Alan's Updates

It was stunning news. Early Monday morning an old college friend suddenly died. Don Jeanes was a classmate of Linda and mine at Milligan College. After graduating Don went on to serve as the minister of two different congregations and then as President of our college for 14 years. He had just transitioned to a Chancellor role when he collapsed.

“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity . . . For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forever more.” (Psalm 133)

It was a remarkable moment! Yesterday afternoon church leaders gathered in our Chapel for a celebration. They came from throughout Boulder County representing congregations large and small, old and new, spanning the denomination divide. It was their monthly prayer event - with a special focus . . . me!

“What’s going on at RMCC?” That question can be raised in a variety of tones and on a variety of topics. Please allow me to provide a little more of the “back-story” on my decision to retire from my role as the lead pastor. It’s unfortunate that due to technological glitches and mailing problems that some have received the word belatedly. Our apologies. 

Here are a few notable points. 

The state of Colorado is a state of pain. Suffering surrounds us. Fires are raging. Hundreds have lost their homes. Tens of thousands have been forced to evacuate. The end of the drought seems to be nowhere in sight. The suffering of some is overwhelming; yet their response is still inspiring.

One woman grieving the loss of her home is already rebounding. She is looking forward to rebuilding. She is counting her blessings. She said: “When you lose everything, you realize that what you have left is love. We are rich in love.”

How long has it been since you really felt honored? Some people might have a hard time recalling the last time that happened. Maybe a better question is . . .  how long has it been since someone really felt honored by you? 

True confession, I don’t pray for our nation every day.  While I pray daily for my family and our family of faith, I don’t pray daily for our country. You can add that to the long list of things I should do but don’t do!

The “normal” Christian life is one of both great privilege and great pain. It’s not one or the other; it’s both, often at the same time. That was true for the first Christians and it’s still true today.

The New Testament letters were written to a suffering church.  Persecution was rampant. That’s why in his letter, James said, “We give great honor to those who endure under suffering.”

Many are in great pain. We saw that documented last weekend when dozens responded asking for anointing and prayer. While we didn’t promise anyone instant healing, we did offer to do what the Bible teaches. That invitation was met with a huge response on both campuses. 

It all began three months ago with a broken Kenmore 80 washing machine. Heather and Brian Dawson have four kids so they quickly ordered a less expensive washer. Unfortunately, it didn’t work; nor did the next one. That’s when they wondered if God might be at work, so they cancelled their order and they waited.

Here’s how Heather described their “altar” experience:

“The last two years have been two of the worst years of my life!” Whenever someone says something like that, they’ve got my attention. Especially when it’s a staff member! But that’s not all that he said.

“Christianity wouldn’t be so hard if it weren’t for Christians!”A doctor friend was chuckling when he made that comment to me yesterday. He thought it was amusing. I wondered if it just might be true.

The best part of my life is the relationship part—and the hardest part of my life is the relationship part!I don’t go long without an opportunity to apologize or to forgive. It happens almost every day. Relationships are my greatest encouragement and my greatest struggle.

“How is your life better now than it was a few years ago?” That’s the question that stumped a friend of mine. He didn’t know how to respond and he’s not alone. He knows he’s not been in the best place, but by God’s grace he’s now beginning to make some progress. I’m proud of him. He’s now putting a plan in place to move to a better place in his spiritual growth.

Everyone wants to get better. I certainly do. In fact, I’m recommitting to some things that will help lead me to a better place by this time next year. I don’t just want to go through 2012; I want to grow through 2012!

I may be the only guy that sings to his dog! Each time that I feed Molly Brown the Dog of Renown, she hears the same song. “God we thank you, God we thank you, for our food, for our food, and our many blessings, and our many blessings, amen, amen!” During the song, Molly lays down to “pray” and only heads to her food dish when given the command, “Bon Appétit, it’s time to eat!”

Someone once said, “Until there is commitment, there is hesitancy!” We all know that until we make a commitment, change rarely happens. It applies to everything from regular flossing to kneeling daily in prayer.

What good thing have you been putting off? We all have things that we one day intend to do. Many of these things are truly God-honoring. So, how will your life be improved if you wait even longer to do them?