A Fun and Informative Way to Raise Funds: The Nehemiah Series Continues

Sabbath Sermon: “First Things First”

James Weldon Johnson wore many hats. He wrote “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” (the Black National Anthem), which was sung at Berean this Sabbath morning.

PASTOR FREDRICK RUSSELL CONTINUES HIS SERMON SERIES

 

A fifth installment of the sermon series “Rebuilding the Ruins,” based upon the Book of Nehemiah, was presented by Lead Pastor Fredrick Russell at Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church (Atlanta) this Sabbath morning. The Clark University Philharmonic Society was present today, as was Atlanta City Council President Ceaser Mitchell. Here is a link to the ENTIRE SERVICE (well, almost, as the video starts in the middle of J.W. Johnson’s hymn). The Pastor’s sermon begins at time marker 1:36:20. The two spirituals sung by the Clark ensemble start just before the sermon, with an introduction by Luther Washington II, at time marker 1:29:34.

 

The principal text for today’s sermon was not from Nehemiah, but from Haggai. The meaning of the verses from Chapter 1 of this short book are distilled to their essence in verse 4: “Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?” or as the rather more lucid (but much less fun) NIV states, “”Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”
I insinuated last week that perhaps objections to the proposed repairs and improvements to Berean, one of the themes of the Nehemiah-inspired sermon series, would be raised primarily as a smoke screen to cover an underlying lack of generosity by some members. Pastor Russell made a convincing case for “sacrificial giving” today. Like any good leader, he did not ask the Bereans to do anything that he, himself, was not willing to do. Reading Haggai before the service, my eye alighted on Chapter 2, verse 8: “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts.” I found this reminder to be very timely, as I qualify as one of those members with an “underlying lack of generosity.” A redundant summary of today’s sermon lies near the bottom of this post.

 

Pastor James Lamb, Berean’s emmisary to all things academic, noted in his preface to the offering that Berean Christian Junior Academy is the oldest black private school in the City of Atlanta, having been established in 1906 (that is 110 years ago). His usual appeal to the congregation to be generous seemed to extend beyond the scope of today’s collection, embracing as well the much anticipated Capital Campaign. He has been associated with Berean for sixty years, and recalled that they “used to do a lot more, with a lot less.” He admitted that, “sure, blacks only make 70 cents for every dollar that a white person makes,” and “sure, blacks are grossly over-represented in the prison population,” BUT, as he looked in the church parking lot this morning, he saw good evidence of the prosperity of the typical Berean. Pastor Lamb had contributed his mite to both the “local narrative” and the “meta-narrative” (terms Dr, David Tasker utilized in this week’s Sabbath School lesson).

 

Pastor Fredrick Russell of Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church, Atlanta, a still from today’s video.

SUMMARY OF PASTOR RUSSELL’S “FIRST THINGS FIRST”

 

Pastor Fredrick Russell noted at the outset of today’s sermon that it was intended to serve a dual purpose. A: to rebuild the ruins of Berean’s building. B: to rebuilt the ruins of your life.

The meaning of the title of the sermon, “First Things First,” was revealed by some introductory material on the topic of “priorities.” The pastor stated that there are “two things that reflect your priorities in life” (the duo that consists of “time” and “treasure”).

• YOUR CALENDAR:  This is a reliable indicator of your priorities. The pastor told us that he uses a Covey Organizer (now known as a “Franklin Covey Organizer.” The apportionment of one’s time bears a relation to the roles we assume in life. The pastor fills many roles, among which are Person, Pastor, Father, Husband, etc. etc. On Sunday evenings, he takes a look at his roles in order to determine where he will plug them into his weekly schedule. As an example of a recurring role, Pastor Russell revealed that Thursday nights are reserved for outings with his wife of 34 years, Brenda. Another role he fills is Counselor, and a significant portion of his time is spent on this activity. Yet another role is Colleague, for Tuesday mornings are dedicated to a pastoral get-together (here is a link to Frank Sinatra singing “That’s Life,” featuring some intermittent lists of the roles we play, starting at time marker 1:10).
• YOUR CREDIT OR DEBIT CARDS: Your spending patterns speak volumes about your priorities. Quoting out of context, here is Matthew 6:21: “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Unattributed, but original art for a YouTube recitation of Moliere’s play “The Miser”

“Sometimes your priorities are not getting you where you want to be,” Pastor Russell said. In this case, it may be necessary to adjust your priorities.
The single-purpose scriptural function of Haggai came in for scrutiny at this point. The pastor restated some information from previous sermons concerning Nehemiah, a person who carried the burden of the restoration of Jerusalem pretty much single-handedly. When Haggai arrives in the picture, he assumed part of Nehemiah’s burden. Haggai’s exclusive focus was on the “House of God.”  He communicated the urgent necessity of this to the people. The people had two reasons that they could not be bothered with this task:

• “The timing was not right. This is not on our calendar” (to put it in pagan terms, the “augers were not propitious”).
• “Our houses get priority.” The pastor used this reaction to Haggai’s importunities to remark that most of the Bereans present lived in nice houses. He said that this was OK. Many owned nice furniture. The pastor (not a native of Atlanta) haltingly mentioned the name of “Haverty’s” (half of the Atlanta-based Haverty-Rhodes furniture retail dynasty, one that financed ostentatious Rhodes Hall on Peachtree Street). For the less well heeled, “Rooms to Go” was cited. The pastor, slowly descending the prestige scale, might have never made it all the way down to my furniture supplier, the Furniture Bank of Atlanta.

View of the staircase at Rhodes Hall, home of the furniture sales magnate, and one of the last surviving homes on this stretch of Peachtree Street, Atlanta.

“Some of you live in Buckhead,” the pastor noted. In other words, some very nice addresses. “But in Haggai, the House of God lay in ruins.” Pastor Russell briefly restated some of the serious flaws at Berean. Last in the list was a mention of the pews. The pastor observed that many in the congregation might say to themselves “I can take these pews for a moment, because I am going home to a nice, comfortable chair!”

Pastor Russell notified us that he was almost finished, as the text teaches itself (Here I must repeat my earlier discovery of Haggai 2:8:  “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts”).

Pastor Russell now issued the “God Challenge,” one based on Haggai 1:7-8.

• “You’ve got to get your mind set.” You have to give careful thought to your ways. If you are oblivious to the needs of “God’s house,” then perhaps you should be paying a bit more attention to this matter.
• “You have got to act.” Verse 8 of Haggai implores us to go up in the mountains and fetch timber to build His house. Pastor Russell composed a hypothetical statement by God, one addressed to us, and indicative of the divine will as manifested in Haggai: “Now that you know that I am concerned about my house, when your house is going along pretty good,” the pitiable offerings you bring to church can only stir up the wrath of God. “I am willing to bless you, but you aren’t willing to bless me! It’s always about You! You! You! You! You! I’m gonna take the stuff you got, and blow it all away!”
• “When you have  rebuilt, God takes pleasure in this.” He is honored.

Relegated to a lesser priority for repair work than the main church, this is poor, poor BOMC, dear to my heart! It needs air-conditioning. It needs it now!

The pastor now informed the congregation about some of the specifics in regard to the forthcoming Capital Campaign. We were told that we would be required to give “sacrificially.” Some sophists in the congregation might just redirect their offerings from one channel into another. This would not constitute proper procedure, Pastor Russell said. He asserted that he does not like clichés, and offered an example of one: “you’ve got to give till it hurts.” Tolstoy may have been a source for this chestnut, for he once wrote that “charity in not meaningful unless it causes discomfort to the giver” (my paraphrase).  Some mechanisms we might utilize in order to generate disposable income were mentioned. But simple faith is the greatest mechanism, for the pastor related how he and his wife managed to cough-up $25,000 once in the course of a similar fund-raising effort. To this day, the pastor is not sure exactly how this miracle came to pass. They put half-a-million miles on their vehicle. They cut the financial apron-strings that tied them to their children when the children reached college age, diverting the tuition funds into God’s coffers (and thereby setting a good example for their next generation to follow).

Pastor Russell intends to contribute to the good work ahead, as those in leadership positions are obliged to set the standard. He is on a fixed income. The Russells are currently experiencing a water-infiltration issue with their basement. But he is praying about this matter. Our contributions will be “above and beyond” what we might normally consider to be adequate. Two million ought to do the job. Three initial tiers of giving were proposed, ranging from $1,500 to $5,000, but those who could afford more were encouraged to give more. My attention shifted from the sermon to my own affairs. I don’t drink or smoke anymore, so funds formerly allocated to these vices are now available. I have already purchased all of the toys  (computers and musical instruments) I will ever need. I don’t have a car payment, as I don’t have a car. My cat may be a gourmet, but I am not. My one extravagance is giving money to poor people, but these funds are primarily used to fund their vices. The $1,500 level, prorated over a six month period, comes to about $8.33 per diem. By my standards, this constitutes a sacrifice. But it is not an impossibility.

The backside of Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church, Atlanta, featuring some giant cracks in the asphalt. There is room for a 30’x30′ pavilion between the wings.

Phase 1 will address issues at the main church. Phase 2 will concern itself with the BOMC (Berean Outreach Ministry Center, located in the old church structure). As the Berean Food Pantry (an effort I have some involvement in) is located in the BOMC, and the air conditioning does not work in this location, and it is going to get very hot, very soon here in Atlanta, it would suit me to raise the two-million bucks instantaneously, do all the repairs at the main church, and then quickly shift the focus to BOMC (how’s that for a run-on sentence) All of this has to happen in less than 60 days, or I will be in peril of suffering from heatstroke during food pantry sessions. It is primarily for this self-serving reason that I am willing to make some sacrifices in order to be able to contribute to the worthy cause. Having conquered greed, I am now on board purely because of selfishness (an unbridled desire to work in an air-conditioned environment). I fear that I am not noble enough to be altruistic. But, however petty my deeper motivation may be, on the surface I am now a true believer. Pastor Russell’s messages have hit the intended mark, and have done their work well.