Pastor's Page

Almost every week, Pastor Garrett writes an article for our church bulletin.  Here are the last several articles, reprinted for you to read. 

(If you would like to discuss these issues with him, please drop an email, or give him a call.  He would be glad to interact with you more personally.)

A lot is going on in the financial life of our church. All of it is reason for praise to God. Let me explain a bit more.

First of all, we ended 2011 in a very good financial position. Our income, though not as much as we budgeted for 2011, was more than expenses. This is especially encouraging because from Jan – Aug, 2011, we were far behind both budget and expenses. I don’t know what caused our giving to dramatically increase in September, but that increase meant that our year ended very well financially. I PRAISE THE LORD for your generous giving to the Lord and to Temple Baptist Church ministry. 

Second, we discussed and changed our 2012 budget during our January meeting. Discussion was healthy and the church body moved ahead confidently to continue our mission giving and even increase some budget categories. When I see the church body engaged in decisions and in faith it powerfully models the headship of Jesus. Jesus is the Head of Temple Baptist Church and that includes finances. 

Third, our Finance Committee continues to take strong leadership in church financial responsibility. One excellent example is today’s internal audit. For many years we have talked about the value of doing such a financial review. Today we are doing it. It is certainly not a “fun” project, but it is very important in maintaining financial responsibility. Being a good steward of the Lord’s money is not a matter of fun or entertainment. It takes serious commitment to responsible financial management. Our Finance Committee members have stepped up to a greater level of stewardship responsibility. 

Fourth, Joel and Katie Peck are excited about helping our families use and manage their money better. One cannot read the Bible without recognizing that it takes money matters seriously. Money is important because it is a reflection of our personal values. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). He was not just putting together a nice thought, He was teaching us that money is important. It has strong influence – powerful pull – on our hearts. Let me challenge you to participate in the Financial Peace University program that the Pecks will lead for us. It could literally change your life and the way you use money.

I hope these observations encourage you. God is at work in the financial life of our church. Join us and find Him working in your personal financial life too. There is no better investment than “storing up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” (Matthew 6:20)

Your Pastor,

Dude Garrett

 

"Don’t get me wrong, the call to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ is a joy. Yesterday I pronounced a godly young couple husband and wife. This morning I baptized a brother in Christ. Nothing is more thrilling than opening the Word of God to the people of Christ week-by-week. But it provoked my spirit this morning to preach the Sanctity of Human Life Sunday emphasis this morning.

"I don’t hate Sanctity of Human Life Sunday because I think it, somehow, unbiblical. No, indeed. The entire canon throbs with God’s commitment to the fatherless and to the widows, his wrath at the shedding of innocent blood. I don’t hate it because I think it’s inappropriate. Just as every Lord’s Day should be Easter, with the proclamation of the Resurrection of Jesus, and Christmas, with the announcement of the Incarnation, so every Lord’s Day should highlight the worth and dignity of human life.

"I hate Sanctity of Human Life Sunday because I’m reminded that we have to say things to one another that human beings shouldn’t have to say. Mothers shouldn’t kill their children. Fathers shouldn’t abandon their babies. No human life is worthless, regardless of skin color, age, disability, economic status. The very fact that these things must be proclaimed is a reminder of the horrors of this present darkness.

"This morning as I opened the Bible to preach, I looked out and caught the eye of my sons. I prayed that their children wouldn’t have to hear a sermon against abortion and euthanasia. I prayed that my grandchildren and great-grandchildren would grow up in an age when abortion is, as the Feminists for Life organization put is some years ago, not just illegal but unthinkable. I prayed for my (yet to be conceived but not yet to be conceived of) great-grandchildren that a Sanctity of Human Life Sunday would seem as unnecessary to them as a Reality of Gravity Emphasis Sunday.

"I hate Sanctity of Human Life Sunday because I’m reminded that as I’m preaching there are babies warmly nestled in wombs who won’t be there tomorrow. I’m reminded that there are children, maybe even blocks from my pulpit, who’ll be slapped, punched, and burned with cigarettes before nightfall. I’m reminded that there are elderly men and women languishing away in loneliness, their lives pronounced to be a waste.

"But I also love Sanctity of Human Life Sunday when I think about the fact that I serve a congregation with ex-orphans all around, adopted into loving families. I love to reflect on the men and women who serve every week in pregnancy centers for women in crisis. And I love to see men and women who have aborted babies find their sins forgiven, even this sin, and their consciences cleansed by Christ.

"We’ll always need Christmas. We’ll always need Easter. But I hope, please Lord, someday soon, that Sanctity of Human Life Day is unnecessary.

I wish I’d said that…your pastor,

Dude Garrett

(If you would like to talk more about this, give Pastor Dude or Pastor Lon a call.)

 

 

There are many in our church who do not know that my wife Karon is in a graduate nursing program at NDSU. Once finished she will receive her doctorate in nursing and will be a Nurse Practitioner. Karon was accepted into the program last summer (a great honor in itself) and she has finished her first semester. This week she began classes for semester number 2.

Karon also decided that she would be a graduate assistant in the nursing department working with the NDSU student nurses at Essentia Hospital. In this position, she will be a clinical supervisor, helping the students fulfill the clinical requirements for their nursing degree (BSN) and preparing them to be the next generation of Registered Nurses (The same program that Linda Uong completed a few years ago). Needless to say, things are very busy for our household. 

As Karon prepares for this busy semester, yesterday she mentioned to me that she wanted to get email on her phone, knowing that students would need to communicate with her during their clinical experience. As I see young adults operate in our world, I totally agree that Karon is right. 

HOWEVER, that means that she needed to have a “smart phone.” So comes the rub…I have avoided smart phones. I’ve not wanted to get one for myself and I have resisted Michael’s appeals to get one. My reasoning went like this….smart phones are expensive, smart phones are time stealers, smart phones are the “in thing” to have (yet seldom needed)  – therefore, I do not need a smart phone.

While that may be true for me, I could immediately see the logic and importance of Karon getting a smart phone. To do the job she has signed up to do, a smart phone could be a very important tool.  So, yesterday, Karon got her smart phone. When she told our adult children, they were all amazed. They never dreamed we would get Mom a smart phone (even though most of them have their own).  

Still, a smart phone will not make Karon a good clinical supervisor for young nurses. Her experience, her skill and her character will make her a good supervisor, not a smart phone. Tools are helpful, but the person behind the tool is the important part.

I think there is a lesson for life here. Let’s be careful, we must never substitute tools for skill. Skills are the important part and skills are rooted in character. Tools may look good (and even be “cool”), but they are only as valuable as the person using them. 

Your Pastor

Dude Garrett

   

Like many across North Dakota, yesterday I was caught up in NDSU’s bid to win a National Football Championship. I thought I could listen to the football game with one ear and do Sunday preparation with the rest of my attention, but I was wrong. Once the game started, I was totally caught up in it. I really could not focus on anything else as I listened to the play by play announcer on the radio and as I found myself rooting for the Bison. I am not a big football fan, but this was NDSU’s biggest game of the year and I was carried along in the excitement.

After a rather lackluster first half (we were behind 6 to 3 at halftime), the Bison came out in the second half and won the game with the final score of 17 to 6. In post-game interviews, the president of NDSU, Dr. Dean Bresciani described the game as a victory for all of North Dakota.  I’m not so sure I would say that, but I would admit that the Bison victory was a few minutes of glory for our city and state. (Kind of goes along with the newspaper article on Christmas day, “It’s hard to be humble when you’re from Fargo.”) Yes, I was excited that the Bison won!

Still, I am always surprised at how short lived such excitement is. The thrill of victory is intense for a day or two, but soon, life goes on and the victories of the past fade. (Can you remember the last NDSU National Championship football team? Or even the year?)  

It reminds me of Matthew 6:19-20 – those verses about laying up treasure in heaven. Jesus warns us that earthy treasures fade and dissolve, so we need to accumulate heavenly treasure because it will last. Maybe a fair paraphrase is “spiritual championships never fade.” 

Then again in Matthew 10:41-42 Jesus tells us that we will not lose our reward for even the small things we do for others because we are Jesus’ disciples. Our memories are fleeting, even for “important” things, but the Father’s memory is perfect. What we do for Him is never be lost. 

Such thinking leads me to ask, “What am I doing for my Heavenly Father?” Earthly championships (even national ones) fade quickly, but heavenly work is never lost. What am I doing to make a lasting impact? Do we really understand just how valuable heavenly treasure is? If we did, we would work harder to accumulate it because it is even better than a national football championship.

Your Pastor,

Dude Garrett