I Love the Church: From the Cradle to the Grave

by Dale Reeves

Story Pastor

I LOVE the church. When my father died when I was just four years old, my mom had to put my dad’s lifeless body on a train from Clovis, New Mexico, to Carrollton, Georgia, for his burial in his hometown. Shortly after that, my mom was hired as an editor at Standard Publishing in Cincinnati. So, she took her three kids, ages thirteen, eight, and four, and moved into an apartment complex on Cedar Ave. in College Hill, where I attended kindergarten and elementary school. I don’t remember this (as the baby of the family), but my brother Steve tells how we walked into our apartment and opened the kitchen cabinets and found them filled with food. Still to this day I get emotional when I think about that. Some of the folks in our new church, Chase Ave. Church of Christ, located in Northside, had brought the food for this grieving single mom and her three kids. As a child, I learned very early that God and his church and would take care of all our needs.

We didn’t have a car at the time, so some wonderful women from our church who worked with my mom would pick us up in their car and take us to Sunday school and church. I don’t know how long it took for my mom to get a car, but I know they made sure we had transportation until then. I LOVE the church!

The church of Jesus Christ is about the business of following after Jesus’ mission to seek and save the lost (see Luke 19:10). Sometimes with all the talk of reaching our “one mores” who need Jesus, members of our church staff get asked if we care about the other 99 who are already in the fold. And, of course, the answer is YES! It’s not either/or; it’s both/and! And this business of caring for those in the church and those yet to be, we do so from the cradle to the grave.

Newborn Babies, Energetic Children

I’ve been reflecting on the last few months of my ministry here at Christ’s Church, and I love it when I get to minister to those “from the cradle to the grave.” In March our children’s ministry director Holly LeMaster asked me to briefly talk and then pray for families who were bringing their newborns to our baby dedication event. I love sharing the Shema with these families from Deuteronomy 6. Shema is a Hebrew word that means to “hear” or “listen.” A wise leader, Moses, once told a group of parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents, that the most important thing to pass on to every child is a relationship with God. 

“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9, NLT).

After reading this Scripture at our baby dedication, I shared with the new parents that we as a church would link arms with them in partnership, as they raise their children to have a faith of their own. We would come alongside them in this incredible adventure we call parenting.

In June this summer, I will again be leading the 3rd and 4th grade drama group, as a part of our incredible MAD Camp (Music, Art, and Drama). It is a fast-paced, high-energy, fun-filled, Jesus-exalting week that is both fulfilling for me . . . and exhausting. One of the things I love so much about this week is how intergenerational it is. We will have elementary-aged kids learning how to sew items for those in need, and their leaders are older women. Children will also be coming alongside our amazing BEARS ministry that we just highlighted last Sunday, as they help stuff, sew, and accessorize these care Bears that will bring joy into others’ lives in desperate need of it.

The apostle Paul encouraged his protégé in the faith, Titus, to “Teach the older men to exercise self-control, to be worthy of respect, and to live wisely. . . . Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers. Instead, they should teach others what is good.These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God. In the same way, encourage the young men to live wisely.And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind” (Titus 2:2-7, NLT).

I LOVE the church! And, I love how intergenerational events in our church bring people serving together—from the cradle to the grave.

Students and Senior Adults

Our church is currently praying for and seeking leadership for our student ministry (grades 5-12). While we are in this transitional period, we have been rotating facilitators who are leading and teaching students. The past two Sunday mornings, I have been thrown to the wolves in the basement, teaching our tweens and middle schoolers. I may have even beaten one of our middle school boys in a best “two out of three” Pop-A-Shot Basketball game. And, contrary to what some people think, our students are pretty amazing. I’ve even had a few of them thank me for teaching them, even though I’m five decades older than they are. I LOVE the church!

This past Saturday, I preached at the memorial service for an 87-year-old godly man, whose family has been a part of this church for many, many years. Steve Grawe used to be a Boy Scout troop leader and softball coach for the young people in our church. Several years ago, I performed the wedding for one of his granddaughters, and also preached the memorial service for his brother-in-law. Then, this past Monday, I traveled with Steve’s family for his interment in a Northern Kentucky cemetery. The funeral director and his wife recently brought their baby to our baby dedication day. These moments spent with families are treasured times for me. I LOVE the church, and what I get to do!

And, then this past Tuesday, I traveled with our groups director David Buckley as eighteen of our seniors enjoyed the biannual luncheon held at Woodland Lakes Christian Camp in Amelia. It’s always a day filled with southern Gospel music, a great meal, and fellowship with some godly seasoned saints from several churches in our area. The widow of my Bible College Greek professor, Tom Friskney, Ruth—who is 101 years young—attends every year, and we always get to have a conversation about her grandson and her four great grandkids who attend our church.

I love how the church of Jesus Christ lives out these words written by a chief worship leader in the Old Testament, Asaph, “I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—stories we have heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to us. We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders” (Psalm 78:3, 4, NLT).

I love the Old Testament. I love the New Testament. I love old converts to the faith, and new converts to following Jesus. I love ancient words of wisdom and new commandments from
Jesus. I LOVE the church . . . from the cradle to the grave!