Word of advice… Never drink from an elementary school water fountain.
Just saying.
Chaplain Baker Writes
Supporting Police
There has been so much hate and violence directed toward our police these days. So much so that recently I felt compelled to do more than just talk about it – I joined up.
No, I am not a policeman, per se, but I have become a police chaplain. Sitting idly by while people condemned the men and women I know who are honorable, self-sacrificing, and brave was no longer an option. More had to be done besides posting memes on Facebook.
One of the things I am expected to do as a chaplain is write for the Roll Call, a newsletter published by our Sheriff’s Office. I was featured in this month’s edition in what is called the Chaplain’s Corner. The text of the article is below, but you can view the original newsletter by clicking HERE or on the picture.
On the Verge?
Have you come to the point where you want to give up? Seriously, where are you in your career, your marriage, your friendships, even your faith? Are you tired? Exhausted with all the blood, sweat and tears? Admit it, guys, if life doesn’t wear you down to the point of exhaustion, trying to help those who don’t want to be helped will. There are times when, after all you’ve done, you wonder, “Is it really worth it?”
Yes! Yes it is!
Over nearly 30 years of ministry, and in the last few years, especially, there have been numerous times when I’ve done all I could do to help someone, only to get burned and burnt out. And what’s worse, even when I did everything right, I was the one who got hurt. Believe me, I get where you’re coming from. But so did the Apostle Paul.
Speaking to folks in a place called Galatia (Galatians 6:1- 10), Paul encouraged helping those who’d gotten into trouble. He said they should “do good unto all men…bear one another’s burdens,” etc. But he also said, “Let us not grow weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Gal. 6:9).
Faint? Did he say faint? Officers of the law certainly do “good,” that’s for sure. They help others, bear burdens, and carry more than their own share of the load. But police officers never faint! Or do they?
The Greek word translated as faint in the Authorized Version of Galatians 6:9 is actually a word which has the idea of being totally spent and wasted away. It’s sort of like if all your strength and emotions were held inside of you, but then “loosed,” like out of jail. Gone…done…spent.
So, yes, there will come a time, when in the process of just doing our jobs, we will feel like quitting, like throwing in the towel just before the buzzer. We will find ourselves with little or no emotional reserve, ready to “faint.” But THAT is the time we should NOT give up! That is the time to lean on others and press on!
Remember, in “due season” we will reap what we sow, so keep plowing ahead; harvest will come.
– Chaplain Anthony Baker
Do Something
So, what can you do? If you are a pastor, why not consider becoming a police chaplain? There’s always a need.
But if all you can do is write, talk to others, or simply pray…do something! There are bad apples in every bunch, but those who “serve and protect” need to be served and protected, too.
Save the Pragmatism For Later
The following is an iPost.
Today is Super Tuesday, the day when people in 13 states go to the polls to cast their ballot for the person they think should serve as their party’s nominee for President.
Unfortunately, many are not going to cast their vote based on principle or for conscience sake. No, many are going to the primary polls with a resigned sense of pragmatic inevitability. They are going to vote for the one they think is going to have the best chance of winning.
But why? Why not use the primary election to vote your conscience? Why not take this time to vote based on principle? Why not go ahead and vote for the one you REALLY want to be President, not the one everyone says in “inevitable”? If he’s inevitable, voting on principle won’t change things, but at least you’ll have a clean conscience.
When the general election rolls around, that’s when you can be pragmatic, if necessary. You will have already voted with your heart, then you’ll be able to vote with your mind. With only two choices, one has to be better than the other in some way, so think what’s best for the country and vote accordingly.
But for today, vote for who you really want. Who knows? Others may feel the same way.
Filed under America, current events
iPost (Better than a Cigarette)
Smokers have long depended on those short breaks during which they light up and take a few puffs. Employers, if not smokers themselves, allow these little pauses in productivity for the purpose of worker morale, if nothing else.
“Smoke breaks” are the envy of the non-smoking, pink-lunged, over-worked world. Who else gets assigned special sections to indulge in expensive, unhealthy habits? Who else gets to arbitrarily select a time in which everything will come to a halt while one gets to relax and calm one’s nerves?
Well, I need a “writing break.” The only problem is that I’m not at home by my computer; I’m sitting on an empty school bus waiting for my next load of crumb crunchers to be released from their government mandated confinement. What to do?
I will write a post on my iPhone! I will write an iPost!
As a matter of fact, I think I’m going to start something new…I’m going to start posting short, non-graphically-enhanced, simply-fonted “iPosts.” When I can’t sit down to a computer, and when the thought is not so profound that it needs a lot of explanation or bullet points, I will simply “iPost.”
This is the first one.
Because I needed to write.
And too much about politics has been written already.
And it’s better than a cigarette.
Recovering Legalist Meets Building 429
The following took place 5 years ago in February, 2011. A lot has happened since then, but I’m still a “recovering” legalist – I still mess up from time to time.
NOTE: I updated the link to the music video. If you couldn’t watch it before, try again. Oh, and seriously, you should be shouting at the end of it 🙂
The Story
For the last several weeks we have been going out to get some food after evening services. If you don’t know what I am talking about, let me explain:
Getting Food = going to a restaurant that sells stuff you could make at home for a lot less money, but tastes better and is more fun when you pay for it in the company of others.
Evening Services = gathering of believers at a local church that still takes place on Sunday nights, while most people stay home, in order to give the pastor something to do.
Image by inju via Flickr
Last night, after a great time of worship and hearing from God’s Word, my wife, our girls, our youth director, and I went to Cracker Barrel. When we pulled in, I noticed a really sweet Prevost tour bus sitting in the lot. I said to my wife, Valerie, “Now that has got to be a group, or a band, or something, because it takes somebody serious to keep one of those things on the road.”
We gently maneuver our tired, aged frames (we’re getting old in our 40’s) out of the car and walk toward the entrance. As we walk across the front of Cracker Barrel, where all the rocking chairs are, my wife and I notice some interesting young men dressed in black. One of them had a black hat and a hairstyle that would make more than a few grannies say, “What died on your head, sonny?”
Myself? Well I am in a suit and tie. My wife? She is wearing a dress. WE are the “Reverend and Mrs. Baker,” you know. WE know how to dress on Sunday, unlike these guys. So, my wife walks past them first and gives them a forced, but gentle smile. Next, I walk by, thinking to myself, “These are definitely musicians…yep…the hair gives it away…they’re the Prevost riders.” I nod and smile.
Once inside the Cracker Barrel, my conscience started to bother me. Something wasn’t right. I have been around long enough to recognize when the Holy Spirit says, “Hey, I bear witness that those weird-looking guys out there are part of the Family.” That is when I come up with a brilliant, self-covering plan – send Katie, our 15 year old, out to see who they are.
I only had an old iPhone. And it was dark.
“Katie,” I say, “go out there and ask those guys on the porch who they are or what band they’re with.” Fortunately, and I knew this, there were others outside beside the “men in black,” so don’t think I sent my little girl out to talk to strangers, alone. She talked to strangers with other strangers there to help.
A few minutes later, Katie comes back in with the biggest smile on her face, beaming with a glow that could blind a man in sunglasses, saying, “They are Building 429!!”
Now here’s the point of all this. Here I am, someone who preaches against unrighteously judging others, especially Christians who look different (what’s normal?). What do I do? I walk right by a group of guys and assume, wrongfully, that evidently, just because they were not in suits on a Sunday night, they were a group of heathen beatniks heading to/from Nashville. I messed up.
An Official Apology
Sorry, guys, for doing the very thing I hate seeing other people do. This is why I call myself a “recovering legalist.” Sometimes I fail. Last night I failed in a bad way. Up until last night, I had never even seen you before to recognize you in person. All I know is that the song you recorded, “Always,” is one of my favorite…I’ve shed more than a few tears while listening to it. Please forgive my wife and I for acting like a couple of snobby, self-righteous, judgmental legalists. If I’m fortunate, maybe God will give this preacher some hair like yours, someday.
May God bless you and your ministry. He WILL be with you always.
Filed under Do not judge, General Observations, legalism
Saturday Selah
I want you to stop for a second.
Pause from your routine for just a moment, and think.
Think about what?
Think about the truths of God’s Word as found in 71 different verses within the Psalms, each one ending with the word Selah.
To the best of our understanding, Selah is a musical notation. But when it comes to its specific purpose, scholars are not entirely sure. However, the general consensus is that where Selah was inserted, there the singers were to pause, to rest, or possibly even to reflect on what was just sung (the the book of Psalms is a collection of songs).
Therefore, each Saturday after this I want to encourage you – and myself – with some truths which are worth pondering.
Next week we will look at Psalm 3:2:
“Many there be which say of my soul, ‘There is no help for him in God.’ Selah.”
Will you be able to pause for moment? See you next Saturday!
Filed under Bible Study
Those Were the Days
It was 1989, I believe.
It was back in the day when I worked in nuclear field services with Combustion Engineering, and then later with ABB.
It was back in the day when I flew to different nuclear plants to work for weeks at a time, 12 hours a day, 7 days a week.
It was a day when I could go up to any cockpit of any jet and ask to take a picture…and never get any grief.
It was a day when one pilot said, “Here, son, why don’t you just sit in my seat and put on my hat and let me take your picture.”
The engines were still spooling and my hand was on the throttles!
It was a day long before 9/11.
Man, those were the days!
I miss them.
Were those glasses huge, or was my head smaller?
Filed under America, Uncategorized
In Every Thing…
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. – 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Give Thanks
With regards to thanks, you have to give it for it to exist; being thankful is not the same thing as giving thanks. You can be thankful in your heart all day long, but you can easily offend someone by not saying “Thank you” at the appropriate time.
Thanks can be given in many different ways, but the fact is that it must be expressed in some way, not just felt. Say it with words, express it with a card, show it with a gift, or something. The whole concept of “giving” means it leaves you and goes somewhere else.
Every Thing
Note that it’s “every thing,” not everything. It may seem like an insignificant point, but it’s every little thing in particular – every situation, every circumstance, every joy, every pain – not an all-encompassing kind of thing we’re talking about.
You see, it’s easy for us to express a generic “Thank you, Lord, for everything,” but it’s much harder to be specific, especially when things are not going so great. Getting specific with our giving of thanks takes time, points out where we are not so grateful, and forces us to take stock of what we really have.
“In”
We can focus on being thankful FOR every thing another time, but for now pay attention to that one little word “in.” It’s a simple preposition, nothing more. All it does is point out where you are. And it is “in” every thing that we are told to give thanks.
Are you going through a time of confusion? Give thanks to God for the wisdom and guidance He promises to those who ask!
Are you in pain? No, you don’t have to be thankful for the pain, per se, but certainly give thanks while you are IN pain. Thank God for His mercy and grace. Praise the Lord for His promise to never leave you or forsake you. Thank God for Jesus coming to this earth to suffer so that you could have a High Priest who knows how you feel. Thank Him for the reminder that one day there will be no more pain!
Are in a scary situation? Praise God and thank Jesus for being in your boat! Just think, you could be out on life’s troubled sea all alone, tossed by the waves, but you’re not! If the Master of the wind is the Captain of your vessel, you may get battered by the tempest, but you’ll never sink! Give thanks for being able to witness the Voice of God speak peace IN your storm.
Remember, giving thanks IN every thing is the will of God IN Christ concerning YOU! Be obedient; give some thanks.
Filed under Faith, Thanksgiving, worship
I Love You Guys!
Let me just say that I am honored to have you folk as readers and followers. You are valued friends for whom I am eternally grateful.
Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement during my wife’s recent illness (click here to see UPDATE). She is doing better, but we still have many unanswered questions.
I have had the priviledge to meet many of you in person, so I know that on the other side of this screen there are real people who truly care. I frequently thank God for this blogging community which makes the world seem so much smaller.
Please know that I think of you guys as real people, not web addresses. I think of you and pray for often, just not often enough. But after this episode with my wife, your support has reminded me of how much I need to intercede for you. God has brought us together as friends, so let’s make use of the gift He has given.
God bless you all!
Filed under blogging
Prayer for My Wife
This [is] the day [which] the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. – Psalm 118:24
It is a good day, and it doesn’t matter what is going on – God made this day! And, for that matter, He makes every day, and what He makes is good.
How, then, can one reconcile the truth of Psalm 118:24 with the fact that my wife is in the hospital and doctors can’t figure out what is wrong with her? God is Sovereign, Holy, and by nature He is Good; therefore, I will trust Him.
Nevertheless, I would ask that you intercede for my wife, Valerie, with prayer. Lift her up before the throne of God. Petition our Father for her healing, if it be within His will. Pray that God enlighten the doctors’ understanding so that that they may be able to diagnose her pain. But whatever the case, make sure you pray that through all our struggles and unanswered questions Jesus Christ receives the glory!
Remember, because many within the hospital community never go to church, sometimes God has to put the church in the hospital.
Thank you!
Update: Dear friends and subscribers, your prayers and encouragement have meant a lot. Thank you so much for your caring kindness.
Valerie was discharged from the hospital this evening (2/22) with instructions to follow up with her regular doctor and a cardiologist. Unfortunately, while at the hospital, they were unable to find the reason for her pain. What also became obvious was her inability to stay awake for any length of time, actually falling asleep after only 30 seconds on the telephone (she does take meds to stay awake, but without them she is useless – she wasn’t able to take them while in the hospital – and they can’t determine the cause).
Valerie is no longer in pain (it was severe) except when she tries to lie down – when she does she suffers from crushing pain and the inability to breath. With some fluid around her heart, one would think there are heart problems. However, multiple tests were done and the doctors concluded her heart was in good condition and there had been no heart attack, no blockages, or anything. So, what the heck could it be???
Un-diagnosed illnesses can cause a strain on family and relationships, not to mention work and family routines. The stress has a tendency to stretch our abilities to cope. What we need more than anything right now is prayer for our spiritual hearts – especially mine – that we will remain compassionate, caring, and hopeful, not cynical or accusatory. Frankly, when we’re tired and worn is when the Devil tries to flank us, to cut us off from our Supply. That’s why we need you interceding for us.
So, right now Valerie is in good spirits and not in much pain, unless she tries to lie down. Please pray that future visits to specialists will provide answers. In the meantime we will do our best, in God’s strength, to give thanks in all things, for He is worth of our praise.
