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
The Family - Summer, 2023
Love these people!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
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.)
Friday, September 3, 2010
Starting Year Two of Seminary!
The last few weeks have been a blurr! I finished the first two terms of Greek last Friday and I'm getting ready for Term 1 of the 2010-2011 school year to start next week. I'll be taking Greek Exegesis, Homiletics, Ethics, something like Theology in the Parish Context, and Reflections on Ministry (a small group time to talk about our Field Ed. experiences). I'm also working at my two Field Ed. churches - Mt Pleasant Presby, a small suburban church that I'm at three Sundays per month and 2nd United Presby which I work at during the week doing a Kid's Club on Thursday evenings, a worship time before the Food Pantry distribution, and one Sunday per month.
My sister Lee flew in Tuesday evening and we've been having a great time hanging out and spending time with seminary friends.
Wednesday evening we had a few friends over and ended up having an awesome conversation over some beers sitting out on the patio. We were sharing what were the highlights and lowlights of our first year at seminary. It was a very touching time as many of us shared the struggles we had and the sweet friendships that evolved from sharing our pain and doing life together. The repeated theme among everyone was how God brought people into our lives who encouraged us, challenged us, prayed for us, and even suffered with us. It was such a testimony of God's goodness and faithfulness.
I still tear up when I think of how God has worked in my life and Kim's life this last year. The ways that He allowed us to struggle and wallow in our own self-pity, then the clear messages that He brought to us through: a sermon by Craig Barnes at Shadyside Presby on Palm Sunday, the book Encountering God by Andrew Purves, the book When God Interrupts by Craig Barnes, and through classes taught by Rob Gagnon and Andrew Purves, along with many conversations with friends and family.
He has brought Kim and I to a place in our relationship that we never would have gone to without having gone through the struggle we did this last year. We share our own stuff with each other more than we ever did before. We now pray together and read God's word daily together...things that we talked about doing, but never did before. God has become so much more present in our daily lives, and I wouldn't change that for anything. It's very odd. Odd because so many times in our lives we really don't even know what we're missing - in our own lives, in relationships - until something happens that takes us to that different place, and then we think, "My God, how have I missed this my entire life? How did I not know that things could be this way?" Crazy. Faith is crazy. Life is crazy. But I thank God that I'm not doing it alone. I know He is with me, and He has surrounded me with so many people who help me and encourage me, who pray for me, and call me on the carpet on things. I am so thankful and humbled by His love for me, and all of His people.
I am also thankful for how God brought Jon and Kristen in our lives and now into our home, living together in community. We're just at the beginning of this journey, but we already see that God is growing us all through our interactions and conversations. I pray that as we continue this small, intentional community God will open our eyes and move our hearts to say and do things that we might not have done before. I pray He will take us to places that grow each of us and draw us all closer to Him, both individually and as a family in one household. Please join us in that prayer!
I have struggled with my eyesight the last year. I only started wearing glasses - for distance - a year and a half ago. Then in December I had to get bi-focals. But in the last six months my eyesight has really deteriorated. My periphery vision is horrible, I have blind spots both to the right and the left, and my night vision has gotten so bad that I can no longer drive at night! That's not right for someone 47 years old! My eye doc couldn't find anything wrong with my eyes, so next Wednesday I'm going to a neurological ophthalmologist. I'm a little concerned. I'm praying that it's nothing serious and that whatever is wrong can be fixed, but please pray with me that all is ok and it CAN be fixed.
I'm helping with the new student orientation this week, and tonight I'll be at the Activities Fair staffing a table for small groups. It is our prayer that both current and new students will take an active part in growing in their faith by being a part of a small group. We want people to leave seminary not just with a good academic foundation, but also with a strong personal faith. We want to create new pastors who have been real and transparent with fellow believers, open to accountability, and ready to be authentic Christ-followers with their congregations. Please keep this goal in your prayers as well. We're starting on this journey, and I hope by the time I leave here there will be more things in place to help seminarians and their spouses grow in their own faith and be able to equip and lead their congregations with strength and integrity.
Well, I'm gonna go play with Lee while she's here! Thanks be to God for all He has done!
Blessings!
~Sally
My sister Lee flew in Tuesday evening and we've been having a great time hanging out and spending time with seminary friends.
Wednesday evening we had a few friends over and ended up having an awesome conversation over some beers sitting out on the patio. We were sharing what were the highlights and lowlights of our first year at seminary. It was a very touching time as many of us shared the struggles we had and the sweet friendships that evolved from sharing our pain and doing life together. The repeated theme among everyone was how God brought people into our lives who encouraged us, challenged us, prayed for us, and even suffered with us. It was such a testimony of God's goodness and faithfulness.
I still tear up when I think of how God has worked in my life and Kim's life this last year. The ways that He allowed us to struggle and wallow in our own self-pity, then the clear messages that He brought to us through: a sermon by Craig Barnes at Shadyside Presby on Palm Sunday, the book Encountering God by Andrew Purves, the book When God Interrupts by Craig Barnes, and through classes taught by Rob Gagnon and Andrew Purves, along with many conversations with friends and family.
He has brought Kim and I to a place in our relationship that we never would have gone to without having gone through the struggle we did this last year. We share our own stuff with each other more than we ever did before. We now pray together and read God's word daily together...things that we talked about doing, but never did before. God has become so much more present in our daily lives, and I wouldn't change that for anything. It's very odd. Odd because so many times in our lives we really don't even know what we're missing - in our own lives, in relationships - until something happens that takes us to that different place, and then we think, "My God, how have I missed this my entire life? How did I not know that things could be this way?" Crazy. Faith is crazy. Life is crazy. But I thank God that I'm not doing it alone. I know He is with me, and He has surrounded me with so many people who help me and encourage me, who pray for me, and call me on the carpet on things. I am so thankful and humbled by His love for me, and all of His people.
I am also thankful for how God brought Jon and Kristen in our lives and now into our home, living together in community. We're just at the beginning of this journey, but we already see that God is growing us all through our interactions and conversations. I pray that as we continue this small, intentional community God will open our eyes and move our hearts to say and do things that we might not have done before. I pray He will take us to places that grow each of us and draw us all closer to Him, both individually and as a family in one household. Please join us in that prayer!
I have struggled with my eyesight the last year. I only started wearing glasses - for distance - a year and a half ago. Then in December I had to get bi-focals. But in the last six months my eyesight has really deteriorated. My periphery vision is horrible, I have blind spots both to the right and the left, and my night vision has gotten so bad that I can no longer drive at night! That's not right for someone 47 years old! My eye doc couldn't find anything wrong with my eyes, so next Wednesday I'm going to a neurological ophthalmologist. I'm a little concerned. I'm praying that it's nothing serious and that whatever is wrong can be fixed, but please pray with me that all is ok and it CAN be fixed.
I'm helping with the new student orientation this week, and tonight I'll be at the Activities Fair staffing a table for small groups. It is our prayer that both current and new students will take an active part in growing in their faith by being a part of a small group. We want people to leave seminary not just with a good academic foundation, but also with a strong personal faith. We want to create new pastors who have been real and transparent with fellow believers, open to accountability, and ready to be authentic Christ-followers with their congregations. Please keep this goal in your prayers as well. We're starting on this journey, and I hope by the time I leave here there will be more things in place to help seminarians and their spouses grow in their own faith and be able to equip and lead their congregations with strength and integrity.
Well, I'm gonna go play with Lee while she's here! Thanks be to God for all He has done!
Blessings!
~Sally
Monday, August 9, 2010
Sunday's Sermon - August 8, 2010
I thought I'd share the sermon I gave at Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian Church last Sunday... Then I'll share how ironic it is...
A Prayer For Favor (Read Neh. 1:1-11)
The story today in Nehemiah has us hearing Nehemiah’s prayer to God. The Israelites are in exile. Most of them had not been faithful to God in their living and worshipping and so God had not kept them from harm (which seems to be an on-going theme in the Old Testament).
Nehemiah sees a fellow believer who has just come from Judah and he asks him about the remnant, those few people who had stayed faithful to God’s commands, and is told that they’re in pretty bad shape. It disturbs Nehemiah a lot. The state of his people, where he came from, his family is not good, and it lays heavy on his heart. So Nehemiah goes to God in prayer.
As he prays Nehemiah reminds God, and himself, of what he knows about God - that He is great and awesome, that He keeps His covenant, His promises of love with those who love Him and obey His commandments...And then he asks God to listen to his prayer.
This is a great way to start your own prayers. I remember being at a youth retreat a number of years ago. The teenagers had been presented with the Gospel and were spending some time outside alone with God, so the leadership stayed inside to pray...and we started praying by acknowledging naming the many names and what we knew of the character of God. YHWH, I am, Redeemer, God who forgives, unconditional lover, God of grace (getting what we don’t deserve), Holy One, and God of mercy (not getting what we do deserve), and so on. It was an awesome time of really recognizing and acknowledging who God is.
Back in our story, Nehemiah then confesses the sins not only of the people of Israel, but of himself and his own family as well. He acknowledges they have all fallen well short of God’s desires and commands.
He restates God’s promise to Moses - that God will scatter those people who were unfaithful, but will gather up those who return to Him and obey Him. And then again, Nehemiah asks God to hear his prayer.
Then he asks for something specifically. In his prayer, Nehemiah asks for success today and God’s favor in the king’s presence. In The Message translation he says, “make me successful today so that I get what I want from the king (vs.11b).”
Now at first glance one might look at that and think, gee Nehemiah, you’re being awfully bold and prideful! Asking that he gets what he wants from the king, asking for favor! We need to take note here though, that he’s not asking for a favor, but asking for favor. What’s the difference here?
To ask for “a favor” is to ask someone for something specific, to ask someone to do something for you. But that’s not what Nehemiah is asking for here. He’s asking for “favor.” He’s asking for the king to agree with him, to be in support of him, to find praise in him. So what does Nehemiah have in mind? Well to find that out we have to go on to chapter two.
We have to also take note before we move on that Nehemiah mentions at the end of chapter one that he is the cup-bearer to the king. Just like in the book of Esther, a servant of the king can’t just approach the king and ask for something...to do so could bring death. A servant of the king has to wait for the king to speak to them first, and sometimes even wait for the king to ask them something before they are actually allowed to speak directly to the him.
So chapter two begins by telling us that it’s been four months since Nehemiah first prayed for favor from God, and he is doing his job serving the king. I’m going to read verses 1-6 of chapter 2 from The Message translation:
“At the hour for serving wine I brought it in and gave it to the king. I had never been hangdog in his presence before (which is an interesting word used to mean long-faced or sad-looking), so he asked me, ‘Why the long face? You’re not sick are you? Or are you depressed?’
That made me all the more agitated. I said, ‘Long live the king! And why shouldn’t I be depressed when the city, the city where all my family is buried, is in ruins and the city gates have been reduced to cinders?’
The king then asked me, ‘So what do you want?’
Praying under my breath to the God-of-Heaven, I said, ‘If it please the king, and if the king thinks well of me, send me to Judah, to the city where my family is buried, so that I can rebuild it.’
The king, with the queen sitting alongside him, said, ‘How long will your work take and when would you expect to return?’
I gave him a time, and the king gave his approval to send me.”
So Nehemiah had to wait four months until he finally had the opportunity to even talk to the king, but when the time came he found favor and was first, allowed to speak freely, and second, granted his request to go and help his people in Judah. (If you read the rest of the book you find that Nehemiah was a great leader and rebuilt the entire wall around the city.) Because of the favor God had granted Nehemiah, he was able to do great things for God and God’s people.
Can you think of others who were given God’s favor? As mentioned earlier, Esther is a great example. She was a young Jewish woman who was put in the king’s “harem” in the palace of King Xerxes because of her beauty. Because of her position and, again, finding favor with her king, she ended up being the pivotal person to intervene for her people and save them from being destroyed.
How about today? Are there examples of people who have been granted God’s favor today? I think Jimmy Carter is a great example. Although some would say that as president he wasn’t highly effective, many would say that his greatest work, helping to bring peace to numerous areas of the world, has been done since his presidency. But it was was due to the the influence he gained and relationships he made as president that helped make him so effective in his work after his presidency.
Finally, some of you may be familiar with Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in California, a huge mega-church that Pastor Warren started from very humble beginnings. He wrote The Purpose-Driven Life, a great book. Warren, by both equipping lay people to grow and act on their faith, as well as by staying faithful to God in his own life, has not only grown a big church, but has become very influential, not only in Christian circles but in governing and political circles as well - both in the U.S. and around the world.
Rick Warren is known for many things, but the two things that stick out to me are his reverse tithing, and what he says about influence.
When Warren and his wife Kay started Saddleback Church they tithed ten percent of their income. Each year they increased their giving by one percent. They didn’t change their lifestyle as his income increased, they gave more. So now they give away ninety percent of their income, and live on ten. That speaks very loudly to me about how seriously Warren takes his faith.
When it comes to influence, Rick Warren recounts his thoughts and conversation with God,
“What do you want me to do with the influence?"--which was a trickier thing. All of a sudden I start to get invitations. I spoke at Harvard and Cambridge and Oxford... All of a sudden I’m going up on Capitol Hill and talking to guys. Producers in Hollywood are asking me to come up and discuss the book with eight or nine major studio producers.
This wasn’t my plan. My plan was just to pastor Saddleback and train pastors. So I’m going, "God, what am I supposed to do with all of this new influence that you are giving me?" I’m reading through the scriptures trying to find an answer, and I find Psalm 72, which is Solomon’s prayer for more influence.
When you read this prayer it really sounds quite selfish. Solomon is the wisest and wealthiest and most powerful man in the world, because he is the head of the United Kingdom of Israel when it is at the apex of its power. He prays, "God, I want you to make me more influential. I want you to bless me and give me more power. I want you to make me famous. I want you to spread the fame of my name to many nations."
It sounds selfish until you understand he says, "So that the king may support the widow and orphan, care for the poor, defend the defenseless, lift up the fallen, release the captive, help the foreigner, the immigrant."
God said to me, "The purpose of influence is to speak up for those who have no influence." That changed my life. I had to repent.”
Over time Warren learned more about the poor, the widows and the orphans, especially in Africa in the midst of the AIDS epidemic. As God continued to open his eyes and break his heart Warren became more and more convicted that he needed to take action. Out of all that came a mixture of what he was already doing - building church leaders and active Christians, along with addressing the issues of AIDS victims in Africa. The P.E.A.C.E. program was created. It stands for:
P - Plan a church, or partner with a church if there is one (it always begins
w/ the church - in, through, and to a church)
E - Equip servant leaders
A - Assist the poor
C - Care for the sick
E - Educate the next generation
Hundreds of churches across the country have adopted this model to help build the Church in Africa so that will be the vehicle to minister to these people and help combat the AIDS epidemic and the trail of brokenness that it leaves. And an extra bonus is that it also builds up the American Church because people feel more connected to their faith. That in partnering with God and His people across the world, they are actually making a difference.
There are two things that I hope you will take from this message today. The first is that, like Nehemiah, God brings things into our lives that break our hearts, that get under our skin, that bother us and won’t let us go - (like the suffering of the people of Israel did to Nehemiah). And He doesn’t want us to inoculate ourselves to the pain it causes us, but to expose ourselves even more to it. He wants us to see the pain of the world as He does.
I know that probably really dates me, but how many of you remember the old Popeye cartoons? Remember when Bluto, the big brute, would get a hold of Olive Oil, Popeye’s girlfriend? Bluto would mess with Popeye to the point where he would say, “That’s all I can stands.....(say it with me!) I can’t stands no more!” Well, that’s the place that God wants to take us to. He wants us to feel it deep enough that we have that “Popeye moment” and we cry out, “that’s all I can stands, I can’t stands no more!”
Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Church calls that phenomenon a “holy discontent.” It’s that feeling we have when we finally get to the point of saying or thinking, someone should DO something - and God takes us to those places because that someone is you!
So become more aware of that thing or things that give you a holy discontent. It may be something to do with the homeless, it may be adult literacy, maybe it’s the lack of help for families with special needs children. For someone else it may be the AIDS epidemic or the rights of women in third world countries, or even mentoring local teenagers. God has a plan and a purpose for each one of us. Tune in and pay attention! God may have been trying to get your attention for a while! And you never know, someone else may have been praying to God about the very issue or problem on your heart - and YOU are to be the answer to that person’s prayer.
The second thing I’d like you to take away from this is to take note of where God has placed you. It may just be that He has already put you in a position of influence to do something. Or it may be that, like the Nehemiah story He has just started to put something on your heart and you need to take some time praying about it before He will put you or bring you together with someone who can bring some power, finances, or influence to the situation.
I want to share with you a story about a man, Mike Berry, from my church back in Colorado. You see, in our new member classes, we showed a video that Bill Hybels made talking about holy discontent and those Popeye moments to encourage our people to be listening for God and what He has planned for them to do in ministry - whether it’s within or outside the walls of the church.
Well, a few years earlier Mike had been walking his daughter to school one morning when a young girl ran in to the school unkempt and crying. He asked her what the matter was and she told him that she had slept in the car with her mom and hadn’t eaten since lunch the day before. The vision of that young hungry girl stayed with Mike over the years and really bothered him, but he felt helpless and didn’t really think that he could do anything.
After watching the video in the new members class, Mike finally felt convicted enough to take action, to do something, and he realized that, having his own financial planning business for over twenty years, he was actually in a position where he had surplus time and money to devote to this.
So Mike and his family started Kid’s Aid. They began at his daughter’s elementary school and invited families to take part in a backpack program. Mike’s family, along with some church volunteers, would get food at the local Food Bank along with supplements they bought at Sam’s Club, and fill around 20 backpacks with ready-made or easy to prepare food for kids to take home every Friday. The kids would return the backpacks the following week where they’d refill them and do it all over again throughout the school year.
I just received the newsletter from our church on Friday with an update. Kid’s Aid is currently serving 1, 260 students in 17 schools. They have come to realize that to meet the need of the entire district they will need to prepare 2,000 backpacks every week, and that is their goal. The program now has other churches involved, and has become its own non-profit in order to take advantage of grants and other opportunities offered to non-profit organizations. And all this because Mike decided to listen to that holy discontent and follow God’s lead in doing something about it. I’m not saying that every movement God makes ends up in some huge project like this, but we just never know where He will lead us if we allow ourselves to be led.
So what has God placed on your heart? Have you inoculated yourself to it? Pushed it aside and tried to not let it bother you? Maybe you need to expose yourself to it a bit more. Maybe you need to spend some serious time with God and see where He leads you. Maybe, like Nehemiah or Mike, He’s got something big in mind for you. Or maybe He’s put a need of someone close-by on your heart and wants you to make a difference for that one person or that family.
Whatever it is, LISTEN. Whatever is it, PRAY. And then wait and watch for God’s favor. Let’s pray.
Now the irony of this sermon is that someone at our home church in Grand Junction apparently had a stirring in their own heart. Apparently it was so strong that they acted on it. They took a BIG check to the church and asked if the church would send us a check (so they could remain anonymous). We received it on Saturday (thinking it was our regular support from the church's Mission Team, sent to me by mistake instead of directly to the seminary). Our pastor told us it was from someone in the church who wished to remain anonymous. I wonder if they know they answered many a prayer! We plan on writing a note that the pastor can give to them to let them know! God is SO good...more than we can ask or imagine.
Blessings to you,
~Sally
A Prayer For Favor (Read Neh. 1:1-11)
The story today in Nehemiah has us hearing Nehemiah’s prayer to God. The Israelites are in exile. Most of them had not been faithful to God in their living and worshipping and so God had not kept them from harm (which seems to be an on-going theme in the Old Testament).
Nehemiah sees a fellow believer who has just come from Judah and he asks him about the remnant, those few people who had stayed faithful to God’s commands, and is told that they’re in pretty bad shape. It disturbs Nehemiah a lot. The state of his people, where he came from, his family is not good, and it lays heavy on his heart. So Nehemiah goes to God in prayer.
As he prays Nehemiah reminds God, and himself, of what he knows about God - that He is great and awesome, that He keeps His covenant, His promises of love with those who love Him and obey His commandments...And then he asks God to listen to his prayer.
This is a great way to start your own prayers. I remember being at a youth retreat a number of years ago. The teenagers had been presented with the Gospel and were spending some time outside alone with God, so the leadership stayed inside to pray...and we started praying by acknowledging naming the many names and what we knew of the character of God. YHWH, I am, Redeemer, God who forgives, unconditional lover, God of grace (getting what we don’t deserve), Holy One, and God of mercy (not getting what we do deserve), and so on. It was an awesome time of really recognizing and acknowledging who God is.
Back in our story, Nehemiah then confesses the sins not only of the people of Israel, but of himself and his own family as well. He acknowledges they have all fallen well short of God’s desires and commands.
He restates God’s promise to Moses - that God will scatter those people who were unfaithful, but will gather up those who return to Him and obey Him. And then again, Nehemiah asks God to hear his prayer.
Then he asks for something specifically. In his prayer, Nehemiah asks for success today and God’s favor in the king’s presence. In The Message translation he says, “make me successful today so that I get what I want from the king (vs.11b).”
Now at first glance one might look at that and think, gee Nehemiah, you’re being awfully bold and prideful! Asking that he gets what he wants from the king, asking for favor! We need to take note here though, that he’s not asking for a favor, but asking for favor. What’s the difference here?
To ask for “a favor” is to ask someone for something specific, to ask someone to do something for you. But that’s not what Nehemiah is asking for here. He’s asking for “favor.” He’s asking for the king to agree with him, to be in support of him, to find praise in him. So what does Nehemiah have in mind? Well to find that out we have to go on to chapter two.
We have to also take note before we move on that Nehemiah mentions at the end of chapter one that he is the cup-bearer to the king. Just like in the book of Esther, a servant of the king can’t just approach the king and ask for something...to do so could bring death. A servant of the king has to wait for the king to speak to them first, and sometimes even wait for the king to ask them something before they are actually allowed to speak directly to the him.
So chapter two begins by telling us that it’s been four months since Nehemiah first prayed for favor from God, and he is doing his job serving the king. I’m going to read verses 1-6 of chapter 2 from The Message translation:
“At the hour for serving wine I brought it in and gave it to the king. I had never been hangdog in his presence before (which is an interesting word used to mean long-faced or sad-looking), so he asked me, ‘Why the long face? You’re not sick are you? Or are you depressed?’
That made me all the more agitated. I said, ‘Long live the king! And why shouldn’t I be depressed when the city, the city where all my family is buried, is in ruins and the city gates have been reduced to cinders?’
The king then asked me, ‘So what do you want?’
Praying under my breath to the God-of-Heaven, I said, ‘If it please the king, and if the king thinks well of me, send me to Judah, to the city where my family is buried, so that I can rebuild it.’
The king, with the queen sitting alongside him, said, ‘How long will your work take and when would you expect to return?’
I gave him a time, and the king gave his approval to send me.”
So Nehemiah had to wait four months until he finally had the opportunity to even talk to the king, but when the time came he found favor and was first, allowed to speak freely, and second, granted his request to go and help his people in Judah. (If you read the rest of the book you find that Nehemiah was a great leader and rebuilt the entire wall around the city.) Because of the favor God had granted Nehemiah, he was able to do great things for God and God’s people.
Can you think of others who were given God’s favor? As mentioned earlier, Esther is a great example. She was a young Jewish woman who was put in the king’s “harem” in the palace of King Xerxes because of her beauty. Because of her position and, again, finding favor with her king, she ended up being the pivotal person to intervene for her people and save them from being destroyed.
How about today? Are there examples of people who have been granted God’s favor today? I think Jimmy Carter is a great example. Although some would say that as president he wasn’t highly effective, many would say that his greatest work, helping to bring peace to numerous areas of the world, has been done since his presidency. But it was was due to the the influence he gained and relationships he made as president that helped make him so effective in his work after his presidency.
Finally, some of you may be familiar with Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in California, a huge mega-church that Pastor Warren started from very humble beginnings. He wrote The Purpose-Driven Life, a great book. Warren, by both equipping lay people to grow and act on their faith, as well as by staying faithful to God in his own life, has not only grown a big church, but has become very influential, not only in Christian circles but in governing and political circles as well - both in the U.S. and around the world.
Rick Warren is known for many things, but the two things that stick out to me are his reverse tithing, and what he says about influence.
When Warren and his wife Kay started Saddleback Church they tithed ten percent of their income. Each year they increased their giving by one percent. They didn’t change their lifestyle as his income increased, they gave more. So now they give away ninety percent of their income, and live on ten. That speaks very loudly to me about how seriously Warren takes his faith.
When it comes to influence, Rick Warren recounts his thoughts and conversation with God,
“What do you want me to do with the influence?"--which was a trickier thing. All of a sudden I start to get invitations. I spoke at Harvard and Cambridge and Oxford... All of a sudden I’m going up on Capitol Hill and talking to guys. Producers in Hollywood are asking me to come up and discuss the book with eight or nine major studio producers.
This wasn’t my plan. My plan was just to pastor Saddleback and train pastors. So I’m going, "God, what am I supposed to do with all of this new influence that you are giving me?" I’m reading through the scriptures trying to find an answer, and I find Psalm 72, which is Solomon’s prayer for more influence.
When you read this prayer it really sounds quite selfish. Solomon is the wisest and wealthiest and most powerful man in the world, because he is the head of the United Kingdom of Israel when it is at the apex of its power. He prays, "God, I want you to make me more influential. I want you to bless me and give me more power. I want you to make me famous. I want you to spread the fame of my name to many nations."
It sounds selfish until you understand he says, "So that the king may support the widow and orphan, care for the poor, defend the defenseless, lift up the fallen, release the captive, help the foreigner, the immigrant."
God said to me, "The purpose of influence is to speak up for those who have no influence." That changed my life. I had to repent.”
Over time Warren learned more about the poor, the widows and the orphans, especially in Africa in the midst of the AIDS epidemic. As God continued to open his eyes and break his heart Warren became more and more convicted that he needed to take action. Out of all that came a mixture of what he was already doing - building church leaders and active Christians, along with addressing the issues of AIDS victims in Africa. The P.E.A.C.E. program was created. It stands for:
P - Plan a church, or partner with a church if there is one (it always begins
w/ the church - in, through, and to a church)
E - Equip servant leaders
A - Assist the poor
C - Care for the sick
E - Educate the next generation
Hundreds of churches across the country have adopted this model to help build the Church in Africa so that will be the vehicle to minister to these people and help combat the AIDS epidemic and the trail of brokenness that it leaves. And an extra bonus is that it also builds up the American Church because people feel more connected to their faith. That in partnering with God and His people across the world, they are actually making a difference.
There are two things that I hope you will take from this message today. The first is that, like Nehemiah, God brings things into our lives that break our hearts, that get under our skin, that bother us and won’t let us go - (like the suffering of the people of Israel did to Nehemiah). And He doesn’t want us to inoculate ourselves to the pain it causes us, but to expose ourselves even more to it. He wants us to see the pain of the world as He does.
I know that probably really dates me, but how many of you remember the old Popeye cartoons? Remember when Bluto, the big brute, would get a hold of Olive Oil, Popeye’s girlfriend? Bluto would mess with Popeye to the point where he would say, “That’s all I can stands.....(say it with me!) I can’t stands no more!” Well, that’s the place that God wants to take us to. He wants us to feel it deep enough that we have that “Popeye moment” and we cry out, “that’s all I can stands, I can’t stands no more!”
Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Church calls that phenomenon a “holy discontent.” It’s that feeling we have when we finally get to the point of saying or thinking, someone should DO something - and God takes us to those places because that someone is you!
So become more aware of that thing or things that give you a holy discontent. It may be something to do with the homeless, it may be adult literacy, maybe it’s the lack of help for families with special needs children. For someone else it may be the AIDS epidemic or the rights of women in third world countries, or even mentoring local teenagers. God has a plan and a purpose for each one of us. Tune in and pay attention! God may have been trying to get your attention for a while! And you never know, someone else may have been praying to God about the very issue or problem on your heart - and YOU are to be the answer to that person’s prayer.
The second thing I’d like you to take away from this is to take note of where God has placed you. It may just be that He has already put you in a position of influence to do something. Or it may be that, like the Nehemiah story He has just started to put something on your heart and you need to take some time praying about it before He will put you or bring you together with someone who can bring some power, finances, or influence to the situation.
I want to share with you a story about a man, Mike Berry, from my church back in Colorado. You see, in our new member classes, we showed a video that Bill Hybels made talking about holy discontent and those Popeye moments to encourage our people to be listening for God and what He has planned for them to do in ministry - whether it’s within or outside the walls of the church.
Well, a few years earlier Mike had been walking his daughter to school one morning when a young girl ran in to the school unkempt and crying. He asked her what the matter was and she told him that she had slept in the car with her mom and hadn’t eaten since lunch the day before. The vision of that young hungry girl stayed with Mike over the years and really bothered him, but he felt helpless and didn’t really think that he could do anything.
After watching the video in the new members class, Mike finally felt convicted enough to take action, to do something, and he realized that, having his own financial planning business for over twenty years, he was actually in a position where he had surplus time and money to devote to this.
So Mike and his family started Kid’s Aid. They began at his daughter’s elementary school and invited families to take part in a backpack program. Mike’s family, along with some church volunteers, would get food at the local Food Bank along with supplements they bought at Sam’s Club, and fill around 20 backpacks with ready-made or easy to prepare food for kids to take home every Friday. The kids would return the backpacks the following week where they’d refill them and do it all over again throughout the school year.
I just received the newsletter from our church on Friday with an update. Kid’s Aid is currently serving 1, 260 students in 17 schools. They have come to realize that to meet the need of the entire district they will need to prepare 2,000 backpacks every week, and that is their goal. The program now has other churches involved, and has become its own non-profit in order to take advantage of grants and other opportunities offered to non-profit organizations. And all this because Mike decided to listen to that holy discontent and follow God’s lead in doing something about it. I’m not saying that every movement God makes ends up in some huge project like this, but we just never know where He will lead us if we allow ourselves to be led.
So what has God placed on your heart? Have you inoculated yourself to it? Pushed it aside and tried to not let it bother you? Maybe you need to expose yourself to it a bit more. Maybe you need to spend some serious time with God and see where He leads you. Maybe, like Nehemiah or Mike, He’s got something big in mind for you. Or maybe He’s put a need of someone close-by on your heart and wants you to make a difference for that one person or that family.
Whatever it is, LISTEN. Whatever is it, PRAY. And then wait and watch for God’s favor. Let’s pray.
Now the irony of this sermon is that someone at our home church in Grand Junction apparently had a stirring in their own heart. Apparently it was so strong that they acted on it. They took a BIG check to the church and asked if the church would send us a check (so they could remain anonymous). We received it on Saturday (thinking it was our regular support from the church's Mission Team, sent to me by mistake instead of directly to the seminary). Our pastor told us it was from someone in the church who wished to remain anonymous. I wonder if they know they answered many a prayer! We plan on writing a note that the pastor can give to them to let them know! God is SO good...more than we can ask or imagine.
Blessings to you,
~Sally
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