Dear Friends,
As we look back on 2010 we are so thankful for God's strength and presence as He carried us through the ups and downs, the challenges and celebrations of another year.
We started our year struggling to be so far away from our Sarah as she adjusted to life as a single parent. We want the absolute best for our kids and when things don't go "according to plan" it's so hard to stand by and not be able to fix it for them. Sarah has done an amazing job of continuing to be an awesome mom to Rilo, who turned a big two years old in March. She took the spring off from school, but jumped back in this last fall getting more of her general ed. classes out of the way. She has gotten almost all A's and we are so proud of all she is doing and simply the very caring, wise, and loving person that she is.
Rilo continues to be the highlight of our lives these days. He talks up a storm, is one mean dancer and singer, and simply cannot be any cuter. The latest line that cracked us up was as he was talking with his mom (being videod) and out of the blue he says, "You're the man, mom!" Ha ha ha! What a kid!
His daddy, Rob, moved back to Philadelphia (where he's from), and Sarah and Rilo moved to FL and are living with Sal's sister Lee so Sarah can have more help and support. We benefitted in that on one of the visitation trips Rilo flew out of Pittsburgh instead of Philly so last July Sarah flew here to Pittsburgh to fly back with Rilo, and Rob drove him over from Philly. It was awesome to have them here, if only for a few days. Ah the craziness of joint custody...but it's great that he gets to spend time with both of his loving parents (and now gets to see more of his family on the Nachman side as well). We are really proud of both Sarah and Rob in how they treat each other and the priority they have put on being the best parents they can for Rilo.
Sean and Megan are doing great back in Colorado. Megan became manager of the Starbucks she was working at, and Sean just finished his masters degree in Special Education. He interviewed a couple of weeks ago and just found out that he's been accepted into the doctoral program for Special Education at the Univ. of Northern Colorado. The majority of his classes and work are online, and he hopes to finish by the time he's 30 (2015). We're really proud of him.
Kim continues to work at the Apple store and helps out many seminary students who seek him out for advice! He has provided lots of sermon material for Sally as he meets people at the store. He has come home numerous times with stories of people who came into the store, started conversation with him, eventually they find out Sally's in seminary - which opens the conversation always to a whole new direction, and the next thing you know he's saying a prayer for them, inviting them to our house, or telling them about our church! What a great partner in ministry!
Last spring Sally was able to go on another mission trip with the seminary, this time to Brazil! This trip was planned to help the participants learn about church planting in Brazil. It was an amazing trip and SO much was learned! Sally was able to travel to both Rio and Manaus and learned all about a couple different Presbyterian denominations in Brazil and how they are going about growing the church after being in decline like many of the mainline denominations in the U.S.. What a blessing to be able to go - and it was all because of generous donations from church family in Grand Junction as well as help from the seminary.
The summer came quick this year. Sal went back to CO to jump through a few more hoops in the ordination process (as well as visit friends and family) in late May, and then came back to jump into CPE - Clinical Pastoral Education. She worked at Shadyside Hospital for ten weeks on the stem cell transplant floor as a chaplain. Sal was with a group of seven others - some Presbyterian from her seminary, some Episcopal, one Catholic priest from Uganda, and one female rabbinical student! Quite the group. Together they were chaplains at the hospital and then spent lots of time writing up and going through their case studies as well as other group activities and individual supervision. Probably the cheapest group and individual counseling she'll ever get! It was a very stretching, emotionally exhausting, and yet growing period ever! We BOTH grew in how to better communicate, how to show our love...the effect on our marriage has been tangible.
So now we are halfway through our LAST YEAR in seminary!!! It's so hard to believe! In addition Sally's been working as the pulpit supply pastor at a tiny church, Greenfield Presbyterian, where she preaches to around ten people every Sunday morning. This is a little church that is refusing to die! It's unique in that the ten people aren't all old people - they're mostly in their 30's and 40's, and refuse to give up on this church.
They asked for a Bible study, so Sal led a study over Advent and we had almost 100% participation. How many pastors can say that?!! There are three of the people who want to join the church as well! So Sal's preparing a class for January that she's encouraging everyone to attend, but will also be a new member's class, too. It really is like a new church development which is great since that's what Sally is really feeling called to do.
The local Presbytery new church development (NCD) leader continues to try to talk Sally into staying in Pittsburgh (as they have a great reputation for NCDs and have all sorts of support and funding as well)...unfortunately, we REALLY want to be closer to family - whether that means CO or FL we really don't know.
So we're looking ahead to graduation day, June 1st! Sal took the ordination exams in the fall, and only has to retake the Polity exam the end of January before she can officially start sending out her resume - but she has permission to start discussions with churches and contacts.
We are really torn as to whether we should be going to Colorado or Florida, so we're counting once again on God to make things very obvious for us. Sal would love to start a church, but that means paying for our own move and finding a job to help support us while the church grows. It would be awesome to find other churches that would like to help support a new church and/or a presbytery that comes close to what the Pittsburgh Presbytery has to offer as far as support and resources. Another consideration is either a part-time and/or a temporary pastor position to get us to an area so we can learn the area and acclimate to start a new church later.
So many unknowns, so much that is WAY out of our control...but that is when God does His best work -- when we know for sure that there is no way we can make things happen on our own.
We're counting on God totally to guide and direct us as well as provide for us in this transition from seminary to ministry. We welcome your prayers as we finish our time here and look ahead to see where to plant our next step. Once again, it's an exciting time! And once again, God has been preparing both of us for 'such a time as this.'
We are so thankful for our many friends and loving family who have encouraged and supported us in so many ways on this seminary adventure. We thank God for you and pray that you know His presence and love this holiday (Holy Day) season, and always.
All of our love...Merry Christmas!
Sally & Kim (& our sweet Charlie!)
The Family - Summer, 2023
Love these people!
Friday, December 23, 2011
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Final Advent Conspiracy Sermon - Love All - Isaiah 53/John 3:16
It's been great doing this Advent Conspiracy sermon series and Bible study with the people of Greenfield Presbyterian! It has once again grown me in my own walk and challenged me to continue to look beyond myself, and look to Jesus for what is REALLY important during this season, and always. I look forward to growing further with this awesome group of people in the new year!
Christmas blessings to all,
~Sally
Greenfield Presbyterian 12-18-11
As we come to our last Sunday in this Advent Conspiracy we look back at how we’ve been challenged to Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, and now Love All.
And what does love look like? What does it really mean to Love All?
God doesn’t expect us to just know how to love. He showed us how to love when He came to live among us...
Our scripture this morning gives us a taste of what love looks like...
When God chose to live among us He didn’t come as some wealthy king or influential soldier.
He was despised and rejected by men...familiar with suffering
He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows
He was literally pierced for our transgressions...crushed for our sins...
...the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him
the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all
He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
God so loved the world that He gave His only son...
We really don’t know love like that in the world that we live in!
A love so selfless, that any power that might have been used to make His life easier was set aside,
for His entire life!!
(Not just for a little while...a few days...a year even
...but His whole life)
...So that we could be spared the eternal consequences of our sinfulness, and so we could know life here and now in a different way. In a way that isn’t dependent on the things that this world says it’s dependent on.
Because Jesus came as He did, we can discover and live in a joy so deep and so abiding, that nothing on this earth can compare or even come close to recreating it.
And that joy comes from the love of God - as much as we can comprehend that kind of love... And it comes from loving others in the same way that God has loved us.
For some reason many of us struggle with that second part. I think it’s because sometimes we struggle with the first part!
Because you see, in order to give well...we need to first be able to receive well...
Jesus tells us in the Gospel of Luke that he has been, “anointed to preach the good news to the poor.” And guess what? We’re all poor!
We need to be able to not only grasp that Jesus paid the price for our sins so that we can live eternally with God beyond this life...but that Jesus paid that price so that we can live with ourselves within this life!
Sometimes we hold on to all sorts of junk from our childhood or later...
Messages that we heard (and even continue to hear) that tell us that we aren’t worth the effort, that we aren’t good enough, that whatever we do falls short of whoever it was or is that we need to have the approval and acceptance from.
This person could be long gone...but we still live out our lives trying to please the image that they put in front of us of what we’re supposed to be...
Jesus came to live among us.
...loved, and healed, and saved...suffered and died on the cross, and rose three days later, conquering even death - so that we can know - beyond any doubt or message - that we are loved and accepted. Forever. Just as we are...right this second.
Not...”only if I do this...” or “but I have to do that first...”
Just as we are - even if we had done absolutely nothing.
It’s a life-changing, mind-blowing, direction-altering LOVE! And all we have to do is accept it. Live into what it means to be loved SO unconditionally...so totally...and then experience the joy of sharing that love with others who haven’t yet experienced it.
Jesus came into the world poor to heal and save the entire world. And we are called, not just to love those near us - in our own circles of friends and family - but to love those outside of that circle as well.
Jesus was more than just an activist when He came to live among us, and He expects us to be more than just activists as well. He expects us to be active agents of God’s love in the world...and there are many ways to love others!
We’ve talked in the the past few weeks of ways that we can love others...
We Spend Less and use the money saved to help others more vulnerable, less fortunate, who have less resources and opportunity at their disposal;
We give more relational gifts to those who we do give gifts to - gifts of time, presence, and more meaningful relationship...
Jesus came to give righteousness to those who don’t deserve it and did nothing to earn or merit it...He came to give righteousness to the poor...
So looking at all this, can Christmas change the world?
Can Jesus change the world?
If we truly believe and live into God’s offer of love and relationship, how can we not pass it along to others - and THAT will change everything!
My Missiology professor, Dr. Sunquist, was telling us just this last week in class how Christmas is such a wonderful opportunity for outreach! He was saying how there are so many people around us who are without family, friends or anyone during the holiday season and it’s a prime opportunity to reach out to them in the love of Christ.
He makes a point of reaching out to people from Asian nations who are in America for school or have just moved here recently and have no family. Sometimes he meets them through being on the seminary campus, because we also house many Asian students who attend Pitt. on our campus. Or many times he meets them at his church because they sometimes will attend churches because they are curious and/or see it as another opportunity to learn English.
So Dr. Sunquist and his wife open their home on Christmas Day and have a family or few individuals from China or Malaysia or Korea or Vietnam in their home, and they tell them about Jesus and why they celebrate Christmas the way they do.
I have to tell you that my husband is another one who, every once in awhile, will get a nudging from the Holy Spirit to act when maybe during other times he normally wouldn’t.
Kim told me of an opportunity he had just the other day at work at the Apple Store. He was working with a family who had just arrived from Turkey.
They didn’t know anyone and had absolutely no connections. As he got to talking with them he found out that they were Christians and weren’t doing anything for Christmas, and so with the nudging of the Holy Spirit, he invited them to our home for Christmas.
They didn’t accept, but more to the point...the invitation was made. Kim shared the love of Christ simply by inviting them to be a part of our day, by showing hospitality.
I’m always so amazed when he does stuff like that - and I’m always so certain of the work of the Holy Spirit in it, because my husband is not usually the one in our household who is the big social, invite people over to the house kind-of-guy!
Christmas is our opportunity to love as we have been loved. Our opportunity to love and care for the poor - whether they look similar to us - or whether they look very different from us.
We can love others individually or we can love others as a church! We can gather with other organizations or other churches and join God in what He is already doing in the world.
Jesus tells us that whatever we do for one of the least of these children of mine, you do for me.
So the Advent Conspiracy isn’t just about individuals or single churches sharing with others about who Jesus is, it’s about the entire body of Christ at work in the world.
It’s hard for us to imagine, with our little jar of donations, how we will make an impact for clean drinking water...
But when we partner with other people and churches, the impact can be significant - and our contribution, even though it might not be as large as others, still plays a part in making a very real difference in the lives of people who don’t have clean water to drink!
Think of what can be done if we open our eyes further to the needs of this community and the world around us...and what can be done if we intentionally partner with other churches and organizations in the community and world.
The poor, the vulnerable and the outcast will be seen and heard and touched and fed - not out of guilt...but as an act of worship!
The Good News is for all people. (pause)
We’re all poor, blind, imprisoned...but we’ve been given a gift, and called to enter a broken world and love differently.
Advent has become bigger...and the story is still being written.
When we learn and start loving others unexpectedly, it causes them to reexamine everything in their lives.
Loving people as God loves us catches people by surprise! They don’t expect, in this broken and many time depressing world, to be loved by others - especially others who don’t even know them!
Two examples. Any of you who went caroling last Sunday...remember some of the reactions we received from people? They thought we were looking for donations, and when we told them that we didn’t want their money, that we were just caroling to bless them...they didn’t know what to do with that! They were shocked.
The other was just yesterday. A few of us from the seminary went caroling at a small care center that’s across the street from the seminary. We sang some carols in a couple of the dining areas, and then we went around to some individual rooms where the people don’t leave their rooms much.
One woman, Mary, was so happy that we had come to sing for her. Then she shared with us that this was just what she needed because she had just received bad news that her friend, who has cancer, had just found out that her daughter also had cancer and didn’t have long at all to live... What do we do with that?!
Well, we sang a couple more songs, and then I asked if we could pray for her. I prayed for her breaking heart and those of her friend and her friend’s daughter, for God’s love and presence and peace and hope to surround them all...and as we left she was so thankful that we had come.
For each of us that were there, we felt like we were moved to carol at that care center, that day, just to sing for Mary. If nothing else, we knew that we were a blessing to her yesterday, and in turn her smile, and tears, and appreciation blessed us as well.
That is loving others. Connecting with people in ways that say, “I don’t know you, but you too are a child of God, and I want to share the kind of love with you that He has shared with me...and it’s amazing...you’re gonna love it...and I can’t wait for you to experience it with me!”
God initiates. The Incarnation is God becoming flesh and blood in Jesus Christ - so He could live with us, so He could experience all that we experience, so He could show us a better way, and so He could pay our debt and free us from all guilt and shame to live freely in His love....not just in life eternally, but in this life - here and now.
May this Advent season, this Advent Conspiracy be a catalyst that helps each of us to live a little differently...not just during Advent, but from here on out!
May it help us to Worship more Fully, Spend Less on things that don’t really matter, Give More with things that DO really matter, and Love All in the same way as the One who loves each one of us unconditionally.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit we pray that this may be so....Amen.
Christmas blessings to all,
~Sally
Greenfield Presbyterian 12-18-11
As we come to our last Sunday in this Advent Conspiracy we look back at how we’ve been challenged to Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, and now Love All.
And what does love look like? What does it really mean to Love All?
God doesn’t expect us to just know how to love. He showed us how to love when He came to live among us...
Our scripture this morning gives us a taste of what love looks like...
When God chose to live among us He didn’t come as some wealthy king or influential soldier.
He was despised and rejected by men...familiar with suffering
He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows
He was literally pierced for our transgressions...crushed for our sins...
...the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him
the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all
He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
God so loved the world that He gave His only son...
We really don’t know love like that in the world that we live in!
A love so selfless, that any power that might have been used to make His life easier was set aside,
for His entire life!!
(Not just for a little while...a few days...a year even
...but His whole life)
...So that we could be spared the eternal consequences of our sinfulness, and so we could know life here and now in a different way. In a way that isn’t dependent on the things that this world says it’s dependent on.
Because Jesus came as He did, we can discover and live in a joy so deep and so abiding, that nothing on this earth can compare or even come close to recreating it.
And that joy comes from the love of God - as much as we can comprehend that kind of love... And it comes from loving others in the same way that God has loved us.
For some reason many of us struggle with that second part. I think it’s because sometimes we struggle with the first part!
Because you see, in order to give well...we need to first be able to receive well...
Jesus tells us in the Gospel of Luke that he has been, “anointed to preach the good news to the poor.” And guess what? We’re all poor!
We need to be able to not only grasp that Jesus paid the price for our sins so that we can live eternally with God beyond this life...but that Jesus paid that price so that we can live with ourselves within this life!
Sometimes we hold on to all sorts of junk from our childhood or later...
Messages that we heard (and even continue to hear) that tell us that we aren’t worth the effort, that we aren’t good enough, that whatever we do falls short of whoever it was or is that we need to have the approval and acceptance from.
This person could be long gone...but we still live out our lives trying to please the image that they put in front of us of what we’re supposed to be...
Jesus came to live among us.
...loved, and healed, and saved...suffered and died on the cross, and rose three days later, conquering even death - so that we can know - beyond any doubt or message - that we are loved and accepted. Forever. Just as we are...right this second.
Not...”only if I do this...” or “but I have to do that first...”
Just as we are - even if we had done absolutely nothing.
It’s a life-changing, mind-blowing, direction-altering LOVE! And all we have to do is accept it. Live into what it means to be loved SO unconditionally...so totally...and then experience the joy of sharing that love with others who haven’t yet experienced it.
Jesus came into the world poor to heal and save the entire world. And we are called, not just to love those near us - in our own circles of friends and family - but to love those outside of that circle as well.
Jesus was more than just an activist when He came to live among us, and He expects us to be more than just activists as well. He expects us to be active agents of God’s love in the world...and there are many ways to love others!
We’ve talked in the the past few weeks of ways that we can love others...
We Spend Less and use the money saved to help others more vulnerable, less fortunate, who have less resources and opportunity at their disposal;
We give more relational gifts to those who we do give gifts to - gifts of time, presence, and more meaningful relationship...
Jesus came to give righteousness to those who don’t deserve it and did nothing to earn or merit it...He came to give righteousness to the poor...
So looking at all this, can Christmas change the world?
Can Jesus change the world?
If we truly believe and live into God’s offer of love and relationship, how can we not pass it along to others - and THAT will change everything!
My Missiology professor, Dr. Sunquist, was telling us just this last week in class how Christmas is such a wonderful opportunity for outreach! He was saying how there are so many people around us who are without family, friends or anyone during the holiday season and it’s a prime opportunity to reach out to them in the love of Christ.
He makes a point of reaching out to people from Asian nations who are in America for school or have just moved here recently and have no family. Sometimes he meets them through being on the seminary campus, because we also house many Asian students who attend Pitt. on our campus. Or many times he meets them at his church because they sometimes will attend churches because they are curious and/or see it as another opportunity to learn English.
So Dr. Sunquist and his wife open their home on Christmas Day and have a family or few individuals from China or Malaysia or Korea or Vietnam in their home, and they tell them about Jesus and why they celebrate Christmas the way they do.
I have to tell you that my husband is another one who, every once in awhile, will get a nudging from the Holy Spirit to act when maybe during other times he normally wouldn’t.
Kim told me of an opportunity he had just the other day at work at the Apple Store. He was working with a family who had just arrived from Turkey.
They didn’t know anyone and had absolutely no connections. As he got to talking with them he found out that they were Christians and weren’t doing anything for Christmas, and so with the nudging of the Holy Spirit, he invited them to our home for Christmas.
They didn’t accept, but more to the point...the invitation was made. Kim shared the love of Christ simply by inviting them to be a part of our day, by showing hospitality.
I’m always so amazed when he does stuff like that - and I’m always so certain of the work of the Holy Spirit in it, because my husband is not usually the one in our household who is the big social, invite people over to the house kind-of-guy!
Christmas is our opportunity to love as we have been loved. Our opportunity to love and care for the poor - whether they look similar to us - or whether they look very different from us.
We can love others individually or we can love others as a church! We can gather with other organizations or other churches and join God in what He is already doing in the world.
Jesus tells us that whatever we do for one of the least of these children of mine, you do for me.
So the Advent Conspiracy isn’t just about individuals or single churches sharing with others about who Jesus is, it’s about the entire body of Christ at work in the world.
It’s hard for us to imagine, with our little jar of donations, how we will make an impact for clean drinking water...
But when we partner with other people and churches, the impact can be significant - and our contribution, even though it might not be as large as others, still plays a part in making a very real difference in the lives of people who don’t have clean water to drink!
Think of what can be done if we open our eyes further to the needs of this community and the world around us...and what can be done if we intentionally partner with other churches and organizations in the community and world.
The poor, the vulnerable and the outcast will be seen and heard and touched and fed - not out of guilt...but as an act of worship!
The Good News is for all people. (pause)
We’re all poor, blind, imprisoned...but we’ve been given a gift, and called to enter a broken world and love differently.
Advent has become bigger...and the story is still being written.
When we learn and start loving others unexpectedly, it causes them to reexamine everything in their lives.
Loving people as God loves us catches people by surprise! They don’t expect, in this broken and many time depressing world, to be loved by others - especially others who don’t even know them!
Two examples. Any of you who went caroling last Sunday...remember some of the reactions we received from people? They thought we were looking for donations, and when we told them that we didn’t want their money, that we were just caroling to bless them...they didn’t know what to do with that! They were shocked.
The other was just yesterday. A few of us from the seminary went caroling at a small care center that’s across the street from the seminary. We sang some carols in a couple of the dining areas, and then we went around to some individual rooms where the people don’t leave their rooms much.
One woman, Mary, was so happy that we had come to sing for her. Then she shared with us that this was just what she needed because she had just received bad news that her friend, who has cancer, had just found out that her daughter also had cancer and didn’t have long at all to live... What do we do with that?!
Well, we sang a couple more songs, and then I asked if we could pray for her. I prayed for her breaking heart and those of her friend and her friend’s daughter, for God’s love and presence and peace and hope to surround them all...and as we left she was so thankful that we had come.
For each of us that were there, we felt like we were moved to carol at that care center, that day, just to sing for Mary. If nothing else, we knew that we were a blessing to her yesterday, and in turn her smile, and tears, and appreciation blessed us as well.
That is loving others. Connecting with people in ways that say, “I don’t know you, but you too are a child of God, and I want to share the kind of love with you that He has shared with me...and it’s amazing...you’re gonna love it...and I can’t wait for you to experience it with me!”
God initiates. The Incarnation is God becoming flesh and blood in Jesus Christ - so He could live with us, so He could experience all that we experience, so He could show us a better way, and so He could pay our debt and free us from all guilt and shame to live freely in His love....not just in life eternally, but in this life - here and now.
May this Advent season, this Advent Conspiracy be a catalyst that helps each of us to live a little differently...not just during Advent, but from here on out!
May it help us to Worship more Fully, Spend Less on things that don’t really matter, Give More with things that DO really matter, and Love All in the same way as the One who loves each one of us unconditionally.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit we pray that this may be so....Amen.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
A Vision for a Healthy Church: Outreach (final week!)
Here is the final sermon in this 6-week series, A Vision for a Healthy Church, which I've been preaching at Greenfield Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, PA the last couple of months. ~Sally
New Testament: Acts 1:1-9
1 In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning 2 until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This," he said, "is what you have heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." 9 When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
11-13-11
Today is the last Sunday with our series on A Vision for a Healthy Church. It’s my prayer that you have been able to grasp the larger picture of how God calls the church to live and be as we’ve talked about worship, fellowship, disciple, ministry, and now outreach.
They are all a part of the message that Jesus gives us throughout the Gospel.
He tells us to love God with all that we are, so we worship both in church and in how we live our lives.
He tells us to bear with one another, and so many other “one anothers,” and so we live in fellowship, caring for each other and sharing our lives with each other.
He tells us to make disciples and teach them to obey everything he has commanded, and so we learn and grow through discipleship. We continue to be sanctified.
He calls us to not just think about our faith, but to live it out, and so we minister to others by His power.
In today’s scripture the disciples are following Jesus’ instructions. He has already told them what we know as the Great Commission, to “go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
As Luke writes in this first chapter of Acts then, the disciples are in Jerusalem and Jesus tells them to stay there until “the gift,” which is the Holy Spirit comes.
He then goes on to tell them that when the Holy Spirit does come that they will be filled with power and they are to be His witnesses - not only in Jerusalem, but also in all Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
These instructions, given to Jesus’ disciples, are instructions for us as well.
When we become believers in Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit comes upon us as well and we are given the power of God through him. We, also, are called to be His witnesses to the world. So what does it mean to be a witness?
Well, when we’re in a courtroom a witness is someone who, “can give a firsthand account of something seen, heard, or experienced. One who furnishes evidence.” So we’re to tell people about what we’ve seen, heard, or experienced about Jesus. We are to present the evidence of God in our lives.
Basically, tell others your story!
What mischief is God up to in your life?
How have you seen God work in your life?
What has He done? What made you decide to follow Him?
Everyone has a story to tell. Think about what yours is - and share it with the people around you!
We don’t always stop and think or even take notice about what God is doing in our lives, let alone in the world. It’s always a good thing to stop and take note of where God is and what He’s doing.
What are your “God sightings?” What evidence have you seen today that God is active in your life?
If you’re not seeing Him, ask Him to open your eyes to His work and presence around you.
How has He provided for you?
How has He blessed you?
How has He directed your path?
Part of outreach or mission, is to share Jesus with others - and in order to do that we need to be able to see Him in our own lives. We need to know our own story as well as His story, and putting our focus on Jesus will always bring Him into view.
Focusing on Jesus also opens our eyes to what He is doing in the world as well.
When we really start looking we see all sorts of good going on - and wherever there is good, you can bet that God is present!
Instead of going out and starting new outreaches, we can look and see where God is already at work and join Him. We are called to participate in the work that God is already doing in the world.
The Missio Dei, the Mission of God, began when He sent Jesus into the world. The Missio Dei is the redemptive mission of God to the whole world through the work of His Son Jesus.
Our God is a sending God. He has a desire to see humankind and creation reconciled, redeemed, and healed.
So a sending church, is a missional church. A missional church, is a sent church. It is a going church, a movement of God through His people, sent to bring healing to a broken world.
It’s seeing the need in the world, and seeing how the gifts you bring can help. It’s reaching over the fence to your neighbor and finding out how life is for them. Are they doing ok? Are they struggling? Maybe the you or the church can help.
It’s having open eyes to see that the local food pantry is having a hard time keeping the shelves stocked or staffing the pantry when people come to pick up food. Maybe the church can help.
It’s being the hands and feet of Jesus in the world...
Being missional can mean sending a small group to help with rebuilding in tornado-damaged Joplin, MO. Or maybe it’s having a bake sale and sending money to help with the rebuilding!
Sometimes it does mean starting something new because there is a need in the community that still isn’t being met. It could be a monthly or bi-weekly Kid’s Club that invites local kids to come and play games, sing songs, have fun, and learn about Jesus. Or a youth group that gathers and gets to know one another, serves others, and learns about God’s love for them...
There are plenty of needs in the world, and the church is called to partner with God, pointing out His presence to others.
The wonderful thing is that we - each one of us, as well as all of us together as the church, are given power by the Holy Spirit to do all that God calls us to do. And it’s that same power that rose Jesus from the dead!
We have the power of God behind us, underneath us, and within us to go into the world and make disciples!
We have the power of God behind us, underneath us, and within us to teach them to obey all that He has commanded!
We have the power of God behind us, underneath us, and within us to be witnesses not only in Greenfield but across Pennsylvania, throughout the United States, and to the ends of the earth!
We have the power of God behind us, underneath us, and within us to to give a cup of cold water to a child of God in need...
God wants us to be risk-takers for Him. He calls us to step out of what is comfortable and safe and do for Him what might make us a little uncomfortable. He wants us to trust Him. He wants us to believe that we are saved, believe that we are redeemed, believe that He loves us deeply and only wants the best for us and for this, His church! ...and He wants us to share that with others.
I want to tell you, I think God is doing something here at Greenfield Presbyterian. I have never been to a church where such a large majority of those who attend are actively involved in the church’s ministry!
You have had all sorts of people come into this church because of all the fundraisers and events, and now we need to go outside of the church.
We have a couple of events coming up in December. On the 2nd is the Greenfield Christmas Parade and we’re having an “after party” at the church. Maybe we need to hand out invitations to people, or maybe we can give out candy canes....just because.
The other event is a chili cook-off and caroling with the Upper Room on Dec. 11th. We’re going to have a chili cook-off dinner in the basement and then go out caroling in the neighborhood. It will be a great opportunity to have dinner together, have some fun together, and bless our community with carols and Christmas cheer.
The more we can keep our eyes on Jesus and what He calls us to, the more we will be focusing beyond ourselves to others - both inside and beyond the church walls.
At my church in Colorado I was hired as the Director of Christian Education and Outreach. Our church had gone through a big process of looking at what they wanted to be about, and what their calendar and budget showed what they were really about, and one of the things they found was that they said mission and outreach was important, but all they were doing was writing checks to organizations and missionaries. So my job was to get more hands-on outreach going.
As we looked at different possibilities we looked at what the church was already good at, and they were really good at children’s ministry. They had a strong children’s Sunday School and VBS, everything was just very inwardly focused.
I started attending monthly children’s ministry meetings with other church leaders in the community and at one of those meetings we learned about a sports camp that was both an evangelical outreach for kids as well as sports instruction in soccer, basketball and cheerleading.
Many of us were excited about it, but really scared about taking it on by ourselves, so instead four churches came together and we decided to host a camp together.
We were excited because we lived in Colorado where everyone is very sports-minded and outdoorsy, and a sports camp would be the perfect outreach for our area!
We were also excited to be doing it together and so no one church was overwhelmed with responsibility!
We planned for months and advertised all over the place - even getting our fliers distributed on four or five of the local area elementary schools as well as throughout our churches. We needed a minimum of forty kids to make it worth the time for the organization that was helping us, and so we were kind of worried about that.
Well camp week came and we had over eighty kids come, with more showing up each day of camp that week. On Thursday when the Gospel message is presented to the children, we had 25 kids who wanted to follow Jesus! It was a really exciting week!
This event led to other ministries that our churches did together, which included an after school Good News Club at one of the local elementary schools, and a Sharefest weekend which ended up bringing together over 100 churches in our area to serve the community in a variety of ways on one designated weekend in the spring.
God did BIG things! He honored our risk-taking and trust in Him, and blessed our efforts to obey His commands.
What’s almost even more exciting than what all these different outreaches did, was the transformation of the lives of all the people who did the reaching out!
You know it’s funny because we think that when we step out and serve others that that’s what it’s all about - serving the other person. The big surprise always comes, though, when we find out that God worked in us in the process, and grew our faith and transformed our hearts probably even more than we ever helped the others we set out to serve!
Jesus knew what he was doing when he told us to love God with all we’ve got, and to love others as ourselves.
He knew that when we did that, we’d be transformed - over and over again.
His love transforms us. And sharing His love transforms us even more.
Loving God and loving others is the Vision for a Healthy Church. It’s not about us. It’s about Jesus....always was...always will be. Amen.
New Testament: Acts 1:1-9
1 In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning 2 until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This," he said, "is what you have heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." 9 When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
11-13-11
Today is the last Sunday with our series on A Vision for a Healthy Church. It’s my prayer that you have been able to grasp the larger picture of how God calls the church to live and be as we’ve talked about worship, fellowship, disciple, ministry, and now outreach.
They are all a part of the message that Jesus gives us throughout the Gospel.
He tells us to love God with all that we are, so we worship both in church and in how we live our lives.
He tells us to bear with one another, and so many other “one anothers,” and so we live in fellowship, caring for each other and sharing our lives with each other.
He tells us to make disciples and teach them to obey everything he has commanded, and so we learn and grow through discipleship. We continue to be sanctified.
He calls us to not just think about our faith, but to live it out, and so we minister to others by His power.
In today’s scripture the disciples are following Jesus’ instructions. He has already told them what we know as the Great Commission, to “go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
As Luke writes in this first chapter of Acts then, the disciples are in Jerusalem and Jesus tells them to stay there until “the gift,” which is the Holy Spirit comes.
He then goes on to tell them that when the Holy Spirit does come that they will be filled with power and they are to be His witnesses - not only in Jerusalem, but also in all Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
These instructions, given to Jesus’ disciples, are instructions for us as well.
When we become believers in Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit comes upon us as well and we are given the power of God through him. We, also, are called to be His witnesses to the world. So what does it mean to be a witness?
Well, when we’re in a courtroom a witness is someone who, “can give a firsthand account of something seen, heard, or experienced. One who furnishes evidence.” So we’re to tell people about what we’ve seen, heard, or experienced about Jesus. We are to present the evidence of God in our lives.
Basically, tell others your story!
What mischief is God up to in your life?
How have you seen God work in your life?
What has He done? What made you decide to follow Him?
Everyone has a story to tell. Think about what yours is - and share it with the people around you!
We don’t always stop and think or even take notice about what God is doing in our lives, let alone in the world. It’s always a good thing to stop and take note of where God is and what He’s doing.
What are your “God sightings?” What evidence have you seen today that God is active in your life?
If you’re not seeing Him, ask Him to open your eyes to His work and presence around you.
How has He provided for you?
How has He blessed you?
How has He directed your path?
Part of outreach or mission, is to share Jesus with others - and in order to do that we need to be able to see Him in our own lives. We need to know our own story as well as His story, and putting our focus on Jesus will always bring Him into view.
Focusing on Jesus also opens our eyes to what He is doing in the world as well.
When we really start looking we see all sorts of good going on - and wherever there is good, you can bet that God is present!
Instead of going out and starting new outreaches, we can look and see where God is already at work and join Him. We are called to participate in the work that God is already doing in the world.
The Missio Dei, the Mission of God, began when He sent Jesus into the world. The Missio Dei is the redemptive mission of God to the whole world through the work of His Son Jesus.
Our God is a sending God. He has a desire to see humankind and creation reconciled, redeemed, and healed.
So a sending church, is a missional church. A missional church, is a sent church. It is a going church, a movement of God through His people, sent to bring healing to a broken world.
It’s seeing the need in the world, and seeing how the gifts you bring can help. It’s reaching over the fence to your neighbor and finding out how life is for them. Are they doing ok? Are they struggling? Maybe the you or the church can help.
It’s having open eyes to see that the local food pantry is having a hard time keeping the shelves stocked or staffing the pantry when people come to pick up food. Maybe the church can help.
It’s being the hands and feet of Jesus in the world...
Being missional can mean sending a small group to help with rebuilding in tornado-damaged Joplin, MO. Or maybe it’s having a bake sale and sending money to help with the rebuilding!
Sometimes it does mean starting something new because there is a need in the community that still isn’t being met. It could be a monthly or bi-weekly Kid’s Club that invites local kids to come and play games, sing songs, have fun, and learn about Jesus. Or a youth group that gathers and gets to know one another, serves others, and learns about God’s love for them...
There are plenty of needs in the world, and the church is called to partner with God, pointing out His presence to others.
The wonderful thing is that we - each one of us, as well as all of us together as the church, are given power by the Holy Spirit to do all that God calls us to do. And it’s that same power that rose Jesus from the dead!
We have the power of God behind us, underneath us, and within us to go into the world and make disciples!
We have the power of God behind us, underneath us, and within us to teach them to obey all that He has commanded!
We have the power of God behind us, underneath us, and within us to be witnesses not only in Greenfield but across Pennsylvania, throughout the United States, and to the ends of the earth!
We have the power of God behind us, underneath us, and within us to to give a cup of cold water to a child of God in need...
God wants us to be risk-takers for Him. He calls us to step out of what is comfortable and safe and do for Him what might make us a little uncomfortable. He wants us to trust Him. He wants us to believe that we are saved, believe that we are redeemed, believe that He loves us deeply and only wants the best for us and for this, His church! ...and He wants us to share that with others.
I want to tell you, I think God is doing something here at Greenfield Presbyterian. I have never been to a church where such a large majority of those who attend are actively involved in the church’s ministry!
You have had all sorts of people come into this church because of all the fundraisers and events, and now we need to go outside of the church.
We have a couple of events coming up in December. On the 2nd is the Greenfield Christmas Parade and we’re having an “after party” at the church. Maybe we need to hand out invitations to people, or maybe we can give out candy canes....just because.
The other event is a chili cook-off and caroling with the Upper Room on Dec. 11th. We’re going to have a chili cook-off dinner in the basement and then go out caroling in the neighborhood. It will be a great opportunity to have dinner together, have some fun together, and bless our community with carols and Christmas cheer.
The more we can keep our eyes on Jesus and what He calls us to, the more we will be focusing beyond ourselves to others - both inside and beyond the church walls.
At my church in Colorado I was hired as the Director of Christian Education and Outreach. Our church had gone through a big process of looking at what they wanted to be about, and what their calendar and budget showed what they were really about, and one of the things they found was that they said mission and outreach was important, but all they were doing was writing checks to organizations and missionaries. So my job was to get more hands-on outreach going.
As we looked at different possibilities we looked at what the church was already good at, and they were really good at children’s ministry. They had a strong children’s Sunday School and VBS, everything was just very inwardly focused.
I started attending monthly children’s ministry meetings with other church leaders in the community and at one of those meetings we learned about a sports camp that was both an evangelical outreach for kids as well as sports instruction in soccer, basketball and cheerleading.
Many of us were excited about it, but really scared about taking it on by ourselves, so instead four churches came together and we decided to host a camp together.
We were excited because we lived in Colorado where everyone is very sports-minded and outdoorsy, and a sports camp would be the perfect outreach for our area!
We were also excited to be doing it together and so no one church was overwhelmed with responsibility!
We planned for months and advertised all over the place - even getting our fliers distributed on four or five of the local area elementary schools as well as throughout our churches. We needed a minimum of forty kids to make it worth the time for the organization that was helping us, and so we were kind of worried about that.
Well camp week came and we had over eighty kids come, with more showing up each day of camp that week. On Thursday when the Gospel message is presented to the children, we had 25 kids who wanted to follow Jesus! It was a really exciting week!
This event led to other ministries that our churches did together, which included an after school Good News Club at one of the local elementary schools, and a Sharefest weekend which ended up bringing together over 100 churches in our area to serve the community in a variety of ways on one designated weekend in the spring.
God did BIG things! He honored our risk-taking and trust in Him, and blessed our efforts to obey His commands.
What’s almost even more exciting than what all these different outreaches did, was the transformation of the lives of all the people who did the reaching out!
You know it’s funny because we think that when we step out and serve others that that’s what it’s all about - serving the other person. The big surprise always comes, though, when we find out that God worked in us in the process, and grew our faith and transformed our hearts probably even more than we ever helped the others we set out to serve!
Jesus knew what he was doing when he told us to love God with all we’ve got, and to love others as ourselves.
He knew that when we did that, we’d be transformed - over and over again.
His love transforms us. And sharing His love transforms us even more.
Loving God and loving others is the Vision for a Healthy Church. It’s not about us. It’s about Jesus....always was...always will be. Amen.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
A Vision for a Healthy Church: Ministry
This was today's sermon. I first read the James passage from the NIV translation, then I read it from The Message, below.
James 2:14-26 (MSG)
14 Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? 15 For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved 16 and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup - where does that get you? 17 Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense? 18 I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, "Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I'll handle the works department." Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove. 19 Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That's just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? 20 Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands? 21 Wasn't our ancestor Abraham "made right with God by works" when he placed his son Isaac on the sacrificial altar? 22 Isn't it obvious that faith and works are yoked partners, that faith expresses itself in works? That the works are "works of faith"? 23 The full meaning of "believe" in the Scripture sentence, "Abraham believed God and was set right with God," includes his action. It's that mesh of believing and acting that got Abraham named "God's friend." 24 Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works? 25 The same with Rahab, the Jericho harlot. Wasn't her action in hiding God's spies and helping them escape - that seamless unity of believing and doing - what counted with God? 26 The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse.
11-6-11
I grew up in the church. I was baptized, went to Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, and even went to youth group a lot of the time along with Sunday morning worship throughout junior high and high school.
Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t straight-laced Sally by any means! There was many a Sunday I wasn’t there because I’d been out partying too late the night before. But my faith was real for me.
It was a very young faith, theologically and experientially, but it was a real faith...and one of my goals as a young person, which continued into my adulthood, was to show people I knew who weren’t Christians - that not all Christians were hypocrites.
You know, we all hear it - from people we work with or go to school with. “Those Christians, they’re such a bunch of hypocrites! They talk about all this love and care, and then you see them flip you off as they tear out of the church parking lot or when you pass them on the street!”
Now I must say that to some extent we’re all hypocrites and we simply can’t get around that! I don’t want to sin, but in fact I sin daily. I don’t want to lose my temper, but my husband will tell you that I still snap at him.
But growing up as a Christian who mostly hung out with non-Christians, I wanted to show my friends that this Christian tried to live out what she believed. That this Christian tried to live out the love and care that Jesus gave to her, and tried to live out her life using the gifts and talents that God had given her. I have always wanted and tried to live authentically. What you see is what you get, warts an all!
If I was accused of being a Christ follower I’ve always wanted to have lots of condemning evidence to convict me! So I’ve always loved these verses in James.
In these verses, James really lays things out! He says, “Look, this Jesus stuff can’t just be head knowledge that you tuck away and pull out on Sunday mornings where it’s nice, and safe, and comfortable!
If it is, then it’s not the real thing, it’s dead!” James convicts us to ACT on our faith...and I agree with him, I get really excited about his message!
Kim and I have had this little sign on our refrigerator wherever we’ve lived for probably the past twenty-some years, and it says, “People may not always believe what you say, but they will always believe what you do.” Do our actions speak very loudly about our faith?
St. Francis of Assisi said something similar when he said, “Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary use words.” I like that too, although I don’t like to totally discount words because there are plenty of nice people in the world who aren’t Christians, so I think we need to talk about Jesus as well as live like him.
Some have said that James is too harsh in his admonishment that faith without works is dead, but we find the charge to do all throughout the Bible!
Jesus tells us that if we want to be great we need to be a servant and “whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve... (Mark 10:44-45).” We cannot be servants without doing.
Certainly we’re not doing to be saved, that’s not the point. We do because of what Jesus did and continues to do for us....love us.
We serve, we act, we reach out, we love, because it was done to us first, and we are grateful.
Both James and 1 John 3 say almost the same thing when they talk about that when we see someone in need, we’re called to help them (3:17-18). 1 John continues on to say that if we don’t stop to help the person in need, then “how can the love of God be in us?”
When we have faith without works, when we just keep it all in our head as simply a “belief system,” we are actually spared the embarrassment of radical disruptions (and discomforts) in our lives and relationships (Interpretation Commentary).
It can sometimes, actually many times, be very inconvenient and intrusive to live out our faith actively!
That person in need - whether a homeless person on the street, or a young person who happens to walk into our coffee house some night - is probably not going to fit into our “schedule.”
They more than likely will not be a part of what our plan was for that day. But if we want to live out a life of authentic faith, then we need to be open to God’s plan and God’s schedule, and maybe we need to live lives that leave room for “God interruptions.”
James goes on to tell us that simply believing in God doesn’t cut it, that even the demons do that! Our faith cannot be an intellectual exercise, or an ideology, it has to be more, and he gives us two examples of people who lived their faith.
First he tells us about Abraham, who in Genesis 15:6 is declared righteous because of his belief!
So we’re not talking about his works saving him.
But later in Genesis 22, when Abraham prepares to sacrifice his son Isaac because he was living out his belief in God’s covenant and trustworthiness, his actions fulfilled or completed his faith.
In being obedient and acting on our faith, it completes it. Our works or deeds are the expressions of our faith. Our deeds are part of our sanctification that we talked about last week.
James’ other example was Rahab. She was the prostitute who helped Joshua’s spies by hiding them in her home and sending those looking for them off in a different direction. She acted in faith and helped further God’s kingdom.
Some have said that both Rahab and Abraham have been celebrated for their gifts of hospitality. Rahab when she welcomed the spies into her home, and Abraham when he “entertained angels.” “Perhaps the combined examples of Abraham and Rahab provide a response, showing how active faith demands a sharing of gifts that God has given and a providing of space to those whom God sends unexpectedly (Interpreter’s Commentary).”
Many times our response is not from an unexpected need.
Being a part of a church provides all sorts of opportunities for believers to respond to the faith that God has given them. As we learn about spiritual gifts and start to discover how God has gifted each one of us, our eyes are opened even more to the ways that we can live out our faith in the church...and beyond.
1 Corinthians 12 talks all about the many gifts that God can grace us with - gifts of wisdom, knowledge, healing, prophecy, tongues... and also gifts like administration, leadership, and teaching.
We all receive at least one spiritual gift as well as the skills and talents that we are born with.
And the more we can learn about what gifts we have, the more we can get an idea of where we “fit” in the body of Christ. There are many spiritual gifts inventories and short studies out there, and it’s always inspiring, I think, to see what kind of gifts we have.
For instance I can guess that Shawn, like me, has the gift of apostleship - which means he enjoys and is good at starting new things.
Obviously Nancy has giftings in the arts as well as hospitality. (Did you see her greeting all the folks coming through the doors for the haunted house?)
I’m guessing that Lois might have some giftings in administration because whoever does the money has to be somewhat organized!
I’ve talked with some of you about the idea of spiritual gifts. It’s also exciting because the more we learn about them, and the more we read about the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians, the more we see that each and every gift, each and every person is important. People with disabilities, the old, the young, the quiet, the out-going, everyone holds a vital place within the body of Christ - and when they’re not actively a part of the body, then something is missing!
I remember reading something recently that said, “pastors should never have ‘unemployed’ people in their congregations.” The author meant that everyone who is a part of the church should be involved in some aspect of ministry in the church - whether it’s ushering on Sunday morning, taking the offering deposit to the bank, helping with a children’s outreach, or being a part of a prayer ministry. No one should be “unemployed!”
As Paul tells us, “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’ On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor.”
He goes on to say, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it (1 Cor. 12:21-23, 27).”
I also believe that God gives us passions and excitement to do or be a part of certain ministries.
The first ministry that I volunteered with as an adult was the youth ministry. I wanted to do the fun stuff! I loved hanging out with the kids - obviously I didn’t start out teaching anything, actually I was almost like one of the kids!
I hung out with them, got to know them, took part in the discussions and activities with them, and just had fun.
Over time I learned more and had opportunities to lead some of the discussions, plan some of the games, take part in retreat planning, and eventually I was actually hired as the part-time youth director.
The point isn’t that volunteering turns into a job, although sometimes that does happen, but that I jumped in because it looked like fun, enjoyable...and God refined me and molded me in the process so that I actually became good at what I was doing.
Some people may have a passion or excitement for a certain ministry and then find that their place isn’t in the “front lines” of the ministry but in the background or support areas of the ministry. You may love children’s ministry and recognize its importance but not be very patient with young children.
Maybe your contribution is making phone calls to get parents to bring snacks. Or maybe your contribution is to make a webpage or create a newsletter.
The possibilities are endless.
There were many other things that I tried throughout my life that I found I didn’t like so well and I wasn’t as good at - and that’s part of the process as well. The point is to jump in...don’t be unemployed!
Being a smaller church we don’t have multiple ministries that we can choose to be a part of, but as I mentioned some of the different gifts of different people earlier, you can see that it hasn’t really stopped you from jumping in and doing what you do well!
I hope that as we go through this year together that we can keep talking about this.
I hope that we can take note of each person’s gifts, encourage each other as we notice them, and see what other kinds ministry can happen here - beyond holding fundraisers!
As we start a Bible study maybe we’ll find that someone else has a gift for teaching.
Or maybe some of this hospitality that has been displayed at our fundraisers can be used to do some sort of outreach to the community...ahh, but I get ahead of myself, that’s next week’s theme!
James calls us to live out our faith. In doing so we actually complete our faith, it becomes fuller, and more of who we are in Christ is played out before us and in us.
Paul shows us that God equips us in a variety of ways and that we each have a place and a purpose within Christ’s body, the church. Together we do the ministry that God calls us to - caring for one another, worshipping together, growing together, and reaching out to the world. May we be blessed as we minister together. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
James 2:14-26 (MSG)
14 Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? 15 For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved 16 and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup - where does that get you? 17 Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense? 18 I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, "Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I'll handle the works department." Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove. 19 Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That's just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? 20 Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands? 21 Wasn't our ancestor Abraham "made right with God by works" when he placed his son Isaac on the sacrificial altar? 22 Isn't it obvious that faith and works are yoked partners, that faith expresses itself in works? That the works are "works of faith"? 23 The full meaning of "believe" in the Scripture sentence, "Abraham believed God and was set right with God," includes his action. It's that mesh of believing and acting that got Abraham named "God's friend." 24 Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works? 25 The same with Rahab, the Jericho harlot. Wasn't her action in hiding God's spies and helping them escape - that seamless unity of believing and doing - what counted with God? 26 The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse.
11-6-11
I grew up in the church. I was baptized, went to Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, and even went to youth group a lot of the time along with Sunday morning worship throughout junior high and high school.
Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t straight-laced Sally by any means! There was many a Sunday I wasn’t there because I’d been out partying too late the night before. But my faith was real for me.
It was a very young faith, theologically and experientially, but it was a real faith...and one of my goals as a young person, which continued into my adulthood, was to show people I knew who weren’t Christians - that not all Christians were hypocrites.
You know, we all hear it - from people we work with or go to school with. “Those Christians, they’re such a bunch of hypocrites! They talk about all this love and care, and then you see them flip you off as they tear out of the church parking lot or when you pass them on the street!”
Now I must say that to some extent we’re all hypocrites and we simply can’t get around that! I don’t want to sin, but in fact I sin daily. I don’t want to lose my temper, but my husband will tell you that I still snap at him.
But growing up as a Christian who mostly hung out with non-Christians, I wanted to show my friends that this Christian tried to live out what she believed. That this Christian tried to live out the love and care that Jesus gave to her, and tried to live out her life using the gifts and talents that God had given her. I have always wanted and tried to live authentically. What you see is what you get, warts an all!
If I was accused of being a Christ follower I’ve always wanted to have lots of condemning evidence to convict me! So I’ve always loved these verses in James.
In these verses, James really lays things out! He says, “Look, this Jesus stuff can’t just be head knowledge that you tuck away and pull out on Sunday mornings where it’s nice, and safe, and comfortable!
If it is, then it’s not the real thing, it’s dead!” James convicts us to ACT on our faith...and I agree with him, I get really excited about his message!
Kim and I have had this little sign on our refrigerator wherever we’ve lived for probably the past twenty-some years, and it says, “People may not always believe what you say, but they will always believe what you do.” Do our actions speak very loudly about our faith?
St. Francis of Assisi said something similar when he said, “Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary use words.” I like that too, although I don’t like to totally discount words because there are plenty of nice people in the world who aren’t Christians, so I think we need to talk about Jesus as well as live like him.
Some have said that James is too harsh in his admonishment that faith without works is dead, but we find the charge to do all throughout the Bible!
Jesus tells us that if we want to be great we need to be a servant and “whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve... (Mark 10:44-45).” We cannot be servants without doing.
Certainly we’re not doing to be saved, that’s not the point. We do because of what Jesus did and continues to do for us....love us.
We serve, we act, we reach out, we love, because it was done to us first, and we are grateful.
Both James and 1 John 3 say almost the same thing when they talk about that when we see someone in need, we’re called to help them (3:17-18). 1 John continues on to say that if we don’t stop to help the person in need, then “how can the love of God be in us?”
When we have faith without works, when we just keep it all in our head as simply a “belief system,” we are actually spared the embarrassment of radical disruptions (and discomforts) in our lives and relationships (Interpretation Commentary).
It can sometimes, actually many times, be very inconvenient and intrusive to live out our faith actively!
That person in need - whether a homeless person on the street, or a young person who happens to walk into our coffee house some night - is probably not going to fit into our “schedule.”
They more than likely will not be a part of what our plan was for that day. But if we want to live out a life of authentic faith, then we need to be open to God’s plan and God’s schedule, and maybe we need to live lives that leave room for “God interruptions.”
James goes on to tell us that simply believing in God doesn’t cut it, that even the demons do that! Our faith cannot be an intellectual exercise, or an ideology, it has to be more, and he gives us two examples of people who lived their faith.
First he tells us about Abraham, who in Genesis 15:6 is declared righteous because of his belief!
So we’re not talking about his works saving him.
But later in Genesis 22, when Abraham prepares to sacrifice his son Isaac because he was living out his belief in God’s covenant and trustworthiness, his actions fulfilled or completed his faith.
In being obedient and acting on our faith, it completes it. Our works or deeds are the expressions of our faith. Our deeds are part of our sanctification that we talked about last week.
James’ other example was Rahab. She was the prostitute who helped Joshua’s spies by hiding them in her home and sending those looking for them off in a different direction. She acted in faith and helped further God’s kingdom.
Some have said that both Rahab and Abraham have been celebrated for their gifts of hospitality. Rahab when she welcomed the spies into her home, and Abraham when he “entertained angels.” “Perhaps the combined examples of Abraham and Rahab provide a response, showing how active faith demands a sharing of gifts that God has given and a providing of space to those whom God sends unexpectedly (Interpreter’s Commentary).”
Many times our response is not from an unexpected need.
Being a part of a church provides all sorts of opportunities for believers to respond to the faith that God has given them. As we learn about spiritual gifts and start to discover how God has gifted each one of us, our eyes are opened even more to the ways that we can live out our faith in the church...and beyond.
1 Corinthians 12 talks all about the many gifts that God can grace us with - gifts of wisdom, knowledge, healing, prophecy, tongues... and also gifts like administration, leadership, and teaching.
We all receive at least one spiritual gift as well as the skills and talents that we are born with.
And the more we can learn about what gifts we have, the more we can get an idea of where we “fit” in the body of Christ. There are many spiritual gifts inventories and short studies out there, and it’s always inspiring, I think, to see what kind of gifts we have.
For instance I can guess that Shawn, like me, has the gift of apostleship - which means he enjoys and is good at starting new things.
Obviously Nancy has giftings in the arts as well as hospitality. (Did you see her greeting all the folks coming through the doors for the haunted house?)
I’m guessing that Lois might have some giftings in administration because whoever does the money has to be somewhat organized!
I’ve talked with some of you about the idea of spiritual gifts. It’s also exciting because the more we learn about them, and the more we read about the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians, the more we see that each and every gift, each and every person is important. People with disabilities, the old, the young, the quiet, the out-going, everyone holds a vital place within the body of Christ - and when they’re not actively a part of the body, then something is missing!
I remember reading something recently that said, “pastors should never have ‘unemployed’ people in their congregations.” The author meant that everyone who is a part of the church should be involved in some aspect of ministry in the church - whether it’s ushering on Sunday morning, taking the offering deposit to the bank, helping with a children’s outreach, or being a part of a prayer ministry. No one should be “unemployed!”
As Paul tells us, “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’ On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor.”
He goes on to say, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it (1 Cor. 12:21-23, 27).”
I also believe that God gives us passions and excitement to do or be a part of certain ministries.
The first ministry that I volunteered with as an adult was the youth ministry. I wanted to do the fun stuff! I loved hanging out with the kids - obviously I didn’t start out teaching anything, actually I was almost like one of the kids!
I hung out with them, got to know them, took part in the discussions and activities with them, and just had fun.
Over time I learned more and had opportunities to lead some of the discussions, plan some of the games, take part in retreat planning, and eventually I was actually hired as the part-time youth director.
The point isn’t that volunteering turns into a job, although sometimes that does happen, but that I jumped in because it looked like fun, enjoyable...and God refined me and molded me in the process so that I actually became good at what I was doing.
Some people may have a passion or excitement for a certain ministry and then find that their place isn’t in the “front lines” of the ministry but in the background or support areas of the ministry. You may love children’s ministry and recognize its importance but not be very patient with young children.
Maybe your contribution is making phone calls to get parents to bring snacks. Or maybe your contribution is to make a webpage or create a newsletter.
The possibilities are endless.
There were many other things that I tried throughout my life that I found I didn’t like so well and I wasn’t as good at - and that’s part of the process as well. The point is to jump in...don’t be unemployed!
Being a smaller church we don’t have multiple ministries that we can choose to be a part of, but as I mentioned some of the different gifts of different people earlier, you can see that it hasn’t really stopped you from jumping in and doing what you do well!
I hope that as we go through this year together that we can keep talking about this.
I hope that we can take note of each person’s gifts, encourage each other as we notice them, and see what other kinds ministry can happen here - beyond holding fundraisers!
As we start a Bible study maybe we’ll find that someone else has a gift for teaching.
Or maybe some of this hospitality that has been displayed at our fundraisers can be used to do some sort of outreach to the community...ahh, but I get ahead of myself, that’s next week’s theme!
James calls us to live out our faith. In doing so we actually complete our faith, it becomes fuller, and more of who we are in Christ is played out before us and in us.
Paul shows us that God equips us in a variety of ways and that we each have a place and a purpose within Christ’s body, the church. Together we do the ministry that God calls us to - caring for one another, worshipping together, growing together, and reaching out to the world. May we be blessed as we minister together. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
The Church That Won't Die...
Greenfield Presbyterian Church is an interesting little church in the small neighborhood of Greenfield, just south of the Squirrel Hill area in Pittsburgh. I don't really know how many are officially on the church rolls, but since starting there as their pulpit supply in September, 2011, I've preached to as few as five and as many as fourteen. Sadly, there are a few elders I still haven't met because they haven't been to worship.
But this little church is refusing to give up, roll over, and die. The Sunday morning die-hards are made up of four 30-something's, 3-4 of us in our 40's, a couple in their 50's, and one woman probably in her 70's. Once in a while we'll have a young 11-year-old little guy with autism-like problems, along with his mom...and that's "The Church."
They have coffee every Sunday after the service, and they have a "coffee house" every Monday evening from 6-10pm where folks in their 30's and 40's come and visit and play board games together and drink coffee or pop or tea and eat goodies (for a price). The people who come don't attend the church, except those who are in the kitchen selling the refreshments or out visiting with the people. It really is amazing.
They open the church up to outside groups in hopes of making more money to run the church - basically keep the building going. Tonight will be their last night with their haunted house. Yes, you heard me right, the church hosts a haunted house.
One of the elders asked a bunch of his co-workers from the computer gaming/programming company he works at to come help him. So they all worked for HOURS this last week putting it all together and rehearsing who's doing what! Apparently they had over 50 people last night paying $5 a piece to go through the haunted house set up in the church fellowship hall in the basement! They have goodies upstairs for sale along with a crafts table for the kids.
The next event is election day where they will have baked goods as well as soups (to eat there or take home) and drinks for sale. It's the biggest fundraiser of the year. We're hoping to partner with a new church, The Upper Room, for a Thanksgiving Day dinner, chili and caroling night, as well as Christmas Eve and Christmas Day worship services. Things are not idle here!
I'm amazed at the level of commitment of the people of this church. They pour their hearts into keeping it going...and yet, they hope for so much more...
I've been preaching a series the last few weeks entitled "A Vision for a Healthy Church" and each week I've hit on a different aspect - worship, fellowship, and this week was discipleship. As I talked about how we follow Jesus and grow in our relationship with him I passed around a sign-up sheet for people to sign-up for a Bible study and/or for the new members class. Out of the ten people there, EIGHT signed up to be a part of the Bible study and THREE wanted to be in the new members class! Ya think they're hungry?!!!
Wow. I was humbled by their desire, and convicted to get together a study that will really give them a feast of Jesus and his Word! So I lift up this little church and these committed people to God everyday praying that I will be worthy of the call to minister both to and with them. God's doing something here...and I hope that in my time here I can grow along with this faithful body of Christ. What a privilege.
~Sally
But this little church is refusing to give up, roll over, and die. The Sunday morning die-hards are made up of four 30-something's, 3-4 of us in our 40's, a couple in their 50's, and one woman probably in her 70's. Once in a while we'll have a young 11-year-old little guy with autism-like problems, along with his mom...and that's "The Church."
They have coffee every Sunday after the service, and they have a "coffee house" every Monday evening from 6-10pm where folks in their 30's and 40's come and visit and play board games together and drink coffee or pop or tea and eat goodies (for a price). The people who come don't attend the church, except those who are in the kitchen selling the refreshments or out visiting with the people. It really is amazing.
They open the church up to outside groups in hopes of making more money to run the church - basically keep the building going. Tonight will be their last night with their haunted house. Yes, you heard me right, the church hosts a haunted house.
One of the elders asked a bunch of his co-workers from the computer gaming/programming company he works at to come help him. So they all worked for HOURS this last week putting it all together and rehearsing who's doing what! Apparently they had over 50 people last night paying $5 a piece to go through the haunted house set up in the church fellowship hall in the basement! They have goodies upstairs for sale along with a crafts table for the kids.
The next event is election day where they will have baked goods as well as soups (to eat there or take home) and drinks for sale. It's the biggest fundraiser of the year. We're hoping to partner with a new church, The Upper Room, for a Thanksgiving Day dinner, chili and caroling night, as well as Christmas Eve and Christmas Day worship services. Things are not idle here!
I'm amazed at the level of commitment of the people of this church. They pour their hearts into keeping it going...and yet, they hope for so much more...
I've been preaching a series the last few weeks entitled "A Vision for a Healthy Church" and each week I've hit on a different aspect - worship, fellowship, and this week was discipleship. As I talked about how we follow Jesus and grow in our relationship with him I passed around a sign-up sheet for people to sign-up for a Bible study and/or for the new members class. Out of the ten people there, EIGHT signed up to be a part of the Bible study and THREE wanted to be in the new members class! Ya think they're hungry?!!!
Wow. I was humbled by their desire, and convicted to get together a study that will really give them a feast of Jesus and his Word! So I lift up this little church and these committed people to God everyday praying that I will be worthy of the call to minister both to and with them. God's doing something here...and I hope that in my time here I can grow along with this faithful body of Christ. What a privilege.
~Sally
Friday, October 28, 2011
Sunday's Sermon - October 30, 2011
A VISION FOR A HEALTHY CHURCH: DISCIPLESHIP
Old Testament: Psalm 119:97-112
97 Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all day long. 98 Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is always with me. 99 I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your decrees are my meditation. 100 I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts. 101 I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word. 102 I do not turn away from your ordinances, for you have taught me. 103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104 Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. 106 I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to observe your righteous ordinances. 107 I am severely afflicted; give me life, O Lord, according to your word. 108 Accept my offerings of praise, O Lord, and teach me your ordinances. 109 I hold my life in my hand continually, but I do not forget your law. 110 The wicked have laid a snare for me, but I do not stray from your precepts. 111 Your decrees are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. 112 I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end.
New Testament: Matthew 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
10-30-11
Today we’re continuing our series on A Vision for A Healthy Church, and today we are looking at discipleship. Our Old Testament scripture today tells us that God’s Word is a lamp to our feet, and I think that’s a great place to begin because God’s WORD is Jesus Christ.
John 1:1 says that, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...” Jesus Christ is God’s Word to us, God’s living Word. The Bible points us to Him, helps us to learn more about Him, it reveals God to us, our Triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But Jesus is the center of all that we are.
As God’s chosen people we are justified, that is, we are made just before God, by His grace. In justification God accepts us as righteous - not because of anything we have done or will do, but because of the righteousness of Jesus who took our place.
My Church and Sacraments class has been discussing justification and sanctification this last couple of weeks. They’re big, long, $4 words that aren’t always clear, and aren’t always understood, but they’re so important! They are the work of the Holy Spirit both for and in us, and they are a big part of disciple-making.
On our own we have no righteousness at all. Many of our Reformed theologians would say that we don’t even have enough goodness or righteousness within ourselves to say “yes” to God - that even the energy or the impetus to accept God’s gift of grace comes from Him. Justification is the act of God, through the Holy Spirit, accepting and receiving us into his favor as righteous people. That only happens because of Jesus’ death and resurrection which he did on our behalf.
I think it was John Calvin who said what happens then is the “wonderful exchange.” He compares it to a marriage - when all that is the husband’s becomes the wife’s and all that is the wife’s becomes the husband’s.
When we accept Jesus, when we live into the life God has for us, all that is ours - sin, unrighteousness, disobedience, self-centeredness, becomes Jesus’ - and all that is His - purity, perfect love, pure righteousness and perfection - becomes ours. Christ takes on what is ours, and we take on what is Christ’s, so that all God sees when He looks at us, is the perfection and righteousness of Christ. All debts have been paid.
The analogy that made the most sense to me was the idea of being charged for a crime. So I’m charged for a crime. I go before a judge and I am found guilty. The penalty for the crime is death. But before I can be taken for the punishment, the judge (Jesus), comes down off His seat, has handcuffs put on him, goes before the firing squad, and is killed before I can even say I’m sorry or ask for forgiveness or thank Him or anything. It’s a one-time act. He took on our sin and died for us so that we might have his righteousness.
Sanctification, then, is the living out a life of gratitude in response to what God has done for us. You are that person who was convicted of a crime. We are all guilty, convicted and sentenced to death as sinners - and Jesus Christ went ahead and took our punishment for us. What do you do with that?
It’s one thing when someone does something generous like pay the bill at a restaurant, or even something bigger like take the blame when you did something wrong at work - and they knowingly take the heat for you. But Jesus died. He took on our sin, He suffered and was beaten, He was put on a cross until He died, and He descended into Hell - all on our behalf. He went into a place where God is not so we wouldn’t have to.
I don’t think we can ever really know what that is like. But He did all that for you. He did all that for me. What do we do with that?
I don’t know about you, but it makes me want to do everything I can for God! And it’s not out of some sort of obligation or duty...but out of a deep, almost incomprehensible love for a God who would love me that much!
So that kind of brings us to this idea of sanctification. The word sanctify means to “declare something holy” or to set something apart as being holy. In a way that’s very similar to justification because God does declare us holy! It’s something Christ does FOR us. Sanctification is what the Spirit does IN us. It’s a continuing, progressive work. It’s an effect of continuing grace in our lives. And in case the idea of grace is unclear, grace is “the unmerited favor of God,” it’s getting what we don’t deserve, it’s getting what we’ve done nothing for to earn.
The process of sanctification looks different in every person’s life, as we each react differently to the grace given to us.
It’s kind of ironic that today is Reformation Sunday. It’s a celebration of the power of God’s Spirit to always transform us through a fresh encounter with the Word of God. That’s maybe another good definition of sanctification - an on-going reforming of who we are in Christ. A reforming, both individually and corporately, into the image of Christ.
As part of the process of sanctification, of becoming more holy, many of us are moved to practice spiritual disciplines: prayer, time in God’s Word, worship, spiritual reading, hospitality, fellowship. All of these things grow us in our faith, in our knowledge of God and who He is. The more we experience God - through the power of His Spirit - the more our love and devotion for Him grows.
Truthfully, sometimes I think we really just don’t believe that we are deserving enough for what God has done for us - so we just blow it all off like it’s not even really possible or even probable that He has done what He’s done!
We get stuck in our guilt. We get stuck in our shame, and we simply cannot fathom that there is anyone, let alone the God of the universe, who would love and care for us that much.
But as we spend time in God’s Word, His Spirit opens up to us more and more the story of His love for us. The more time we spend with God in prayer, pouring out our lives to Him - our concerns, our confessions, our guilt, our shame, the more we see and experience the grace and love and acceptance He has for us.
It’s not that our actions bring about God’s grace and love for us, it’s more like - in pursuing to know Him more, the blinders come off of our eyes and we see and experience the love and grace of God that has been there all along!
There’s a tension here that I’ve been trying to dance around - and that is the tension between God’s gift of grace and our own actions. The tension is that all that we have and all that God has for us is a gift. We do nothing to earn it or deserve it. Nothing is required to bring about transformation in our lives.
On the other hand, I don’t think that God wants or expects us to just sit idly and wait for His transforming power. I think that when we pursue God, when we set out to know Him more deeply, by His grace He reveals more of Himself to us. We grow in our knowledge of Him, we become more aware of His presence and work in our lives, we look for Him more in our lives. But the tension lays in not going over that line of believing that it is by our own efforts that our relationship and knowledge of God grows. It is all God’s action. It is all by grace alone.
All that said, we all know that in any friendship - the more time and effort we devote to it, the deeper the relationship becomes, and our relationship with God is no different. The beautiful thing is that God uses so many ways to grow us, to transform us.
We’ve talked about His Word transforming us, but He can also use other spiritual reading to grow us. Daily devotionals, books, classes - especially when we do these things with other people, they grow us immensely. Simply sharing our lives with others grows us. Meeting together regularly to pray for each other, to pray for the church, to pray for our country, to pray for the hard stuff of life. It draws us together and it draws us to God.
Practicing hospitality is another way God grows and sanctifies us. Welcoming people who are different from ourselves opens up the possibility of new experiences and new people. It’s a stretching experience to welcome others into your world - whether it’s at church or at home.
One of the biggest transformations, however, comes with stewardship. It’s one thing to talk about giving our time to God or offering our talents, our efforts, to do what needs to be done in the church or in the community to help others. But when we start talking about money that starts hitting a little close to home!
Years ago our church had a Sunday School class that Kim and I took about managing your money and Christian stewardship. The more we learned what God had to say about Himself and money in His Word, the more convicted we became to move towards tithing. This was not an easy move! We were living paycheck to paycheck and to give ten percent of our income, at the time, wasn’t possible.
So we started at two percent, which for us was still a lot of money! And over time we made our way up to ten percent.
The big shocker for us was gradual and over time. There were some months when we had to make a decision about whether we were going to pay a bill or pay our tithe. We started deciding to step out in faith and pay the tithe and trust God for our bills...and you know what? God blessed our efforts. The more we trusted Him with everything, not just small stuff, but big stuff like money! the more we experienced what it is to really live. I mean live in a way that is fully devoted to trusting God.
I want to make sure you understand that I’m not saying that if you give lots of money to the church and are faithful with your tithe that God will instantly bless you, send money your way, or provide in all sorts of ways. That’s not how God works. But there is an exhilaration, a freedom that comes in trusting God fully. There is something that God does in us when we take a risk... When we risk believing His Word. When we risk believing He loves us that much. When we risk living as though we believe it all.
Becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ, means following Jesus...following His lead, trusting in Him and Who He Is, and the life that He calls us to. It means believing enough to live it out. It means living it out enough that those who are not disciples of Jesus see something different in us.
That’s always the question, isn’t it? If you were convicted of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?
I would love to help you in your walk with Jesus. That’s what disciples do, we walk together.
I’ve provided Bible reading lists and websites if that is something you would like to pursue. I’ve also put a sign-up list out by the door, so if you’re interested in being a part of a book or Bible study, or if you’re interested in being in the next new members class, we can get those things in motion.
If you haven’t said “yes” to Jesus yet, I encourage you to do so. If you’ve been a bit relaxed in your pursuit of God and you’d like to start anew, I want to encourage you as well.
Let’s take just a little time right now and pray for God’s Spirit to work in and among us and move us in the direction He wants us to go. Let’s pray.
Lord God there are some of us who may have never quite given a wholehearted “yes” to Your call on our lives. We want to take this moment now to listen to Your voice and answer Your call.
There are others of us, God, who, over time have just allowed life to over-take us. The busy-ness of our world took overcame us and before we knew it You were relegated to Sundays. Forgive us, Lord. We invite Your Holy Spirit right now to take us back. We invite Your Spirit to invade our lives in such a way that nothing can overtake us! We take this moment right now, to recommit ourselves to You.
Do a new thing in us Lord God. We are justified in Christ, sanctified by Your Spirit to do Your will. Mold us and make us into Your people in a way that is holy and pleasing to You - and we ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Old Testament: Psalm 119:97-112
97 Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all day long. 98 Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is always with me. 99 I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your decrees are my meditation. 100 I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts. 101 I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word. 102 I do not turn away from your ordinances, for you have taught me. 103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104 Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. 106 I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to observe your righteous ordinances. 107 I am severely afflicted; give me life, O Lord, according to your word. 108 Accept my offerings of praise, O Lord, and teach me your ordinances. 109 I hold my life in my hand continually, but I do not forget your law. 110 The wicked have laid a snare for me, but I do not stray from your precepts. 111 Your decrees are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. 112 I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end.
New Testament: Matthew 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
10-30-11
Today we’re continuing our series on A Vision for A Healthy Church, and today we are looking at discipleship. Our Old Testament scripture today tells us that God’s Word is a lamp to our feet, and I think that’s a great place to begin because God’s WORD is Jesus Christ.
John 1:1 says that, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...” Jesus Christ is God’s Word to us, God’s living Word. The Bible points us to Him, helps us to learn more about Him, it reveals God to us, our Triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But Jesus is the center of all that we are.
As God’s chosen people we are justified, that is, we are made just before God, by His grace. In justification God accepts us as righteous - not because of anything we have done or will do, but because of the righteousness of Jesus who took our place.
My Church and Sacraments class has been discussing justification and sanctification this last couple of weeks. They’re big, long, $4 words that aren’t always clear, and aren’t always understood, but they’re so important! They are the work of the Holy Spirit both for and in us, and they are a big part of disciple-making.
On our own we have no righteousness at all. Many of our Reformed theologians would say that we don’t even have enough goodness or righteousness within ourselves to say “yes” to God - that even the energy or the impetus to accept God’s gift of grace comes from Him. Justification is the act of God, through the Holy Spirit, accepting and receiving us into his favor as righteous people. That only happens because of Jesus’ death and resurrection which he did on our behalf.
I think it was John Calvin who said what happens then is the “wonderful exchange.” He compares it to a marriage - when all that is the husband’s becomes the wife’s and all that is the wife’s becomes the husband’s.
When we accept Jesus, when we live into the life God has for us, all that is ours - sin, unrighteousness, disobedience, self-centeredness, becomes Jesus’ - and all that is His - purity, perfect love, pure righteousness and perfection - becomes ours. Christ takes on what is ours, and we take on what is Christ’s, so that all God sees when He looks at us, is the perfection and righteousness of Christ. All debts have been paid.
The analogy that made the most sense to me was the idea of being charged for a crime. So I’m charged for a crime. I go before a judge and I am found guilty. The penalty for the crime is death. But before I can be taken for the punishment, the judge (Jesus), comes down off His seat, has handcuffs put on him, goes before the firing squad, and is killed before I can even say I’m sorry or ask for forgiveness or thank Him or anything. It’s a one-time act. He took on our sin and died for us so that we might have his righteousness.
Sanctification, then, is the living out a life of gratitude in response to what God has done for us. You are that person who was convicted of a crime. We are all guilty, convicted and sentenced to death as sinners - and Jesus Christ went ahead and took our punishment for us. What do you do with that?
It’s one thing when someone does something generous like pay the bill at a restaurant, or even something bigger like take the blame when you did something wrong at work - and they knowingly take the heat for you. But Jesus died. He took on our sin, He suffered and was beaten, He was put on a cross until He died, and He descended into Hell - all on our behalf. He went into a place where God is not so we wouldn’t have to.
I don’t think we can ever really know what that is like. But He did all that for you. He did all that for me. What do we do with that?
I don’t know about you, but it makes me want to do everything I can for God! And it’s not out of some sort of obligation or duty...but out of a deep, almost incomprehensible love for a God who would love me that much!
So that kind of brings us to this idea of sanctification. The word sanctify means to “declare something holy” or to set something apart as being holy. In a way that’s very similar to justification because God does declare us holy! It’s something Christ does FOR us. Sanctification is what the Spirit does IN us. It’s a continuing, progressive work. It’s an effect of continuing grace in our lives. And in case the idea of grace is unclear, grace is “the unmerited favor of God,” it’s getting what we don’t deserve, it’s getting what we’ve done nothing for to earn.
The process of sanctification looks different in every person’s life, as we each react differently to the grace given to us.
It’s kind of ironic that today is Reformation Sunday. It’s a celebration of the power of God’s Spirit to always transform us through a fresh encounter with the Word of God. That’s maybe another good definition of sanctification - an on-going reforming of who we are in Christ. A reforming, both individually and corporately, into the image of Christ.
As part of the process of sanctification, of becoming more holy, many of us are moved to practice spiritual disciplines: prayer, time in God’s Word, worship, spiritual reading, hospitality, fellowship. All of these things grow us in our faith, in our knowledge of God and who He is. The more we experience God - through the power of His Spirit - the more our love and devotion for Him grows.
Truthfully, sometimes I think we really just don’t believe that we are deserving enough for what God has done for us - so we just blow it all off like it’s not even really possible or even probable that He has done what He’s done!
We get stuck in our guilt. We get stuck in our shame, and we simply cannot fathom that there is anyone, let alone the God of the universe, who would love and care for us that much.
But as we spend time in God’s Word, His Spirit opens up to us more and more the story of His love for us. The more time we spend with God in prayer, pouring out our lives to Him - our concerns, our confessions, our guilt, our shame, the more we see and experience the grace and love and acceptance He has for us.
It’s not that our actions bring about God’s grace and love for us, it’s more like - in pursuing to know Him more, the blinders come off of our eyes and we see and experience the love and grace of God that has been there all along!
There’s a tension here that I’ve been trying to dance around - and that is the tension between God’s gift of grace and our own actions. The tension is that all that we have and all that God has for us is a gift. We do nothing to earn it or deserve it. Nothing is required to bring about transformation in our lives.
On the other hand, I don’t think that God wants or expects us to just sit idly and wait for His transforming power. I think that when we pursue God, when we set out to know Him more deeply, by His grace He reveals more of Himself to us. We grow in our knowledge of Him, we become more aware of His presence and work in our lives, we look for Him more in our lives. But the tension lays in not going over that line of believing that it is by our own efforts that our relationship and knowledge of God grows. It is all God’s action. It is all by grace alone.
All that said, we all know that in any friendship - the more time and effort we devote to it, the deeper the relationship becomes, and our relationship with God is no different. The beautiful thing is that God uses so many ways to grow us, to transform us.
We’ve talked about His Word transforming us, but He can also use other spiritual reading to grow us. Daily devotionals, books, classes - especially when we do these things with other people, they grow us immensely. Simply sharing our lives with others grows us. Meeting together regularly to pray for each other, to pray for the church, to pray for our country, to pray for the hard stuff of life. It draws us together and it draws us to God.
Practicing hospitality is another way God grows and sanctifies us. Welcoming people who are different from ourselves opens up the possibility of new experiences and new people. It’s a stretching experience to welcome others into your world - whether it’s at church or at home.
One of the biggest transformations, however, comes with stewardship. It’s one thing to talk about giving our time to God or offering our talents, our efforts, to do what needs to be done in the church or in the community to help others. But when we start talking about money that starts hitting a little close to home!
Years ago our church had a Sunday School class that Kim and I took about managing your money and Christian stewardship. The more we learned what God had to say about Himself and money in His Word, the more convicted we became to move towards tithing. This was not an easy move! We were living paycheck to paycheck and to give ten percent of our income, at the time, wasn’t possible.
So we started at two percent, which for us was still a lot of money! And over time we made our way up to ten percent.
The big shocker for us was gradual and over time. There were some months when we had to make a decision about whether we were going to pay a bill or pay our tithe. We started deciding to step out in faith and pay the tithe and trust God for our bills...and you know what? God blessed our efforts. The more we trusted Him with everything, not just small stuff, but big stuff like money! the more we experienced what it is to really live. I mean live in a way that is fully devoted to trusting God.
I want to make sure you understand that I’m not saying that if you give lots of money to the church and are faithful with your tithe that God will instantly bless you, send money your way, or provide in all sorts of ways. That’s not how God works. But there is an exhilaration, a freedom that comes in trusting God fully. There is something that God does in us when we take a risk... When we risk believing His Word. When we risk believing He loves us that much. When we risk living as though we believe it all.
Becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ, means following Jesus...following His lead, trusting in Him and Who He Is, and the life that He calls us to. It means believing enough to live it out. It means living it out enough that those who are not disciples of Jesus see something different in us.
That’s always the question, isn’t it? If you were convicted of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?
I would love to help you in your walk with Jesus. That’s what disciples do, we walk together.
I’ve provided Bible reading lists and websites if that is something you would like to pursue. I’ve also put a sign-up list out by the door, so if you’re interested in being a part of a book or Bible study, or if you’re interested in being in the next new members class, we can get those things in motion.
If you haven’t said “yes” to Jesus yet, I encourage you to do so. If you’ve been a bit relaxed in your pursuit of God and you’d like to start anew, I want to encourage you as well.
Let’s take just a little time right now and pray for God’s Spirit to work in and among us and move us in the direction He wants us to go. Let’s pray.
Lord God there are some of us who may have never quite given a wholehearted “yes” to Your call on our lives. We want to take this moment now to listen to Your voice and answer Your call.
There are others of us, God, who, over time have just allowed life to over-take us. The busy-ness of our world took overcame us and before we knew it You were relegated to Sundays. Forgive us, Lord. We invite Your Holy Spirit right now to take us back. We invite Your Spirit to invade our lives in such a way that nothing can overtake us! We take this moment right now, to recommit ourselves to You.
Do a new thing in us Lord God. We are justified in Christ, sanctified by Your Spirit to do Your will. Mold us and make us into Your people in a way that is holy and pleasing to You - and we ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Looking back...
Hello Friends,
Yes, I know, it's been WAY too long! I haven't written at all about CPE this summer... Maybe I'll have to copy a letter I sent to some friends that tells about it because it was definitely life-changing.
I'm sitting here in the library and I was doing a bunch of reading for a paper I have to write on C.S. Lewis and something I read must have triggered a thought because before I knew it I wasn't reading at all and I was thinking about how much I've changed and grown since we came here.
In particular I was thinking about worship. You know back home in Colorado I was really spoiled. We had (and still have) a wonderful contemporary service, awesome preaching, very comfortable (should've been my first clue). When we moved here we weren't given a lot of choices as far as worship style went. Sure, we attended Eastminster Pres. for a bit, and they're truthfully the only church I have seen pull off a blended service WELL...but then I had field education at the two churches, and chapel, and there really wasn't a choice to attend the style of worship that I had been accustomed to. This brought about a lot of thought, some frustration, and ultimately transformation.
There are A LOT of Presbyterian churches in Pittsburgh. When they say there's a church on every corner, they're really not joking! There are lots of churches, and the majority of them are quite small - under 100 members. So the only one's you'll find with any kind of contemporary worship are the new church developments. So these last couple of years have been an exercise in "finding God in tradition."
This has been a stretch for me, I must admit. After so many years of fighting and persevering to get our contemporary worship service at home, and get it to a high quality, it was really hard to be "stuck" going to only traditional services. Even our chapel services last year all seemed to go traditional or, the one that was supposed to be contemporary was more "contemplative."
I found that over the last year or so I've really had to focus on God a lot more in worship (I know, right? What a concept!) I had become really dependent, I think, on my emotions getting me to a place of worship. The music, of course, played a big part in that, but also I think the casual nature, even the language of "contemporary" helped me. So this last year was an exercise in finding God in the liturgy, finding God in the hymns, and finding God in the structure, the language, and tradition.
I have to say that this was done reluctantly and sometimes without much joy or praise...but over time, I began to see God, to hear Him, and to experience His presence in ways that I can't really put my finger on - but ways that were different. Maybe it was just a matter of using more intellect than emotion. Maybe it was more balanced between the two. Maybe it's because I was simply being intentional about things... I don't know. But I've found a new appreciation.
I think it might have to do with history. As people would lead chapel and read prayers or liturgies that were written hundreds, yes hundredS of years ago, there was something awe-some about saying something that believers before us had read and believed throughout the ages.
I have a new appreciation for the traditions that have come before us. It doesn't mean that I prefer to have it all in worship every Sunday...but I can see myself incorporating a prayer, a confession, or a hymn in one of my contemporary services someday. I hope, too, that'll I'll be able to communicate, to relate - especially to young people (I keep thinking of my niece Sammy as I write this), the history, the richness, the perseverance of the saints throughout the years adequately. The Christian faith as we know it didn't just appear. The Holy Spirit has moved in people through the ages and we have wonderful writings and songs and art and story to remember their point in history when God moved and made an impact. I think it's important...and I'm surprised. I'm changed...and I'm glad.
The peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
~Sally
Yes, I know, it's been WAY too long! I haven't written at all about CPE this summer... Maybe I'll have to copy a letter I sent to some friends that tells about it because it was definitely life-changing.
I'm sitting here in the library and I was doing a bunch of reading for a paper I have to write on C.S. Lewis and something I read must have triggered a thought because before I knew it I wasn't reading at all and I was thinking about how much I've changed and grown since we came here.
In particular I was thinking about worship. You know back home in Colorado I was really spoiled. We had (and still have) a wonderful contemporary service, awesome preaching, very comfortable (should've been my first clue). When we moved here we weren't given a lot of choices as far as worship style went. Sure, we attended Eastminster Pres. for a bit, and they're truthfully the only church I have seen pull off a blended service WELL...but then I had field education at the two churches, and chapel, and there really wasn't a choice to attend the style of worship that I had been accustomed to. This brought about a lot of thought, some frustration, and ultimately transformation.
There are A LOT of Presbyterian churches in Pittsburgh. When they say there's a church on every corner, they're really not joking! There are lots of churches, and the majority of them are quite small - under 100 members. So the only one's you'll find with any kind of contemporary worship are the new church developments. So these last couple of years have been an exercise in "finding God in tradition."
This has been a stretch for me, I must admit. After so many years of fighting and persevering to get our contemporary worship service at home, and get it to a high quality, it was really hard to be "stuck" going to only traditional services. Even our chapel services last year all seemed to go traditional or, the one that was supposed to be contemporary was more "contemplative."
I found that over the last year or so I've really had to focus on God a lot more in worship (I know, right? What a concept!) I had become really dependent, I think, on my emotions getting me to a place of worship. The music, of course, played a big part in that, but also I think the casual nature, even the language of "contemporary" helped me. So this last year was an exercise in finding God in the liturgy, finding God in the hymns, and finding God in the structure, the language, and tradition.
I have to say that this was done reluctantly and sometimes without much joy or praise...but over time, I began to see God, to hear Him, and to experience His presence in ways that I can't really put my finger on - but ways that were different. Maybe it was just a matter of using more intellect than emotion. Maybe it was more balanced between the two. Maybe it's because I was simply being intentional about things... I don't know. But I've found a new appreciation.
I think it might have to do with history. As people would lead chapel and read prayers or liturgies that were written hundreds, yes hundredS of years ago, there was something awe-some about saying something that believers before us had read and believed throughout the ages.
I have a new appreciation for the traditions that have come before us. It doesn't mean that I prefer to have it all in worship every Sunday...but I can see myself incorporating a prayer, a confession, or a hymn in one of my contemporary services someday. I hope, too, that'll I'll be able to communicate, to relate - especially to young people (I keep thinking of my niece Sammy as I write this), the history, the richness, the perseverance of the saints throughout the years adequately. The Christian faith as we know it didn't just appear. The Holy Spirit has moved in people through the ages and we have wonderful writings and songs and art and story to remember their point in history when God moved and made an impact. I think it's important...and I'm surprised. I'm changed...and I'm glad.
The peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
~Sally
Saturday, March 26, 2011
My Adventure in Brazil!
Dear Friends & Family,
There's so much to tell about this trip that it's hard to know where to start! First of all, thank you so much for your love, for your support - financial and otherwise - and your continued encouragement on this seminary journey! It just seems to be getting better and better, and God keeps honing in more and more on where and how He'd like me to minister. It's exciting.
Our group of seven hooked up with our leader, Jose' Pezini of the PC(USA) Outreach Foundation, when we arrived in Rio De Janeiro. "Pezini" as he is called, is from Brazil and travels a lot all over the world helping to train leaders on church planting and connect churches, people, and resources with each other - so of course, I loved him immediately!
We stayed at a church, which happens to be a house (lived in by a church-planting pastor and his family) which is also used as their church. This pastor and one of his parishioners drove us all over Rio the four days we were there, visiting various churches and church-planting pastors - listening to their stories and hearing how they are working together to start churches there and reach out to the upper class people in Rio. This church was an IPI church (Igreja Presbiteriana Independente).
The first church we visited was the IPB (Igreja Presbiteriana de Brasil - i.e., Presby Church of Brazil) of Gavea - (this denomination is similar to maybe the Presby Church of America or the Evang. Presby Church - evangelical and conservative-no women pastors). It is a fairly affluent church in a suburb of Brazil and their main mission focus is helping to start new churches. They currently have 2 new churches in Rio and 9 just outside of Rio, 2 in Spain and 1 in Africa that they have helped start. All of the churches they start also commit to put 30% of their budgets (once they're self-sufficient) towards new church planting as well.
These churches all start with a pastor meeting new people and starting a small group. As the small group grows they eventually start holding worship services at a rented facility. The focus is always on introducing people to Christ.
This is somewhat similar to how churches are begun in the U.S. within the PC(USA) except usually the Presbytery initiates the new church development. In Brazil (like many in the U.S.) the Presbytery is fairly ineffective. So this church in Gavea decided to get things going on their own - and things have just gone crazy. (Also, they don't have paid Presbytery folks, the Presbytery is totally made up of pastors in the area.)
We were able to go to the beach in Rio one afternoon - simply gorgeous - and went to many a Brazilian BBQ - which is basically a huge buffet w/ many side dishes and then waiters come around to the table with various cuts of meat to offer you (filet mignon, top sirloin, chicken, chicken hearts, lamb, etc..) and they cut it on to your plate, as much as you want. Needless to say, we ate a lot of meat while we were there! (I wasn't as excited about most of the side dishes.) Oh - also went on the first day and saw Christ the Redeemer - the big statue of Christ on top of the mountain overlooking the city. Simply amazing.) Rio is a gorgeous city.
Four days after we arrived in Rio we boarded a plane to Manaus (via Brasilia). Manaus is about 1200 miles northwest of Rio on the Amazon River (which is HUGE, by the way).
In Manaus we stayed at a hotel just a few blocks from the Igreja Presbuteriano de Manaus. This church has a 105-year history and, as the pastor says, for many years it was asleep. But it has woken up in the last 30-40 years. An American missionary named Frank Arnold came and partnered with the pastor around 20 or 30 years ago and together they reached out to various villages up and down the Amazon. Over the years the ministry has grown, more has been learned, and the church continues to grow. Their main focus are home cell groups. The current pastor, 16 years ago, took a trip to Korea and saw how the Korean church was exploding through the cell-group system. He brought it back to Brazil and tried to start it in his church. (Here it is SIXTEEN YEARS later, and they still have to keep the vision in front of the people and encourage them not to go back to the "old structure"). Amazing! We humans are so stubborn.
Basically, the cell group system is a small group which meets weekly. They are centered around four "E's" which they take 20 minutes for each "E." First is "Encounter" - ice breakers, getting to know each other, catching up, etc.. Next is "Exalt" - time spent singing and praying, praising God together. Next is "Edification" - they have their bulletin from church which has a summary of the sermon on the front and discussion questions inside. They end with "Evangelism" - they talk about friends or neighbors who they are reaching out to and building relationships with and hope to one day invite to the group. The names of these people are put on a list and everyone prays for them. So much of this is similar to U.S. small groups - EXCEPT that vital last item - Evangelism. These folks are very intentional about meeting people - neighbors, people they work with, people they see regularly, and building relationships with them in order to introduce them to Jesus. They also may use that end time to plan some sort of outreach event - maybe a BBQ to invite friends to, plan outreach at Carnaval, etc..
This church has grown to 3000 people in Manaus (many of which have become new churches - they all couldn't stay at the Manaus mother church), and 6000 more up and down the Amazon.
The other huge thing they do is equip people to become leaders. As folks come to small groups they share the leadership. When the group grows close to 20 people they divide and new leaders go with the new group. People are also trained to be coordinators who touch base monthly with a number of the group leaders, and district coordinators who keep in touch with the coordinators. Monthly meetings are held for the various leaders where they are equipped as well as encouraged, stories of God's work are told, etc. (We attended one of these.) As folks continue to be equipped as leaders some end up being called into full-time ministry, and the church is in the process of creating a seminary. Those who attend seminary continue leading their groups - and many already have a church that they created out of 4-5 cell groups who had multiplied. They are very good at making sure people aren't left out on their own in leadership. Yearly they pay for all the leaders EVERYWHERE to come to Manaus for a week of training and touching base. They've definitely got things down to an art, which is awesome.
The priority is relationships. Eighty percent of the church members are involved in cell groups (so yes, they still have that smaller group of folks who don't get it and bitch about it!). I guess that's inevitable no matter where in the world you live! Go figure!
Anyway - we had an opportunity to go on a short boat trip on the Amazon. Actually it was on the Rio Negro (Black River) and the Solomon River (aka Amazon). These two rivers come together at Manaus and it's interesting because the Rio Negro is black in color and very warm due to a number of things in the water. The Solomon River is more hot chocolate colored. When the two rivers come together they don't mix -- until about 100 km down the river! You can put your hand in the water in one side and feel warm in the blackness and then coolness in the light brown. There's a definitive line between the two. (I hope to add pictures soon). We visited folks who live on houseboats on the edge of the river and even saw the floating one-room schoolhouse where the kids attend school. We fished (in an enclosure) for those HUGE Amazonian fish that are as big as a man - and they actually grabbed on to our lines and jumped out of the water. They're amazing! Just like on the River Monsters show! Ha!
Well, that's the highlights! I'm really pumped because I decided to do this trip for credit, so now I (and a couple of my cohorts) are doing an independent study on church planting! Woo hoo! So far I've read one book and have two more to go. I have to pace myself because I want to devour these books and ignore my other classes - probably not a good decision!
As I read more and more I get more and more excited about what God is calling me to.... I also have become even MORE aware of the need for a strong team of prayer warriors to begin even now praying for guidance, wisdom, and discernment as to what God would have me do when I graduate and where He would have me go.
So if you are interested in making a serious commitment for the next 15-18 months to be a prayer warrior for me, please let me know. I am very serious about getting a committed group of people together to pray for God to prepare the people I will minister to, prepare Kim and I for what is ahead, and for Him to directly lead us to where He wants us to minister.
I hope you realize how much I love you and how much I truly depend on you to carry me through this! I seriously could not have made it this far without all of the love and support from you all and others who have prayed for us, encouraged us, listened to us gripe and cry and laugh and scoff... Thank you.
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
- Philippians 1:3-8
May God bless you as you have blessed me!
Sally
(Go to the top of this page and click on "Brazil Trip" to see some pictures - I still need to download a bunch, but there are a few there!)
There's so much to tell about this trip that it's hard to know where to start! First of all, thank you so much for your love, for your support - financial and otherwise - and your continued encouragement on this seminary journey! It just seems to be getting better and better, and God keeps honing in more and more on where and how He'd like me to minister. It's exciting.
Our group of seven hooked up with our leader, Jose' Pezini of the PC(USA) Outreach Foundation, when we arrived in Rio De Janeiro. "Pezini" as he is called, is from Brazil and travels a lot all over the world helping to train leaders on church planting and connect churches, people, and resources with each other - so of course, I loved him immediately!
We stayed at a church, which happens to be a house (lived in by a church-planting pastor and his family) which is also used as their church. This pastor and one of his parishioners drove us all over Rio the four days we were there, visiting various churches and church-planting pastors - listening to their stories and hearing how they are working together to start churches there and reach out to the upper class people in Rio. This church was an IPI church (Igreja Presbiteriana Independente).
The first church we visited was the IPB (Igreja Presbiteriana de Brasil - i.e., Presby Church of Brazil) of Gavea - (this denomination is similar to maybe the Presby Church of America or the Evang. Presby Church - evangelical and conservative-no women pastors). It is a fairly affluent church in a suburb of Brazil and their main mission focus is helping to start new churches. They currently have 2 new churches in Rio and 9 just outside of Rio, 2 in Spain and 1 in Africa that they have helped start. All of the churches they start also commit to put 30% of their budgets (once they're self-sufficient) towards new church planting as well.
These churches all start with a pastor meeting new people and starting a small group. As the small group grows they eventually start holding worship services at a rented facility. The focus is always on introducing people to Christ.
This is somewhat similar to how churches are begun in the U.S. within the PC(USA) except usually the Presbytery initiates the new church development. In Brazil (like many in the U.S.) the Presbytery is fairly ineffective. So this church in Gavea decided to get things going on their own - and things have just gone crazy. (Also, they don't have paid Presbytery folks, the Presbytery is totally made up of pastors in the area.)
We were able to go to the beach in Rio one afternoon - simply gorgeous - and went to many a Brazilian BBQ - which is basically a huge buffet w/ many side dishes and then waiters come around to the table with various cuts of meat to offer you (filet mignon, top sirloin, chicken, chicken hearts, lamb, etc..) and they cut it on to your plate, as much as you want. Needless to say, we ate a lot of meat while we were there! (I wasn't as excited about most of the side dishes.) Oh - also went on the first day and saw Christ the Redeemer - the big statue of Christ on top of the mountain overlooking the city. Simply amazing.) Rio is a gorgeous city.
Four days after we arrived in Rio we boarded a plane to Manaus (via Brasilia). Manaus is about 1200 miles northwest of Rio on the Amazon River (which is HUGE, by the way).
In Manaus we stayed at a hotel just a few blocks from the Igreja Presbuteriano de Manaus. This church has a 105-year history and, as the pastor says, for many years it was asleep. But it has woken up in the last 30-40 years. An American missionary named Frank Arnold came and partnered with the pastor around 20 or 30 years ago and together they reached out to various villages up and down the Amazon. Over the years the ministry has grown, more has been learned, and the church continues to grow. Their main focus are home cell groups. The current pastor, 16 years ago, took a trip to Korea and saw how the Korean church was exploding through the cell-group system. He brought it back to Brazil and tried to start it in his church. (Here it is SIXTEEN YEARS later, and they still have to keep the vision in front of the people and encourage them not to go back to the "old structure"). Amazing! We humans are so stubborn.
Basically, the cell group system is a small group which meets weekly. They are centered around four "E's" which they take 20 minutes for each "E." First is "Encounter" - ice breakers, getting to know each other, catching up, etc.. Next is "Exalt" - time spent singing and praying, praising God together. Next is "Edification" - they have their bulletin from church which has a summary of the sermon on the front and discussion questions inside. They end with "Evangelism" - they talk about friends or neighbors who they are reaching out to and building relationships with and hope to one day invite to the group. The names of these people are put on a list and everyone prays for them. So much of this is similar to U.S. small groups - EXCEPT that vital last item - Evangelism. These folks are very intentional about meeting people - neighbors, people they work with, people they see regularly, and building relationships with them in order to introduce them to Jesus. They also may use that end time to plan some sort of outreach event - maybe a BBQ to invite friends to, plan outreach at Carnaval, etc..
This church has grown to 3000 people in Manaus (many of which have become new churches - they all couldn't stay at the Manaus mother church), and 6000 more up and down the Amazon.
The other huge thing they do is equip people to become leaders. As folks come to small groups they share the leadership. When the group grows close to 20 people they divide and new leaders go with the new group. People are also trained to be coordinators who touch base monthly with a number of the group leaders, and district coordinators who keep in touch with the coordinators. Monthly meetings are held for the various leaders where they are equipped as well as encouraged, stories of God's work are told, etc. (We attended one of these.) As folks continue to be equipped as leaders some end up being called into full-time ministry, and the church is in the process of creating a seminary. Those who attend seminary continue leading their groups - and many already have a church that they created out of 4-5 cell groups who had multiplied. They are very good at making sure people aren't left out on their own in leadership. Yearly they pay for all the leaders EVERYWHERE to come to Manaus for a week of training and touching base. They've definitely got things down to an art, which is awesome.
The priority is relationships. Eighty percent of the church members are involved in cell groups (so yes, they still have that smaller group of folks who don't get it and bitch about it!). I guess that's inevitable no matter where in the world you live! Go figure!
Anyway - we had an opportunity to go on a short boat trip on the Amazon. Actually it was on the Rio Negro (Black River) and the Solomon River (aka Amazon). These two rivers come together at Manaus and it's interesting because the Rio Negro is black in color and very warm due to a number of things in the water. The Solomon River is more hot chocolate colored. When the two rivers come together they don't mix -- until about 100 km down the river! You can put your hand in the water in one side and feel warm in the blackness and then coolness in the light brown. There's a definitive line between the two. (I hope to add pictures soon). We visited folks who live on houseboats on the edge of the river and even saw the floating one-room schoolhouse where the kids attend school. We fished (in an enclosure) for those HUGE Amazonian fish that are as big as a man - and they actually grabbed on to our lines and jumped out of the water. They're amazing! Just like on the River Monsters show! Ha!
Well, that's the highlights! I'm really pumped because I decided to do this trip for credit, so now I (and a couple of my cohorts) are doing an independent study on church planting! Woo hoo! So far I've read one book and have two more to go. I have to pace myself because I want to devour these books and ignore my other classes - probably not a good decision!
As I read more and more I get more and more excited about what God is calling me to.... I also have become even MORE aware of the need for a strong team of prayer warriors to begin even now praying for guidance, wisdom, and discernment as to what God would have me do when I graduate and where He would have me go.
So if you are interested in making a serious commitment for the next 15-18 months to be a prayer warrior for me, please let me know. I am very serious about getting a committed group of people together to pray for God to prepare the people I will minister to, prepare Kim and I for what is ahead, and for Him to directly lead us to where He wants us to minister.
I hope you realize how much I love you and how much I truly depend on you to carry me through this! I seriously could not have made it this far without all of the love and support from you all and others who have prayed for us, encouraged us, listened to us gripe and cry and laugh and scoff... Thank you.
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
- Philippians 1:3-8
May God bless you as you have blessed me!
Sally
(Go to the top of this page and click on "Brazil Trip" to see some pictures - I still need to download a bunch, but there are a few there!)
Friday, January 21, 2011
January, 2011 Update
Dear Friends & Family, Jan. 21, 2011
I hope this finds you well and celebrating a new year where God can continue to show us all how truly awesome he is!
My seminary journey continues! Currently I am taking Pastoral Care, Christology (the study of Christ, his incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension and their meaning for us), Systems Theory (pastoral counseling help), and Theology of Worship. I love them all! I am finally done with all my languages (praise God!), and had Ethics and Homiletics (preaching) last fall. I am officially halfway done!!!
This year has been a real challenge for us since I didn’t qualify for any financial aid and so we have had to get some big loans for both school and living (which I keep telling God, was not in our plans). Kim’s hours at Apple have finally increased to almost full-time so that has helped, and I work ten hours a week between my two field ed. churches - which does pay a small stipend.
God is teaching us about his provision in ways we never would have imagined! Amazingly, he always comes through - whether it’s something that we worked at or something that is purely grace - like the large check we received last fall from an anonymous angel in Grand Junction. It is very humbling, and yet builds our faith like none other. GOD IS AT WORK IN OUR MIDST! I hope you see it as much as we have - and if you haven’t, I pray this encourages you! He is here, always, and at work in our lives. A lesson, I believe, we constantly need to be reminded of...
I wasn’t planning on going on a mission trip this year because of our very tight finances, but then a trip came up that I felt I couldn’t pass up. The seminary is taking a group of students to Brazil to learn about and encourage those planting churches there. Since I am very interested in church planting and new church development I felt God really calling me to go on this trip. He seems to keep directing me to people and situations that teach me even more about church planting, so I try to keep following his lead!
The total cost of the trip is $2500. World Mission Initiative, the school organization which organizes the trip, has given me $500, and a wonderful couple, the Shortridge’s, have given me (and many others - as they do each year) a scholarship of $1000. So I’m more than halfway there!
God has been working in me and many students here at PTS. There are quite a few of us feeling called to new church development, and the seminary is even talking about starting an “NCD track” next year since there are so many interested students - which is very exciting! The Pittsburgh Presbytery is also very proactive with NCD, and there are around half a dozen new church plants in Pittsburgh alone. God’s showing me more and more why PTS was the right place to come!
Having come from such a vibrant church in Grand Junction, it’s been almost shocking to see how many Presbyterian (and other mainline) churches are dying. There IS literally a church on every other corner here. Huge, 100-year-old monuments with tiny congregations barely able to keep the building going let alone do any kind of ministry. Many of these churches simply end up fading away, but some - like my urban field ed. church - are slowly coming back to life as they reach out into the community showing the love of Christ in tangible ways. (There is a part of me that is drawn to church redevelopment as well - helping some of these dying churches come back to life!)
I am writing to see if you can help in supporting me become better equipped for what God is calling me to. So many of you pray for me, and I (we) can’t thank you enough, as your prayers have truly carried us through this sometimes difficult journey.
If you are willing and able, I would be so grateful if you could help financially support this trip to Brazil (which I take from Feb. 25th to March 8th). Whether or not you can help financially, I would love to have your prayer support as I see what God has to show me in Brazil and beyond!
Thank you, again, for your love and prayers throughout this seminary journey. I know for certain that it has been only through God’s strength that we have made it thus far!
May God bless you and open your eyes and your heart to the great love he has for you, and the wondrous mystery of his work in all of our lives!
Serving Together (though miles apart)!
~Sally
P.S. If you can help support this adventure financially you can make checks out to either me or Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and I will take the money to the school. (When made out to the seminary, you will receive a receipt for tax deduction purposes.) Leave a comment or email me for our mailing address so I don't have to put it out here in cyberspace!
P.P.S. If you would, two more prayer requests. First, pray for our sweet Sarah, her husband Rob, and their Rilo. They are separated and our family is simply grieving. Certainly we pray for reconciliation, but more than that we pray that through this Rob will come to know the Lord and Sarah will draw even nearer to Jesus.
Second, please just keep our future in your prayers. I trust that God will have the perfect church, in the perfect place, at the perfect time prepared for us. My prayer is that even now he is preparing that place, and he will guide and direct us when that time comes. (I am guessing that I won’t start with doing a church plant right out of seminary, but who knows! We hope to be wherever Rilo is so we can be a bigger part of his life.)
I hope this finds you well and celebrating a new year where God can continue to show us all how truly awesome he is!
My seminary journey continues! Currently I am taking Pastoral Care, Christology (the study of Christ, his incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension and their meaning for us), Systems Theory (pastoral counseling help), and Theology of Worship. I love them all! I am finally done with all my languages (praise God!), and had Ethics and Homiletics (preaching) last fall. I am officially halfway done!!!
This year has been a real challenge for us since I didn’t qualify for any financial aid and so we have had to get some big loans for both school and living (which I keep telling God, was not in our plans). Kim’s hours at Apple have finally increased to almost full-time so that has helped, and I work ten hours a week between my two field ed. churches - which does pay a small stipend.
God is teaching us about his provision in ways we never would have imagined! Amazingly, he always comes through - whether it’s something that we worked at or something that is purely grace - like the large check we received last fall from an anonymous angel in Grand Junction. It is very humbling, and yet builds our faith like none other. GOD IS AT WORK IN OUR MIDST! I hope you see it as much as we have - and if you haven’t, I pray this encourages you! He is here, always, and at work in our lives. A lesson, I believe, we constantly need to be reminded of...
I wasn’t planning on going on a mission trip this year because of our very tight finances, but then a trip came up that I felt I couldn’t pass up. The seminary is taking a group of students to Brazil to learn about and encourage those planting churches there. Since I am very interested in church planting and new church development I felt God really calling me to go on this trip. He seems to keep directing me to people and situations that teach me even more about church planting, so I try to keep following his lead!
The total cost of the trip is $2500. World Mission Initiative, the school organization which organizes the trip, has given me $500, and a wonderful couple, the Shortridge’s, have given me (and many others - as they do each year) a scholarship of $1000. So I’m more than halfway there!
God has been working in me and many students here at PTS. There are quite a few of us feeling called to new church development, and the seminary is even talking about starting an “NCD track” next year since there are so many interested students - which is very exciting! The Pittsburgh Presbytery is also very proactive with NCD, and there are around half a dozen new church plants in Pittsburgh alone. God’s showing me more and more why PTS was the right place to come!
Having come from such a vibrant church in Grand Junction, it’s been almost shocking to see how many Presbyterian (and other mainline) churches are dying. There IS literally a church on every other corner here. Huge, 100-year-old monuments with tiny congregations barely able to keep the building going let alone do any kind of ministry. Many of these churches simply end up fading away, but some - like my urban field ed. church - are slowly coming back to life as they reach out into the community showing the love of Christ in tangible ways. (There is a part of me that is drawn to church redevelopment as well - helping some of these dying churches come back to life!)
I am writing to see if you can help in supporting me become better equipped for what God is calling me to. So many of you pray for me, and I (we) can’t thank you enough, as your prayers have truly carried us through this sometimes difficult journey.
If you are willing and able, I would be so grateful if you could help financially support this trip to Brazil (which I take from Feb. 25th to March 8th). Whether or not you can help financially, I would love to have your prayer support as I see what God has to show me in Brazil and beyond!
Thank you, again, for your love and prayers throughout this seminary journey. I know for certain that it has been only through God’s strength that we have made it thus far!
May God bless you and open your eyes and your heart to the great love he has for you, and the wondrous mystery of his work in all of our lives!
Serving Together (though miles apart)!
~Sally
P.S. If you can help support this adventure financially you can make checks out to either me or Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and I will take the money to the school. (When made out to the seminary, you will receive a receipt for tax deduction purposes.) Leave a comment or email me for our mailing address so I don't have to put it out here in cyberspace!
P.P.S. If you would, two more prayer requests. First, pray for our sweet Sarah, her husband Rob, and their Rilo. They are separated and our family is simply grieving. Certainly we pray for reconciliation, but more than that we pray that through this Rob will come to know the Lord and Sarah will draw even nearer to Jesus.
Second, please just keep our future in your prayers. I trust that God will have the perfect church, in the perfect place, at the perfect time prepared for us. My prayer is that even now he is preparing that place, and he will guide and direct us when that time comes. (I am guessing that I won’t start with doing a church plant right out of seminary, but who knows! We hope to be wherever Rilo is so we can be a bigger part of his life.)
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