Church

Leaving a Faithful Legacy

By Pastor Josh Wamble

I wonder if you have thought much about the legacy that you will leave behind when you die. I hope that you have. Almost every time I attend a funeral (looking at the pictures displayed, having conversations with others about the person who has died, and listening to the eulogy), I find myself thinking about that person and their impact on me but also about my own life and what people will say about me when I die—what my legacy will be. I hope that you have thought about the legacy you will leave behind for your children and other family and your friends, the impact your life is having on others.

But, I also wonder if you have ever thought about the legacy you will leave behind in your church.

The last few years have been really good for our church, but also really hard for our church in especially one way. It seems like a generation of older people is leaving us. Each year around Christmas time, our deacons host a lunch for the widows and widowers in our church. Recently, some of us came across a picture of that group from 2017. There were ten widows in that picture. A short five years later, and now only three of them are still here. Others who were not widows in 2017 have passed away since then as well.

That generation of believers and members of FBC, Fairdale have had a huge impact on me in many ways not least of which is how I think about the church and the importance of following Jesus together. They each left individual legacies behind, but when I think about their legacy and their impact on me as a group—as a generation of members here—one thing I think of is how generous they were with their church. I moved to Louisville in 2005 and joined the church soon after. I was a young seminary student from TN. I had never heard of Fairdale, KY before. I didn’t know the history of the church or the community. Yet, in spite of all that, they welcomed me here so willingly and genuinely.

In 1 Corinthians 13:5, we are told that love “seeks not its own advantage” or “does not insist on its own way.” Over the years, whenever decisions were being discussed or changes were being put into place or newer people were being put into different positions at the church, they never “sought their own advantage” or “insisted on their own way.” They never made things difficult—and they could have. I imagine it’s difficult for a 70-year-old or an 80-year-old to have a 35 or 40 year old pastor or group of pastors.

It’s probably difficult for someone who has been a member of a church for as long as they have been to see different people with different ideas and approaches begin serving in leadership and decision-making positions and doing some things differently than they had been done in the past. In none of these situations did they ever “seek their own advantage” or “insist on their own way.” They were quick to welcome new members and visitors to our church—and in a very open way. They welcomed people to come in and be as much a part as they had been for so many years and still were. They made it so easy for younger people and newer people to be members here and to serve here!

I could name so many people who were here in 2005 who are no longer with us. Much of the good things happening in our church today are because of how faithfully and energetically they served here and were involved here in their younger years—but also because of how faithfully and energetically they supported and encouraged and followed and helped their church family and especially the leaders of their church in their later years.

I hope that we are all thinking this way as well. I hope that you are thinking of what your legacy will be to the next generations of members here. In 30 or 40 or 50 years, what will the younger members be saying about you—about us? May we all seek to follow the example that has been set for us so well—serving and supporting, working and encouraging, helping and following “not seeking our own advantage” or “insisting on our own way!”

Leaving a Faithful LegacyPastor Josh Wamble2023-01-24T11:01:55-05:00

New Year’s Resolutions?

By Pastor Josh Wamble

I wonder how many of you made New Year’s resolutions for 2023. People have different feelings about resolutions. Some people like to start a new year off with commitments and resolutions—often involving exercise, or eating differently, or getting up earlier/going to bed earlier, or etc. Other people do not value making resolutions at all. They look at the situation practically and realize that most of the resolutions that are made are broken within the first couple of months if not the first few weeks or even days of the new year. I heard someone say recently, “My resolution for 2023 is to finish the things I started in 2022 because in 2021, I made a commitment to reach the goals I set in 2020 after falling short of them in 2019.”

There are a variety of thoughts about making resolutions, but periodic evaluation and setting goals in life is a healthy practice. In Joshua 24, Joshua has reached the end of his life and is giving his final challenge to the Hebrew people. He will no longer be around to lead them as they begin settling the promised Land. He knows that they will be tempted to acquiesce to their cultures, their lifestyles, and even their gods and religious practices. Joshua charges them to make a commitment now that when they take possession of the Promised Land, they will not fall into these temptations.

In Josh. 24:25-28, after the people committed themselves to remembering the Lord and serving him only, Joshua set up a stone as a memorial. He meant for this to be a reminder to them of their decision and commitment. As they continued in life after Joshua’s death, whether they were faithful to the Lord or not, this memorial would, hopefully, remind them of that commitment. If they were faithful, it would serve as an encouragement to them. If they did not remain faithful, it would (hopefully) serve as an indictment against them leading them to repent and turn back to the Lord.

These kinds of reminders and “signposts” or “road markers” in life can be helpful for everyone but especially for believers. At certain points in life, it is healthy to look back, and evaluate, and make adjustments. Birthdays are a good time to do this—look back over the past year and make honest assessments about how your life is going and changes or adjustments that might need to be made. Major life changes (weddings, births, moving to a new house or new city, taking a new job or promotion, etc.) lend themselves to this type of evaluation. Anniversaries and other annual events are a good opportunity for that as well.

Whether you make “official” new year’s resolutions or not, let me encourage you to take some time over the next few days as we begin a new year to make this type of evaluation. Maybe you want to look at your life in general, finances, health, relationships, or other things. Let me also encourage you to do this specifically with your relationship with God, your commitment to him, your church involvement, and other religious categories. Below is a short list of areas to consider.

1. Bible

Would you take some time and evaluate the time and effort you spend in reading and studying the bible? Do you have a deliberate plan for reading and studying the bible or do you just do so sporadically and when you can “find the time”? In John 17:17, Jesus prays that his followers (us included) would be sanctified in the truth. Then, he says that God’s word is truth. The Bible is what God uses to mold his people into the people that he would have us to be—righteous, gracious, merciful, humble, Christlike.

Many people make resolutions to read through the bible in the new year. Maybe you are one of those. (If so, there are links to several different plans to do just that at the end of this blog post.) But, maybe that seems too ambitious to you. You could decide to read either the OT or NT this year. You could commit to reading the whole bible in 3 years or 5 years. You could decide to read one book of the bible several times in the year (maybe once a month) and get really familiar with that book. Whatever you choose to do, would you at least take a few minutes and think about how you currently spend time in God’s word and how you might expand that in this new year?

2. Prayer

Would you take some time and evaluate your prayer life? In several of his letters, Paul says that he prays constantly. Hopefully you do as well. Hopefully, you are always praying whenever things come up in life or whenever people or situations come to mind. I want to challenge you to commit to prayer in an even more systematic way this year.

Maybe you can commit to more consistently praying with your church family (on Wednesday nights, on Sunday mornings at 9:00, or monthly at the men’s and women’s prayer breakfasts). Maybe you can commit to praying through the church’s prayer list daily during the week. Maybe you can commit to using the church’s directory as a prayer guide and pray for all the members of the church on a schedule that works for you (monthly, once every 2 months, etc.). Maybe you can commit to praying for your pastors and deacons and other church staff. Whatever you choose to do, would you at least take a few minutes and think about how you currently spend time in prayer and how you might expand that in this new year?

3. Encouragement

Would you take some time and evaluate how you encourage other believers? In Hebrews 10, God’s word tells us to consider how we might stir one another up to love and good deeds. One of the lines in our church covenant says, “We will seek to gather regularly to worship God, listen to the preaching of the word, and encourage one another.” I wonder if you ever spend time considering how you might be an encouragement to other believers—especially other church members.

Maybe you could encourage other members by attending church more consistently. Hebrews 10 also says, one of the ways we can stir one another up to love and good works is “not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another . . .” Maybe you could take some time each week to send notes or cards of encouragement to other church members. Maybe you could join a Sunday School class or other bible study group and encourage others as you fellowship and study the bible together. Maybe you could encourage other church members by serving together in different ministries of the church. Whatever you choose to do, would you at least take a few minutes and think about how you currently spend time encouraging other believers and how you might expand that in this new year?

Again, whether you make “official” new year’s resolutions or not, let me encourage you to take some time over the next few days as we begin a new year to evaluate yourself, your life, and your relationship with God. May God use our individual commitments regarding the bible, prayer, and encouragement to make us more Christ-like followers and to strengthen and sanctify our church collectively over the next 12 months!

Bible Reading Plans

1. Robert Murray M’Cheyne bible in a year reading plan—https://www.mcheyne.info/calendar.pdf

2. Read through the whole bible in a year—https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-reading-plan/old-testament-and-new-testament.html

3. Read through the whole bible in a year chronologically—https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-reading-plan/chronological.html

4. Read through the whole bible in a year arranged by the bible’s storyline—https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/15998 (This one can be done individually or online with friends)

5. Read through the bible in a year one book at a time—https://www.navigators.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/navigators-book-at-a-time-bible-reading-plan.pdf

6. Read through the NT in a year—https://www.navigators.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/navigators-5x5x5-new-testament-bible-reading-plan.pdf

7. Read through the bible in two years—https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-reading-plan/busy-life-plan.html

8. Create your own plan—https://biblereadingplangenerator.com/?start=2023-02-01&total=365&format=calendar&order=traditional&daysofweek=1,2,3,4,5,6,7&books=OT,NT&lang=en&logic=words&checkbox=1&colors=0&dailypsalm=0&dailyproverb=0&otntoverlap=0&reverse=0&stats=0&dailystats=0&nodates=0

New Year’s Resolutions?Pastor Josh Wamble2023-01-03T14:03:20-05:00

They Made It Easy

Recently, we have had a number of older people at the church pass away, move away, move into a nursing home, or something else to that effect. It has really gotten me to thinking about what the church was like when I first moved here and how it has changed over that time. I moved to Louisville in December of 2005 and joined the church soon after.

At that time, with a few exceptions, the church was made up mostly of older people (60 and above) and a few younger people (30 and younger). There were hardly any members at all between the ages of 30 and 60. Most of the older members had been a part of the church for a long time. They had raised their families here, had faithfully served in leadership positions, had humbly served in different ministries, and had sacrificially given to the church and her ministries. Most of the younger members were very young—either seminary students fresh out of college or brand new believers. Many were from out of state. Few knew the history of the church or the community, but we were looking for a church family to join, serve, learn from, make mistakes in, gain experience among, and etc.

As we have been celebrating and mourning the several losses we have experienced lately, I have been thinking a lot about this generation of believers and the legacy they are leaving behind at FBC, Fairdale. I imagine that it wasn’t always easy for these older members to have a young inexperienced pastor or group of pastors in their 30s. I would have expected them to have a bit of a hard time with some of the changes that were discussed or put into place. I would have expected them to have been a bit hesitant to allow these younger people to serve in leadership or other positions in the church. It would have been easy for them to have resisted or blocked some of these things. They could have gotten disgusted or upset when mistakes were made, but they never did. They supported and encouraged and forgave and helped these younger leaders. They continued serving in various ways. They were quick to welcome new members and visitors in a fully genuine and willing way. They allowed us to be as fully members of the church as they had been for so many years. In many ways, they were ideal church members!

Over the last week, as we were thinking about and reminiscing about a recent death in the church, my thinking about this generation has crystallized in my mind. Their legacy, I think, is that they made it so easy to be church members here! They were generous with their church!

May we all seek to follow their example!

They Made It EasyPastor Josh Wamble2023-01-03T17:54:58-05:00