LAKE OCONEE — Alvin Verette — in New Roads, Louisiana, he owned and operated the nation’s first drive-in mortuary. For the convenience of time-pressed mourners, the deceased was displayed before a five-by-seven picture window. Friends and relatives could drive up to the window and pay last respects without getting out. Says Mr. Verette, “We wanted something for people who didn't have time to dress.”
Now that is convenience. We live in a world striving for convenience. Some people try to bring that into the church. They want everything the church does to be convenient. But that runs counter to the biblical message. Lent is a try to move beyond convenience to commitment.
It is hard to believe that Easter is coming. It is not too early to make your Easter Sunday plans. Please join me for the 9th Annual Easter Sunrise Service at 7 a.m. at the Reynolds Plantation Pointe Pavilion. The Reynolds Chorus will be singing and everyone in the community is welcomed. If that is not an option, feel free to join me at 9 a.m. at the Reynolds Plantation Lake Club or at 11 a.m. at the Lake Welcome Center. There will be special activities for children at the 9 a.m. service. Please bring your family and guests with you. Make this the year to move from convenience to commitment. Wishing you much love and much light.
—The Rev. David W. Key, director of the Baptist Studies Program, is involved in recruitment, admissions, student life, counseling, placement, and development functions for Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. He teaches in the Contextual Education program. He is the founding pastor of the Lake Oconee Community Church at Reynolds Plantation. Contact him at (404) 727-6350 or dkey@emory.edu. His
column appears weekly in this space.
Life Lessons
Lent season designed to move beyond convenience
- Life Lessons
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Pray for faithfulness in the midst of life’s challenges
Oswald Chambers, in his book “Run Today’s Race,” taught us that faith for my deliverance is not faith in God.
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Don’t put off the most important thing
As Douglas MacArthur said, in war all tragedy can be summarized in two words, “too late.”
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What are you delaying in your life?
In the early ‘90s, U.S. News and World Report told us that Chicago learned one price of neglecting the underpinnings of all its economic growth.
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Find a community and become a part of it
Harry Emerson Fosdick reminds us that the Great Wall of China is a gigantic structure which cost an immense amount of money and labor.
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Let God be your passion
A woman rushed up to famed violinist Fritz Kreisler after a concert and cried
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Pray for God’s will and nothing else
At a meeting of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Bobby Richardson, former New York Yankee second baseman, offered a prayer that is a classic in brevity and poignancy: “Dear God, Your will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. Amen.”
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Not too early to make Easter plans
Fritz Kreisler, the famous violinist, once said
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God calls on you to overcome your obstacles
Do you have a lot to overcome in your life? David Livingstone, the pioneer missionary to Africa, walked over 29,000 miles during his ministry.
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Are you coasting in life?
Bertoldo de Giovanni was the pupil of Donatello, the greatest sculptor of his time, and he was the teacher of Michelangelo, the greatest sculptor of all time.
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Will your soul take the high road or low?
John Oxenham wrote the following poem:
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