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​             Pastor Jeff's Blog

Pastor Jeff's Reflections . . . from a social distance

Life . . . enjoy what God makes of it.

6/13/2020

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​Yesterday – June 9th – I celebrated 37 years of life. And before I make any additional comments or ramblings, I want to say thank you to everyone for all of my happy birthday wishes. 
Birthdays inevitably provide one an opportunity to reflect on life . . . successes, accomplishments, failures, growing edges, mistakes, joys, investments, legacies, fears, struggles and triumphs are all part of it. According to Macrotrends, the life expectancy for Americans in 1983 (my birth year) was 74 years. If this holds true, it means I have reached somewhere near the halfway point in life; I may have lived and experienced half of my life.
Such insight might cause some people to worry or become anxious, realizing that they are now closer to the event of their death than they are to the event of their birth. However, if one truly seeks to take things a day at a time, then one can enjoy each individual day on its own terms and merits.
Nonetheless, these realizations have thrust me into a pile of pensive ponderings. I will share a few.
  • My mistakes do not define me, nor do yours define you . . .
I have made more than my fair share mistakes and poor choices in life. It’s only human nature to wish that I could “go back” and change many of those, and I am sorry for the unnecessary hurt and pain that I caused along the way. However, none of us are our mistakes. We are redeemed by the grace of God (on God’s terms and timetable, not ours). We are God’s children and therein lies our identity. Learn from your mistakes, make amends where possible, accepts God’s Grace and forgiveness, recognize your identity as a loved child of God, and keep being an active participant in God’s plan for your life.
  • God still has plans for you . . .
No matter your age or life stage; God is still actively at work in your life. Sometimes this activity is hard to see. Sometimes it goes unnoticed by us. Nevertheless, that does not change the fact that God is actively at work in your life. We are given the high purpose of being a part of God‘s redeeming work in this world and it’s one of the greatest opportunities we will ever have.
  • Try not to worry about tomorrow . . .
Simply try to make the most of what God has in store for you this day.
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Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution . . .

6/5/2020

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Any honest assessment of the landscape of our country leads us to understand that we are once again torn by the existence and perpetuation of injustice, inequality and racism. I am admittedly no expert in any of these issues. But it is time for all Christians to actively stand against inequality, injustice, and racism in our communities. These are huge issues and huge problems. I am not one to say that I have the solution for the problems that exist. Nevertheless, we can all be part of the solution. I want to encourage each of you to decide to be a part of the solution. Do your own self-evaluation and determine what racial tendencies that you hide unconsciously or express overtly. Become more self-aware of those, if you struggle to see those then ask others to help you see the areas that you are blind to. Covenant to weed out those places in your own heart. And seek to actively become part of the solution. When racism and Injustice exist in our world there is no being neutral or standing on the sidelines. If we are not actively engaging in being part of the solution, then we are by default becoming part of the problem. As Christians we must realize and actively represent that we are all God's children. God made us each and every one. We are all loved by our creator without prejudice or favoritism. And as Christians we must reflect the love of our creator and acknowledge that we are all created in His image. Our diversity does not need to be a cause of fear but a reason for celebration, because it is through our diversity that we are able to more fully realize what it means for us to become the beautiful body of Christ.
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Loss and Grief . . . how to be a friend

5/29/2020

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​​Recently, there have been several families within our extended faith community that have suffered from the grief/loss that death creates. I wanted to take a few moments and provide some perspective on how to care for those grieving specifically from the effects of death. 
When seeking to help people who have experienced a family death or the death of a close friend, we often do not know the best way to respond or become nervous or apprehensive about being able to respond. My goal with this brief blog is to help provide a framework for being the presence of Christ to those wrestling with grief. 

The very first thing that we should do as Christians is validate the grief that the other person is experiencing. They are dealing with the feelings of loss and grief and mourning and sadness all for very valid and legitimate reasons. In many cases they have just experienced a devastating heart break. Those feelings need to be validated. It is fitting and right for them to feel any of those emotions if it does not lead to harming themselves or someone else. 

One of the worst things that anyone can do to someone grieving is invalidate their feelings. Many times, Christians do this without knowing or understanding what they are doing. These invalidations often come in the form of colloquialisms like, “God just needed another angel in heaven,” or “It was just God‘s plan.” Death may very well be a part of God’s larger plan; however, the acute time of grieving is not the appropriate time to remind a person of God’s greater plan. 

Instead, it is a time. just to be with the person. Which brings me to my second point. If you do not know what to say to a grieving person, it is often better to say nothing at all than to inadvertently say something harmful. Just simply be with the person. Some suggestions as to what to say if you are nervous are, “I’m glad to see you,” or “I can’t imagine what you’re feeling right now but I’m here for you.” Also please avoid comparisons like, “I know what it was like when my (Mom/Bother/Uncle) died.”  Just because you know what it was like for you does not mean that you know what it is like for the other person.  So just simply be still and listen, and most often they will share as they are comfortable in doing so.  
​
Which brings me to my final point in trying to help us all deal with grief more appropriately. Listen without needing to fix. The person’s loved one has just died and there is absolutely nothing that you can do to fix the problem. Simply be present, and in so doing . . . be the Presence of Christ.
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Is "Spiritual" Distancing getting to you, too?

5/22/2020

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“All’s fair in love and war”, or so the saying goes; but don’t we all know that it’s not true . . . at least for the more civil among us. It does; however, illustrate the point that when faced with explaining or defending our feelings and actions we all too often rely on the simplistic cliché. Pandemics, nonetheless, are neither simple nor cliché and I find that I am almost juxtaposed to myself as I view and experience Covid-19 from the view-points of both a Hospice Chaplain – a health care worker only slightly removed from the front-lines – and that of a Pastor experiencing the spiritual isolation brought on by the requisite “social distancing”.
 
I’ve heard most of the arguments for churches staying closed as well as those in favor of resuming gathered worship and, frankly, most of the arguments on both sides are well reasoned and easily supported and, in spite of the quandary in which I find myself, I can respect almost all of the arguments on both sides.
 
Unfortunately, the Bible does not specifically address how to deal with a pandemic. None of the 613 laws found within scripture addresses this issue. We do not have any, “Thou shall wear a face covering”. Or, “Thou shall wash your hands with warm water for 20 seconds every 30 minutes.” It would be nice if God had issued a “just in case” 11th commandment to Moses on Mt. Sinai that said, “Thou shall not catch a pandemic virus.” Then all we would have to do would be simply just not break that commandment.
 
Are there risks in returning to gathered church worship? The simple answer is “yes.” Are the risks any greater than going to the grocery store, or the beach or resuming visits with your health care provider? Probably not. We all must continue to be diligent in exercising safety precautions and use good judgement; use the brains God gives us. 
 
Further, as your pastor, I must also consider the risks of us continuing to worship in Diaspora. In my humble opinion, we can no longer risk the spiritual isolation that this pandemic has started – the slow atrophy of our God breathed spiritual life and the sharpening that occurs through fellowship. I think that small churches are uniquely able to be the front runners in being able to reassemble – while using all available safety measures and precautions.  
 
We need each other and we cannot worship or be the most profound example of the Body of Christ without each other. Zoom and other technology platforms have served their roles and will continue to do so for those who cannot yet return to services safely. We need to return to the gathered church and do so in the safest possible way. Know that as we plan our return to gathered worship on May 24th we do not do so haphazardly. We return to gathered worship while taking every possible safety precaution available to us. Your physical safety and your spiritual well-being are both our greatest concerns. We look forward to seeing each other on the 24th, in person or online.
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    About Pastor Jeff:

       Pastor Jeff Howard began his journey at Woodland Forest Church as Interim Pastor in the summer of 2017.  In January 2018, he was called by the church family to become our Pastor.
       Pastor Jeff lives in Birmingham, AL.  He enjoys spending quality  time with his family, playing outside, hiking, playing card and board games, listening to music, and watching movies.  
       Pastor Jeff has over 10 years of experience pastoring diverse church congregations.  He was ordained at Shades Crest Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL, and received his Master of Divinity from McAfee School of Theology.  

    You can reach Pastor Jeff by email at jeffhoward100@gmail.com

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