Jump Start # 3323

Ecclesiastes 3:6 “A time to search and a time to give up as lost; a time to keep and a time to throw away.”

Our verse today comes from the multiple couplets that we easily call the seasons of life. Opposites are presented side by side. We might even look at these as positives and negatives. Birth, finding things, embraces are all wonderful and precious moments in our lives. It’s those opposites that rip our hearts and create pain and struggles. Death, uprooting what is planted, weeping, shunning, throwing away, giving up as lost, tearing apart, and war—those are tough times in our lives. Solomon tells us that there is a time for those things.

One of hard things for congregations to grasp is when is it time to stop things. With much excitement and planning, we launch new ideas to reach people with the Gospel or to better encourage the congregation. Youth events. Ladies day classes. Lectures. Special studies for young couples. VBS. And, for several years, even decades, those events bring great enthusiasm, help and hope to people. Many have benefited from those special classes.

But now, the fanfare seems to be lacking. The attendance is slim. It’s hard to get people excited about these things and even harder to find the support needed to conduct these things. And, one of the tough decisions leaders have to face is knowing when it’s time to pull the plug on events and end them. Sometimes those in charge feel like they have failed if they must stop these things.

Here are a few thoughts:

First, our passage reminds us that there are different times. Times to find things and times to give up the search. Looking at the makeup of the congregation often leads to these decisions. A group that has very few children will likely not see the value of having a VBS. If there are very few young couples, having a marriage seminar likely wouldn’t be well attended.

Churches move in cycles. There will be times when there are so many children that the concern will be what classrooms to use. Then, the cycle shifts and the children have grown and moved away and now things look differently. Leaders must be flexible and be willing to make adjustments year by year.

Second, because things are always continued through the years does not mean the effort was wasn’t good or the project was a failure. For the time that it was offered, good was accomplished. That’s the point one must look at. Instead of trying to develop something that will last generations, focus upon today and what can be done for now. What is needed today may not be needed tomorrow. My little grandchildren are growing and what I see my kids doing is shifting away from baby beds, high chairs and little teething rings. They were needed at one time and very helpful. But now, they are stuffed away and not needed. They move on to other things. A congregation needs to think that way.

Third, because something is stopped for now does not mean down the road it can not be presented again. In a period of time, as that cycle changes, so does the needs of a congregation. It seems in a growing church, things will be shifting around from year to year. The diet, needs and concerns of a congregation shifts as it matures and faces different challenges. It’s valuable to recognize that, understand that and adapt to that.

As events, programs, meetings and classes change though the years, there ought always be a need for something. It may not be what was done last year, or ten years ago, but there are always a place for classes, devotions, studies and specialized lessons that will help people connect with the Lord and each other.

Years ago in one of the colleges I attended, the food was always the same. Every Monday it was the same thing. The Tuesday menu was always the same. The Wednesday food the same every Wednesday. Knowing what day of the week it was told us exactly what we were eating that evening. It was very tiring. Many skipped out and found something better to eat. What a congregation offers can seem that way to people. Find special ways to bring the Bible alive. Use videos. Have smaller classes. Focus upon certain age groups. Put some thought into what is being offered.

There is a time, the preacher said. Knowing that time is the key.

Roger

Jump Start # 2612

Ecclesiastes 3:6 “A time to search and a time to give up as lost; a time to keep and a time to throw away.”

We had a strange Saturday recently. We didn’t have any kids or grandkids visiting. We weren’t going any where ourselves, so we decided to do some serious cleaning. The garage got a polishing like it never had before. Things put up, put away and tossed. We came across a large tub of our beginnings. High school year books. Our baby books. Love letters. Grade school report cards. Graduation diplomas. Lots of pictures. Old letters. Scrapbooks. Even a guest book that people signed when we lived in our first house. Things at one time that were important to each of us. We kept those things through all these years. We haven’t really looked at these things since the last time we moved. Stuck away a long time ago, forgotten and now beginning to show age and smell, these treasures of the past took us down memory lane. The yearbooks were filled were signatures of people we don’t remember any longer. And, before us was the challenge of what to do with all this stuff. Put a lid on the tub and just stick it away? Someday, the kids will have to deal with these things and it doesn’t mean much to them. Or, go through them and toss what we can.

Solomon’s verse rings so true. There is a time to keep and a time to throw away. It’s hard to know when those times are. Pages turn in the book of life. A person moves on. New places. New people. New adventures. Often the old pictures are of a person who has long since changed. Not the same person as in high school. Not the same person as in college. What helps in all of this is having gone through this with another person. A while back I helped empty a house that belonged to someone in their 90’s. It held a lifetime of papers, memories and stuff. What to keep and what to toss?

Some lessons:

First, there have been many people in our lives. It’s amazing to flip through an old year book and see what people wrote and to look at the faces again. There were teachers, many just crossed paths with us for one year. As I looked at some of those old report cards from grade school, it made me wonder how many of my teachers were still alive. I never saw them again. Some people are like that in our lives. But, later, looking at that guest book of folks that came into our first home, those names are dear to us. Most were brethren in the first church I preached at. They encouraged. They were friends. They helped. They gave me a chance. We all have people like that. There are people that we shall never forget.

Second, life brings tragedy at times. Going through my high school year book, a couple of newspaper clippings fell out. One told the sad story of a classmate that was tried for murder. He never finished school. Another, one I knew, was killed in a fiery car accident at the age of 30. He was being chased by the police and he ran into the backend of a semi on the highway. What has shaped us are the choices that we have made and the influences in our lives. Wrong choices and the wrong people often do not end well. Not everyone lives happily ever after. The tears of sorrow are well known in many homes. God is the difference in all of these things.

Third, as I turned those pages of those grade school and high school year books, and saw names that I had forgotten about, I read what people thought about me. That’s humbling. You hope as an adult that you were not too much of a idiot as a kid. One wrote in my high school year book that I had changed his life. I do not remember that. He said that he would never forget me. I wonder if he has. I have not heard of him since high school. We are all leaving impressions. Sometimes we can be in such a hurry that we do not give a person the proper time that he needs. It is fascinating to see how many times the Lord was interrupted. How many times people needed Him, wanted Him, and asked Him to go with them. People were the Lord’s agenda. Sometimes we can be so busy with self that we forget about that.

Finally, if the Lord allows this ole’ planet to continue on, some will look back and remember us years from now. We may have left this place, but our names will bring back a memory to them. For those of us that preach, some little one out there will remember us as the first preacher they ever knew. That’s important.

One of my early teachers said I needed some work in handwriting. I guess I never got that. There are some days I will look at a note I wrote earlier, and even I can’t figure it out. That’s not good. Barbara Streisand sang, “People who need people are the luckiest people in the world.” Actually, we all need people. We need good, quality people in our lives. We need the people the that will make a difference in our lives. And, we need to become that kind of person for others.

There comes a time to move on. There comes a time to throw away things. One more look. One more journey down memory lane. Thoughts about where are these folks today? Thoughts about I wonder how many will make it to Heaven?

Roger