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Brothers and sisters,

I hope that the Illuminator this week finds each of you happy and healthy. The last two weeks have been eventful! We have made yet another delivery to the folks at McDougald Terrace and are planning to make one more. We have begun, in ear-nest, a school supply drive to benefit the teachers and students over at Parkwood Elementary School (be sure to check the list of needed supplies!). And we have wrapped up our sermon series on King David, “The Man After God’s Own Heart.” This past Sunday, August 15, and next Sunday, August 22, we’re taking some time to read a couple passages from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, and then, starting the next Sunday, August 29, we will begin a whole new series, entitled, “A Book of Straw.” So, I wanted to take some time and cast a little bit of a vision of our next sermon series.

First of all, this series will be shorter than the series on David. With David, we were looking at the highs and lows of a person’s entire life. In the new series, we will be looking at some of the most famous passages from one of the shortest books in the Bible — the Letter of James. Since the letter is so much shorter than the accounts of David’s life, we’ll only be in this series through the month of September, but I like the idea of moving through a letter like this because we can get a much fuller understanding of James’ beliefs in a shorter amount of time. And James’ ideas about God and the Christian life are wonderful and life-giving.

So then, you may be wondering, “Why call the series ‘A Book of Straw’? What does that mean?” The title of the series comes from Martin Luther’s famous (or infamous) opinion of James’ letter. He believed that there was nothing worthwhile in it, so he deemed it a “book of straw.” He particularly disliked James’ idea that “faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead” (James 2:17). Luther much preferred Paul’s letter to the Romans and Paul’s emphasis on faith alone, “For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law” (Romans 3:28). Luther also preferred Paul’s writing style and abilities to James’ style. Paul writes long, eloquent essays on complex theological topics, using complex Greek words and sentence structure, with soaring rhetoric that inspires and informs his reader. James writes very plainly. He writes in short sentences. He does not use long words. And his insights are incredible.

Here’s the thing—I think the ideas of Paul and James are both correct. I love the way that Paul can write such beautiful works about the boundless love and grace of God. I also love the way that James can speak so simply about how Christians can live in ways that testify to that love. James is an incredibly practical book. It is wonderfully relatable. A few years ago, I had a church member who told me that James’ letter was his favorite book in the Bible. When I asked him, “Why is that?”, he responded, “Because he tells it like it is. I feel like he’s actually talking to me.” So, over the next five weeks, we’re going to read through this letter and see what James has to say to us. We’re going to look at the simple, practical, insightful advice he gives to all Christians. And we’re going to see how James affirms the idea that God’s love is unending, God’s grace is boundless, and God’s mercy knows no end. We will see that it is a book of wisdom, not straw.

Grace and peace to you all,
Pastor Ben

Brothers and sisters,
It is amazing to me that we are so quickly approaching the end of summer. I feel like June and July only lasted fifteen minutes! And while there are surely more hot, humid summer days ahead of us, we are coming to that time of the year where school-age children and their parents are preparing for a new school year.

I have a lot of positive memories of this time of the year from when I was a child. This was typically the time when everyone on my mom’s side of the family would head down to Emerald Isle or Morehead City for our yearly family beach vacation. It was always a wonderful time to get to see my aunts and uncles, my cousins, and my grandmother. We’d typically spend A LOT of time in the ocean. We’d play mini golf. We’d stop by Dairy Queen. And usually, Mom, Grandma, and Aunt Emily would insist on taking us some-where educational—the NC Aquarium, Fort Macon, etc.

But usually there was one day that I didn’t stay at the beach. Each year, Mom and I would make the trek back to Goldsboro to go to my school’s Open House. I actually enjoyed going to Open House. I liked getting to see some of my friends again and I liked getting to know my teachers and know what their classrooms would look like. But mostly—I liked getting the school supplies list! I was that kid that really enjoyed going shopping for school supplies. I liked the buzz and atmosphere of everyone shopping at the same time. I liked picking out new pens, pencils, notebooks, dividers, etc. When I was in elementary school, I remember your choice of backpack, lunch box, and Trapper Keeper were very important! For me, this time of year always felt like a time of anticipation and new opportunities. There was a sense of possibility.

But, as you all know, there are plenty of children for whom this time of year is one of nervousness and even dread. See, I looked forward to shopping for school supplies because I knew I would get new school supplies. That was never in question. If my teacher said I needed a binder for her class, I knew I could have a new binder. If I needed new colored pencils, I knew I could have new colored pencils. School supply lists were opportunities to me. For some families, they are just another bill to be paid. And if times are tough, as they are right now, they don’t need another bill to pay. But we have a chance, as a church community, to help these families out—to help these children out.

We will be having a school supply drive here at the church from August 8th to August 29th. There is a list of the needed items in the Illuminator this week. If you feel led to purchase some of the supplies off this list, there will be bins for collection in the church starting this Sunday. You’ll notice as well that we mention some of the “Connect” teachers and their needs. These are the teachers who do not have a dedicated class of children—they’re teaching their subject to all the children! Again, there will be bins in the church where you can place any supplies you want to donate. Also, feel free to make a monetary contribution to this project—just designate on your check or envelope “School Supplies.” I know the passion this church has for helping people and so I’m looking forward to seeing the way that we can bless our community as a church family. I look forward to the way we can bless these students and teachers. I look forward to helping these children feel like the new school year brings new opportunities.

Grace and peace to you all,
Pastor Ben

Brothers and sisters,

First, I wanted to thank all of you for the gifts and cards you all gave me for my birthday this past week! I felt very loved and I am grateful that I can serve with a group of caring people like you all. Thank you! Also, thank you all for letting me have the night of my birthday off. My friends and I thoroughly enjoyed the Bulls game, especially since the Bulls beat the Jumbo Shrimp (yes, that was the other team’s name), 8-2! Thank you!

This past weekend actually reminded me of a concept that comes up a lot in the Bible, but that we often don’t pay as much attention to as we should. After the Bulls game Wednesday night, I came to work the next day and, once the workday was over, I made my way down to the coast to spend some more time with my friends. We had a good time catching up with each other, reminiscing about old times together, playing games and swapping stories about our lives now. We also spent a day on the beach (I have the sunburn to prove it!), playing bocce, swimming, and walking along the sand. We ate good food together. We wandered around downtown Swansboro together. They showed me the shops and restaurants their family liked to visit. I drove them over to Emerald Isle and took them to some of my family’s favorite spots. And as I left on Saturday night, I remember having this wonderful feeling of being “rested.” The coast has always been a place of rest and relaxation for me, not just because of the laid-back vibe the area has, but also because I have almost always gone down to the coast with friends or family. It is always a time of retreat and restoration, a time to reconnect with folks away from any pressures of “normal” life, a time to take in the fun and excitement of being somewhere new, a time to take in the beauty of Creation and feel restored.

The concept of “rest” and the concept of taking time away to rest shows up a lot in the scriptures. Jesus, on multiple occasions, takes his disciples across the Sea of Galilee to a place where they can rest and pray (Matthew 14:22-23; Mark 6:30-32). God sends an angel to take care of the prophet Elijah after his confrontation with the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 19:1-8). The psalms are filled with moments where the poets thank God for giving them rest (Psalm 3, 4, 23, 62, 116, and more!). And of course, the most famous example, after spending six days creating the cosmos, God rests on the seventh (Genesis 2:1-3). All these examples tell us one very important thing—God wants us to take time to rest. God does not expect us to try and sprint through life, moving from one project to the next, one event to the next. God wants us to take time to relax and recharge. God wants us to take moments to slow down, breathe in, and breathe out, taking in all the wondrous things around us. God wants us to take time to enjoy the things that bring us happiness and fulfillment.

What are the things that bring you rest? Where are the places you feel you can relax and recharge? Who are the people that fill you up? What parts of your spiritual life restore your soul? I hope you’ll ponder these questions over the coming days. And I hope you’ll take some time to do something you really enjoy, some-thing that fulfills you, something that lets you feel relaxed and rested.

Grace and peace to you all,
Pastor Ben

Brothers and Sisters,

Can you believe we are already over halfway through 2021? I know that, for me, a lot has happened since the year began! I started out the year working with the City of Raleigh’s Parks department, answering phones and assisting guests. Eventually, I began speaking with the Pastor Search Team here at Hope Valley about the possibility of serving this church as Senior Pastor. And now, after two months as your Senior Pastor, I ask myself, “What defined the first half of 2021 for me? How would I describe it?”

For me, the word that comes to mind is opportunity. During the first half of this year, I had the opportunity to read widely about all manner of subjects from American history to writing to technical religious scholarship. I had the opportunity to read and reread works of fiction that re-minded me of how wonderful and creative we can be as human beings. And as I did that, it gave me the chance to take a step back and ask myself about my own spiritual, theological, and vocational passions. I was reminded of the wonder of God’s creation as these different authors wrote so beautifully about the world around them or about the worlds they saw in their imaginations. I was reminded of the wonderful community of God as I worked at the community center, as families and groups of friends would come in after spending the day together, as strangers struck up conversations, and I got to know new people. And when the opportunity to serve God’s people at Hope Valley came, I heard my call to ministry spoken to me in new, refreshing ways. I heard that call spoken to me in ways that were good and life-giving. I felt good about the opportunity to dive back into church-work, to begin serving God through ministry with God’s people once again.

I tell you all that in part because I want you all to know me better and have a better understanding of where I continue to feel my call to ministry coming from. It continues to come from God and it continues to come through my own interactions with other people. And now, at the beginning of July, I ask my-self, “What will the second half of 2021 be for me? What will it be for us at Hope Valley Baptist Church? What word will I associate with it?” As I think about the ministries we are already engaged in—the Summer Snacks Program and Hope House—and I consider our most recent event, Lemonade on the Lawn, my hope is that word will be “hospitality.” As the world continues to struggle with the pandemic, I am encouraged by the way that people in different communities, including our own, are reaching out and helping one another. I hope that we, as a church family, will continue to reach out to folks. I hope that we will continue to look for the image of God in each other and in our neighbors. I hope we will seek creative ways to love God’s people during this second half of the year.

I hope you will take some time to reflect on this year—what it has been and what it can be. I hope you will join me in striving to be more hospitable to people. And I hope you will look for little ways to be good and kind to others. You may want to call a friend or neighbor to check on them. You may want to make a donation to a local non-profit. You may want to just spend some time in fellowship with your brothers and sisters in Christ over lemonade and cookies. Regardless, know that God goes with you through it all, faithfully calling you to do the work of God’s kingdom.

Grace and peace to you all,
Pastor Ben