Beech Tree News Network

Recently, we had two guest speakers at our church that had two very different styles of presentation, but the same message.

                The first message was delivered by Melissa Green, a Nashville recording artist, writer and speaker.  She made the point that Jesus did things that brought attention to the wrongs of his day.  She said, “He touched people He shouldn’t have touched, dined with people He shouldn’t have dined with, and worked on the Sabbath (by healing people).” She went on to explain that Jesus used a new strategy to build a new life, because the old system wasn’t working for anybody.  She encouraged us to stand up for what is good and right.  She repeated the famous quote, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”  She reminded us that if we are truly following in the footsteps of Jesus, we will be building a different kind of life, not just rebuilding or healing the one we have.

                 The second message was delivered by Pete Greening from England.  Back home in the UK, his wife was a vicar (parish priest) before she passed away.  Pete started visiting the States from time to time, and he and our pastor, Josh Scott, met at a conference.  Anybody who knows me, knows I admire the Brits for their forthrightness and quick wit.  Pete wasn’t short on either.  He said when his wife was alive, they had two doorbells: one labeled The Minister and one labeled Not The Minister, because of the constant flow of people needing to see his wife, the vicar.  Josh asked Pete to tell us what he wears if he is in the US on the Fourth of July.  “I wear a Union Jack vest,” he said, “After all, it is Insurrection Day.”

                Pete’s message was this: As Christians, we are to change the world, not just go to church.  The gifts we have been given are not simply for us to use for one another, but to use for the world.  To emphasize how we are to stand out from the world, he told the following joke:

                                A man gassed up his car at a service station then pulled out into the street to continue on his way to work.  After a few minutes, he noticed a policeman following him.  He looked down at his speedometer, but he was going the speed limit, so he continued on his way for another thirty minutes until he pulled into his work place and parked his car in his parking space.  The officer pulled up beside him.

The man rolled down his window and asked, “Is there something wrong, officer?”

                                The officer said, “I noticed after you gassed up your car, and you were getting ready to pull out into the street, a woman walked in front of you, and when you had to stop, you shook your fist at her.

                                The man said, “Yes, I did do that.”

                                The officer continued, “I also noticed when a guy cut you off in traffic a few miles back, you set down on your horn.”

                                “Yes, I did that also,” the man admitted.

                                “And when you arrived at work, and there was a traffic jam going into the parking lot, I saw you pounding the steering wheel,” the officer said.

                                “You’re right, I did pound my steering wheel,” the man said.  “Excuse me for asking, but are any of those things illegal?”

                                “No,” the officer said, “But I noticed a JESUS bumper sticker on your trunk, and I thought the car might be stolen.”

                The same theme ran through both Melissa’s and Pete’s messages: If we are to change things for the better, we can’t be like everybody else.  If we are following in the footsteps of Jesus, we won’t be like everybody else.   Sometimes, I need to be reminded.