickly developed the bends and the sub stayed down.
While submerged there was a lot for the crew to do. In fact they were kept on alert and asked to make maximum efforts. They tinkered with the machinery constantly. They overhauled their kitchen. They inventoried their ammunition at least once a week but they never used it. They paid salaries to the officers and went through endless drills occasionally interrupted by prayers that no depth charge would disturb their isolation. The air got stale too, so did the routine, but they put up with it because the alternatives were too demanding. Several committees even decided the stale air was good for them.
One of the members who had sneaked a look through the periscope suggested a change in course and the giving away of their surplus supplies. He was immediately eliminated for mutiny.
The last entry in the captain's log book read, 'Have probably set a new record for being submerged and maintaining predetermined course. See no reason why we should change directions. Crew continues to give maximum effort. We did sight an enemy and appointed three committee members to study the situation."
(Dr. James Pleitz is the beloved pastor emeritus of First Baptist Church, Pensacola, Florida)
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