All to Him I Owe

Two years ago, in a little town in Missouri, a church decided to put on a live nativity for their community. The goal was to involve the men and women of the church to help provide a Christmas-oriented service for their community.

The months prior were filled with planning, and the church was genuinely excited about what they were doing. Ads had been posted around the town, and a reporter had even interviewed the pastor and then printed an article in the local newspaper.

The plan was for car loads of people in the community to pull into the church parking lot where they would be greeted by a group of friendly folks offering Krispy Kreme donuts and hot chocolate. After receiving those items, the cars would proceed through the parking lot around the back of the church property. There they would see a live nativity and hear the church choir singing Christmas songs as they drove by.

The grand opening night finally arrived. They had planned so well, but something happened that they could not have planned for. Cars had been going through for an hour, and the line of cars was wrapped around the property and out into the street. The choir sounded great, and the characters of the nativity were doing an excellent job. And then it happened….

Now let me pause the story to set the scene for you. One of the unique things about the nativity was that they had live animals. In the first scene of the nativity, Mary sat upon a live donkey held by Joseph (a timid teenager who had never been around animals before in his life.) Mary was a  somewhat ditsy teenage girl who had been asked to do her part simply because her dad was in charge of the nativity. The wise men were three junior high boys who were given three llamas to lead instead of camels.

Back to the story . . . In the line of cars was a man named Ray who came that night simply to appease his wife’s requests. He was encouraged as they pulled into the church that they were first offered hot coffee and Krispy Kreme donuts. But as they made their way around the church to see the nativity, his fingers, slick with the Krispy Kreme glaze, dropped his hot chocolate all down the front of him. He shouted and jerked in reaction. When he did, he stepped on the gas and his car lurched forward to hit the car in front of him. That car hit the car in front of them and a domino effect began. One of the cars that was hit caused its alarm to go off and the night air was filled with an ear-splitting scream.

The donkey carrying Mary reared up in fear, and young Joseph, who had never been around animals, didn’t know what to do; so he let go of the rope, and Mary and her donkey took off. The three junior high boys held tight to their llamas as they began to run and were seen bumping along the ground behind them as the llamas took off.

The local paper the next morning had a front page picture of a group of men chasing a donkey down the street with a young teenage “Mary” on top. The caption read…”Mary Leaves Bethlehem to Take Ride down South Street.” The article went on to say that the coffee and Krispy Kreme table stopped the three wise men and their llamas before they reached the road. To say the least, it was a night of pandemonium and utter chaos.

Unlike that nativity, the original nativity when Jesus was born was not a night of chaos and utter pandemonium. You say, but wasn’t it….

1. A father who lost his voice (Zacharias)?
2. A teenage girl who became pregnant before marriage?
3. Angels who sang and spoke to fearful shepherds?
4. A barn turned into a maternity ward because the town was filled with people?
5. Lost wisemen?
6. An angry, dictatorial king killing thousands of babies?

To the average onlooker, it may have seemed like  pandemonium, but it wasn’t. It was the carefully prepared entrance of Christ into this world in the form of man! The nativity had a purpose and a carefully managed plan to fulfill that purpose.

God’s purpose is clearly stated in the name given to baby Jesus in Matthew 1:23: “Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” God’s purpose was to bring God to us through the incarnation. The incarnation of Christ (Deity taking on humanity) provides us with an effective sacrifice for our sin (Hebrews 10:1-19).

God’s plan was perfectly managed. His plan was predetermined and perfectly carried out. Numerous Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled the day Christ was born.

Your week may be hectic and filled with chaos as you celebrate this Christmas holiday. But the first Christmas was not chaotic. It was a perfectly planned event that fulfilled the exact purpose God had determined. I pray that we would find time this week in the busyness to truly meditate on the incarnation of Christ.

Remember this phrase to help you meditate: “Deity took on the form of humanity to die for man’s depravity and offer him eternity.”

I love the seniors that God has brought into my life and our congregation. They are some of the richest blessings to my personal life and ministry. My personal goal as a pastor is to keep learning the best ways to communicate my care for them and to minister to them well. Over the years, I have created a short list of things that I review periodically as I serve them. For your edification, I would like to share them with you.

1. Change my pace to adapt to their pace. This change must happen in both my pace of movements and my speed of communication. I like to walk fast and talk quickly! But as I serve seniors, I must slow down to their pace.

2. Communicate with their limitations in mind. I jokingly say that I have been cursed with the “Perry mumble.” Between my southern roots and my family heritage I can be soft-spoken and not enunciate very well. Because seniors often struggle with hearing loss, we must communicate louder and clearer.

3. Compliment with sincerity. I am struck with how many seniors struggle with depression and discouragement. A large amount of this is due to their sense of worthlessness or inadequacies. I’ve never met a worthless senior! Our sincere compliments placed in letters, emails, and public acknowledgements can be a strong medicine for the senior with a sad countenance.

4. Consider their season of life, and show them they are not forgotten. One of our seniors recently told me that his mailing list of friends to send Christmas cards to keeps getting shorter each year. He said, “Every year we hear that more of our friends have died!” A word that can sometimes best describe a senior’s “season of life” is loss. They are losing strength, memory, friends, etc. The holidays can be extremely difficult for a senior. The normal traditions of Thanksgiving and Christmas can highlight the memories of things or people they have lost throughout the years. A card that reminds them you have not forgotten their spouse that died or the gift that reminds them that you love them just the way they are now can be a huge encouragement.

5. Continually give them honor. Giving seniors honor requires that we should always avoid humor that is at their expense. We should always place their needs above our own agenda or preferences. A simple way that regularly helps me in the area of honor is to seek to learn from every senior I am with. For instance, today I asked the question of a senior, “What has been the most encouraging passage of Scripture God has given you since losing your wife?” I asked another man recently, “Would you please tell me about the times you saw God specifically answer your prayers for financial provision?” Both of these questions set the senior I was with up to be the teacher and enable me to honor them in a special way as I listened and learned.

6. Creatively produce opportunities for seniors to contribute. The feeling of uselessness is one of the worst feelings a human can experience. A person who thinks he or she is too old or without the ability to keep up with this young generation can fall into a lethargic, woe-is-me  mentality. It takes a little creativity, but there is a place for every senior to serve!

By God’s grace I want to be a minister who ministers well to seniors! Together may we implement these 6 C’s to do this as a congregation.