http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/ en shamstra@livinghopeforwhatmatters.org Copyright 2010 2010-02-11T15:52:00-05:00 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 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/seven-habits-of-highly-effective-dolphins/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/seven-habits-of-highly-effective-dolphins/#When:20:44:00Z A few years back, Stephen Covey published his incredibly popular Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, a self-help book now published in 34 languages. The success of Covey's book has led to copy cats like Seven Habits of Highly Effective Parents or Teens or Freshmen or Consultants or _____________ (you fill in the blank). This past week, while preparing for my "Hope for the Home" series of messages, I ran into an unusual copycat: Seven Habits of Highly Effective Dolphins. In this article, Ken Thompson, describes the social behavior of one of the earth's most intelligent creatures as a source of insight for a new form of teamwork and collaboration that he labels "bioteaming." Thompson writes, "Even on a cursory examination it is clear that dolphins embody many of the principles of bioteams:   1. Living in close knit groups (strong ties and bonding social capital). Bottle-nose dolphins live in groups called pods. A pod is a coherent long-term social unit.   2. Operating in larger communities (weak ties and bridging social capital). Though dolphins live in small pods, these pods can be quite fluid and several pods may join temporarily (for several minutes or hours) to form larger groups called herds or aggregations.   3. Interacting well with other species (symbiosis and competition). In a co-operative sense bottle-nose dolphins have been seen in groups with toothed whales such as pilot whales, spinner dolphins, spotted dolphins, and rough-toothed dolphins. In a competitive sense dolphins respond to sharks with tolerance, avoidance, and aggression. Sharks and killer whales are their natural enemies and dolphins have often been observed attacking, and even killing, tiger sharks in the wild.   4. Looking out for each other (team altruism). If another bottle-nose dolphin is drowning, other dolphins will come to its aid, supporting it with their bodies so its blowhole is above the water allowing it to breathe. Large adult males often roam the periphery of a pod, and may afford some protection against predators.   5. Operating collective team lookout (team intelligence). Scouting behavior has been observed in bottle-nose dolphins where an individual investigates novel objects or unfamiliar territories and "reports" back to the pod.   6. Able to act with autonomy as individuals, not just group members. Dolphins frequently ride on the bow waves or the stern wakes of boats. This is probably adapted from the natural behavior of riding ocean swells, the wakes of large whales, or a mother dolphin's "slip stream". Dolphins have been seen jumping as high as 4.9 meters from the surface of the water and landing on their backs or sides.   7. Exhibiting self awareness. Experiments have been conducted to see if bottle-nose dolphins are self-aware. In scientific terms, self-awareness is observing an animal's reaction to its mirror image.   My response to this article? Seems that "even on a cursory examination," to borrow Thompson's words, "it is clear that dolphins embody many of the principles of" highly effective human families.  Don't you think? Plus, in that we are not just mammals but individuals created in the image of God, might we hope that our social behavior bear even faint resemblances to the eternal fellowship of our Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit? And since that is possible, even probable when assisted by the Holy Spirit, there is Hope for Your Home!     Core Values, Personal 2009-01-12T20:44:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/rejoicing-with-those-who-rejoice-a-post-election-reflection/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/rejoicing-with-those-who-rejoice-a-post-election-reflection/#When:01:54:00Z “Rejoice with those who rejoice,” wrote the apostle Paul (Romans 12:15). It sounds simple enough, but it not always as easy as it sounds. Sure, if we share a common experience it’s pretty easy. A mother, for example, may easily rejoice with a first-time mother by drawing on the memories of her joy when she gave birth to her first child.   And we can even rejoice with those with whom we share a vaguely similar experience. I have never been on the roster of a Major League Baseball World Series Champion, for example, but I have played baseball in a couple world series. So, I can imagine how excited I would have been if my college team won the World Series and, drawing on that memory, rejoice with those who celebrate team championships.   So, it seems that, in order to genuinely rejoice with those who rejoice, we may draw on the memory of a common experience. More specifically, we may draw on the memory of the joy that accompanied that common experience. But how do we rejoice with someone with whom we do not share a common experience?   Post-Election Reflection   Like many people across the world, I watched, with the help of my television, over 125,000 celebrate the election of Senator Barack Obama as this nation’s first African-American president.  Unable to resist my tendency to analyze, I noticed in the massive crowd, at least, three different types of celebrants. Clearly, one group celebrated the election of their candidate. They voted for Senator Obama and he won. Any person who has ever voted for a political candidate can understand that joy and easily “rejoice with those who rejoice.”  Another group, which consisted primarily of people younger than me, from a variety of tribes and nations, seemed to rejoice over making history. They supported the election of this nation’s first African-American president and rejoiced in playing their small part in making it happen. And many of us who helped shape history in some small way can relate to that kind of joy and “rejoice with those who rejoice.” But I was most inspired by a third group, some of whom I witnessed, not at the gathering in Chicago, but on television. This group, which consisted of mostly middle-aged and older African-Americans, celebrated with unparalleled intensity, even tears. And here’s why, the best I can understand it: Many historians mark the beginning of the Civil Rights movement in America with the 1954 Supreme Court ruling that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. Those same historians believe that Martin Luther King, Jr. provided indispensable leadership to the movement in the 1960's. One example of his excellent leadership has been identified as his "I Have A Dream" speech, delivered on August 28, 1963, to about 200,000 people, standing before the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Before and since the election of Senator Barack Obama as this nation's first African-American president, many commentators have referenced King's speech, declaring that President-elect Obama represents a fulfillment, if but in part, of King's dream. If you listen to that historic speech, I don’t think you will conclude otherwise. So, whatever else can and has been said about our historic and ground-breaking presidential election, most agree that it represents the maturation of the Civil Rights movement that began over fifty years ago.  No American should be surprised, then, that the election of Senator Barack Obama as our next president was accompanied by great joy, especially by those who have worked for and waited to witness the fulfillment of King’s inspiring dream. Their joy surpassed those celebrated their political party’s victory. On election night, their joy erupted with great intensity from the hearts of people who have, not only gone from the back seat of the bus to the Oval Office, but remember what it took to get there. Personal Experience I was born in 1954, the year the Civil Rights movement began. I was raised in the Chicago area, the home of several major leaders in the Civil Rights movement. I was raised in a God-fearing home. I was nurtured in the Reformed branch of the Christian faith, a group of folk who proudly call one another to “transform culture.” Yet, I didn’t play a major role in the Civil Rights Movement. I was, for the most-part, on the sidelines. No doubt I was impacted by it, and I made small contributions along the way, but I wouldn’t claim to have fought that good fight and finished that race like the courageous men and women who launched, maintained, and pushed forward that historic movement. How do I rejoice with those who not only rejoice over the election of Senator Barack Obama as president, but rejoice because they interpret his election as the maturation of the Civil Rights movement? How do I relate to the joy of those who experienced the pain of segregation and discrimination in a country that proclaims life and liberty for all – and who then lived long enough to witness the election of an African-American to the highest office in the land, if not the world? My rejoicing will never match the width, height, breadth, and length of those who fought that good fight, finished that race, and witnessed a dream come true.   Or Might It? Or might it? If, in order to genuinely rejoice with those who rejoice, I must draw on the memory of a joy that accompanied a common experience, how do I rejoice with my African-American friends celebrating the maturation of the Civil Rights movement?     I posed that question to one of my seminary students, an African-American pastor who serves a congregation in Chicago. He reminded me that, while I am a white suburban Chicago guy with little to no involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, as a Christian, I have an experience from which I may draw deep memories of joy. I was once enslaved to sin, but the Lord set me free. I was once without hope, but now I sing “Free at last.  Free at last.  Thank God, almighty, I am free at last.”   So now, as I think about those veteran Civil Rights activists tearfully celebrating the election of Senator Obama as president, I find that I can rejoice with them. But nothing less than the joy of my salvation makes it possible. Church and Culture 2008-11-26T01:54:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/dont-mess-with-the-organ/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/dont-mess-with-the-organ/#When:20:53:01Z Interestingly, I did not read those words in a book on contemporary Christian worship. "Don't Mess With The Organ" formed the header of an article in the November 10 issue of the Chicago Tribune, an article about the Chicago Black Hawks, one of the “original six” teams in the National Hockey League. The heart of the article dealt with the sites and sounds of a National Hockey League game at the United Center.  One of the sub-titles of the article read "Hawks pump up the volume on game time tunes and entertainment to attract younger fans - and pipe up the organ again, after irking some traditionalists." If you are at all familiar with me, you understand why those words caught my attention. They could have come out of an article about any number of worship services I have planned and led over the years.  Here are some excerpts from the article: “Chicago is an organ town,” said Peter Hassen, senior director of marketing and advertising for the Hawks. Even so, the team decided to tinker with the role off the organ during its games. “It wasn’t phased out,” Hassen said. “We were kind of catering to a younger crowd, and we were looking at different things… The experiment, however, was short-lived and we learned something….  (We learned that Hawk fans) “really, really like their organ.” So the Hawks made room for the organ and the fans are happy. For some reason, and I haven't really figured it out, it is nice to know that traditional Christian congregations are not the only ones wrestling with the role of the organ, that church folk are not the only ones concerned about the diminishing role of the organ, and that, at least, one person describes Chicago as an “Organ Town.”  And while I have not yet been able to idenitfy why those thoughts warm my heart, I take something away from the article.  Here it is: I don’t think too many Chicago Black Hawk fans listen to organ music while driving around town. It’s not their favorite style of music. Apparently, however, those who listen to every-thing but organ music while driving to the United Center still expect to hear an organ during the hockey game. That reality makes me think twice before crafting an argument for the removal of the organ, or any other instrument, from Christian worship based on the music worshipers listen to during the week. After all, the popularity of a particular instrument or style of music doesn't seem to influence the expectations of Hawks fans who anticipate hootin' (praising) and hollerin' (worshiping) to the sounds of an organ - and who can't envision a hockey game without it. Church and Culture, Worship 2008-11-12T20:53:01-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/authentic-community-ministry-to-children/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/authentic-community-ministry-to-children/#When:18:49:00Z While some may not take advantage of the opportunity, planting a new congregation allows for careful evaluation of every idea for a new ministry or initiative - BEFORE launching it. As a person who never grows tired of asking "Why," I find this opportunity envigorating. So, when asked about the launching of a particulate ministry, I counter with a simple question - "Why?" Take a ministry as prevalent and popular as Sunday School, which is a relatively modern ministry, originating in the late 18th century to provide rudimentary teaching for the poor on their one day off from work. Why Sunday School? What purpose does it serve today? Is it necessary or does it encoruage parents to neglect their responsibilties to nurture their children in the faith?" If we have some version of it, what shape should it take?  Should it be intergenerational?  Or should we divide participants into small groups according to gender and age? After wrestling with questions like those, as well as others, I have concluded that specialized ministry to children, whatever shape it takes, may, perhaps, best be viewed as a fruit of authentic community between brothers and sisters in Christ. Let's take, for example, a ministry for preschool children we hope to launch in November called "Little Lambs." Here's the plan: during the thirty minutes dedicated to the reading and preaching of the Word, a couple volunteers will escort our preschool children to a side room for biblical instruction suitable to their age. Why do this? We can imagine several reasons: Option 1 - To give children a break. In other words, its hard on little ones to sit in one place for the entire ninety minute service.  Option 2 - To allow parents to better listen to the sermon.    Option 3 - To lead our children to Jesus Christ.   Option 4 - To help our parents raise their children in the Lord. I am thinking each of those options has some validity, but don't you think the best answer is the last.  Won't one adult among us gather a few preschool children, not just because children hold a special place in her heart, but because she loves the parents of the children. Because she loves the parents, she longs to help them raise their children in the Lord. I might make the same application to my desire to hang-out with teenagers. As a pastor, I not only love relating to teenagers, but believe they hold a place of prominence in the ministry of the pastor. But my motivation for pastoring teens is deeper than my love for them. It also includes my love for their parents.  More specifically, my extra-efforts with teenagers flow out of my love for their parents whose most fervent prayers include the names of their children. In other words, I love the teens because I love their parents.   Ministry to children, then, may be viewed as flowing out of the covenant relationship between adults who have pledged to seek authentic community as brothers and sisters in Christ. Of course, love for one another represents the heart of such community. In seeking to love a brother or sister in Christ, the lover necessarily loves the child or children of the beloved. He or she can not help but do so for one can not love another without sharing that person's deepest joys and sorrows which, in the case of a parent, more often than not, have something to do with his or her child. One of the benefits of this approach to ministry for children is that it removes it from the realm of obligation or duty. Hopefully we won't volunteer to serve children because we feel obligated to do so.  We will choose to serve children, not ony because God has gifted us for  such service, but because we love the parents of the children.  2008-10-21T18:49:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/of-ice-men-and-the-changing-church/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/of-ice-men-and-the-changing-church/#When:16:05:00Z Over the last 100 years, nearly every industry has experienced significant change. Take the ice business as an example. My grandfather was an ice man. It was a good job for a dependable man who loved hard work. In the early years of his business, he delivered blocks of ice (like the man in the picture). Early in the morning, he went to the ice house, loaded his truck with 300 pound blocks of ice, and began his rounds. In the alley behind the house of each customer, he took his ice pick and cut off a 25 to 100 pound piece of ice. He grabbed the ice with his tongs, lay it on his shoulder, walked into the kitchen of the customer, and carefully placed it in the ice box. His ice cooled many boxes filled with perishable items like milk, eggs, cheese, and butter. With the advent of the refrigerator, my grandfather’s business changed. People replaced their ice boxes with electric refrigerators. That change may have put my grandfather out of business were it not accompanied by another invention – a machine that cut 300 pound blocks of ice into small square cubes that fit perfectly into the bottom of drinking glasses. So, instead of delivering blocks of ice to homes, my grandfather started delivering 30 pound bags of ice cubes to drinking establishments, like taverns, restaurants, and banquet halls.  Business was good for a while, but then another invention hit the market: the ice machine. In time, nearly every drinking establishment purchased an ice cube making machine. That meant they no longer needed my grandfather to deliver bags of ice cubes.  So, my grandfather decided to retire rather than reinvent his business one more time.  The ice machine, however, didn’t put ice houses out of business. People still needed cubed ice, usually for their picnics and parties. So, the ice business adapted rather than go out of business. Ice houses still made blocks of ice and cut those blocks into cubes, but they began bagging the cubes in 10 pound bags and delivering them to coolers that they leased to grocery stores and gas stations. And that has been the status of the ice business for about 30 years.   What does that have to do with the church? There is a growing consensus among American Evangelicals that the context for ministry has changed so dramatically in the 21st century that if we, the local church, don’t retool the way we do ministry, many congregations will find themselves “out of business.” That is not to say that the Church of Christ will die, for Christ is Head of His Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. It is to suggest, however, that if local congregations don’t adapt to their new surroundings, they will become irrelevant. They will like an ice man trying to deliver blocks of ice to people with refrigerators. So, as we partner with God to plant a new congregation in the southwest suburbs, we best not implement a practice or procedure from the past without careful scrutiny. It may be helpful to begin by assuming that the way we did ministry in the past will not be effective today. Having made that assumption, we can place ourselves before the Lord, wait on Him, pray without ceasing, and depend on the leading of the Holy Spirit, all in an effort to discern His will for His Church in the 21st century. He may lead us to continue a tradition or two from the past, or He may, to borrow an analogy from the teachings of Jesus, create new wine skins for the ministry of the Gospel in this day.    Church and Culture, Prayer 2008-09-24T16:05:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/greetings/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/greetings/#When:08:15:00Z Welcome to the Web site of the Living Hope Church, a new congregation that gathers weekly in the southwest suburbs of Chicago. If you have been thinking that the next chapter in your spiritual journey includes a deeper relationship with Christ’s church, then you may want to check us out. We’re not for everybody, but we may be just right for you. And when you come, we pledge to meet you right where you are at and then work with God to write a new chapter for your life.  Or maybe you are moving into the southwest suburbs of Chicago and you are looking for a new church home. I invite you to join us one of these Sundays. When you do, you will encounter a multi-ethnic group of Christ-followers committed to passionate worship, relevant teaching, authentic community, and dynamic partnership with God. For more on those goals, you can check the About Us page. And if dropping in for a visit is not just possible at this time, connect with us through our Web site. It includes many resources that may be helpful to you, such as a question-and-answer page, a prayer request form, and plenty of information to help you determine if Living Hope Church is a place you could call your spiritual home.  Until we meet, may God pour grace and peace upon you! Living Hope Launch 2008-09-05T08:15:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/faith-hope-and-love/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/faith-hope-and-love/#When:19:24:00Z "Faith, hope and love remain, but the greatest of these is love." Perhaps you have heard those words. They come from the pen of the apostle Paul and are recorded in his first letter to the Corinthians (13:13). Recently, I landed on that verse as I was developing a lesson on hope for what matters in life. That verse prompted a simple question in my mind: "How do I distinguish between faith, hope and love?" While searching for an answer, I failed to uncover a nice, clear, succinct description of that triad. But, the Lord who said, "Let light shine in darkness," did not leave my in the dark. Piecing together insights from several Christian writers, I found it possible to distinguish faith, hope and love in two different ways. First, we can look at faith, hope and love through the lense of time. From that perspective, we discover that faith has a past orientation. It functions on the basis of what God has already said and done. We also find that love lives in the present moment, encouraging us to extend praise to God and grace to our neighbor - right here and right now. Finallly, we learn that hope is about the future. One friend defined it as a confident future expectation. Second, we can distinguish faith, hope and love from one another on the basis of behavior. The person of faith trusts God and His Word. Love differs from faith in that love, while rooted in the heart, takes shapes our relationships. Such is evident in the love poem recorded by the apostle Paul in I Corinthians 13. Hope differs from both faith and love. Based on trust in God's promises (faith), hope prompts prayers to God for the outpouring of His grace into our futures. In summary, then, faith looks back to the past and trusts, love lives in the present and acts, hope looks to the future and prays. When we lose faith, we fail to trust the promises of God. When love gives way, we fail to praise God and extend grace to our neighbor. When hope fails us, we don't pray or, when we do, our prayers lack boldness and confidence.When, by God's grace, we apply the gifts of faith, hope and love, by which I mean, we live by faith, hope and love, then we will not only find, over and over again, that our God is faithful, but we will also experience, in some measure, the joy of living as the beloved children of God. Faith 2008-08-30T19:24:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/if-the-chicago-cubs-can-do-it/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/if-the-chicago-cubs-can-do-it/#When:20:28:00Z And I am not referring to winning the World Series; that's but a dream. I am not referring to the fact that the Cubs sent eight players to Major League Baseball's annual All-Star Game: Geovany Soto, Kosuke Fukudome, Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Zambrano, Kerry Wood, Ryan Dempster, Carolos Marmol, and Aramis Ramirez. I am referring to the fact that those eight players hail from six different countries. There was one Cub each from Puerto Rico, Japan, Venezuala, United States, and Canada. Three Cubs were born in the Domincan Republic. Those eight players, with their diverse backgrounds and cultures, came together for not only one All-Star Game, but for over 162 games spread out over eight months. How do players transcend their diverse cultural backgrounds to form a team of players who live nearly every day with one another while vying for a world championship? Seems pretty clear, doesn't it? The players experience a shared identity as professional baseball players on a Major League baseball team with aspirations of a championship. While each player is surely proud of his ethnic heritage, the hope for a championship won't allow diversity to threaten the unity of the team. Seems to me there's a lot to learn from Wrigley Field for a group of Christ-followers attempting, with His help, to form a Chicago-suburban, multi-ethnic Christian congregation. If a local congregation hopes and prayers to offer a living portrait of heaven by including individuals from many tribes and nations, then it must find a way for those same individuals to celebrate their ethnic heritages and unique cultures while embracing their shared identity as followers of Jesus Christ.But there is more. The motivation for such behavior is a mission that requires unity. For the local church, it seems that this mission must include a goal to partner with God as He brings together through Jesus Christ a congregation with individuals from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages (Revelation 7:9). Diversity 2008-08-12T20:28:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/may-the-lord-go-before-us/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/may-the-lord-go-before-us/#When:20:10:00Z This past week I heard a great story about an American Christian couple living in Lithuania contemplating adoption. God had blessed this couple with three biological children but, through their volunteer interaction with a local orphanage, the couple wondered if God would have them provide a loving home for one or more additional children. As they prayerfully considered this option, they concluded that they would adopt another child, but, then, they couldn't decide whether to adopt a new-born infant or an older child. Finally, just before traveling to the orphanage - one they had never visited - they turned the matter over to the Lord with a simple prayer: "Lord, go before us." Upon arriving at the orphanage, they were greeted by a woman, one whom they had never met. Interestingly, she claimed to know them. She was, in fact, waiting for them. When asked how she knew about them, the hostess responded, "The man who came just before you told me about you." Her conversation with the one who came before them led her to recommend that the couple adopt, not one, but three siblings, ages 13,11, and 4. They did so confident that the Lord had gone before them. Hearing that story, I came under conviction. I thought about all the times when I made the plan - nailing down every detail - and then asked God to bless it. Sure, I prayed before making the plan, asking the Lord to guide my sinful but sanctified mind. But, truth be told, I didn't want the Lord to go before me because He might have in mind a plan different from mine. So, how would God would have us make decisions? Does he want us to pray, make the plan, and, then, work the plan? Is that approach consistent with Solomon's teaching in Proverbs 3:5-6 where the wisest man to ever live encourages us to trust in the Lord, lean not on our own understanding, in all our ways acknowledge the Lord, believing that He will direct our path? What I am getting at here is the relationship between prayer and planning, between humble dependence upon the Lord and humble (or proud?) dependence on our own understanding, between working as if it depends on ourselves and praying as if it depends upon the Lord. I am wrestling with what it means to allow the Lord to go before us, to give the Spirit freedom to shape our futures, and to embrace an unimaginable tomorrow (Ephesians 3:20-21). What I am thinking, if not confessing, is that I, and perhaps you, tend to make our plans and ask God to bless them! And that may be OK, assuming we ask and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us through the deliberative process. But let us, at the same time, acknowledge that, when taking that approach, we may be limiting our futures to that which we can imagine. (Sad to say, truth be told, we prefer our plan over God's plan. We prefer a known future to an unknown future, certainty to uncertainity.) There is another approach. Before coming to a fork in the road where we have to decide to go left or right, let us pray, "Lord, go before us!" Then, when we get to the fork, we will learn that one has gone before us. Somehow or someway we will receive a word from the Lord that directs our path. And here's the beauty of asking the Lord to go before us: we not only place our hope in the Lord, but lay open the possibility for His unimaginable blessings in our lives (Ephesians 3:20-21). Prayer 2008-07-22T20:10:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/american-patriotism-and-christian-worship/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/american-patriotism-and-christian-worship/#When:20:15:00Z In Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship, author David Peterson summarizes one message of the Old Testament prophetic books: "These deal with the introduction of pagan ideas and practices into Israelite worship, or the attempt to worship other gods whilst still claiming to serve the Lord...." (pg 45). Reading those words I could not help but think about an experience this past Independence Day week-end while worshiping as a guest in an American Evangelical congregation. With the benefit of hindsight I can look back and conclude that that the worship service included the introduction of ideas and practices that, while not "pagan," were not specifically Christian. More specifically, the service included a patriotic song, a patriotic choral anthem, a prayer for the nation, and a power-point slide of the head of the Statute of Liberty. The service also included several traditional elements of Christian worship, including a musical offertory of familiar Christian meolodies, a scripture lesson, a sermon, the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, and a benediction. The service or, if you will, the two services of American patriotism and Christian worship functioned like a two-person relay team throughout most of the hour. At one moment we worshiped God and, the next, we gloried in our country. But towards the end of the hour, the two services intermingled. In what may have been a human error or a technical difficulty, a picture of the head of the Statute of Liberty was shown on the big screen in front of the sanctuary during the reception of the Lord's Supper. What made its presence so strange was the permanently painted portrait behind the screen. Worshipers could see the top half of that painting - a portrait of the ascending Christ. The net effect was that during the reception of the Lord's Supper, worshipers could witness both Christ and Ms. Liberty. Now, it may be helpful to state the obvious. First, God calls us to honor those in political authority. Second, patriotism is a good thing; I, for one, love this country and am a proud father of a child in the Army. Third, Christians may recite this nation's "Pledge of Allegiance" or sing its "National Anthem." Fourth, Christians may organize a community-wide patriotic service during which citizens of this great land can thank the Lord for America, the land of the free. Fifth, Christians should pray for their nation, even during corporate worship. My concern here is not patriotism but its seepage into American Christian worship, especially during services held the first week-end in July. It not about Christians singing the "America the Beautiful," but singing those words in response to God's call to worship Him. It is not about pride in country, but the failure of many American Christians to recognize that, by giving voice, while in corporate Christian worship, to our identity as American citizens, we build a wall of separation, one that Christ tore down. We, in effect, cut ourselves off, if but for a moment, from the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church which includes brothers and sisters in Christ from every tribe and nation. With that in mind, there is another option, one that provides an opportunity for an American Christian congregation to reach out into its community: host a patriotic service, one separate and distinct from the regular weekly gathering. Invite the community, the military veterans, the local high school band. Bring out the trumpets. Sing the "National Anthem." Raise the American flag. But when planning a Christian worship service, even for the first Sunday in July, keep patriotism out of the sanctuary. Insist that when we gather at God's invitiaiton for worship in the name of Jesus Christ, there will be no distinctions like Jew or Greek, male or female, slave or free, American or non-American. Worship 2008-07-09T20:15:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/churched-out-of-the-community/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/churched-out-of-the-community/#When:19:39:00Z I bought into it - hook, line and sinker. I am referring to the 7/24 model of church life which proposes that the church, like a gas station, be open for business seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. In this model, we measure congregational vitality by the number of cars that drive in and out of the church parking lot each week, and also by the number of volunteers corralled to sustain the ministries offered each day of that week. A great church, in this model, is one that publishes a menu of ministries serviced by a boatload of dedicated volunteers.Looking back, I am wondering if, in embracing that model, I helped church my congregants right of the community. By that I mean, did we as a congregation provide so many programs on our campus that our members spent very little, if any time in their communities developing relationships with their neighbors (the very ones God called them to love). I can' t help but thinking that all our church programs created a social bubble by which we isolated ourselves from the world. And might that explain why so few individuals from the community turned to the Lord through our ministry? Or why we didn't witness much evidence of the grace of God in the lives of God's people? Or why so few dedicated church members were used by God to lead their neighbors and co-workers to the Lord?These days I wonder what would happen if congregations gathered but once a week? If they met, for example, for but three hours or so on Sunday mornings? And then, from that gathering, went back, with God's blessing, to their homes, communities and work-places as the salt and light of the world? I realize that pattern typifies many Christians here and around the world, but it is not the model embraced by most self-described Evangelical congregations in America's suburbs. It is not the model I have been working with for the past three decades.So, what would happen if we decided to shut down our Monday-Saturday religious programs for adults? First, many congregations would discover that they don't really need buildings much during the week, except for occasional weddings and funerals. And in their place, Christians would rediscover fellowship in one another's homes. Second, I am thinking that small groups would form naturally as friends in Christ, in need of encouragement, prayer and accountability, gather during the week. In other words, small groups would develop organically, out of the natural ebb and flow of life, rather than mechanically, as an appendage to life. Third, Christians would be free, during the week, to fulfill their callings as salt and light in the world. Theoretically, with less on their social calendars, they would be able to create room in their lives for interaction with their neighbors.Of course, just closing the doors of our church facilities from Monday through Saturday does not inevitably lead to Christians building vital relationships in their communities. We need encouragement from one another and the prompting of the Holy Spirit to follow Jesus into the world. We need grace to be what Christ has called us to be. We need a holy desire, cultivated by the Word and Spirit, that longs to be used by God as instruments of His grace in the lives of our friends.And this brings me, at last, to Ryan's reminder (comment to last blog) that Christ has called us to be salt and light in and to the world. Congregations like Living Hope Church may and should prioritize passionate worship, relevant teaching, and authentic community, but may we also pray that God uses us to accomplish His goals for His world. May we long for dynanic partnership with God. May we catch ourselves from spending too much time enjoying our fellowship with believers that we neglect our calling to follow Jesus into the world as prophets, priests and kings. And, perhaps most importantly, may we cultivate a sense an urgency for the Gospel to go forth in and through us to our friends who live without hope for their futures. Core Values 2008-06-16T19:39:00-05:00 http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/children-adults-in-worship/ http://www.livinghopeforwhatmatters.org/getconnected/blog/children-adults-in-worship/#When:19:14:00Z Can't think of another time when I preached with a child in my arms, but it happened this past week when Olivia made her way to me during the weekly gathering of Living Hope Church. What else could I do? Send her away? And what message would that haven given? So, I picked her up, held her, and continued to speak. Now as I look back, with the benefit of a photo, something about that experience seems right. Didn't Jesus say something like "let the children come"? Didn't He dismiss the cries of the adults who didn't think children were worthy of His attention. And didn't I baptize Olivia into Christ and His Church and, at that time, promise to love her unconditionally. So I am wondering, did I have another option?Or did I have another option? Recently a congregation in Minnesota obtained a restraining order to keep one of it children from worship. Church leaders, in defense of their action, stated that the child, named "Adam," a 13-year-old young man with autism, disrupts worship and threatens the safety of other parishioners with his erratic behavior. That didn't stop Adam and his mother from attending church last month. And nothing stopped the police for citing the mother for a violation of the restraining order. She now anticipates time in civil court.No easy answers here. I am sure there is much more to the story of Adam and the congregation's efforts to love him in Christ. The reason why there are no easy answers is that, historically, the church has been defined as the gathering of the baptized for the purpose of praise, prayer and proclamation. So, those who baptize infants (like the church that barred Adam from worship and like Living Hope) believe that children are part of the church and typically include them in worship. Those who do not baptize infants tend to separate children from the baptized gathered for worship. There is some theological logic there.But what if a baptized child or two act in such a way that they distract the rest of those gathered from worship? Should the children be sent away from the church to which they belong so that those who remain may worship the Lord without interuption? Or should the gathered community adjust its expectations, much like a family adjusts to the idiosyncrasies of its members? Or ... ?Add to this discussion the conviction by many that corporate worship is the primary activity of the church, that which from all others flow. Can one, then, even be considered part of the church if that same person does not gather for worship or - worse yet - is not allowed to gather with those who name the name of Jesus?More questions than answers here - but the answers to the questions bear upon how a congregation experiences the community created by the Holy Spirit. They shape how a congregation experiences the authentic community they enjoy as a family of God. As for me, I have always enjoyed having kids in the sanctuary, even if they acted up while I was preaching - except when they were my own kids! Worship 2008-06-03T19:14:00-05:00