From the title you may be wondering if this is a blog about NASA. It's not, but I bet the chairs on any spacecraft are carefully arranged with the mission in mind.
In this blog, I’m talking about the chair arrangement in our worship space at Spring of Life. I decided to change up the arrangement this past July as part of a message series on “Becoming the Body of Christ.” Instead of having rows all facing the same direction toward the stage, altar, speaker and worship music leaders, I put the chairs in a kind of “U” shape semi-circle with the stage/altar as a kind of completion of a circle. You might think of it as a “church in the round.”
Here are some of the results I’ve heard as a result of this new arrangement:
“I can see other people more than I could before.”
“I am sitting closer together with others because there are fewer chairs in the room.”
“The altar and worship leaders are a part of the community circle and in some cases at the center of the gathered community.”
“I am uncomfortable because my usual spot is gone, the sight lines are different and it feels less like a traditional church.”
“I like it.”
“Change it back.”
“I personally feel a little more exposed sitting on one of the front rows like I do because I sense people can see me a little more than before (whether that’s actually true, I’m not sure. It’s just how I feel).”
I’ve explained briefly in worship and had a couple of conversations with folks who have asked about the new configuration. It has prompted me to reflect more intentionally on the connection between the space where we meet and the gospel we proclaim. I hope this helps deepen your appreciation for the space where we worship, draws us deeper into becoming who God has created us to be and at the very least gives you food for thought.
At its best, the design of worship space is determined by the church’s mission. The first questions to ask are “What is our mission? And how can the space arrangement help us achieve that mission?”
Our mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. And our vision is to be a church where people come as they are and become who God created them to be. This year in particular, our church leadership has been living with the theme of “Becoming the Beloved Community.” To put it another way, we have focused on the ways that disciples of Jesus transform the world by becoming the beloved community where we recognize, understand, appreciate and celebrate our differences as a reflection of God’s present and coming Kingdom.
This is the primary reason behind the chair set up in our worship space at Spring of Life. In the middle of July, there were some other practical reasons that made sense, such as lower weekly worship attendance and having fewer chairs made the room feel less empty. And there was the teaching moment of dealing with life change and transition by recognizing that God is with us in it and calling us to place our trust in Him. The primary reason, though, is the mission, vision and theme mentioned above.
Once again it is worth asking: What is our mission and what kind of community is God compelling us to become in proclamation, pursuit and embodiment of that mission? Here are some of my thoughts.
First, the church’s mission is not to get people to believe the right things so that their souls go to heaven instead of hell when they die. This is a common over simplification and distortion of the whole gospel (good news) that Jesus lived, died and rose from the dead for. Jesus didn’t call people to believe a list of things about him. Jesus called people to follow him and find their life in him. Jesus welcomed all kind of people into this community of followers and this got him into trouble with the religious gate keepers and rule followers of his day. Jesus came proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God and taught his disciples to pray “Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.” So, it might be better to say that the church’s mission is the same as that of Jesus mission – to live life on earth in a way that makes sense in light of God’s present and coming kingdom. And whether we live or whether we die, our life is found together in Christ.
It might also be helpful to remember that from the beginning of the Bible we learn the story of a God who calls and constitutes a people (Israel), promising to be their God and blessing them so that they would be a blessing to the nations. God restores, corrects (and you might even say resurrects!) this people of Israel along the way. (Weren’t the people of Israel as good as dead, enslaved in Egypt when God brought them out and raised them up by his mighty hand?) Further, God doesn’t protect His people from pain, but walks with them through it. He delivers them from enemies that are larger and more powerful militarily. In Israel’s weakness as a people, God shows his strength. He provides food and water for them in the wilderness. He shows them that they are deeply loved personally and that He will always save them corporately, as a community. God would be right there in the center of this community in the form of fire, cloud, the prophet voice, the priestly sacrifices, the calling of kings and the law that He gave.
Through Jesus, the Bible tells us that God would now be right there in the center of this community in a way God had never been before – in the flesh. And through Jesus, the rest of the world is now “grafted into” this story of the people of Israel. The invitation is open to live life together with Jesus at the center, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to show the world a glimpse of God’s hope for the world. To put it simply: The church’s mission is to reveal the kingdom of God by making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Our life together as a church ought to bear the marks of God’s Kingdom for the world to see. And God’s kingdom by its very nature is community on earth as it is in heaven. So, when we gather we aren’t just coming to hear a teacher or preacher give us an inspirational message. You can find more inspirational preachers on tv or the internet! We are gathering to be reminded that we need each other as much as we need God. In fact, God in His wisdom has chosen to reveal himself through the community called “the body of Christ.” So, an arrangement of chairs that helps us see each other and look for God in and through each other as the Body of Christ is helpful.
Last Sunday I heard a woman share a little of her story. She said, “In order to deal with my disease of alcoholism and drug addiction I need to be reminded of the truth that I need the help of a community. I need help to remember that I can’t do this on my own. I need people that I can trust to “tell on myself” when I mess up.” She was describing her need for a recovery group. I thought she might as well been describing the church with the different gifts of the Spirit that God gives to different people and the gift of confessing our sin to one another so we may be healed.
So a mark of this beloved community called the Kingdom of God is that we watch over one another in love and if we can see each other better in this seating arrangement, then that’s a good thing. That’s part of God's mission in Christ to call and constitute a people called "The Body of Christ."
Here are some questions to consider:
Do you notice people you don’t know?
Do you notice people are missing?
Do you see and hear children?
Do you see people who make you uncomfortable or distract you?
Do you hear from people other than the clergy?
Do you feel a little more exposed?
Do you get the sense that being a Christian is about becoming God's beloved community on earth as it is in heaven?
I don’t know if an arrangement of chairs can help you answer yes to any of those. But if so, that’s a good thing because wrestling with those questions is part of our mission as God's people becoming a reflection of God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
How about your thoughts on the connection between worship space and the church's mission? Share away . . .
Friday, September 13, 2013
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Tell Me Why You Love Me?
Early in our marriage, Carolyn and I decided we would tell each other one reason we love each other every day. My memory is a little fuzzy, but I think Rod Stewart’s release of “Have I Told You Lately” the year Carolyn and I met had something to do with it.
I ain’t gonna lie. We don’t do this every day. But every so often we are wise to renew the practice.
If you’ve been married for any length of time, you know that there are some days when answering that question takes more work than others. Take heart! It is the days when it’s work that I really know it’s an act of love.
M. Scott Peck said, “If an act is not one of work or courage, then it is not love.”
It is this working and courageous kind of love that sustains marriages, families, friendships and churches for life.
I was reminded of this while reading 1Corinthians in preparation for worship this Sunday. Paul who wrote this letter to Corinth begins with a word of thanksgiving for the community to which he writes.
“I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way – with all kinds of speech and knowledge – God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you.” 1 Corinthians 1:4-6
Don’t think for a minute that these words of love weren’t work for Paul. It might have been easier for him to launch into a long list of criticism. Corinth was a church riddled with problems and Paul would eventually address those. But despite all the present problems, Paul sees this church as the work of God in the world, and he discerns in their midst gifts for which God is to be thanked.
Would you like to see your marriage, your friendships, your family, your church as the work of God in the world? Then I encourage you to follow the example of Paul and Rod Stewart . . . . do the work of telling them why you love them.
I ain’t gonna lie. We don’t do this every day. But every so often we are wise to renew the practice.
If you’ve been married for any length of time, you know that there are some days when answering that question takes more work than others. Take heart! It is the days when it’s work that I really know it’s an act of love.
M. Scott Peck said, “If an act is not one of work or courage, then it is not love.”
It is this working and courageous kind of love that sustains marriages, families, friendships and churches for life.
I was reminded of this while reading 1Corinthians in preparation for worship this Sunday. Paul who wrote this letter to Corinth begins with a word of thanksgiving for the community to which he writes.
“I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way – with all kinds of speech and knowledge – God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you.” 1 Corinthians 1:4-6
Don’t think for a minute that these words of love weren’t work for Paul. It might have been easier for him to launch into a long list of criticism. Corinth was a church riddled with problems and Paul would eventually address those. But despite all the present problems, Paul sees this church as the work of God in the world, and he discerns in their midst gifts for which God is to be thanked.
Would you like to see your marriage, your friendships, your family, your church as the work of God in the world? Then I encourage you to follow the example of Paul and Rod Stewart . . . . do the work of telling them why you love them.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
How Is Your Daily Connection to God?
"Tell me what your daily connection to God looks like?"
That question felt like someone flicked on a giant spotlight as the crowd went silent in anticipation of the answer. The perfect question to hold me accountable to the kind of life God has called me to live.
And like other accountability questions, there are days when an answer comes easily and days when beads of sweat begin to form and the answer is a struggle.
I was inspired as I heard a middle and high school student in our church answer this question by talking about reading the Bible, listening to music, "spoken word" poetry and prayer. It was an encouraging reminder to me that God doesn't see this division of "sacred" and "secular" like we do. Because God became flesh and dwelt among us, the light of God has shown in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.
God is not compartmentalized into a worship service on Sundays, a weeklong mission trip or Vacation Bible School. God is present in the everyday ordinary days as well. Meeting God during those special times are meant to remind us that God is also walking with us into those places where we may be ignoring God.
The God we know in Jesus Christ seems to have this weird joy in showing up where he's not welcome and disturbing things in a redemptive kind of way. More times than not, Jesus comes looking for us than we come looking for him. And when we do go looking for Jesus, he rearranges our expectations and shows us how different his ways are from our ways.
So, your daily connection to God requires your intentional decision to meet with Him in prayer, Bible reading, worship music, poetry, serving, etc. AND your daily connection to God is entirely up to God who has proven to be relentless in showing up even where He is not invited. It's not either/or. It's both/and.
If you are looking for looking for some material to read this summer, here are some options that God may use to mess with you.
- Common Prayer for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne and others. (You can get this in hardback, kindle or search iphone apps "Common Prayer" published by Zondervan
- Life Journal Bible Reading Plan. Contact Rob Githens. He is placing an order. They are about $6.50.
- The Art of Neighboring by Jay Pathak. It's about living the great commandment to love God and love your neighbor.
- You Lost Me: Why Young Christians are Leaving the Church and Rethinking Faith by David Kinnaman.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
The Father's Day Gift that Keeps on Giving
When there is something important that I don't want to forget I usually put a reminder in a place that I'm going to see it - a note on the fridge, bathroom mirror, scheduled reminder on smart phone, etc.
So, now I get why God chose circumcision as a sign of his covenant with Israel. God needed to put this important reminder of His covenant in a place where men (in particular) would see it - literally put their hands on it, multiple times a day, so as to not forget it!
What could be more important to remember than God's faithfulness? What better place for God to put a permanent reminder of God's faithfulness than on a dude's genitals? Brilliant God.
The fact that I'm just now figuring this out after following Jesus nearly forty years, getting a Master of Divinity, pastoring a church for 17 years and being circumcised my whole life, is telling. God knows I need a lot of help remembering to walk by faith.
When I told my wife about this revelation she wondered why God didn't give her this particular reminder too. I said because God knew how interested husbands would be in showing it to their wives - regularly.
This all dawned on me as I pondered what I might share for a Father's Day message and I was reading these words of Stephen, the church's first martyr, in Acts 7.
"Then God made a covenant with [Abraham] and signed it in his flesh by circumcision. When Abraham had his son Isaac, within eight days he reproduced the sign of circumcision in him. Isaac became father of Jacob, and Jacob father of twelve 'fathers,' each faithfully passing on the covenant sign." (Acts 7:8 MSG)
The original Father's Day gift that keeps on giving!? Circumcision. God's covenant signed in the flesh!
Think about it guys. You might lose your job. You might experience failure in business, marriage, school, etc. You might lose everything. Heck, God might tell you to sell everything, give it to the poor and go follow Jesus into a place you've never been. It might be a place where you don't get to bring your smart phone to schedule reminders, and the bathroom mirror you look into might be a different one everyday. And if all that were true, you'd still wake up wearing your birthday suit and see a visual reminder of God's faithfulness to you first thing in the morning.
I don't have any tattoos because I am just not that cool (plus my mother may disown me). However, I have been told that there is a story behind every tattoo. There's something deeper than simply the mark on the skin. Of course the same is true of the Biblical reason for circumcision. Beyond the mark in the flesh is the story of God's claim upon us individually and as a people.
Perhaps God knew men, being statistically more ADD than women, needed the physical reminder of God's faithfulness to keep his promise, to lead us, to provide for us, to restore us when we wander, and to even raise us from the dead. But of course this promise isn't just for men. It's not even just for Israel. It is for all people.
And there is a flip side to this wonderful promise God gave us in the flesh. It's all too true that men in our culture are obsessed with our outward appearance and accumulation of stuff. Obviously we think the marks we have and the size we are matters for our worth. Who are you without your car, your job title, your degree, your clothes or your tattoos?
The Jews and early Christians started missing the point of circumcision when they gained a measure of wealth and power. They began to use it as a badge that pushed others away and and a means to elevate themselves rather than remember how God made them something out of nothing. This is how prone we are to turn good things into bad things.
So the Apostle Paul had to remind the church in Rome that it wasn't their outward appearance or marks in their skin that made them special in God's eyes. It is the condition of their heart that made them children of God.
You might have a lot of marks of success and things are going really well for you now. But what are you doing when no one is looking? How are you using the possessions you have in a way to point to God rather than yourself? Do you find yourself thinking more about protecting what you have or sharing it with others? Are you practicing generosity through tithing and regular giving? Are you setting limits at work so you spend time with those who are most important?
Funny how different our perspective is when we have nothing but our birthday suit and a mark to remind us that God will always be faithful. The reality is that no matter how much stuff you have or accumulate, you will leave this world the same way you came in - with nothing but God's mark, God's claim upon you. It's a gift from our Heavenly Father that keeps on giving.
Happy Father's Day. Remember you are God's.
So, now I get why God chose circumcision as a sign of his covenant with Israel. God needed to put this important reminder of His covenant in a place where men (in particular) would see it - literally put their hands on it, multiple times a day, so as to not forget it!
What could be more important to remember than God's faithfulness? What better place for God to put a permanent reminder of God's faithfulness than on a dude's genitals? Brilliant God.
The fact that I'm just now figuring this out after following Jesus nearly forty years, getting a Master of Divinity, pastoring a church for 17 years and being circumcised my whole life, is telling. God knows I need a lot of help remembering to walk by faith.
When I told my wife about this revelation she wondered why God didn't give her this particular reminder too. I said because God knew how interested husbands would be in showing it to their wives - regularly.
This all dawned on me as I pondered what I might share for a Father's Day message and I was reading these words of Stephen, the church's first martyr, in Acts 7.
"Then God made a covenant with [Abraham] and signed it in his flesh by circumcision. When Abraham had his son Isaac, within eight days he reproduced the sign of circumcision in him. Isaac became father of Jacob, and Jacob father of twelve 'fathers,' each faithfully passing on the covenant sign." (Acts 7:8 MSG)
The original Father's Day gift that keeps on giving!? Circumcision. God's covenant signed in the flesh!
Think about it guys. You might lose your job. You might experience failure in business, marriage, school, etc. You might lose everything. Heck, God might tell you to sell everything, give it to the poor and go follow Jesus into a place you've never been. It might be a place where you don't get to bring your smart phone to schedule reminders, and the bathroom mirror you look into might be a different one everyday. And if all that were true, you'd still wake up wearing your birthday suit and see a visual reminder of God's faithfulness to you first thing in the morning.
I don't have any tattoos because I am just not that cool (plus my mother may disown me). However, I have been told that there is a story behind every tattoo. There's something deeper than simply the mark on the skin. Of course the same is true of the Biblical reason for circumcision. Beyond the mark in the flesh is the story of God's claim upon us individually and as a people.
Perhaps God knew men, being statistically more ADD than women, needed the physical reminder of God's faithfulness to keep his promise, to lead us, to provide for us, to restore us when we wander, and to even raise us from the dead. But of course this promise isn't just for men. It's not even just for Israel. It is for all people.
And there is a flip side to this wonderful promise God gave us in the flesh. It's all too true that men in our culture are obsessed with our outward appearance and accumulation of stuff. Obviously we think the marks we have and the size we are matters for our worth. Who are you without your car, your job title, your degree, your clothes or your tattoos?
The Jews and early Christians started missing the point of circumcision when they gained a measure of wealth and power. They began to use it as a badge that pushed others away and and a means to elevate themselves rather than remember how God made them something out of nothing. This is how prone we are to turn good things into bad things.
So the Apostle Paul had to remind the church in Rome that it wasn't their outward appearance or marks in their skin that made them special in God's eyes. It is the condition of their heart that made them children of God.
You might have a lot of marks of success and things are going really well for you now. But what are you doing when no one is looking? How are you using the possessions you have in a way to point to God rather than yourself? Do you find yourself thinking more about protecting what you have or sharing it with others? Are you practicing generosity through tithing and regular giving? Are you setting limits at work so you spend time with those who are most important?
Funny how different our perspective is when we have nothing but our birthday suit and a mark to remind us that God will always be faithful. The reality is that no matter how much stuff you have or accumulate, you will leave this world the same way you came in - with nothing but God's mark, God's claim upon you. It's a gift from our Heavenly Father that keeps on giving.
Happy Father's Day. Remember you are God's.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Why Worship
Worship attendance is important on a number of different levels. On a personal level, a school principal would agree that students do better academically if they don't miss a lot of school. Coaches would say players do better on game day if they don't miss a lot of practices. On an institutional level, that same principal and coach could use school and practice attendance as a measure of their institution's health. Not surprisingly, pastors and church leaders think about the same kind of things.
Worship attendance will impact your spiritual health personally and it also affects the church insitutionally. You know that you arent going to have a deeply moving experience of God or spiritual epiphany every time you go to worship. There will be those days you leave worship and think, "I didn't get anything out of that."
This reminds me of something that I've heard Bishop Willimon say that goes something like this: "God has a lot of big things to deal with like natual disaster and starvation. Maybe you didn't get anything out of worship today because it wasn't for you today. God was busy working on someone else. And who knows, maybe God was hoping to get your help speaking to that someone else on God's behalf."
This opens my eyes to see that worship attendance affects both my personal spiritual health and the institution's health. In other words, there are bigger reasons for attending worship than whether or not I get something out of it personally.
There are times when God will encourage me to keep the faith, step out in the face of fear, or lay down my bitterness once again, just by being among those God gathered for worship. It's hard to describe. The "community gathered" is itself a proclamation of the gospel of Jesus resurrection. There have been times when I've heard, "Jesus is Alive!" through the presence of others: young, old, rich, poor, male female, black, white, spanish, english, strong faith, weak faith, no faith, republican, democrat, not even American.... better than I've heard it through the sermon.
So the next time you think, "I didn't really get anything out of that" when you go to worship - consider that God may be using you as His message to someone else. And didn't a wise man once say that we will only find life when we give ours away?
Don't take a vacation from worship this summer! Even if you are on vacation, look for a place to worship. You and God's church will be healthier for it!
Saturday, April 20, 2013
When Chronic Anxiety Meets Chronic Love
This may be one of many ways to describe the relationship between human beings and God. We are chronically anxious and God is chronically loving.
You can find this theme reoccurring over and over again throughout the Bible. Adam and Eve are anxious to know what it is like to “know like God” (Genesis 3). Abraham and Sarah are anxious about waiting on God’s timing (Genesis 16). Moses is anxious about answering God’s call (Exodus 4). Israel is anxious about starving in the wilderness and being destroyed by their enemies (Numbers 14). Martha is anxious about many things (Luke 10).
In every case, God meets our chronic anxiety with chronic love.
This description of God is a regular refrain throughout the Bible:
“God, God, a God of mercy and grace, endlessly patient – so much love, so deeply true – loyal in love for a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin.” Exodus 34:6-7
I’ve been asked, “But what about when someone is being abusive?” A common way of coping with our anxiety is to be actively and passively aggressive. How do we love someone that is abusive? Do we stay and “take it”? Do we dish it back? Do we leave?
God told the Israelites to flee the slavery of the Egyptian Pharaoh rather than stay there and remain a less-than-human, corporate punching bag. God had better plans for them than to be enslaved. Pharaoh would need to figure out how to make money without abusing Israel. Pharaoh wouldn’t figure out how to do that unless Israel said, “I’m not going to be your punching bag anymore.” In this case leaving was loving. In many ways, it would have been easier for Israel to stay than to go. To go . . it took great courage. It took great faith. It took being in community. It took God. Interesting.
This is why we cannot say that separation and divorce are always wrong and unloving. To be sure, separation and divorce are not good if they are the easy way for us to avoid responsibility for our own habits, hurts and hang ups. Every effort must be made to work on our own stuff through counseling and prayer. Avoiding responsibility is not a loving thing to do. Sadly, some folks are avoiding responsibility by getting separated and divorced. And ironically, there are some folks who are helping their spouse avoid responsibility for their abusive behavior by refusing to consider a separation or divorce, even after living in an abusive relationship for years. This is because they can’t imagine that leaving would ever be loving. But here is the deal: Pharaoh isn’t going to find a new economy unless Israel leaves!
God is the same way with us. God will not allow us to make God into whatever we want. When we try and turn God into a genie-type wish dispenser, God will have nothing of it. God isn’t a smorgasbord for us to pick and choose what we like and leave the rest. God says, “Follow me.” “Worship God alone.” This effects everything else on our “to do” list because, as my friend Aaron Rousseau likes to say, God is our “to do” list. God won’t let us use God as a punching bag to avoid responsibility for our hurt, habits and hang ups either.
Even on the cross, when it appeared that God was letting us have our way with God, God was having God’s way with us! The suffering of God exposes our sin and God’s love. The cross is the place where our chronic anxiety and God’s chronic love intersect. It is the place where God leaves us (“my God, my God why have you forsaken me”), the place where God stays with us (“father forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing”) and the place where God dishes it back (“here is your son, here is your mother.”)
God has not allowed us to have our way with God ultimately. God has refused to go looking for another spouse. And God has given us back a new way of relating to one another, a new understanding of being sons and daughters, husbands and wives.
It’s nothing short of freedom, redemption, and new creation when God’s chronic love meets our chronic anxiety.
Questions for reflection:
Is there someone or someplace you want to leave in order to avoid responsibility?
How would knowing a “God of mercy and grace, endlessly patient – so much love, so deeply true” help you stay and take responsibility for your own behavior in this situation?
Do you know anyone who lives with someone who has an addiction and is abusive? What makes it hard to leave these relationships? How does the story of Israel and Pharaoh speak to you? Can “leaving be loving?” Why or why not?
Have you ever tried “playing Pharaoh” with God or another person – trying to use God or someone else for your own purposes? How has God or that person shown you that He will not be controlled/enslaved by you?
Pray for people with addictions and those living in abusive relationships.
You can find this theme reoccurring over and over again throughout the Bible. Adam and Eve are anxious to know what it is like to “know like God” (Genesis 3). Abraham and Sarah are anxious about waiting on God’s timing (Genesis 16). Moses is anxious about answering God’s call (Exodus 4). Israel is anxious about starving in the wilderness and being destroyed by their enemies (Numbers 14). Martha is anxious about many things (Luke 10).
In every case, God meets our chronic anxiety with chronic love.
This description of God is a regular refrain throughout the Bible:
“God, God, a God of mercy and grace, endlessly patient – so much love, so deeply true – loyal in love for a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin.” Exodus 34:6-7
I’ve been asked, “But what about when someone is being abusive?” A common way of coping with our anxiety is to be actively and passively aggressive. How do we love someone that is abusive? Do we stay and “take it”? Do we dish it back? Do we leave?
God told the Israelites to flee the slavery of the Egyptian Pharaoh rather than stay there and remain a less-than-human, corporate punching bag. God had better plans for them than to be enslaved. Pharaoh would need to figure out how to make money without abusing Israel. Pharaoh wouldn’t figure out how to do that unless Israel said, “I’m not going to be your punching bag anymore.” In this case leaving was loving. In many ways, it would have been easier for Israel to stay than to go. To go . . it took great courage. It took great faith. It took being in community. It took God. Interesting.
This is why we cannot say that separation and divorce are always wrong and unloving. To be sure, separation and divorce are not good if they are the easy way for us to avoid responsibility for our own habits, hurts and hang ups. Every effort must be made to work on our own stuff through counseling and prayer. Avoiding responsibility is not a loving thing to do. Sadly, some folks are avoiding responsibility by getting separated and divorced. And ironically, there are some folks who are helping their spouse avoid responsibility for their abusive behavior by refusing to consider a separation or divorce, even after living in an abusive relationship for years. This is because they can’t imagine that leaving would ever be loving. But here is the deal: Pharaoh isn’t going to find a new economy unless Israel leaves!
God is the same way with us. God will not allow us to make God into whatever we want. When we try and turn God into a genie-type wish dispenser, God will have nothing of it. God isn’t a smorgasbord for us to pick and choose what we like and leave the rest. God says, “Follow me.” “Worship God alone.” This effects everything else on our “to do” list because, as my friend Aaron Rousseau likes to say, God is our “to do” list. God won’t let us use God as a punching bag to avoid responsibility for our hurt, habits and hang ups either.
Even on the cross, when it appeared that God was letting us have our way with God, God was having God’s way with us! The suffering of God exposes our sin and God’s love. The cross is the place where our chronic anxiety and God’s chronic love intersect. It is the place where God leaves us (“my God, my God why have you forsaken me”), the place where God stays with us (“father forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing”) and the place where God dishes it back (“here is your son, here is your mother.”)
God has not allowed us to have our way with God ultimately. God has refused to go looking for another spouse. And God has given us back a new way of relating to one another, a new understanding of being sons and daughters, husbands and wives.
It’s nothing short of freedom, redemption, and new creation when God’s chronic love meets our chronic anxiety.
Questions for reflection:
Is there someone or someplace you want to leave in order to avoid responsibility?
How would knowing a “God of mercy and grace, endlessly patient – so much love, so deeply true” help you stay and take responsibility for your own behavior in this situation?
Do you know anyone who lives with someone who has an addiction and is abusive? What makes it hard to leave these relationships? How does the story of Israel and Pharaoh speak to you? Can “leaving be loving?” Why or why not?
Have you ever tried “playing Pharaoh” with God or another person – trying to use God or someone else for your own purposes? How has God or that person shown you that He will not be controlled/enslaved by you?
Pray for people with addictions and those living in abusive relationships.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Relay for Life Lake Nona Sunrise Devotion
The images of darkness and light are so significant during this Relay for Life Event.
Here we use Darkness and Light to help us to tell our story.
Everyone who gathers here is touched by the disease of Cancer in some way. Like a thief in the night, cancer has robbed us and those we love from the life we want to live. When we think of cancer – we appropriately think of DARKNESS.
And while that darkness of cancer is real. The light tells us it is not all that is real. More than once I've heard people with cancer say, “I am more than a diagnosis. I am more than this disease.” That’s not a denial of the darkness. It is simply to say, “Darkness isn’t the only part of our story.” The light reminds us that there are survivors of cancer because of research, medicines, treatments, and communities that have pushed back on the darkness. When we think of those survivors and hope for a cure – we appropriately think of LIGHT.
So during this event, we once again tell the story of CANCER and CURE with the images of DARKNESS and LIGHT.
This is not unique or new with Relay for Life. The ancient words of the Bible show that these images of DARKNESS and LIGHT are really as old as creation. And they not only tell OUR story, they tell GOD’S story.
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and DARKNESS covered the face of the deep . . . Then God said, “Let there be LIGHT” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. Genesis 1:1-5
Some things to notice about this:
1. God did not create darkness, yet God works in it.
2. God created light with his word.
3. God did this on the first day of creation.
What I find so amazing about God is that God takes what He is given – even something like DARKNESS and makes it into something that serves HIS WILL. God did this from the beginning, on the first day of creation, when he created LIGHT and mixed it in with the DARKNESS that was already there.
In paring Light with Darkness, God created the beautiful rhythm of Day and Night which are vital to God’s design for creating and sustaining life.
Interestingly, in God’s hands, darkness becomes something beautiful.
In darkness, we are conceived in our mother’s womb, we find rest and sleep, we grow, we heal and we are restored. All things that we need.
In darkness, we must remember, God is at work too.
Eugene Petersen reminds us that God’s day begins at Sundown. When we are winding down and preparing to rest, God is just getting started . . . right there in darkness.
God speaks to us about this through the prophet Isaiah when he says:
“I will give you the treasures of darkness
and riches hidden in secret places,
so that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, who call you by name.”
Isaiah 45:3
By walking through the night during this Relay for Life we, perhaps unknowingly, have been saying something about how beautifully God works in darkness.
The words of the Easter story in John’s gospel echo in my ears when I think about how God works in darkness.
“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.” John 20:1
I love how John’s gospel echoes the Creation story in Genesis.
Here, we have God at work once again on the FIRST DAY – this time it is the FIRST DAY OF NEW CREATION! And notice once again, God is at work WHILE IT WAS STILL DARK.
Mary was walking in the dark toward Jesus’ tomb, expecting to find a dead body. She did not realize at all that God had been busy at work there in the darkness!
What we know that Mary didn’t know is that WHILE IT WAS STILL DARK, Jesus, the Light of the World, rose from the dead!
I don’t know of better news for people who find themselves walking through the darkest valley’s of cancer, mental illness, drug addiction, anxiety and uncertainty. While it was still dark, when we didn’t have a clue, when we were expecting to find death at best . . . God is at work rising the dead.
This is God’s story and our story: The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
How the Light Comes:
A Blessing for Christmas Day – Rev. Jan Richardson www.janrichardson.com
I cannot tell you
how the light comes.
What I know
is that it is more ancient
than imagining.
That it travels
across an astounding expanse
to reach us.
That it loves
searching out
what is hidden
what is lost
what is forgotten
or in peril
or in pain.
That it has a fondness
for the body
for finding its way
toward flesh
for tracing the edges
of form
for shining forth
through the eye,
the hand,
the heart.
I cannot tell you
how the light comes,
but that it does.
That it will.
That it works its way
into the deepest dark
that enfolds you,
though it may seem
long ages in coming
or arrive in a shape
you did not foresee.
And so
may we this day
turn ourselves toward it.
May we lift our faces
to let it find us.
May we bend our bodies
to follow the arc it makes.
May we open
and open more
and open still
to the blessed light
that comes.
Here we use Darkness and Light to help us to tell our story.
Everyone who gathers here is touched by the disease of Cancer in some way. Like a thief in the night, cancer has robbed us and those we love from the life we want to live. When we think of cancer – we appropriately think of DARKNESS.
And while that darkness of cancer is real. The light tells us it is not all that is real. More than once I've heard people with cancer say, “I am more than a diagnosis. I am more than this disease.” That’s not a denial of the darkness. It is simply to say, “Darkness isn’t the only part of our story.” The light reminds us that there are survivors of cancer because of research, medicines, treatments, and communities that have pushed back on the darkness. When we think of those survivors and hope for a cure – we appropriately think of LIGHT.
So during this event, we once again tell the story of CANCER and CURE with the images of DARKNESS and LIGHT.
This is not unique or new with Relay for Life. The ancient words of the Bible show that these images of DARKNESS and LIGHT are really as old as creation. And they not only tell OUR story, they tell GOD’S story.
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and DARKNESS covered the face of the deep . . . Then God said, “Let there be LIGHT” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. Genesis 1:1-5
Some things to notice about this:
1. God did not create darkness, yet God works in it.
2. God created light with his word.
3. God did this on the first day of creation.
What I find so amazing about God is that God takes what He is given – even something like DARKNESS and makes it into something that serves HIS WILL. God did this from the beginning, on the first day of creation, when he created LIGHT and mixed it in with the DARKNESS that was already there.
In paring Light with Darkness, God created the beautiful rhythm of Day and Night which are vital to God’s design for creating and sustaining life.
Interestingly, in God’s hands, darkness becomes something beautiful.
In darkness, we are conceived in our mother’s womb, we find rest and sleep, we grow, we heal and we are restored. All things that we need.
In darkness, we must remember, God is at work too.
Eugene Petersen reminds us that God’s day begins at Sundown. When we are winding down and preparing to rest, God is just getting started . . . right there in darkness.
God speaks to us about this through the prophet Isaiah when he says:
“I will give you the treasures of darkness
and riches hidden in secret places,
so that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, who call you by name.”
Isaiah 45:3
By walking through the night during this Relay for Life we, perhaps unknowingly, have been saying something about how beautifully God works in darkness.
The words of the Easter story in John’s gospel echo in my ears when I think about how God works in darkness.
“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.” John 20:1
I love how John’s gospel echoes the Creation story in Genesis.
Here, we have God at work once again on the FIRST DAY – this time it is the FIRST DAY OF NEW CREATION! And notice once again, God is at work WHILE IT WAS STILL DARK.
Mary was walking in the dark toward Jesus’ tomb, expecting to find a dead body. She did not realize at all that God had been busy at work there in the darkness!
What we know that Mary didn’t know is that WHILE IT WAS STILL DARK, Jesus, the Light of the World, rose from the dead!
I don’t know of better news for people who find themselves walking through the darkest valley’s of cancer, mental illness, drug addiction, anxiety and uncertainty. While it was still dark, when we didn’t have a clue, when we were expecting to find death at best . . . God is at work rising the dead.
This is God’s story and our story: The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
How the Light Comes:
A Blessing for Christmas Day – Rev. Jan Richardson www.janrichardson.com
I cannot tell you
how the light comes.
What I know
is that it is more ancient
than imagining.
That it travels
across an astounding expanse
to reach us.
That it loves
searching out
what is hidden
what is lost
what is forgotten
or in peril
or in pain.
That it has a fondness
for the body
for finding its way
toward flesh
for tracing the edges
of form
for shining forth
through the eye,
the hand,
the heart.
I cannot tell you
how the light comes,
but that it does.
That it will.
That it works its way
into the deepest dark
that enfolds you,
though it may seem
long ages in coming
or arrive in a shape
you did not foresee.
And so
may we this day
turn ourselves toward it.
May we lift our faces
to let it find us.
May we bend our bodies
to follow the arc it makes.
May we open
and open more
and open still
to the blessed light
that comes.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
"Trying On" a Third Worship Service
If you have attended worship a time or two at Spring of Life you may have heard these words:
“Come as you are and become who God created you to be.” They seem to say, “This is the kind of church God wants us to be – a community where anyone can come and become who God created you to be individually and corporately.”
During our church’s strategic planning retreat last August, the lay leadership of the church, who make up the Church Council asked these questions: Who is Spring of Life now? What kind of church is God’s Spirit compelling us to become?
We celebrated the beautiful things this church is right now: A place that welcomes the community, offers ministry to a broad range of ages – children, youth, adults and seniors, offers shared pastoral leadership from a man and a woman, offers a blended worship services with traditional and modern musical elements, preaching and communion every week, and a place that looks for ways to put faith in action through serving.
We wondered together, “What kind of church does God long for us to become?” This question can’t be answered with clarity in a minute, or even during a 24-hour strategic planning retreat. It requires laboring together and seeking God over time in worship, study of Scripture, prayer, and service in the community. Eventually, a vision emerges! God is faithful!
We considered the immediate mission field where we live. What are the spiritual, emotional and physical needs of our community? We considered the gifts for ministry that God has already given to the people at Spring of Life, and wondered what new gifts God might stir up among us as the church grows?
While the specific details of the future remain to be seen, the next step is clear. The Church Council is committed to “Building the Beloved Community” at Spring of Life. We recognize that our community is diverse (particularly across Anglo and Hispanic culture). You might be surprised to know that within an 8 mile radius of the church building there are about 57,900 white people and about 57,700 Hispanic people – 57% of whom are Puerto Rican. There are many other cultural differences too. You may be interested in looking at this Mission Insite report that gives demographic information about our community.
The Church Council recognizes this diverse mission field we are in and recognizes that God has given our church gifts for ministry to witness to the Gospel of Jesus in our mission field.
This past summer, Evelyn Teran joined Spring of Life. She is a gifted bi-lingual teacher and pastoral leader. Our church affirmed her sense of call to licensed or ordained ministry by recommending her to the District Committee on Ordained Ministry to become a Certified Candidate for Ordained Ministry in the United Methodist Church (this happened at our annual Church Conference on October 22.) Evelyn has been leading a Hispanic Ministry at 10:30 a.m. simultaneous to our second worship service. And on Sunday, December 30, Evelyn, Carolyn and I shared the sermon together because we felt the Spirit prompting us through the story of the three Magi/Wise Men/Kings that Spring of Life is like a “manger” where many different cultures are invited to come and worship the world’s one true king.
So, as this ministry opportunity continued to unfold, we increasingly felt like the separate and simultaneous English and Spanish worship times were not serving our mission to transform our world into “the beloved community” God created us for. We thought, having the Spanish service stay in the youth room at 10:30 would keep it successfully small, second class and separate from the rest of the church.
So a new vision was cast for Spring of Life to “Try On” launching a third worship service that would be primarily in Spanish at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday. Evelyn would be the primary preacher since she is bi-lingual. Pastor Dave and Carolyn would now be able to share in the worship leadership too. Space is instantly available for the service to grow and this is something that Spring of Life is doing together in an effort to become a multicultural community of faith that recognizes, understands and appreciates our differences in light of the kingdom of God.
We’re just getting started and the way forward is to keep on laboring together and seeking God over time in worship, study of Scripture, prayer, and service in the community. Eventually, a vision emerges! God is faithful!
There are two specific things I’d like to invite you to consider as we “try on” the launch of our third worship service.
1. Sign up for a “Dinner of Eight” group. These groups are 4 couples, 8 singles, or any combination that will get together for 4 meals over 4 months. We will equip the groups with table conversation starters and encourage people to share about their culture with food and stories. At the end of the four months we will have a big church wide potluck where people will be encouraged to bring a dish that is from their culture and offer an opportunity for people to share things they learned about each other in their "dinner for eight" groups. Click Here to register.
2. “Try on” serving at the third worship service. We need help with hospitality, greeters, ushers, etc. Email Julie at the church office if you can help. We will be meeting at 3:00 pm. on Sunday, January 20 with everyone who would like to serve on the third service launch team.
“Come as you are and become who God created you to be.” They seem to say, “This is the kind of church God wants us to be – a community where anyone can come and become who God created you to be individually and corporately.”
During our church’s strategic planning retreat last August, the lay leadership of the church, who make up the Church Council asked these questions: Who is Spring of Life now? What kind of church is God’s Spirit compelling us to become?
We celebrated the beautiful things this church is right now: A place that welcomes the community, offers ministry to a broad range of ages – children, youth, adults and seniors, offers shared pastoral leadership from a man and a woman, offers a blended worship services with traditional and modern musical elements, preaching and communion every week, and a place that looks for ways to put faith in action through serving.
We wondered together, “What kind of church does God long for us to become?” This question can’t be answered with clarity in a minute, or even during a 24-hour strategic planning retreat. It requires laboring together and seeking God over time in worship, study of Scripture, prayer, and service in the community. Eventually, a vision emerges! God is faithful!
We considered the immediate mission field where we live. What are the spiritual, emotional and physical needs of our community? We considered the gifts for ministry that God has already given to the people at Spring of Life, and wondered what new gifts God might stir up among us as the church grows?
While the specific details of the future remain to be seen, the next step is clear. The Church Council is committed to “Building the Beloved Community” at Spring of Life. We recognize that our community is diverse (particularly across Anglo and Hispanic culture). You might be surprised to know that within an 8 mile radius of the church building there are about 57,900 white people and about 57,700 Hispanic people – 57% of whom are Puerto Rican. There are many other cultural differences too. You may be interested in looking at this Mission Insite report that gives demographic information about our community.
The Church Council recognizes this diverse mission field we are in and recognizes that God has given our church gifts for ministry to witness to the Gospel of Jesus in our mission field.
This past summer, Evelyn Teran joined Spring of Life. She is a gifted bi-lingual teacher and pastoral leader. Our church affirmed her sense of call to licensed or ordained ministry by recommending her to the District Committee on Ordained Ministry to become a Certified Candidate for Ordained Ministry in the United Methodist Church (this happened at our annual Church Conference on October 22.) Evelyn has been leading a Hispanic Ministry at 10:30 a.m. simultaneous to our second worship service. And on Sunday, December 30, Evelyn, Carolyn and I shared the sermon together because we felt the Spirit prompting us through the story of the three Magi/Wise Men/Kings that Spring of Life is like a “manger” where many different cultures are invited to come and worship the world’s one true king.
So, as this ministry opportunity continued to unfold, we increasingly felt like the separate and simultaneous English and Spanish worship times were not serving our mission to transform our world into “the beloved community” God created us for. We thought, having the Spanish service stay in the youth room at 10:30 would keep it successfully small, second class and separate from the rest of the church.
So a new vision was cast for Spring of Life to “Try On” launching a third worship service that would be primarily in Spanish at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday. Evelyn would be the primary preacher since she is bi-lingual. Pastor Dave and Carolyn would now be able to share in the worship leadership too. Space is instantly available for the service to grow and this is something that Spring of Life is doing together in an effort to become a multicultural community of faith that recognizes, understands and appreciates our differences in light of the kingdom of God.
We’re just getting started and the way forward is to keep on laboring together and seeking God over time in worship, study of Scripture, prayer, and service in the community. Eventually, a vision emerges! God is faithful!
There are two specific things I’d like to invite you to consider as we “try on” the launch of our third worship service.
1. Sign up for a “Dinner of Eight” group. These groups are 4 couples, 8 singles, or any combination that will get together for 4 meals over 4 months. We will equip the groups with table conversation starters and encourage people to share about their culture with food and stories. At the end of the four months we will have a big church wide potluck where people will be encouraged to bring a dish that is from their culture and offer an opportunity for people to share things they learned about each other in their "dinner for eight" groups. Click Here to register.
2. “Try on” serving at the third worship service. We need help with hospitality, greeters, ushers, etc. Email Julie at the church office if you can help. We will be meeting at 3:00 pm. on Sunday, January 20 with everyone who would like to serve on the third service launch team.
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