Tuesday

I am in the process of visits and preparing for confirmation as well as the sermon. I will be preaching from Luke 14:25-33. In my Wesley Study Bible the summary is the cost of discipleship. I have been preaching on themes of being a disciple and what that means in real life situations. This passage is one of those passages that seems harsh and yet is important if we are serious about being a disciple. The focus is on to what is our loyalty. As I was working on this, I was reading in Homiletics about a particular cathedral being built in Spain that took over 125 years to build and still is not complete. They are going to have their first mass coming up. What struck me initially was that often what we do for Christ we may never realize. This was an illustration that was given regarding this.

Clark and Mason were sitting in the break room talking about business strategies for their small company. Mason, ever the worrier, was expressing his frustrations over how “quick success” seemed to be eluding them. Mason said to Clark, “I can’t see any evidence of our hard work. It seems like everything that we have done has been to no avail.”

Clark, a more seasoned businessperson, sat listening to his business partner, while peeling a big red apple. He understood Mason’s frustration. Early in his business career, Clark had similar feelings and often gave up on his goals prematurely because he did not believe in himself. Fortunately, Clark gained understanding of the need for belief and patience.

Holding up the apple he was peeling, Clark said to Mason, “See this apple, Mason. When I cut it in half, we can count the number of seeds in it.” Clark cut the apple in half and noted the number of seeds in the core of the apple. He held up one seed for Mason to see. “However,” Clark continued, “we cannot count the number of apples in one seed.” Mason looked at Clark as he momentarily struggled to understand how Clark’s example related to his concerns.

Clark continued, “We cannot know how many ‘trees’ will grow and bear fruit from our efforts thus far. Now is the time to assume that our seed will bear fruit, to see the orchard filled with trees loaded with apples, which have been fertilized with belief and confidence, and watered with enthusiasm. We must be careful not to allow the weeds of negativity and doubt to strangle the new plants as they struggle to grow into fruit-bearing trees.”

—M. Peer Mohamed Sardhar, “How many apples are in one apple seed?” Improving Organizations Web Site. citehr.com.

So if you ever wonder about what we do and begin to doubt our efforts remember that if we continue to have faith and confidence and continue with our enthusiasm for Christ, there will be a rich harvest to come. Don't let the weeds of negativity hamper you in your life.

Holy Holy Holy

I was doing my devotions and came across this from "This Day: A Wesleyan Way of Prayer by Stooky." It struck me as I will be doing a sermon series on Why Church? I hope that the readers can get something from this as well.

"There is much misunderstanding about the meaning of the term 'holy.' Too many seem to think it means entirely good, without flaw. That may serve us well when speaking of a holy God. But a perfect church? Hardly. At root, holiness instead has to do with being set apart, indeed with being different. In the commandments, when God called for one day of the week to be holy, God meant that this day was to be set aside as different from the other six, distinctive in its practices. So also the Hebrew people were to exhibit holiness by refusing to bow down to idols worshiped by all of the neighboring nations. Similarly, the church is called to live out in the world ways of being and doing that are alternatives to accustomed standards and customs.

This means that, for from being embarrassed when its ideals are at odds with accepted ways, the Christian community should revel in what it distinctively has to offer to the world. When the lives of people are ruined by oppression and the church protests, we are exemplifying holiness. When greed goes unchecked, even applauded, and Christian people cry out 'Enough!' we should rejoice that we are fulfilling our calling to be different for the sake of what is right. How willing are we to be considered out of step with society in order to be holy? Who wants to be labeled 'odd' after all? But we are called to be a holy church, not a club that panders to whatever is currently popular."

Sacraments

I have been reflecting on the sacraments and what they mean to the body of Christ, our church. What has caused me to reflect is that I have been asked by a number of people recently about doing baptisms outside of the worship service. I have always felt that sacraments are to be done in the scheduled worship services unless there are some extra-ordinary reasons to do them elsewhere.

For myself sacraments are sacred moments that remind us of the grace that God and Jesus Christ has extended to us. The best way that we can celebrate and remember that grace is during worship. As United Methodists, we are encouraged to do the sacraments during the worship services in the presence of the congregation. Our Book of Worship states that "The Baptismal Covenant is God's word to us, proclaiming our adoption by grace, and our word to God, promising our response of faith and love. Those within the covenant constitute the community we call the Church; therefore, the services of the Baptismal Covenant are conducted during the public worship of the congregation where the person's membership is to be held, except in very unusual circumstances."

I realize that baptism is a special moment for the child, the parents, and their family. But if we believe in what we state during the covenant, we as a the body of Christ also assume responsibility in helping raise the child and to grow their faith. If the parents do not have a relationship with the church, how can we be able to help the child continue to grow in grace? My concern is that if we do family baptisms are we being faithful to what the covenant suggests. That is a major concern and the reason that I refuse to do private baptisms unless there is an unusual situation.

I would invite others to reflect on their practices either in their church or as pastors.

Saturday

Did you know that origin of the word hypocrite is different than how we use the word today. From the NIB Dictionary of the bible the literal meaning of hypocrisy/hypocrite is “a judgment, sentence, or power of distinguishing” or “a decider, judge or umpire.” That does call one to mind about sporting events and some of the controversial calls that have been made. The most common usage of the term in antiquity was to designate an actor. A person who made judgments about characters they played from behind a mask was considered acting or playing a role or performing on a stage. This evolved to today the term denoting metaphorically persons who pretended to be like someone they were not. Below are some quotes that speak to this.
Hypocrisy in anything whatever may deceive the cleverest and most penetrating man, but the least wide-awake of children recognizes it, and is revolted by it, however ingeniously it may be disguised.

—Leo Tolstoy.

Hypocrisy: prejudice with a halo.

—Ambrose Bierce.

Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.

—Dr. Seuss.
So in Luke 13: 10-17 when Jesus calls the leaders of the church hypocrites it takes on the meaning more of acting or playing a role. Today when we examine ourselves do we play at being Christian, make judgments about being a Christian, being a decider as to who is a Christian? Are we being actors or are we living like a Christian? There was a study done among those who would call themselves unchurched as to why they do not belong. Over 75% state that they do not go to church as it is hypocritical and not trying to live as Jesus shows. Most state that they believe in Jesus. The article in Homiletics stated that it was interesting that the unchurched are saying that those who are members of a church don’t act like they are churched. Surveys have shown that there is no significant differences from those who profess being Christian (even born again) in the way they act in the world and those who state that they do not belong to a church. [Barna research study confirms this perception. A 2007 study showed that lifestyles of “born-again Christians” were statistically equivalent to those of nonbelievers. When reporting activities from their previous 30 days, both groups were equally likely to gamble, view pornography, take something that didn’t belong to them, physically fight or abuse someone, get drunk, use an illegal drug, intentionally lie, seek revenge or gossip.]
Now one of the differences is that some Christians are more likely to recognize what they are doing is wrong and to ask for forgiveness knowing that Christ died for our sins. For myself, I am encouraged by the mercy Christ has shown me. I would hope that I would not “play act” as a Christian but continue to strive to act in loving God and loving neighbor both in words and deeds.

Thursday

I am preparing for this Sunday. I am preaching from Luke 13:10-17. The focus on the sermon is on rules and how times people spend more time focused on the rules literally rather than seeing them as guidelines to help us remain within certain boundaries. Boundaries are not a problem but when they become so rigid that no one can enter or be part of the community then we have lost sight of the intention of the rules or laws.
Luke includes this story of Jesus following two stories of the barren fig tree and the parable of the mustard seed which speaks of faith. Luke often presents Jesus' teachings that have bookends of what is to be learned. The barren fig tree is to be uprooted except for the master gardener pleads to let him try to through care and attention save the tree. The mustard seed speaks that is out the littlest seeds can great things grow. So in the story of the healing of the woman speaks to what is important in faith and it is more than worshipping rules but in caring to the little things.
I had a situation that happened today. We had a traveler going through town. The heat wore him down and he was African-American. He was able through our ministerial association to get a room for the night. He came to the church as he was still feeling dehydrated and worn out from walking from Chadron to Ainsworth. According to the rules, we are supposed to only offer one night stay. We could so get caught up in the why and not see the who. The rules are set up as there are limited resources and to make sure that others can also be helped. Another concern is being conned. I decided that I would approve another night as the temps again are to be close to 100. In talking with him, I got to see who he was more than just someone traveling through or someone who was trying to take advantage of the system.
Rules are important but there are times rather than being so concerned with the letter of the law we look to the intent of the rule or law. Much like Sabbath.

With the niabrara on the right

When my best friends came to visit last weekend, we had a great time. We went to Smith Falls and on the way back to Ainsworth we decided to go to the Nordan bridge. I had been on the river road only once and there were times that we may have questioned where we were heading but we did find the bridge and found our way home. I actually used that as a sermon illustration that we knew if we kept to the path before us and kept the Niabrara on our right we would eventually find our way home. Much like no matter the twists and turns or the bumps in the path, if we remain focused on Christ we will find our way home. We are recording my sermons so that if anyone wants to hear the sermon in its completeness let me know.

Prior to turning off the road, we went to an overlook outside of Valentine NE. While there,I took a picture of the blue tailed skink. I guess I was surprised that we had indigenous lizards in Nebraska. I found out that the blue tail is the male and that if one would grab the tail it would break off allowing the lizard to escape. As I reflect on that, I began to think about the idea of allowing things to break off in my life that I can escape from the idolatry especially of possessions. If the skink could not let go of the tail, he would be eaten by predators. Are there things that we hold onto so hard that we are unwilling to let go of them? If so what might those be? I know in my life my faith in the saving grace of God through Jesus is one of the things that I will not let go of. My love of my wife is one of those things that I will not let go of as well as my children and grand children. But if I lost all my possessions would I miss them you bet! But they are not that important. So what are those beliefs or things do you hold on to?

Eulogy

I received the following article from Serving Strong about eulogy which means good words. Having had almost a funeral a week recently, it struck me about what we say when someone we love dies. Wouldn't it be great that we remember to say these "good words" even while our loved one is alive. Also there is a form that we can use to say those things even to ourselves. As long as we remember to owe our life, our gifts, our talents, and our relationships to God.






PowerMail (by Serving Strong)
A minute just for you because you help others
Issue #199


Good Words

What comes to your mind when you think of the word Eulogy? Probably morbid. A casket. People wearing black. Tears. Heartache.

Let me share another perspective with you. In the Greek, the word Eulogy means "good words." A Eulogy is normally a speech or writing in praise of a person, especially one recently deceased or retired. They may be given as part of funeral services. But they can also praise a living person or people who are still alive, which normally takes place on special occasions like birthdays.

Good Words

Life goes fast. Before we know it, we're in our mid 40's looking back on memories that are growing decades old. "Life is what happens when you're busy getting ready for it", someone once said. If we're not careful, we will miss out on a bunch of opportunities to live the life God truly intended for us to live.

Therefore, I want to really challenge you with this issue. Make a commitment to think about your own personal "good words". First, think of what you want people to say about you and the life you led for Christ. Second, think of the character traits it takes to fulfill those words. Third, start digging into scripture, prayer, and good books to continuously grow in these character traits.

To help you, I've created a very simple form. You can download it free here. It's part of the free downloads on my Resources Page.

Make the most of your life. Start this week!

Feel free to continue the discussion on serving strong in ministry leadership through:
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Serving Strong | PO Box 665 | North Lima | OH | 44452
My Eulogy Worksheet
1) First, find a time and location where your best creativity seems to flow best. Think, with as much detail, what you would like to have said about you at your funeral. Don’t worry about grammar, spelling or punctuation. Just write fluidly.
2) Second, once you have several sentences, pick out the character traits required to fulfill this eulogy.
3) Third, begin your journey into scripture, prayer, and reading for each character trait.
WHAT I WANT SAID ABOUT ME
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CHARACTER TRAITS REQUIRED
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This form is suggested by Scott Couchenour, Certified life Coach, with Serving Strong – a resourcing and coaching service to people who serve in ministry leadership.
Visit the website: http://www.servingstrong.com
Visit the blog: http://www.servingstrong.typepad.com

As you take time to do that and write what you would want to be said about you the question becomes are you living to what you want said? I believe it is important to not just want good things to be said but to live a life that is worthy of that. Much like being a disciple of Christ is more than just saying I am a disciple but also to live like one.

Tuesday

I was reading articles about the lectionary gospel from Luke and came across this article in Homiletics. The premise is knowing what one is going to do and even if I am not going this direction for Sunday I wanted to share the article with you.

Call the Tribe of Issachar Together
Luke 12:49-56 | 8/20/1995
Christians must become members of the tribe of Issachar, a tribe which had an "understanding of the times to know what ... to do."
Edward L. Shirley, of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at St. Edward's University, has collected over the years actual, bona fide newspaper headlines.

- Something went wrong in jet crash, experts say
- Police begin campaign to run down jaywalkers
- Safety experts say school bus passengers should be belted
- Drunk gets nine months in violin case
- Iraqi head seeks arms
- Teacher strikes idle kids
- Reagan wins on budget, but more lies ahead
- Killer sentenced to die for second time in 10 years

Shirley's collection of noteworthy news is both silly and startling. They let us conjure up ridiculous images in our mind's eye, but they are also filled with the violence and indifference that is a constant part of our daily lives. They are, in their own right, "signs of the times."

Ignoring the approach of a tornado doesn't offer any protection from its winds. You will fly just as high into the air with your eyes closed as with them open. Few can testify to the power of shifting winds more effectively than those who were ousted from public office in the fall '94 elections. Many politicians suddenly found themselves the latest victims of what I call a worldwide Devolution Revolution.

It was the same devolution revolution that helped bring down the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union and that continues to gnaw at the foundation of all "big government" and "big institution" enterprises. Nature once experiment- ed with grand-scale bigness, too -- but the results of those trials are found now only in our collections of fossilized dinosaur bones. If you can't adapt, if you can't read the signs of the times, you face certain extinction.

The Greek version of Jesus' diatribe against the crowd in this week's gospel text is perhaps the experience of the Greek philosopher Thales. He ventured outside one night with a knowledgeable, elderly woman who had promised to teach him about the stars. In the darkness, he fell into a ditch and started screaming for help. The old woman responded dryly, "You want to know all about the heavens, but you can't see what's right under your feet" (From Diogenes, Laertius 1:34, cited in Frederick W. Denker, Jesus and the New Age [Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1988], 258).

- British left waffles on Falkland Islands
- Enraged cow injures farmer with ax
- Plane too close to ground, crash probe told

Big governments and big institutions made long-range planning (and its "goals and objectives") their darling. Is there anyone out there who doesn't plan every single day? Is there anyone out there who has ever had even one day go exactly according to plan? Yet nothing is more comforting (albeit futile) than carefully plotting out exactly what you're going to be doing two, five, or even 10 years into the future. Isn't it remarkable that long-range plans almost never predict that the stock market will plunge, or assets will devalue, or products will become obsolete, or expectations will radically alter, or scandal will rear its head, or people will demand better. Little wonder that there is a new book out by Henry Mintzberg called The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning: Re conceiving Roles for Planning, Plans, Planners (New York: Free Press, 1994). In the words of the old adage, "If you want God to laugh, tell God your plans."

We cannot live life based on the models of control and predictability that the myth of long-range planning assumes. The world is not predictable or controllable. Only now, with the rise of "scenario thinking" pioneered by Peter Schwartz (The Art of the Long View [New York: Doubleday, 1991]) and the Global Business Network, are businesses slowly moving from planning to preparedness.

Unfortunately, one of the slowest and most awkward of these behemoths is the church itself. The "mainline" denominations have found themselves relegated to a "sideline" position in postmodern life because they have adopted dreams like those of any other "big institution." The church increasingly seems irrelevant because it has lost sight of the signs of the times or chosen to ignore them.

God will not be without a witness. It is God's mission, not the church's mission. So God will be there in this emerging new world. If we would resuscitate the church, make it a vital active force for Christ in this new world, then it must relinquish its identity as a dignified "institution" and "organized religion" and claim a new name for itself as a tribe.

Specifically, the church must try to mold itself into the tribe of Issachar (1 Chronicles 12:32). The tribe of Issachar, we are told, "had an understanding of the times, to know what ... to do." When David became king, each of the tribes of Israel paraded before David and presented him with a special gift. It was the unique gift of the tribe of Issachar that they knew "what ... to do" (v.32).

- Miners refuse to work after death
- Juvenile court to try shooting defendant
- War dims hope for peace

What is keeping us from becoming a tribe of Issachar? What signs of the times are we ignoring or misreading in a futile attempt to safeguard our institutional assumptions?

Sign 1: Cultural Confusion

In his book There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in the Other America (New York: Doubleday, 1991), Alex Kotlowitz recounts the experiences of black children, Pharaoh and Lafayette Rivers, living in the Henry Horner Homes housing project in Chicago. One boy recalls the conversation about futures he had with his friend Lafayette: "And then I asked Lafayette what he wanted to be. 'If I grow up, I'd like to be a bus driver,' he told me. If, not when. At the age of 10, Lafayette wasn't sure he'd make it to adulthood."

In the face of this sign of the times, too many churches continue to offer these old/young children nothing more than 19th-century Sunday school pablum. We let them color pictures of men in bathrobes herding sheep when what they are seeing every day are children cruising the streets in luxury cars, firing automatic weapons at each other.

When is the church going to claim busters (those born between 1964 and 1984) for Christ? Busters are the first electronic generation, the first generation to be light-trained (screens) rather than print-trained (book pages). When is the church going to leave the Industrial Age (nuts and bolts) and join the Information Age (bits and bytes)? Busters have no idea what we are talking about when we say "she has a screw loose." Busters do, however, know what it means when "he has a bad chip."

Sign 2: Moral Malaise

According to Time magazine's report of a Daily Express survey, 84 percent of those polled did not think that Prince Charles' TV confession that he had committed adultery sullied his reputation (Ginia Bellafonte, "People," Time, 18 July 1994, 61).

The church as an organized institution has become too comfortable, too at home with the standards and values of the world. Our silence in the face of such signs of the times suggests that moral failure is really no more serious than rolling through a stop sign at a deserted intersection. The truth is, moral muck-ups are a symptom of a very serious condition -- heart failure. It is a sign that the central pump of our being is sick and faltering -- a sign of despair.

Sign 3: Apathetic Attitude

In 1993, the total attendance at worship services in the United States came to 5.6 billion. The total attendance for all pro-basketball, baseball and football games combined was only 103 million, less than 2 percent of the number who attended worship ("To Verify: Statistics for Christian Communicators," Leadership 15 [Fall 1994], 50).

We complain about a shrinking church membership when the numbers actually point to a shrinking sense of excitement and exuberance for Christ's sake. In the name of sports, those 103 million get stadiums built, get team franchises moved, give local economies a boost and get whole regions of the country stand-up-and-shout excited. In the name of Christ, how much more could 5.6 billion accomplish in this country -- in the world -- if they were as "on fire" as the sports fans?

What "signs of the times" are we facing as a congregation? And is our congregation facing them? Will we become a member of the tribe of Issachar? Or will we join the dinosaurs?

What is interesting is that this was written 15 years ago. What the author talked about then still seems prevalent now. What are we willing to choose that we can be of the tribe of Issachar or has the church ceased to have revelancy? This is what Re-Think Church is trying to address. I believe the church has the opportunity to be on fire for Christ and see that in the churches that I have served. Let us not be like the building above divided into factions and self-interest but strive for Christ.

wednesday

Having just completed my third funeral since I have been here, I am reminded that life on this earth is short and that one needs to depend on the promises that we can hold to for eternal life. This Sunday I will be preaching, "Are you ready?" from Luke 12:32-40. The gospel reminds us that we need to remember that God wants to give us the kingdom. It is ours and with that knowledge we need not worry or be afraid to do what would be pleasing to God. Treasure that which is eternal and not what is temporal. We need to remain faithful and alert living our lives is such a way that Jesus has shown us.
We believe that Jesus will return to earth and that we do not know the time when he will do so. But rather than worry and fret, allow the promises of the kingdom be in your heart, mind, and soul. Every day no matter what we experience, know that the spirit is within each of us and that spirit gives us the ability to have confidence, patience, and strength to endure anything. Today in the funeral the key scripture came from 2 Corinthians 5:1-9. The key verses are 5-8a. This is the NRSV translation.

"He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always confident: even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord--for we walk by faith, not be sight. Yes we do have confidence."

When we talk about the Spirit and when we may feel discouraged remember that both in Hebrew and Greek (ruah or pneuma)means not only spirit but breath and wind. So to help remind us of the guarantee take time to take a deep breath, go outside and feel the wind upon your body. Realize that the Spirit of the Lord has descended upon you.
God bless.