January is a somber, penitential season when we repent of December’s excesses. During the holidays, we indulged in too much of too much. We ate too much food, watched too much television, and spent too much money.

The birth of a New Year inspires resolutions of diet, exercise, and thriftiness. Businesses take advantage of the predictable pattern. A plethora of commercials advertise weight-loss plans, exercise equipment, and credit counseling.

Boxes are another popular product during the post-holiday season. Home improvement and business supply stores prominently display storage accessories. Savvy merchants know that consumers need additional storage for their Christmas loot.

The seasonal cycle reminds me of George Carlin’s routine about “stuff.” Don’t worry—I won’t quote the racier parts of the act! The comedian observed: “A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it.” Life revolves around taking care of our stuff.

Before Christmas, everyone scurried around to buy more stuff. Now we buy boxes to store the old stuff so there is room for the new stuff. Closets, attics, and garages are filled to the overflowing, and many people must also rent off-site storage.

Here’s a thought: if we have to box up stuff to make room for more stuff then MAYBE we have too much stuff. I still have things packed in boxes from when we moved two years ago. If something is not used or unpacked after one year, then the chances are good that it’s not really needed it at all.

Most married couples include one saver and one thrower-awayer. The saver squirrels away possessions in the certain knowledge that they will someday be needed or valuable. The thrower-awayer readily tosses anything and everything into the trash, including family heirlooms and important tax documents. Great entertainment can be enjoyed by watching these two personalities prepare for a family yard sale.

The problem with what we own is that what we own often owns us. Rather than possessing possessions, we discover our possessions possess us. Life becomes an endless rat race to accumulate more stuff and then store the extra stuff away.

Jesus told a parable about a farmer who enjoyed a bumper crop year. In fact, the harvest proved too great for his barns. What a wonderful dilemma he faced! So the man decided to build more barns to store the bounty. Then he thought to himself, “I will be able to relax, eat, drink, and be merry!” Yet that very night the man died and his possessions passed on to others. Jesus concluded the story by saying, “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”

Worldly things cannot convey lasting fulfillment, contentment, or meaning. Those who invest their lives in things are buying stock in a bankrupt business. Earthly possessions will never fulfill us any more than drinking salt water can quench our thirst. Stuff cannot fill the aching void within our souls. The real choice is not between stuff and more stuff but between the temporal and eternal, the passing and everlasting.

Here’s a New Year’s suggestion: give some stuff away to others in need. In the process, we can help others while lightening our own load. Generosity begets generosity, and we will learn to hold all of our possessions with a lighter grip.

Loving God by loving others through sharing our possessions is THE stuff of life.

In 1954, Perry Como released a Christmas song that reached #8 on the record charts. The lyrics are still familiar over five decades later:

Oh, there’s no place like home for the holidays

‘cause no matter how far away you roam

If you want to be happy in a million ways

For the holidays, you can’t beat home, sweet home.

Americans agree with Como’s sentiments. According to AAA, last year over 65 million people traveled 50+ miles away from home over Christmas and New Year’s. Many of us were among that number.

The holidays can become a logistical nightmare of travel plans and itineraries. We split our time between family and friends, in-laws and outlaws, blended and unblended families. Our families have become like an order of hash browns at Waffle House: scattered, covered, and smothered!

In the midst of the holiday madness, consider a change in your travel plans. Include a trip to Bethlehem in your Christmas itinerary. During this holiest of seasons, let us begin to make our way to the manger.

In 1743,  John Wade published a hymn that invites us to the city of Jesus’ birth:

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,

O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem

Come and behold him, born the King of angels;

O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

As we travel to Bethlehem, we will be amazed at those who have gone before us. According to Luke’s gospel, Joseph and Mary first made the trip because Caesar Augustus demanded a census of the entire Roman Empire. So the Holy Couple traveled to the home town of Joseph’s family. When they arrived, there was no room in the inn, so they settled into a small stable.

The actual account of the Christ’s child’s birth is told in a few short verses. Matthew simply says: Mary gave birth to a son. And Joseph gave him the name Jesus. (Matthew 1: 25). Luke writes: While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her first-born, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger . . . . (Luke 2: 6-7)

The Nativity is a simple scene with only Mary, Joseph, and their newborn baby present. Contrary to popular belief, the Gospel writers don’t even mention an assortment of barnyard animals at the stable. However, the Holy Family was not alone. The host of heaven gathered that night to witness the Word of God made flesh. Cosmic events set into motion since Eden’s Garden were coming to fruition that night in Bethlehem.

When Peter wrote about Christ’s incarnation in his first letter to the church, he declared that even angels long to peer into these things. (1 Peter 1: 12) Unseen by human eyes, the angelic chorus that proclaimed the Messiah’s birth gathered around the manger in wonder and awe. Their words echo in the carol:

Sing choirs of angels, sing in exultation;

O sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!

Glory to God, all glory in the highest!

The shepherds were the first to hear the angels’ news. They crowded into the stable, smelling of campfire smoke, damp wool, and long days in the fields. Then the shepherds returned to their flocks, glorifying God for what they had witnessed. Months—or even years—later the magi also arrived from the Far East with their extraordinary gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

We too are called to kneel at the manger in wonder and awe. Come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord! May you have a grace-filled Christmas.

Sights of Christmas:

The world wrapped in holiday colors of red, green, silver, and gold. Crimson berries nestled in emerald green holly leaves. Wreath-clad doors, mailboxes garbed with garland scarves, and shrubs robed in lights. Rudolph, Frosty, Charlie Brown, Ebenezer Scrooge, and the Little Drummer Boy on TV. The “Big Tree” towering over Lenox Square. Piled gifts spilling beyond the sheltering arms of a Christmas tree’s embrace. On, off, on, off, on, off, on, off of blinking bulbs. Windows alight in warm candle glow. Stockings hung by the chimney with care. Cardboard manager characters casting long shadows in floodlight. “Kiss-me-quick” mistletoe dangling from doorways. Diamond stars displayed on a black velvet night. Clydesdale horses stomping through a Currier and Ives winter wonderland. Santa Claus swooshing down a snow-covered hillside on a Norelco electric razor. Traffic-jammed mall parking lots. Church pageant children clothed in oversized bathrobes, cardboard wings, and pipe-cleaner halos.

Sounds of Christmas:

Salvation Army, red kettle ringers. Jingle bells jangling. Salutations of “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Holidays.” Crackling fires of wood and gas. Mailboxes crammed with catalogs, cards, invitations, and bills. Carolers’ off-key singing. Horn blare of traffic jams. Canned carols endlessly looping on store speakers. “Blue Christmas,” “The Hallelujah Chorus,” and “Mama got ran over by a reindeer” played back-to-back-to-back on the radio. A bedtime story of “’Twas the Night before Christmas.” Children’s Christmas morning squeals of surprise, delight, and excitement.

Smells of Christmas:

Dusty boxes of attic-stored decorations.  Fir-scented Christmas tree smell. Hickory wood smoke wafting from ice-frosted chimneys. Oven roasted turkey basting. Sugar cookies baking. Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, peppermint, and allspice. Apple cider simmering on the stove. Flavored coffee steaming in a mug.

Feelings of Christmas:

Sticky, sappy, prickly, pine boughs. Polar breezes that cut through pants to discover where underwear ends. Cozy down comforters for long winter’s naps. Fleece, flannel, wool, fur, cashmere, leather, velvet, cardigan, and cotton clothes. Overcoats, gloves, hats, and scarves. Candy-cane kisses from a candy-smeared child. Children lying awake on Christmas Eve, knowing the night will never pass. Home for the holidays. The presence of loved ones, both present and absent.

Tastes of Christmas:

Anjou pears, red delicious apples, navel oranges. Hot cocoa with sliver sprinkles of chocolate and topped with marshmallows. Sweet eggnog sprinkled with cinnamon. Honey ham, sweet potato soufflé, cornbread dressing, and deviled eggs. Gingerbread dunked in milk. Unopened fruit cake “regifted” from person to person, family to family, home to home, year to year. Chex mix baked with butter and garlic. Some homemade pumpkin pie.

The Five Senses of Christmas:

In the Gospels, one title given to Jesus is “Emmanuel” which means “God with us.” For those with eyes to see and ears to hear, God’s grace is all about us in these Holiest of Days. During this Christmas season, see, hear, smell, touch, and taste that the Lord is good!

For forty years, the city of Pawtucket, Rhode Island sponsored a downtown Christmas display. The exhibit featured a traditional nativity scene surrounded by secular symbols of the season. The shepherds and wise men were flanked by plastic reindeer, candy striped canes, a Christmas tree, and Santa Claus.

In the early eighties, a group of local citizens filed a lawsuit, claiming the display violated the “Establishment Clause” of the U. S. Constitution. The case of Lynch v. Donnelly went all the way to the Supreme Court. In 1984, the Court ruled 5-4 in favor of the city. Pawtucket could continue to sponsor the nativity scene.

Chief Justice Warren Burger wrote the majority opinion. The decision declared that the Christmas display recognized “the historical origins of this traditional event long (celebrated) as a National Holiday,” and that its primary effect was not to advance religion. “The display is sponsored by the city to celebrate the Holiday and to depict the origins of that Holiday. These are legitimate secular purposes.” The benefit to religion was called “indirect, remote, and incidental.”

The Reindeer Rule

The court decision derisively became known as “The Plastic Reindeer Rule.” Secular decorations diluted the nativity scene enough to make it “acceptable” for worldly purposes. Chief Justice Warren Burger’s opinion revealed a keen insight into American culture. Our society tolerates religion in small amounts. Religious displays are socially acceptable only when counterbalanced by secular symbols.

The world continually attempts to dilute the Christmas and Christian message. During the past four decades, we have witnessed a sea change in the United States. Educators dare not mention the C word of “Christmas” in class. Our children go on “Winter Break.” On many town squares, a “Holiday Tree” adorns the downtown plaza.

Merchants wish their customers a generic “Happy Holidays.” The Salvation Army is banned from stores. Manger scenes on public property must blend into secular displays.  And the baby Jesus lying in the manger has the same significance as a plastic Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer.

Since Christ’s coming, there have been regular, repeated attempts to water down Christianity into a tasteless gruel. Compromise, tolerance, and political correctness seek to create a faith that is palatable and acceptable to all while offending none.

Public displays of the manger scene have become the lightning rod for such sentiment. If crèches cannot be eliminated entirely, then the world will dilute the message with secular symbols. Ultimately, the Lynch v. Donnelly decision proved to be a hollow victory for the church, equating the Son of God with an artificial woodland animal.

For the animal lovers among us, let me assure you that I have nothing against plastic reindeer. Like any good redneck, I have featured a couple of lighted deer adorning my side yard in the past. However, they cannot take the place of the Manger Scene.

The Christian faith IS offensive. It offends the sensibilities of a society hell-bent on destruction. It offends the tolerance of political correctness that gives equal value to mangers and reindeer. It offends the sinfulness inherent in every human by calling us to change. Little wonder the world is offended by the manger scene. The reaction to a seemingly innocuous display reveals God’s power to save!

We should not be surprised that the world fears the manger scene. “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” During Advent and Christmas, reindeer don’t rule—Emmanuel, God with us, does.

Happy Holy Days!

During December, I enjoy giving small groups A Christmas IQ Test. The questions are based on the Biblical accounts of Christ’s birth.

People are often surprised to discover that much of what they “know” about Christmas actually comes from TV specials, greeting cards, holiday songs, legend, and tradition. Today I invite you to test your Christmas intelligence quotient. Is your knowledge about “the reason for the season” based on Matthew and Luke or Currier and Ives?

Q1:      Christmas has always been celebrated on December 25.

A1:      False. No one knows the exact date of Jesus’ birth. In a prior calendar, December 25 originally marked the Winter Solstice. The church “baptized” the date to celebrate the advent of “the light of the world” during the fourth century.

Q2:      What did the innkeeper say to Mary and Joseph?

A2:      According to tradition, the innkeeper said, “There is no room in the inn.” Despite countless children’s plays to the contrary, however, the innkeeper does not have any speaking lines in the Biblical accounts.

Q3:      Who saw the star in the east?

A3:      The wise men saw the star in the east. Many Christmas cards show the shepherds following the star to the manger; however, the shepherds went to Bethlehem after the angelic chorus announced the Christ’s birth.

Q4:      How many wise men made the journey?

A4:      Most people know the correct answer is “three.” Most people are wrong! The Bible never mentions how many wise men came to see the newborn king. They DID bring three gifts. By the way, they were not kings, either. So the carol “We Three Kings” is inaccurate in every detail!

Q5:      What is frankincense and myrrh?

A5:      My favorite response is that frankincense is “an eastern monster story!” In reality, it is a precious perfume. Myrrh is a spice often used for preparing bodies for burial—a strange gift for a newborn. Even at his birth, the babe of Bethlehem was also the Christ of the cross and the Lord of the empty tomb.

Q6:      Where did the wise men find the baby Jesus?

A6:      Months and even years may have passed before the wise men arrived. According to the Matthew’s account, they found the Holy Family in a home and not a stable.

Q7:      Which animals does the Bible say were present at Jesus’ birth?

A7:      Don’t throw away your manger scene’s barnyard menagerie, but the Gospels say nothing about any animals at the nativity.

Q8:      Where do I find the Christmas story in the Bible to check these answers?

A8:      Matthew and Luke contain the stories of Jesus’ birth. Matthew focuses upon Joseph and includes the wise men. Luke focuses on Mary and describes the angels appearing to the shepherds.

During Christmas, many families enjoy the tradition of reading holiday books together. In addition to other seasonal classics, I encourage you to include the Gospel accounts of the first Christmas in your reading time as well.

By the way, according to the author, there WILL be an end-of-the-book test!

Sights of fall:

Burning bushes ablaze with God’s glory, holy ground graced by human souls. Sugar maples aglow with distilled sunshine in the twilight gloom. Pomegranate red sunsets painting the western sky. Harvest moon slinging a scythe through a harvest of glistening stars set against black velvet infinity. Indian corn’s color-freckled kernels bursting from a brown husk. Orange light dancing in hollow pumpkin eyes. Leaf carpeted yards in rainbow muted hues. Frost glazed windows and lawns warning of winter’s advent. Thanksgiving tables boasting divine bounty. First leaves falling, fluttering, flipping, flopping. Smoky breath steaming in the morning chill.

Sounds of fall:

Crisp, crunching, cackling, crackling leaves underfoot. Raucous honks of migrating geese southward bound. A college crowd’s cheers, a referee’s shrill whistle, and the solid thunk of toe-meeting-leather. Fussy, chattering squirrels scampering up trees, burying ripe acorns, and insulating winter’s nests. Ding-dong of doorbells and “Trick or Treats!” of costumed children. Sanctuary radiators hissing and sighing as hot water warms their aching bones. Swish-swish whispers of corduroy pants passing by. Patter of acorns as oaks shed their summer burden. Fingernail-on-the-chalkboard scratching of scrapers on ice-blinded windshields. Reverberation of a bouncing basketball on a high school gym floor.

Smells of fall:

Wisps of smoldering leaves wafting along gentle breezes. Vegetable soup bubbling and boiling on the stove. The arid smell of burnt dust as a heater is turned on for the first time. Chimney smoke’s hickory and oak scented breath. Hot apple cider stirred with cinnamon sticks held close to the face. Aching lungs drawing great draughts of chilled air.

Feelings of fall:

Sweater weather mornings and shirtsleeve afternoons. Crisp, cool sheets at bedtime. Snuggling deeper under cozy quilts at the alarm clock’s ring. Cold tile shocking bare feet. Slick feel of ever earlier Christmas catalogs filling the mailbox. Squishy, squashy, stringy, slippery pumpkin guts sliding between children’s fingers. Carving a jack-o-lantern’s face in knife-resisting pumpkin rind.

Tastes of fall:

The crisp crunch of a Red Delicious apple, juice lips-escaping and chin-streaming. Mouth puckering persimmons before the first frost. Carnival cotton candy and corn dogs. Buttered, toasted, salted pumpkin seeds and pecans. Fried peach pies piping hot from the oven. First-cold-snap chili, spicy and steamy. Hot cocoa with a whipped cream cap. Turkey and dressing, cranberry sauce and sweet potato soufflé, cornbread and rolls, pumpkin and pecan pies. Muscadines fermented by sunshine and aged on the vine.

During this fall season, see, hear, smell, touch, and taste that the Lord is good!

I bought my first computer in 1992. In an age before Pentium or Core chips, my Compudyne 486SX boasted a blazing speed of 33 megahertz. I paid extra for a SoundBlaster audio card and a pair of cheap speakers. Windows 3.1 took a slow eternity to load. A small hard drive met my modest demands, and the modem’s speed marginally surpassed two tin cans connected by a string. We primarily employed the machine for word processing and children’s games.

In 1965, Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel, noted that that the number of transistors per square inch had doubled every year since the invention of the integrated circuit. He predicted this trend would continue for the foreseeable future. Today’s version of “Moore’s Law” states that computers will double in power every eighteen months. The consumer corollary is a computer’s original price will be halved in the same time period.

Moore’s words proved prophetic. Over twenty years after my first foray into modern technology, my present home computer contains an Intel Core i3 chip with hyperthreading technology capable of speeds 3.4 gigahertz. CD and DVD burners have superseded the antiquated 3.5 inch drives. Sleek LCD screens take a fraction of the space required by their older, bulkier CRT siblings. Despite the technological advances, however, I still use our home computer mainly as a glorified typewriter and to surf the Internet.

My generation did not grow up with computers. Modern technology still intimidates us. I employ a computer extensively at work; however, I remain technologically-challenged. Sooner or later, I know in my heart-of-hearts that pushing the wrong button will cause the computer to explode in my face.

When problems occur with a computer, I feel helpless. Any glitch causes me to call the tech equivalent of 911. However, most consumer assistance has now gone on-line. Which leads to the chicken and egg question of how do I get assistance about going on-line if I can’t go on-line?!?

Computers are akin to modern cars. Once upon a time an informed driver could pop the hood and fix whatever ailed the engine. Today’s chips and modules defy a layperson’s attempts at repair. Only trained personnel with the proper equipment can diagnose and solve a problem.

However, the most common solution to computer problems is literally found at everyone’s fingertips. When a computer becomes neurotic, the first and best thing to do is turn the blessed thing OFF. Wait a few minutes and enjoy a cup of coffee. Then turn it back ON. The geek phrase for this procedure is called “REBOOTING.” For some reason known only to gremlins of technology and nerds with pocket-protectors, this simple solution will cure a surprising number of computer woes.

Wouldn’t it be nice if life could be rebooted occasionally? Problems, anxieties, and worries would vanish with the push of a button. The past could be erased and a new future begun.

Human beings are not computers, but God is in the business of new beginnings. The apostle Paul said those in Christ are new creations in which the old has passed away and the new has begun. The old problems don’t necessarily disappear; however, the Lord gives us fresh solutions and perspectives.

Allow God to reboot your life and begin anew today.

People define “old” in a variety of ways. Some folk panic on their 40^th birthday. AARP eligibility begins at 50. Medicare and Social Security start at 65. In the United Methodist Church, clergy face mandatory retirement at 72.

Regardless of definition, we all grow older every day. Like those warnings on car mirrors, it’s closer than it appears! One person said: “I knew I was going to get old—I just didn’t realize it happened so young!” Inside every old person is a young person wondering what happened.

You might be growing older IF:

• You get free coffee at McDonald’s without asking.
• Pretty girls call you “sir” at the mall.
• After bending down, you stay in case anything else needs to be done down there.
• The only thing you exercise is caution.
• Your body makes the same noises as your coffee maker.
• Your retirement portfolio is heavily invested in metals: you have silver in your hair, gold in your teeth, steel in your hip, and lead in your pants.

Age is ultimately relative. After all, OldER is a comparative term. OldER than who or what? Older normally means older than ourselves. However, older gets younger in a hurry. In my own experience, ages I once considered OLD are now MUCH YOUNGER.

I knew a group of World War II veterans who enjoyed meeting for breakfast at the local Kentucky Fried Chicken. A member of their group was about to celebrate his 90^th birthday. One friend kidded the birthday boy by saying, “I don’t know that I would want to live to be 90.” Without hesitation, the man replied, “You would if you were 89!”

Growing older brings with it unique challenges and blessings. However, we believe that our Lord is with us in every age and stage of life. Too often we look forward to the future or reminisce about the past rather than living for God in the present. The only time we can serve God is TODAY.

The Bible also challenges older adults to continue a life of fidelity and service. The Bible does not mention an earthly retirement plan for Christians, but the benefits are out of this world! So it’s important to finish strong. Using imagery from the Olympic Games of his time, Paul wrote about fighting the good fight and running the good race. We are challenged to cross the finish line at full speed.

OldER adults also set an example for the church. They teach by word and deed what it means to live as a mature men and women of God. Older Christians serve as pioneers of faith, blazing a trail forward into the future.

My greatest heroes and heroines of faith are older Christians I have been privileged to know over the years. Their words, actions, and attitudes have shaped my understanding of what it means to be a follower of Christ in every age and stage of life. They teach me how to live—and how to die—as a person of faith.

We are called to serve God in every age and stage of life. We honor those older than us for their wisdom and example. As pioneers of faith, they mark a path into the future. In turn, we are pioneers for others.

In one of his last books, Dr. Seuss reminded us: You’re only old once! So make the most of it.

Did I scare you? October 31^st looms on the calendar only three days away; and the autumn eve claims to be the most frightening time of the year.

The church doesn’t quite know what to do with Halloween. Some believe it is a demonic observation that accentuates the occult. Others think it is a nothing more than a harmless fall festival. However, a deeper meaning makes the holiday a holy day for Christians.

“Halloween” is a contraction of the words “All Hallow’s Eve.” “Hallow” means to make holy. “Hallows” names God’s holy ones or saints. In the church calendar, October 31^st is the evening before “All Saints Day” when the church honors God’s faithful dead.

Like many Christian holidays, the church co-opted a pagan holiday and baptized it with new meaning. The ancient Celtic people observed “Samhain” (SAH-win) on October 31-November 1. The festival celebrated the harvest and recognized the division between the “light” and “dark” halves of the year. It combined Thanksgiving and New Year’s in the Celtic calendar.

During this time, the Celts believed that the line between this world and the next—between the living and the dead—thinned. Spirts could cross the weakened boundary freely. So frightened people lit bonfires, carved gourds, and wore masks to frighten or confuse any harmful spirits. Many of our Halloween traditions reflect these Celtic practices.

Little wonder that Halloween so confuses the church. It blends piety and paganism, the profound and profane, the sacred and secular. Some devout believers see the occult disguised in costumes. Others dismiss the day as a harmless folk festival. A few recall the deeper meaning of “All Hallow’s Eve.”

On Saturday, fear and faith symbolically face off against one another. Halloween sports the traditional colors of black and orange. Black represents the darkness of night. Orange symbolizes the light of fire. The black dark of doubt challenges the orange fire of faith.

In my office, I possess a copy of a 16^th century prayer from A Peasants’ Cornish Litany which reads:

What frightens you? What threatens to scare your faith to death? Jesus Christ calls us from fear to faith. We can become fearless!

An inverse correlation exists between faith and fear. The greater our faith, the less our fear. The greater our fear, the less our faith. They mix like oil and water. Faith drives out fear. Fear drives out faith.

I am not attempting to minimize the soul-searing, terrifying moments of life that we all face. In a scary, fallen world, it is natural to be afraid. And there are times when we weakly pray, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.” However, God’s children are called to let our fear drive us to faith; then our faith can drive out our fear.

David’s words in Psalm 23:4 claim God’s presence even in the darkest parts of life: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me. A contemporary Christian song declares: When the shadows close in, Lord, still I will say: Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Fear nothing this Halloween. Fear nothing in this world. Fear nothing in life. Fear nothing in death. We serve the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and nothing can overcome us in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

I experienced God’s call to the ministry in my early teens. Although I flirted with other vocational ambitions during adolescence, I never drifted too far off the course. After high school, I double-majored in religion and history at Berry College—both highly marketable and profitable degrees!

The United Methodist Church certified me as a candidate for ministry during college. Then I attended “License to Preach School.” I graduated from Candler School of Theology with a lofty-sounding Master of Divinity degree. The North Georgia Conference ordained me as a deacon and two years later as an elder.

After seminary, Bishop McDavid appointed me as pastor-in-charge of a two point circuit outside Newnan, Georgia. I entered the full-time ministry with all the cockiness of a 24 year old who knew it all. Looking back, I knew just enough to be dangerous.

People encountering me for the first time often said, “You look too young to be a minister!” Back in the day, the comment sounded like a veiled insult. Three decades later, I feel otherwise! Next June I will mark 34 years in the ministry. Don’t bother with the math—I’m 57 currently.

Today I serve a county seat church with a wonderful staff family. However, I’ve noticed a strange phenomenon: the ministers around me are growing increasingly YOUNGER. Some associate pastors on staff are young enough to be my children. The church recently hired a student minister who is my daughter’s age.

I’m serving with staff members who don’t recognize Creedence Clearwater Revival on the radio. They studied the space race and the Vietnam War in history class. They’ve never used a rotary phone. They’ve always filled up with unleaded gas. They never watched M*A*S*H on primetime TV—and some of them have never seen an episode at all.

During seminary, I worked as the assistant pastor at Kennesaw United Methodist Church. Bill Edwards served as the senior pastor, and he has been one of my mentors over the years. However, I considered him OLD even back then. I just looked it up, and Bill was in his mid-forties at the time—TEN YEARS YOUNGER THAN I AM NOW!

So I don’t know how the younger staff members see the SENIOR pastor; and believe me, I have no plans to ask. I recall a song by Garth Brooks (for our younger readers, he was a country-western star in the old days) entitled: I’m Much Too Young to Feel this D*mn Old (See what I did there? I put the * in place of the “a” to disguise the scatological language.) Inside every old person is a young person wondering what happened.

However, I love serving with young(er) staff members. They bring an excitement and enthusiasm about ministry that reminds me of my youth. In the face of society that grows increasingly secular, they dare to boldly proclaim the living Word of God. They experience the ministry as a fresh calling rather than a timeworn vocation.

On my best days, I hope to impart to them some hard-won wisdom about serving in a local church. On my worst days, they remind me what ministry is all about. Ministers may grow older, but the call never grows old.

Turns out you’re never too young—and never too old—to look like a minister.