A Word from Mike.....
I recently conducted the funeral for a former elder in the first church that I pastored in Shreveport, LA from 1978-1982. It’s been a long time since I was with those dear people, but the funeral brought back many great memories for all of us there. Shreveport Bible Church was a relatively new church, and I was her second pastor, beginning at the age of 24! I posed the question at the funeral about what they must have been thinking, calling someone like me to that responsibility. The people of that church loved us and supported us and helped us stumble our way through some really wonderful times of ministry.
One of the things that meant the most to us, and still does, was that SBC exemplified like few other churches I have pastored, the character of the early church as described in the book of Acts. We did some typical church things together, but, more important, we did life together. Acts 2 says that those in the early church “…were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.’
Devotion to the apostles’ teaching…Shreveport Bible exemplified a love for the Word of God. It was in their DNA. They loved and were responsive to the scripture. A niece of the deceased man, who was just a young girl then, told me after the funeral that she had forgotten just how much this really was imbedded into the life of the church.
Devotion to fellowship…This was so clearly and consistently the heart of the church (collectively and individually). We shared life, laughed, cried, sacrificed, and shared the faith. The concept of FELLOWSHIP described here, means to have all things in common (also in v44). As described in this passage, these early followers of Christ shared what they had with each other; they were hospitable and charitable.
This elder and family were a central part of that, and had an impact on many lives. For example, we stayed with them for maybe a month or more while transitioning to Shreveport. They also took in a young woman and her child for a long time and helped her in many ways. We had many Sunday evening times of fellowship in their home, and even met at their home for a time, for Sunday services. This man (and his twin brother, also an elder there) also contributed large amounts of money, time, and leadership to the ministry.
Devoted to the breaking of bread...Breaking of bread in the NT probably described the participation in the Lord’s Supper, where the Body of Christ came together for reflection and remembrance of who they were as a community of faith. It also, no doubt described the sharing of meals together. We did that a lot!—mostly at this family’s home, and those times built us into who we were.
Devoted to prayer…There was a stretch of time when the elders and I came together for prayer—every morning for a period of months. We sought the Lord for many things, and the most memorable thing about it was that more than 35 people came to faith in Christ during that time, and our unity and fellowship grew even stronger. I remember one family who were dramatically converted and changed during those days together. Though the man of that family has now passed on, the lady still talks about out it with great passion after 45 years!
Sadly, after we left, things did not stay the same there. Over the years more than one family was broken by divorce, including the family that I have described. The wife in this family divorced her husband and married the pastor that followed me (who likewise divorced his wife); other relationships that had once been so close, were fractured; some eventually repaired, and some not. Some left for other churches, some moved away, and many died. Some of the people that fell into sin may have known about God, but did not really know God, while others really did know God, but got caught up in the wiles of the flesh and devil. As we see in scripture, some merely masquerade as followers of God, while other really were His followers, yet were very damaged. Only God can and should sort all of that out. Though the church recovered and went on to have some more good times of ministry, Shreveport Bible Church eventually closed its doors just a few years ago.
As tragic as some of the things that I described were, the failures and sins do not minimize the good work that was done for a time. Why? Because the work of God is just that—the work of GOD! And, he used and still uses broken vessels to accomplish His work. We need to remember this when we hear of other ministries and leaders falling into sin. They must be accountable and no longer followed, but the work produced by God is still the work of God.
I am very sad for some the things that eventually happened there, but I am extremely grateful for the privilege of having been a part of some of the great things that God did for that season of time. The children and nieces of the deceased man remember those years as some of the best of their lives, but they have also been scarred by the results of sin.
It was an encouraging and emotional weekend of reflection and remembrance. I hope these things that I’ve shared, will spur us all on to be and remain the kind of churches this one was in its early days, because the impact will last for decades…and into eternity!
MM
