Let Us Worship Together

November 18, 2011 Daily Democrat of Durant

There are numerous reasons to select a church: geography, family history, the people, programs, and many other reasons I could fill a book as they are as individual as the people in any one church.  Yet we all know there is only one Jesus whom we all worship at various times, various buildings, and in many various ways.  That is wonderful, for we can reach more people with the One Gospel.  We even know that truly the Body of Christ is still united as Jesus is the head and each of us and each church is part of the body.  This is truly an important fact of the church and Paul makes it quite clear with his metaphor of the church being the Body of Christ in 1 Corinthians.  Paul understands there are individuals and even different churches, yet his statement in Chapter 12 verse 12 still speaks to us today, even with different denominations, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.”

If we concentrate on our differences we will me mired in a land of differing opinions and taste, most of all.  Yes, there are differences in theological and Biblical interpretation, but if we look for the differences, you will find more to talk about in how we worship; if you search where the churches are similar, you end up at Jesus.  We can agree with Peter’s response to Jesus asking “Who do you say I am?” when Peter proclaims, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” (Matthew 16:15-16)  This simple confession is what truly unites us and if we come together in Jesus’ name we will have more power to do what Jesus commands us, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)

I believe when we gather at our respective churches we are truly part of a larger body, with Christ as the head.  It is wonderful we can gather together from the various different churches in our community to offer Thanksgiving together for the many blessings we enjoy living in our community.  We will give primary thanks to our Creator, to our Savior, and the gift of the Holy Spirit.  This tangible act of gathering as one church will be at the Community Thanksgiving Service on Sunday, November 20 at 6 pm at Community Christian Church (5325 University Boulevard).  I look forward to seeing everyone that confesses Jesus as the Anointed One, the Christ, Son of the Living God, so we can share how thankful we are Jesus provides salvation for all.

ALL ABOARD

As printed in Durant Daily Democrat June 3, 2011

Have you been stuck at a railroad crossing? If you run your errands around Durant, it is likely for that to happen a time or two. Have you heard the train whistles? If you live in Durant I am sure you have. I write this to emphasize how important these locomotives and rail companies are to our town and county. For many of the new industries that have come and those that will come to the Durant Area, rail is a key ingredient for receiving and shipping, as well as the trucks on 69/75. There is currently nothing as efficient and connected to the rest of the country as our rail system.

Many communities such as ours are lucky to have a class one carrier, yet we have been serviced by three. These are names we should know, but do not worry—I also had to find out the names. Union Pacific, Burlington Northern Sante Fe, and Kansas City Southern are the three class one carriers, reaching across our whole nation. To receive cars from these three lines requires the important work of the short-line carrier, Kiamichi-Rail America. These four rail companies are an essential ingredient to our community’s growth. So when I hear the train whistles or need to wait for a train, I think about how important it is to our community.

Now you may be asking why a minister is so interested in our local trains. The answer has two parts which I believe are related. The first is very simple and that is that our local churches are part of the same community and the reality is that churches need the community to be healthy on many levels, including economically. While some of our citizens have fallen on bad economic times, we are able to provide services in the community, such as (but not limited to) Loaves & Fishes and Families Feeding Families because many are able to give their time, talent, and money.

The second is how the train symbolizes our interconnection with the rest of the nation and even the world. What makes trains so important are how they provide efficient transportation from sea to shining sea. When you see or hear the trains in town, you know that the cars are filled with many different raw materials and finished goods, going throughout the land. This is a wonderful fact. Just as we have different churches in town, we have only one Gospel, one track. Paul states this in 1 Corinthians 12:12-14: “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many.” All Christians are baptized into one body, yet there is a diversity of gifts among the body, with Christ as the head.

Therefore when I see or hear the trains I think about how Christians from all walks of life and of all denominations may be different but are united by the tracks set by the Father God, the train that Jesus is at the control, and the Holy Spirit that powers the train. I believe today as the popular slogan in many frontier churches of the nineteenth century stated, “In essentials, Unity; in non-essentials, Liberty; and in all things, Charity.”

So when you now get stuck waiting to cross the tracks, or simply hear one of those impressive locomotives, I hope you will think about how blessed we are. We are blessed to have a town that has industry and jobs in part because of these railroads. We are also all blessed to be part of the wonderful Body of Christ, the church, which expands over the world like the rails, connecting Christendom, for “…God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body.” (1 Corinthians 12: 18-20).

So I leave you with the words of the 1965 hit single by The Impressions:

People get ready, there's a train a comin'
You don't need no baggage, you just get on board
All you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin'
Don't need no ticket, you just thank the Lord

We can all get on board. Be it for our community, but even greater for Christ.