The downside of teaching your children the Bible

Our oldest daughter needed discipline today after she did something to hurt her younger sister. As we were preparing to meet with the "board of education", she told me that she didn't hurt her sister on purpose. This is a pretty standard defense with a very low rate of success. But then came the kicker. She told me in all earnestness, "But daddy, the Bible says that if a man is out in the forest chopping trees and the ax head falls off and kills somebody, it's just an accident!" That's the first time one of our children has used a quote from Deuteronomy to support their protestation of innocence.

It was a valiant effort, but it too failed in the end. The hardest part was not laughing out loud!

I enjoyed lunch today with some Reformed-minded pastors in Anchorage. Two were Episcopalian, four were Baptist, and I was the lone Presbyterian representative. So, it was quite an ecumenical gathering.

Gearing up for an Alaska winter

Alaskans know how to do winter. I was told to be sure to put studded tires on our cars. Starting September 30th, you are officially allowed to drive on them. You can keep the "studs" on until April 15th. The tire stores have been swamped the last month doing "tire change overs". I thought I'd beat the rush and show up to the tire place 15 minutes before they opened on a Monday morning. I did, but I was still 7th in line and had about an hour wait. But, the Suburban's got the studs now, and we are ready for the white stuff to start falling any day.

An elder at church instructed me in the proper footwear for quick trips outside the house - waterproof boots with a felt liner having a loop at the top that makes them easy to put on. Another family from the church who moved just before we arrived left a huge container of winter gear, including a pair of boots that match this description.

So, studded tires...check, easy-on waterproof boots...check.

It may be too late to put up Christmas lights outside (although I didn't plan on doing it anyway). Apparently, Alaskans don't wait until December comes to get into the Yuletide spirit. I've noticed several houses, including our neighbors, with their lights already on. It must be because if you wait too long, you'll be putting up lights in the snow and ice.

Or, you can do what the previous owners of our house did: put up the Christmas lights, and never take them down. We did take them down, though. They looked awful up there on the house and didn't work anyway.

The days are getting shorter and the temperatures are falling. Yes, we are about to experience our first winter up here in north country. Once we've made it, we'll no longer be such greenhorns.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

However, absence from writing new blogs makes the readership dwindle. When I was blogging on a regular basis I'm sure there were four, maybe five, readers out there who checked out the blog consistently (that would include my wife and my mother). Now, there are probably none. But I asked for it.

Just a few random things to share with the cyber-world.

First, I've been listening to the Psalms read by Max McClean. Reading the Psalms is wonderful, of course, but hearing them read adds another dimension altogether.

My former church history professor at Westminster, Carl Trueman, has written an inspirational piece here on being in the ministry and losing one's hair (not that the former causes the latter, though it very well could). Even if neither apply to you, I recommend reading it. He has some good insights into our obsession in the church with the youth culture.

Finally, a thought-provoking quote from a book I've been reading, Priorities for the Church by Donald Macleod. Macleod writes about Christian growth:

"God wants [his people] emotionally stable, content whatever their circumstances (whether abundance or destitution, as Paul put it in Philippians 4:12). We should be growing in knowledge of our Bibles, in our grasp of the great doctrines and in our ability to apply truth in our personal lives. God wants us better and better witnesses, patient sufferers, stronger and stronger in the face of temptation. He wants us to grow in grace, developing, symmetrically, in gentleness and firmness, in meekness and courage, until we have something resembling that true godliness which simultaneously intimidates and attracts."

I thought that neatly captured the the contrasting and complimentary qualities of a godly character - "gentleness and firmness...meekness and courage...simultaneously intimidates and attracts."

Back from "Outside"

It's been a long time since I last blogged. Life is busy, and things like blogging and exercising tend to fall by the wayside. But since we've just returned from a two-week vacation "outside" (what Alaskans call the other 49 states), I figured I'd jot down some of the highlights of our trip to keep the blog alive.

First, we enjoyed a brief but delightful time visiting our friends the Nelsons who live west of Seattle. We conversed, ate, supervised the kids' playing, and generally enjoyed each other's company. Before that, however, our friendship had to weather our 3:30 a.m. arrival. They showed us great kindness in opening their doors even at that hour and allowing us to stay as planned.

Then we ferried over the water to Seattle, stayed one night with Robyn's brother Joseph and family, and headed out the next day for Missoula, Montana.

The highlight of our Montana visit was taking part in the 10th Annual "Meredith's Golf" tournament. This is a fund-raising tournament my parents began in my sister's name the year after she died after a battle with leukemia. The tournament drew some 160 golfers and raised over $13,000 for a local cancer-related charity. I didn't play so hot, but it was great to see a lot of family and friends from Montana there.

After spending a few more days in Montana, we headed back to Seattle to meet with Robyn's family. One good memory from that visit was getting in an entire picnic dinner just before the rain started dumping on us.

We had a good time, but it is great to be back home in Wasilla. I was again struck by the majesty of the mountains here as we drove up from Anchorage towards our house. And, there is nothing like that first night back in one's own bed. I suppose we'll all be ready for our next family trip "outside" when next summer rolls around, but for now I'm looking forward to continuing getting settled into our new home (and church) here in Alaska.

Installation service

Although I've been serving here at Grace since the beginning of June, I was not technically her pastor until last Friday evening, when the service of installation took place. According to the rules of our denomination, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, the minister is officially declared to be the pastor of a local congregation at this service. I made a series of vows to serve the congregation as a faithful pastor, and the congregation vowed in turn to be a faithful flock under the care of the pastor. It is a solemn occasion.

I asked two ministers in our presbytery, the Presbytery of the Northwest, to take part in the service. Rev. Richard Venema of Helena, Montana, preached a powerful sermon on the glory of the gospel message proclaimed by ministers of the new covenant. His text was Hebrews 12:25, in which the the proclamation of the law at Mt. Sinai is compared with God's voice now speaking "from heaven". It was humbling to be reminded that God himself speaks through the minister of the gospel when he faithfully proclaims Christ from the Scriptures.

I thought of a seminary professor who used this same passage to say that our worship in the age of the church is far more glorious than the worship at Mt. Sinai under the old covenant. Although they approached the mountain of God, with a "blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them" (Heb. 12:18, 19), in Christ we come to "the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering" (v.22). The latter is far more wonderful and glorious than the worship of Israel at Mt. Sinai. In the same way, the message of the gospel is the voice of God himself from heaven, not just his speaking from earth.

The other minister who came for the service was Rev. Mark Sumpter of Grants Pass, Oregon. He preached a great message from Acts 9, encouraging the congregation to serve with the pastor in the ministry of Christ. I was thankful for the reminder that we ought to serve expectantly, believing that Christ is able - and will - overcome the barriers of unbelief and agnosticism that seem, humanly speaking, like insurmountable obstacles to the advance of the Kingdom.

On Monday afternoon, Mark visited our house and we had a great time of fellowship together. His coming to Alaska was certainly providential, as he helped me greatly in thinking through some matters that have been on my own mind here.

Both of these pastors once served at Grace, so they also knew many in the congregation.

As I reflect on the call of a pastor to shepherd God's people, I am acutely aware of my shortcomings and weaknesses. I take comfort from the words Christ spoke to the apostle Paul as he struggled with his thorn in the flesh, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9).

Moving Daze

It's hard to believe, but we are actually living in our new house now. It has been quite a week for our family. We picked up the keys to the house on Monday (the day after Family Camp ended), and I started moving things into it with the Suburban. In the meantime, Robyn lit up the phone lines making arrangements for babysitting. Moving and watching small children do not mix well.

On Tuesday, I rented a U-Haul truck to haul to the house the bulk of our possessions, which had been sitting in a storage unit ever since they arrived over the Alaska Highway back in early June. The poor woman who rented me the truck as a dealer for U-Haul was almost beside herself with frustration at the company for their ineptitude. The truck was not available for about 3 and 1/2 hours after the time I was told it would be ready. And even then, it was not the truck I wanted. It was a smaller one. But, with a trailer thrown in, it did the trick.

I am so grateful for the big crew that came out from the church to help load the truck (and their own vehicles) with all our stuff. The work went by very quickly with so many hands pitching in. The only damper was the rain, but having the U-Haul saved our stuff from getting too wet. Which is a point in favor of those who believe in renting trucks for such as move as this. On the other side are those who believe the best way is for everyone to show up in their pick-ups and make a lot of smaller trips. I've learned about these two schools of thought since coming here. I'm definitely in the rent-a-truck camp.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Robyn and I have been working feverishly to unpack and arrange all our belongings in the house. My main job is assembler, or I should say, re-assembler. I've put together two tables, three shelve units, two desks, one crib, two beds, and some other things I can't recall now. My other job is the utility-set-up guy. Between these two jobs, I've kept busy.

Things have been a little hectic. But we are so thankful to God for his wonderful provision for us. We love the house so far. Lord willing, we will be here for a while.

The neighbors came by today and introduced themselves. One interesting thing they told us is that the area between our two houses is a major thoroughfare for moose. We haven't seen any yet, but they should be a common sight during the winter months.

And we have been the recipients of the generosity of the folks in the church. They have made us meals and watched our kids, one family even taking on the three older kids for two and a half days. For these kindnesses we are also thankful.

Tomorrow is a special day for us. Two former pastors of Grace are flying up to take part in my installation service. This is a formal worship service at which I will be officially installed as the pastor of Grace OPC. My hope and prayer is that the service will not only be a great encouragement to all there, but will set the right tone for a fruitful season of gospel ministry here in Wasilla.

Family Camp

The first comment most people made when they arrived to the campground was about the weather, how perfect it was. The last time Grace OPC held this Family Camp, two summers ago, it rained more often than not. But this year, the clouds vanished and there was glorious sunshine all day Friday and Saturday. I'm still not used to hearing 75 degree days called "hot" by veteran Alaskans, but the summer Arctic sun does seem to bear down with unusual heat.

The highlight of the camp was the missionary family who spoke, the Proctors. Rev. Phil Proctor, his wife Meredith, and their four children live in Uganda and are presently on furlough. Rev. Proctor introduced us to the joys and challenges of preaching the gospel in Uganda. He works with a group of 12 churches there (of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Uganda) and his focus is on training future pastors. It was a wonderful encouragement to meet a family who has made great personal sacrifices out of obedience to the command of Christ to make disciples of all nations. And, I am thankful that we as a church now have a personal knowledge of the Proctors to encourage our prayer for them.

One of the traditions of the camp is the fishing contest for the kids. The rules are simple. Every child who catches a fish, or tries to catch a fish, or thinks about trying to catch a fish, or has been within 100 yards of the lake in which said fish live, gets a trophy at the end of the camp. And "fish" includes minnows. After lunch on Sunday, TC Wilson, one of our elders, presented the fishing awards to the children. Each child was able to choose their own prize from an impressive display of trophies, each topped with a golden fish. The winner was Naomi Proctor, who was the only child who actually landed a real, non-minnow fish.

I enjoyed the softball and soccer. In soccer, playing with mostly teenagers and younger kids, I noticed I seemed to be the only one wheezing after every run up the field. Taking several turns at goalie saved me from a possible heart attack (although I then became an easy target for the mosquitos).

For me, the worst part of the weekend was losing my voice. In God's perfect timing, though, it happened over a rare Sunday in which I had no speaking responsibilities at all.

It was a special time for Robyn and myself because we attended the same camp two summers ago. At that time, I came as the speaker. In the providence of God, I am now the pastor of the same congregation.

I've posted the pictures I took this weekend here.