Then I looked, and there was a large crowd of people. There were so many people that no one could count them all. They were from every nation, tribe, race of people, and language of the earth. They were standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They all wore white robes and had palm branches in their hands.

Revelation 7:9

There are many ways I could focus today’s post. I guess I will begin with the most important:

Sunday morning I attended worship and shared The Lord’s Supper with the good people at Wake Forest Presbyterian Church. Everything that I wanted to be present in the experience was there, “with bells on” and then some.

First, and I caught this the moment I walked into the building, there was this “buzz”, this charge of electricity, this sense of authentic life in the air. The anticipation, the joy, the love, the undeniable evidence of the presence of God – it was all there.

The church was full. People of all ages. It was the week after Easter Sunday and it seemed as if most of the congregation came back! I talked to so many of the good and wonderful people we remember; but also – and this is very very cool – I could safely say I did not know at least a third of the people in the sanctuary.

God is continuing to do good and creative and life-charged things in Wake Forest; and it did my heart so much good to see this.

Out to the Rose Garden:

Then, and I will never get tired of this, Sunday was another perfect spring day. We went out to the Wake Forest Presbyterian Church garden to plant roses in honor of those who have died over the past year. My mum, her friend Marcia, and then Jim and Dana’s daughter, Kristin. It was maybe 60-degrees, perfect sunshine, with Carolina Blue skies.

The ceremony is a wonderful tradition. We don’t have a graveyard, but we do have a garden. Like the great arc of the biblical narrative, beginning and ending in a garden. Each rose has a simple marker with name, dates, and a short epitaph I chose. Mum’s reads, “The Lord is compassionate and gracious” (Psalm 103:8). Dad’s, “God makes everything beautiful in its time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

The memorial service was in the Rose Garden, but both mum and dad’s roses are moving across campus to the Giving Garden, where they will join the growing chorus of flowers (see gallery below) in the middle of all the vegetables and the apple trees and the emphasis on hunger ministries.

Life and more Life!

I plan to write more about this soon, but I am so over all the negative voices that keep saying that “Church as we know it is all but over,” and “We just have to accept the fact that decline has set in,” and “The way forward is to look at models that don’t require a building and a pastor,” and “church has become irrelevant, we might as well accept it.”

No. Nope. No way. Nada. By no means. What?! Read your Bible!

This is still the gospel! The good news will never stop being the good news. Jesus is still risen. People need community today more than ever before. God has a lot on the agenda and The Church is critically important to God’s plans. And – don’t forget this – Jesus said that “On this rock I will build my church, and not even the Gates of Hell will have the power to overcome it” (Matthew 16:18).

Listen, naysayers, come visit Wake Forest Presbyterian Church and take a look for yourself. It is overflowing with life, it is vibrant, it is doing mission, it is full with people who love Jesus, and it will undoubtedly continue to grow in every way going forward. And while you’re at it, drive on over to Tarboro and take a look at how we are celebrating our 150th anniversary here at HMPC.

Believe me, friends, if you are not actively involved in the life and ministry of a church then you are missing out on something wonderful.

If you are anywhere near Tarboro, come see us at Howard Memorial. You don’t have to be a die-hard believer, you just need a receptive heart, open just a chink to listen and to let some of the light in. You will be glad you came.

Peace – DEREK