http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/ en shamstra@livinghopeforwhatmatters.org Copyright 2010 2010-07-29T13:34:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/when-a-priest-trumps-a-king/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/when-a-priest-trumps-a-king/#When:13:34:00Z One of the benefits of a One Year Bible is that it leads me to very interesting stories in Scripture that I might otherwise overlook. Today I experienced that benefit in the story of Joash the king and Jehoida the priest (II Chronicles 24-25). Here are a few excerpts: "Joash was seven years old when he become king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years... He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years of Jehoida the priest." "When Jehoida was old and full of years, and he died at the age of 130. He was buried with the kings in the city of David, because of the good he had done in Israel for God and his temple." After Jehoida's death, the people "abandoned the temple of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and worshiped Asherah poles and idols." "Joash died and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings."  So, Jehoida the priest, who greatly influenced the kingdom through his relationship with Joash, was buried as a king.  But Joash, the king, was not buried with the kings.  In between the first and last excerpt there is a nice story illustrating the value of voluntary offerings of financial gifts versus compulsory. Check it out. 2010-07-29T13:34:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/another-swap-of-spies/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/another-swap-of-spies/#When:13:36:01Z "Spies who had been facing years of incarceration in the US and Russia came in from the cold (this past Friday) as they traveled in opposite directions around the globe.” Ten headed eastward to Moscow and four, who had been in detention in Russia, began journeys to new lives in the West. “The extraordinary exchange unfolded... after all 10 spies, whose deep-cover ring had been blown open by US authorities nearly two weeks ago, pled guilty in a court in New York to operating illegally as agents of a foreign country.” So wrote Shaun Walker in Moscow and David Usborne in New York in an article entitled "US-Russia spy swap under way after deep-cover agents admit guilt.” The article was posted on July 9, 2010 in The Independent World. Last week's exchange of spies reminded me of another that took place on October 11, 1963. On that day, the State Department swapped two accused Soviet agents for two Americans convicted and imprisoned on espionage charges. One of those Americans was Rev. Walter Ciszek, of Shenandoah, PA, a Jesuit missionary arrested in the USSR in 1941. This Polish-American pastor, who voluntarily chose to leave the comfort and peace of this country to spread the Gospel in Russia, spent 23 agonizing years in Soviet prisons and labor camps of Siberia. During his time in prison, Father Ciszek (1904-1984) experienced a remarkable spiritual journey which he documents in two books, With God in Russia and He Leadeth Me. Not sure who led me to the latter book, but I thank the Lord someone recommended it to me.  And now I recommend it to you. In He Leadeth Me, Ciszek describes his spiritual journey while in prison. Here is a portion of his testimony (pages 76-78):   I had always trusted in God. I had always tried to find his will, to see his providence at work. I had always seen my life and my destiny as guided by his will. At some moments more consciously than at others, I had been aware of his promptings, his call, his promises, his grace. At times of crises, especially, I had tried to discover his will and to follow it to the best of my ability.  But, I had retained in my own hands the reins of all decisions, actions, and endeavors...I remained in essence the master of my own destiny. (page 76)   What (the Lord) wanted was for me to let go of the reins and place myself entirely at his disposal. He was asking of me an act of total trust, allowing for no interference or restless striving on my part, no reservations, no exceptions, no areas where I could set conditions or seem to hesitate.  He was asking a gift of self, nothing held back. (Such a move) demanded faith in God’s existence, in his providence, in his concern for the minutest detail, in his power to sustain me, and in his love protecting me. It meant losing the last hidden doubt, the ultimate fear that God (would not be there to bear me up).   I had talked of trusting him, indeed I truly had trusted him, but never in the sense of abandoning all other sources of support and relying on his grace alone. Only when I had reached a point of total bankruptcy of my own powers had I at last surrendered. (page 78)   I am not sure we ever fully surrender to the Lord or totally abandon ourselves to his mercy and grace. I know I haven't.  It seems like I am constantly holding on to a trump card, one by which I can get myself out of any mess. Still, I hope, by God's grace, to make the way from talking about trust to living by trust, and to do so, hopefully, without the need for a jail cell. Finally, it is nice to know that the United States government swapped spies for a Christian missionary, though I wonder why it took twenty-three years.  Faith, Personal 2010-07-14T13:36:01-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/a-church-of-stories/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/a-church-of-stories/#When:03:59:00Z I love stories. My favorite songwriters share why they wrote the song. My sister spent a year in the Dominican Republic, teaching during the day and playing dominoes over shared pots of rice at night; she recounts the conversations in great detail. One of my best friends from college just travelled with his brothers for two weeks throughout Europe, and wore one suit the whole trip. I can listen to each of these people for hours. Truly, everyone loves a good story. I would argue the most universally enjoyable form of communication is story. It’s not telling facts, propositional truths or debating. It’s story, because while those other forms tend to divide, story invites people in. A man asks Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus says, “A man was walking on a road to Jericho.” If Jesus uses another method the inquisitor can argue that a Samaritan cannot be his neighbor. But he won’t argue that a man was walking on a road to Jericho.We get stories. A few years back my heart was broken for those experiencing homelessness in my community. A group of us went to the downtown area with blankets, hats, bags and gift cards to share conversation and material goods, all in the name of Jesus. I held onto this experience (more appropriately, it held onto me) and wrote a song. Weeks later, at a coffee shop, I played that song. I didn’t know how to convince my unfamiliar audience that we need to take care of people and that Jesus loves the world. But I didn’t have to. I told that story. And I played that song. You’d be surprised how many strangers said they wanted to do what we were doing. We believe there is hope for what matters in life. But if we don’t have stories that communicate that truth, it may not be true. At least not to those who need hope the most. Each fourth Sunday at Living Hope is testimony Sunday. The faux bearskin rug is laid by the proverbial fireplace and we listen to the echoes of God’s Grand Story in the smaller voices of our congregation. Some months there is much to say. Some months there isn’t. My prayer is that we will be a church that tells stories. That we will speak echoes of God's Grand Story. That strangers will hear our words and want to do what we are doing. And that in hearing these echoes of the greatest story ever told, they will sense the invitation. How can we as a church community echo the Grand Story?How do you see God moving in your life? (Is it in subtle hints or commanding shouts?)What thoughts/ideas sprung up as you read this? Recommended reading: A Million Miles In a Thousand Years or Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller; The Acts of the Apostles (It's in the Bible... near the back) Church and Culture 2010-07-08T03:59:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/what/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/what/#When:21:54:00Z Not sure why, but this past Sunday I cut a page out of my sermon.  Perhaps I wanted to leave time for the testimonies which followed, even though all but one were NOT planned. Perhaps I was afraid to drive the point home, afraid to offend someone. Whatever the reason, I thought the blog would provide a venue to deliver that  which I failed to deliver this past Sunday. Here it is: Friends, Pentecost was the greatest event that ever took place in the history of the church. As a scholar named Powell once wrote, "It was a cataclysmic occurrence, which in all its details happened only once. It had never happened before; it has never happened since. In all its details, this amazing, thrilling manifestation of the divine Spirit has never been repeated."  Yet, while we should not expect a repetition of Pentecost, we may expect the perpetuation of Pentecost. And, as A.W. Tozer once noted, "there is a vast difference between the two." Surely, the external elements of Pentecost are not repeatable.  We will never again get the entire Christian church in one place at one time. We do not have any reports of the Holy Spirit coming through a congregation with the sound of rushing wind.  We do not have any verified accounts of 120 people sitting in a room speaking foreign languages that they never studied.  But the internal elements of Pentecost remain, the most important of which are the Presence of the Holy Spirit and Power for ministry. How we need both the Spirit's presence and power, for a pew is still a pew, even when there’s no one sitting there. But a pew is not a sanctuary and a sanctuary is not a church when there’s no God present to comfort you and when there’s no God to empower you. So, let’s ask the Holy Spirit to make this house, this congregation, his home and make his presence known today, as he did then. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to empower us for ministry and mission in the name of Jesus. A couple years ago, I began sharing a vision that the Lord had given me for a specific kind of congregation in the southwest suburbs, one which included people from many tribes and nations, one which affirmed the evangelical faith and was open to the full-working of the Holy Spirit, one which affirmed ministry, not just by men with degrees, but by all gifted by the Holy Spirit, both men and women, one that reaches out with a gospel of hope for all that matters in life. God has given us a good start. God has given us a small but dynamic, multi-ethnic fellowship with a vibrant mission to college students. But, I thought we would have a few more people by now. I never envisioned a mega-church, but thought that God might grant us a congregation, representing many tribes and nations, that could not only be financially self-supporting, but establish a dynamic outreach, to students from every college in the area. But if that is to happen, we will need the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Who are we? Like the apostles, we are a motley crew of folk trying, in spite of ourselves, to be faithful followers of Jesus. The fulfillment of our vision does not rest in human competency or slick programs but in the power of God, resting upon us. So, invite you to join me in praying for the perpetuation of Pentecost. Pray that the Holy Spirit will make this house his home and make his presence known. 2010-05-25T21:54:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/roots-by-julianne-woodroof/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/roots-by-julianne-woodroof/#When:02:42:00Z Trinity Christian College student, Julianne Woodroof, recently wrote a poem entitled "Roots." She read it during Living  Hope's May 16 gathering. You may listen to is by clicking here, and you may also read it:      she is beautiful branches dripping with glossy leaves boasting blooming flowers bowed low with the weight of her beauty   serene and still, glowing softly in morning springtime sun   no hint of the rot that lies beneath, creeping even now up the trunk of this so praised tree but it comes silently stealing the sweet water that would nourish those frail roots all while slyly, oh so cunningly praising the outward beauty product of a hidden brokenness   and her neighbors? they flock to see the display! utterly in awe of such charming little buds and delicate fragrance secretly wishing to be so lovely hoping against hope that none will know of the rot that lies within their bones wishing to be so true as this one divine wonder never wilting, ever budding forgetting what it is to thrive in the unending pursuit of what is perceived   the graceful, lovely tree begins to droop under the weight of her own exhaustive pretense she feels the ache within, but none can know. she sees they do not struggle ever fruitful never fading always in season with their song   no. She must hide. She must be grafted into one of those stronger ones Her own root, which has gone deep with pride and earnestness, has no grip on the soil which might have brought life But as she bows lower and lower still, appearing to be graceful but so dry her branches groan and snap   she sees   roots   thick, gnarly roots of tall pines and oaks are intertwined those trees that she has always despised how could they thrive? standing so tall and ordinary, unchanging with the times, wearing scars that show their age and the storms that have shaped them?   could it be that they are more alive than she?   and from this low place, bent nearly upside down, dizzy with the weight of her own pride she sees   roots the mass of them, stretching across a whole forest strengthening the grove patiently lovingly together nourishing one another by sharing in their weight for this network of roots does require something of its members, a vulnerability that exposes the weariness and age within the struggle and scar and fear and ache of life lived in a not-yet world but these groans for a new kingdom are sung together   and   so it comes by these roots waving wildly in the upside-down hope of a new reality   where none need hide and grace breathes life         2010-05-13T02:42:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/prayer-asthma/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/prayer-asthma/#When:16:47:00Z If praying is like breathing, I have prayer asthma. Sometimes I breathe just fine. I can stretch out my arms, open my mouth wide, and breathe in the goodness of the world. But sometimes, in certain seasons, I'm coughing, weezing, gasping. Can you relate? I've been gasping lately. In fact, several people I know have. Not only gasping for breath because of the unusually high pollen this season. But also for God's presence, because of the unusually high busyness of life. It seems that prayer asthma is impartial. You can be a pastor, layperson, worship leader, college student, seasoned or newly initiated Christian. It doesn't really matter. Prayer asthma is also caused by several roots. Maybe you've never learned how to pray. Or, maybe you've been taught prayer over and over and over again, and now you're frustrated thinking, "Will I ever get this right?" It's discouraging, eh? I know it is for me. But are you and me the only ones that have this issue? Is there any hope to draw in fresh breath freely, instead of weezing? Take heart. There is hope. It's comforting to hear these words, "Lord, teach us how to pray." (Lk 11:1) The disciples, like many of us, saw a man of prayer and figured, "Hey, maybe he can help my prayer asthma. I'm strugglin here." I was encouraged this past week at Pastor Sam's home, when about a half-dozen of us confessed that we have prayer asthma. We gathered together to be taught about prayer, to be encouraged in ways to pray, and most importantly, to spend time in prayer. That gathering was a deep breath from an inhaler, opening up the blocked passages, reminding me what it feels like to breathe. I think the most important thing I learned that night is that we, like the disciples, shouldn't be embarrassed if we don't know how to pray. Those following Christ, 2,000 years ago or today, can still humbly ask that question, one alongside the other: "Teach us how to pray." We'll be continuing this group for the next three weeks. If you think you might have prayer asthma, come on out. I know I'm breathing easier. 2010-05-08T16:47:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/discipleship-according-to-joshua/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/discipleship-according-to-joshua/#When:20:36:00Z A bunch of books have been written and sermons preached about discipleship, but Joshua offers a description that may be as good as any other. One day he called out the Reubenites, the Gadites, and but half of the tribe of Manasseh. Once assembled, he encouraged them to follow the Lord with these words: "Love the Lord your God, walk in all his ways, obey his commands, hold fast to him, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul" (Joshua 22:5).  Seems like the kind of admonition one might expect from a general who had led God's people to military victory and the eventual conquest of the promised land. No mention of the spiritual disciples of solitude, meditation, prayer, fasting, and the like. Of course, we should not argue from silence that they are unimportant, but their absence surely highlights the thrust of Joshua's message. For him, like the Apostle James centuries later, one's status as a child of God shapes that person's life. Faith, in other words, results in actions like obedience to God's will and service in His name. Joshua wouldn't even allow the possibility for a person to claim to be a child of God without such works.  Nor should we. Yes, we are saved by grace through faith, but the faith that saves works. It loves, walks, obeys, holds fast, and serves.  However, we do have something the Reubenites and the gang didn't have: the Holy Spirit!  Those folk eventually fell away from the Lord, and so would we except for the Holy Spirit.  So, it is by grace through faith we are saved and by grace through faith we are sustained! Faith, Personal 2010-04-21T20:36:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/confession-of-sin-as-praise/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/confession-of-sin-as-praise/#When:16:55:00Z In today's reading from the One Year Bible, Joshua discovers that Achan violated the covenant of the Lord.  He offers Achan the opportunity to confess his sins with these words: "Give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and give him praise. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me" (Joshua 7:19).  Then Achan confesses his sin and endures his punishment. My reading of that verse follows a conversation I shared last night with seminarians about the importance of a prayer of confession in the weekly liturgy of the gathered community. We talked about our hope that the liturgy creates and sustains a humble but confident people and, that one way to reach that goal is for the liturgy to include a prayer of confession, followed by words of assurance of our forgiveness. Our conversation also included discussion about the placement of the prayer of confession in the service. We agreed that it may fit at the beginning of a service as an opening prayer or later in the service as part of the "Prayer for God's People." We also hinted at the possibility that the confession of sin might be a form of praise, alluding to the description of Isaiah's memorable encounter with God where the sight and sounds of a Holy God lead him to cry out "I am a man of unclean lips!" (Isaiah 6:1-13) Today's reading clearly describes confession of sin as a form of praise. And, were it not for passages like this one, who would have thought that we could glorify God by confessing how we have failed Him? We might think that the disclosure of our failures as followers of Jesus would discredit the Lord, that our sins would somehow diminish his glory, if not in our minds, surely in the minds of others. But according to Joshua, that is not the case.  Following Joshua's line of thought (as well as of David), we may conclude that we may give God praise when we sing of his glory, when we "raise 'em and praise Him," when we clap our hands to the Lord, when we shout "Hallelujah," or when we describe his marvelous attributes.  But, according to Joshua, we also give God praise when we confess our sins. Not sure how that is, for it contradicts so much of my thinking in other areas of life. but I am sure of it.  Worship 2010-04-13T16:55:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/who-names-a-son-judas/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/who-names-a-son-judas/#When:16:07:01Z Who names a son "Judas"?  The answer is clear: No one! Yet, who names a son "Peter"?  The answer is just as clear: a whole lot of people. Why would we never name a son "Judas," but choose to name a son "Peter"? Both men were apostles of Jesus Christ. Both men left all to follow Christ. Both men held positions of influence among the apostles. Both men witnessed wondrous miracles and heard amazing teachings. Furthermore, both men betrayed Jesus. Judas took a bribe and arranged for the arrest and eventual crucifixion of Jesus. Similarly, after Jesus was arrested, Peterdenied that he ever knew him. Philip Yancey, in The Jesus I Never Knew, describes the important difference between the two apostles. Judas, he writes, was "remorseful but apparently unrepentant." Yancey concludes that Judas "accepted the logical consequences of his deed, took his own life, and went down as the greatest traitor in history. He died unwilling to receive what Jesus had come to offer him" (196). Peter, in contrast, was "humiliated but still open to Jesus’ message of grace and forgiveness." He "went on to lead a revival in Jerusalem and did not stop until he reached Rome" where we gave up his life for the Lord. The difference between the two, then, was not their faithfulness or lack of faithfulness to the teachings of Christ but their faith or lack of faith in the grace of Christ. So now the name "Judas" is used derogatorily to describe someone who betrays another, while the name "Peter," reminds all that there is hope for what matters in life. Faith, Personal 2010-04-01T16:07:01-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/who-can-hear-and-live/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/who-can-hear-and-live/#When:16:46:00Z The One Year Bible recently brought me to the book of Deuteronomy (a book I would seldom, if ever, read without the encouragement of the One Year Bible).  In Deuteronomy 5:23-27 I found these words of Moses to God's people, words by which he describes the reception of the Ten Commandments: "When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, all the leading men of your tribes and elders came to me. And you said, 'The Lord our God has shown us his glory and his majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a man can live even if God speaks with him. But now, why should we die? This great fire will consume us, and we will die if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer. For what mortal man has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the fire, as we have, and survived'?" Centuries later, the apostle Paul wrote these words to the church of the Thessalonians: "We thank God continually because, when you received the word of God,l which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe" (I Thessalonians 2:13). What happened between the time of Moses and the time of Paul that changed the Word of God from that which destroys to that which is at work giving life to all who believe? How is that we now hear the voice of the living God and, not only survive, but thrive? Clearly, the pivotal event was the crucifxion of Jesus Christ. It was there that his voice cried out of the darkness, "It is finished."  It was from the small Mount of Calvary God the Father spoke to us through His Word, Jesus Christ. And the word he spoke in the midst of death, as we discover on Easter, was life.  Faith, Personal 2010-03-30T16:46:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/the-privilege-of-preaching/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/the-privilege-of-preaching/#When:18:48:00Z Just over twenty-nine years ago, I preached my second funeral as a pastor. The first was, as pastors like to say, "easy." I led a memorial service for an aged saint who died peacefully and quickly in the Lord. The second was a "tragedy" (the word we use for an untimely death), the funeral of a teenager who died in a snowmobile accident. It was during that memorial service I embraced my identity as a pastor-preacher.  Up to that point I resented God's call upon my life to be a preacher. My dream was a career in baseball, most likely as a coach. But it was clear to me that the Lord had other plans. So, I heard and followed Christ's call to be a pastor, kicking and screaming along the way. Early on, while still in seminary, I preached a sermon before my home church. Afterward, my mother, proud as a peacock, asked "Now, wasn't that better than hitting a home run!" to which I responded, "No." I still remember the look of disappointment on her face but, then again, clearly she had never hit a home run with a wood bat!  A couple years later, after leading my second funeral service, I would answer that question differently.  For it was then that I came to realize that there is no greater privilege than preaching the Gospel in the face of death. For me, anyway, it trumps hitting a home run.     2010-03-29T18:48:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/the-end-of-a-54-year-streak/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/the-end-of-a-54-year-streak/#When:17:51:01Z The more I think about it, the more remarkable it becomes. My dad never missed a Christmas with his family. As a result, I enjoyed fifty-four Christmas Days with my father. Take a snap shot of each Christmas day in my life and you will find my dad (as well as my mom). He never missed one with me, nor I with him - until this year for my dad passed away on April 26, 2009. A fifty-four year streak came to an end. This past year's celebration of Christmas did not include snapshots of my dad. There are no Christmas 2009 pictures of my dad passing out Christmas gifts to his grandkids, devouring a meal faster than every one in the room, poking the rear-ends of his grandkids with his cane, or sitting quietly in a chair watching his family and smiling in such a way that spoke volumes.  Perhaps that explains the aching in my heart which began roughly six days before Christmas, my dad’s birthday, and lasted into the New Year. Perhaps that explains my fragile emotions which had me teetering near tears at unexpected moments throughout the Advent and Christmas seasons. Looking back, I was pretty much an emotional basket case. Of course, it didn't help that other realities added to my emotional roller coaster, such as the safe homecoming of a son from a year in Afghanistan, the birth and presence of my first grandchild, and the immenence of Debbie & me becoming empty nesters. The loss of my father, accompanied by the depth of my emotions during this past holiday season, spoke to me on many levels. Suffice to say at this point: it reminded me that, while Christ is the reason for the season, Christmas, in America anyway, is by and large a time to celebrate the gift of family. I have to admit that the constant refrain of "Jesus is the reason for the season," didn't do much for me. Maybe its just me, but the joy which accompanies my celebration doesn't flow so much from the remembrance of Christ's birth, as it does from my cache of memories of Christmas past with those I love, and a corresponding hope for significant time with family during those Christmases yet to come. And I am okay with that. As I preacher, I have probably preached a sermon or two which suggested that the of the birth of the Messiah should be the primary mover and shaper of our hearts during the Advent-Christmas season. But the loss of my father caused me to realize that the celebration of Christmas has many layers, the thickest of which is memories celebrating Christmas with family. Now that my wife and I are are "empty nesters," as well as grandparents, we already look forward to Christmas 2010 when, by God's grace, we will gather one more time as a family to celebrate, not only Christ's birth, but our love for one another. By God’s grace, I can look back over my life and conclude that, because of the presence of family, "Christmas is a most wonderful time of the year." So, I am done lamenting the commercialism of the season, the sappy and sentimental seasonal songs which speak of everything but Christ, and the sanitization of the humiliation of Jesus Christ.  I will admit that "Christmas is a most wonderful time of the year," even for those without Christ. But I look forward to Holy Week when the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus hold the center space on the stage - and in my heart.  2010-03-22T17:51:01-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/whats-up-with-this/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/whats-up-with-this/#When:15:52:00Z This past Sunday my sermon series - His Journey. Your Life. - brought me to Luke 4:14-30, where we find Jesus going home to Nazareth to speak in the synagogue on Sabbath day. All began well enough. Jesus stood, as was the custom when reading scripture, and opened a scroll to Isaiah 61:1-2, where he read these words: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." He then rolled up the scroll, handed it to the attendant, and sat down to teach, as was also the custom. He began with good news - "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." All spoke well of him and were amazed at his words. It seems they were pretty excited to have the "son of Joseph" as a prophet. Perhaps they envisioned special blessings from one of their own. Then, for some reason, Jesus chose to push the buttons of his home congregation. Scholars have been debating for years what he actually said and why it raised a ruckus, but it did! The people, who moments earlier praised him, got up and drove Jesus out of town. They pushed him all the way to the brow of the hill on which Nazareth was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. In time, however, Jesus walked right through the crowd and went on his way. Remarkably, all this took place on the Sabbath with folk who, as many like to say, "gathered to worship and departed to serve." Well, they gathered and then departed to serve by attempting to kill Jesus. This would be the first of many rejections. In fact, his life, as foretold by the prophet Isaiah (53:3), was defined by rejection. As Philip Yancey wrote in The Jesus I Never Knew, "His neighbors laughed at him, his family questioned his sanity, his closest friends betrayed him, and his countrymen traded his life for that of a terrorist" (160). What's up with this story from His Journey? How does it inform your life and mine? Some day we will be able to ask Jesus why he chose to rile up the hometown folks, but until then, we may glean an important lesson for life from his journey to Nazareth: when called by God to speak the truth, we may experience rejection from a most-unlikely source - those who profess faith in the Lord! That lessons breaks easily into three parts. First, we may, like Jesus, be called by God to speak the truth into a particular context and, as the apostle Paul notes, will seek to do so in love (Ephesians 4:15). Of course, that's not as easy as it sounds for we, when given the opportunity to speak truth in love, especially the kind of truth that might disturb or disappoint a person or two, choose harmony over truth. Such an approach minimizes threats to our emotional health, as well as our sterling reputation, while allowing us to hold our job or place in society.  Second, when we speak the truth in love, we may experience rejection. This is as Jesus promised (John 15:18-20). Thank the Lord that rejection doesn't accompany every offering of truth in love. Occasionally, a person or a group of people receive truth with appreciation, in the same way they receive a disturbing, but accurate, diagnosis from a oncologist. But often those who receive the truth, motivated most-likely by pride, react with violence. It should be noted, however, that the cause of rejection is the revelation of truth, not the behavior of the one speaking the truth.  Third, and this is the kicker, the rejection comes, not from the pagans, who typically ignore the truth. but from the religious who profess faith in the truth. Notice that it was those who professed faith in God who rejected the gift of God, and, even today, it is those who profess faith in Christ who reject followers of Christ who have been called by Christ to speak truth with love into their lives. It is safe to predict that, in time, every Christ-follower learns that the bitterest opposition to the work of Christ and the movement of the Holy Spirit comes from those who profess faith in Christ but lack the presence of the Spirit in their lives. If it weren't for this periscope in the life of Jesus, as recorded by the apostle Luke, we might ask, "What up with this?" But having been forwarned by Luke, we ask instead that the Lord grant us courage to speak the truth in love and the grace to endure the consequences. Faith, Personal 2010-02-11T15:52:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/i-call-you-friend/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/i-call-you-friend/#When:23:13:00Z The creation stories in Genesis 1 & 2 of the Bible teach us many basic truths, including this one: we were created to live as communal, not solitary, creatures. Created in the image of a Triune God who enjoys eternal fellowship, we were created to enjoy relationships with other human beings. Toward that end, God has graced our lives with a variety of relationships, including friendships. Years ago author James Sparks, in his book Friendship After Forty, identified four types of friendships. First, he identified those friends we may call acquaintances. If you were to throw a stone into the water, he suggested, and watch the multitude of ripples flow out from its impact, the outer ring of ripples would represent the large circle of acquaintances that touch our lives.  He noted that our relationships with these people are often superficial and momentary. Second, he noticed that there are many people we may call situational friends. These are the people with whom we interact at work, at the health club, at church, and in the neighborhood. This group is smaller than that of our acquaintances. We generally know these people by name. A handful our relationships with situational friends may develop into something deeper. But, for the most part, if it were not for the situation that brings us together, we would not go out of our way to see these people. Third, there are sentimental friends, those close associates of years long past. These friends usually last forever. We write them every Christmas. From time to time we talk by phone or communicate by mail - and, if they are on Facebook, we have befriended them. We see these friends on special occasions, such as a weddings, funerals, or annual reunions. Finally, there is a small but special group of individuals who are closest to our hearts: our special or true friends. Such people are one of the sweetest blessings in life. They know everything about us - all our faults and shortcomings - and they still love us. They accept us as we are but don't let us settle for being anything less than everything we can possibly be. I thought about Spark's four types of friendships while reading John 15. In that chapter we read these words by Jesus to his beloved apostles: "I no longer call you servants.... I have called you friends!"  Those words prompted this question: What kind of friend is Jesus? Of the four categories offered by Sparks, only one, it seems, fits the Lord: a true friend. That conclusion seems even more appropriate after reading Jesus' description of his friendship with the apostles. He identifies at least four qualities of his special friendship with them: 1. Sacrifice - Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this: that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). 2. Intimacy - Jesus said, ""I have called you friends for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you" (John 15:15). 3. Initiative - Jesus said, "You did not choose me, but I chose you" (John 15:16). 4. Productivity - Jesus said, "You are my friends if you do what I command" (John 15:14). In a sermon I develop this further and explore our vocation of friendship, suggesting that if we hope to befriend Christ, as well as others, then our relationships with Christ and those we consider our true friends will reflect the qualities of Christ’s friendship with us. (If you want to listen to it, you will find it here under the header "Living Hope Sermons 'General'"). But here and now, I thank the Lord that he came to this earth, not just to be my Savior and Lord, but my friend. As the old hymn writer put it, "What a friend we have in Jesus." Personal 2010-02-06T23:13:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/a-christmas-prayer/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/a-christmas-prayer/#When:16:17:00Z Our Father in heaven, what shall we render to You for the Gift of gifts, Your own dear Son, begotten, not created, our Redeemer, Substitute. Herein is wonder of wonders: He came below to raise us above, was born like us that we might become like Him. Herein is love; when we cannot rise to Him, He draws near on wings of grace, to raise us to Himself. O God, take us in spirit to the watchful shepherds, and enlarge our minds; let us hear good tidings of great joy, and hearing, believe, rejoice, praise, adore, our consciences bathed in an ocean of repose, our eyes uplifted to You our Father. Place us with the ox, donkey, camel and goat to look with them upon our Redeemer's face, and in Him account ourselves delivered from sin; let us with Simeon clasp the new-born Child to our hearts, embrace Him with undying faith, exulting that He is ours and we are His. In Christ, You have give us so much that heaven can give no more. For this we bless Your holy name!   AMEN.  (adapted from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotion, edited by Arthur G. Bennett, 16). Personal, Prayer 2009-12-18T16:17:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/why-go-to-church/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/why-go-to-church/#When:19:45:00Z Many people want God but aren't so sure - or are real sure - that they don't want the local church. That's understandable. Carlo Caretto, the great Italian spiritual writer, spoke for many of us when he wrote these words: "How much I must criticize you, my church and yet how much I love you. How you have made me to suffer and yet how much I owe you. I should like to see you destroyed and yet I need your presence. You have given me so much scandal and yet you have made me understand holiness." (I Sought and I Found, 135). There are moments in our spiritual journey when we experience that which Caretto describes. In response, we may give up on the local church and opt for a detached form of Christianity. We may opt, for example, for a super-market form of the faith whereby we shop here and there to receive spiritual nourishment from a number of sources. We will receive teaching from a book and preaching from a person on the television. We will get our music from the radio and a little bit more from our CD's. We will find Christian fellowship with like-minded individuals who share a passion for a particular mission field or a certain form of service. We will find just about everything we think we need to grow into the likeness of Christ without the politics and problems associated with the Body of Christ. All that begs the question, "Why go to church?" What do you tell your friends or your children who do not go but wonder why you do? Why might you consider going if you are not going? Ronald Rolheiser raises those questions in his book The Holy Longing: The Search for Christian Spirituality (New York:Doubleday, 1999). Here is his comprehensive ninefold response. Perhaps it will speak to you, as it did to me: Because, as social creatures, it is not good to be alone; To take my rightful place humbly within the family of humanity (and so give up elitism); Because God calls me there; To dispel my fantasies about myself for, in the church, we will be confronted where we most need challenge;  Because 10,000 saints have told me so; To help others carry their struggles and to have them help me carry mine; To dream with others (and, together with them, make a difference in the world); To practice for heaven where we will gather for worship with people from every tribe and nation; and For the pure joy it... because it is heaven. Church and Culture 2009-11-23T19:45:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/why-pray/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/why-pray/#When:15:34:00Z Why pray? I tried to answer that question in my sermon this past Sunday. In that message I offered five reasons to pray, though given time, I would have added one more to the list. So, here are my six reasons to pray, although I am guessing there may be more: Because prayer is natural for human beings created in the image of a Triune God.  As St. Augustine said better than anyone: Our hearts are restless until they find rest in God. This explains why wherever you find people, you find religion, and wherever you find religion, you find prayer. Because prayer is our privilege as children of God, who through faith in Christ have been made priests (I Peter 2:9) and, as such, have  been granted the opportunity to approach the throne of grace with confidence. Because God commands us to pray; it is our obligation to be "faithful in prayer" (Romans 12:12).  Because prayer provides a great opportunity to thank the Lord for his goodness and grace (Psalm 116:12,17). Because prayer affords an opportunity to seek and receive God's blessing in our lives (Matthew 7:7-12). Because prayer is our life as the beloved of God.  As communication characterizes every healthy human relationship, so continuous prayer (I Thessalonians 5:17) reflects a healthy relationship between the Lover and the beloved. Prayer 2009-11-18T15:34:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/what-is-death/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/what-is-death/#When:15:20:00Z I came across The Marks of God's Children by a sixteen-century Dutch Calvinist pastor named Jean Taffin, who wrote during a season of persecution upon Protestant Christians in that part of the world now known as the Netherlands. This book, which reads like a pastor's manual, offers encouragement to believers wrestling with the tough questions of the faith: Why suffering? Where is God in all this? Why hasn't God answered my prayers? How can I be assured that I am a child of God? And more. In one chapter, entitled "Perseverance in Persecution," Taffin offers this moving description of death, one that surely encouraged many a believer to hold fast the faith, that comforted many others mourning the loss of loved ones who chose death with Christ over life without him, and affirms for all that there is hope for what matters in life: If we are summoned to die for the name of the Lord Jesus, what is death except the victory after a lengthy warfare? This death is the birth of a blessed soul after hard labor pains. It is the longed-for heaven after fearsome thunderstorms. It is the end of a dangerous and painful journey. It is the healing of every wound and disease. It is the deliverance from all fear and terror. It is the perfecting of our sanctification. It is the gateway into paradise. It is the taking posession of the Father's inheritance. It is the day of our wedding feast with the Lamb and the fulfillment of all our desires. Who of us will not exclaim with Paul when we feel the bondage of sin, "What a wretched man I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death" (Romans 7:24)? And who will not, when taking hold of the gift that death brings, also say with the apostle, "I desire to depart and be with Christ" (Philippians 1:23)? The death with which God threatened man in paradise is to experience God's wrath in body and soul because of sin. That is why death and life are twins. What we ordinarily call death is nothing more than the last blow that death can give us. Life here is a continual dying, and to call that the true life is a serious mistake. Death is the end of a thousand deaths and the beginning of true life. Faith 2009-11-10T15:20:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/afraid-to-preach/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/afraid-to-preach/#When:15:02:00Z From time to time, I come across writings that prompt fear about preaching, like Jeremiah's words to the prophets kicking around Jerusalem: "I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied" (Jeremiah 23:21). Then, in words which suggest things haven't changed much over the last 2,500 years, the Lord says through Jeremiah, "I have heard what the preachers say who speak in my name. They say 'I had a dream!' How long will this continue: preachers prophesying the delusions of their own minds." If those words aren't clear enough, Jeremiah added this punch line: "You must not mention the oracle of the Lord again, because every man's own word becomes his oracle and you distort the words of the living God, the Lord Almighty, our God" (v36).  And, if that's not enough motivation for prophets/preachers to get in right, the Lord pronounced the following judgment upon those who speak their own words, instead of those of God: "I will surely forget you and cast you out of my presence" (v39). Words like those, it seems to me, prompt any preacher to think twice before preaching. Why even speak if one of the outcomes is being cast out of God's presence?  Plus, who I am to think I will get it right when all those Old Testament preachers messed up? Finally, how can I be certain that my sermons represent God's Word and not a delusion created by my own mind?  Thankfully, Jeremiah offers some hope for those who must preach: "If the prophets (preachers) had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words to my people" (Jeremiah 23:22). "Stood in my council?"  Here Jeremiah encourages me, and all who dare to speak in the name of the Lord, that we should hang out with the Lord, stand in his council, sit in his presence, ruminate over His words, reflect on his thoughts. When I try to flesh-out those words, it seems to me like a pretty straight-forward call to spend sufficient time in the study, not just the streets, to fellowship with God, not just His people, to allow myself to be managed by God before seeking to manage others. Even then, though, I feel the need for some serious grace to relieve the fear that, in spite of my best efforts, I will screw up and preach my delusions instead of the Word of the Lord. God help me and all who dare speak in the name of the Lord. But that's not all. Looking again at Jeremiah, I discover another source of fear, for when Jeremiah preached the Word of the Lord, in all of its fulness, the people wanted to kill him. In Jeremiah 26:8 we read, "As soon as Jeremiah finished telling all the people everything the Lord had commanded him to say, the priests, the prophets and all the people seized him and said, 'You must die!'" That's a pretty intense response to the Word, the possibility of which might discourage many a preacher to back off from declaring the Word of the Lord.  So here's the take-away from Jeremiah's experience: preaching can be a no-win situation. If I dilute the sermon with distortions and delusions, I must answer to the Lord. If I speak the Word of the Lord, the people may slander me while kicking me out of town. Seems like the best option is to not preach and, thereby, not risk those consequences. Yet, I keep preaching. Why? I can identify but one good answer to that question, one reason for any preacher to stand behind a pulpit and dare speak a word in the name of the Lord; that being "the call." Yep, when all is said and done, the primary motivation for preaching is not to change lives, provide leadership, make the world a better place, gain power and prestige, follow in someone's footsteps, or make a good living. It is simply God's call.  Personally, I just can't escape the convicton that, like it or not, afraid or not, the Lord has called and equipped me for this task. Were it not for "the call," I would surely be doing something else with my life, something with much less risk.   Church and Culture, Worship 2009-10-16T15:02:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/church-a-motley-crew/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/church-a-motley-crew/#When:14:29:00Z A friend recently pointed me to The Holy Longing: The Search For A Christian Spirituality by Ronald Rolheiser, a contemporary Roman Catholic author who writes for those followers of Jesus who struggle with following Jesus. In this book, Rolheiser, among other things, writes about the current struggle with spirituality, as well as some of its essentials. In the process, he pens a chapter entitled "A Spirituality of Eccesiology." In this chapter, he speaks to my situation as the pastor of a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-generational, multi-everything kind of a church by challenging the assumption that the weekly gathering of a local congregation should be a fellowship of like-minded individuals, coming together on the basis of mutual compatibility (pg 114). "Gathering as church," writes Rolheiser, "has little or nothing to do with liking each other or finding others with whom we are mutually compatible. The group of disciples that first gathered around Jesus were not individuals who were mutually compatible at all. They came from very different backgrounds and temperaments, had different visions of what Jesus was all about, were jealous of each other, and were, as scripture tells us, occasionally furious with each other. They loved each other, in the biblical meaning of that phrase, but they did not necessarily like each other... and that is what it means to be church."  Rolheiser continues: Too often we are disappointed in church because we find there such a diverse and motley collection of persons, some of whom do not like us and whom we would never pick to be our friends. We go to church looking for friendship or ideological soulmates and, often, do not find them. This does not necessarily mean that there is something wrong with the church, merely that we have false expectations. To be in apostolic community, church, is not necessarily to be with others with whom we are emotionally, ideologically, and otherwise compatible. Rather it is to stand, shoulder to shoulder and hand in hand, precisely with people who are very different from ourselves and, with them, hear a common word, say a common creed, share a common bread, and offer a mutual forgiveness so as, in that way, to bridge our differences and become a common heart. Church is not about a few like-minded persons getting together for mutual support; it is about millions and millions of different kinds of persons transcending their differences so as to become a community beyond temperament, race, ideology, gender, language, and background (pg 115). As Living Hope Church, a diverse-by-design congregation, celebrated its first anniversary this past Sunday, I witnessed some of what Rolheiser writes about. The unique collection of individuals that God has brought together to be his localized bride is a motley crew. Our small congregation claims at least nine nations of birth and people from various parts of this country. It includes multiple races and generations, rural, urban and suburban folk, college and non-college educated people, white collar and blue collar workers, those raised in a church and those raised outside of the church, those who are married and those who are single, and the list goes on.  What unites us in authentic community, we pray, is not our "mutual compatibility," to borrow words from Rolheiser. Instead, we are united by the Holy Spirit at that moment when we gather for worship in the name of the Lord. It is by the Spirit that we are God's temple. It is by the Spirit, who speaks to us through the Word even as we speak to the Lord with our prayers and praise, that we hope to transcend our differences and experience the authentic community prescribed by God for his people.  Church and Culture, Core Values 2009-09-23T14:29:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/why-count/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/why-count/#When:13:28:00Z Can't seem to get past what seems to be a contradiction between the desire of many pastors to count the number of worshipers each Sunday (coupled with the requirement by many denominational agencies to report attendance) and the story of King David counting his army. In I Chronicles 20:1 we read, "Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. So David said to Joab. the commander of the tropps, 'Go and count the Israelites." Joab replied "Why do you want to do this?  Why bring guilt on Israel?" But he counted and David soon there after prayed, "Lord, I have sinned greatly in doing this. Now, I beg you take away my guilt for I have done a foolish thing." Then, the Lord punished Israel with an angel ravaging every part of Israel. That pericope makes me wonder, "How did David sin in counting his nation, and do we sin in counting our worshipers?" St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) provides an answer for the first half of that question, and perhaps the second. In his treastise On the Love of God, he writes "When we live free from trouble we are happy, but in our pride we may conclude that we are responsible for our security." Might that have been why Joab asked ""Why do you want to do this?" He knew that the request for a census was fueled by pride, and that the information provided by the census would most-likely lead to an attitude of self-sufficiency. The counters among us are quick to note that God required a census - one permanently recorded in the Old Testament book of Numbers. Yes, God required that a census be taken. Of course, he did not, nor will ever have to worry about the temptation of pride or the attitude of self-sufficiency. And others among us might be just as quick to note that church leaders need to count worshipers, if but to know how many chairs to set up or bulletins to print. Congregational leaders may also need to count as they consider changing worship locations or launch a study to discern the the viability of daughtering new congregations.  And several agencies, in fact, require that we count our worshipers if we want to do business with them. I am thinking of denominational  offices, as one example, and, I am sure, there are others. Yes, I am sure that we might identify a handful of reasons for counting our worshipers and members. It still doesn't diminish the force of Joab's statement to David: "Why do you want to do this?" To that question, let me add another: What good comes from it, especially for pastors? When the numbers fail to meet our expectations, we grow despondent, reflecting a lack of faith in God who has called us to shepherd even a shrinking flock. When the numbers exceded our expectations, pride seduces us. Sure, when our tallies please us, we say all the right things, while offering prayers of thanks to God, but our hearts suffer the taint of inpurity. We just can't escape pride's not so subtle encouragement to think, "my power and the strength of my hands" has built this congregation (Deuteronomy 8:17). Consequently, when given the option, I choose not to count. I do so not because of my great faith in God, but because of the powerful presence of pride in my life, as well as the equally powerful presence of faithlessness. I just fear, in fact, I know from experience, when the numbers are up, pride will seduce me, and when the number are down, doubt will overwhelm me. The same could be said when I hear the numbers of other pastors who count their flocks - but in reverse! When I hear that my fellow pastor has a smaller crowd than me, pride slips in and I place myself one notch above my colleague.  Then, when I learn that another pastor preaches to thousands, I ask myself, "What I am doing wrong?"  So, either way - if I count or hear about the counting of others - like David, I will just end up on my knees pleading, "I have done a foolish thing; forgive me."  That's why, for me, I would rather stay out of the counting game and, if my congregation needs to be counted, let someone else do it - and don't tell me the results.   Church and Culture, Worship 2009-07-21T13:28:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/h2o-the-church/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/h2o-the-church/#When:15:04:01Z H2O: At some time in your academic training you learned that H2O may appear in three different forms: water, ice, or vapor. You also learned that it can only appear in one form at a time; that H2O cannot simultaneously be both ice and water. You also learned that the three aspects of H2O share essential attributes, like hydrogen and oxygen, but also hold distinguishable characteristics that allow us to identify one form of H2O as water and another as ice.  THE CHURCH: In the New Testament, the word "church," which comes from the Greek ekklesia, literally means "called out." It is most accurately translated as an assembly of people or an assembling of people. When applied to followers of Jesus, like those in first-century Jerusalem (Acts 8:1), the word "church" refers to a group of Christians who, in response to God's invitation, assemble to respond to God's grace. This understanding of the word led the notable theologian, Hans Kung, to conclude that the church properly exists when it assembles. Of course the New Testament uses the word "church" with reference to a group of Christians who may or may not be gathered, as in its references to a group of congregations in a particular region or to the entire body of Christ (Colossians 1:24), but Kung is on to something. The primary definition of the word "church" in the New Testament is "a local assembly." H2O & THE CHURCH: It may be helpful to make another distinction with regard to the church, one illustrated by H2O. Local congregations of believers may take one of two shapes, but never simultaneously. These two shapes are the Gathered Church and the Scattered Church. The Gathered Church is that group of Christians who come together, in one space at one time, typically on the first day of the week, to participate in a liturgy or worship service. When we gather we are, in fact, a temple of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 3:16), enjoy the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and more. Once the liturgy for the weekly gathering comes to an end, the Lord sends us, his disciples, back into the world where we seek, by God's grace, to fulfill our manifold callings or vocations. By disbursing, we become the Scattered Church.  The Gathered Church and the Scattered Church share some essentials, just as water and ice share the essentials of hydrogen and oxygen. The apostle Paul catalogs some of those essentials in Epheisans 4:4-7: one hope, one faith, one baptism, etc. However, and this is a point many miss, just as we may distinguish water from ice, we may distinguish the Gathered Church from the Scattered Church. The Gathered Church, for example, is a corporate entity which meets in one place at one time for the purpose of corporate worship, while the Scattered Chuch exists primarily through individuals worshiping the Lord with their lives as they faithfully fulfill their callings in the world (Romans 12:1).  One might say that the Gathered Church is corporate and the Scattered, individualistic. One is out of the world; the other in the world.  One a temple of the Holy Spirit; the other, temples of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, just as H2O cannot be both ice and water at the same time, the local church cannot be simultaneously gathered and scattered. It must be one or the other. It is either a corporate entity gathered out of the world or a collection of individuals sent into the world. And here is where the proverbial rubber hits the road. Many these days suggest that the church not only gather for worship or its weekly liturgy, but it also gather for service in the world. Some even think it a good idea to occasionallly cancel the Sunday morning worship service for that very purpose. But we would be hard-pressed to find scriptural mandates or examples of God sending the corporate church into the world to live and serve as a corporate entity. While we find the church gathering for a purpose other than worship in the so-called "Council of Jerusalem" (Acts 15), that gathering is, shall we say, out of the world, not in it. When we look at the New Testament church, we discover that the primary means by which the church serves the community is not by gathering as a corporate entity in the community, but by scattering throughout the community and fulfilling our vocations wherever God places us. The issue, then, is not whether or not the local church serves its community; Christ followers have been called by God to be salt and light to the world, as well as living witnesses to the Gospel. The fundamental question is which church serves the community: The Gathered or the Scattered?  APPLICATION: Why this distinction between the Gathered and the Scattered Church? The April 2009 edition of the Banner, the denominational magazine of the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA), includes an article, written by two veteran pastors in the CRCNA, Allen Likkel and Jul Medenblik, with this provocative title: "Does Your Church Have the Right to Exist?" While the parameters of the magazine don't allow the authors to fully develop an answer to the question, the article does convey the authors' conviction that a church only has a right to exist when it serves the needs of the community: when it establishes a tangible, real, incarnate, corporate presence in the community. Echoing contemporary authors like Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost, the argument is flushed out with a couple verses, such as John 20:21 ("As the Father sent me, I am sending you") and Matthew 5:13-16 (You are the "salt and light" of the world), and references to folk like Dietrich Bonhoeffer who once wrote, "The church is only the church when it exists for others." Now, I really don't disagree with the general thrust of Likkel and Medenbliks' proposal. Clearly, as they noted, Jesus sent his apostles into the world (John 20:21) and commissioned each disciple to be salt and light in the world (Matthew 5:13-16). In addition, as noted in the article, the apostle Paul, as a church planter, shared both the Gospel and his life with the Christians in Thessalonica (I Thessalonians 2:8); like Paul, we may have opportunity to do the same.  Personally, however, I believe that the verses cited teach us that God calls individual followers of Jesus, not the corporate and local congregation, to visible, tangible service in the world.  In John 20:21, for example, Jesus sent his apostles, not the church, into the world to fulfill their individual callings as heralds of the Gospel. In Matthew 5, Jesus challenged individual disciples, not the corporate church, to be salt and light in the world. In 1 Thessalonians 2:8, Paul defends his ministry by commenting how he shared the Gospel and his life with the church in Thessalonica, not the community of Thessalonica.  So, based on those scripture passages, as well as others, I would like to propose a different route to a similar destination, which is the church serving its community. This alternative path is founded upon the following convictions:  The local congregation exists in two modes, but never at the same time. These modes are the Gathered Church and the Scattered Church.  The Gathered Church is the temple of the Holy Spirit, enjoys the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and is a tangible, real, incarnate, corporate presence in the community. The Gathered Church scatters for service, and the Scattered Church gathers for worship; this is as it must be according to God's economy. The Scattered Church serves its community as individual members fulfill their vocations or divine callings. Finally, and most important for this conversation, the Gathered Church, if it hopes to reach the destination of the local church serving its community, must resist the temptation to gather at the expense of the Scattered Church. In my estimation, the Gathered Church gathers too frequently, calling people out of the world, not just for worship, but to maintain a lengthy menu of ministries and exhausting legacy of traditions. We need Gathered congregations who minimize their time together so that they might maximize their presence in the community as faithful followers of Jesus fulfilling their divine callings as spouses, parents, children, neighbors, citizens, co-workers, civic volunteers, politicians, and more. When that happens, one member of a church engages the community by teaching at the local public school, another by serving as a social worker, another as an attorney, another as a garbage man, another as a Little League coach, another as a volunteer with the Girl Scouts, and so on. Furthermore, when that happens, we serve the community without compromising the validity and value of our weekly Gathering, that time when we come together, as the temple of the Holy Spirit, for passionate worship, relevant teaching and authentic community. Church and Culture 2009-06-30T15:04:01-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/a-house-is-not-a-home/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/a-house-is-not-a-home/#When:13:23:00Z Pop recording artist, Burt Bacharach, wrote a love song subsequently recorded by Dionne Warwick, Luther Van Dross, and others. It’s title is a play on words with keen insight - "A House Is Not A Home." The words go something like this: "A chair is still a chair even when there is no one sitting there, but a chair is not a house, and a house is not a home." If a house were a home, when you bought a house you would move in without touching a thing. But makes a house a home include the plagues you place on the wall, the colors of the rooms, and the experiences you share within its walls. "A House Is Not A Home" - We may take that simple play on words and apply it to the Church of Jesus Christ (in its localized form). A congregation of people is not a church; a building is not a church; a menu of ministries is not a church; a membership roll is not a church;and a group of people who affirm similar doctrine is not a church. Looking through Scripture, discover that a local church a group of Christians united by the Holy Spirit who covenant to live in authentic community. A large building, an extensive menu of ministries, and large numbers are, in and of themselves, not the church.  While each of those realities may be viewed as a blessing, they are but the house, not the home for we may share each of those experiences and still miss out on the heart and soul of the Christian Church - authentic community. That may explain why, after eleven chapters of solid biblical teaching on a handful of doctrines (Romans 1-11), when Paul begins to apply truth to life (Romans 12), he offers a comprehensive picture of authentic community; he invites  followers of Jesus to embrace a love that is sincere, discerning, affectionate, and respectful. He encourages a love that is both enthusiastic and patient, both generous and hospitable, both benevolent and sympathetic. He calls for a love marked by both harmony and humility. When we respond faithfully to that invitation, the church becomes that community within which we fellowship whether we are weak or strong, sick or healthy, broken or whole, crying or laughing, walking with Christ or running from him. It becomes that community which we know, without a doubt, will embrace us with open arms, view us with non-condemning eyes, and encourage us with big hearts.  When we, by God's grace, embody Paul's teaching, the church becomes that fellowship through which, our children find the wind for their wings, young people find a safe place to explore, and the age receive affirmation while never being discarded.  The church becomes, in short, that family where we say to one another, "Nothing can stop me from loving you!"      2009-05-04T13:23:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/a-new-kind-of-church-is-coming/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/a-new-kind-of-church-is-coming/#When:03:19:00Z During the last half of the 20th century in America, the evangelical church became big business and its congregations became supermarkets dispensing religious goods to hungry consumers. Local congregations opened their doors seven days a week, inviting members and guests to participate in any number of programs, from Bible studies to aerobics. The increase in programs required more staff; more staff required more money for salaries; more money for salaries required higher offerings; higher offerings required more people in the pews; more people in the pews spurred talk of church growth. In the end, then, the impetus for church growth was not the salvation of souls, but the need for more people for higher offerings for more money for higher salaries for more staff to handle more programs.  The increase in programs created a new challenge: the need for more volunteers to maintain the programs designed to meet the spiritual needs of religious consumers. In response, the evangelical church borrowed the Pauline teaching of spiritual gifts as a tool to encourage and enlist volunteers to maintain their programs. Devoted church members submitted to their spiritual leaders, enlisted in small group studies, discovered their "spiritual gifts," and volunteered to maintain the menu of programs sponsored by every "successful" congregation. In the end, however, the need for more volunteers not only turned the biblical concept of spiritual gifts into a tool for human resource offices, it also encouraged Christians to spend more time at church, thereby minimizing their influence in the community as salt and light.   But a new kind of church is coming as American evangelicals wake up to the mistakes of the late 20th century. This new church comes by many names, including missional  and emergent, but its fundamental conviction is a repudiation of consumeristic religion of the past. In its place, this new church seeks to develop worshipers, not spectators. It longs for relationships, not programs. It encourages worshipers to get more involved in their communities and less involved in the church. It is rejects the American doctrine that "bigger is better." (more to come)    2009-02-18T03:19:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/god-shines-through-inauguration/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/god-shines-through-inauguration/#When:18:08:01Z If you witnessed the inauguration of Barack Obama as our 44th president, either in person or through the television, you are mostlikely proud to be an American. We live in a country where the peaceful transition of power is expected, and where an outgoing and an incoming president embrace one another with sincere affection. We live in a country with meaningful traditions which link us to the past while we enter the future. We live in a country where people of color - who once were not even considered a people - can step to the most prominent platform in the world and be welcomed by over one million people from countless tribes and nations. If you are follower of Jesus who witnessed the inauguration of Barack Obama as our 44th president, you are most-likely encouraged in your faith. Critics have been forecasting gloom for Christ and His Church in this country. We have  been, and continue to be told that we live in a post-Christian society that has little room for the Christian faith, and that the space we will have in the future is but a corner in the room. Those words of gloom seemed pretty accurate this past Christmas season when, you may remember, some folk set up displays, denouncing the Christian faith, right beside nativity scenes.  Yet, today, on this special day in American history, God could not be silenced. Did you notice that? Just hours before the Inauguration, President and Mrs. Obama attended a mid-morning prayer service at a Christian church while, in the meantime, television commentators described the Christian faith of the nation's new first couple. Before the ceremony began, a choir from San Francisco (if that isn't an irony sang "God Bless America" and, during the ceremony, Aretha Franklin reminded us, in "Let Freedom Ring," that God is the source of freedom. The Inauguration Ceremony began and ended with prayers by Christian pastors who boldly called on the name of the Lord to bless our new president, his family, and our nation. While taking his oath to offfice, the then President-elect Obama rested his left hand upon a Bible - the very one used by Abraham Lincoln for that purpose - as it was held by his wife, Michelle Obama. And don't let this go unnoticed: we witnessed over a million people, packed into a relatively small area, reflecting the very Spirit of Christ through their interactions with one another. Any visitor from another country who observed today's events in Washington, D.C. would conclude that America still reflects its Judaeo-Christian heritage. Only God knows what tomorrow holds for us and our nation, but today was a good day to be an American and a good day to be a Christian in America. Church and Culture 2009-01-20T18:08:01-05:00