We've talked a little bit about events coming up in the next month or so. I want to remind you of one, the last and final Evangelism Workshop for the year. We'll hold it on September 30th and October 14th following worship. If you haven't been to one yet, you're going to be light years ahead in understanding our church and its mission when you come. Evangelism isn't what we think it is. In fact most of what people have been told about evangelism is backwards. This is a huge part of the reason we don't do it well. That's a serious flaw in our lives of faith. This workshop alone won't correct that but it will provide a start in a new direction. That's going to become important to us as we move forward through the next year. So please make your plans to participate.
After the rush of the early fall schedule clears we're going to hold two other slightly more voluntary but just as important courses:
Basics of the Bible
We talk about the Bible plenty and most folks are aware of the major story and themes but many don't know how the Bible fits together, where it came from, why it's central to our life of faith. This course will look at the various parts of the Bible, their origins, how they fit together into the whole, and how they inform us today. We're not going to study individual books as much as the flow of the story and its history.
Basics of Lutheranism
This will do the same thing for our denominational history. We'll talk about Martin Luther, see how the Reformation came about, talk about the radical changes it gave birth to, and look at how its tenets continue today through our church (or sometimes not). This won't just be a dry history but a look at the origins of many of the things we believe, discussion about the ways our belief has evolved, and a look at the church today and how it's similar or different.
Having been through multiple Bible Studies and a bunch of Theology on Tap meetings, I perceive people crying out for some of these things. Or if they aren't crying out for them, maybe they should be. These won't be the typical "here's what you have to believe, now hush up and toe the line" attempts at teaching theology. Rather they'll be a chance to find common ground and identify which things in our faith life are central and which are more peripheral and malleable.
The phrases that get tossed around over and over again are:
"This is what the Bible says..." And...
"Lutherans think this! (Or at least that's what somebody said to me 20 years ago, I think.)"
As it turns out, at least half of the phrases that follow those assertions are, if not strictly untrue, at least pretty far out there. Coming back to center and orienting ourselves will at least give us a chance to chart our journey instead of walking willy-nilly based on rumor and guesses. These courses will be a chance to understand ourselves, our church, and our faith life better.
We will probably offer these in multiple years so everybody eventually has a chance to participate in one or both, but I'd love to see a strong showing early to indicate there's interest. We'll try to schedule them conveniently. Take advantage of them when they come around!
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Lessons from Our First Youth Event
Our new (formal) Youth Event season kicked off Monday night with a well-attended viewing of the movie "The Hunger Games" which just came out on DVD. Based on the book of the same name, it tells the story of two teenagers whose government and society force them to participate in a brutal spectacle pitting them against other teenagers from around the land. All of the young folks, two from each "district" of the country, must fight in an expansive, scenic arena until only one emerges alive and victorious to be feted with riches beyond imagination. This event is shown on TV for the amusement (and rooting interest) of all. Our two heroes are forced to put on a show, faking a romantic storyline with each other, pretending they're thrilled with the chance to participate, demonstrating that they're not only willing to do away with their opponents, but that they're good at it. If they don't play along they'll get no "sponsors" and not get the crucial aid they'll need to survive the ordeal. At the same time they struggle with their own integrity: the desire to be good versus the need to stay alive, the difficulty in keeping one's own identity when battling against a corrupt culture.
Like the books, this movie brought up multiple discussion points. For purposes of this sitting, we focused heavily on two:
1. Today's young generation lives in a world where if it doesn't happen on video, it's not real. Between TV, YouTube, Facebook, phone cameras, webcams...every important moment is ripe for recording and broadcast. There's a temptation, then, to swallow everything one sees on video as real. The movie showed how unreal most of these situations are. Our characters were forced to pretend the entire time they were on camera. They were primped, trained, threatened, bribed...everything was directed towards showing the story the culture wanted told rather than the real feelings of these two people. How similar is that to 99% of the things we see on TV today, especially "reality" TV? In most ways if it happens on video it's not real. Many of these people putting themselves out there for public consumption are doing just what all the youth in the arena had to do: making up a pretend person to show to the world in order to put food on the table, stay alive, or gain fame. That's not reality. Or if it is reality, we're all in trouble.
2. One of the enduring themes of the books and the movie is that even though our main characters find a way to keep/salvage some integrity, fighting back against the system to change it, they, personally, are never the same again after having witnessed the horror and violence that their culture has set up for them. In some ways it takes them years to recover. In other ways they never do. Our young people today have the capability of witnessing almost anything with the click of a mouse button. The best of human achievement is open to their Googling, but the worst is too. No generation before them has had access to the kind of information and imagery that they have, for good and bad. Our parents and society kept away harmful images and information during our formative years. You had to actually go out and get/buy a magazine or movie to see shocking things. These were usually protected, kept away from minors. Not so today. All of it comes right into your house.
This means that our young folks have a special responsibility to guard what they see. They need a discipline beyond that which our upbringing required. They need the ability to say, "No...I do not wish to see this, at least not right now." No matter how much our culture dangles in front of them, they need to understand that society is more interested in selling them something than protecting them from anything. They need the same kind of integrity our main characters had, to not go along blindly into things beyond their capacity to control. Once seen, an image can't be unseen. It'll follow you the rest of your life. Those of us who are older have built up some resistance. The cement of our brains has hardened to an extent. Much of the harm of all but the most grotesque images bounces off. But when you're young that cement is still wet. The wrong image at the wrong time can leave an imprint that hardens into permanence, just like the hand print on the sidewalk. It's OK to say no to some experiences for now, to stay out of the arena until you're sure you want to enter and you're sure you can handle it. Just because something exists doesn't mean it's right for you.
We'll have more youth events in the coming months. Hope to see all of you young-type folks there!
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Things You Need to Know!
Instead of writing the church blog last night I attended the Parsonage Movie Premier of "The Hunger Games". The event was well-attended and the movie was well-discussed. We'll get to all that tomorrow. Today some important announcements.
1. Remember we still worship at the Valley for the next two Sundays. We won't move to St. John's this year until the 16th of September. Worship remains at 9:30 as long as we're at the Valley.
2. On September 16th worship returns to St. John's. This marks our Rally Sunday for Sunday School, beginning at 9:00 a.m. Worship moves to 10:00 a.m. as soon as we return to St. John's.
3. Next week, following Labor Day, is our St. John's clean-up week. We need several things done inside and outside of the church. Please take a little while to stop by with family or friends and spend a little time sprucing up the church in preparation for fall. You don't have to spend multiple hours. Just bring a couple friends and help out a little. Lists of possible clean-up items will be posted at St. John's after next Sunday.
4. Speaking of next Sunday, it's Labor Day weekend but we do have a nifty surprise in store for those who come!
5. Confirmation classes will commence on September 23rd following worship. Anyone interested in joining this year's confirmation class can talk to me.
6. Our last and final Evangelism Workshop will be held after worship on September 30th and October 14th. If you haven't yet participated in an Evangelism Workshop you'll want to be at this one.
7. Our first Theology on Tap of the new year will be held on Saturday, October 6th at 7:00 p.m. Place is to be determined. Let me know if you'd like to host!
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
1. Remember we still worship at the Valley for the next two Sundays. We won't move to St. John's this year until the 16th of September. Worship remains at 9:30 as long as we're at the Valley.
2. On September 16th worship returns to St. John's. This marks our Rally Sunday for Sunday School, beginning at 9:00 a.m. Worship moves to 10:00 a.m. as soon as we return to St. John's.
3. Next week, following Labor Day, is our St. John's clean-up week. We need several things done inside and outside of the church. Please take a little while to stop by with family or friends and spend a little time sprucing up the church in preparation for fall. You don't have to spend multiple hours. Just bring a couple friends and help out a little. Lists of possible clean-up items will be posted at St. John's after next Sunday.
4. Speaking of next Sunday, it's Labor Day weekend but we do have a nifty surprise in store for those who come!
5. Confirmation classes will commence on September 23rd following worship. Anyone interested in joining this year's confirmation class can talk to me.
6. Our last and final Evangelism Workshop will be held after worship on September 30th and October 14th. If you haven't yet participated in an Evangelism Workshop you'll want to be at this one.
7. Our first Theology on Tap of the new year will be held on Saturday, October 6th at 7:00 p.m. Place is to be determined. Let me know if you'd like to host!
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Sermon Question: Good and Right
A question from one of our parishioners:
Pastor Dave,
In today's sermon you said that part of committing to God's call is committing to goodness, being married to it even. I understand what you're saying but part of me also asks how this is possible. I want to be committed to goodness in everything I do but I don't seem to be able to achieve that! I make mistakes. Sometimes it seems like nothing is right. I suppose I'm saying that if I'm married to goodness I'm a bad spouse because I keep stepping out! How do I make this marriage work?
Great observation! The easy answer is, "That's what forgiveness is for." We need it in our marriage to goodness just as much as we need it in our earthly marriages and other relationships. Nobody can be around another person for any length of time without forgiveness. Fortunately God has an infinite supply.
I suppose we could leave it at that, save for your last question. Saying, "God will forgive you, just keep trying" is true but it doesn't make a strong basis for feeling committed to something. My gut tells me we need to add to the story a little by exploring the odd difference between "good" and "right".
In an ideal world--and frankly in the theological world as well--the terms "good" and "right" are interchangeable. What's good is right and what's right is good. End of story.
Unfortunately daily life tends to muddy our definitions. How often do you really get to make a "right" choice? I don't mean a choice that seems good in the moment or that addresses a certain situation, but a choice that's 100%, without exception or argument, right? Chances are the answer is, "Almost never." If you think you make the 100% right choices all the time then you need to get yourself a teenager. Within 48 hours you will be informed how not-100%-right your choices actually are!
In real life few, if any, choices are absolutely right. They all depend on context, opinions, culture, goals. Even when all those things align your choice still only ends up right for you and people who feel/think/believe/grew up like you. Let a stranger come into your midst and your "right" goes right out the window. And this isn't even counting all the times when the "right" choice is simply the lesser of two evils. *cough* *cough* election year *cough*
But as counter-intuitive as it seems to our pristine, theological minds, a choice can contain 100% goodness (in certain ways) even when it's not 100% right.
Let me give you an example.
Right after my parents divorced my sister and I spent hefty amounts of time in a new situation: living in a house with my dad as the sole parent without the influence of mom. As you may expect, some things changed. Among the most prominent of those was dessert. Heretofore portions of dessert had been strictly rationed. That was the sensible-mom, child-rearing thing to do. Now here comes dad, completely mom-free. "You guys want some ice cream?" Two heads nod. Out comes a ginormous spoon and three ginormous bowls. The spoon dips into the carton once, twice, thrice for each bowl. My sister and I are now holding the Machu Picchu of ice cream in our little hands. With huge, incredulous smiles we devour the wondrous bounty. It was amazing.
Now, was this right? Probably not. Even if you discount the dubious nutritional content of those enormous bowls for pre-teen children you're left with one middle-aged pastor who to this day has inordinate affection for large bowls of ice cream and the comfort they bring. This was not a sustainable, healthy pattern of eating for then or the years that followed!
But you know what? For two little kids now living in a recently-broken family, emotionally adrift, with precious little to reassure them--kids who privately wondered every day whether anything would be safe or comforting again--this was good. Oh yeah, this was 100% good, even though by many measures it was also wrong. To this day I cannot imagine what life would have been like without those large bowls of ice cream.
Being married to goodness doesn't mean that you're going to do everything 100% right. Rather it means that in everything you do, you can find goodness. That goodness is what causes you to make the decisions you do, right or wrong though they may be. And that goodness isn't just about you and your own needs, but also about the needs of those around you. You focus on the goodness rather than how right or wrong you are. As you begin to see the goodness in your (admittedly faulty) decisions your eyes also open to the goodness in other people's decisions...even those decisions which seem wrong by your internal measuring stick. This brings you closer together with those around you and allows that ever-necessary forgiveness to flow more freely.
Being right is a fool's task that, even when successful, ultimately drives people apart. The effort spent in being good, however, is never wasted.
Being right is a fool's task that, even when successful, ultimately drives people apart. The effort spent in being good, however, is never wasted.
I have been asked to my face before--several times--whether I think some of my decisions are right...by Scripture, morality, by our cultural norms, by church tradition. I'm always a little at a loss there. Who can ever guarantee that any decision is the right one even by one's own standards, let alone by those lofty measures? I can't tell you with certainty that my decisions and interpretations are right, especially by Scriptural standards. But I can tell you that they are good and I can point to that goodness in the lives of others. It may be in a particular way. It may be through an avenue or person that you don't like. It may only get acknowledged by a simple smile, a momentary widening of eyes, or puzzlement because the recipient expected a different response from a "church guy". But it's there. I can see that goodness and I can commit to serving my neighbor by upholding it. And really, what more could be asked?
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Thursday, August 23, 2012
More Lessons From Derek
I don't know if it's his developmental stage or just his own little way of seeing the world, but Derek does a funny thing when he talks. Most people I know describe objects using some inherent quality: "The big table" or "The red ball" or "The soft pillow". Derek will do this occasionally, but more often he'll describe objects--particularly complex ones--by explaining what they do or the purpose they serve in his relationships. For instance he'll say of one of his toys, "Mommy, where's the sword I'm not supposed to hit you with?" or, "I'm playing with the tractor that turns with the wheel in the cab."
It's a funny habit because you get to hear just how he perceives the world. It's also not a bad habit to take up. Too many of us tend to think of things or people around us as static entities. We slap the easiest label possible on something or someone and never define them any other way. People do things! They're vibrant, they change, they move. Objects serve purposes. How much different would our perception be if instead of defining our cars by color and features ("That's my green Honda with a stick shift and the nice stereo!") we defined them by what they did? ("That's my Honda. It lets me pick up my kids and take them to get ice cream which makes them smile and reminds me of the good times I had when I was a kid.")
We'd certainly have less materialism for materialism's sake if we perceived the world this way. We'd have a far easier time prioritizing what's important and what isn't. (This is the other thing about Derek. Don't ever think you're going to get him a collection of anything. He'll like Figure A from the set because it does this, but he'll want nothing to do with Figure B because it does that. "I like the black car with the scoop. You can give the red one to Ali.") We'd also have a far greater appreciation for the good that people and objects bring into our lives...a lot less taking things for granted. When your perception of what something is stems from what it does you can hardly miss the quality inherent in its actions.
I don't know...I think it's a pretty good system. It's probably similar to the one Jesus employed. He didn't give a rat's patootie for guys dressed in robes with fancy titles and generations of precedence. Nor was he really big on feasts, ceremonies, crowns, or pretty buildings. He tended to like two types of people: those who do good in the world and those who desperately needed good to be done for them. He eagerly talked to the poor, despised woman drawing water at the well. The pompous monarch? Not so much.
Food for thought.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
It's a funny habit because you get to hear just how he perceives the world. It's also not a bad habit to take up. Too many of us tend to think of things or people around us as static entities. We slap the easiest label possible on something or someone and never define them any other way. People do things! They're vibrant, they change, they move. Objects serve purposes. How much different would our perception be if instead of defining our cars by color and features ("That's my green Honda with a stick shift and the nice stereo!") we defined them by what they did? ("That's my Honda. It lets me pick up my kids and take them to get ice cream which makes them smile and reminds me of the good times I had when I was a kid.")
We'd certainly have less materialism for materialism's sake if we perceived the world this way. We'd have a far easier time prioritizing what's important and what isn't. (This is the other thing about Derek. Don't ever think you're going to get him a collection of anything. He'll like Figure A from the set because it does this, but he'll want nothing to do with Figure B because it does that. "I like the black car with the scoop. You can give the red one to Ali.") We'd also have a far greater appreciation for the good that people and objects bring into our lives...a lot less taking things for granted. When your perception of what something is stems from what it does you can hardly miss the quality inherent in its actions.
I don't know...I think it's a pretty good system. It's probably similar to the one Jesus employed. He didn't give a rat's patootie for guys dressed in robes with fancy titles and generations of precedence. Nor was he really big on feasts, ceremonies, crowns, or pretty buildings. He tended to like two types of people: those who do good in the world and those who desperately needed good to be done for them. He eagerly talked to the poor, despised woman drawing water at the well. The pompous monarch? Not so much.
Food for thought.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Youth Announcement
Attention Youth and those who know them:
Our fall season will kick off with an end-of-summer movie on Monday Night at 8:30 p.m. at the parsonage. We'll have a little discussion after the movie, so plan on being out until 11:00 or so. If anybody needs a ride home, we can provide that.
The movie will be Hunger Games. It's rated PG-13 so parents with youth around that age, be advised. I have not seen the movie yet but I have read the books. Part of their message is about the destructive effect of violence on young people...something we talk little about in our society. That will become a part of our discussion. I believe it will be a valuable one. Nevertheless the movie contains a PG-13 level of violence, so be advised.
See you at the parsonage at 8:30 on Monday night!
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Our fall season will kick off with an end-of-summer movie on Monday Night at 8:30 p.m. at the parsonage. We'll have a little discussion after the movie, so plan on being out until 11:00 or so. If anybody needs a ride home, we can provide that.
The movie will be Hunger Games. It's rated PG-13 so parents with youth around that age, be advised. I have not seen the movie yet but I have read the books. Part of their message is about the destructive effect of violence on young people...something we talk little about in our society. That will become a part of our discussion. I believe it will be a valuable one. Nevertheless the movie contains a PG-13 level of violence, so be advised.
See you at the parsonage at 8:30 on Monday night!
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Lessons from Silverwood
I just got back from a mini-trip to Silverwood Amusement Park with Derek. It was pretty fun! He's just getting old enough to enjoy rides. Even though he's not quite brave enough (or tall enough) to tackle the Big Coasters yet, we still made plenty of hay on the slightly shorter rides. It wasn't just the kiddie rides either! He has something of a thrill streak in him. This actually created something of a problem.
I love amusement park rides. Careen and I used to go to all kinds of parks before we had kids. The thing is, I like rides that climb and zoom, even more if you also get wet. (Think coasters or the log ride.) Derek, as it turns out, likes rides that spin...and spin...and spin and spin and spin and spin. This proves two things:
1. Sometimes the apples does fall far from the tree. Then it rolls down a hill, drops in a stream, floats down to the river, and gets churned up into applesauce in the turbine of a hydroelectric dam. And apparently it LIKES it!
2. Even in the best of times, even when you're having the most...fun...ever, life is still about negotiation and compromise. Those spin-rides don't agree with me. Artichoke dip at midnight? No problem. But one trip on the Tilt-a-Whirl and my stomach is sour for the day. Even so, the unbridled joy on Derek's face as we tried these rides made me suck it up (and in) and ride them at least a couple times each. Except The Scrambler. That was more like a dozen times. In turn I forced him to ride the log ride a couple times even though he got fussy about "getting splashed". The little weenie.
Nothing in life comes easy. You end up having to compromise plenty for the people you love. That's a natural and necessary lesson. The harder one is remembering that God commands us to love everybody, strangers as well as our children. It's a lot harder to compromise in less-than-ideal circumstances with people you don't know, who seem strange, with whom you disagree. But even if it makes your stomach churn like the fourth minute on the Tilt-a-Whirl, you still have to suck it up and do it.
Our world needs a little more compromise and a little less finger pointing and yelling. If it doesn't start with us, God's people, with whom will it start? Find somebody you can start a mutually-giving relationship with today and then do it! Either that or bury the hatchet with somebody with whom you haven't seen eye-to-eye. Your life will be better for it. The world will be too!
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
I love amusement park rides. Careen and I used to go to all kinds of parks before we had kids. The thing is, I like rides that climb and zoom, even more if you also get wet. (Think coasters or the log ride.) Derek, as it turns out, likes rides that spin...and spin...and spin and spin and spin and spin. This proves two things:
1. Sometimes the apples does fall far from the tree. Then it rolls down a hill, drops in a stream, floats down to the river, and gets churned up into applesauce in the turbine of a hydroelectric dam. And apparently it LIKES it!
2. Even in the best of times, even when you're having the most...fun...ever, life is still about negotiation and compromise. Those spin-rides don't agree with me. Artichoke dip at midnight? No problem. But one trip on the Tilt-a-Whirl and my stomach is sour for the day. Even so, the unbridled joy on Derek's face as we tried these rides made me suck it up (and in) and ride them at least a couple times each. Except The Scrambler. That was more like a dozen times. In turn I forced him to ride the log ride a couple times even though he got fussy about "getting splashed". The little weenie.
Nothing in life comes easy. You end up having to compromise plenty for the people you love. That's a natural and necessary lesson. The harder one is remembering that God commands us to love everybody, strangers as well as our children. It's a lot harder to compromise in less-than-ideal circumstances with people you don't know, who seem strange, with whom you disagree. But even if it makes your stomach churn like the fourth minute on the Tilt-a-Whirl, you still have to suck it up and do it.
Our world needs a little more compromise and a little less finger pointing and yelling. If it doesn't start with us, God's people, with whom will it start? Find somebody you can start a mutually-giving relationship with today and then do it! Either that or bury the hatchet with somebody with whom you haven't seen eye-to-eye. Your life will be better for it. The world will be too!
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Monday Morning Sermon: The Central Thing
This Sunday's gospel continued our weeks-long look at John, Chapter 6 wherein Jesus explains that he is the Bread of Life, the giver of eternal life, the true gift from the Father. His speech this week confused his hearers, as he talked to them about eating his flesh and drinking his blood. Having not had any First Communion classes, this idea left his hearers giving responses ranging from, "What???" to, "No way!!!" to, "Ewww...that's gross!"
Talking about communion would have been one way to go with this sermon. I opted not to go in that direction. In my experience, those discussions are better in a classroom than in a sermon, as they can be true discussions instead of a mostly-one-way speech. Besides, Jesus' followers hadn't experienced the sacrament of communion yet. There must have been something more to the lesson.
Sometimes you find extra meaning in the gospels by delving into specifics. But often when a passage seems confusing (or just gross, like this one) you can find meaning by getting a little more general. Jesus wasn't talking about his flesh and blood in an isolated, abstract sense. He was contrasting himself--his body, his being, his purpose--with everything that had come before. His hearers thought they were all set because they were of the holy Jewish heritage. God had fed them personally in the wilderness, given them the gifts of Law and land. They thought they came ready-made for eternal life. Jesus was trying to help them understand that eternal life didn't depend on them, but on God. This is true no matter what your heritage, tradition, or gifts.
The world teaches us that our gifts and talents are everything. LeBron James plays basketball well. You and I don't. Therefore he's on the Olympics team and makes millions of dollars a year selling shoes and playing for the Miami Heat. We don't do any of that. The folks who make the cut on American Idol get to sing in front of millions. Everybody else just has to watch. Some people are considered good teachers, good spouses, good parents, good workers. Most of that assessment happens based on their internal gifts/qualities...or at least that's what the goodness gets blamed on.
The problem is, centering our lives around any of these gifts leads to their inevitable end. LeBron James will turn 40 someday. He'll not be able to play in the NBA anymore. If his whole life is based on his ability to play basketball, what will happen? How easy is it for those American Idol singers to turn into self-centered prima donnas? How fulfilled and happy and secure will their lives be then? For that matter, what happens to all of us when we stop concentrating on our daily tasks--and serving people through them--and start concentrating on how good we are at doing those daily tasks?
The world tells us that our gifts and talents determine our destiny, but the world is also in the business of lifting people up and then tearing them down. That's exactly what happens to us if we depend on anything besides God to center us.
The world and eternal life are centered on something beyond us...beyond any of our gifts and abilities. Seeing that--living a life beyond the self-centered outlook that the world encourages--is our key to developing our gifts fully. When we live for something beyond ourselves our gifts and talents take on significance beyond ourselves.
Most future pastors go to seminary thinking that they know how to do this job, that they are qualified for it. The first thing that happens there is you have to learn Greek...a dead language made up of a bunch of weird squiggles. Nobody outside of the seminary context knows Greek. Who would need it? So immediately you're reminded that you don't know jack.
After Greek they turn around and make you learn Hebrew, the other original Biblical language. Hebrew has even weirder squiggles than Greek. It has no vowels. You flounder again. Once again, you don't know.
Then they put you into classes where professors say different things about the Bible than you thought. Then they put you into discussion groups where fellow students say different things yet. Wait...you guys know? But I thought I knew? But we're each saying something different. Does any of us really know?
What you end up with, if you're lucky, are pastors who understand that they don't know. They don't carry God in their back pocket. No matter what their tradition or heritage, gifts or talent, truly knowing is beyond them. They have to seek and listen, learn and understand. It's not internal, it's about God.
What you end with if you're not lucky is a pastor who fights against all of this, stubbornly pretending that his or her way is the only way...that what they came in with really was sufficient and they need nothing else to proclaim the Word of God.
Which do you suppose are the better pastors?
This also applies to farmers and teachers, business folks and police officers, politicians and artists and everyone in between. What does your life center around, you or something beyond you? And if it's something beyond you, is it the eternal and loving God who brings your gifts to full flower or is it something else that's only going to fade and let you down?
The answer to these questions will not only determine how well you understand God, but how well you understand life. It'll also determine how well you're able to treat the people in your life and how big of a difference you're able to make in the world. Is union with God at the center of your existence and everything you do or does another bread seem more tasty? No matter how good that other thing looks, how centrally it holds sway in your life, it can never be what it's meant to be unless God shows through it and through you as you pursue it. That's important to remember as we go about our daily tasks.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Talking about communion would have been one way to go with this sermon. I opted not to go in that direction. In my experience, those discussions are better in a classroom than in a sermon, as they can be true discussions instead of a mostly-one-way speech. Besides, Jesus' followers hadn't experienced the sacrament of communion yet. There must have been something more to the lesson.
Sometimes you find extra meaning in the gospels by delving into specifics. But often when a passage seems confusing (or just gross, like this one) you can find meaning by getting a little more general. Jesus wasn't talking about his flesh and blood in an isolated, abstract sense. He was contrasting himself--his body, his being, his purpose--with everything that had come before. His hearers thought they were all set because they were of the holy Jewish heritage. God had fed them personally in the wilderness, given them the gifts of Law and land. They thought they came ready-made for eternal life. Jesus was trying to help them understand that eternal life didn't depend on them, but on God. This is true no matter what your heritage, tradition, or gifts.
The world teaches us that our gifts and talents are everything. LeBron James plays basketball well. You and I don't. Therefore he's on the Olympics team and makes millions of dollars a year selling shoes and playing for the Miami Heat. We don't do any of that. The folks who make the cut on American Idol get to sing in front of millions. Everybody else just has to watch. Some people are considered good teachers, good spouses, good parents, good workers. Most of that assessment happens based on their internal gifts/qualities...or at least that's what the goodness gets blamed on.
The problem is, centering our lives around any of these gifts leads to their inevitable end. LeBron James will turn 40 someday. He'll not be able to play in the NBA anymore. If his whole life is based on his ability to play basketball, what will happen? How easy is it for those American Idol singers to turn into self-centered prima donnas? How fulfilled and happy and secure will their lives be then? For that matter, what happens to all of us when we stop concentrating on our daily tasks--and serving people through them--and start concentrating on how good we are at doing those daily tasks?
The world tells us that our gifts and talents determine our destiny, but the world is also in the business of lifting people up and then tearing them down. That's exactly what happens to us if we depend on anything besides God to center us.
The world and eternal life are centered on something beyond us...beyond any of our gifts and abilities. Seeing that--living a life beyond the self-centered outlook that the world encourages--is our key to developing our gifts fully. When we live for something beyond ourselves our gifts and talents take on significance beyond ourselves.
Most future pastors go to seminary thinking that they know how to do this job, that they are qualified for it. The first thing that happens there is you have to learn Greek...a dead language made up of a bunch of weird squiggles. Nobody outside of the seminary context knows Greek. Who would need it? So immediately you're reminded that you don't know jack.
After Greek they turn around and make you learn Hebrew, the other original Biblical language. Hebrew has even weirder squiggles than Greek. It has no vowels. You flounder again. Once again, you don't know.
Then they put you into classes where professors say different things about the Bible than you thought. Then they put you into discussion groups where fellow students say different things yet. Wait...you guys know? But I thought I knew? But we're each saying something different. Does any of us really know?
What you end up with, if you're lucky, are pastors who understand that they don't know. They don't carry God in their back pocket. No matter what their tradition or heritage, gifts or talent, truly knowing is beyond them. They have to seek and listen, learn and understand. It's not internal, it's about God.
What you end with if you're not lucky is a pastor who fights against all of this, stubbornly pretending that his or her way is the only way...that what they came in with really was sufficient and they need nothing else to proclaim the Word of God.
Which do you suppose are the better pastors?
This also applies to farmers and teachers, business folks and police officers, politicians and artists and everyone in between. What does your life center around, you or something beyond you? And if it's something beyond you, is it the eternal and loving God who brings your gifts to full flower or is it something else that's only going to fade and let you down?
The answer to these questions will not only determine how well you understand God, but how well you understand life. It'll also determine how well you're able to treat the people in your life and how big of a difference you're able to make in the world. Is union with God at the center of your existence and everything you do or does another bread seem more tasty? No matter how good that other thing looks, how centrally it holds sway in your life, it can never be what it's meant to be unless God shows through it and through you as you pursue it. That's important to remember as we go about our daily tasks.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Advice to Youth
One of the questions I get asked often is, "What do you DO with the youth?" It's tricky to answer because at any given moment our activities look like, "playing games" or "watching a movie" or even "not much". But all those moments are preparation, not only training them to relish the blessing of normal things and conduct those things in Godly ways, but building relationships that allow me to be a resource in the more serious moments.
That's the subject of this post. I've asked a couple (now mostly former) youth for permission to share some of the questions they've asked over the years and my responses. Naturally we'll keep details general to preserve anonymity. Also note that we're paraphrasing questions and answers here. These things usually happen in snippets of conversation here and there. Seldom will one of our youth sit down and spout a complex question in one sitting. Even more seldom do I have opportunities to give fully-formed answers like this. The presentation here will be compressed and thus slightly fictional. The heart of the questions and the answers are the same, though. They just sound better here than they did in real life.
Question 1: I have a friend who bugs me to no end at school. How much should I forgive?
That's easy. As much as humanly possible. And when you've exhausted that, pray for some of God's strength to forgive even more. Usually you'll find that if you're trying your hardest to forgive, fewer things bother you. You're not looking for trouble or offense therefore trouble finds you more seldom and you don't get as offended about little things like you do when you're holding a grudge.
Forgiveness doesn't mean letting yourself get hurt, though, nor letting other people get hurt. If your friend is really causing pain to you or other people it's fine to say, "I forgive you but I can't be a part of this. You're really hurting me and I don't want to do this anymore." Most people will be taken aback by that kind of honesty. Often they don't realize how much they're hurting others. Sometimes they're just projecting hurt they feel inside onto other people without even knowing it. (Like a girl who thinks she's overweight making herself feel better by calling somebody else "fat".) When you bring the hurt out into the open, usually people are startled and then immediately apologize. Often that's an end to the bad behavior as well.
If that doesn't work or if you're not comfortable talking to someone that way, you might talk to a counselor or teacher at school who knows both of you and the situation. Or, you know, talk to mom and dad about it if you can. They've probably been through something similar.
Question 2: I'm dating a guy and it's pretty new but it's great. The thing is, I feel pressured to go a little farther than I'm willing to go. The few people I've talked to about this have mixed opinions. How do I deal?
Well, I have a very definite reaction to this. There are things I'd like to say. But ultimately this is going to be your decision. Nobody can live your life for you. Part of growing into maturity is being able to make responsible decisions about this kind of thing. Besides, I think you already know what I'd like to say. The problem isn't knowing, it's figuring out how to make sense of it all. I do have a couple things that might help.
The first is the Immutable Law of the Tattoo. You ever seen two celebrities get each others' names tattooed on them? Once the ink goes on it's guaranteed that they'll be split up in six months. Have you ever wondered why? It's because they're playing a weird game behind those tattoos.
The two celebs will say they're getting ink punched into their pores because they're sure their love will last forever. That's actually the opposite of what's going on. If they were really sure the love would last forever they wouldn't need the tattoos. They'd have a quiet confidence in their hearts, shown in their every action.
The truth is, they're really not sure! Because they're afraid it might not last forever they get in a rush to get permanent marks on their bodies to show each other that yes, it really really really will last. The tattoos aren't a mark of love, they're a mark of fear and insecurity. But no matter how much ink they cover it with, that fear and insecurity always comes out in the end. Instead of dealing with their issues, they got big ink splotches so they could pretend their insecurity didn't exist. Thus the break-up.
The moment they got the tats is probably the moment when they were most afraid and needed to be assured (or pretend) that it really would last. Ironically their sign of "forever" becomes the sure sign that it won't last forever.
The same principle holds when teenage relationships get intensely physical. There's always a sense of pressure, of the need to prove something, of doing this so we know the relationship will last. Thus "pressured to go a little farther than I'm willing". People say they're doing it because they know they're in love and will always be, but if they really knew that then there wouldn't be such a rush. If forever really is on the menu, there's no problem with taking things a little slow. When you get in a hurry to take Steps X, Y, and Z when both age and your time together suggest you're not even to Step C yet, it's a sure sign that the physical part of your relationship is becoming your tattoo. You're really not sure it'll last, you're really not wanting to admit that, so you do this Big Thing to convince yourselves that it will last Forever.
This doesn't work any better with a physical relationship than it does with ink...worse, in fact. Sex is supposed to be an expression of deep and intimate love. When it becomes a response to fear, a method to try and "prove" love is there, it often goes badly...as does the relationship. You never end up getting your proof. The fear never goes away. In fact the fear gets more intense because now your relationship is even more heavy while at the same time being on rockier ground. Ick! Eeek! Bleh.
That's why in situations like this, the decision to charge ahead is almost always the decision to end the relationship (eventually). I'm not sure that's what you're aiming at.
Here's another simple principle: You should have as much fun as possible while growing up without risking anything that's going to take that fun away or stop your progress.
You don't need me to retell all of the potential consequences of physical relationships that you learned from health class and your parents. You're in a rapid period of growth and discovery now. It might be worth remembering that your plans and desires for your own life can change in an instant. You're not sure what you're going to be like (or want) two years from now, or even two weeks from now. Neither will your boyfriend. It's never smart to risk permanent consequences in a temporary, ever-changing environment. Everything will go so much better when you know you're able to handle any consequence and when you're sure the person you love can handle it too...not only handle it, but be happy with it even.
Question 3: I worked all summer long and for the first time ever I have money! The thing is, I've been thinking about buying a computer. It's a major expense. It would halfway be for schoolwork but I'm not going to lie. I want to soup it up and have a cool gaming/internet rig as well. I can afford it now! The dad half of my parental coalition is OK with this but the mom half is stalling. I get what she's saying but this is what I've been thinking about most of the summer. I earned it, right?
(sigh) I hate it when you're both right.
Part of the solemn duty of parents is creating appropriate feedback loops. They've been doing this to you since you were quite small. When you do good things, good things happen. This encourages you to keep doing them. When you do bad things, bad things happen as a deterrent, discouraging you from keeping up that behavior.
You've done a good thing by working this summer...one assumes your first serious paying job. Ideally the feedback loop on this should read positive. Yes! Spend your money on something you love! That reward will encourage you to be diligent, to work more, to earn other rewards down the line. The risk of saying, "No, you may not do this" is that you'll not see the worth in, or benefit of, working. So I don't want to encourage that approach.
On the other hand, any parent will rightfully have concerns about a guy's first major expense. Parents have been through all this themselves. They know that wants can change rapidly. They don't want to run into a scenario where you blow your wad of cash on an instant expense and then regret it a couple months later. It would bother them to see you disappointed. Also part of their valuable feedback loop is teaching you about saving and using money conscientiously. A fairly-major expense in the context of other expenses seems fine. A super-major expense costing everything--or near everything--you've earned rings alarm bells for them. They remember what it's like not to have any money at all. They want to teach you about the value of wise financing. In their heads they're imagining you as a 45-year-old turning to your wife and kids and saying, "I sold the house and you can't eat today but look at my shiny new Maserati!" That's called a parental fail. They imagine their poor, starving grandchildren, tears streaming down their faces, saying, "Grandma didn't raise you right, you selfish money-spender!" For all they know this Big Purchase may become your gateway to a lifetime of ill-considered consumption.
The other thing to keep in mind (from a parental point of view) is the asterisk following the "It's MY money, I earned it" argument. The assertion is true but it doesn't encompass the whole picture. You earned that money but your cost of living over the summer is actually much higher. If you had to use your new-found money to provide shelter, food, and transportation for yourself you'd be living in a soybean field and eating raw Ramen as we speak. You didn't have to do those things because your parents picked up the tab. Having provided roughly five times what you earned just keeping you dry and fed, they feel rightly that they should get a little say in how your earnings are spent.
So, again...you're both right. What to do?
I don't know how I'd react if you were my child but from this distance it seems like this should be part of the learning process for you. Talk this out with your folks, hear their concerns again, see if you can't find some mutual assurance. But in the end even blowing your cash on a computer and then finding you didn't like it in two months--among the worst possible outcomes--wouldn't be the end of the world. In fact that would teach you as much as anything your parents could say. And that's even if it doesn't work out. If it does work out, well, you'll need to upgrade that thing at some point. Plus you need software for it. Back to work, son! That's a good outcome too.
Then again, I'm not your mom. Her definition of "good" may differ.
If I were you, I'd probably go to my mom and say, "You were right. I don't want a computer. Instead I'm going to spend that money on an old jalopy and go cruising for chicks. Would you crochet me some nice, soft covers for the back seat?" At which point your mom will say, "Hmmm...are you getting the 500 gigabyte hard drive or going with a full terabyte?"
Don't tell her I said that though.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
That's the subject of this post. I've asked a couple (now mostly former) youth for permission to share some of the questions they've asked over the years and my responses. Naturally we'll keep details general to preserve anonymity. Also note that we're paraphrasing questions and answers here. These things usually happen in snippets of conversation here and there. Seldom will one of our youth sit down and spout a complex question in one sitting. Even more seldom do I have opportunities to give fully-formed answers like this. The presentation here will be compressed and thus slightly fictional. The heart of the questions and the answers are the same, though. They just sound better here than they did in real life.
Question 1: I have a friend who bugs me to no end at school. How much should I forgive?
That's easy. As much as humanly possible. And when you've exhausted that, pray for some of God's strength to forgive even more. Usually you'll find that if you're trying your hardest to forgive, fewer things bother you. You're not looking for trouble or offense therefore trouble finds you more seldom and you don't get as offended about little things like you do when you're holding a grudge.
Forgiveness doesn't mean letting yourself get hurt, though, nor letting other people get hurt. If your friend is really causing pain to you or other people it's fine to say, "I forgive you but I can't be a part of this. You're really hurting me and I don't want to do this anymore." Most people will be taken aback by that kind of honesty. Often they don't realize how much they're hurting others. Sometimes they're just projecting hurt they feel inside onto other people without even knowing it. (Like a girl who thinks she's overweight making herself feel better by calling somebody else "fat".) When you bring the hurt out into the open, usually people are startled and then immediately apologize. Often that's an end to the bad behavior as well.
If that doesn't work or if you're not comfortable talking to someone that way, you might talk to a counselor or teacher at school who knows both of you and the situation. Or, you know, talk to mom and dad about it if you can. They've probably been through something similar.
Question 2: I'm dating a guy and it's pretty new but it's great. The thing is, I feel pressured to go a little farther than I'm willing to go. The few people I've talked to about this have mixed opinions. How do I deal?
Well, I have a very definite reaction to this. There are things I'd like to say. But ultimately this is going to be your decision. Nobody can live your life for you. Part of growing into maturity is being able to make responsible decisions about this kind of thing. Besides, I think you already know what I'd like to say. The problem isn't knowing, it's figuring out how to make sense of it all. I do have a couple things that might help.
The first is the Immutable Law of the Tattoo. You ever seen two celebrities get each others' names tattooed on them? Once the ink goes on it's guaranteed that they'll be split up in six months. Have you ever wondered why? It's because they're playing a weird game behind those tattoos.
The two celebs will say they're getting ink punched into their pores because they're sure their love will last forever. That's actually the opposite of what's going on. If they were really sure the love would last forever they wouldn't need the tattoos. They'd have a quiet confidence in their hearts, shown in their every action.
The truth is, they're really not sure! Because they're afraid it might not last forever they get in a rush to get permanent marks on their bodies to show each other that yes, it really really really will last. The tattoos aren't a mark of love, they're a mark of fear and insecurity. But no matter how much ink they cover it with, that fear and insecurity always comes out in the end. Instead of dealing with their issues, they got big ink splotches so they could pretend their insecurity didn't exist. Thus the break-up.
The moment they got the tats is probably the moment when they were most afraid and needed to be assured (or pretend) that it really would last. Ironically their sign of "forever" becomes the sure sign that it won't last forever.
The same principle holds when teenage relationships get intensely physical. There's always a sense of pressure, of the need to prove something, of doing this so we know the relationship will last. Thus "pressured to go a little farther than I'm willing". People say they're doing it because they know they're in love and will always be, but if they really knew that then there wouldn't be such a rush. If forever really is on the menu, there's no problem with taking things a little slow. When you get in a hurry to take Steps X, Y, and Z when both age and your time together suggest you're not even to Step C yet, it's a sure sign that the physical part of your relationship is becoming your tattoo. You're really not sure it'll last, you're really not wanting to admit that, so you do this Big Thing to convince yourselves that it will last Forever.
This doesn't work any better with a physical relationship than it does with ink...worse, in fact. Sex is supposed to be an expression of deep and intimate love. When it becomes a response to fear, a method to try and "prove" love is there, it often goes badly...as does the relationship. You never end up getting your proof. The fear never goes away. In fact the fear gets more intense because now your relationship is even more heavy while at the same time being on rockier ground. Ick! Eeek! Bleh.
That's why in situations like this, the decision to charge ahead is almost always the decision to end the relationship (eventually). I'm not sure that's what you're aiming at.
Here's another simple principle: You should have as much fun as possible while growing up without risking anything that's going to take that fun away or stop your progress.
You don't need me to retell all of the potential consequences of physical relationships that you learned from health class and your parents. You're in a rapid period of growth and discovery now. It might be worth remembering that your plans and desires for your own life can change in an instant. You're not sure what you're going to be like (or want) two years from now, or even two weeks from now. Neither will your boyfriend. It's never smart to risk permanent consequences in a temporary, ever-changing environment. Everything will go so much better when you know you're able to handle any consequence and when you're sure the person you love can handle it too...not only handle it, but be happy with it even.
Question 3: I worked all summer long and for the first time ever I have money! The thing is, I've been thinking about buying a computer. It's a major expense. It would halfway be for schoolwork but I'm not going to lie. I want to soup it up and have a cool gaming/internet rig as well. I can afford it now! The dad half of my parental coalition is OK with this but the mom half is stalling. I get what she's saying but this is what I've been thinking about most of the summer. I earned it, right?
(sigh) I hate it when you're both right.
Part of the solemn duty of parents is creating appropriate feedback loops. They've been doing this to you since you were quite small. When you do good things, good things happen. This encourages you to keep doing them. When you do bad things, bad things happen as a deterrent, discouraging you from keeping up that behavior.
You've done a good thing by working this summer...one assumes your first serious paying job. Ideally the feedback loop on this should read positive. Yes! Spend your money on something you love! That reward will encourage you to be diligent, to work more, to earn other rewards down the line. The risk of saying, "No, you may not do this" is that you'll not see the worth in, or benefit of, working. So I don't want to encourage that approach.
On the other hand, any parent will rightfully have concerns about a guy's first major expense. Parents have been through all this themselves. They know that wants can change rapidly. They don't want to run into a scenario where you blow your wad of cash on an instant expense and then regret it a couple months later. It would bother them to see you disappointed. Also part of their valuable feedback loop is teaching you about saving and using money conscientiously. A fairly-major expense in the context of other expenses seems fine. A super-major expense costing everything--or near everything--you've earned rings alarm bells for them. They remember what it's like not to have any money at all. They want to teach you about the value of wise financing. In their heads they're imagining you as a 45-year-old turning to your wife and kids and saying, "I sold the house and you can't eat today but look at my shiny new Maserati!" That's called a parental fail. They imagine their poor, starving grandchildren, tears streaming down their faces, saying, "Grandma didn't raise you right, you selfish money-spender!" For all they know this Big Purchase may become your gateway to a lifetime of ill-considered consumption.
The other thing to keep in mind (from a parental point of view) is the asterisk following the "It's MY money, I earned it" argument. The assertion is true but it doesn't encompass the whole picture. You earned that money but your cost of living over the summer is actually much higher. If you had to use your new-found money to provide shelter, food, and transportation for yourself you'd be living in a soybean field and eating raw Ramen as we speak. You didn't have to do those things because your parents picked up the tab. Having provided roughly five times what you earned just keeping you dry and fed, they feel rightly that they should get a little say in how your earnings are spent.
So, again...you're both right. What to do?
I don't know how I'd react if you were my child but from this distance it seems like this should be part of the learning process for you. Talk this out with your folks, hear their concerns again, see if you can't find some mutual assurance. But in the end even blowing your cash on a computer and then finding you didn't like it in two months--among the worst possible outcomes--wouldn't be the end of the world. In fact that would teach you as much as anything your parents could say. And that's even if it doesn't work out. If it does work out, well, you'll need to upgrade that thing at some point. Plus you need software for it. Back to work, son! That's a good outcome too.
Then again, I'm not your mom. Her definition of "good" may differ.
If I were you, I'd probably go to my mom and say, "You were right. I don't want a computer. Instead I'm going to spend that money on an old jalopy and go cruising for chicks. Would you crochet me some nice, soft covers for the back seat?" At which point your mom will say, "Hmmm...are you getting the 500 gigabyte hard drive or going with a full terabyte?"
Don't tell her I said that though.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Monday, August 13, 2012
Important Announcements!!!
Four important items to keep in mind as August comes to a close:
1. On Sunday, August 26th we're going to have a special worship service at Phyllis Kanikkeberg's place. It'll be a barbecue like we had at the beginning of the summer, so bring side dishes if you wish. The main course will be considerably more upscale this time though. John Marone and I will be slow-cooking meat all night long in preparation for this event. It's going to be succulent, delicious, real BBQ.
For those who don't know, Phyllis lives just a little ways north of the Valley church on Eikum road. Coming from Genesee, take your first right after the Valley, second house on the left. Bring lawn chairs and side dishes if you wish. We'll worship and then eat!
2. On that same Sunday we'll have a brief orientation for everybody joining the new Confirmation class this year. It'll be after worship (at Phyllis' place).
3. This year we're staying at the Valley for a couple extra Sundays in September. We will worship at the Valley on September 2nd and September 9th. Worship will remain at 9:30 on those two Sundays. We will move to St. John's on September 16th. That will be our opening morning of Sunday School. Sunday School starts at 9:00 and worship moves to 10:00 on the 16th.
4. We'd like to clean up St. John's inside and out between September 4th and 9th. There will be a list of things to do posted in the church. This includes straightening, dusting, pew scrubbing, and all manner of outside yard work. Please gather a couple friends and drop by during that week to help prepare our church to be used again.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
1. On Sunday, August 26th we're going to have a special worship service at Phyllis Kanikkeberg's place. It'll be a barbecue like we had at the beginning of the summer, so bring side dishes if you wish. The main course will be considerably more upscale this time though. John Marone and I will be slow-cooking meat all night long in preparation for this event. It's going to be succulent, delicious, real BBQ.
For those who don't know, Phyllis lives just a little ways north of the Valley church on Eikum road. Coming from Genesee, take your first right after the Valley, second house on the left. Bring lawn chairs and side dishes if you wish. We'll worship and then eat!
2. On that same Sunday we'll have a brief orientation for everybody joining the new Confirmation class this year. It'll be after worship (at Phyllis' place).
3. This year we're staying at the Valley for a couple extra Sundays in September. We will worship at the Valley on September 2nd and September 9th. Worship will remain at 9:30 on those two Sundays. We will move to St. John's on September 16th. That will be our opening morning of Sunday School. Sunday School starts at 9:00 and worship moves to 10:00 on the 16th.
4. We'd like to clean up St. John's inside and out between September 4th and 9th. There will be a list of things to do posted in the church. This includes straightening, dusting, pew scrubbing, and all manner of outside yard work. Please gather a couple friends and drop by during that week to help prepare our church to be used again.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Baskets
I'm still catching up with post-vacation work so I'm going to put off the sermon recap for a couple days, but I thought you might like to see our finished and assembled Good Neighbor baskets for yourself. Behold!
They were stuffed with goodies ranging from cucumbers to caramels, cookies to candles, cozies to carrots. (Yes, apparently we had a "C" theme going.) And they were marvelous.
Those of you who have been through our evangelism workshop, this is a prime example of what evangelism should be. Everybody gave a little of themselves, hand-making their unique contribution. Nobody had to do too much, nor anything foreign to them. When we collected everybody's contributions the whole was far more than the sum of its parts. When we left the church it was to give, not to demand or take. We made the world better, sharing the good news of who we are, who God is, the gifts he has bestowed upon us, and how much we value our neighbors.
It was natural and it was fun. Who would NOT want to do this (or receive something like this)? That's evangelism! Congratulations!
In any case, we're still waiting for the neighborhood response, but I'm sure it'll be appreciation. Thanks to everyone who helped out. And fair warning...we may have one more go-around with this in a few weeks, as we've found another nearby neighbor.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
They were stuffed with goodies ranging from cucumbers to caramels, cookies to candles, cozies to carrots. (Yes, apparently we had a "C" theme going.) And they were marvelous.
Those of you who have been through our evangelism workshop, this is a prime example of what evangelism should be. Everybody gave a little of themselves, hand-making their unique contribution. Nobody had to do too much, nor anything foreign to them. When we collected everybody's contributions the whole was far more than the sum of its parts. When we left the church it was to give, not to demand or take. We made the world better, sharing the good news of who we are, who God is, the gifts he has bestowed upon us, and how much we value our neighbors.
It was natural and it was fun. Who would NOT want to do this (or receive something like this)? That's evangelism! Congratulations!
In any case, we're still waiting for the neighborhood response, but I'm sure it'll be appreciation. Thanks to everyone who helped out. And fair warning...we may have one more go-around with this in a few weeks, as we've found another nearby neighbor.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
A Change in Approach
The other evening I got home after doing a bunch of stuff with Derek all afternoon. I chatted with Careen about our day and asked how hers was. She looked at me with frazzled hair and haunted eyes. Apparently Ali had thrown four--count them, four--major fits that afternoon. Ali is a sweetie most of the time, but when she throws a fit she BLOWS. You need earplugs and the patience of Job. I can't imagine suffering through two in a day, let alone four.
I patted Careen on the head and sent her downstairs to watch a movie with the comparatively calm and cheery Derek. Then I stared at my two-foot-tall adversary. She looked at me like, "You ready to go, dad?" I just smirked. I quickly got her shoes on, trundled her off to the van, and we drove to Lewiston to shop for necessities. This would have been a boring errand for Derek, but I totally sold it to Ali. "Daddy and Ali go SHOPPING!" I said it in my most excited voice and with a huge smile on my face. She bought it! She was a sweet and complete angel all the way down, at the store, and all the way back. She was smiling and waving at people like a parade princess, describing the fun parts of her day to me, playing all kinds of silly games and laughing.
What happened to turn her day around 180 degrees? Just a change in approach. Careen's approach wasn't wrong. Had I been stuck with Ali that afternoon I would have suffered the same fate as Careen did. In fact I knew that I'd be in for it if I just sat down and tried to play with Ali. So we made a left turn, went on a trip that I hadn't planned to make until the next day, and transformed everything. No magic to it...sometimes you just need something new to perk you up.
Faith is the same way. So many people confine faith to certain times, places, rituals. Going to Bible Study, that's faith. Grocery shopping? Not so much. Eventually all of those times, places, and rituals become so much wallpaper: they're present, but you barely notice them and they don't change anything. If you want your faith to be renewed, you have to change direction every once in a while and see things from a new perspective. Looking through a telescope, having a different kind of Bible Study, singing new songs, reading a new book or seeing a new movie, finding God in the peanut butter aisle...all these things wake you up. They give you a new perspective on the event in which you're participating and on all the regular faith events as well. God knows this, which is why he sends us new faith stimuli all the time. If only we weren't so invested in shutting them out in favor of the things that "feel more like faith"!
What's new in your life this week? It just might be a message from God, telling you to get your shoes on and come with him on an unexpected journey that could change your day, and maybe your life.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
I patted Careen on the head and sent her downstairs to watch a movie with the comparatively calm and cheery Derek. Then I stared at my two-foot-tall adversary. She looked at me like, "You ready to go, dad?" I just smirked. I quickly got her shoes on, trundled her off to the van, and we drove to Lewiston to shop for necessities. This would have been a boring errand for Derek, but I totally sold it to Ali. "Daddy and Ali go SHOPPING!" I said it in my most excited voice and with a huge smile on my face. She bought it! She was a sweet and complete angel all the way down, at the store, and all the way back. She was smiling and waving at people like a parade princess, describing the fun parts of her day to me, playing all kinds of silly games and laughing.
What happened to turn her day around 180 degrees? Just a change in approach. Careen's approach wasn't wrong. Had I been stuck with Ali that afternoon I would have suffered the same fate as Careen did. In fact I knew that I'd be in for it if I just sat down and tried to play with Ali. So we made a left turn, went on a trip that I hadn't planned to make until the next day, and transformed everything. No magic to it...sometimes you just need something new to perk you up.
Faith is the same way. So many people confine faith to certain times, places, rituals. Going to Bible Study, that's faith. Grocery shopping? Not so much. Eventually all of those times, places, and rituals become so much wallpaper: they're present, but you barely notice them and they don't change anything. If you want your faith to be renewed, you have to change direction every once in a while and see things from a new perspective. Looking through a telescope, having a different kind of Bible Study, singing new songs, reading a new book or seeing a new movie, finding God in the peanut butter aisle...all these things wake you up. They give you a new perspective on the event in which you're participating and on all the regular faith events as well. God knows this, which is why he sends us new faith stimuli all the time. If only we weren't so invested in shutting them out in favor of the things that "feel more like faith"!
What's new in your life this week? It just might be a message from God, telling you to get your shoes on and come with him on an unexpected journey that could change your day, and maybe your life.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Baskets, Baskets, Baskets!!!
This Sunday we're going to do something special. We have new neighbors literally on either side of St. John's, one in the lot just to the east of the church, one just to the west of the parsonage. Careen and I have already met both, of course, but the church itself hasn't said hello. This is an important step. I imagine moving in right next to a church makes people wonder a little. What's it going to be like? Will weird people forever be knocking on our door and peering over our fence? We're going to turn that expectation on its head. Yes, we're knocking on your door one time, but it's to deliver a welcome basket.
In keeping with our new focus on evangelism (showing people the goodness of God through our words and actions) we're stocking these welcome baskets with homemade things...reflections of who we are. The point isn't just the goodies, it's to make a connection. You never know what item might touch our neighbors, sparking familiarity.
We're accepting all kinds of things: food (baked goods, garden produce, condiments, etc.), drink, dishcloths, flowers...whatever you do, if it fits in a basket we'll put it in there! We're set to distribute these this Sunday. You could bring your item to church on Sunday or drop it by the parsonage before, either way. Help us fill these baskets for our neighbors!
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
In keeping with our new focus on evangelism (showing people the goodness of God through our words and actions) we're stocking these welcome baskets with homemade things...reflections of who we are. The point isn't just the goodies, it's to make a connection. You never know what item might touch our neighbors, sparking familiarity.
We're accepting all kinds of things: food (baked goods, garden produce, condiments, etc.), drink, dishcloths, flowers...whatever you do, if it fits in a basket we'll put it in there! We're set to distribute these this Sunday. You could bring your item to church on Sunday or drop it by the parsonage before, either way. Help us fill these baskets for our neighbors!
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Monday, August 6, 2012
Monday Morning Sermon: Bread and Signs
We're back in the saddle again! Thanks for your patience with my vacation-inspired hiatus. I've missed talking with you but I really did need the break to refresh and renew. With that out of the way, let's jump into this Sunday's text and sermon.
The gospel this Sunday came from John, Chapter 6:
Last Sunday we heard the story of Jesus feeding the 5000 with a few loaves of bread and a couple fish. It was amazing! It was inspiring! It also worked way too well. When Jesus and his disciples toodled on to their next destination, guess what they found? Yup. That same crowd showed up.
"Hey Jesus, you're here too? Imagine that! Small world. Say...we're kind of hungry. How about doing that bread and fish thing again?"
At this point Jesus knew he had trouble. No doubt he understood the hunger of the crowd. He probably had great compassion for them. But he also understood that they had missed the point of the miracle and of their faith. Having been fed beyond their wildest dreams, they now saw him as the Traveling Buffet. This was a great setup! Just follow around this guy and chirp every once in a while and he'd feed you. No work, no worries...just snap your fingers and the miracle man takes care of it. One is reminded of the movie "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" where all kinds of delicious food fell from the sky. It's God as the great vending machine: put in a quarter or two and get Cheetos, Snickers, or anything you want!
How many of us envision our faith in just such a way, with worship and offering as our loose change and salvation as the tasty snack dropped through the vending chute?
As compassionate as Jesus felt towards those people, he had to put a stop to that. If he didn't their faith would become a circus, a sideshow for their entertainment and consumption. When he told them to stop working for the food that perishes, this was another way of saying that their faith wasn't supposed to be about them and what they could get. Their faith equation read, "We follow, so we are fed." Jesus' faith equation says, "You are fed so you can do something." In this case that something is trust in him and live out his love among all of his people from this point on into eternity. Our community isn't supposed to be a collection of baby birds chirping in the nest, waiting for mom to drop a worm in their mouths. It's supposed to be like a flock of grown and trained carrier pigeons, fed so they can fly and get the message out.
Like the people of the crowd, we want to stop at Step 1 instead of tackling the steps that follow. When asked why we come to church, many of us will say, "Because I get fed there." That's great! But that's not the end of the story, nor the whole reason for participating. What about the serving, the reaching out, the development of a life-long relationship with Christ and his people? What about the struggle, the stretching, walking through the darkness on the way to a greater light that we can't always see but are still called to trust in?
Jesus told that crowd, "Look...if it's just about you and getting your internal needs satisfied it doesn't mean anything." That message was counter-cultural then. It's exponentially more so now in an era when practically every stimulus in our life (Facebook, Twitter, television, polls, advertisements, magazines, and niche online sites like this one) tells us that it really IS all about us. But none of those things make life meaningful and fulfilling. We only come to true realization of life, its potential, and our own potential when we trust in and live for something beyond ourselves...when we put away the clinging, gnawing demands of our own psyche and sacrifice for something greater. This is the stuff of which careers, marriages, parenthood, friendships, community pride, and harmonious living are made.
Hearing this, the crowd tried a nifty trick. They replied, "OK...so life is supposed to be about working for and believing in things beyond ourselves. What are YOU doing, Jesus? What sign will you show us that you are who you are and that you practice what you preach? For instance, our ancestors ate bread from heaven provided to them by Moses..." (Back to the bread again. There must have been lawyers in that crowd!)
Jesus heard this and realized they still didn't get it. They asked for a sign (bread) which, if given, would have simply confirmed their old self-interested perceptions. Though they quoted scripture to justify it, they still didn't understand that the point of manna from heaven wasn't that people get, rather that God gives. The action they were supposed to treasure and imitate (giving) was getting buried by their instinct to watch out for themselves above all (getting).
So he told them again, "I am the bread of life. Trust. Follow. Believe." If they could manage this they would begin to see signs of his love and redemption everywhere. If they did not do this, no sign would be adequate to turn them around.
We find this true in modern life as well. During the sermon I asked, "How many gold medals are enough for Michael Phelps (or his fans and the media)? How much money is enough for Bill Gates? How much fame is enough for Kim Kardashian?" Dig deep down in our souls and you'll find the answer is, "You can't get there." If God blesses you with a million dollars you'll up your standard of living and wish for ten million. If God gives you the gifts to win 18 gold medals everyone around you--including probably that nagging voice in your head--will tell you to go for 19. If 99 people in your day call you beautiful you'll obsess over the one who didn't. No sign is enough. The blessing you welcome on Tuesday will be old news by Thursday.
You cannot get to full by stacking empty on top of empty. Or, put another way, no matter how many cookies you put in the jar it'll still be empty if there's no bottom to it. Truth, faith, belief...these provide the bottom to the jar against which the cookies can pile.
If Jesus had fed the crowd that day they simply would have been hungry again tomorrow. Just as their ancestors were with the manna, so their descendants with loaves and fishes and so too are we with all the things of our lives. Instead Jesus gave them the foundation which would hold forever, allowing their blessings to sustain and multiply: believe in me, follow me, trust, and work for good.
Trusting God, having faith in him each day, allows us to see the joy in life and each other. Ordinary things become extraordinary. Coincidences and happenstance become signs of God's grace. Even difficult times become opportunities for mercy. Without faith nothing is a sign of God. With faith everything is. Without faith even the greatest feast leaves you empty. With faith even the smallest crumb can satisfy.
“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."
How important those words are to us and everyone we know. What a change they make in our outlook and way of doing things! Don't just come to faith to be fed. Avoid the temptation to demand signs and proof before you'll do anything. Love, trust, believe, and watch your life be filled and transformed by miracles you never knew existed.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
P.S. As we get back into the swing I could use some faith/church/life questions to respond to on the blog. Writing is easy; choosing interesting topics is hard! If you have a question itching at your mind, e-mail it to me.
The gospel this Sunday came from John, Chapter 6:
24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.
25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
30 So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
32 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”
35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."
Last Sunday we heard the story of Jesus feeding the 5000 with a few loaves of bread and a couple fish. It was amazing! It was inspiring! It also worked way too well. When Jesus and his disciples toodled on to their next destination, guess what they found? Yup. That same crowd showed up.
"Hey Jesus, you're here too? Imagine that! Small world. Say...we're kind of hungry. How about doing that bread and fish thing again?"
At this point Jesus knew he had trouble. No doubt he understood the hunger of the crowd. He probably had great compassion for them. But he also understood that they had missed the point of the miracle and of their faith. Having been fed beyond their wildest dreams, they now saw him as the Traveling Buffet. This was a great setup! Just follow around this guy and chirp every once in a while and he'd feed you. No work, no worries...just snap your fingers and the miracle man takes care of it. One is reminded of the movie "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" where all kinds of delicious food fell from the sky. It's God as the great vending machine: put in a quarter or two and get Cheetos, Snickers, or anything you want!
How many of us envision our faith in just such a way, with worship and offering as our loose change and salvation as the tasty snack dropped through the vending chute?
As compassionate as Jesus felt towards those people, he had to put a stop to that. If he didn't their faith would become a circus, a sideshow for their entertainment and consumption. When he told them to stop working for the food that perishes, this was another way of saying that their faith wasn't supposed to be about them and what they could get. Their faith equation read, "We follow, so we are fed." Jesus' faith equation says, "You are fed so you can do something." In this case that something is trust in him and live out his love among all of his people from this point on into eternity. Our community isn't supposed to be a collection of baby birds chirping in the nest, waiting for mom to drop a worm in their mouths. It's supposed to be like a flock of grown and trained carrier pigeons, fed so they can fly and get the message out.
Like the people of the crowd, we want to stop at Step 1 instead of tackling the steps that follow. When asked why we come to church, many of us will say, "Because I get fed there." That's great! But that's not the end of the story, nor the whole reason for participating. What about the serving, the reaching out, the development of a life-long relationship with Christ and his people? What about the struggle, the stretching, walking through the darkness on the way to a greater light that we can't always see but are still called to trust in?
Jesus told that crowd, "Look...if it's just about you and getting your internal needs satisfied it doesn't mean anything." That message was counter-cultural then. It's exponentially more so now in an era when practically every stimulus in our life (Facebook, Twitter, television, polls, advertisements, magazines, and niche online sites like this one) tells us that it really IS all about us. But none of those things make life meaningful and fulfilling. We only come to true realization of life, its potential, and our own potential when we trust in and live for something beyond ourselves...when we put away the clinging, gnawing demands of our own psyche and sacrifice for something greater. This is the stuff of which careers, marriages, parenthood, friendships, community pride, and harmonious living are made.
Hearing this, the crowd tried a nifty trick. They replied, "OK...so life is supposed to be about working for and believing in things beyond ourselves. What are YOU doing, Jesus? What sign will you show us that you are who you are and that you practice what you preach? For instance, our ancestors ate bread from heaven provided to them by Moses..." (Back to the bread again. There must have been lawyers in that crowd!)
Jesus heard this and realized they still didn't get it. They asked for a sign (bread) which, if given, would have simply confirmed their old self-interested perceptions. Though they quoted scripture to justify it, they still didn't understand that the point of manna from heaven wasn't that people get, rather that God gives. The action they were supposed to treasure and imitate (giving) was getting buried by their instinct to watch out for themselves above all (getting).
So he told them again, "I am the bread of life. Trust. Follow. Believe." If they could manage this they would begin to see signs of his love and redemption everywhere. If they did not do this, no sign would be adequate to turn them around.
We find this true in modern life as well. During the sermon I asked, "How many gold medals are enough for Michael Phelps (or his fans and the media)? How much money is enough for Bill Gates? How much fame is enough for Kim Kardashian?" Dig deep down in our souls and you'll find the answer is, "You can't get there." If God blesses you with a million dollars you'll up your standard of living and wish for ten million. If God gives you the gifts to win 18 gold medals everyone around you--including probably that nagging voice in your head--will tell you to go for 19. If 99 people in your day call you beautiful you'll obsess over the one who didn't. No sign is enough. The blessing you welcome on Tuesday will be old news by Thursday.
You cannot get to full by stacking empty on top of empty. Or, put another way, no matter how many cookies you put in the jar it'll still be empty if there's no bottom to it. Truth, faith, belief...these provide the bottom to the jar against which the cookies can pile.
If Jesus had fed the crowd that day they simply would have been hungry again tomorrow. Just as their ancestors were with the manna, so their descendants with loaves and fishes and so too are we with all the things of our lives. Instead Jesus gave them the foundation which would hold forever, allowing their blessings to sustain and multiply: believe in me, follow me, trust, and work for good.
Trusting God, having faith in him each day, allows us to see the joy in life and each other. Ordinary things become extraordinary. Coincidences and happenstance become signs of God's grace. Even difficult times become opportunities for mercy. Without faith nothing is a sign of God. With faith everything is. Without faith even the greatest feast leaves you empty. With faith even the smallest crumb can satisfy.
“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."
How important those words are to us and everyone we know. What a change they make in our outlook and way of doing things! Don't just come to faith to be fed. Avoid the temptation to demand signs and proof before you'll do anything. Love, trust, believe, and watch your life be filled and transformed by miracles you never knew existed.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
P.S. As we get back into the swing I could use some faith/church/life questions to respond to on the blog. Writing is easy; choosing interesting topics is hard! If you have a question itching at your mind, e-mail it to me.
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