A New Adventure

Ever since I announced that I would no longer be serving the First Presbyterian Church of Sand Springs, folks have been asking what it is I will be doing. I have to admit that I have been wondering that myself. I have looked at several options, from teaching to serving other churches. I have sent out resumes, e-mails, and even had a few personal contacts with other pastors and leaders who have been in my situation.

The result of all this is that I have been accepted as pastor of the Lucaya Presbyterian Church in Freeport, Grand Bahama. It sounds like an appointment to paradise, and in many ways it is, but it will be no picnic.

The church was founded about 50 years ago by the Church of Scotland as a mission to the indigenous people and the expatriates who lived there. About five years ago, the church decided to join the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in the United States since Florida is much closer and more able to provide ministry support. I will be received into the EPC and serve as their first pastor from that denomination.

The Bahamas is a chain of nearly 700 islands that stretches from the southeast coast of Florida to just northwest of Haiti. Only about 30 of the islands are inhabited, with the vast majority of the population living in Nassau. There are about 300,000 people in the Bahamas, and nearly two-thirds live on New Providence, where the capital is located.

As I said, the setting is beautiful, but the ministry will be challenging. The island the church is on, Grand Bahama, is the northernmost of the outer islands of the Bahamas. This is not Nassau, with its bustling city and five-star hotels. Unemployment on the island is around 25%, so there is a lot of need among the people there. One of the issues they have is that tourism, which is down right now, provides about 60% of the GDP, and employs about half of the nation’s workforce. When tourism is down, it puts a lot of people out of work.

The church supports a ministry called CrossReach, which feeds 50 families a month to help them make ends meet. This ministry is overseen by Jerry Coleborn, who has been doing it for the past few years. Expenses are in excess of $1,000/mo, all of which goes to local families.

The church itself is very international, as you might expect. It consists of Bahamians, as well as citizens of many different countries, like England, Scotland, Canada, and even Lebanon. In many ways, it is like a church in the US; they have worship on Sundays, outreach ministries, and even a youth group. So my responsibilities will include things like preaching, planning worship, training elders, and helping the church in its outreach ministries.

But because of their unique setting, there are many other challenges as well. There is a lot of poverty on the island, and a need for better education and health care. Many of the native people live in small, family-related communities.

This will be a huge change for our family, but a great opportunity to bring God’s message of love and peace to a community in need. I appreciate all the support this congregation has shown to my family, and I would appreciate your continued prayers for this transition. Rest assured that you will continue to be in my thoughts and prayers.

I will still have the same e-mail address, so you can contact me that way, and I will probably still post on facebook from time to time, and update my blog. The church does have a website, so you can also keep track of us there. It is at lucayachurch.com.

Remember the words of Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

May God continue to bless and be with us all.

The Real Meaning of Christmas

By guest writer Martha Noebel

  

    It's that time of year again. December has come and with it all the joys of Christmas. But what is the real meaning of Christmas? Is it the gifts under the tree, the lights in the windows, the cards in the mail, turkey dinners with family and friends, snow in the yard, stockings hanging in the living room, and shouts of "Merry Christmas" to those who pass us in the streets? Is this really Christmas?

      For many people, however, Christmas is a time of sorrow. They don't have the extra money to buy presents for their children, family, and friends. Many are saddened at Christmastime when they think of their loved ones who will not be able to come home for various reasons. Turkey dinners may be only a wish and not a reality for some.

      Yet, Christmas can be a season of great joy. It is a time of God showing His great love for us. It can be a time of healing and renewed strength. You see, Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of the Christ child. God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to be born as a human. His birth brought great joy to the world. Shepherds, wise men, and angels all shared in the excitement of knowing about this great event. They knew this was no ordinary baby. The prophets had told of His coming hundreds of years before. The star stopped over Bethlehem just to mark the way for those who were looking for this special child.

      But, why did He come? Why did God send His son to this sometimes cruel and hard world? He sent Jesus to us so that one day, He would grow up to become a very important part of history. His story (history) is one of truth, love, and hope. It brought salvation to all of us. Without Jesus, we would all die in our sins.

      Jesus was born so the price could be paid for the things we have done that are wrong. The Bible says that all have sinned. We are all born with a sin nature. We do things that do not please God. Through the sins of Adam and Eve, we have all inherited that sin nature. We need to have that removed. The only way is through Jesus. Jesus came so He could die on the cross for ALL of our sins. If we believe that Jesus died for our sins, we can ask Him to come into our hearts and forgive us. Then, we are clean and made whole. We can know that heaven is a place where we can go to when this life is over.

      We can truly be happy at Christmas! No matter what may be happening, we can know that we are His children. We then become sons and daughters of God. We can be part of the Kingdom of God.

      Look at Christmas in a new way this year. This is the year you could invite Jesus into your heart. You will then have a truly "Merry Christmas." The joy and peace you will receive will last all year long as you celebrate what God has done for you.

      Jesus Is The Reason For The Season! Rejoice!

to see this blog on its original page, see: http://www1.cbn.com/devotions/real-meaning-christmas

Sad News Travels Quickly

It seems like nothing works overtime like the grapevine. News travels quickly from one person to another, and bad news seems to travel more quickly than good.

     By now many, if not most of you, are aware of my decision regarding my denominational affiliation. As a result of many long and agonizing hours thinking and praying about it, I feel I can no longer support the policies and practices of the Presbyterian Church (USA). For me to leave the denomination means I will also have to step down as pastor of this church, which is very hard for me (see the Letter of Resignation below).

     I have enjoyed the years I have spent here. I have come to regard many of you as close friends and even family. But I do not feel that I can continue to be in leadership in a denomination with which I disagree on such a fundamental level. I know this will be hard for many of us, myself included, but I hope you can understand the struggle I face.

     Some of you have asked what we will do now and where we will go. I will most likely serve in a ministry capacity in another denomination with which I am in more fundamental agreement. We are exploring those possibilities now.

     Some have also speculated about a time line about how much longer we will be able to stay. After speaking to the Presbytery officials, they will allow me to remain through the end of the year. Normally, they remove pastors who are in conflicted situations, but since that is not the case here (no one is trying to throw me out) they are willing to make some leeway. For that I am grateful.

     I suppose all that remains to be said is “Thank you.” Thank you for your faithfulness, both to me and to our Lord. It is that faithfulness which has allowed me to stay as long as I have. Thank you for your love. Jesus told his disciples that the world would recognize them as belonging to him because of their love. You have certainly shown that to me, and I and my family will always be grateful.

God bless you all.

                                                                                                                                                                October 26, 2015

To the Session and Congregation of the First Presbyterian Church of Sand Springs, OK,

As many of you are aware, there have been many changes in the PC (USA) in recent years. Over the past several weeks and months those changes have accelerated and intensified. It is my feeling that these changes have not been for the better. In fact, they are so drastic and so far reaching that I have come to believe that I can no longer, in good conscience, serve in the leadership of this denomination. So it is with great sadness and sense of loss that I must resign as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Sand Springs, OK.

     This has been a very difficult decision for me. I was baptized as an infant in this church. I grew up and went to Sunday school and was confirmed in this church. I have served as pastor for over 30 years in churches throughout the Midwest. But now, I no longer feel welcome in my own denomination. The national church has adopted policies and chosen directions I feel I can no longer follow. Rather than continue in a church that I cannot, in good conscience, support, I feel I must leave.

     Please understand that I bear no ill will toward the leadership of the PC (USA), nor to anyone who chooses to stay. We must each follow the path which God has laid out for us. I will continue to pray for God’s blessing on the PC (USA) and this congregation.

     In turn, I would appreciate your prayers for me and my family as I strike out in a new direction, continually seeking God’s will and guidance for my future. I will, of course, continue to love and pray for this congregation, as we have made some wonderful friends here, and I will continue to think of you as family.

     May God’s richest blessing be upon each of us as we endeavor to seek God’s will in our lives, and serve our Lord Jesus Christ to the greatest of our ability. God bless you all.

In Christ,

Kenneth E. Lane

Prayer for Everyone

For many years, I have enjoyed the ministry of John Ortberg, author and pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in California. I have read his books, articles, listened to him preach, and used his curriculum in Sunday school.

This week, I ran across an article he wrote in Leadership Journal, a magazine written for Christian leaders. It was an article on prayer, and, as he often does, John got right to the point about prayer and had some helpful advice about how to improve our prayer lives.

I think that many of us struggle with prayer in our lives of faith. How do we pray? When should we pray? How often? Even those of us who have been followers of Jesus for many years struggle with questions like these.

One of the points he made is that it is important for us to remember that we are always in the presence of God. We don’t have to go somewhere to pray. We don’t have to adopt a particular attitude, head down, eyes closed. We can pray while we drive, run, shop, or most any time and any place.

I remember a communications class I took in college where the professor said, “You cannot not communicate.” His point was that no matter what we said, and even if we said nothing, we are still communicating. Sometimes silence communicates even more than speaking.

Think how much more true that is with God. God is with us every moment, whether we are waking or sleeping. When we think about something that is bothering us, or when we worry or wonder about what the future holds, we can turn our thoughts to God. Tell God what is worrying you. Talk to God as you would your best friend, which, after all, he is.

I am always amused when people use language they think might offend me and then say, “Excuse me, pastor.” Do they think I am their biggest problem? Do they think that I am God’s microphone, and that when I leave, they will be by themselves without God listening in?

Clearly, God is in more places, and with more people than I can ever be. God knows not only what we say in our worst moments, but what we say in our best. God even knows what we do not say, and sometimes can’t even articulate.

These should become the essence of our prayers, not the flowery language we so often associate with tall steeple pulpits and pastoral prayers. We should not be afraid to show God our heart. After all, we know God sees it anyway. I think it is helpful to remember that God is as close as our next breath, and as vital as our next heartbeat.

As John Ortberg says, “The goal of prayer is not to get good at prayer, not to see who can spend the longest time in prayer. (Jesus said not to pray like the pagans who believe they will be heard because of their many words.) The goal is not to pray with greater feelings of certainty, or greater eloquence, or even greater frequency. The goal of prayer is to live all my life and do all my ministry in the joyful awareness that God is present right here, right now.”¹

1.      1.  Ortberg, John. “Getting Good at Prayer isn’t the Point.” Leadership Journal, Summer 2015: p. 29.

Don't be a Worrywart

The Bible encourages us to engage in a variety of activities in order to improve our spiritual health. We are called to things like faith, hope, love and prayer. We are also told to desist or limit other activities for the same reason. We are not to be greedy, haughty, lascivious or rude. These things we understand, and they make sense to us.

But one restriction the Bible has is difficult for many of even the best Christians I know. Over 20 times the Bible tells us not to worry. That’s actually quite a lot.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spends about 10 verses telling us that we should not worry, whether about what we should eat, or drink, or wear (Mt. 6:25-34). Why does he spend so much time on this? Why is it so important?

I think it is because worry is one of those things that can get in the way of our trust in God. When we worry, we are getting ourselves “out of joint” mentally and spiritually. Most often it means spending a lot of energy thinking about things we have little or no control over. And it demonstrates how little faith we have that God truly is in control. If we really believed that, there would be no cause for worry.

Instead, the Bible encourages us to a different activity. Psalm 37:7 says, “Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.” Those words are easy to say, and fairly easy to do, until something happens that turns our world upside down, and we have to face the same agony and confusion that so many other people have to face all around us. Is it possible for us to “rest in the Lord” when our world seems to be crumbling around us? When we face the loss of a job, or a loved one; when we realize how little control we have over our lives, can we really “rest in the Lord” in those times?

That’s where the rubber meets the road, isn’t it? If we can’t trust God and not worry when things are difficult and uncertain, we are only fooling ourselves that we really trust him during the peaceful times. If it doesn’t work in one case, it will not work in the other. It turns out that resting in the Lord is not dependent on external circumstances at all, but rather on your relationship with God Himself.

One of my favorite devotional writers, Oswald Chambers has this to say,

"Worrying always results in sin. We tend to think that a little anxiety and worry are simply an indication of how wise we really are, yet it is actually a much better indication of just how wicked we are. Fretting rises from our determination to have our own way. Our Lord never worried and was never anxious, because His purpose was never to accomplish His own plans but to fulfill God’s plans. Fretting is wickedness for a child of God."

I don’t know about you, but that made me stop and think. Do I really trust in God? Am I really willing to let his will be done, or do I merely want his stamp of approval on the plans I already have in mind?

Maybe we think our problems are too big for God or that God is too big for us; that he doesn’t have time to pay attention to all the things that are going on in my life. Jesus said that God pays attention even to the tiniest of sparrows, and that he cares very much for each and every one of us.

If you are worried or afraid, tell God about it. He is not too busy to hear us. Let your worry draw you closer to God, not drive you farther away.

As Paul told the Philippians, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Phil 4:6). 

Inoculated with Jesus

It seems like there is a lot of discussion by news pundits and educators these days about whether or not children should be vaccinated. Some parents fear the possible side effects, while others maintain the importance of vaccinations for our health and well-being.

The discussion about medical vaccinations will have to wait for another day. Today I want to make the observation that there are a lot of folks in our society who have been inoculated with Jesus. What?!? What does that even mean?

Consider this: according to the dictionary, a vaccination is the “administration of antigenic material to stimulate an individual’s immune system to develop adaptive immunity to a pathogen.” Usually that means an injection of a small dose of a virus (either live or dead) into an otherwise healthy individual so that person can develop anti-bodies and be more prepared to fight off a particular disease. Many of us get a flu vaccination each year so that, if we get the flu, it will be less severe and our bodies will be more prepared to deal with it.

The 21^st Century American culture has been called “Post-Christian,” and for good reason. Many Christian values and ideas, many biblical stories and sayings, which had been a part of Western culture for decades, and even centuries, are no longer taught in schools, homes, and, sadly, even in some churches. The culture in which we live today is one which seeks purposefully to marginalize church, faith, and God.

While it would be easy to chase the white rabbit of religious freedom vs religious oppression, that is not my point. My point is much more simple and much less controversial. What I mean by saying that we have raised a generation of children who have been inoculated against Jesus is that we have given them just enough of Jesus and religious faith that they have developed an “adaptive immunity” to the real thing.

Lots of people today think they know about God and about what Christ and the church are all about, but they really don’t. They know just enough to know what they don’t like, and so they dismiss this image they have of Jesus and Christianity. They have become immune to the real thing.

I have seen it in some of the conversations I have had, particularly with young adults. They talk about things they don’t like about the church, many of which are some of the very things I don’t like either. But rather than embrace what the church could be, what I would say it is supposed to be, they dismiss the Christian faith as irrelevant and (God help us) old-fashioned. They have been inoculated against a living faith by a dead virus they swallowed years ago.

What can we do? Is there any hope?

I take comfort in the fact that a virus is a living thing. It can change. It can adapt. That can be bad if you are fighting disease, but good if you are encouraging faith. Therefore, it works well in my metaphor. Peter told the Christians in his first letter, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” (1 Pe 1:3). Our hope and our Savior is not dead, but alive!

Things are changing all around us. The church is changing; it is finding new ways of expressing the faith, new fields for mission and evangelism. In ten years, or twenty, it may look completely different than it does now. I am almost certain that will be the case. But one thing does not change. Jesus is always the same. Hebrews says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever,” (Heb 13:8). Our challenge in the church is to present Jesus, the real, living Jesus, in such a way that people will believe and embrace his love. Try it. It’s catching!

Thoughts from a Narrator

This weekend, I had the privilege to be part of the Sand Springs Community Theatre production of Into the Woods, which is kind of a mash-up of several fairy tales. In this production I play the Narrator, who kind of guides the play along. As such, I thought I would offer this fairy tale of my own.

Many cultures use fairy tales to teach lessons and morals to children. Soren Kierkegaard, the great Danish philosopher of the 19th century, once wrote his own version of a fairy tale to help explain the good news of God’s love. He said, There once “was a king who loved a humble maiden. The king was like no other king. Every statesman trembled before his power. No one dared to breathe a word against him, for he had the strength to crush all opponents. And yet this mighty king was melted by love for a humble maiden.

“How could he declare his love for her? In an odd sort of way, his very kingliness tied his hands. If he brought her to his palace and crowned her head with jewels and clothed her body in royal robes, she would surely not resist; no one dared resist him. But would she love him? She would say she loved him, of course, but would she truly? Or would she live with him in fear, nursing a private grief for the life she had left behind. Would she be happy at his side? How could he know?

“If he rode to her forest cottage in his royal carriage, with an armed escort waving bright banners, that too would overwhelm her. He did not want a cringing subject. He wanted a lover, an equal. He wanted her to forget that he was a king and she a humble maiden and to let shared love cross over the gulf between them. For it is only in love that the unequal can be made equal,” concluded Kierkegaard.

“And so the king, convinced that he could not elevate the maiden without crushing her freedom, resolved to descend. He clothed himself as a beggar and approached her cottage incognito, with a worn cloak fluttering loosely about him. It was no mere disguise he took on, but a new identity. For, you see, he renounced the throne to win her hand.”¹

C. S. Lewis once famously wrote, “The heart of Christianity is a myth (you could also say fairy tale) which is also a fact.”² His point is that the power of these stories, of this story, is not in its fiction, but in the wonderful fact that it’s all true. God loves us just like we are. Jesus came and died for your sins, and mine, to bring us back to our loving Heavenly Father. That is the message we have the great privilege to share with the world.

1.      A paraphrase of Soren Kierkegaard, Philosophical Fragments, pp. 31-43, by Philip Yancey in his book Disappointment with God, pp. 103-104.

2.      C. S. Lewis. God in the Dock, “Myth Became Fact.” Wm. B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI:1970.  p. 66.

Judgmental Finger Pointing

I remember when I was younger, I was told that you should never point your finger at someone, because there are always three more fingers pointing back at you! Obviously, the reference was to discourage judgmentalism, and perhaps it is time to revive that image.

No one would argue that we seem to be living in a time of increased intolerance and judgmentalism. It is a time when people seem prone to finger pointing; to ways of assigning blame for problems, issues, and mistakes.

Just last week, I read a blog in which the writer violently blasted the intolerance of those who supported a certain position. Those opinionated goats were characterized by all sorts of evil, their parentage called into question, and even their individual value as persons. There was much profanity.

As I read the article, what struck me most profoundly was the fact that the writer was expressing an opinion with just as much hate and intolerance as those she criticized. It was all I could do not to respond, throwing more fuel on the fire.

It seems like every day we read and watch the news about intolerance and incivility in our society. One group or person commits a hateful act, and the response seems to be to commit an even more hateful act, escalating the conflict. What are we to do?

In my devotional reading this week I listened to Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. His thoughts on the matter are, “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged,” (MT 7:1). This is more than a suggestion or wish. It is a law of life, just as certain as the Law of Gravity is part of our physical universe. Jesus goes on, “For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the same measure you get.” If you are harsh and critical of others, that is the way life will pay you back. If you are angry and loveless and uncaring, that is the way you will be treated by others.

The Apostle Paul is even more clear in Romans 2:1 when he says, “when you pass judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things.” That is quite an indictment. How is it that we seem to see so clearly in others what is equally present in our own lives, but which we are either unwilling or unable to see?

Oswald Chambers says it this way, “The reason we see hypocrisy, deceit, and a lack of genuineness in others is that they are all in our own hearts. The greatest characteristic of a saint is humility.” The proper response to hate and evil in the world is not to meet it head on with more hate, but rather, to recognize that we are just as hateful as those we would criticize. We have no right to judge because we are capable of any evil we see exhibited in others, and would, no doubt, give in to it if not for the grace of God.

Do we see sinfulness in others? No doubt we do, but it is only because we are so familiar with that particular sin, since it lives and flourishes in us, as well. The way to counteract hate is not with more hate, but with love and forgiveness. That is one of the most difficult challenges Christ calls us to, and one we could never hope to meet except for the power of God’s Holy Spirit living and working within us.

So, remember the old adage about three fingers pointing back at you when you point yours at someone else. Let it be a reminder of our own foibles and frailty, and let it be a reminder to throw ourselves onto the mercy of God. As the famous quote, attributed to John Bradford, reminds us, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”

O Death, Where is Thy Sting?

As many of you are aware, this has been a difficult week for my family. We count ourselves very fortunate that our children have had all four of their biological grandparents throughout their childhood and, for some, into adulthood. I don’t think that happens very often.

But this week that changed. My wife, Cyndii’s, mother passed away on Monday. She had been ill for some time, so it was not entirely unexpected, but, as so many of you are aware, it is never completely welcome.

I want to thank all of you for your thoughts, prayers, and expression of concern for my family and me. It is truly a blessing to be surrounded by such loving and caring friends.

This event, as well as other deaths and funerals we have experienced in the life of the church recently, have made me think, perhaps a little more deeply, about life and death and what they mean both to us and for us.

When preparing a funeral service, ministers often reference the verses which Paul quotes in his First letter to the Corinthians when he says, “So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (15:54).

In this context, it is a fair question to ask whether death has retained its sting. There is a very real sense in which it does. No one can doubt that the death of a loved one hurts, and hurts deeply. Grief is very real, and it often takes months or even years to get over it. Some would say we never actually get over it, we just get used to it.

So how can Paul, quoting the Old Testament prophet Hosea, ask the rhetorical question, “O death, where is thy sting?” For most of us, that sting is clearly recognizable.

It seems to me that the pain, the sting, is not experienced by the person who has died. He or she is at peace, finally at rest. The pain and sorrow are for us to bear. But even that pain is lightened when we reflect on the joy that our loved one is experiencing right this minute, in the loving arms of our Savior.

Paul’s point is not that there is no sting in death, but rather that the sting of sorrow and loss we feel at the death of someone we hold dear is “swallowed up,” it is overcome and completely subsumed in the knowledge of the joy and peace the one we love so much is experiencing right at this moment.

All of us know the joy we feel when we give a gift to someone we love. Their happiness becomes our own happiness. Even if we are not responsible for the gift, it warms our own hearts to see our children, our friends, or anyone we love, filled with joy and happiness. We experience their joy vicariously, and the experience is compounded by love. The more we love someone, the more we are filled with joy when we know they are filled with joy.

It makes us smile when we see our children happy and running around on a playground. It should fill us with a similar vicarious joy when we know that the one we have loved so much is now immensely happy and at peace with our savior.

I don’t mean to negate pain, especially when it is still fresh. But I do believe that the sting of death is truly swallowed up in the victory of God’s love and peace which was won for us by Jesus Christ.

Life After Resurrection

It was only a couple of weeks ago that we were celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus with lilies and songs. This past Sunday we had two Memorial services for long-time members of the congregation. That seems like such a contrast. How do you celebrate resurrection and grieve the death of loved ones all in the same week?

At first glance, they seem like opposite poles: death and life, sorrow and resurrection. And yet, they are also inextricably linked. Without death there is no need for resurrection.

We have all experienced death; we all know what it is to grieve. But how do we live day-to-day in light of the resurrection of Jesus? How do we get his life infused into our daily experience?

Several years ago, Presbyterian pastor and author, Eugene Peterson wrote a book that encourages believers to do that very thing. He recognized that we, as human beings, encounter death and discouragement on a daily basis. From our limited perspective, life seems to be a collection of random events.

And yet, as Christians, we profess faith in a God who brings order out of the chaos, not only in creation, but each and every day. We believe God has a plan and that we are somehow a part of that plan. But, that’s awfully hard to do. Peterson says that to live in the power of the resurrection is a difficult thing to do, but it is well worth the effort.

He calls this unique perspective on life “practicing resurrection,” which is an odd phrase. What does he mean by it? He says, “The practice of resurrection is an intentional, deliberate decision to believe and participate in resurrection life, life out of death, life that trumps death, life that is the last word, Jesus life” (p. 12).

You can appreciate how difficult life lived that way could be. It requires a change of focus, a change of direction, and even a whole new way of thinking. We can’t keep doing things the way we have done them before and expect different results. Remember that cliché definition of insanity? We have to think about life and about God in a new way.

Most of the Western world has embraced an Aristotelian view of God as an abstract concept or idea. But this has not won us very many converts. Peterson quips, “We’ve been at this for two thousand years now, and people are not clamoring to join us” (p. 14). He goes on, “With God depersonalized and then repackaged as a principle or formula, people could shop at their convenience for whatever sounded or looked as if it would make their lives more interesting and satisfying on their own terms. Marketing research quickly developed to show us just what people wanted in terms of God and religion. As soon as we knew what it was, we gave it to them” (p. 23).

This marketing approach to evangelism not only doesn’t work, as is evidenced by the last 50 years or so of decreasing church attendance and membership, it is actually the polar opposite of how faith and discipleship are supposed to work. Remember what Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit,” John 15:16.

That’s how faith in God works. It’s not so much about analyzing an idea as it is about developing a relationship. Peterson says, “God reveals himself in personal relationship and only in personal relationship. God is not a phenomenon to be considered. God is not a force to be used. God is not a proposition to be argued. There is nothing in or of God that is impersonal, nothing abstract, nothing imposed. And God treats us with an equivalent personal dignity. He isn’t out to impress us. He’s here to eat bread with us and receive us into his love just as we are, just where we are.”

In order to practice resurrection, in order to grow in our faith, Peterson encourages us to be “healthy in God, robust in love” (p. 29). Let’s go and do just that.

Forward in Faith

Hasn’t it been a busy week?! But the good kind of busy. Holy week, from Palm Sunday to Easter, is one of the busiest times in the life of a church. There are extra worship services, visitors, programs, and people to manage. A pastor friend of mine on facebook posted a picture of himself taking a well-earned, but too-short nap!

There is also this strange phenomenon after a busy season, especially one with spiritual emphasis, where we feel a bit of a let-down once it is over, we feel a bit deflated. Do you feel like that?

It makes me wonder if the disciples of Jesus felt anything like that in those weeks following the resurrection. Talk about your emotional roller coaster! They went from Palm Sunday when the crowds were hailing Jesus as the possible Messiah, to the serious talk around the Passover table, to a surprise arrest and hurry-up trial, and a gruesome execution that must have flung his friends and family into the depths of despair. A few days later, rumors started flying that Jesus was alive. Could it really be? Then came the unbelievable moment when Jesus himself appeared among them, and they knew it was true. Wow! How do you recover from a week like that?

Just a short reflection on the experience of the disciples makes me wonder how that same thing works out in the lives of each one of us. Where do we go from here? How do we go forward after a week like that? For that matter, what does it mean to go forward? What is it we are supposed to be doing in the Christian life?

I had a very interesting conversation this week with someone who was struggling with growing in their faith. She wanted to know which church, which pastor, or which book would help her grow. I took the viewpoint that each of us is responsible, at some level, for our own spiritual growth.

If we expected our doctor to be responsible for our physical health, we would most likely be disappointed. Our doctor can make suggestions, prescribe medication, but it is up to us to follow through. We are the ones who have to eat right. We are the ones who have to exercise and lose weight. We are the ones who have to take the proper medication at the proper time. I hear all the time that we have to take control of our own health care.

I think it’s also true, at least to a certain extent, that we have to take responsibility for our own spiritual health. A pastor or Sunday School teacher can point us to good books, helpful Scripture passages, and insights on prayer, but it is up to us to actually do the things we are encouraged to do. It’s a little blunt, but I sometimes refer to this as “Nike spirituality” based on their advertising campaign, “Just do it.” Sometimes in our spiritual lives, we need to “Just do it.”

At the same time, I am reminded of the passage in 1 Corinthians where Paul talks about his own experience with encouraging the Corinthian Christians in their faith. He tells them that even though he planted the seed of faith, and another pastor, named Apollos, watered that seed, it was God who caused the growth.

We can put ourselves in a position to grow. We can learn, we can pray, we can share, but it is ultimately God who brings the growth. God is always responsible for the miracle.

In the Easter story, Jesus didn’t raise himself from the dead, the Bible consistently says that God raised him from the dead. So when we need raising, or when we need encouragement, we need to look to God, who is “the author and perfecter of our faith.”

Following Jesus

What a great weekend we had at Cursillo! If you haven’t heard about Cursillo, it is an intensive short course in the Christian faith. But it’s not necessarily what most people think.

We talk a lot in the church about being a disciple of Jesus or following Jesus, but we don’t do a very good job of explaining exactly what that means. Most of us have the idea that discipleship is about learning something new, probably something we didn’t know before. I think that’s true to a certain extent, but I also think we often confuse information with formation.

We go to Bible studies, and Sunday school classes and we expect to learn new things. That is a good thing, up to a point. The problem is that we think that once we have learned something new, or even been inspired or blessed, that is the end of the story. But new information is not the goal of true discipleship. I’m pretty sure that when we get to heaven, St. Peter isn’t going to give us a Bible quiz to see how much we know. I think he’s going to ask us if we love Jesus.

I have spent a fair portion of my life learning new Bible information. I went to seminary. I actually paid somebody to teach me all that stuff. But information is not formation, and I think of discipleship in terms of formation.

If you have ever seen the movie, The Karate Kid, (the original) it’s the story of a boy named Daniel from New Jersey who moves to California and doesn’t fit in. He gets teased, and finally beat up by bigger kids who know Karate. There is a little Japanese man in his building who comes to his rescue one day and sends the other bigger kids packing. Daniel begs him to teach him how to fight, and the man agrees. You may remember the scene where Mr. Miyagi invites Daniel over to his house and has him wax his car and sand his deck. Daniel wants to learn Karate, but Mr. Miyagi knows that a foundation must be laid first. He must be formed before he can be informed. All that hard work, it turns out, was strengthening and training his muscles, so that when the actual training began, he would be ready.

It is much the same with the Christian life. I wonder how many people consider that “disciple” and “discipline” come from the same root? If we want to be disciples, we must be disciplined in our actions and in our faith. We must do the hard work of following Jesus.

I wonder how many folks set aside time each day to be with Jesus, to spend time in prayer. I wonder how many people take the time to read their Bibles, not for more information, but to learn how Jesus was able to love those who ridiculed him, spat on him, and nailed him to a cross.

As we come to Holy Week, when we remember the last days of Jesus’ life, don’t just spend time learning about him, let’s try to learn from him. Let’s make this year’s Holy Week an experience to remember, not because we learned something new, but because we met someone new. Come and meet Jesus.

Lenten Practice

Most of us get the concept of Lent. Lent is the 40 days prior to Easter that begins with Ash Wednesday. It is a time to prepare our hearts for the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus during Holy Week and Easter.

As I said, we get the concept. We understand that to do anything well, you have to prepare, you have to get ready. But how do we get our hearts ready for Jesus?

Traditional Christian teachers for centuries have advocated what they call “Lenten practices” or “spiritual exercises” to prepare our hearts and spirits. Just as physical exercise improves the body, spiritual exercises are meant to improve the spirit. In the church, it is our job to encourage these exercises and to provide opportunities to perform them. This month, I want to highlight three opportunities that are available for our folks to exercise a Lenten discipline.

First, there are the Ecumenical Lenten services sponsored by the Sand Springs Ministerial Alliance. These services will be every Tuesday at noon and a light lunch will follow. The schedule is on page 4 of this newsletter, and responsibility for these services is shared by the Presbyterian, Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, and Episcopal churches. If you have not done so before, you may want to take advantage of these services.

Second, Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery is sponsoring their annual Cursillo weekend on March 12-15. This would be a wonderful way to deepen your spiritual walk. The retreat is designed to encourage people in their personal relationship with Jesus Christ, to deepen their faith, and give them the tools and the inspiration to move forward in their spiritual journey. There are more details in the newsletter, and application forms in the church office. I would love for us to take a group to Dwight Mission for this year’s event!

Third, I will be preaching a series of sermons during Lent on the topic of the cross, which is both a significant Lenten theme, and one of those aspects of our faith that many of us struggle with. Why did Jesus have to die? Was that really necessary? What does the cross really mean in our modern context, and how can I understand it? I hope you will make an extra effort to be in church every Sunday during Lent (a spiritual discipline in itself) and take advantage of these messages. If you are unable to be present, you can always view them online by accessing our church web page at www.fpcsandsprings.org, and clicking on the “video sermons” link.

I hope you will take advantage of these opportunities to grow in your faith, and we also have many others, like Sunday School, Bible Study, and Lifetree Café. Whatever method you choose, make this the year you took the extra time to prepare your heart for the coming of the Savior.

The Andrew Project

     This past Sunday, I outlined a clear and reasonable way for us to reach out to our friends and neighbors and to increase church attendance. I call it the Andrew Project, because it is based on the life and ministry of St. Andrew.

    If you aren’t familiar with the life of Andrew, he was the brother of Simon Peter. But he is mentioned a few times in the Gospels for some of the things he did in his own right. For example, he is best known as the disciple who brought people to Jesus. It was Andrew, in fact, who brought his brother to meet Jesus, and it was Andrew who brought the little boy whose lunch fed 5,000 people. It’s what he was known for.

    That doesn’t seem too hard to me. I think that is something we could all do, something we should do, in fact—bring people to Jesus. That’s where I got the idea for the Andrew Project. I want to encourage every person in our church to think of one individual or family that they could invite and bring to church. Andrew brought people to Jesus, and when we bring people to church, we bring them to a place where they can meet Jesus.

    On Sunday, I used an acronym to help us remember to invite others, and how to do it. It was the word, “BRING.” Each letter helps remind us what we need to do to bring others to Christ.

    The first letter stands for “Believe.” That is the first step in bringing others to Christ. Andrew believed, and went and found his brother. When we believe, it gives us the motivation to find others and bring them to Christ.

    The second letter stands for “Relationship.” I suppose we could just ask random people we know or meet to come to church, but I doubt we would have very much success. Besides, that would be far too intimidating for most of us. What we can do is invite someone we know, someone with whom we have a previous relationship. That makes a lot more sense. I can tell my friend or someone I know at work how much I enjoy my church, and invite them to come with me some time. That’s not too scary.

    The third letter stands for “Invite,” because that’s what we are going to do. We invite someone we know, take that extra step and just ask them. You never know until you ask. But sometimes they may need a little help. That’s why the fourth letter stands for “nurture,” which also means “encourage.” We may have to keep on encouraging them until they actually come.

    Finally, the “G” in BRING reminds us of our “goal” which is to “glorify God” (that’s a lot of G’s). The Bible says there is great rejoicing in heaven for every sinner who repents. When someone accepts our invitation, and doesn’t just come to church, but actually comes to God, that is awesome. That is the goal toward which we work.

      So, over the next few months, think of somebody you know who isn’t going to church regularly. Maybe it’s a friend or a co-worker, or even a family member. Encourage them, nurture them, invite them, and BRING them to church to meet Jesus.

Thinking Forward

     Over the past week I have been thinking a lot about the future. Not in a long-term or apocalyptic kind of way, just some thoughts about where we are going in the church and what kinds of things we ought to be doing in the coming year.

     I have been having these thoughts for a variety of reasons. First, we have been preparing the church’s Annual Report, and doing some looking back and looking forward. Second, we had what I thought was an excellent planning meeting with the session last Sunday as we looked at our mission statement and made plans for the year ahead. Look for some of those plans coming to fruition in the next few months.

     When most of us thing about starting a New Year we think about how we would like to improve our lives or our selves. Exercise equipment goes on sale and Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig run special sign-up programs. Some people sign up for classes or purchase audio books to improve themselves during the time they spend alone in the car.

     When I think about how I would like to improve, the category of “spiritual” is at least somewhere on my radar. What that means changes from year to year, but it is usually there. Some years I think of important books on theology I need to read, sometimes I feel the need to work on my prayer life or Bible study. Just like our physical muscles, our spiritual muscles need a workout in order to remain strong.

     I am proud of the variety of opportunities we have at FPCSS to flex our spiritual muscles. We have heavy-lifting Bible study on Sunday nights at 6:30. We just started a verse-by-verse study of the Book of Exodus that will take most of the year, so this is a great opportunity to get started. We read and discuss and dig deep to understand and fill our minds and hearts with God’s Word.

     For the long run, there is a good cardio workout available in Sunday School. That is an ongoing program, week in and week out, year after year, that produces results over the long haul. If you are not involved, there are classes for a variety of ages and interests. In the parlor, the Pairs and Spares class meets and studies a traditional Presbyterian produced curriculum of a variety of Bible passages. The Library class downstairs is working their way through the Bible and are presently in the New Testament. The Saints and Ain’ts class is participating in the Lifetree Café curriculum and studying contemporary topics from stem cell research to keeping the love alive in your relationship. So there really is something for everyone.

     I am also excited about a fairly intensive boot camp training experience that is sponsored by Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery, and is called Cursillo. Cursillo is a Spanish word that means “short course,” and the weekend is a short course in Christianity. It helps answer the question, What does it mean to be a Christian, and How can I grow in my faith? There are details in this month’s newsletter, and some of our own members will be participating in the event.

     So, if you are looking for a way to turn up the heat in your spiritual life this year, there are plenty of opportunities to do so. Pick one and go for it!

Lifetree Café Grand Opening

There is an old adage that defines insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. By that definition, we, in the church, have been insane for many years.

Most churches wish they had more members, or younger members, or both. But when we do things the same way and wonder why more people don’t show up, we let our insanity show. If we want different results, we have to do something differently.

Thom and Joani Schultz of Group publishing understand this, and so they have been working hard to find that combination of elements that will produce different results. This fall, the Evangelism Committee spent some time studying their book, Why Nobody Wants to go to Church Anymore. In that book they identify four specific issues many people have with the church, and how the church can change (aaarugh!) in order to be more welcoming, and, dare I say, more Christ-like.

These changes led them to develop the series of video and conversations they call Lifetree Café. Not really a Bible study in the traditional sense, they call it an “experience,” a scheduled hour of “stories and conversations to feed the soul.” The hour typically includes a short original film and guided conversation that offers participatory events related to life and faith.

Topics, which change weekly, focus on popular life issues. Topics may include such things as loneliness, immigration, health, angels, guilt, prayer, and life after death. The exclusive documentary-style films feature everyday people with unusual stories, as well as some nationally known figures.

This month starts out with a lesson on How to Declutter Your Life. Other weeks include discussions on Sexual Abuse and Why Men Hate Church. There is quite a broad spectrum of subjects in any given month.

Not only is the program exciting, but so is the venue. Remember that part about doing things differently? This month we will kick off our Lifetree experience in a whole new way in a whole new place. Mary Jo Rowe, owner of Sand Springs Espresso, has graciously offered to let us use the coffee shop as a location of our new Lifetree Café. It is an ideal location that offers comfort, convenience, and an excellent venue for conversation, which is what Lifetree Café is all about.

Thom Schultz, one of the developers of Lifetree Cafe said, “We’ve found that people today want to participate in the conversation. It’s not enough to simply hear someone lecture on an important topic. People want to share their thoughts, ask questions, and tell their own stories. The experience gives people practical help and insight on life issues, and provides a hopeful spiritual connection. Lifetree offers a safe place and time to do that.”

Starting this month, we will have three times and venues in which people can experience the conversation of Lifetree: on Wednesday nights at 6:00pm at the church, on Thursday evenings at 6:30 pm at Sand Springs Espresso, and at 10:00am on Sunday morning at the church.

I hope you will be able to join us for one of these great conversational experiences, and bring a friend!

Let's try something new. Let's try something different. And maybe, just maybe, we will experience different results!