Tag Archives: Stockdale

Nicaragua, South Texas, and Revelation

I’ve been on the road a good bit lately. Sometimes I can keep up the blog while traveling, sometimes I can’t. I used to worry about it, but I’ve come to accept that the world goes on turning, even when I can’t post.

Spent a few days in Managua, Nicaragua, doing some follow-up for Herald of Truth. Along with discussing the media project we recently did there, Steve Ridgell and I also got to do some teaching on leadership and on marriage.

Last week I was in Stockdale, Texas. It’s always good to be back there, to see what God is doing among the people of that small South Texas town.

I did six lessons on Revelation. Whenever I have to teach a book in a new format, it’s a real learning experience for me. I purchased Eugene Peterson’s Reversed Thunder and gained some insights from that book. I also got study notes from several friends who have taught Revelation in the recent past.

In Bible class on Sunday morning, we did an introduction to the book. When talking about Revelation as poetry, I included a clip from Dead Poet’s Society, where Robin Williams has his students tear out the introduction to their poetry books. I used that to talk about the folly of taking a poetic book like Revelation and trying to pull out a timeline for the future.

During the morning worship, I preached on Revelation 4-5, the fact that the Lion of Judah turned out to be a sacrificed Lamb. In the evening, we did the first 3 chapters in a whirlwind blitz; fortunately I had some copies of Letters From The Lamb for anyone that wanted to go deeper into that material.

The last three lessons were “Scenes of Judgment,” “Scenes of Triumph,” and “New Heaven, New Earth.” It was a quick overview, but people seemed to find it helpful. More than anything, I sought to prepare them to read the book on their own.

Lots of learning for me. Hope it was a blessing to others.

Stockdale bilingual church

I don’t know that I’ve written about the church in Stockdale, Texas. It’s a remarkable congregation that I had the privilege to work with for 4 years and have the special privilege of still being welcomed back every time I go.

In 2002, my family and I had decided to move to the United States. I didn’t really know what I was going to be doing, whether I would continue in fulltime church work or not. Among other places, I posted my resumé on the Abilene Christian University website. One night I got a call from one of the members in Stockdale, telling me that they had seen my information and wanted to know if I would be interested in talking with them about a job. It was a predominantly Hispanic church in a small town in Texas (population about 1400). I was too polite to tell them that I wasn’t interested in small towns nor Hispanic ministry, plus I’ve always felt that I should listen to every opportunity the Lord puts in my way. He’s surprised me almost every turn along the road, so I’ve learned not to rule anything out.

Several phone calls followed, including one where they offered to fly me to the States to interview. Seeing this as a chance to travel to the States and interview for some jobs I was really interested in, I agreed. But the people of Stockdale knew something I didn’t know: once I met the people of that congregation, no other place could have any appeal for me. They wanted me there on a Sunday and a Wednesday, which I now realize was an exceptionally long visit/interview (I was pretty new at all that, having been in mission situations before that). By the time I left on Wednesday, I was fairly convinced that I had a found a good place for our family to be.

We accepted the job in July, making arrangements to make our move in October (we were waiting on Carolina’s visa). During that interim, the congregation merged with the local Anglo congregation. It was a merger with lots of strikes against it: different cultures, language barriers, different worship styles, doctrinal differences… None of those could overcome the biggest positive these Christians had: they really loved the Lord and they really loved one another.

Today the Stockdale congregation is a healthy one. They’ve had plenty of trials over the last 6 years, but God has blessed them in many ways. It’s hard for me to describe all of the ways in which God has prepared this church for ministry. I’m proud to still be able to consider myself a part of that congregation, even though I’ve been away for 3 years now. I doubt there’s a healthier small town church in the country, especially a bilingual congregation. Others would do well to observe the things they’ve done to bring Christians together, especially those of different languages.

Feeling At Home

welcome matWe’re taking a family trip this weekend. Going to San Antonio for a few days, then going to Stockdale for a wedding. Stockdale is where we first went when we came back from Argentina. It still feels like home, even after being away for 3 years. I’m not entirely sure why that is. When we go back to Córdoba, that still feels like home. Stockdale feels like home.

What does is take for a place to feel like home? What does it take for a church to feel like home? Do you have “multiple homes” like I do? Any tips on coming to feel at home where we are now?

I can’t end this, of course, without a preacher-type application. In some ways, I hope I’ll never fully feel at home until I really am home.