Calvary McAllen

CRADDOCK IN WACO

I'll be in Waco on October 30-31st. I've been invited to participate in a scholar's roundtable discussion with Fred Craddock.  Dr. Craddock is one of the most important voices on the art and craft of preaching in the 20th century. His book, As One Without Authority, written in 1980, absolutely changed preaching for a generation of pastors. Craddock is also a New Testament scholar. His commentary on Philippians is (in my opinion) the best on that Pauline letter.

Those of you who have been listening to me preach for a few years have heard me talk about Fred Craddock. His preaching has been a heavy influence on my preaching in the last ten years. There will be ten of us around the table with Dr. Craddock. This is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity to ask questions of one of the greatest preaching minds of the last century. I am honored to be chosen to sit at that table. Please pray for me ... safe travel ... and a sharp mind feasting at the table of the spiritual life.

I'll be back Tuesday night. Unfortunately, I'll miss Noah's Ark. I'm sad about that because it's one of my favorite nights of the year. I know God will bless Calvary that night. You'll be in my prayers.

blessings,

pastor ellis

2007 BUDGET

“Just as you excel in every thing - in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us all - see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”

-- 2 Corinthians 8:7

The Stewardship Committee has completed its work on the 2007 Calvary Budget. They've worked really hard this year, putting in a lot of hours in prayerful work. Added to that the pastoral staff, personnel committee, missions committee, and other ministry teams have done an excellent job in preparing their respective budgets. It all works together to create a challenging and God-sized budget goal for next year.

The proposed 2007 budget of $1,972,328.75 represents an overall increase of 5.17% over the 2006 budget.  In terms of dollars, that is a $97,017.50 increase.  The Calvary Baptist Church family has demonstrated incredible faithfulness in giving over the last several years.  More total money is being given these days to fund the ministries of our church and to pay for the new building than ever before. We have a lot to celebrate!

This proposed budget is challenging because it calls for giving significantly more than Calvary will collect this year.  In fact, at this point in time, we are about $180,000.00 behind what our current budget calls for. This means some ministries and some of the things God may be calling us to do are falling short of what they could be for lack of funding.  With all of the wonderful things happening through Calvary, what more could be done if giving were at fully budgeted levels? 

Our spending to date also exceeds our income to date, by about $70,000.00. That means the fund reserve we maintain in order to make sure the church never spends more than we have is decreasing. The Stewardship Committee and the leadership of our church are watching this very carefully.  If we remain that far behind to the end of the year, next year’s budget will be an even bigger challenge.  Which, of course, just gives God more room to work!

God is doing so many great things at Calvary. Our missions endeavors are expanding at an exponential rate.  People in our congregation are experiencing God’s call on their lives in new and exciting ways. New ministries are being formed each month. We now have six worship services each week. Each of these worshipping communities is touching new lives every week. There is a refreshing wind of God’s Spirit that is moving over our Church life. God is giving the leadership of our church a great vision for doing His work. I believe that God is challenging us as never before and I also believe that Calvary will meet that challenge.

Please prayerfully review this budget.  A budget discussion meeting is planned for Sunday, November 5 in the Multipurpose Room.  You will have the opportunity  to review the proposed budget in more detail and ask questions of those who worked so hard to compose it. Also, please make plans to attend the church business meeting on November 12 in the Multipurpose Room. That's when we'll vote on the new budget.

God is using Calvary to bring people into His kingdom and to impact the entire world, and our budget must keep up with this growth.  I pray that you will work hard in supporting what God is doing at Calvary!

blessings,

pastor ellis

NOAH'S ARK

Halloween is a big event in the valley. Thousands of children will dress up as goblins and ghosts, drag their parents around the neighborhood, and fill their bags with candy. It's the candy, not the costumes, that really motivate the kids ... but they think the costumes are cool too.

Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).  The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.

During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.

By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.

The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.

By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas.

We've come a long way from all of that. This strange and ancient celebration keeps morphing, adapting to the needs and fears of the culture that surrounds it. Satanic worship, veneration of the dead, superstition, and even a pinch of Judeo-Christian thought have all been mixed together to form the traditions of Halloween. The muddy soup that is produced from the mix is nothing to celebrate. But ... Whether we like it or not, Halloween is a day that will continue to be observed with costumes and candy.

We want people to know that we love them. Just the way they are ... costumes and all. We want to share God's love with those who are hurting and looking for answers. Many of them will be at our church next Tuesday between 6 and 8pm. We call it NOAH'S ARK. It's a place in the middle of the dark rain where people can find a safety ... a place of refuge ... a place that God carves out of the rock of culture ... a place where the Spirit dwells. Why not come by and say "hi." Who knows ... maybe God will use you to bring more of HIS love into the mix. It sure couldn't hurt.

CALL THE CHURCH OFFICE AT 956-686-4364 TO LET US KNOW THAT YOU WILL SERVE!!

blessings,

pastor ellis

IN THE KNOW

Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. "Where did this man get these things?" they asked. "What's this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! ... And they took offense at him. ... And he was amazed at their lack of faith.  Mark 6:1-2,3b,6

LOCAL BOY MAKES IT BIG! That must have been the headline in the local Nazareth newspaper. The entire town was buzzing with the news. Jesus was coming home. The now famous Rabbi was on a preaching tour of Southern Galilee and he was stopping by his old stomping grounds. The synagogue had not been that crowded in years. The synagogue ruler was beaming from ear to ear. Jesus could sure draw a crowd.

It's like the time Winston Churchill was speaking and an enormous crowd had gathered for the momentous ocassion. A friend whispered to Churchill, "What's it like to have this large a crowd gathered to hear you speak?" Churchill responded (as only he could), "On occassions such as this I always remind myself that if I were being hanged, the crowd would be twice as large."

The Nazareth crowd is about to grow.

Jesus preaches a sermon at the synagogue. Mark skips it, but Luke gives us the sermon. Jesus reads a messianic passage from Isaiah, tells the crowd that he is the fulfillment of the prohecy, closes the scroll, and sits down. They respond with, "Who does this guy think he is? We KNOW who he is. We've known him since he was a snotty-nosed kid running around these pews. We KNOW who he is. Who does he THINK he is?"

Jesus then tells them that they are idiots. Well ... not exactly in those words. He uses a few Old Testament references to basically tell them that they are spiritual dwarfs and are missing the promise.

Somebody yells, "Get a rope."

I've heard all the cliches on this one. "Familiarity breeds contempt." "A prophet is without honor in his own hometown." In fact, most of the cliches were born from this narrative. But, what's really happening here? What's Mark's point in telling the story?

Sometimes, when we think we know everything there is to know ... about a person ... or a situation ... or a Scripture text ... or a theological issue ... WE MISS THE TRUTH.  Knowledge has a way of blinding us. Those "in the know" stop learning. When you've learned everything there is to know about whatever it is you do in life ... it's time to quit ... you've become useless ... and, as the Nazarenes prove ... dangerous.

A good education is invaluable ... as long as it never ends.

blessings,

pastor ellis

UNCLEAN

"When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed."  Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. "   -- Mark 5:27-29

The woman has been suffering for years. No one can do anything with her. They're glad to take her money, but that's about all they can do. Nothing seems to work. Her real pain was not that she was ill, or that her illness isolated her, or that all her money went to the doctors. Her real pain was that she had been convinced that her illness separated her from God. It made her unclean.

In fact, that's the recurring theme throughout this section of Mark. Jesus uses the language of exorcism (healing that which is UNCLEAN) to calm the sea (the place where evil lived, to the ancient mind). Jesus heals Legion possessed by 6000 UNCLEAN spirits. The demons are cast out and into a herd of swine (UNCLEAN animals). They drown in the sea (the place where UNCLEAN spirits live).

Jairus asks Jesus to heal his daughter. By the time they get to the house, she is dead (UNCLEAN). Jesus goes into her bedroom anyway. He raises her to new life.

And there's the woman who is sick. Her illness involves constant blood loss. This makes her UNCLEAN. She is an untouchable one. To touch her was to beome UNCLEAN. Her state of perpetual UNCLEANNESS separates her from God. This is why she sneaks up on Jesus from behind. This is why she steals a touch from him. This is why she's afraid to admit that she touched him. She knows ... She has no business touching God ... She knows ... Her touch would have the affect of making Jesus UNCLEAN.

But the woman learned something amazing: Jesus has power and authority over all that is UNCLEAN. She learned what Legion discovered: Jesus overcomes all evil and makes you CLEAN! She learned what I pray we all could understand ... no matter how untouchable you think you might be ... no matter how UNCLEAN -- Jesus will touch you and make you CLEAN!

blessings,

pastor ellis

LEGION AND THE TOMBS

"They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. ... Then Jesus asked him, 'What is your name?'  'My name is Legion,' he replied, 'for we are many.'"   -- Mark 5:1-3,9

Legion is all we know. It's a Latin military term that stood for 6000 troops. He tells Jesus, "I got the name because there are many of us in here." 6000 demons is a lot for one man to deal with. So, he became known, and will forever be known, as Legion. We never discover the man's real name. Even after Jesus heals him, he is still known as the man who was once Legion. Sometimes the things that ail us, if they linger too long, come to define us.

He lived in the tombs. He cut himself. He howled at night like a crying cheetah. Everyone said he was insane. Possessed by some terrible demon ... try 6000 terrible demons. Something happened to him and he couldn't leave the cemetery. He goes there every night to cry. He lingers during the day trying to find a way out. But it never comes. I'm sure there were days early on when he said to himself, "Tomorrow's the day. I'll put on my best suit, walk through the gate, and never look back." But the years went by and he never left. He started to hate himself for it. His self-loathing developed into self-mutilation. He was stuck in a cycle of grief that had spiraled out of control. And it began to define him.

Who are you? What defines you? Depressed. Manic. Workaholic. Driven. Type A. Procrastinator. Apathetic. Grieving. Victim. Abuser. Abused. Disappointed. What are the words that will come to define who you are? Do you have to stay there?

He is known only as Legion ... to us. But not to his family ... not to his friends. At the end of the story, after the messy swine incident, the man formerly known as Legion begs Jesus to let him become one of his disciples. Jesus says, "No." It's not in the cards. Instead, Jesus tells him, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you" (Mark 5:19). And the man does it. And Mark reports that the man was quite successful at the telling. "So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed" (Mark 5:20). He became the first Gentile evangelist.

To us he is known as Legion, the man possessed by 6000 demons. But to his family and friends, he was forever known as Christian, the man who was rescued from 6000 demons, and lived to tell about it. He goes home. Isn't that amazing? He doesn't have to live in the tombs anymore. He goes home.

You don't have to stay among the tombs. Your weaknesses and failures and losses don't have to define you. You can go home.

blessings,

pastor ellis

NEW SERMON SERIES

In a few weeks I'll be starting a new series of sermons on the family. It seems like many families today are in a state of desperation. They want, desperately, to find happiness and healing and health -- But as hard as they try, all those things seem out of reach.

There is a sense of desperation when you want something so much, but always seem to be just shy of getting it. There is, over time, a desperation that begins to set in when you try everything you know to try, and your family still slips away. Happiness is always around the corner, but you can't ever seem to turn THAT corner!

We want to help, if we can. We don't have all the answers. But we know where to turn for answers. We will be looking at God's Word for answers to the desperation.

We will experience four sermons in four weeks that will address the issues of Marriage both from the perpective of husbands and wives. We will also take a look at God's plan for building strong relationships with your children.

Buidling a great family is hard, time-consuming work. We want to give you some of the tools you need to GET TO WORK!

This SERMON SERIES entitled, DESPERATE HOUSEHOLDS will begin, Sunday, October 22nd and will run for the following four Sundays.

Don't miss it ...

blessings,

pastor ellis

FAITH AND FEAR

"A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"  -- Mark 4:37-38

Haven't you ever felt that way when life's furious squalls come your way? The waves begin to break over your boat and you realize that you're probably not going to make it out of this one without some major damage. Do you every wonder, "Jesus, don't you care if I drown?"

Jesus is in the boat with his disciples. It's been a long day of teaching, preaching and healing, so he's catching a few winks before they get to the other side of the lake. Galilee was famous for it's sudden squalls. The sky would go from bright blue to gray to black in a matter of minutes and before you could do anything about it the wind and the rain were beating down. That's what happens to the disciples and it must have been pretty bad for these experienced fishermen to feel afraid.

That's what happens to us in life. We're experienced with stress. So when trials come we think we can handle it. Until it's a little too late. The thing is overwhelming us and we're about to drown before we admit fear and are willing to concede that we CAN'T handle it.

The thing about the disciples (an us) is that they had Jesus in the boat with them. Mark has worked his first three chapters to brilliantly establish the identity and authority of Jesus. Now he'll place the exclamation point on his work. Jesus wakes up and yells at the wind and the waves, and in an istant the lake is like glass. He looks at the disciples, and rolls his eyes as he says, "Where's your faith?"

The other day when we had a thundestorm, the lights in our house went out for about an hour. We scrambled for candles and flashlights. We have an entire collection of flashlights, but no batteries. I finally found one flash light that had tired, but working batteries. The light was strong ... at first. But as time went on its ray weakened and towards the end of the hour of darkenss it was flickering, sometimes on, sometimes off.

My faith tends to be like that flashlight. Sometimes piercing the darkness with a light whose strength surprsises even me. Other times weaker, but still working. And sometimes, when the darkness lingers as black as a starless, moonless night in the country, I find my faith flickering, sometimes on, sometimes off.

But here's the thing: No matter how weak (or strong) my faith shines, Jesus is always in the boat with me. The one who has power over the wind and the waves (and the darkness) is in my boat. And even when my faith is too weak, he will arise and act.

That's all I really needed to know ...

blessings,

pastor ellis

STAYING YOUNG

That's me at 13 ... about the age of my oldest son. Today's my birthday. It's just a bunch of boxes with numbers on a piece of paper (a calendar, that is) -- a man-made invention. It doesn't mean much. That's what I keep telling myself anyway.

There are some philosophers who would see everything about time as a man-made construct.

The debate between whether space and time are real objects themselves (i.e., absolute, or merely orderings upon real objects, i.e., relational) began with a debate between Isaac Newton, through his spokesman Samuel Clarke, and Gottfried Leibniz in the famous Leibniz-Clarke Correspondence.

A traditional realist position in ontology (the study of why things exist) is that time and space have existence apart from the human mind. Idealists deny or doubt the existence of objects independent of the mind.

Kant, in the Critique of Pure Reason, described time as an a priori notion that, together with other a priori notions such as space, allows us to comprehend sense experience. For Kant, neither space nor time are conceived as substances, but rather both are elements of a systematic framework we use to structure our experience.

Idealist writers such as J. M. E. McTaggart in The Unreality of Time have argued that time is an illusion. Einstein's theory of relativity certainly went a long way in bolstering their philosophical underpinnings.

I don't know ... I just know that the Bible tell us that the God of the universe is in control of all things and that in HIS time, he will make us new. The God who fashioned the sun and the stars and whose hand keeps them in place has given me another year of life. Another year to be a father. Another year to love my wife. Another year to be your pastor. And for that I am grateful. The same God who gives life will some day take mine away. He will call me home when HE is ready for me. And for that I am grateful as well.

For now ... I've come across some ways to stay young. Whether time is fixed or relative -- it really doesn't matter -- I'll let the philosophers debate it -- staying young is a matter of the heart and mind.

How to stay young

1. Keep cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. (keep this in mind if you are one of those grouches;)

2. Keep learning: Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, Whatever. Never let the brain get idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop."

3. Enjoy the simple things.

4. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. And if you have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with HIM/HER.

5. The tears happen: Endure, grieve, and move on. The only persons who are with us our entire life, is ourselves and God. LIVE while you are alive.

6. Surround yourself with what you love: Whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

7. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help. (I know ... I know ... I'm terrible at this one ... leave me alone, it's my birthday.)

8. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county, to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is. Guilt is O.K., just don't stay there.

9. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.  ALWAYS!

10. Forgive now those who made you cry. You might not get a second chance.

blessings,

pastor ellis

HEALING FAITH

"When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven.'"  -- Mark 2:5

The four amigos carry the fifth amigo to the feet of Jesus. It takes them a while to get there. They can't get in through the door. The windows are not an option. So they go to the top of the house -- the flat mud roof -- and start to dig their way through. They are destroying private property to get their friend to Jesus. Why? They will let no obstacle stop them in their quest. Why? If they get into trouble afterwards, their willing to take the consequences. Why? Because it's worth it. One touch from Jesus. That's all it takes. If Jesus just looks at him, their friend could be healed. And they know it. They know it the way I know the sun will rise tomorrow. That's called faith, and it's worth more than gold when you have it ... even more when your friends have it.

Jesus looks at the four friends and says TO THEM, "YOUR FAITH has healed him."

I have a friend who went through a life threatening illness. He was bedridden for months. He was in excruciating pain for days at a time. He is a man of faith. He is a pastor. He tells me that there were moments when he had no faith left ... moments when he just wanted to die, and no longer believed God would do anything for him. He tells me that he knows that in those moments it was the prayers and the FAITH of his family that kept him alive. According to him, there's just no other explanation. THEIR FAITH healed him.

Something to think about next time you pray for someone.

blessings,

pastor ellis