Crude Lessons: What the Oil Spill Crisis Is Teaching Me

Some of the most valuable lessons in life are learned during seasons of hardship, suffering, or adversity. Wisdom is often forged from mistakes, mishaps, and miscalculations. John Maxwell reminds us that “A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.”

As our community and our church family deals with the anxiety and the challenges brought on by the Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf, what are the lessons we can learn that will help us be better custodians of our planet? I sense that many of us are working our way through some of the stages of grief…denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

Rather than just accepting the reality of this calamity, I believe that we can be more proactive and progressive going forward. This month as our church family is focused on “Wising Up!” we are being challenged to learn from the mistakes of the past so that we can build a better future. When it comes to the realities of the oil spill, I recognize that I have a lot to learn. Although I cannot speak for everyone, here are five lessons I am in the process of learning:

1. Do not take for granted the treasure at your doorstep. I was raised in Northeast Alabama not far from Cheaha State Park, the home of Mt. Cheaha, the highest point in Alabama. When friends would come to visit from other parts of the state, I was surprised that they were awestruck with the scenic vistas from the Bald Rock, Chimney Peaks, and other landmarks, sights that I took for granted because they were in my backdoor. Now I live on the Gulf Coast where I routinely walk on the world’s most beautiful beaches, enjoy fresh seafood, observe marine life and drive along scenic coastal roadways. This catastrophe reminds me that the Gulf is a natural treasure and as a coastal resident I have the privilege of enjoying it and protecting it.

2. Be a better steward of creation in the future than you’ve been in the past. In the creation story after God breathed life into human souls, God gave to humankind a stewardship responsibility over all of creation. For me, this means adopting a lifestyle that is creation-friendly. I am habitually inconsistent in my responsibility of caring for creation. There are times I would give myself an A- in creation care and others times I would rate a C+. There are many ways I can be a better, more proactive custodian of creation: Using eco-friendly products, recycling, conserving energy, and supporting and protecting green spaces like national parks, state parks, and wildlife refuges.

3. Be better informed about the energy industry. My lifestyle is energy dependent. Energy consumption is not a bad thing, but wasting energy or being dependent on unsafe and monopolistic energy systems can be damaging to our ecosystem. I am pretty well up-to-date on information technology and the most recent telecommunication devices, but I am behind the curve on my knowledge of the energy industry. I am determined to become better informed about how my lifestyle drives the system of energy production and energy consumption.

4. Be more supportive of the research and development of alternative energy sources. Please do not misunderstand. I am not anti-oil and neither am I opposed to safer methods of off-shore drilling. But I agree with oil investor T. Boone Pickens who proposes converting more oil and diesel-based systems to natural gas and other cleaner fuels. In addition to non-fossil fuels, other possible sources include solar energy, wind turbines, wave power, and geothermal energy.

5. Make decisions about energy usage based on the ultimate cost and not just the current price. I am a shopper. I love a bargain. When I am about to purchase a product…whether a new computer, a new cell phone, or a new car…I not only look for the best price, but I read product reviews, and consider quality, service, and longevity. However, when I am filling my tank with gasoline, I usually pull into the station with the lowest price without consideration of fuel quality or cleanliness. When I work toward lowering my utility bill at home, I tend to be more concerned about my monthly costs than I am about the long-term cost to the environment. I need to change my way of thinking, understanding that there may be occasions where I may need to pay more in the short term to minimize costs in the long term.

Before this saga is over, I am sure there will be many more lessons to be learned. The impact of the oil spill in the Gulf will likely linger for several years. But hopefully, the major cleanup of coastal land and waters will be completed much sooner. I hope and pray that the lessons we learn from this crisis will equip and motivate us to be more effective caretakers of the Gulf and the planet because “the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1a NIV).

A Bird’s Eye View of Church

Our friend and fellow FBC Pensacola member, Bill Harden, went home to be with the Lord last week. A diabetic since the age of six, as Bill encountered mounting health complications in recent years he inspired his family and many of us with his cheerful humor, his durable smile, his positive attitude, and his artistic craftsmanship.

One of his favorite wood-working projects was building birdhouses. Although Bill invested most of his career in the travel planning business, as a retirement hobby Bill carefully constructed aviary residences in a variety of shapes and sizes. In addition to the dozens of birdhouses Bill gave to others as gifts, an assorted collection of birdhouses sit atop the mantle and around the hearth in the Harden home.

About a year ago, Dr. Pleitz and I were each blessed to receive a unique birdhouse as a gift from Bill. Built especially for the pastor and pastor emeritus, these church-shaped birdhouses were built from the wood removed from the floor of our former education building, affectionately known as the old library building, which was severely damaged during Hurricane Ivan and eventually demolished a year later.

My birdhouse is strategically located in front of the chair where I have my quiet time early in the morning. As I have looked at it during my prayer time over the past several months, this birdhouse has become a wooden parable of how I understand church in the 21^st century, especially our church….not the bricks and mortar of our campus…but our ministry…our mission…our spiritual family.

While most of the wood on this birdhouse came from the old church, Bill also incorporated new lumber into the birdhouse, creating sort of a two-toned effect, a phenomenon that reminds me that our church is a composite of the old and the new, a merger of our heritage and our dreams.

For the perch, Bill installed an oversized doorknob front and center, which reminds me of the importance of opening wide the doors of the church to welcome both new friends and old neighbors with Christian hospitality, else we will become cliquish and stagnant.

Above the door is a cross. Intentionally placed over the entrance in a location similar to the street number or family name on your home, this cross explicitly identifies the occupants as followers of Jesus above all else.

And finally, Bill went online and ordered a miniature spire which now sits atop the steeple pointing upwards, beckoning us to look heavenward to God for our hope and our strength.

Our friend, Bill, is now at home with the Lord, but he left behind an ongoing testimony, a well-crafted story, a wooden parable which gives to me, and to us, a bird’s eye view of church.

I look forward to seeing you this Sunday as our church family gathers for worship and Bible study to better become the church God intends for us to be.

Wising Up This Summer

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. James 1:5 NIV

During Vacation Bible School June 14-18 our students will be learning about wisdom at “Saddle Ridge Ranch.” The VBS memory verse, James 1:5, is a great verse for our entire congregation to learn and remember.

Why do we need wisdom? Perhaps now, more than ever, Christ followers need to learn and exercise wisdom in our daily lives. We need wisdom to decide on our major, choose our vocation, make daily decisions, manage our money, maintain our relationships, and serve with purpose. When we fail to exercise God-given wisdom, we tend to make poor choices and act selfishly or stubbornly.

This week we begin a new series entitled Wising Up! which aims to help us connect with wisdom for daily living. This Sunday we will focus on “Where It All Begins” from Proverbs 9:10. Also this Sunday we are looking forward to celebrating baptism at the beginning of our midmorning worship service.

Make sure to invite your friends and neighbors and to pre-register your children and grandchildren for Vacation Bible School. We also need a few more trail bosses and ranch hands, so make sure to contact Jean Ingram or Emily Meneely in our Children’s Ministry and sign up to work at the ranch.

Next Wednesday evening we have an extraordinary treat in store as we host the Mercer University Children’s Choir. At FBCP we are blessed to have many friends and partners around the world who host our choirs when they are on tour. This week we are privileged to serve as host to one of the premier children’s choirs in the southeast. Bring the whole family for dinner and the concert on Wednesday June 9.

At First Baptist, summer presents great opportunities for learning, growing, and going. Be faithful to the Lord and to our church with your time, your talent, and your treasure.

I look forward to seeing you this Sunday as we gather for Bible study and worship.

Wising Up! and Doing Good This Summer

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. James 1:5 NIV

For Vacation Bible School June 14-18 our students will be learning about wisdom at “Saddle Ridge Ranch.” Our trail bosses (leaders), ranch hands (teachers) and cowpokes (students) will enjoy all kinds of fun adventures on the ranch including visits to the Bible Study Bunkhouse, Worship Rally Valley, Mustang Mountain Recreation, Firefly Cavern Missions, Big Sky Grill, and Blazing Star Crafts.

Make sure to invite your friends and neighbors and to pre-register your children and grandchildren for Vacation Bible School. We also need a few more trail bosses and ranch hands, so make sure to contact Jean Ingram or Emily Meneely in our Children’s Ministry and sign up to work at the ranch.

Saddle Ridge Ranch is not the only place you can learn about wisdom. Building on our VBS theme, we begin a new series in June entitled Wising Up! which aims to help us connect with wisdom for daily living.

Here are some of the topics we will consider in June:

June 6 Where It All Begins Proverbs 9:10

June 13 Wising Up When Others Are Dumbing Down James 1:2-8

June 20 On Solomon’s Porch I Kings 3:1-12 (Father’s Day)

June 27 Choosing Wisely! Ephesians 5:15-21

Our aim in July is to connect with missions as we begin the series, Doing Good Everywhere We Go. I am excited that we have a large number of FBCP folks involved in missions this summer. In June we have a team going to Russia and our Chapel Choir going to California. During July we have teams going to Jackson, Mississippi; Franklin, North Carolina; Costa Rica; and Europe. Then in October, we have another team leaving for Haiti. Additionally, we have several of our mission partners who will be visiting us in Pensacola this summer.

Here are our tentative topics for July:

July 4 Let Us Work for the Common Good Galatians 6:1-16

July 11 Rooting for the Underdog Psalm 82, Luke 10:25-37

July 18 Bringing Out the Best in People Proverbs 27:17

July 25 Dr. Bob Greene, guest preacher

At First Baptist, summer presents great opportunities for learning, growing, and going. Be faithful to the Lord and to our church with your time, your talent, and your treasure.