A Growing Church is a Dying Church!

I confess that I don't have a lot of time to "surf the web."  I'm not subscribed to any blogs.  I don't spend much time on facebook.  It is rare that I even go to a link that has been recommended by friends.  So I attribute the Holy Spirit to the crazy notion of actually skimming through facebook and then taking the time to click on a link from a pastor friend with the title "A Growing Church is a Dying Church."  I skimmed through the blog and about 15 seconds into it, I stopped and slowly read it from the top again.  Tears filled my eyes.  How did he know?  Who was this stranger from New York that is speaking directly to the situation I find myself in.  I have been enamored ever since with a blog entry from J. Barrett Lee, the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Boonville, NY.  Click here to read full text. 

He speaks the truth.  The naked, ugly, hope filled, biblical truth.  The message doesn't dwell on the idea, "the pastor can't grow or save your church" though that idea is there.  His thoughts don't just tell you to be missional and think outward, though you can find this notion in the blog.  But he gets to the heart of "What if it works?" warning that growth will not be what you think it will be.  The church will never return to the "glory days."  And the glory days of the future involve people you wouldn't be caught dead with and who don't appreciate "the way we've always done it" and who will make changes you don't like.  And that's the GOOD NEWS! 

Then, what if it doesn't work?  What if you make changes to get the church to grow and it dies anyway?  Was it all a waste of time?  Here's how he ends his blog, "What if all that time you spend studying the Bible, expanding your horizons, deepening your spiritual life, and serving your community turns out to be time wasted?  Tell you what: if that’s what happens, if you commit yourself to all this and still feel like it was a waste of time in the end, then maybe your church really needed to die."  Wow!

I have read and re-read this blog about 10 times in the last 3 days.  Does it give me hope or plunge me into cynicism?  Yes, on the one hand, church transformation is a lose-lose situation.  It's hard and it hurts to change and grow with people who are different.  On the other hand, it's also hard to watch a once vibrant church slowly waste away to death.  And I ask myself, "Why am I doing this?"

But in the end, God always brings me back to hope.  How can prayer, scripture, sharing the love of God, social justice and service, ever be a waste of time?  Are we not more faithful disciples because of these actions, whatever happens to the church institution?  We are actually in a win-win situation.  Whatever happens to the church itself, whether it grows or dies, we as Christ's disciples are more closely following the life he intended us to live.  And isn't that the purpose of the church...to equip people to live their Christian journey more faithfully?

Thank you J. Barrett Lee for your inspiring, hopeful, and honest words.  I am encouraged to continue equipping God's people, whatever the financial, numerical, or institutional repercussions might be. 

My Adopted Prayer for the Elections

This is a prayer I wished I had written myself.  It was prayed by Jena Nardella (http://jenanardella.wordpress.com/2012/09/04/praying-for-the-nation/) following Michelle Obama's speech on Tuesday night of the Democratic National Convention.  May we all have the same faith, compassion, and integrity as the next few months of our election season unfold.  Let us pray...

 

     As we close this day, let us quiet our hearts in prayer.

God, I stand before You and ask that the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing unto You.

I pray for our President, Barack Obama. May he know Your presence, oh God, as he continues to serve as a leader of this nation, as a husband to Michelle, and as father to his daughters. Help him to seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly with you.

I pray as well for Governor Mitt Romney. May he know Your presence, oh God, as he continues to serve as a leader, as a husband to Ann, and as a father to his sons and their families. Help him to seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly with you.

I pray for our country in the next nine weeks leading up to this election – for those of us meeting here and for our fellow citizens who met last week. May we make our children proud of how we conduct ourselves. We know our human tendencies toward finger-pointing and frivolousness. Our better selves want this race to be honest and edifying rather than fabricated and self-serving.

Give us, oh Lord, humility to listen to our sisters and brothers across the political spectrum, because your kingdom is not divided into Red States and Blue States. Equip us with moral imagination to have real discourse. Knit us, oh God, as one country even as we wrestle over the complexity of how we ought to live and govern. Give us gratitude for our right to dissent and disagree. For we know that we are bound up in one another and have been given the tremendous opportunity to extend humanity and grace when others voice their deeply held convictions even when they differ from our own.

And give us wisdom, God, to discover honest solutions for we know it will take all of us to care for the widow and the orphan, the sick and the lonely, the downtrodden and the unemployed, the prisoner and the homeless, the stranger and the enemy, the thirsty and the powerless. In rural Africa, I am witness to thousands of HIV positive mothers, fathers and children who are alive today because Democrats and Republicans put justice and mercy above partisanship. Help us keep that perspective even as we debate one another.

God, I thank you for the saving grace of Jesus and for the saints who have humbly gone before us. I thank you for the words of St. Francis of Assisi whose prayer I carry with me both in my home in East Nashville and in my work across rural Africa.

As we enter this election season, I pray St. Francis’ words for us all.

Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.

Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

 

Is the Glass Half Full...or Half Empty?

The answer is yes.  It is both.  So which part do YOU focus on?  I heard a quote once that has stuck with me for several years now.  "You find what you're looking for."  For example, have you ever noticed when you're having a bad day, you discover more and more reasons why it's a bad day?  Or when you look for God working in your life, you discover more and more little blessings that may have otherwise gone unnoticed? 

I have recently stumbled across a website promoting the idea of eating non-processed, organic, whole foods.  After I found the website, then I realized two people in my life were doing the same thing, and then a stranger came by the church who teaches this way of eating.  I noticed my drive to my child's school passed right by a Trader Joe's where I could purchase many of these items.  More and more I was looking for people and places that promoted this idea.  Lo and behold, I found them.  

Has that ever happened to you?  Have you gotten involved in a new hobby, a new way of life, a new stage of life, or just in a certain mood, and suddenly you are stumbling upon people and situations that resonate with that mood or new chapter in your life?  It's not a coincidence.  We find what we are looking for.

If you look for reasons to be upset, dissatisfied, frustrated, disgruntled, you'll probably find it.  If you look for the good, the beautiful, the miraculous, the loving, you'll probably find that too.  There is so much in this world and the people we meet, that our minds have to find a way to filter some of it out.  So it filters out what you're not looking for.  But what we look for can also be an intentional choice we make when we wake up in the morning.  Choosing to start the day with a positive attitude can make all the difference in your day.

So when you wake up tomorrow morning, will you choose to look for the half full part of the glass...or the half empty part? 

Who Is Welcome in Church?

"We extend a special welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, gay, filthy rich, dirt poor, yo no hablo Ingles. We extend a special welcome to those who are crying new-borns, skinny as a rail or could afford to lose a few pounds.  We welcome you if you can sing like Andrea Bocelli or can’t carry a note in a bucket. You’re welcome here if you’re “just browsing,” just woke up or just got out of jail. We don’t care if you’re more Catholic than the Pope, or haven’t been in church since little Joey’s Baptism.  We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60 but not grown up yet, and to teenagers who are growing up too fast.

We welcome soccer moms, NASCAR dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers, vegetarians, junk-food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or still addicted. We welcome you if you’re having problems or you’re down in the dumps or if you don’t like “organized religion,” because many of us have been there too.  If you blew all your offering money last night at the club, you’re welcome here. We offer a special welcome to those who think the earth is flat, work too hard, don’t work, can’t spell, or because grandma is in town and wanted to go to church.  We welcome those who are inked, pierced or both. We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, had religion shoved down your throat as a kid or got lost in traffic and wound up here by mistake. We welcome tourists, seekers and doubters, bleeding hearts … and you!  EVERYONE ACCEPTED, UNCONDITIONALLY!"

I'm putting the above welcome on the front cover of the bulletin this Sunday.  It's not original as many of you may know.  It was "borrowed" from another church and has probably metamorphosized along its internet journey.  As I conclude a five week sermon series on Peter and Cornelius, it seems fitting.  I can see Peter endorsing this statement, as well as the Holy Spirit.  When did the church start becoming a "members only" club?  When did the church start putting restrictions on who is in and who is out?  Is this statement really that radical?  Is it really that strange for the church to welcome ALL people? 

I suppose for some it is.  I suppose Jesus' teaching is radical, radical enough to get him killed.  And although we think we have advanced so much as a human race, the things that are really the measure of society: acceptance, love, compassion, have not increased all that much in 2,000.  So while I should not be surprised that the welcome statement on the front cover of the bulletin this Sunday will be a complete shock and most likely cause some criticism, I will be.  I will be because I believe if Jesus were alive today, he would have "liked" this facebook status.  What about you?

Church: Bringing Different People Together?

The story of Cornelius and Peter in Acts 10-11 is my new favorite Bible story.  Maybe that's because I'm preaching on it for five weeks in a row and see so many ways it relates to life today.  The basic premise is that Peter is going from town to town sharing the Gospel when he and Cornelius have visions.  Cornelius' vision is to send for Peter and listen what he has to say.  Peter's vision is to eat the forbidden animals that appear on a white sheet.  But what's hard for us to really understand is that this devout Jew and devout Gentile weren't supposed to associate with each other.  Not talk to each other.  Not go into each other's houses.  They were as different as different could be in race, economics, religion, profession, and on and on.  Except for one thing.  They both had faith in God.

Seems to me that that's what church and faith and Christianity should be all about: bringing different people together.  People you might normally never associate with, or run into, or talk with.  That's what the early church did.  Rich and poor.  Jew and Gentile.  Slave and free.  Male and female.  Christianity brought really different people together.

I'm not sure Christianity in America still does that today.  Sociologists have called Sunday mornings the most segregated time in America.  Stories abound of homeless people coming into wealthy churches only to be told to go away.  When you walk in to a majority of churches, they are homogeneous.  Similar skin colors.  Similar backgrounds.  Similar class.  Why?  Well, birds of a feather...

Even when the issue is raised to consciousness, people withdrawal with excuses, "Well, THEY have their own worship style.  THEY have their own churches."  THEY could refer to old or young, black or white, English speaking or Spanish speaking, gay or straight, poor or rich, etc.  THEY simply means anyone who is different. 

How about we go back to Peter's day when he came to the realization, "God shows no partiality" and (I might add) neither should we?  If the Spirit was all about bringing different kinds of people together back then, shouldn't it be so today? 

So if you go to a church or are looking for a church, make sure it's one that is intentionally inclusive of ALL people or at least moving in that direction.  That's the only way this vision will become a reality.  As Ghandi said, "Be the change you want to see in the world," and (might I add) in the church.  

Between the Dreaming and Coming True

We all have hopes and dreams.  Dreams of what we want to be when we grow up.  Dreams of who we will marry.  Dreams of our children and their lives.  Dreams of certain accomplishments in life.  Dreams of how this world should be.  Dreams of how we can improve our lives, our houses, our families, our careers. 

I have lots of dreams.  Dreams of serving a vibrant, healthy, active, growing church that welcomes all people.  Dreams for my children to be healthy and discover God's love and purpose in their life.  Dreams for myself of being a more faithful follower of Christ.   

But the very nature of dreams means they are not a reality, at least not yet.  So what happens between the dreaming and the coming true?  Naturally, we're supposed to work toward making that dream a reality.  If we have a dream of graduating from college, we work hard for four (or more) years in order for that dream to come true.  But is making our dreams a reality just about hard work and our own efforts?

Between the dreaming and the coming true, there's something else we need to do.  Pray.  I don't mean pray that our dreams will come true, although some people do and I don't judge them for that.  But maybe our prayers should be more about if our dream is in line with God's dream and intentions for our lives.  I mean, lots of people dream of being rich and have all their material needs and wants met, but God knows that is usually not the path to being happy or finding purpose in life.  Maybe between the dreaming and the coming true we must focus on aligning our dreams with God's will for our lives and this world.

What our your dreams for your life, your family, your church, your neighborhood?  Have you asked God if those dreams fit into God's plan for you?  Are those dreams really in your best interest?  Or might there be another plan yet to be revealed?  Can you pray, "Not my will but your will be done, O Lord"?

Keep dreaming and praying...and praying and dreaming, with lots of faith and trust and hard work, you might be blessed to see that dream come true.  If not, then you'll be blessed anyway!

Why Is It So Hard to Love?

Do you remember those black billboards with white lettering that had "messages from God"?  I think my favorite was, "That love thy neighbor thing...I meant that." - God.  And yet 2,000 years later, it's still so hard to love our neighbor.  I'm not talking about smiling and saying hello and "being nice."  I'm talking about really loving each and every person because they are made in the image of God.  I'm talking about seeing and treating each person as a worthwhile, inherently good human being that deserves my love and respect.

The PCUSA, of which I am a member, has just had its General Assembly, a bi-annual national gathering.  Nowhere is that "Love Thy Neighbor" thing missing more than at that meeting.  While I did not attend, I watched some of it live and read first hand accounts of the experience.  I am ashamed to admit I did not see a lot of love, real love that shows compassion and demands justice for all people.  Sure, many talked about love, how they love all people, but actions failed to back up their words.  How can we love our Palestinean neighbors and yet not divest from companies that are literally tearing their houses apart?  How can we love our gay and lesbian neighbors and not allow their pastors to perfom wedding ceremonies legal in their home states?  How can we love the nominated vice moderator and then literally blackmail the General Assembly in threats until she resigns?   How can we love those who hold opposite opinions than "us" and then demonize them?

Why is it so hard to love?  At both the national level and local level.  In my experience, trying to intentionally create a church of love and acceptance has ironically led to anger and withdrawal.  O Lord, help us all.  Save us from ourselves.  And give us the strength to love our neighbors, ALL our neighbors.  Everyone loved, unconditionally.  Everyone accepted, unconditionally.  May it be so.  Amen.

To Tear down...or Build Up?

     Although it states in Ecclesiastes 3 "there is a time to break down, and a time to build up," it seems to me that we have focused far too much on the breaking down part of this phrase in our society.  In fact, it seems like all we do these days is break people down.  Our media, our politics, even our religious institutions all seem to thrive at breaking people down.  After all, it's a lot easier to break down and tear down, rather than build up.  Gossip, criticism, negativity, complaining, whining all contribute to breaking people down.  Amendments to constitutions, bullying in schools and on facebook, even some sermons are aimed at tearing down, excluding, judging, criticizing.

     Quite frankly, I've had enough of it.  Enough of people using religion and God to tear down other people.  Enough of "Christians" being even more vicious, ugly, hateful than atheists.  Enough of the Holy Scriptures written to show God's love and compassion to all people USED to keep people second class citizens, whether it's people from a different race, different gender, different sexual orientation, different economic status.  I'm tired of hearing "tearing down" comments.
     I read scripture and I see Jesus building up.  Building up the woman caught in adultery.  Building up the disciples even though they continually miss the point.  Building up the little children.  Building up the women, the Samaritans, and all those who were different in any way, shape or form.  All I see is Jesus affirming people.  So how in the world can followers of Jesus act in ways so contrary to the One they follow?
     I don't know.  I don't think I want to know.  All I know to do is to keep speaking the truth in love.  Keep surrounding yourself with people who want to build up.  Avoid lengthy contact with those intent on tearing down.  Keep your eyes on Jesus.  Keep being a voice for Christianity that tries to imitate the One it follows.  It's a crazy, messy, chaotic, human kind of world out there.  Look for the good, the positive, the beautiful, the inspiring.  The Spirit is at loose and at work among us.  And believe me, the Spirit's in the business of building up!

Nothing Hard is Ever Easy

  Somehow I always delude myself that after Easter life will slow down.  It's the same delusion I have in May and December, "After Memorial Day (or Christmas) life will slow down."  But it never does.  This year we have inadvertently embarked on a variety of changes at the same time: changing emails, changing phone and internet providers, changing routers, changing technology in sanctuary, changing direction of music program, changing the use of our building facilities, changing programs for our worship visuals.  Changes are hard.  And as I am fond of saying, "Nothing hard is ever easy."
     Each of these changes have come with hours of unforeseen work, meetings, troubleshooting, phone calls, communication, etc.  None of which seminary ever prepared me for.  Finding the IP Address for the copy machine was a class I must have missed.  I continually struggle with the notion of balance, how do I balance all of these responsibilities, with responsibilities of family, with responsibility to myself.  How do I fulfill my obligations to work and family, while still finding some "me" time?  Nothing hard is ever easy.
     I'm afraid I have not been succesful at that balance in recent months.  I put "me" time aside for work and family thinking "It's only until Easter.  It's only until the summer.  It's only until that project is done."  Of course after that time comes, there's always something to take its place, always something else to do. 
     If I am ever going to achieve any kind of healthy balance in my life, I can't wait until "nothing else is going on."  I have to make time, now, and not apologize.  I have to find ways to restore my energy and keep that a priority.
     I did that on Monday for one hour.  I decided to take a walk in the gorgeous sunshine.  My son, Christian, wanted to go with me.  What a precious time we had together!  It was the first time we had a chance to just walk and talk.  Still four years old for a few more weeks, he shared with me what he was doing in school, the life cycle of a frog and a butterfly, words he was now reading, math work he was doing, the continents, planets, and months of year.  As we held hands, he held my heart, while he shared his life with me.  He wants to be a singer when he grows up, or a superhero.  He hasn't decided yet.  That one hour together renewed me like no other and I will cherish that walk for months and years to come.
     What can you do to renew yourself this week?  Have at least one event every week, if not two or three times a week, that you look forward to, that you enjoy, that re-energizes you.  Don't wait until there's nothing else to do, or it will never happen.  Just make the time.  It may be hard, but remember...nothing hard is ever easy.  

Holy...Fertilizer!

     Jesus said, "Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." (John 12:24)  He was talking about his life, of course, and the reality that even in nature, death brings new life.  Through his death on the cross, ressurection became possible along with another opportunity for humanity to be in relationship with God.  But he was also talking about the lives of those who want to be his disciples.  The need to "deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me."  All this talk about dying can be very sobering, as if God wants God's children to suffer. 

     But Jesus is trying to tell us there is often a purpose in the suffering: to bear fruit.  As I am fond of saying, you can't get to Easter without Good Friday.  The cross becomes the fertilizer for our resurrection experiences.  The "fertilizer" stuff that we go through in life often give us the motivation to bear fruit of love and kindness and patience and self-control (just to name a few).  The Susan G. Komen foundation which has raised billions for breast cancer research and screening was founded out of the pain of one lady who lost her sister Susan to breast cancer.  Non-profit organizations abound that grew out of the "fertilizer" of pain and heartache and disease and tragedy.

     Now don't get me wrong.  I don't believe God causes or wants all those fertilizer times to happen.  There is still evil and humanity's free will which is the reason behind much suffering.  But God can help us bear fruit from that fertilizer, from the darkness, from the cross moments.  And one day, we just may experience a new shoot of green growth in our lives, a small light that continues to grow, a resurrection story we can share with others.
     As we approach Holy Week and remember the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, reflect on the cross moments in your life that have led to ressurection.  Are you going through some fertilizer times right now?  If so, know that while a seed is slowly dying, soon a small shoot of new green life will appear...and it will grow...and it will bear fruit.

The Reality of the Cross

     We wear them around our necks.  We hoist them up above sanctuaries.  We make them out of rough wood and pure gold.  Crosses are all around us.  Strange to think that an instrument of death is now accepted as an everday sight. 

     We journey to the cross in this Lenten season.  But what happens when we get there?  Are we ready to recognize Jesus' incredible sacrifice?  Do we want to imagine how tortuous it must have been to die in that way?  While I realize there was much criticism regarding the movie The Passion of the Christ, one thing it did do was confront us with the gruesome reality of death.  The blood, the pain, the scars, the agony.  It made us look at Jesus' bloody, spat upon face and vicariously experience with him what his death must have been like.

     The polished gold layered crosses we wear are a far cry from the reality of what they represent: a man, a God, who died a horrible death out of love for you and me.  The cross has been so sentimentalized that for many it has lost the shock and horror it truly represents.  That's why Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are my favorite services.  They bring me down to earth, back to reality, and MAKE me remember that Jesus' suffering was real, and awful, and excruciating. 
     Would you have done it?  Would you have voluntarily agreed to die in that kind of way at the age of 33?  We can hardly voluntarily give up one meal in order to feed another person.  Yet Jesus says, "Take up YOUR cross, and follow me."  Where was he going?  Calvary.  Take up your cross.  Feel its burden and the pain and the sacrifice.  Take up your cross and travel to the place where you too will die.
     Doesn't sound like fun does it?  Maybe that's why it seems like these days it seems like so few Christians really "get it."  So few are willing to die and follow Jesus to Calvary.  A pastor from Africa came to the states to be a guest preacher for a few months.  At a pastor's meeting, an American pastor recognizing the more difficult way of life in Africa, gave the African pastor his sympathies.  "It must be extremely hard to minister over there," he said.  "Not at all," replied the African pastor.  "In fact it must be much harder to minister in the U.S.  After all, how do you teach people about following Jesus if you don't know what suffering is?" 
     This year don't skip too quickly from Palm Sunday to Easter.  Take some time to live into Good Friday.  Ponder the amazing sacrifice that was made for you. Recognize all that it took to voluntarily give up one's life for others.  Then, go and do likewise.
      

Which Caterpillar Are You?



Transformation



A small, earthbound, slow moving caterpillar inches its way along the branch of the tree, munching on the leaves as he crawls along.  Life is OK.  He was surviving.  He eventually finds his best friend, another small earthbound, slow moving caterpillar inching his way along the branch of the tree, munching on leaves as he crawls along.  They talk about the weather, about the tenderness of the leaves, and other such things important to caterpillars.  One of the caterpillars finally got up the courage to say what was on his mind, “So, what do you think about this cocoon thing?”  “Oh, I don’t like it at all,” replied the other caterpillar.  “I heard once you go in, that’s it.  As a caterpillar you die.  You are all cramped up in the tiny space and you start to change and it hurts and its dark.  I’m not going to do it.  How about you?” 

“I don’t know,” answered the first caterpillar.  “They say that what happens is really amazing. And that you can fly and be all colorful.  I’d love to know what it feels like to fly.  I don’t like the thought of being in a cocoon, but I think that afterward, life could be way better.  It’ll be hard and scary, I know.  But I hear that it’s worth it.  I think I might try it.”  Trusting the process of transformation, that caterpillar entered into the cocoon, giving up life as he knew it, and after some painful and scary times, emerged from that cocoon as a beautiful butterfly, floating along the air, living a life he had never dreamed possible.  The other caterpillar remained a small earthbound slow moving creature inching his way along the branch of the tree, munching on the leaves as he crawled along.

Transformation.  The process of dying in order to live.  As this Lenten season begins, we are reminded that God is all about transformation.  In Christ, we are a new creation.  The old is gone and a new life has begun.  But being inside the cocoon is scary, dark, painful, and uncertain.  New life begins in the dark, uncertain times of our life.  In the operating room, in the loneliness, in the doubt, in the trials and tribulations of life.  We worship a God who knows all about this.  Who went through the cocoon of betrayal, mockery, beatings, and crucifixion in order to get to Easter Sunday.  The only way to get to the empty tomb is through the cross.  Jesus asks us to die to ourselves, our ambitions, desires, greed, selfishness, in order to fully live an abundant life in him: a life of love and sacrifice and generosity.  Ponder in this Lenten season whether God is asking you to let a part of you die (a bad habit, over indulgence, frivolous spending, thinking of yourself first) in order for you to truly live.  Yes, it's dark and painful inside that cocoon.  But as the first caterpillar found out: Boy, is it worth it!  Which caterpillar will you be this year?

Recalculating!

I can't imagine how I ever lived without my GPS.  I don't go anywhere without it.  It has been a lifesaver in so many instances.  At the same time, I can't tell you how many times I have made a wrong turn trying to follow my GPS only to hear those words, "Recalculating!"  It means I messed up (again!).  But it also means that this little device is going to help me get back on track, no matter how many "when possible make a u-turn" statements it makes.  Eventually it may take a little longer, but I always get where I intend to go.

Two weeks from today is Ash Wednesday.  In essence, God's Positioning System is telling us to recalculate.  Have you ever been confounded by life?  Confused, lost, without direction. Ever feel like you were always making the wrong choices and going down the wrong path?  We have all gone in some wrong directions, made wrong turns, and gotten off course.  God uses Ash Wednesday as a day to "recalculate."  To take stock of where we are, where we want to be headed, and to make some adjustments in life.  But Ash Wednesday isn't just a way of guilting us into how wrong we have been.  It also helps us to "make a u-turn when possible" and with our faithful obedience, can get us back on the right track.

Wherever you are, go to an Ash Wednesday service this year.  Allow God's Positioning System to recalculate your route in life.  Make some u-turns of repentance of the ways you have strayed.  And get back on the right road this Lenten season.

Under Renovation

As I type this, the sound of hammering is pounding in my ears.  The church started renovations this week.  What a mess!!  The existing internal structure of platforms and carpet were torn out.  Hammering, saws, and other pounding noise fills my days.  Dust and dirt and sawdust fill the air.  Fascinating items have been unearthed such as an old acorn that some critter brought in and left in the church walls as well as old newspaper pages shoved under the old platform dated February 25, 1929. 

Being under renovation is inconvenient to say the least.  The office is cold because the door to the sanctuary (which is not heated) is left open all the time.  People come in to ask me questions.  And it's not the ideal working environment with noise and dust everywhere.

 

Being under renovation is hard, messy work.  It takes skill, strength, patience, and persistence.  It takes a vision to see beyond the mess to what could be, what will soon be.  It takes a set of plans so those involved know the next step and the specifications needed to make that vision a reality.

And yet being under renovation means that something better is coming our way.  The sanctuary gets "worse" before it can be improved and more suitable for use.  It's exciting!  While all I see now is a complete mess, that mess indicates that something newer will be here soon, something we as a church have dreamed about for a long time.

And while our sanctuary is under physical renovation, maybe we as human beings are under renovation too.  Maybe God the Great Contractor wants to tear some things down, some attitudes, some behaviors, some thoughts out of our lives and replace them with more loving, accepting, sacrificial attitudes.  Maybe God is trying to renovate our hearts so that we can become more like Christ.  But in order to do that, it will be inconvenient.  It will be hard and messy.  But it means that we will be created into something better, something more like what we are called to be.

So what do you say?  Do you want to be someone who is under God's renovation?

God Will Make A Way

We all go on journeys in life: college, marriage, new job, retirement.  Journeys begin and end with the rhythm of life.  I've found that spending some time with the Exodus story gives me a better idea how to live out the journeys I travel in life.  Maybe that's why I want to spend 6 weeks preaching on that whole story.  We know bits and pieces of course: crossing the Red Sea, manna and quail in the wilderness, the ten commandments, and finally crossing the Jordan to reach the promised land.  And what strikes me about each scene is that through it all they whine and complain and doubt and beg Moses to go back to slavery in Egypt.

I can relate.  It's easier to live with the slavery we know, the chains we are comfortable with, rather than venture out into uncertainty and the unknown.  It's easier to stay in that job you hate, instead of take the leap to look for another, possibly better job.  It's easier to stay in that relationship that is not right for you, instead of getting back into the dating scene again.  It's easier to stay stuck in the same old routine, in life, in church, in your family, rather than break away from that cycle to do something different.  It's easier to keep silent when we hear racist or hurtful remarks, instead of speaking up and challenging those comments. 

So on one hand, I try not to beat myself up when I have thoughts of going back to Egypt.  When I want to regress and return to a simpler but unhealthy way of life.  At the same time, I remember that God was faithful in leading the Israelites to the promised land.  That even with the whining and complaining and doubting and begging to go back, God persevered with the people God loved so much.  God was faithful to the end.  God is faithful even now.  God will always be faithful.

So when you have moments of regretting your bold decision to move forward in life, or you can't seem to make that decision to break away from the slavery you find yourself in, just remember that God can make a way when there seems to be no way.  God will remain faithful even when we aren't.  Thanks be to God!

Baptism: Jesus' Coming Out Party

Have you ever thought about why Jesus was baptized?  I mean, if baptism is about forgiving sin then Jesus didn't need to be baptized since he never sinned.  If baptism is about joining the church, Jesus didn't need to be baptized since there was no church to join at that point, at least not an organized one.  So why was Jesus baptized?

Part of the answer has to do with the scene at his baptism.  Mark records in the fifth verse of the first chapter, "And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him (John), and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins."  Imagine hundreds and hundreds of people all gathered along the river bank, some in the water, some lined up to be next, some just observing as spectators.  Then comes Jesus.  Jesus wasn't baptized because he needed to be.  He was baptized because WE needed him to be.

Baptism was Jesus' coming out party.  He came out to humanity as God's Son, publicly announced by God's own voice and the descending of the Holy Spirit.  After living 30 years on this earth, it was time for multitudes of people to know who he really was.  It was time for humanity, then and now, to experience Jesus, not just as a good guy or even a good prophet, but as the Son of the Living God. 

Jesus plunged into the same muddy river Jordan as hundreds of others that John baptized, uniting in solidarity with them and with us.  Identifying himself with humanity, broken and struggling, Jesus joined the masses in order to reveal who he was.  Now they knew.  Now they could follow.  Now they caught a glimpse, not of Jesus of Nazareth, but of Jesus the Christ.

May we too catch a glimpse of Jesus the Christ as we remember his baptism this Sunday.  May we participate in his coming out party as we rejoice that he is Son of the Living God, Lord of all creation, and Savior of humanity.  At Christmas we believed, we hoped, we kept the faith that the Savior was born.  Now we know for sure, for we too are invited to be witnesses to Jesus at his coming out party.