Chaplaincy Blog

Team; More Than a Catchword

Here at Newby Management, we hear the term “team” used a lot.

The idea or concept of teamwork is a biblical principal that we can see modeled by the church when it is functioning properly. The term team comes from the early industrial / agriculture world. It refers to the use of animals being used in groups to pull in unison to accomplish a task.

For a company that desires to model itself after the direction of scripture, teamwork is an important principal.

I encourage you to take the time to read I Corinthians 12-14-26.  The Apostle Paul truly brings to light the importance of recognizing the importance of those that make up a part of the whole… or the “team.”

Recently, I asked our corporate staff during a devotion “Why would any of us be here if it wasn’t for the position and task of another?”

A fresh look at these truths have helped me gain new perspective. It has made me ask the question; “How can I be more cognizant of the team and their individual contribution to the whole?”

The term mission driven means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Having a mission or purpose in life is nothing not a modern or isolated to the corporate world. The Bible declares “A people without a vision will perish.” Here at Newby Management the term “Mission driven” takes on a specific meaning. We have adopted as a Mission Statement “Sharing the love of Christ while providing exceptional management services.”  Recently I asked during a staff devotion, “What is your motivation to fill the role you have here?

Think about it this way, every task, every position here at Newby Management is an extension of our mission.

Often, what drives us in our work is less than spiritual. We are most often driven by outside influences such as:

Debt, job demands, needs, wants or material possessions or the pursuit of success. Don’t misunderstand me, I am not saying all these things are necessarily bad. What I am saying is there is a proper order in how we prioritize them and what motivates us to perform day after day.

Listen to Colossians 1:13-18

“For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities- all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.”

Scripture calls us here to order our lives in such a manner that Christ has the preeminence or is given “First Place”

Colossians 3:23 states “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,”

How do we do this? How do we let our motivation be about more than ourselves?

• Recognize what God has accomplished through Christ on our behalf.
• Recognize the authority that has been given Christ.
• Recognize the reward for putting Him first.

When Christ is put first and pleasing Him becomes our motivation it provides a cause greater than ourselves, it gives value beyond monetary value, it shapes our responses to negative situations, it energizes when we become weary, and it replaces just making a living with reward from the Lord!

What motivates you for your life’s mission?

Barry Campbell

Corporate Chaplain

Newby Management

Strawberry Social season is winding down here at Newby Management. For thirty-five years our corporate team has traveled to various communities in the portfolio and put together and served a delicious strawberry dessert to the residents. When we complete the season next week, we will have served desserts in thirty-five communities this season.

These socials require extra work on the part of our local management team as well as the corporate team. However, this small act of generosity and service finds big favor with the residents. Not only this we believe it is one of the simple acts of service we do that finds big favor with the Lord.

In Job chapter thirty-six Elihu paints a contrast between the person who does not honor and serve the Lord and he who does. Listen to what he says in verse eleven “If they listen and serve Him, they will end their days in prosperity and their years in happiness.”  What a tremendous promise of prosperity and happiness! When you put this truth together with the truth of Colossians 3:23 which says, “Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people,” It gives reason and value beyond the act of giving out a dessert. Securing the blessing of this promise is all about harnessing an attitude bent on serving.

That simple act of service whether it be serving a strawberry dessert, BBQ chicken, resolving a community issue on behalf of a resident moves from the earthly realm and now has eternal merit. Why? Because we seek to honor God in all we do, especially our service to others.

This biblical principal has driven Newby Management for years and will continue to be at the forefront of what we do as a corporation who seeks first to honor God. Applying principles such as these has blessed this company and the people we serve.

Choose to serve someone in the name of the Lord today.

 The Music Will Never Stop

I was thinking about all the loss that has been experienced throughout the communities we serve. As well, the loss that we have experienced among our own staff. To lose a loved one is so difficult! We must be reminded to look past the temporal of this world to the permanence of eternity. I think of what Paul wrote in Philippians 3:20ff “For our citizenship is in heaven….,”

So often we concentrate on what we are losing rather than what we are gaining.

 Reflection

I used to think –

Loving life so greatly –

That to die would be

Like leaving a party

Before the end.

Now I know the party

Is really happening

Somewhere else;

That the light and the music –

Escaping in snatches

To make the pulse beat

And the tempo quicken –

Come from a long way

Away.

And I know too

That when I get there

The music will never end.

(Evangeline Patterson)

I am certain we have all heard the saying “All good things must come to an end” Speaking in terms of earthly things, this seems a fair assessment. However, cast against the backdrop of eternity and heaven’s reality it cannot be true! All the ugly of this life; death, sin, illness, pain will be consumed by the eternal promise of our Lord Jesus to a new life hidden in Him.

“But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”

I Corinthians 15:54-58

We often hear the regurgitated words of importance concerning communication today to the point that often they fall on deaf ears.

In today’s area of technology not only do we need to listen and speak with clarity but read and write as well since so often now we are communicating via some form of electronic device. We need remember these tools are merely an extension of the tongue and the use of them come with the same responsibility as if we were speaking them.

I recently tried an experiment during a staff meeting devotion time. I simply had the person next to me read silently a sentence I wrote on a piece of paper. It read “A bear stole a beer from the refrigerator and drank it, but he didn’t get drunk.” The person then, from memory had to repeat it quietly to the person next to him. This sentence was quietly passed from person to person until it had gone around the entire conference room. When it had made its way through the approximately eighteen people in attendance, I asked the last person to report what had been shared with her. She stated, “The operator drank a beer and got drunk.” Wow, how did we get there! Was it really that difficult of a task? I thought they would do much better at this. However, when I consider all the people sitting around the table, all the different accents, all the different backgrounds, I began to understand how this could happen. It only solidified my position that communication in whatever form we use is so vitally important.

This exercise truly does reveal how important our communication is and how it can have great impact on the work we do. However, we should consider all our communication and how it impacts those around us as well. As Christians we are warned about the power of the tongue. Proverbs 18:21 declares “The tongue has the power of life and death.” The Apostle James had more direct words to say about our communication when he wrote speaking of the tongue “with it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God, from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.” James 3:9-10

May we speak with clarity that all would understand.

In His service,

Barry Campbell

Corporate Chaplain

Newby Management

Good to Great

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to the Father.”  John 14:12

John 10:10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that you may have life and they may have it more abundantly.” 

Because Christ is now seated at the right hand of God, through His death, burial and resurrection, He has empowered you and I here on this earth to not only do good works as Christ did, but to do even greater works than Christ did.

Question for you this morning; how many of us feel as though we are without question experiencing these truths in their fullness this morning?

Fullness is defined as: The state of being full, it comes with the idea of being at maximum capacity. Let me also ask you, how many of our lives are full of God this morning to the point of capacity or overflowing?

Illustrate: I gave Nathan a fishing reel some time back and he was taking the old, braided line off to replace it with new. When he got about two thirds into the reel the line (the good stuff) ended, and the cheap monofilament line started. He asked me, what is this? I said it’s just backer. You will never use more than two thirds of the reel, the good stuff, why waste it. I suspect many of our lives are just like that; we are not “full” of all that God has to offer but rather we have merely put the good stuff on the most exposed parts of our lives. How much more effective for the Kingdom would we be if the character and nature of Christ ran all the way to the core of who we are, not just two thirds deep?

Jim Collins, author of Good to Great stated “Good is the enemy of great” So many Christians are willing to settle for a walk that is good and in doing so we are giving away greatness.

Our walk in Christ…our service to the body, the church; our public display of the Gospel… our investment to study the word, so often is based on what is least expected of believers in this culture and social climate rather than what was exacted from Jesus Christ…His life! Therein is the standard of worth for all things earthly and heavenward.

I am convinced most believers are not in danger of ruining their lives by falling into some form of sin, more times than not we are more at risk of simply wasting it. We have amazing potential for greatness in Christ!

Are you experiencing God’s fullness in your life?

Barry Campbell

Corporate Chaplain

Spending Time With God

If there is one thing I learned from nearly 34 years of marriage is that when my wife and I failed to spend quality time together; our relationship suffered. Quality time which consisted of me and her time. Not, me, her and the television or the lap top. Quality time is that time we spend together without distraction. We had each other’s un-divided attention.

Let me ask you a personal question this morning, (rhetorical but personal) when is the last time you spent some quality time with God in which He had your un-divided attention? Time in which it was just you and God.

Listen, spending time alone with God is indispensable when it comes to growing deeper in our relationship to God the Father through Jesus Christ.

One of the hardest things to accomplish in life is finding time to just rest in the presence of God. We all have responsibilities, we all have those things which demand our time and attention. What amazes me is how when we become strapped for time, and the business of life has us by the ankles; we sacrifice the very thing that can bring calm and peace in the midst of unprecedented pressure from every side….time…alone….with ….God!

I am reminded of the passage of scripture in which Elijah is standing on the mountain looking for God. However, God was not in the strong wind, nor was he in the earthquake that came next, neither was he in the fire that followed. The Lord God did speak to Elijah that day, but He spoke to him in a still small voice. I wonder how often God longs to speak to His children but we cannot heart His voice of strength, the voice of encouragement and grace because of all the clamoring and business and noise of our lives.

The Lord Jesus knew the importance of getting alone with God. Often He would separate Himself from the crowds and even those closest to Him, His disciples; that He might engage in time alone with the Father.

When is the last time you spent some quality time with your heavenly Father? The Psalmist said “Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation. Give heed to the voice of my cry, my King and my God, for to you I will pray. My voice you shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to you, and I will look up.”

Psalm 119:147 declares “I rise before the dawning of the morning, and cry for help; I hope in your word”

Pray!

Barry Campbell

Corporate Chaplain

Merry Christmas, I want to share with you several truths as to why we even have a holiday called Christmas to celebrate.

At the close of the book of Judges the Bible reveals just how depraved mankind had become. Judges 21:25 states “In those days there was no King in the land; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

The Nation of Israel had stooped to the place of turning their back on the very God who had time after time rescued them, preserved them and made provisions for them.

At the close of the Old Testament the Prophet Malachi preaches a message of God’s love for Israel but he also warns against the ongoing sin. Such as polluted offerings, corrupt priests, and infidelity. However, Malachi prophesies of the answer and the coming messenger who will bring a message of Hope…John the Baptist. He will also tell of a Savior with a promise and provision, protection, providential care as well as prosperity.

Over 400 years passes from the time of the last prophecy of the Old Testament and the first occurrences of the New Testament. Over and over again we see how man failed to live in accordance to God’s law, how they failed to offer suitable sacrifice for sin. Over and over again mankind’s inability to do anything about their sinful nature and the debt of it becomes vividly apparent.

You see God gave the law not that man could achieve a more holy or lofty nature but that we would realize that we are helpless to deal with spiritual things apart from the love of God. Remember this; in spite of man’s attempts to derail the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in spite of man’s hard heartedness and unwillingness to surrender to the calling of God, man has not evolved to a place in which we have risen above sin and a charge of guilty by the one who created us. We still need a Savior. The Gospel of Luke 2:4-14 records the ushering in of that hope and answer.

God did not send His only son to earth to boost the economy through holiday expenditures. Jesus didn’t come to institute a policy of gift giving, Listen close; Jesus Christ did not come to this earth to sanctify family time. Christmas is not for the purpose of family…It’s about the birth of a Savior for a lost and sinful people who were without hope! Christmas is about mankind’s need for a Savior! It is about that which sets the precedence of for love, sets the precedence for family, and sets the precedence for gift giving.

Christmas is about the coming to life of Emanuel which means “God with us” Christmas is about the coming to life of the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus! The hope of mankind. A people of no hope now have an eternal future through the love of God! The greatest gift!

There is so much confusion today even among Christians as to what the Gospel is.

The Bible says in Genesis 2:7 “Then the Lord God formed man out of the dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” We must resolve that God created us, therefore I am His.

The Bible also proclaims in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” You see we all have to resolve that we have a sin problem that must be dealt with.

Something else we must resolve in our heart, soul and mind. The only solution to his or her sin problem is the only solution offered by God…Salvation in His Son, Jesus Christ. John 14:6 Jesus proclaims “I am the way the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

The Apostle Paul in Acts 26:18 shares with his readers exactly why he is called to preach. The message of his calling is true for all those called to the Gospel Ministry. Listen to what he says “To open their eyes so that they may turn (repentance) from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Christ.”

Through faith and repentance a person is forgiven their sin and granted eternal life. This is Christmas, this is why we gather and celebrate…the Birth of a Savior!

Merry Christmas!

Barry Campbell

Newby Management Chaplain

Thanksgiving

When we say thank you to someone for something they have done for us, the thank you is to be reflective of our gratitude.

God has accomplished much on our behalf! Our thank you to Him should always be more than token. They should be reflective of what God has done for us. He gave His Son that you and I might not suffer eternal judgement. God promised a comforter (Holy Spirit) to teach us, guide us, and encourage us. He did this that we might know life and know it more abundantly. Our thanksgiving ought to be quite in the morning, bold in the evening, our thanksgiving ought to have the voice of praise, the power of love and the ring of enthusiasm and sincerity.

But that is not all, if our thanksgiving is going to be reflective of the gratitude and thanks God deserves, there ought to be some labor attached to it, sacrificial, sweat popping, fruit bearing labor! Not because we owe Him, not because He needs our help, but rather because He deserves the glory!

So much of our thanksgiving is token. You don’t think so; when is the last time your prayer was full of “thank you” rather than “may I?” How often does our praise outweigh our requests? If thanksgiving is to be reflective of what God has done for us it ought to have the value of a soul attached to it.

How can this be accomplished you ask.

Take a look at what the word thanksgiving means. Webster’s New World Dictionary defines it this way:

1. The act of giving thanks.

Now consider the word “act” – A thing being done or deed.

1. An expression of thanks to God in the form of prayer.

Now consider the word “expression” – A pressing or squeezing out a showing of feeling, character.

At its core of meaning thanksgiving is the combing of simple thanks with the act of giving. Thanksgiving is an expression that rises above thank you. We need to examine our lives to insure that our thanksgiving to God is more than a token statement.

This holiday season I wonder; what can we do to take our appreciation for God and those around us to the next level?

Have an awesome Thanksgiving!

Barry Campbell – Newby Chaplain