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Only in Pensacola
By admin | February 1, 2010
Acts 2:5 “Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.”
Stuart Worth, one of the associate pastors at Cokesbury, was in the passenger seat as I was driving south on Ninth Avenue. As we approached the intersection at Airport Boulevard, there was a person preaching using a ventriloquist’s dummy. Stuart said, “Slow down, Chip. I want to take a picture.” As we drove away, Stuart made the comment: “Only in Pensacola.” Recently, I was driving to work down Davis Highway and had a similar experience. I was in the turn lane and a man was selling newspapers on a cold day. Happy had seen him in the past and always noticed him because the man wears a huge furry, foxtail hat. This hat is exactly the same color as my golden retriever.Happy looks at me when she sees him with a look that I read as, “I hope I’m not related to him.” It was a slow traffic day and the man noticed Happy. He asked me to roll down the window and he tried to pet my dog. She plastered herself against the opposite side of the car and looked at me with deeply fearful eyes. He walked to the other side and asked me to roll down that window. Happy has this great move when she’s afraid. She jumps in my arms with her feet up in the air and puts her face around my back so she doesn’t have to see the fearful object. As I rolled down the window and he stuck his hand inside, she jumped in my lap, flipped, and while I was trying to steer the automobile, put her head on my shoulder, and whimpered. The light turned green as I remembered Stuart’s words: “Only in Pensacola.” The previous community I lived in for so long had a sameness that Pensacola does not have. Pensacola is this wonderful, eclectic city with such great energies. Stuart’s implication is correct. You can meet all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds in this city. What a great opportunity to serve God and be a witness! At the time of the early Christian movement, Jerusalem was at the crossroads of the world. People from all walks of life came to Jerusalem. For the first time in history, the Roman roads made it possible to meet many different kinds of people from every nationality. In that period of time, travel was easily possible. Within a few generations, the Dark Ages would descend upon the world. However, God’s timing was so perfect that Christianity had been carried all over the Mediterranean and European regions or the known world at that time. In that day, you could meet any kind of person on any Roman road and have the opportunity to impress them with your faith. Pensacola, because of the Navy base and the beaches, has people living here from all over the world. This community could be remarkably influential for Jesus Christ. Cokesbury United Methodist Church is at the center of our community. People in the church are from all over the area. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we, as a community of faith, got really excited about Jesus? We could show our community what real faith in God looks like. Perhaps only in Pensacola could this movement come alive. What a great difference we could make for Jesus if we, here and now, understood the magnificent message of our Messiah. Prayer: Dear Lord, help Your message to be real in our community of faith. Amen. |
Topics: The "Enough" Series |
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