I often compare my life to a mountain climbing journey. This analogy was affirmed by my grandfather nearly two years ago as he spent the last week of his life describing a journey up a mountain in which he reached the top and wasn’t sure he would make it back. Eventually, he didn’t. He stayed. A few weeks ago I reached another foothold in my climb. I am not an experienced rock climber. My only experience is of walking the ledge around the Rock wall that made up the building of Gashes Creek Baptist Church. I never tried to climb the actual wall though I’m sure some of my peers did. I do remember it being important to find enough of a rock sticking out to grab hold of to brace myself as I moved my feet along that white ledge. I’ve heard enough rock climbers/Mountain climbers talk to know that just as it was important to find a good piece of rock to brace myself as I navigated that ledge, it is of great importance to locate those places that are strong and sticking out enough to get your foot on it and brace yourself as you go upward. A couple of weeks ago I reached such a foothold on my journey. 
On June 21, 2013 I processed into Stuart Auditorium at Lake Junaluska to the song Here Am I Lord. For me that song has brought me to tears every time I have heard it until this day. Every time I had heard the song before there was a burning desire in my heart to say Here Am I Lord, It is I Lord only to look up the mountain and be unable to find a foothold. On this day however there was a foothold. Following the affirmation of my church and the District Committee on Ordained Ministry and two weeks of Licensing School for Local Pastors I was receiving my license to preach. On June 23, 2013 at Stuart Auditorium at Lake Junaluska Bishop Goodpastor fixed the appointments for the upcoming church year to begin July 21 and there my name was listed as pastor of a two church charge. I spent the next week reading, reading and reading some more. My head was consumed with this overwhelming, challenging responsibility but elated nonetheless at the fact that I had finally found the foothold and was holding on for dear life. Sometimes though what we think is a strong foothold turns out not to be so strong and crumbles beneath our feet, sending us falling below. If we don’t have a strong belay man up top we might just fall to our death. Such was the case with this foothold.
On July 3rd, just two days into my appointment, the foothold crumbled. I was informed that the appointment was not going to work out. I was crushed, heartbroken, and angry. That is not the story I want to tell. I want to tell the story of the belay man up top and the kind of rope used to hold me in suspension until another foothold is located.
After spending the first 24 hours crying and feeling sorry for myself, I did the only thing I knew to do. I went back to the routine of spiritual discipline I had set for myself. I started my day coming to God through the readings at Commonprayer.net and the readings in a book given to us at licensing school: “A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God.” I discovered there the best Belay man anyone could ask for, I found God. Each day as I went to the common prayer site, as I opened up the suggested scriptures and read and as I read reflections and prayers in both, I heard God speaking precisely to my situation. A few things I heard in the days that followed:
1. From the story of Gideon I heard God say. “Go in the strength you have…..Am I not sending you?” Judges 6:14
2. Also from the story of Gideon I heard God say remember the times God has been with you when you have been at this point before.
3. In the margins of my Bible regarding this story I had written “Sometimes when you ask where God is in a situation you might want to look in the mirror for he might be sending for you as the soldier……As the one to lead the “fight.”
4. From the Epistle of Acts I was reminded that church work is not free from conflict. Paul and Barnabas split over conflict, each going his own way. Both were used to further the kingdom. Paul picked a partner in Timothy who was part Jew and part Greek. He had not been circumcised. Paul did have him get circumcised in order to appease the Pharisees but they went forward and ministered together and “The churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.”
5. Through the continued story of Gideon God reminds me that it would be easy to let go and go right back down to the bottom of the mountain and a prayer is given to me to “Deliver me from myself O God and bring me home to life with you.” (commonprayer.net accessed July 10, 2013)
6. The same day in two different readings from Acts God reminds me that sometimes when God sends you, you are rejected by those to whom you are sent. God instructs us in those moments to dust off our feet or clothes at the door and protest and move on.
7. God told me “Do not be afraid, keep on speaking, do not be silent for I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you because I have many people in this city.”
It just amazed me. It shouldn’t have. What I have learned from this is that God is always present with us if only we seek God. If we make time to daily reflect in God’s word and be in prayer, we will find the guidance we need. I’m not talking about going to your Bible, randomly opening it and dropping your finger on a verse and saying it is from God. I am talking about a daily routine of guided scripture reading, reflection and prayer. Ecclesiastes 4:12 ends with this phrase: “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Routine Daily Scripture reading, reflection and prayers are the first of the three strands of the cord that is holding me.
The second strand of the cord is the support of family, friends, and colleagues. As I began sharing the news with select persons in my circle, I received an outpouring of support and prayers. Some of the support came from places I never imagined. Another Lesson that I was reminded of is the importance of having a core group of people around you to share life with and I am so thankful for the amazing circle that I have. One might say I have multiple circles inside one giant circle of God’s amazing love. One of those circles is the church of my birth, Ecclesia Baptist church in Fairview, NC. This leads me to the third strand of the cord.
The lectionary scripture today which I had planned to preach my inaugural sermon from was the story of the Good Samaritan. I had it all planned out in my head. I haven’t yet put it to paper. The focus was going to be “who is our neighbor.” I had already decided to return to Ecclesia this morning to worship in the place that my family of origin worships every week. This morning as I was scrolling through face book posts one from Bishop Ken Carter, Bishop of the Florida Conference of the UMC, caught my eye. He was posting “deeper questions” from the text of the story of the Good Samaritan. One of those questions was “where is the inn for us, the place of healing?” That was one question I had not considered in my studies. Today, that place for me became the church of my birth, Ecclesia Baptist church. Some of you who know me are saying “Gashes Creek Baptist was the place of your birth, Ecclesia Baptist has only been in existence a few years, and you are much older than it.” This morning Pastor Steven Norris reminded me what Ecclesia means. It means “A gathering of people.” It is not a building. A building with a name is not a church; the people that gather are the church, wherever they may gather. A few years back the church I grew up in went through some irreconcilable differences and members parted ways just as Paul and Barnabas did. From that was born Ecclesia Baptist Church. It is there that many people that I gathered with growing up attend each Sunday, thus for me it is the Ecclesia of my birth. Just as God provided for me within my daily time in Scripture, reflection and prayer, God provided for me through his prophet Pastor Steven Norris this morning as he reflected on the passage of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. There were three words for me. The words from a poem he recited, “Because He Has Risen, by Gerard Kelly, resonated deeply for me... Secondly I was reminded in his sermon that Jesus is the resurrection. Wherever Jesus is, there new life springs up. I need to keep searching for the places where Jesus shows up. Finally the words of the closing song, Awake, by Josh White, gave voice to all that I have been feeling. . The tears flowed as I sang along and the tears cleansed and healed. The third strand of the cord: a place of healing.
So my friends when you reach up to take foot of a foothold only to find it crumbling beneath your feet know that God is your belay man on top and he is holding you by a three strand cord that cannot be quickly broken:
1. Words of encouragement and guidance through daily reflection on the scripture and prayer.
2. The support of a close circle of family, friends and colleagues.
3. A place of healing.
Make sure you have these strands handy.
“On Belay, Climb on.”
Thanks be to God.
Note: to Hear Steven Norris's full sermon from July 14, 2013 go to http://www.ecclesiabaptist.org/july-2013.html it should be uploaded soon.
