I know it's not fair

One of the perks of being retired is a particular freedom to speak the truth.  Certainly it helps that hundreds of mundane but in many ways necessary details of being a fully functioning mid-sized congregation are no longer my responsibility.  It clears the mind to think - to begin to find the core questions, and possibly in time, some of the answers.

Believe, I mean no harm, but I am struck by how often my beloved fellow believers get the questions wrong.  As you can guess, if you are asking the wrong questions, you are bound to get the wrong answers.

Those of us who first love the Lord Jesus and second love and serve the church are challenged in this season of continual and seismic change in our institutions.  We have been fed on the Word and Sacraments through these very institutions; we have tried to transmit the faith to our children.  We have tried, often with mixed results, to live the faith in our lives.

So believe me when I tell you I say this in love.

I work with congregations in transition, that is, in the process of seeking a new pastor.  They have to fill out paperwork which asks all kinds of questions.  Too often this is one of the 5 goals they list for their future: "to attract young families to our church."  It almost makes me weep.

I wonder if they even considered listing "to attract a younger generation to life in our Lord".

Or, "to learn how to articulate the power of Christ in our lives so others might be drawn to Jesus".

Or, " to effectively guide younger people into lives of service and justice for the sake of their neighbors".

Something - anything - that would clearly identify us as people of faith who having found God's great treasure for our lives in Jesus want to walk with others until they are found as well. A pastor is especially called to lead this.  For the other, a marketing director with some good research will probably do.

Of course they will say "That is exactly what we mean when we say we want younger families in our church."  Maybe.  But church comes first; Jesus isn't mentioned.  Youthful energy is important; faith formation isn't listed.  We are called to proclaim the Good News of Jesus, not to advocate for our congregation.

Enough said.

As for an answer to their desire to attract younger people to their church, I might suggest less Bach and more contemporary music, worship gatherings on a day other than Sunday, small groups where real connections and spiritual conversations can take place, and an active presence on social media.

But really, in the end, it comes down to telling how the living Lord Jesus has changed your life as you reach out to help change their lives as well.  It's about Jesus; always about Jesus.

What was the point of all those fireworks?

I think it is a legitimate question and goes to the heart of the raison d'etre of the Christian Church.  Why were we blessed with such an amazing display of fire and rushing wind?  What was God trying to accomplish with this first Pentecost?

Of course the Church has developed answers to this question throughout its 2000+ year history.  Martin Luther in his Small Catechism says that the work of the Spirit is to call us into faith and then form us as the Church

'I believe that I cannot by my own strength or understanding come to faith but the Holy Spirit calls me through the gospel.....just as it calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian Church.'  [a paraphrase of the explanation to the 3rd article of the Creed.]

But that begs the question of why the Church in the first place.  The Greek word for 'church' is ekklesia or 'the called out ones'.  So those who are gathered to be church are called out for some purpose......and it apparently took some wind and fire to get us moving.

Because it appears that it is about us moving, not staying.  It is about us talking with one another, and with every other Tom, Dick and Harry we meet about what we have seen and heard.  It is about what we are to do next and it has to do with other people, not ourselves.

This dynamic movement of Spirit and Church has gotten a bit lost in our last century as we foolishly believed that everyone already knew about the person, presence and power of God.   Too many believers began to believe that just believing (and there have been some very low standards around what 'believing' means) was the goal of the church.  Somehow we lost sight that the believing was intended to be the first step of telling someone else the story.  

Frankly, if you had been there and felt that wind, and saw those tongues of fire, and heard all those people talking........well, you would just have had to tell someone else about it all....right?

So, perhaps the fireworks were just for that purpose......to get us up off our ......couches/pews......and get the word out.  THIS is our God and THIS is how powerful that God is and THIS is the Jesus who showed us what it all looked like and THIS is the Spirit that is always moving among us to bring out new life.

So what is the story that God has given to you to share with the world?  Where have you felt the rushing of the Spirit?  Where has the fire of God's passionate love shown up in your life lately?  That's your story.  That's your fire and wind.  That's your call to tell the story.  Your story.  God's story.  The story of salvation for the world.

Might as well go fishing

That's where we find the disciples at the end of John's gospel: fishing.  Not terribly surprising since that is what most of them did either for a living or to provide food.  Not only that, what else were they to do?  They went back to what they knew, what was comfortable, what put food on the table.  They hung out with the folks they knew and felt comfortable with.  They went fishing.

Although, after hours of night time fishing, they had caught nothing.  I guess that happens even to professional fishermen.  Checking with our local fishing expert, that indeed happens to him.  But the strange/amusing/unbelievable part of the story comes next:  Jesus tells them to put their nets down on the right side of the boat.

Now I can't help but think that this is metaphor since I doubt if fish are that discriminating about exactly which side of a boat they swim under.  What, however, could this metaphor be pointing us to?

Well, right could mean the opposite of wrong.  You were putting out your nets on the wrong side of the boat.  Could that mean that they were seeking to tell the Jesus story in the wrong places?  In the wrong manner?  Wrong technique?  I don't know.

This shift to the 'right side' could also point to efforts that are made without the cooperative energy and direction of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus, therefore, empowers the fishermen to catch their fish by directing them to the 'right' place.  Maybe.

Of course, 'catching fish' is also probably a metaphor since at his calling Peter was told to Follow and learn how to be a 'fisher of men'.  So I'm thinking that 'catching fish' is really leading folks to Jesus.  Note that the net was filled with fish (153) but it was not torn.  Remember how Jesus said he did not lose even one that was given to him by the Fathr (except the one destined to be lost) John 17.12.  I like the interplay of these two images.

What do we have in the end?  We have folks who are doing what everybody does: working to provide a living for themselves and their families.  Apparently, hidden in the metaphors, is the message that our work goes beyond just catching halibut.  We also are given the task of gathering in those who have not heard of Jesus and bringing them to him.

Third, there are lots of 'uncaught' fish in the sea and netting them for Jesus is a part of our work.  When we wrap up this story and Jesus tells Peter to 'feed my sheep' he is not giving him a different task - something other than catching fish - he is simply giving Peter a different picture of what his work looks like.

In our fellowship, our every day work, our ordinary activities, even the stuff we need to do to maintain ourselves, we are not to lose sight of our larger calling as people of faith:  go and find the lost ones and bring them to Jesus.  It's a different kind of fishing.

Takin' it to the streets........

"Takin' it to the streets..."  The Doobie Brothers sang it in the 60's.  It would be a good motto (if not a tune) for the people of God.  Taking it out there - out of our quiet sanctuaries, which were only ever meant to be a temporary respite - and back out to the streets.

Oh yes! We do that every week.  We leave the Sunday place and travel to the Monday place and that is where we live 6.75 days of the week.  Then why does it sound like such a radical idea?  Jesus took it to the streets; in fact, Jesus was 'itinerant' which is a fancy word for 'homeless.'  Jesus talked to the street people, the tax collector and the woman caught in adultery and the father with the demon possessed son.....all those street characters.  Jesus ate with all kinds - every kind - of person, and offered them healing and hope and salvation.

In the streets was where Jesus did his ministry because his message and gift of salvation was first good news to those who lived lives of darkness and desperation, those who were hungry for any good word, those who needed most to know that, in God's eyes and in God's plan for all creation, they were not losers but beloved children.

Don't know how we managed to forget the connection between Jesus and the street people, but there it is.  And there is where we need to be also.

Sing along with me, 'we're takin' it to the streets.....'

You are invited.........

Remember how wonderful it felt to receive that invitation in the mail?  You are invited.
You are wanted.  We want YOU to be there with us.  You belong.  What a powerful message, even when the invitation is only to a 3rd grade birthday party.


An amazing number of people who consider faith at the center of their lives have never invited someone else to come and see what God might have in store for them.  Although many value the grace of knowing they belong to a community of faith, they hesitate to invite someone else to discover the joy of belonging to this earthly community and divine Creator.  Even though they find worship to be fulfilling and centering, they don't consider inviting another to come and experience the Spirit at work.

Can you imagine waiting outside the door, wanting to learn more about this God and hoping someone, anyone, would invite you inside to be a part of the community?  Can you imagine making that move into foreign territory on your own?  If you think I exaggerate how difficult it is, consider your hesitancy as you approach the door of a mosque so you can learn more about Islam.  Will you be welcome?  Will you offend someone inadvertently? Are you dressed appropriately?

Invite:  this is a tool of faith formation.  Invite him to the men's breakfast on the first Friday of the month.  Invite her to Wednesday night service, shorter, more casual, more intimate.  Invite the new children to participate in the CROP Walk with your kids.  Invite the new member to partner with you on the Samaritan Center meal prep.  Invite, invite, invite.

You will be opening a door for the other while at the same time, you will find all the reasons your life is enriched by your relationship with Jesus.

Remember how wonderful it felt to receive that invitation in the mail?  You are invited.
Invite someone today.

4 really dumb things Christians have been caught saying..........

So, I read this article about the dumbest, most annoying things that the Church has been caught saying and how they are really irritating, aggravating, almost infuriating to many....especially the under 30 crowd.

It was a good article.  I also gave we Lutherans a star for not being guilty of all the sins described.  We have our own particular ways of sinning, but not these.  However, these are an insight into how we are heard by the world we are called to love and serve, and just might help us interact more effectively.

Here's the list:  (kind of like David Letterman's nightly 10 Ten List....only we have only 4 for now)

#4  "The unchurched, (insert: unbelievers as another option) are....."

#3  "God is in control....has a plan....works in mysterious ways..."

#2   "The Bible clearly says........."

#1 "God will never give you more than you can handle"

Have you ever heard some one say just that?  Has there ever been a time that you were the recipient of such 'wisdom' and it was not only useless to you, it actually made you angry at the speaker?  Have you found yourself using these exact same words.....meaning well, but stumbling all over yourself?

Keep an eye on the blog because I'm going to look at each one in turn.  Maybe we will find a way to talk with others about this faith which we hold dear.....because our Lord Jesus holds us dear and calls us beloved.

And the people of God say.....Alleluia

                             For what are we thankful?  How has God moved us to say Alleluia?

Couldn't help but notice that joy is a characteristic of Luther Memorial this past Sunday.  Lots of folks stood up and shared their answers with everyone and the whole congregation responded with an Alleluia.  All ages, all kinds of circumstances, all kinds of stories....lots of people wanted to say out loud that they have met God through Luther Memorial, or grown in their faith, or been cared for, or learned to pray.  New members, long time members, multi-generational members, young members.

This community, called together by the Holy Spirit is a vibrant, moving community.  God has called us together through the Holy Spirit, to worship, to be fed, to share and to serve.  God calls us beloved and sends us out to share that good news.  Isn't it time you invited someone to come and see what this God is all about?

How about this Sunday?

Outisde the temple gate

Everyday his friends would carry him to the Gate of the Temple called "Beautiful" so he could beg.  He had been lame from birth.

This is the setting for this Sunday's story of healing from Acts 3.  When the beggar accosted Peter and John, he was looking for silver or gold.  What he received was the Word of God in Jesus Christ, and a healing to boot. 

It all took place outside the temple.  Out there, in the streets, where common folk live and work, give birth and die.  Not in the temple, the house of God, where God was understood to dwell.  No, out there among the beggars, the lame, the blind, the poor, the diseased.

Healing a beggar wasn't on Peter's agenda that day.  Even 'evangelism' wasn't on Peter's agenda.  It seems that the experience of encountering a lame man who was looking for .....something valuable....was all that it took for Peter to share what was the most valuable thing he had: the message of God in Jesus. 

And the man was healed.  Out there; in the streets; the name of Jesus was able to heal. 

Are we carrying the Good News of Jesus with us wherever we go?
Is it the most valuable thing we have to share with others?
Do we really expect God to work out there in the streets?

Some good questions for us to ponder I think.
Peace