Author: Wes White

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God’s Faithfulness to Evergreen Church in the Midst of Suffering

Traumatic events are part of life, but you never think they will happen to you.

One of those traumatic events happened to our church: Evergreen Presbyterian Church in Sevierville, TN. 5 years ago, we lost our church building to foreclosure and purchase by another party in our community.

The trauma of the loss was heightened by the season. It was Christmas time, and we had to be out of our building by December 21, 2013.

This event took place about a year before I came to serve as the Pastor of Evergreen Church, and Evergreen’s previous Pastor was already in transition elsewhere. So, the church was without a Pastor when they were forced to leave the building.

It was a very tough time. In spite of being with the people of Evergreen for four years, it’s still hard for me to imagine what it must have been like to have a prominent building in town and then to have to leave not knowing where you are going. In the Christmas season of 2013, Evergreen not only had to leave but had to search for a place to worship for the first time in nearly 20 years.

Sometimes people respond when they hear of the loss of our building by saying, “Well, the church isn’t the building.” While true, I think this response is an unhelpful one. After all, a family is more than their house, but losing a house to foreclosure is a very traumatic experience.

In the midst of the uncertainty and challenge, some people left Evergreen, but a surprising number stayed. They saw something in Evergreen Presbyterian Church that they wanted to preserve.

They also found a place to worship. Evergreen was welcomed into the building of the Smoky Mountains Seventh Day Adventist Church by the gracious Pastor and members of that church.

Being without a Pastor, the elders took the lead in the transition, and they began to organize a new life as a church without owning a building.

I came about one year later to serve this group of exiles. I came because, like them, I saw something really good and beautiful at Evergreen. I found a people that were loving and welcoming and yet rooted in the truth and the Gospel of Jesus. I found a group of people who were open to thinking carefully about how best to minister to the people in our church and Sevier County. I was excited.

But I made a mistake. I really did not appreciate the trauma of the previous couple of years. I did not see the hurt. I often took calls for the good old days personally rather than as sadness and grief over what had been lost. If I had it over to do, I would have asked for more stories about the past and spent a lot more time listening.

The good news is that the people of Evergreen have been gracious. They have worked with me, and they began to think about what it would look like for Evergreen to be Evergreen in a new situation.

Through it all, the Lord has enabled us to grow in our faith and in our understanding of what matters most. It reminds me of a beautiful song by Scottish singer Amy MacDonald who sings about the loss of a home in a fire in “From the Ashes.” Thinking she has nothing, she comes to the realization: “The little things in life are free; the simple things like you and me and like love, like love.”

In May of 2015, we found a place to worship on Sunday morning at the Conference Center of the River Plantation Campground just south of downtown Sevierville. It was a great place at a great price right in a great location right in the heart of Sevierville, and it has served our needs well for the past three years.

We’ve also become more mobile, and that has enabled us to get out into our community more easily. Last week, we had a Trunk or Treat event in the Sevierville Commons in downtown Sevierville. We have led worship services in Gatlinburg for our Songwriter’s Festival. We have worshiped in Pigeon Forge at the Comedy Barn. Mobility has given us unique opportunities.

It’s also been sad to see some of our Evergreen Family leave us for other cities and other churches, but God has also brought new people who continue the legacy of Evergreen Church as a church rooted in the truths confessed by our Presbyterian Church that also wants to welcome all who come and reach out to our community.

So, the loss of the building has helped us see important things more clearly, provided us with a cheaper meeting place, and enabled us to get into our community.

We’ve seen the truth of 1 Peter 5:10: “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”

This Friday, November 9th, marks the 32nd anniversary of the founding of Evergreen. As we think about our past and our future, we can have confidence that the God has led us in our suffering, aided is in our suffering, and healed us after suffering, will continue to do so because He is our faithful Creator.

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I Love the Fall

There is something glorious in each season, but there is no season quite like fall.

God has given us this world to enjoy, and fall is a reminder of that truth. He paints the trees and bids us enjoy His handiwork, though only for a brief season.

Sometimes the leaves change in varying stages. Other times the leaves change all at once.

In South Dakota, there weren’t as many trees, but there was still tremendous beauty. I remember in 2012, one of the hottest years I’ve experienced, when all the leaves changed at once. I had the privilege of driving through Spearfish Canyon several times to enjoy the innumerable cottonwood trees that complimented the Black Hills’ pines.

A little more than two years later, I moved to Tennessee near the Great Smoky Mountains. Trees everywhere! I was excited for my first fall in October of 2015.

One thing that was a little disappointing about Tennessee was that it did not have the maple reds that Michigan (where I grew up) had. So, I was excited one October day when I drove into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and went to one of my favorite trails: Laurel Falls. There I saw red leaves in abundance.

That day, I put up on Facebook: Sevierville friends, I don’t care what you are doing, come up now into the GSMNP! It’s peak color!

The whole fall is beautiful, but to see that one day where everything seems to have turned together is just other-worldly.

I don’t have to travel far, though, to see and experience the leaves. My own yard provides an amazing variety of colors for me to enjoy. Some of my favorite pictures are those of my daughters running across a yard with the backdrop of the colors of the oaks, the beeches, the dogwoods, a Norway spruce pine.

People spend millions of dollars to come and see trees as their leaves change color. My neighborhood is filled with a huge variety of trees and colors in the fall. One thing I have emphasized to my wife is that we need to make sure we are enjoying what we have right in front of us.

And that is one of the most important message of life: enjoy what’s in front of you! Fall is a brilliant reminder of that. “For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving . . .” (1 Tim. 4:4).

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Struggling with Greed

Struggling with greed. It’s something that most of us do not do. For most of us it’s probably just sitting there unnoticed.

I thought of this as I considered Ephesians 5:3: “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.” As a Pastor, I’ve had a lot of people talk to me about issues related to sexual immorality, but I’ve had very few (if any) come to me and say, “I’m struggling with greed.” It just doesn’t seem to be on our radar.

As I think of my preaching, I think that most Christians on the right of the political spectrum would resonate with my affirmation of traditional Christian sexual ethics. However, if I spoke on greed, I would probably have to do it very carefully to avoid misunderstanding.

On the other side, if I spoke to Christians on the left, they might resonate with what I’m saying about greed, but I would be very careful in my explanation of Christian sexual ethics.

The Bible teaches that both are serious issues. Paul insists strongly that there must not be “a hint” of these things and that the wrath of God is coming because of greed. In light of that, it seems that we would should be struggling quite a bit more against greed than we do.

In speaking with a friend, I realized that one issue here is that greed is more difficult to define. Sexual immorality refers to any sex outside of the commitment of marriage. But what is greed? Is it greed to want a better car? A bigger house? A bigger savings account? It’s hard to say. These things are certainly not wrong in and of themselves. Money, houses, and cars are not evil things. But can we want them too much? How do we know?

Let me suggest a few diagnostic questions that can help us know if we are being greedy.

1. Does the desire for or plans for obtaining new things consume our thoughts? If we are thinking about these things all the time, then greed is probably present. Having a vacation is not a bad thing, but if all our thoughts are, “When I get on vacation, I’ll be OK,” then we probably have a problem.

2. Is anxiety over not obtaining the things we want consuming our hearts? We not only desire to have good things, we worry about not having good things. For example, if we are worrying all the time about whether people will like us or want to be with us, then we are probably wanting it too much. Acceptance by others is a good thing, but it’s not ultimate.

3. Is thought of what we don’t have keeping us from enjoying what we do have? For example, is thought of a better house keeping us from enjoying the neighborhood or home that we actually presently live in?

4. Are our desires keeping us from our other obligations? For example, are we so consumed with work that we don’t spend time with our children, wife, or God? If so, perhaps you are wanting these things too much.

5. How do we feel when we don’t get what we want? This is perhaps the best indicator of a problem. When we get frustrated, worried, or unhinged when we don’t get what we want, then we probably wanted it too much. This is indicative of the presence of greed.

Let me turn now to consider how we can overcome it. If we see that greed and misplaced desires are an issue, what can we do to overcome it?

1. We need to let the Bible challenge us. It’s easy even for Christians to treat the Bible as an affirmation of our own behavior. We all need to be humble before God’s Word and let it challenge us where we are, even if change may be difficult.

2. Focus not just on reducing our negative desires, work on strengthening positive ones. The opposite of greed is thanksgiving. The more we can enjoy the many good things God has already given us, the less we will be greedy for more.

3. Speak to someone about your struggles. Ephesians 5:13 says, “But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.” This means that we need to let in the light in order to experience healing. If you don’t have someone with whom you can share your deepest struggles, it’s imperative that you find someone. Conversations with a trusted friend bring light and healing to the darkest corners of our lives.

4. Let Christ shine on you. “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Eph. 5:14). The more and better we get to know Christ, the less power our destructive desires will have.

The darkness of unbridled desire does not have to dominate our lives. We don’t have to stay in the darkness. Christ, the light, is risen, and we can be healed through His light!

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Reformation Day: Why Works Won’t Work

The central protest of the Protestant Church is that justification is by faith alone and not by the works of the law.

When it comes to our standing before God, works won’t work.

Why? Because the law says that we’re guilty. When the law speaks, we become aware of our sin and are held guilty before the law (Rom. 3:19 & 20).

Martin Luther, whom God raised up to begin a Reformation of the Church 500 years ago this month, saw this very clearly.

Martin Luther believed that he could be justified by his works. He tried very hard to be declared righteous on the basis of what he did.

He also saw that he had sin, so he would spend two hours confessing his sins, walk away, and realize he had committed more sins that he had forgotten. This led him to adopt very strict practices and even to inflict pain on himself as a way of paying for his sin.

The more he worked, the more he saw the futility of it.

He realized that no one would be justified by the law because all have sinned, and all stand condemned and guilty before God.

Now, most people don’t take that approach. Most people aren’t trying that hard to do what’s right. Most people get around the weight of their sin by bringing the law down to their level.

We can do this in a variety of ways. Most of the time, we think we’re OK with God because we’re not that bad, perhaps go to church, and don’t do anything society considers really bad.

Sometimes, people avoid the law by focusing on a few moral issues. However, usually that morality does not touch our heart. It’s external things that we can easily avoid and look down on others for. “We don’t smoke, and we don’t chew, and we don’t run with boys who do” (see Mt. 23:23).

Sometimes, we can make religious knowledge or awareness the basis of our standing before God. I know these doctrines, so I’m OK. Those who don’t are not in the club.

Sometimes, even grace can become a sort of club. I’m better than others because I get grace!

Wherever we tend to view ourselves highly and look down on contempt on others is a place where we are tending to rely on as our righteousness before God.

But none of these will work. They’re actually a distraction from the real issue.

They won’t work because God’s holiness demands that we obey His law, all His law, to be declared righteous.

And we haven’t. We’ve all sinned. So, we’re in trouble.

We all stand guilty and condemned before a holy God.

So, where does that lead us? To Luther’s glorious insight. We stand guilty and condemned before God, but God offers us acceptance as a free gift because of what Jesus has done.

“All are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24).

That’s justification by grace alone through faith alone. This is what the Reformation is all about. This is what the Bible is all about.

We all stand guilty before God, but God accepts us a free gift to be received by faith alone because of what Jesus has done.

That’s a rallying point. Think about it. Meditate on it. Live it. Let it transform you. Let it transform your churches. Let it soften your heart.

Works won’t work, but the Gospel will.

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Is God Telling His People to “Be Better”?

“Put off your old self . . . and put on the new.” That’s one of the central teachings of the Christian faith.

Does this just mean “be better”? You could take it that way.

And, of course, there is one sense in which God commands us to be better. It is always our moral obligation from God to be better: to love more, to hate less, to be more kind, and to forgive.

There is also some advantage to a reminder to “be better.” How often do I think, for example, that I’m supposed to pursue “compassion” or avoid “slander”? It’s good for me to be reminded that this is what I’m supposed to do.

The problem is that I fail. The commandment just isn’t enough to get me where I need to be. It’s more like the New Year’s resolution that I continue for a week and then forget (and usually don’t do perfectly even that one week!).

Further, the Bible teaches that salvation and transformation is a gift of God’s grace from first to last. How do we square this with the call to “be better”?

One way people have understood this is to recognize that the commandment is good but that we need God’s grace to fulfill it. As Augustine said, “Command what you will, and give what you command.”

I do believe that this is taught in Scripture. However, I’m not sure that this is what the Apostle Paul is after in Ephesians 4:22–24 when he tells us to put off the old self and put on the new.

I take his command more like this: accept the work of God’s grace in your life and avail yourselves of everything God provides in order to make you what He calls you to be.

Let me suggest that this involves at least 5 things.

First, confront the issue. Sin is not simple. It is complex. It involves a way of thinking, wrong desires, and even ignorance (see Eph. 4:17–19). We need to do more than look at the outward action. We need to consider where our heart is, what our mindset is, and what our thinking is.

Two ways that I have found particularly helpful for discerning the pattern of sin are to look at my strong emotions and desires. When we feel strong negative emotions like anger or anxiety, it is an opportunity for us to examine what’s going on under the hood. When our desires take over us and lead us in wrong directions, it’s a good idea to ask, what is the source of these desires? Why am I wanting this recreation, relationship, or reaction so much?

This consideration will help us see more clearly how we need God’s grace to work in our lives.

Second, convert our thinking. It’s not just about behavior. It’s what’s in our hearts and minds that is the issue. Paul begins his discussion of the old self in this passage by saying there is “futile thinking.” The new self involves being renewed “in the attitude of our minds” (Eph. 4:23).

For example, if we think our acceptance is based on what other people think of us, we will be continually frustrated (futile thinking!). If we believe our acceptance is based on God’s view of us, we are open to the peace that is available to us in Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:7). So, we convert our thinking by keeping in mind all the things that God has said about His grace in Ephesians 1–3, that we have “every spiritual blessing in Christ.”

Third, connect to God’s grace. In the first part of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul speaks of God “enlightening our hearts” and “giving us power to see.” Transformation is a gift of God’s grace.

However, there are places where God’s grace is flowing. We call these “the means of grace.” They include the Word of God, the sacraments, prayer, and people. If we want to experience God’s grace, we should humbly make use of the means that God has given to experience His grace.

Fourth, continue in grace-empowered effort. It is important that this not come first, but it plays a part. I believe we should try hard to be compassionate and kind, but this is not always the effort that is needed. Sometimes the effort is working on re-shaping our thinking, making time to spend with Jesus, devoting ourselves to prayer, and taking the risk of connecting with people who can help us.

Fifth, conform to the pattern of Christ. It is important for us to remember that the call to transformation is always directed toward Christ as the power for transformation and as the example to which transformation will conform. “Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself for us” (Eph. 5:2).

If we just look at ourselves, we might not have any hope for transformation. Looking to Christ and the power of His resurrection, we have tremendous hope for change! We don’t have to rest in the same old patterns. By God’s grace, we can experience the grace of out with the old and in with the new. Christ is risen!

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