Ridgell's Originals

 Mark Rogers and Fern Hill don't have much in common on the surface.

Mark died in a terrible car accident in Texas just short of his 40th birthday.  He loved Jesus, people, had incredible energy, and was a force for good in his community.

Fern died of a terrible disease in New York in her mid 80's.  She loved Jesus, people, had incredible energy, and was a force for good in her community.

Oh, and they both loved to sing.  Mark sang many times when I was preaching.  Fern sang over me several times.  I bet they are both singing in heaven.

So OK.  Maybe they had more in common than it seemed at first glance.  And I loved and admired both of them.  And I learned from them both.  Here is what I learned from Mark, Fern, and Jesus.

Death is real and it can happen at any time.  We live in a fallen world.  The wreck that took Mark's life was a result of another person.  Their sin costs Mark.  Fern died of cancer.  Fallen world where sin and disease result in death.

Death hurts.  Fern was so loved by so many.  So was Mark.  And Mark leaves a precious wife, three kids, and his parents.  Families, friends, and churches are grieving each of these.

They leave incredible legacies.  Both leave strong families.  Mark made an impact in his local church and by his work with Big Brother and Big Sisters.  Fern and her husband Jerry founded the Timothy Hill Children's Ranch.  Good has been done under their leadership that will last for a long time.

They both put their faith in Jesus.  So we believe they are now seeing God face to face.  And we believe we will see them again.  So we are hope grievers.  We grieve.  But not like those with no hope.

So maybe the world sees no connection or similarity between Mark and Fern.  But I do.  Jesus makes all the difference.

Fern wrote a book, Graduation to Glory, about the life, death, and legacy of her son Timothy Hill.  Now she has graduated to glory.  Just like I want to do some day.

There are tee shirts all over that say Make Your Mark motivating people to do like Mark did and leave a lasting mark in people's lives.

So God, thanks for these two saints that I love.  So different on the outside.  So alike in You.  So Father, help us make Your mark in this world until we graduate to glory.

# posted by Steve @ 5:00 AM 0 comments

 Things are opening up and many hospitals are once again allowing visitors.  I think we Christians are expected to visit the sick among our communtiy of faith.  In James 5, it even seems that the sick are expected to let their elders know so they can be annointed and prayed over.  

Visiting the sick encourages those in a fragile state.  It allows you to assess needs and do service.  It lets the sick one know they are loved and valued.  But some Christians are not sure how to visit the sick.  They are a little intimidated.  So here are some hints for visiting the sick.

Go with someone else.  Find someone who visits and go with them.  Learn by watching them.

Be brief.  I am the master at drive-by visits.  In and out.  The last thing a sick person needs is someone that overstays their welcome. 

Three easy questions.  How are you?  What does the Doctor say?  Can I pray over you?

Always pray.  It can be short and sweet.  Pray for healing.  For peace.  For the care givers.  For the family.  I am big on the prayer circle if other family members are there.  Most of the time if medical personnel come in I invite them into the circle.  Almost always they join.

Touch.  Hold a hand.  Put a hand on a shoulder.  Or on a foot.  But use common sense.  Not if it is awkward or difficult to connect.

They do not need your stories unless they ask. It is fine to acknowledge that you or a family member had the same condition.  But you are there for them.  If they want to know about your experiece then share it.  Otherwise it is probably enough to let them know you do have some understanding.

They may want to talk.  Learn to read the room.  Tears or troubled expressions may indicate a desire to talk.  Sometimes I just ask if they want to talk about anything.  I will often ask when I could come back and visit.  Or I will take time then.

Don't dodge the hard topics.  By the way, for my elder buddies, you are not allowed to dodge the hard questions. That is what you are there for.  I have had many discussions with sick people -- or with their loved ones -- about death and dying.  I have had discussions about salvation and Jesus.  Sometimes from those wanting to be saved.  And sometimes from those wondering if they are saved.  

Be careful about family issues.  Family pain can sure be revealed when people are sick.  Listen.  Remember there are usually two sides.  Unless you know the story, be careful.  But many times I have left hospital rooms to make calls to family members.  Just let the sick person know in advance that you are doing that. 

So... my three rules for visiting the sick.

Be there.

Be brief.

Pray.    

# posted by Steve @ 5:00 AM 0 comments

 I don't write about every friend that passes from this life to the next.  But I have to write about Fern Hill.  She and her husband Jerry founded Timothy Hill Children's Ranch to help young people and to honor their son Timothy who died in an accident.  Wrote a best selling book about Timothy.  Graduation To Glory.

She was a preacher's wife, an elder's wife, a Mom and grandmother.  A hugger, a listening ear, an advice giver.  A friend.  Their are a lot of people who will be in heaven because they were impacted by the faith of Fern.  And Jerry.  You really can't think of one without the other.  They were the couple we wanted to be when we grew up.

I have eaten at their table.  Been blessed as they sang over me.  Shared stories.  Cried together.  Laughed together.  Prayed together.  

I have seen the fruit of their work.  Spoken at the Ranch.  Spoken at their church.  Spoken at a campaign on Long Island.  Met people they brought to the event.  Rejoiced when I heard those friends were baptized.

Fern was a gracious, sweet, loving Jesus follower.  She made you feel special.  Because to her, well... you were special.  She was fierce in living out her faith.  Worked without ceasing right up until she couldn't.

And now she has graduated to glory.  Now she is with her two sons that had already gone before.

What a legacy.

So I am going to work a little harder for the Kingdom.  Sing a little more.  Pray more.  Tell more people about Jesus.  Open our home to others.  

Her legacy is in the people she touched.

And in the Timothy Hill Children's Ranch.  Check it out.  We have given to the Ranch.  Yes, partly because of Jerry and Fern.  And their boys.  But also because we share in their dream.  I have spoken at Fund Raising dinners for them.  

So we will write another check in honor of Fern.  You should too.

And we will live every day to the fullest.

Thanks Fern for the inspiration.

And thank you God for the life of Fern.  For her faith.  For her marriage and her family.  You did good work thru Fern.  Bless Jerry, the boys, and the Ranch.  Thru the one Fern served.  Amen.

# posted by Steve @ 5:00 AM 0 comments

Tomorrow is our anniversary.  Marsha and I will have been married 48 years.  That is a long time in our world today.  It doesn't seem that long to us.  We hang out in church a lot so we see lots of long marriages.  But it is impressive.  

So here are just a few reasons I love us and am proud of us.  

We still have fun.  Look forward to date night.  Enjoy hanging out.  Love get-away trips.  

We would still choose each other.  

She still makes my heart turn over when she comes in a room.  I still make her laugh.

We stuck it out.  We have survived sin, sin that other people did to us, sickness, ecomonic stress.  It's a fallen world and we live in the middle of it.  Better or worse.  Richer or poorer.  Sickness and in health.  We have had some of all of it.  And we stuck it out.  

Faith in Jesus matters.  We have been in great church situations and in horrible church situations.  But Jesus has always been the center.  

So does family.  We have taken care of parents.  Still take care of my Mom.  Blessed by our kids and grands.  And watching the grands and seeing them grow is a real blessing.

Our legacy is solid.  We have made a difference.  In our family.  And in other families.  

We still keep going.  Life together is great and we intend to keep on until we can't.  

Then we go to heaven.

So Mimi... we have done good.  Because of you.  Because of God.

I am not lucky.  I am blessed.

I love us.  And I am proud of us.

Thanks God. 

# posted by Steve @ 5:00 AM 0 comments

 You have got a past.

But you have dealt with it and are forgiven.

You are living out that forgiveness.

So let me suggest three ways you can use your past to serve God.

Your past keeps you focused on your present.  You are alert to temptation.  You are aware of where, when, and how you are vulnerable.  You are on your guard.  You have a built in warning system if you start to become complacent.  And knowing how much God has forgiven in you makes it so much easier to live in praise.  Easier to declare the praises of God.  Easier to stay in the light.   

Your past is part of your tool kit for helping others.  You know the temptations.  You know the damage of your sin.  You also know the power of confession and the freedom of repentance.  You know lives can change.  This is powerful as a parent.  It is powerful as a spiritual shepherd.  You remember when you were trying to get thru what is now past, it was easy to believe no one had ever messed up as bad as you.  No one had ever survived a mess like you have made.  People still feel that way in the midst of their battle.  You can speak truth into lives because you know what it is like and you made it.

Because you are living proof that their is forgiveness and restoration.  There is power in knowing someone else has been there and survived.  And over time, not just survived but thrived.

Sober alcoholics.  Marriages that made it.  Restored families.  

The power of living proof.

Living forgiven is powerful for you.  And powerful for others.

So tell your story.  No one needs to know all the details.  But maybe it does help not just to be aware of the sober alcoholic, but to actually know the sober alcoholic.  To know the married couple that made it.  To see the proof of God's forgiveness in action.

Use your past to God's glory.

# posted by Steve @ 5:00 AM 0 comments

Of course the Church of Christ is on the verge of a major split.  Just like what Southern Baptists are going thru.  And the Methodists just went thru.  

You think I am going to say it is over same sex marriage.  Nope.  Of course that is coming but it is not the issue.

Nor is the issue what woman can or cannot do.  We are in the middle of that one, but it is not the root cause of the issue.

The issue that is going to cause the split in the fellowship I grew up in is this:  how you view the Bible.  

Our fellowship had a major split once before.  People seem to think it was over the instrument in worship.  Not really.  It was over how you view the Bible.  When the Bible is silent is that permissive or prohibative?  Of course, some would argue the whole thing was culture driven.  North and south.  Affluent cities and poor rural.  

Those wanting an instrument were going to have it all costs.  Those that did not agree got more and more defensive.  

And this is more serious.  We are not debating what God meant when He did not speak. 

We are debating whether God meant what He did say in the Bible. 

Those that are more "progressive" will have their way at all costs.  Those that do not agree will get more and more defensive.

And some would argue this is all cultural.  New theology about ten years after culture changes its view on issues.

It may be the end of the fellowship I know and love.  

But it will not be the end of the church.

God's church will continue just like it always has.  Like it always will.  God will raise up another movement that will draw people into the Kingdom.  It may come out of Africa.  Or Asia.  But it is coming.

But here is what really concerns me.

The legalistic arguments over reading into Scripture things that were not there caused a lot of people to lose faith in the church.  So the Church of Christ lost a lost of people looking for a more authentic faith experience. 

The liberal arguments over whether the Bible means what it says will not cause people to leave the church.  But it will erode their confidence in trusting the Bible.  And in the long run, that is tragic.  

Losing members from your church hurts.

Losing members from the faith hurts more.

And maybe I am wrong.

But maybe I am not.

So decide what you believe about the Bible.

Our future -- and your future -- depend on it. 

# posted by Steve @ 5:00 AM 0 comments

It is time for Christians to stop letting culture define our view of sex.  God actually has quite a bit to say about sex.  Maybe it is just that we Christians don't feel comfortable talking about it.  But we should.

After all, God made us.  He knows us.  And since we are real people living in a real world and committed to following a real God, it only makes sense that He would speak truth into our lives about something as real as sex.

So here are four things God says to us about sex.

It is foundational to our marriages.  Read the end of Genesis 2.  A man and woman leave their families and form new families.  They become one flesh.  I believe that to be a reference to our sexual union.  Sex is what binds us together.  It unites us.  That is also why it is designed for one man and one woman to be exclusive.  Unity.  It is why there are so many warnings against adultery.  

God made sex to be enjoyed.  Read Proverbs 5.  Sex between a husband and wife is fun.  Always.  That is the way God intended it.  The world sometimes talks as if the church is against all sex because we are against fun.  Not true.  God loves us enough to make sex enjoyable.

God explains why Christians, marriage, and exclusive sex are connected.  I Corinthians 6.  Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit.  So sexual sins are sins against our own body.  The body where the Holy Spirit lives.  Sex outside of your marriage dishonors the Spirit.  It is a forgivable sin.  Check out Psalm 51.  But there is a Christian ethic that matters about sex.

God even gives practical advice about sex in I Corinthians 7.  Your body belongs to your mate, not to you.  That is a uniquely Christian view.  So do not withhold sex from your mate.  Unless it is for spiritual reasons and then not for long.  These helps make your marriage temptation proof.  Practical advice.

One man.  One woman.  Enjoy sex.  God approves of your marriage sex.  As does the Holy Spirit.  

So let's stop letting our culture define what sex should be.  And stop letting culture explain what we believe about sex.  They are wrong.

God is clear.  We need to be clear in teaching it to our teens and to our adults.

Thanks God for the gift of marriage.  And thanks for making it fun.

# posted by Steve @ 5:00 AM 0 comments

 I have been very blessed in my life by the Moms in my family.  Here are a couple of reasons why they deserve my honor and thanks.

My mom Juanita Ridgell.  She is responsible for planting faith in my heart from a young age.  Took me to church.  Matriarch of our family.  Great role model for the daughters, grand-daughters, and great grand-daughters in our family.  Smart, active, faithful.

Marsha's mom Jean Herttenberger.  We all still miss her.  Granny was such a great example of a wife and mother.  I see so much of her in the girls in our family.  Loving, servant heart.

Mimi.  My wife Marsha.  Tough, faithful, friend, mother to not just our girls but countless others.  Church Mom.  Neighborhood Mom.  Mom to all our kids friends.  Mom to lots of your teachers.  Selfless.  Giver.  Servant.

Our daughter Julie Gilbreth.  She is tough.  Being a single Mom is hard.  Works hard in a demanding field as a nurse.  Tender heart.  

Joe Don's wife Jamie Ridgell.  Busy.  Calm.  Jesus followerer.  School Mom.  Role model for young Moms at church.  Friend to so many.

I have no doubt Anna Ridgell and Avery Gilbreth will be strong women and great Moms some day.  How could they not be with the examples that have gone before them.  

And I believe Jake Gilbreth, Andrew Ridgell, and Austin Ridgell will marry strong, faithful women.  That is the kind of woman they re used to being around.  

So I have been blessed beyond anything I could have ever imagined.  

So thanks God for the Moms in my life.  For what they have done for me, but what they have done for so many others.  

# posted by Steve @ 5:00 AM 0 comments

 I want my elders to be men of strong Christian character.  I want them to know Scripture and teach it.  I want them to have strong families.

I do think in many ways elders are recognized as much as selected.  A man who is not shepherding in his community of faith will not become a shepherd overnight just because he is appointed an elder.

How do you pick elders?  In the New Testament, the preachers seemed to appoint them.  And yes, I know that those preachers were not salaried and employed by the elders.  I get the inherent conflict of picking the men who set your salary.

I know many churches have what amounts to an election.  I see the strength in letting the congregation choose who to follow.  I also know that sometimes leads to men "running" for office.  Or being put up before the congregation often so everyone will vote for them.  

Some elders select the other elders.  I get the danger of only picking men like themselves, but I also have a lot of sympathy for letting your spiritual leaders select the other spiritual leaders.

What do you do with "bad" elders?  Some churches select elders every three to five years and have all the elders go thru the process.  Others put elders in for life.  By the way, Scripture does have instructions for how to deal with those elders in I Timothy 5.  

And then there are the elders who are not elders.  They are not recongnized by the church, but by individuals.  I have men in my life I consider to be my elders.  I have told them.

I believe elders have authority in the church.  More than the preachers do.  I also believe good elders are the best way to ensure a healthy congregation.  Bad elders are the best way to destroy a church.

Yes I think elders can be paid.  And maybe should be.

I served as an elder in a church for a long time.  Working with my flock was the greatest joy of my life, even when it was incredibly painful.

Church politics and the business of eldering was one of the most painful experiences of my life.  Hated it.  

So thanks to the elders that have molded me.  I owe you my spiritual life. 

Thanks to the men who continue to shepherd me.  The elders where we worship.  The individual elders who serve in churches that we do not attend but that still recognize as shepherds.  And the men who are not elders but that we recognize as our shepherds.

God bless you.

# posted by Steve @ 5:00 AM 0 comments