Baptism and the Resurrection

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

This past Sunday we went to Jordan Lake and had our annual "Church at the Lake". It was loads of fun and a great time of celebration as we were able to witness twenty-one lives who have been forever changed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Recently, I've been reading N.T. Wright's Surprised by Hope, and he speaks powerfully on the subject of Baptism and it's meaning:

The important thing, then, is that in the simple but powerful act of plunging someone into the water in the name of the triune God, there is a real dying to the old creation and a real rising into the new--with all the dangerous privileges and responsibilities that then accompany the new life as it sets out in the as-yet-unredeemed world. Baptism is not magic, a conjuring trick with water. But neither is it simply a visual aid. It is one of the points, established by Jesus himself, where heaven and earth interlock, where new creation, resurrection life, appears within the midst of the old. The idea of associating baptism with Easter always was, and still is, a proper Christian instinct. Just as for many Christians the truth of Easter is something they glimpse occasionally rather than grasp and act on, so, for many, baptism remains in the background, out of sight, whereas it should be the foundational event for all serious Christian living, all dying to sin and coming alive with Christ.

What a perspective! Speaking as one who has grown up in the Church and participated in Church activities over the decades I can readily confess that it's far too easy for me to become jaded towards the Sacraments, and to just go through the motions. But if we saw Baptism as a time where heaven meets earth, as an overflow of the Resurrection, would that change how we, as the Body of Christ, view Baptism? Would it change us from being unengaged spectators to worshipers and celebrators of our Risen Lord?

The Skin Map

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

One of my favorite authors over the past twenty years has been Stephen Lawhead. He mainly writes historical fiction and has written everything from a series on King Arthur to a book on St. Patrick to his most recent trilogy on Robin Hood (my favorite all-time book by him though is called Byzantium). He's a believer and I've loved his depth of insight into the early days of Celtic Christianity. He has a new book releasing next week and if you like to read fiction you might want to give it a try! Check out the trailer for the book below:

What's My Reflection?

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

As the water reflects the face, so the heart reflects the person.
(Proverbs 27:19)

One of the best books I've read on marriage is Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas (it's actually one of the classes being offered through Life Institute this fall).  A major theme of the book is that marriage is a lot like a sin-mirror. It enables us to see our sinful behavior for what it really is so that we can change and become more like Christ.

Have you ever said something or done something, and then as you're replaying the situation over again in your mind you realize what a fool you've been when at first you might have felt justified in your behavior? And you realized that your attitude was less than Christ-like? That the way you handled yourself was an embarrassment? I sure have. More times than I'd care to recount.

The writer of Proverbs 27 (ultimately the Holy Spirit!) says that my behavior is a reflection of what's in my heart. That's a sobering thought for me. Jesus chastised the Pharisees in Matthew 12: "For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart."

What is in my heart? Is it filled with pride, envy, materialism, lust and selfish ambition? Or is it filled with peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self-control?

And what is my reflection? Do people see selfless love or vain conceit in my life? Do folks I work with see a life of integrity or someone that they could never trust? Do my friends see mercy or a haughty spirit of judgment? Does my family see a man of faithfulness or someone who breaks his promises?

God, we pray that our hearts would be so flooded by Your Goodness and Mercy that Your Grace and Love would overflow out of our lives to bless others and to point them to Jesus Christ! May we reflect Christ in everything that we do!

A Little Perspective

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

Over the past few weeks we've noticed that Tobin, our six month old, has really started to notice what's going on around him, not just in his immediate surroundings, but also in other rooms. It's always entertaining to look into a baby's eyes and wonder what they're thinking and what they're seeing. Recently, I did a little bit of reading on developmental milestones for babies and came across a few interesting tidbits that I wanted to share using Tobin as a case study.

As a newborn, Tobin's eyes were physically capable of seeing at birth, his brain just wasn't able to process all of that visual information. Consequently, things were pretty fuzzy outside of 8 to 15 inches. He could detect movement, light and shapes past that distance, but that was about it. As his brain has developed, however, so has his ability to see. When he was one month old he started to be able to consistently focus both of his eyes. At two months old, he began to distinguish between colors. When Tobin was four months old he supposedly started to develop some depth perception (I'm not sure about this one since our middle child at three years old still has no depth perception, but this could be a genetic trait passed down from his mother's side of the family). And now, at six months old, Tobin has begun to understand object permanence, which I can believe since he now loves to play peekaboo with me.

Both Tobin's perspective on life and his awareness have changed! As I was thinking about perspective it reminded me of an example that Philip Yancey once shared in his book, "Reaching for the Invisible God." The following is a rough paraphrase:

Our spiritual life is often like hiking through the mountains. When we start out on the trail head we have an idea of where we're going (following the trail), but we're surrounded by trees and ridges and can't see much of anything. As we walk, we'll occasionally come across a stream or find a view of a mountain lake, but still we can generally only see what is right in front of us. Eventually, the trees will begin to thin out and the way will become more and more rocky, as we begin to make out giant boulders and cliff faces that we couldn't see when we started. And then comes the moment when we come above the tree line and make our way, finally, to the peak of the mountain. All of a sudden our perspective changes. We see what was around us all along. The forests and the distant mountains, the rise and fall of the land, it's all laid out before our eyes like a beautiful tapestry.

It seems like our walk with God is a lot like a baby developing the ability to see or someone walking up a mountain trail. It's a dynamic process. Though we can't make out much at first, we gradually begin to be able to see more and more; we start to care about the things God cares about and to love the things that God loves. And then comes that day of all days when the curtain is lifted and we no longer see as in a mirror dimly, but see face to face. For now we know in part, but then we will know fully, just as we are fully known.

And I'll Give Until There's Nothing Else

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

"So I'll offer myself and I'll just give until there's nothing else."

How many of you have heard of Adoniram Judson? He and his wife, Ann, were the first Baptist missionaries to Burma and, in fact, spent their "honeymoon" in 1812 on the long boat voyage to Calcutta (it took them four months!). Read what Adoniram went through during his years of missionary service:

• His wife, Ann, underwent a stillbirth on the voyage to India and was bedridden for quite some time upon their arrival.
• Ann and Adoniram spent up to twelve hours a day in language study.
• Fire ravaged where they had chosen to live and drove them to live in an out-of-the-way missions house.
• They both suffered frequently from tropical fevers.
• Their baby, Roger, who was born one year after they settled in Rangoon, died of fever at six months.
• In 1822, Ann had to take an extended sick leave back to the United States.
• War broke out between Burma and England in 1824, and all foreigners were suspected of being spies. Adoniram was arrested and confined to a death prison, where he awaited execution for most of a year and a half.
• In prison each night the "criminals" were hoisted from their ankle fetters to a pole suspended from a ceiling until only their heads and shoulders rested on the ground.
• His wife, Ann, died of fever after he had been released from prison along with their new baby, Maria.
• He retreated for a while into the jungle, built a hut, and lived as a recluse. He dug a grave where he kept vigil for days on end, filling his mind with morbid thoughts of death (I can't blame him!). He wrote during this time, "God is to me the Great Unknown. I believe in him, but I find him not."
• He eventually recovered and remarried a woman named Sarah. During their ten years of marriage, he and Sarah had eight children, and buried two. After their last child was born in 1845 Sarah passed away on their way back to the United States. It was the first time in thirty-three years that Adoniram had seen his homeland.
• While in the U.S. he married again and with his new wife, Emily, returned to Burma in July of 1846. He left behind three of his children whom he would never see again (three of his other children had been left behind in Burma and one of those died while he was away).
• Adoniram and Emily were married for three years and even had a baby girl. But in 1850 (with Emily expecting another child) Adoniram left on a sea voyage, died, and was buried at sea. Ten days later Emily underwent a stillbirth and she herself died three years later back in the United States at the age of thirty-six.

When I first read an account of Adoniram's life, all of his pain and loss (and the suffering of his family!) seemed an awful price to pay. Why did he do it? "If I had not felt certain that every additional trial was ordered by infinite love and mercy, I could not have survived my accumulated sufferings," he wrote. And later, "In spite of sorrow, loss and pain, our course be onward still. We sow on Burma's barren plain, we reap on Zion's hill."

He gave until he had nothing else for the sake of Christ and the Gospel and for his love of the Burmese people. What have I given to God? What have I suffered for Christ? I'm much better at keeping things for myself than giving them away, and yet that's what Christ bids me come and do: "If anyone wants to come with me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save it."

Are you willing to give of yourself until there's nothing left?

"If you do nothing in a difficult time, your strength is limited. Rescue those being taken off to death, and save those stumbling toward slaughter. If you say, "But we didn't know about this," won't He who weighs hearts consider it? Won't He who protects your life know? Won't He repay a person according to his work? (Proverbs 31:8-9)

Everything I Learned I Learned From...

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

...Kindergarten. We just dropped off our eldest boy for his first day of school. On the drive over I think he was most excited about his lunchbox and all the snack that Mommy had packed him. I can't blame him. I get excited about the same things. I was thinking about Kindergarten the other day, and although I don't remember much, I do have three distinct memories:

1. The playground. I always loved recess time. That is, until the day that I was chased around the slides and swing-sets and teeter-totters and eventually caught and held down by a girl named Jenny who forced me to kiss her on the lips. Traumatized, I refused to talk to girls for the rest of my elementary school career. This also might explain why I have a lingering aversion to playgrounds.

2. Sitting in the corner. I still remember those words, "Mr. Stam, please go take a seat in the corner." Or, "Nathaniel Edward Stam, stand in the corner this instant." I became very familiar with "the corner". I would count tiles and look for cobwebs, but was rarely repentant for whatever offense had sent me there in the first place.

3. The Infamous Jesus Controversy. One evening my parents received a phone call from my extremely-offended Kindergarten teacher. Apparently, I had corrected her on some questions dealing with certain quotes coming from Scripture and she was not appreciative. I had also used the name of Jesus, which was not "appropriate". It was my first call home from a teacher to my parents. Notice I said, "first." Shortly after, I was transferred to a different class and teacher.

As I nostalgically reflect upon "those good old days" I sincerely hope that my son doesn't get pinned down by a girl and kissed on the playground (or anywhere else, for that matter). I also hope, for different reasons, that he doesn't spend an inordinate amount of Kindergarten time sitting in the corner (or the time out chair, or whatever else they do these days). But I do hope he's not afraid to say the name of Jesus and talk about the Bible! I wouldn't mind getting a phone call for that!

Alright...let the Kindergarten adventures begin!

Counting Stars

Nathan Stam

Children/Communications Pastor

Please, please go out and buy Andrew Peterson's new album Counting Stars! You can order it here and listen to all the tracks, or can also get it from iTunes. It's an album that you will love, filled with timeless music and melodies and faith that is born in the valleys of confusion and the upper atmospheres of Hope! I promise that you will love it! Check out the music video below of "Dancing in the Minefields."