New Monmouth Musings: Life Lessons We learned from Norma Fenton

Dear Friends,

On Tuesday we celebrated the life of Norma Fenton who is now in heaven, finally healed and sitting at the feet of Jesus. As Pastor Nick so lovingly expressed it, “She was one of a kind”. Anyone who knew her could never forget her. She could stretch your patience to the limits, and those who knew her recognized she could be direct and demanding at times. However, there were few people you would ever meet who loved Jesus more and served Him more faithfully than Norma.

A number of people from New Monmouth eloquently shared touching personal tributes, in which they pointed out the beautiful qualities of Norma's life, and how those qualities impacted their lives.

I loved Norma because she loved Jesus and she loved New Monmouth. I can't count the times she would look into my eyes and repeat words I had heard expressed countless time before. She would say, "Pastor Tom,  I love you and I love New Monmouth Baptist Church”. I would bend down and kiss her, and she would say, "Give me another kiss”. She always wanted things in two's, and so she not only wanted two kisses, but two bulletins, and two communion elements. Yes, she had her quirky side, like the times that her son, Greg, would visit her, and she would ask him to stop at Mc Donald's and bring a Big Mac, and then as quickly as she had stated her order, she would ask Greg, “Could you also stop at Burger King and bring me a Whopper?”.

She was independent as anyone could be, and in spite of her physical handicaps, she shunned any help with cleaning, and she would often be seen crossing busy streets in her wheel chair on the way to pick up some needed groceries.

As I reflect upon my relationship with Norma, I recognize she taught me many things. She taught me to look inwardly at my love for Jesus and in so doing I would recognize the deep need in my heart to love Jesus with the same childlike faith and unconditional love with which she loved and served Him. The Bible tells us that "love is patient and kind,"(1 Corinthians 13:4), and while I can say I always tried to respond in love to most of Norma's demands, I didn't always do so with an attitude reflective of one possessed by the love of Jesus .She forced me to look inwardly and examine my love for Jesus to see whether it was always "patient and kind. " And sadly, sometimes I had to answer no compelling me to go to Jesus and ask Him to give me a heart to love Jesus the way she did.

I learned encouragement from Norma, but not always in the conventional way. Sometimes during worship she would be led to affirm and encourage the one in the pulpit and she would yell out in the midst of the sermon, Pastor Tom, Jared or Nick, "I love you". That was Norma, unconventional in her methods of encouragement, but so sincere and genuine in her expression that you could never doubt her heart and her plain and simple honesty.

I learned boldness in sharing my faith from Norma. If you knew Norma she never left home without "witness wear" whether an FBI hat (For Believer in Jesus,") or a shirt emblazoned with some form of witness for the One she loved. Wherever she went, she would be quick to share her faith, regardless of where she was. She was not "ashamed of the Gospel, for she knew it was the power of God unto salvation" (Romans 1:16), and her desire was to see as many come to know Him as possible.  A friend of mine once challenged me "to do something uncomfortable for God every day." and Norma was Jesus' poster child for doing the things that many would consider uncomfortable or even foolish in the eyes of the world.

I learned from Norma what it was to give your best to Jesus, regardless of what you had. In the eyes of the world she possessed little, but like the widow who put her one small copper coin into the treasury, she would give Jesus all she had. She enjoyed little of the conveniences which mark our lives today, but that never bothered her. Her great joy was to bring her tithe from what little she had and lay that gift in the Sunday offering plate. She was fond of saying to me when she would hand me something extra for the church: "This is for my Church". And so rather than filling one Samaritan's Christmas gift box she would fill three and then the next year it was six. When the church was raising money for a special collection, she raised a few eyebrows when she took off her prosthetic leg and made that her offering gift. I think even Jesus must have got a chuckle out of that.

I learned from Norma what it was to love your family. She would often ask this question to her loved ones every time she spoke to them asking "Who's boy or girl are you first"? The expected response was, "I am Jesus' boy/girl first. " And then she would ask a second question "whose are you second" and they would say "I am yours second." I know from talking with her that her greatest desire was for all her family to know Jesus, and she was happiest when one of her children or grandchildren would accompany her to church.

From Norma I learned the value of spending time with those who I might not normally never ever get to know. Every church I have served has a Norma of some kind. And I have always found that when you get to know them you appreciate the fact that they will help make the church what God has called it to be, a church of diversity, one filled with people who are not all alike. It is easy and natural to talk and hang with people whom we like (usually they are people like us) people who have the same things in common, who enjoy the same tastes and preferences, but that is not what the church is called to be. The church is to be a place where differences are overlooked in the name of love. It is a place where we have the opportunity to get outside our comfort zones and learn from others who may be different from us, who, like Norma, might challenge and stretch our faith.

The bottom line for me and the most valuable lesson I learned from her is that she made me see how far I yet have to go to love Jesus like she loved HIm. I learned from her that compassion and love are more important than comfort and convenience and that too often I choose comfort and convenience over service and unselfish love. Thank you Norma for setting the bar high for me and New Monmouth, and thanks for teaching us so many things about what it means to love Jesus unconditionally. 

And thank you church for being a model of what it means to love others, even when to do so might be uncomfortable and inconvenient. Thanks for those of you who spent time loving and visiting Norma, and bringing her to church every Sunday, and taking her shopping, and out to dinner on Sundays. You have been such an encouragement to your pastors of what it means to love others the way that Jesus loved us. Your put shoes to your love, and because you did, New Monmouth has been blessed, and its people have learned more about loving Jesus by watching the life of one of His very special saints.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Pastor Tom

New Monmouth Musings: Is There an Unsung Hero in Your Life Who Needs to Hear a Thank You?

Dear Friends,

Yesterday I received a wonderfully encouraging call. It was from three of my good friends with whom I played football, while attending Virginia Military Institute. They were attending a 55^th reunion at VMI, the same reunion I had planned to attend, however, the Lord had other plans, and dealing with some recent health issues, I decided it just wasn’t prudent to be away from home at this time.

One of those teammates who called was Chuck Beale, who became one of my best friends while at VMI. Chuck was instrumental in leading me to the Lord, and while over the years we have periodically communicated, it has been only recently that our communication has increased. I will always be indebted to him for the influence he has had on my life. Chuck always had a great desire to make Jesus known to me and to others, and because of his great love and passion to serve Jesus, many have come to know Christ personally. He was a great encourager, and like Onesiphorus whom I mentioned in my “Musings” last week, his presence always had a way of refreshing me. (2 Timothy 1:16)

Don’t you love those kind of people who come alongside you and who possess the ability to refresh you? They always leave you smiling, encouraged, and feeling better than you felt before you met.  They are truly the “wind beneath your wings.” They are the kind of people who always add value to your life and to the lives of others.  Mother Teresa once said, “Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier”, and Chuck modeled this principle to me.

I had never met anyone so on fire for the Lord. There were some who resented his passion for Jesus, but that never deterred Chuck from fervently sharing his faith with whomever would listen.

When we first got to know each other, we spent time praying with and for one another. The most frequent location of our prayer time was my room. That wouldn’t have been too unusual, except that Chuck decided that it didn’t matter whether my roommates were present in the room or not. He would get down on his knees beside my bunk and begin praying, unconcerned by my four roommate’s presence. They were not believers, and to this day I still wonder how they felt about those times of prayer. Chuck’s great passion for Christ emboldened my personal faith, although I must confess I always felt like my faith was a tiny ember compared to the fire that burned within his heart.

I had grown up in a church that had not talked much about a personal relationship with Christ and while I considered myself to be somewhat religious, I also recognized there was something missing from my life, especially when I was in his presence. To make as long story short, he exhorted me to attend a Fellowship of Christian Athlete’s Conference in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin the summer of 1962. At the conference I heard many outstanding college and professional athletes share their faith, but the message I most remembered was the witness of Jessie Owens, the winner of four gold medals in the 1966 Olympics. To this day, I don’t remember everything he said, but I vividly remember the challenge he presented those athletes in the audience to follow Jesus. That night, I fell to my knees beside my bed, and asked Jesus to come into my life. And my life has never been the same. I then realized why Chuck’s faith and my faith were so different. He had personally met and knew the Savior; I only knew about Him.

Is there a person in your life to whom you are indebted because he/she played an instrumental part in your salvation? Maybe a friend, a pastor, a teacher, a family member or someone you may have met for just the first time? Why not take a moment to call or write that person a note of personal thanks for making it possible for you to live eternally?

Your communication could be a wonderful encouragement to that individual. Just like Onesiphorus who was present to encourage and refresh Paul and others, or just like Barnabas in Acts 9 who risked his reputation in defending Paul before the Jerusalem elders, who questioned his commitment and feared he was a wolf in sheep’s clothing only seeking to infiltrate and expose the Christian community. What if Barnabas lacked the passion and boldness to defend Paul before those who questioned the veracity of his witness? Perhaps Paul might have wiped out spiritually. He might have renounced his allegiance to Christ, and the Christian community would have been left without any of Paul’s letters, which today comprise almost one half of the books of the New Testament?

Pick up that pen or that phone today. Be an Onesiphorous. Be a Barnabas. Be a Chuck Beale. Be bold and passionate about your faith, the way Chuck Beale was.  You will be glad you did, and so will the one you encourage and refresh.

Yours because of Calvary,

Pastor Tom

New Monmouth Musings “A Tribute to Pastor Dan, or the “Big S” as Some Might Have Known Him?

Dear Friends,

On Tuesday the church was filled to capacity to celebrate and remember the life of Dan Immordino, or “Pastor Dan”, as he was best known. If you gaged the impact of your life on others, you might calculate the size of the ‘crowd’ who showed up for your funeral. If that was our standard of measurement, you would have to say Pastor Dan’s life had an overwhelming impact on the lives of those who knew him as not only was the church filled for the service, but hundreds of people showed up for calling hours (one person told me he had to wait in line for an hour to show their respect to the family).  The service was a wonderful tribute to a man who was greatly loved by all who knew him. and who treasured the relationship they enjoyed with him. Five pastors including Nick, Jared and I had the privilege of sharing our remembrances of him, and a few of the thoughts I shared during the service I have incorporated into my Musings for this week.

Someone once asked a pastor “How do you know if you are a servant,” and the pastor quickly replied “By the way you react when you are treated like a servant.” Pastor Dan never had a problem being a servant. His life bled servanthood, and the greatest compliment anyone could give him, or us for that matter, would be to have someone call us a servant.

Dan might just as well have had a Big “S” emblazoned on his chest for in my mind he was more than Superman, he was a super “Servant.”

I sometimes sign my letter with the verse Col 3:17 “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Dan epitomized this verse for no matter how large or small the work might be, Dan devoted every ounce of his energy in accomplishing it. Whether it was the sacred duty of studying and preparing to preach the Word, or the secular responsibility of moving tables, shoveling sidewalls, cleaning up the kitchen, or taking out the trash, you knew it would be done well for it was always done for the Lord.

Of all the ministries for which Pastor Dan was known, perhaps the one most significant and most appreciated was his countless hours of visitation to those both in and outside our church. Whether in the hospital, nursing home, or in someone’s home, Dan would faithfully show up to read from the bible, offer encouragement, pray, and of course sing some hymns, which earned him at Riverview Hospital the moniker of the “singing pastor.” Everywhere he went, he brought joy to the hearts of those he visited.

Tucked away in 1 Timothy are three words spoken by a friend of Paul who visited him while he was in prison. Paul remarked that many of his friends had deserted him, but not Onesiphorus. He said of the “Big O” that his visits “often refreshed me.” Onesiphorus is not a well-known biblical name (when was the last time you heard of someone named Onesiphorus), but to God his name was special. I am sure Onisiphorus has taken his rightful place in God’s “Servanthood Hall of Fame.” And last week, I suspect that Onesiphorus had a new friend and brother in the faith join him and his name was Pastor Dan.

For those of us who would aspire to be known as a servant, we might wish to keep in mind the following remarks shared by the deceased but well-known pastor Fred Craddock who summed up the measure of a servant when he spoke the following  words at a pastors’ conference. This is what he said “To pour myself out for others . . . to pay the ultimate price of martyrdom-I’ll do it. I’m ready Lord to go out in a blaze of glory.” 

“We think giving our all to the Lord is like taking $1,000. bill and laying it on the table-Here’s my life, Lord, I am giving it all. But the reality for most of us is that he sends us out to cash in the $1,000. for quarters. We go through life putting our 25 cents here and 50 cents there. We listen to the neighbor’s kid’s troubles and instead of saying, “Get lost.  It means going to a nursing home and giving out a cup of water to a shaky old man.”  “Usually giving our life to Christ isn’t glorious. It’s done in all those little acts of love, 25 cents at a time. It would be easy to go out in a flash of glory. It’s a lot harder to live the Christian life little by little over the long haul.” (Quoted off the internet)

I think Dan wonderfully filled Craddock’s definition of a servant and like the “Big O”, Onisiphorus, maybe God now knows Dan as the “Big D”, or better yet, the “Big S” for Servant. But to us who knew him he was always just Pastor Dan, a faithful follower of Jesus, who because of his unselfish life of service to others has been privileged to hear those wonderful words of Jesus “Well done good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in a few things, I will put your in charge of many.” Matthew 25:23. God bless you Pastor Dan for showing us the meaning of servanthood.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Pastor Tom

New Monmouth Musings:  Words of Encouragement from a Baseball Coach

Dear Friends,

Did you ever have someone share some words of encouragement that so made your day that you just had to write them a note and say thanks to your ‘cheerleader”? As some of you may know, I have umpired high school baseball for 30 years, but because of some recent health issues, I realized I probably wouldn't be calling balls and strikes this season, something that was disappointing to say the least.

Because I love baseball and was missing being on the field, I stopped by the Rumson practice field last week where my son had played and where over the years I had umpired a number of times. As I walked from my car to the fence to witness an intra-squad scrimmage, Coach Kevin James recognized me and immediately came over to the fence to give me a great big hug. Wow! Baseball coaches hugging umpires is probably a rarity these days, but Kevin knew my health situation, and his physical embrace communicated a message I needed to hear that particular Saturday morning. I am sure that Kevin had little idea how much his warm embrace and his words of encouragement meant to me that morning, but they were exactly what I needed.

A hug, a few kind and encouraging words and Kevin went back to the dugout to get his team ready for the game. Little did he know how his actions would impact me that day. His message of love was just what I needed to hear, as I struggled with the reality of not being on the field this season. I wanted Kevin to know how the short time he spent with me had impacted me, so I wrote him a note to say thanks for being there and for being an encourager when I most needed it.

Mother Teresa once said, "kind words are short and easy to speak, but their echoes are endless." It doesn’t take much time or effort to be an encourager, and the wonderful thing is that it is a gift that everyone can offer.
The Apostle Paul said "Don't let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Eph. 4:29

Solomon, the wisest person who ever lived, said "Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and healing to the bones.” Proverbs 16:24

Yes kind encouraging words spoken at just the right time can lighten loads, lift our spirits, and inspire us. They can fill our hearts with hope for the future.

Just as I was finishing this devotional, I received a call from my breakfast partner, Dan Herman who is the chaplain at Riverview, and with whom I had just had breakfast that same morning. He just wanted to check in to find out how I was feeling.

How thankful I am to have friends like Kevin and Dan and so many others who have encouraged me in so many different ways over my lifetime.

Blessed are those who through their kind and encouraging words are the wind beneath our wings.

Is there someone you know today who might need a little wind beneath their wings, a little healing for their hearts, a little encouragement for their hearts? Why not drop them a note, give them a call, or stop by and offer one of those Kevin James type hugs? Not only will you feel better, but imagine how you might impact your 'huggee’. So today I encourage you to get writing, get calling, and get going, and whatever you do, and wherever you go, take the love of Jesus with you and make the world a different place because you cared enough to share your love with someone else.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Pastor Tom

PS  And the sequel to this story is because of Kevin’s encouragement,  I have now determined to make an effort to get back on the field and do what I love to do “calling them as I see them”!