Making It Better

  

Each one of us is an important part of our Christian community for we each bring special gifts to the Body of Christ. All congregations go through ups and downs through out their life span. Attendance varies through out the year. Bible Studies come and go. Sometimes the congregation is growing and sometimes it is slipping. What can we do as individual members of our church bring to make it better?

We can each bring our positive faith in Jesus Christ instead of bringing negative fear when we gather for worship or meetings. We can face each problem of the future with a sense of purpose and mission for Jesus the Christ. We can bring a word of encouragement to the fellow member who is trying hard to serve the Lord rather than complain about the way its being done.

We can bring the kind of strength and courage that comes from knowing Jesus as our savior and following Jesus as a disciple. Do not have illusions, we as Christians are not protected from illness, tragedy, stress and depression. It is our faith in God that provides us with the power to get through anything.

We can bring to our community faith life the kind of faithfulness to the eternal call of God in Jesus that brings good things to every day and every situation.

Ministry + Mission + Purpose = a church moving forward for Jesus the Christ. 

Secular and Sacred

Secular and Sacred are two concepts that are always in tension. When we think of the word `secular’ we sometimes equate it with evil but that is not an accurate description. The term was once used to describe any clergy who were not in a monastic order but lived among the common people. Secular is defined as being in or of the world. It connotes a sense of the temporary and of being locked into the present. Secular time is empty of the divine and full of the immediate: what we can see, touch, and experience in the here and now.

When we think of the word  `sacred’ we mean `that which belongs to God. We usually perceive that as something which is eternal or beyond our grasp.  Sacred time is full and includes the past, present and beyond the future. Sacred gives us the greater picture of creation and a more powerful meaning to the world around us. We hold in awe something that has been dedicated or consecrated to God or is an act of worship. We who live in the secular often have a difficult time comprehending the sacred. Yet the sacred is all around us, every bit as much as the secular we recognize so easily.

The resurrection of Jesus the Christ has made it possible for us to live in both the secular and the sacred.  The secular calendar has divided chronological time by the birth of Jesus but it was the resurrection of Jesus that gave us our view of sacred time. Our lives now have meaning because Jesus the Christ has conquered all the things that would defeat us and keep us secular. The cross seemed to stop time but the resurrection expanded our sense of time to include God’s time and that has made all the difference.

Liberal OR Conservative Labels

I was recently accused of being a liberal by some one who took issue with a post I made. A short time later I was accused of being ultra conservative by another friend who should know me better. To top it off both labels came because of the same post. It says something about the two people who gave me those labels.

Labels like liberal and conservative are often placed on us by people who want to put us in a box of their choosing. Some of us chose our own label to reflect where we think we stand in our community. We do not all share exact definitions of what those labels mean so applying them to others based on our understanding may be a source of friction.

It is interesting to watch the current political debate where politicians accuse each other of not being conservative enough. The truth is often not considered in the argument but is based on our own bias. On both sides of the spectrum there are people who get angry with others who do not fit their definition of liberal or conservative. Is there a test we all have to pass on this issue? I hope not.

I am an independent mind and the fact is that on some issues I am very conservative and on others I am very liberal. If you are talking money I am very conservative but if you are talking personal rights and freedom I am very liberal. Politics, religion and relationships are all open to reflection and renewal for me. I don’t change my mind easily but I am willing to look at the evidence and seek the truth. There is not enough truth seeking this year.

Player or Spectator?

Is our experience with God and His church a blessing? Worshiping God is an important part of our faith experience that suffers if we only watch it. To get more out of our worship experience we must become more personally and emotionally involved in it.

As a former soccer referee I have noticed a correlation between church and the soccer field.  Both boys and girls play the game equally well and all the players are in constant motion. Everyone has an opportunity to touch or kick the ball, as soccer is a team effort. There are great rewards for team cooperation in the results of the game. Coaches and referees also get a lot of pleasure from sharing the experience. Spectators who have little knowledge about the game can easily be bored as the ball goes back and forth with little scoring.  Spectators who take the time to be involved with players and coaches learn about the game and enjoy it more.

I find worship has some of the same qualities. Spectators who do not involve them selves in the actions of worship can be board by the experience. But one who participates in the singing, praying, and devotions are never board. Those who focus their minds on the prayers, and scripture participate in the actions of worship. Singing out with gusto during the hymns or feeling the emotions of the choir’s anthem lifts the spirit to a new level. Even adding an amen as affirmation to the pastors sermon engages the worshiper in the actions of worship. Natural blessing flow from being actively involved in worship.

I encourage you to worship with new energy to both sharing and receiving the grace that is praising God in your congregations actions of worship.

ENTITLEMENTS

The word “entitlements” is interesting because of the way it has been misused and abused for many years. The Republican politicians have been using it with very negative overtones when it is actually a positive and powerful word. They use it in reference to Social Security and Medicare as the major cause of our budget deficit problems. Actually congressional over spending is the major cause of the US debt. Somehow the Republicans have coned some lower income people to believe their rants about entitlements even though it is counter to their best interest.

The word entitlement indicates that you are yes entitled to something because you earned it. I paid into Social Security insurance all my working life and therefore I am entitled to receive my retirement befit from Social Security. The same with Medicare insurance, I paid for it so I should get it because I am entitled. When I pay my insurance premium I expect the insurance company to pay up when something happens to me because I am entitled.The poor Tea Party people have now been supporting efforts to stop Social Security even though it is very likely that for many of them Social Security will be their only source of income in retirement.

Do we have a real problem with a heavy US debt? You bet we do! Social Security is not the cause of the problem and stopping it will not solve the problem. Social Security has been receiving more income than it pays out since the insurance program began. It still is receiving more into the trust fund than it pays out. The trust fund should be and is huge but the fund has been investing in US Treasury bills. These are IOU’s that have been funding enormous government deficits. The day is coming when more money will be paid out than will come in and the government will be forced to pay back the IOU’s.

Entitlement is a very good word and I don’t buy the negative spin.

Noah in 2012

It is the year 2012 and Noah lives in the United States.

The Lord speaks to Noah and says: "In one year I am going to make it rain and cover the whole earth with water until all is destroyed. But I want you to save the righteous people and two of every kind of living thing on the earth. Therefore, I am commanding you to build an Ark."

In a flash of lightning, God delivered the specifications for an Ark.

Fearful and trembling, Noah took the plans and agreed to build the Ark.

"Remember," said the Lord, "you must complete the Ark and bring everything
aboard in one year."

Exactly one year later, a fierce storm cloud covered the earth and all the seas of the earth went into a tumult. The Lord saw Noah sitting in his front  yard weeping.

 "Noah." He shouted, "Where is the Ark?"

"Lord please forgive me!" cried Noah. "I did my best, but there were big problems. First, I had to get a permit for construction and your plans did not comply with the codes. I had to hire an engineering firm and redraw the plans. Then I got into a fight with OSHA over whether or not the Ark needed a fire sprinkler system and floatation devices. Then my neighbor objected, claiming I was violating zoning ordinances by building the Ark in my front yard, so I had to get a variance from the city planning commission.

I had problems getting enough wood for the Ark, because there was a ban on
cutting trees to protect the Spotted Owl. I finally convinced the US Forest
Service that I needed the wood to save the owls. However, the Fish and Wildlife Service won't let me catch any owls. So, no owls. The carpenters formed a union and went out on strike. I had to negotiate a settlement with the National Labor Union. Now I have 16 carpenters on the Ark, but still no owls.

 
When I started rounding up the other animals, I got sued by an animal rights group. They objected to me only taking two of each kind aboard. Just when I got the suit dismissed, the EPA notified me that I could not complete the Ark without filing an environmental impact statement on your proposed flood. They didn't take very kindly to the idea that they had no jurisdiction over the conduct of the Creator of the universe. Then the Army Corps of Engineers demanded a map of the proposed new flood plain. I sent them a globe.

Right now, I am trying to resolve a complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that I am practicing discrimination by not taking godless, unbelieving people aboard!

The IRS has seized all my assets, claiming that I'm building the Ark in  preparation to flee the country to avoid paying taxes. I just got a notice from the state that I owe some kind of user tax and failed to register the Ark as a recreational water craft."
Finally the ACLU got the courts to issue an injunction against further construction of the Ark, saying that since God is flooding the earth, it is a religious event, therefore unconstitutional.

 
I really don't think I can finish the Ark for another 5 or 6 years!"  Noah wailed.
The sky began to clear, the sun began to shine and the seas began to calm.
A rainbow arched across the sky. Noah looked up hopefully.
You mean you are not going to destroy the earth, Lord?"

"No," said the Lord sadly. "The government already has."
AMEN

Time Is Fleeting

Time is fleeting and is one of the measuring rods of our existence. It moves on and on and on inexorable from one second to another in its linear flight. Time is the essence of existence moving silent and stealthy not staying for a moment nor hesitates for either moments of joy or sorrow. Like marriage it moves on in sickness and in health, by day and night in its tireless flight.

The relentless passage of time writes its message clearly in the furrowed brows, graying hair and faltering step. In the end it always wins! Yet we who are in Christ can move beyond the reaches of time to eternal life in the presence of God, feeling love and youth forever. The grace of God provides our final victory over time and its same sixty minutes an hour and twenty-four hour days.

We also have our victory over time by the way we use it filling our life stream with value, love and peace. Now is our time and now is our day of salvation to claim and make the most of it in the presence of God. What are you doing with your allotted time?