Category: Disappointment

Abide with Me, Contemporary Christian Music, Death, Disappointment, Family, Grief, Hope, Hymns, hymns, Ministry, Suffering

Abide With Me

Gary Furr

Henry Francis Lyte was an Anglican priest who originally intended to be a doctor, but then entered the ministry. He was a prize-winning poet during his university years, and best known for his elegant hymn, “Abide With Me.” He continued to write religious poetry through his life.  He was born in 1793 and died when he was only fifty-four years of age. The first verse captures a transcendent and haunting mood: “Abide with me; fast falls the eventide; The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide. When other helpers fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, O abide with me.” … Continue reading Abide With Me

Art, Conflict, Disappointment, Hope, humanity, Love, Memory, Narrative, Poetry, Songwriting, Suffering, Theology, Writing1 Comment

Reality

Gary Furr

Someone asked me for this short paragraph from my sermon yesterday. I thought I might as well share it with you all, for what it’s worth. I was focused on the 23rd chapter of Jeremiah, which speaks of the challenges of leadership and the power of the Living God to help us.  I said, toward the end, these words: “There is always hope, but it never comes without cost or pain or struggle. There is always a future, but never at the expense of our past. There is always Presence, but it is not always comforting and pleasant. There is … Continue reading Reality

Anger, Baptist life, Calling, Conflict, Disappointment, Grief, Holly Week, Jesus, Ministry, Spirituality6 Comments

Disappointing Others for God: A Reply to Elizabeth

Gary Furr

the One whom we follow disappointed every false expectation placed on Him, and purposefully, for the larger call of what God wanted of Him.  That is and always will be enough. Associated Baptist Press carried a piece Monday by Elizabeth Hagan entitled,“I Left the Church.  Don’t Hate Me.”  I recognized all the responses she received when she left the pulpit that five years before had become hers with such celebration.  I do think in the Baptist world that women in senior pastorates must face some pressures that a man in his 50s can’t comprehend.  Then again, I think we live … Continue reading Disappointing Others for God: A Reply to Elizabeth