A bit late and no reflections prior to the sermon, but here are the Christmas Eve sermon notes:
“Another Innkeeper” Christmas Eve, 2010
Move 1: No room at the inn
every room is full
even the extra room we hold back for
emergencies is taken
nowhere for you to stay
no room at the inn
You are tired and your wife is about to deliver a child? Well, you can go to the place where we keep the animals out back. I can bring out some blankets to keep you warm.
Another innkeeper might have juggled the room assignments and found space for Mary and Joseph. But not this innkeeper.
On the other hand, another innkeeper might not have been so helpful. Another innkeeper might not have let Mary and Joseph use the manger out with the animals.
WE might wonder how the innkeeper is going to act, but we do not have wonder about how God has acted.
a.As you gaze at the holy family this evening, you are reminded that God has chosen the path of love. Choosing to come in the person of jesus Christ.
b.As you hear the angels tell the shepherds, “Do no be afraid,” we are reminded that we do not need to be afraid. God is in our midst. Or if we find ourselves fearful, we discover God right there with us.
c.As we sing glorious songs that speak to the mystery and majesty of God, we are reminded that God has come in Christ, some mysterious, majestic way that we do not fully understand, but God choosing to join with us.
d.God has declared loud and clear that God intends on saving the world and on saving each of us.
There is no question about God’s love and desire for us to receive Christ into our heart and our lives.
Move 3: But, there are those innkeepers, not knowing how to respond when God comes knocking at their door.
a.Somewhere there is an innkeeper or two who have absolutely no room in his inn for Christ and this innkeeper does not even the manger out back.
1. He has it all figured out on his own.
2.He is doing just fine in his own life.
3.This innkeeper seems to have all he wanys and all he can imagine wanting without God.
4.He is even too busy to stop and hear God’s request to enter their lives.
5.Or they are mad at God or disillusioned. Don’t want anything to do with God.
6.There is no room for the Christ-child at his inn because he is too full of himself and too busy to care.
b.Somewhere there is another innkeeper or two whose rooms are full, but who are willing to offer the manger out back.
1.They find themselves overwhelmed, but still recognizing her need to have Christ in her life.
2.Maybe she finds themselves in a tough stretch in life – things are not working out with job; or she is struggling with a relationship; or she is just trying to find herself as the world races by her.
3.But she knows she needs more than she has on her own.
4.So she hears the request to invite Christ into her inn, and she makes a little room – she offers the manger out back.
5.not full commitment – they are not ready for that; but a tentative step toward welcoming Christ into their lives.
c.Somewhere there is another innkeeper who has had that “aha” moment,” This innkeeper knows he needs God in his life and readily makes room for the Christ child.
1. He has to make some adjustments, but he does so.
2.There is room at his inn for Christ.
3.He recognizes how much he needs God’s love and he does whatever he has to do to make room to receive Christ.
4.He sings his own chorus of “joy to the world” because he has discovered the joy of having Christ in his life.
Move 3: Which innkeeper are you tonight?
One of those with no room in the inn?
One of those with some room for Christ, a place out back with the animals, but no open arms?
One of those who readily welcomes Christ into the inn?
The truth – we all find ourselves living as one of those innkeepers at various points in our lives.
a. Some of us who gather here tonight are like the innkeeper, who has not room at all in his life to receive Christ. Maybe you are mad at God, maybe you are so lost you cannot even imagine seeing Christ in your life. Maybe things are going so well, you have no need for God.
If you are one of those innkeepers who has no room fro Christ in your life – hear the good news -- God has come in Christ for you.
b. Some of us who gather here tonight are like the innkeeper who has no room, but manages to find some space out back in the manger. Maybe in the busyness of your life you still feel that need for God. Maybe things are going well, but you want more.
If you are one of those innkeepers tonight who has a little room, maybe a place in back, but not ready for a full commitment, hear the good news – God has come in Christ for you.
c. Some of us who gather here tonight are like the innkeeper who readily makes room for the Christ-child. You know the love of God and you give thanks for all the blessings in your life.
If you are one of those innkeepers who readily welcomes Christ into your life, hear the good news -- God has come in Christ for you.
Let me finish with the story of Wally, a very big 2nd grader who towered over his fellow students. He was a gentle giant, well-liked by his classmates, but a bit clumsy and very shy.
When it came time for his class to do the Christmas pageant, the teacher carefully cast Wally as the innkeeper. Not many lines to remember, and his imposing figure would make it believable when the innkeeper turned Mary and Joseph away.
The rehearsals went very well. Wally learned his lines: “Go somewhere else.” There is no room for you.” Go away.”
The pageant went well. Soon the dramatic knock on the door of the inn. “We need a place to stay”
“Go somewhere else.”
But, sir, we have looked everywhere. We have traveled a great distance. Please let us stay.”
“There is no room for you.”
“Please, my wife is tired. She’s about to bear a child. Please, let us stay.”
Long pause, Wally looks forlornly at Joseph and Mary. The prompter from off-stage loudly whispers, “Go away.”
Wally’s rehearsal kicks in and he says, “Go away.”
As he watches Mary and Joseph turn and walk away, Wally, the innkeeper, suddenly blurts out, “Don’t go Joseph. Bring Mary back. You can have my room.”
Conclusion: God has arrived. Is there room at your inn for the Christ-child?
Monday, December 27, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
"Almost There" Matthew 1: 18-25 Isaiah 7: 10-16
This week the blog has an appropriate name. I am at a loss at what to do with either text,and I have no memory as to why I picked this title. I have always puzzled over the Isaiah text. It seems to me that I could do a pretty good sermon about being faithful and not demanding a sign from God. But Ahaz gets in trouble for not asking for a sign. The passages suggests that God is going to give a sign whether Ahaz, whether we are ready or not.
I do know that the Matthew passage caught me off guard when I read it last month while working on the Advent texts (yes, I do sometimes work brainstorm before the night before preaching the sermon!). Trying to postpone the birth narrative until after all the preparatory texts is easy with Luke, but in Matthew, the birth of Christ just flows from the story with little drama or added expectation. I was actually surprised to be reminded that the Matthew lectionary text includes Christ's birth on the Sunday before Christmas. Of course, it would be awkward to stop Matthew's story just before the birth. There actually is not much of a birth story in Matthew (about ten words on his birth). Most of the story is about the Wise men and Herod's response to the birth of Christ. What do we do with that textual truth?
If you have read the Isaiah or Matthew texts or the above paragraphs, where do you find something of interest for the sermon?
Peace,
Richard
I do know that the Matthew passage caught me off guard when I read it last month while working on the Advent texts (yes, I do sometimes work brainstorm before the night before preaching the sermon!). Trying to postpone the birth narrative until after all the preparatory texts is easy with Luke, but in Matthew, the birth of Christ just flows from the story with little drama or added expectation. I was actually surprised to be reminded that the Matthew lectionary text includes Christ's birth on the Sunday before Christmas. Of course, it would be awkward to stop Matthew's story just before the birth. There actually is not much of a birth story in Matthew (about ten words on his birth). Most of the story is about the Wise men and Herod's response to the birth of Christ. What do we do with that textual truth?
If you have read the Isaiah or Matthew texts or the above paragraphs, where do you find something of interest for the sermon?
Peace,
Richard
Monday, December 13, 2010
Reflections on "Grading Advent"
The sermon did not fit the title, but that happens periodically when the sermon shifts from the cursory glance at the text at newsletter deadline time to the reality of interpreting the text for the sermon. From the fall series on being a Christian in the 21st century through the first three weeks of Advent, I have enjoyed this stretch of preaching as much as any I can remember. Not sure I can pinpoint why, but the sermon yesterday seemed to work well (at least by the lack of noise emanating from the pews during the sermon!).
“Not Yet Christmas” Dec. 5, 2010; FPC, 2nd Advent
Introduction: Have you ever seen Firehouse Dog? My cousin Steven Culp is one of the leads.
He also starred as Robert Kennedy in Thirteen Days.
If you are not into movies, maybe you saw him when he played Rex in the first season of Desperate Housewives; or as the CIA agent in the TV series JAG, or one of the other numerous TV roles he has played.
He has the same middle name as my daughter Rachel.
You can read about him on wikipedia.
We exchange Christmas cards with him. I typed in his address label yesterday.
I am more than happy to talk about my cousin. Just enter the category of cousins or movies or TV shows, and I'll steer the conversation to my cousin the TV/movie star.
Makes it curious as to why John sends word to Jesus asking if he is the one or if they are to expect another.
If I had been John, I would have been bragging about my cousin.
More like – did you know my cousin's the Messiah? You've heard of God right. Well God's son is
my cousin.
Instead we get – are you the one who is coming, or are we to expect another?
His cousin whom he knew since he was literally in the womb.
Maybe they did not get together very often growing up, but surely they ran into each at a family reunion.
Or John's mother told him about Jesus.
His cousin he baptized in the River Jordan and then watched and as the heavens opened and listened as the voice of God announced that Jesus was God's son, the Beloved.
I would think John would know who Jesus was without asking.
Move 2: Why did John send a question – are you the one or are we to wait for another?
a. Maybe Jesus had not yet met his expectations.
1.Perhaps John has an idea of what Jesus, his cousin the Messiah was going to do.
2.And so far, maybe Jesus was not living up to those expectations.
3.Maybe you have unmet expectations of what God is doing in the world and what it means that Christ has come.
4.Advent forces us to examine who we imagine or want Christ to be and who Christ turns out to be in the flesh.
b. Maybe John was trying to convince his followers?
1. some scholars like this approach.
2. John's followers were not warming up to Jesus, so John sends this question to get them lined up with Christ.
3. Do you need convincing this Advent?
c. Maybe John had become disillusioned.
1. he is in prison when he sends this question to Jesus.
2. Maybe he had hoped for a better situation for himself once Jesus his the scene.
3. perhaps he had in mind a Batman and Robin routine – instead, he's in jail and Jesus is free.
4. It is easy to get disillusioned. Where we are in life is not quite where we want to be.
5. Having faith does not seem to have helped us get what we want out of life.
6.We begin to wonder if this Jesus guy is the real deal.
I suspect we have more in common with John's and his question that we want to admit.
Move 3: You got to love Jesus' response
a. He could have said yes.
1.Affirmed who we was for john. Yes, I am the Messiah.
2.Or maybe he could have done some big miracle and announced in the aftermath that he was the Messiah.
3.Instead, he tells John's disciples – go and tell him what you see and let John decide.
b. Tell him what you see.
1. The blind receive sight.
2. the lame walk.
3. The lepers are cleansed,
4. The deaf hear.
5. The dead are raised.
6. The poor have good news brought to them.
c. Tell him and let him decide who I am...and if he wants to follow me.
1. Now we are at the crux of the Advent journey.
2. Look and listen to what Jesus is doing and decide – do you want to follow.
3. On Christmas when we celebrate the birth of Christ it is easy to get swept up the mystery and majesty of that story.
4. But John is asking the question that follows the birth of Christ – is he the one we are to follow?
5. That is our question as well – when the Christ-child grows up to act and talk like Jesus, do we want to follow.
Conclusion: I can tell you about my famous cousin, just ask. But, really, I am telling you about myself. About how I want to be connected with someone who is in the movies and on TV. It makes me seem better if I am related to a star.
WE can tell the story about the birth of Christ. But the question hangs in the air – do we want to be connected with the one he becomes, the one who gives sight to the blind, helps the lame walk, cleanses the lepers, gives hear to the deaf, raises the dead and brings good news to the poor.
Is he the one for you, or are you going to wait for another?
“Not Yet Christmas” Dec. 5, 2010; FPC, 2nd Advent
Introduction: Have you ever seen Firehouse Dog? My cousin Steven Culp is one of the leads.
He also starred as Robert Kennedy in Thirteen Days.
If you are not into movies, maybe you saw him when he played Rex in the first season of Desperate Housewives; or as the CIA agent in the TV series JAG, or one of the other numerous TV roles he has played.
He has the same middle name as my daughter Rachel.
You can read about him on wikipedia.
We exchange Christmas cards with him. I typed in his address label yesterday.
I am more than happy to talk about my cousin. Just enter the category of cousins or movies or TV shows, and I'll steer the conversation to my cousin the TV/movie star.
Makes it curious as to why John sends word to Jesus asking if he is the one or if they are to expect another.
If I had been John, I would have been bragging about my cousin.
More like – did you know my cousin's the Messiah? You've heard of God right. Well God's son is
my cousin.
Instead we get – are you the one who is coming, or are we to expect another?
His cousin whom he knew since he was literally in the womb.
Maybe they did not get together very often growing up, but surely they ran into each at a family reunion.
Or John's mother told him about Jesus.
His cousin he baptized in the River Jordan and then watched and as the heavens opened and listened as the voice of God announced that Jesus was God's son, the Beloved.
I would think John would know who Jesus was without asking.
Move 2: Why did John send a question – are you the one or are we to wait for another?
a. Maybe Jesus had not yet met his expectations.
1.Perhaps John has an idea of what Jesus, his cousin the Messiah was going to do.
2.And so far, maybe Jesus was not living up to those expectations.
3.Maybe you have unmet expectations of what God is doing in the world and what it means that Christ has come.
4.Advent forces us to examine who we imagine or want Christ to be and who Christ turns out to be in the flesh.
b. Maybe John was trying to convince his followers?
1. some scholars like this approach.
2. John's followers were not warming up to Jesus, so John sends this question to get them lined up with Christ.
3. Do you need convincing this Advent?
c. Maybe John had become disillusioned.
1. he is in prison when he sends this question to Jesus.
2. Maybe he had hoped for a better situation for himself once Jesus his the scene.
3. perhaps he had in mind a Batman and Robin routine – instead, he's in jail and Jesus is free.
4. It is easy to get disillusioned. Where we are in life is not quite where we want to be.
5. Having faith does not seem to have helped us get what we want out of life.
6.We begin to wonder if this Jesus guy is the real deal.
I suspect we have more in common with John's and his question that we want to admit.
Move 3: You got to love Jesus' response
a. He could have said yes.
1.Affirmed who we was for john. Yes, I am the Messiah.
2.Or maybe he could have done some big miracle and announced in the aftermath that he was the Messiah.
3.Instead, he tells John's disciples – go and tell him what you see and let John decide.
b. Tell him what you see.
1. The blind receive sight.
2. the lame walk.
3. The lepers are cleansed,
4. The deaf hear.
5. The dead are raised.
6. The poor have good news brought to them.
c. Tell him and let him decide who I am...and if he wants to follow me.
1. Now we are at the crux of the Advent journey.
2. Look and listen to what Jesus is doing and decide – do you want to follow.
3. On Christmas when we celebrate the birth of Christ it is easy to get swept up the mystery and majesty of that story.
4. But John is asking the question that follows the birth of Christ – is he the one we are to follow?
5. That is our question as well – when the Christ-child grows up to act and talk like Jesus, do we want to follow.
Conclusion: I can tell you about my famous cousin, just ask. But, really, I am telling you about myself. About how I want to be connected with someone who is in the movies and on TV. It makes me seem better if I am related to a star.
WE can tell the story about the birth of Christ. But the question hangs in the air – do we want to be connected with the one he becomes, the one who gives sight to the blind, helps the lame walk, cleanses the lepers, gives hear to the deaf, raises the dead and brings good news to the poor.
Is he the one for you, or are you going to wait for another?
Friday, December 10, 2010
"Grading Advent" Matthew 11: 2-11
I find two fascinating aspects of the text for this Sunday's sermon. First of all, how does John not know who Jesus is? Jesus is his cousin. I think I would know my cousins and know what they were doing. So if John does know who Jesus us, why send the question asking? Some scholars suggest that John is playing a game to convince his own followers who Jesus is. I'm not sure what to think -- how about you?
Secondly, don't you love Jesus' response. Go tell John what I am doing and then he can decide. I think we get that message from Jesus quite often -- here's what I am doing, now decide if you want to follow me!
The title "Grading Advent" was inspired by the thought that if we reflect on our Advent so far, how are we doing? And, of course, the rubric (thank you OH school testing for making that term common to our language!) I would suggest we use to analyze our answer is found in Jesus describing what he is doing. How is Advent going if we compare what we are doing with what Jesus was doing? What grade would you give your Advent?
I'm not sure how these thoughts are going to come together in one sermon, but...
Secondly, don't you love Jesus' response. Go tell John what I am doing and then he can decide. I think we get that message from Jesus quite often -- here's what I am doing, now decide if you want to follow me!
The title "Grading Advent" was inspired by the thought that if we reflect on our Advent so far, how are we doing? And, of course, the rubric (thank you OH school testing for making that term common to our language!) I would suggest we use to analyze our answer is found in Jesus describing what he is doing. How is Advent going if we compare what we are doing with what Jesus was doing? What grade would you give your Advent?
I'm not sure how these thoughts are going to come together in one sermon, but...
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Reflections on "Not Yet Christmas"
When John the Baptist yelled out "Repent, the kingdom of heaven is near," several people visibly jumped in the their seats. I confess that one of the joys of preaching first person sermons is the way the sermons engage people (maybe not everyone, but certainly some) that a standard sermon does not seem to do. I also recognize that is much harder to nuance a first person sermon -- it seems to me that the first person sermon is a snapshot of a brief moment or feeling from the text; a standard sermon allows for more of a collage of images that can interpret one another.attention.
I almost backed out of the bringing John to life because I did not want the sermon time to become "let's see what Richard is doing" time. I hope people heard John in a new way and then reflected in a different way on the call to prepare to meet the Christ. If the first person sermon engages or pushes people to see things in a fresh way, then I can say it worked.
“Not Yet Christmas” Dec. 5, 2010; FPC, 2nd Advent;
this text is probably less accurate than most weeks because the first-person sermon was done without any notes.
Move 1: “Repent, for the kingdom of God has come near!”
You know what that means, don't you? It means it is not Christmas yet.
Instead of "Merry Chrismas," you hear "Repent" – turn the other way. Go back in the other direction. God is calling you.
Move 2: I see you staring at me in my camel's hair; I see you watching as I stand in the water baptizing; I see you shocked at the sight of my eating honey and locust.
I'm not quite what most people ask for for Christmas.
Some people think I am Elijah the great prophet. I'm not, but I do not mind the comparison. Elijah as a great prophet who told people what God wanted them to hear, what God needed them to do. That's what I am doing. I am telling people what God wants them to do to prepare to meet the one coming in the name of the Lord.
You see I am the one Isaiah promised would come to prepare the way for the Messiah.
Move 3: “come on down to the river Jordan”
Not come on down to the shopping mall for more Christmas shopping.
Not come on over the office party
Or the last day of school party
Or the neighborhood party.
We're not at Christmas yet because we are down here at the river Jordan
The River Jordan where people are coming from all around to be baptized.
People wanting something more for their lives.
People wanting to confess their sins and be baptized.
Move 4: “you brood of vipers”
Not exactly a nice and warm holiday greeting, so you know it's not yet Christmas.
Maybe you all aren't vipers, but I've seen the Pharisees and Sadducees coming down here to be baptized.
Some get baptized; some just watch.
Not many are changed, I suspect.
The river water cannot wash away their contempt for someone like me.
Someone who is dressed funny.
Someone who is not part of the religious establishment.
Someone who does not buy what they are selling
Someone who proclaims that the Messiah is coming without getting their authorization or permission to speak.
Move 5: “The ax is ready!”
I bet Santa Claus does not bring an ax down the chimney.
Most of you are not asking for an ax for Christmas.
You probably would not look kindly toward someone who gives you an ax.
But, it is not yet Christmas and the ax is ready to cut out the bad roots.
Move 6: “I baptize with water, but the one who is coming will baptize with the Holy Spirit”
it's not Christmas yet.
You are still stuck with me and my water baptism.
You still have me preparing you for the Messiah you so desperately seek.
It's not yet Christmas, but when Christ arrives you will meet the one who offers you new life.
New hope.
Move 7: “After me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.”
I am the gruff one. The one you want to get past as quickly as you can to get to Christ.
I can't blame you.
I know him.
I leapt in the womb when his mother and my mother met during their pregnancy.
I am not the one who will be your Savior.
But, you will like him.
I hope you will recognize his greatness.
Not a greatness you notice because he stands apart or above us;
But a greatness that grows out of his love for others; his passion to heal; his desire for you to know God's love.
A greatness that may seem ordinary in a moment, but is proven in the faithfulness that arrives each day.
I am not worthy to carry his sandal, but he would never ask me to carry it.
All he will ask of me is for me to receive his love and follow him.
All he will ask of you is receive his love and follow him.
Conclusion: it's not Christmas yet, but the one who is coming after me is worth the wait.
I almost backed out of the bringing John to life because I did not want the sermon time to become "let's see what Richard is doing" time. I hope people heard John in a new way and then reflected in a different way on the call to prepare to meet the Christ. If the first person sermon engages or pushes people to see things in a fresh way, then I can say it worked.
“Not Yet Christmas” Dec. 5, 2010; FPC, 2nd Advent;
this text is probably less accurate than most weeks because the first-person sermon was done without any notes.
Move 1: “Repent, for the kingdom of God has come near!”
You know what that means, don't you? It means it is not Christmas yet.
Instead of "Merry Chrismas," you hear "Repent" – turn the other way. Go back in the other direction. God is calling you.
Move 2: I see you staring at me in my camel's hair; I see you watching as I stand in the water baptizing; I see you shocked at the sight of my eating honey and locust.
I'm not quite what most people ask for for Christmas.
Some people think I am Elijah the great prophet. I'm not, but I do not mind the comparison. Elijah as a great prophet who told people what God wanted them to hear, what God needed them to do. That's what I am doing. I am telling people what God wants them to do to prepare to meet the one coming in the name of the Lord.
You see I am the one Isaiah promised would come to prepare the way for the Messiah.
Move 3: “come on down to the river Jordan”
Not come on down to the shopping mall for more Christmas shopping.
Not come on over the office party
Or the last day of school party
Or the neighborhood party.
We're not at Christmas yet because we are down here at the river Jordan
The River Jordan where people are coming from all around to be baptized.
People wanting something more for their lives.
People wanting to confess their sins and be baptized.
Move 4: “you brood of vipers”
Not exactly a nice and warm holiday greeting, so you know it's not yet Christmas.
Maybe you all aren't vipers, but I've seen the Pharisees and Sadducees coming down here to be baptized.
Some get baptized; some just watch.
Not many are changed, I suspect.
The river water cannot wash away their contempt for someone like me.
Someone who is dressed funny.
Someone who is not part of the religious establishment.
Someone who does not buy what they are selling
Someone who proclaims that the Messiah is coming without getting their authorization or permission to speak.
Move 5: “The ax is ready!”
I bet Santa Claus does not bring an ax down the chimney.
Most of you are not asking for an ax for Christmas.
You probably would not look kindly toward someone who gives you an ax.
But, it is not yet Christmas and the ax is ready to cut out the bad roots.
Move 6: “I baptize with water, but the one who is coming will baptize with the Holy Spirit”
it's not Christmas yet.
You are still stuck with me and my water baptism.
You still have me preparing you for the Messiah you so desperately seek.
It's not yet Christmas, but when Christ arrives you will meet the one who offers you new life.
New hope.
Move 7: “After me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.”
I am the gruff one. The one you want to get past as quickly as you can to get to Christ.
I can't blame you.
I know him.
I leapt in the womb when his mother and my mother met during their pregnancy.
I am not the one who will be your Savior.
But, you will like him.
I hope you will recognize his greatness.
Not a greatness you notice because he stands apart or above us;
But a greatness that grows out of his love for others; his passion to heal; his desire for you to know God's love.
A greatness that may seem ordinary in a moment, but is proven in the faithfulness that arrives each day.
I am not worthy to carry his sandal, but he would never ask me to carry it.
All he will ask of me is for me to receive his love and follow him.
All he will ask of you is receive his love and follow him.
Conclusion: it's not Christmas yet, but the one who is coming after me is worth the wait.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
"Not Yet Christmas" Matthew 3: 1-12
Today I had a sudden change of heart for the sermon. Instead of the sermon I had been planning, John the Baptist is going to make an appearance. I'm not sure we are ready for him. His words are kind of harsh, although he does soften up a bit when he talks about not being worthy to carry the sandals of the one who is coming.
I'm not sure how "Christmasy" John the Baptist will be. he has a very challenging message and call to repentance. I suspect our image of Advent or Christmas does not include John the Baptist wielding an ax!
What do you think when you hear John the Baptist calling the those who gather at the river Jordan a "brood of vipers?" Or when John calls us to repent?
Peace,
Richard
I'm not sure how "Christmasy" John the Baptist will be. he has a very challenging message and call to repentance. I suspect our image of Advent or Christmas does not include John the Baptist wielding an ax!
What do you think when you hear John the Baptist calling the those who gather at the river Jordan a "brood of vipers?" Or when John calls us to repent?
Peace,
Richard
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Reflections "Skipping Advent"
I'm not sure how well the sermon worked. I had fun with it, but it was a tongue-in-cheek sermon for the most part, and I'm not sure how that got interpreted by the congregation. In the chapel service, I got several smiles and some laughter, but in the sanctuary service, the mood seemed a bit more serious. Maybe that was how I came across in those respective settings.
In some ways, I find it harder to preach Advent each year because it seems so contrived. But, as I worked through what it might be like to not have Advent, I realized that this time of preparation really does add a lot of meaning when we finally arrive in Bethlehem.
In preparing the sermon I realized how critical the events of the faith community are to the Advent preparation (or at least mine). The group activities are what I would miss most if we skip Advent. I also realized that the call to repent is the hardest to express during Advent. John the Baptist's call to repent gets easily lost in the sound of Christmas carols and the ringing up of cash registers as we enter this frenzied pre-Christmas time. Of course, the theme of Jesus coming again gets no traction in our Advent thinking.
Introduction: john Grisham's novel Skipping Christmas tells the story of Luther and his wife who decide to skip Christmas. No Christmas preparations, no gift giving, no parties – nothing to do with Christmas. And with the money they will save, they will go on a cruise starting Christmas day.
As I reflected on our Advent journey this year, it occurred to me that most of us would not want to skip Christmas, but we might be willing to skip Advent.
In fact, I found my Top Ten Reasons to skip Advent this year:
Move 1: 10 reasons to skip Advent and go straight to Christmas
Reason #10: Skip Advent hymns
a. I know you would hate to not sing those Advent hymns.
b. You would probably miss the minor keys and somewhat unfamiliar songs.
c. No more “Richard must think the words are important, or why else would he sing this hymn”
d. Imagine singing Christmas carols every Sunday in Dec. and even a Sunday in November.
Reason #9: Skip the Advent candle lighting each week.
a. Worship has been running long lately, so why add something else.
b. One more thing the Worship committee has to find volunteers to do.
c. The candle lighting is an unnecessary addition to our worship.
Reason #8: Skip the purple colors
a. Purple is for Lent anyway.
b. The color purple that calls calls us to be penitent and reflection.
c. Purple with Lent makes sense – getting ready for Maundy, Thursday, then Good Friday, then Easter – that might call for a time of reflection.
d. But Advent – skip Advent and the color purple.
Reason #7: Skip the Advent devotionals
a. Who has the time?
b. The kids probably do not have time in their busy schedules.
c. No more feeling guilty every time you pass the Advent devotional guide on the table and remember that another day has passed without doing it.
Reason #6: Skip that sense of superiority we get from not rushing to Christmas.
a. No more being a retail store and hearing Christmas songs in November and thinking, “I can't believe they are already playing Christmas songs. They don't understand the true meaning of Christmas like I do!”
b. No more feeling guilty about those thoughts because we are going to skip Advent and head for Christmas.
Reason #5: Skip John the Baptist
a. What a strange guy, anyway.
b. Most of us won't miss him, or his harsh words, or his call for us to repent.
c.Barbara Brown Taylor liken John the Baptist to a Doberman pincher that keeps nipping at our heels all through Advent.
d. But we'll jump ahead to baby Jesus and leave John the Baptist out of the story.
Reason # 4: Skip that Jesus will come again stuff.
a. Advent does not just settle for preparing for the birth of Jesus.
b. We are also challenged to look toward the day when Jesus will come again.
c. But if we skip Advent, we will not read texts like the one in Matthew that calls us to be vigilant and be prepared for when Christ will come again.
d. No, we'll just focus on baby Jesus and not worry about anything else that might be coming.
Reason #3: Skip worrying about what you are doing with your life at this very moment.
a. No need read passages like the one we read from Paul's letter to the Romans that calls them to act as if Christ were coming that day.
b. No more hearing John the Baptist call us to repent and being forced to examine our lives to see if what we are doing to prepare to meet Christ.
Reason #2: Skip those extra church activities
a. The Advent dinner takes up another Sunday night.
1. they'll probably have those three guys acting like shepherds again.
2. we might miss the chance to share fellowship, or invite someone to come with us, or
b. the kids have busy schedules so why make time for the program.
c. No Christmas caroling
1. It's generally cold.
2. if you've heard Mario and me lead the singing, then you probably want to skip it anyway!
3. of course, the people we visit might miss it.
Reason #1 to skip Advent: Skip waiting altogether
a. Heinz Ketchup had a very successful pr campaign years ago that was based on the idea of how great it was to anticipate the ketchup finally coming out of the bottle (I bet some here could even sing that song about anticipating).
1. It sounded good, but what did everyone still do when they grabbed the ketchup bottle? Stick a straw in it; or a knife; or shake it really hard; anything to make the ketchup come out of the bottle faster.
2. Anticipation wasn't all that great, after all.
b. Who wants to wait for Christ to come.
c. Who wants to wait for Christmas Eve service.
d. The birth of Jesus is what it is about, so let's just skip the waiting and get to the point.
We can find a lot of compelling reasons to skip Advent, to race to the manger, and to leave all of Advent behind.
But before skipping Advent all together, consider this story Jim Lowry tells about the nativity scene his grandmother put out every year during Advent.
It was not one of those delicate, beautiful, no one can touch it manger scenes. Instead, it was built with children in mind.
His grandmother had a great gourd almost as big as a bushel basket. His grandfather had cut a hole in the side of the gourd and painted the inside dark blue to look like the sky. He dotted the sky with stars and then he did a most remarkable thing. He installed a little electric light in the sky that could be turned on to be the Christmas Star.
Best of all, they had a shoe box filled to overflowing with a wonderful assortment of mix-and-match figures. Most of the figures were chipped and bruised, and the angels’ wings were bent from years of handling and pretending. For weeks before Christmas, as a way of getting ready, the gourd was kept on the floor with the box of figures beside it.
Together they were an invitation for children of all ages to arrange and rearrange the figures and to tell the story to anyone who would listen; it was a chance for little people and big people alike to become part of the story of that remarkable birth. James S. Lowry, “Introducing the Luke Cycle: Advent Preaching for Year C,” Journal for Preachers, Vol. XXI, No. 1, Advent 1997, 9-10.
Conclusion: Advent invites us to be a part of Christ's story. Not just the birth story, but to be a part of the story of the one who came and lived among us; to be part of the story of the who calls us out of our sinfulness to a new way of life, to be part of the story of the one who dies on the cross and claims us as our Savior, to be part of the story of the One who will come again. Amen.
In some ways, I find it harder to preach Advent each year because it seems so contrived. But, as I worked through what it might be like to not have Advent, I realized that this time of preparation really does add a lot of meaning when we finally arrive in Bethlehem.
In preparing the sermon I realized how critical the events of the faith community are to the Advent preparation (or at least mine). The group activities are what I would miss most if we skip Advent. I also realized that the call to repent is the hardest to express during Advent. John the Baptist's call to repent gets easily lost in the sound of Christmas carols and the ringing up of cash registers as we enter this frenzied pre-Christmas time. Of course, the theme of Jesus coming again gets no traction in our Advent thinking.
Introduction: john Grisham's novel Skipping Christmas tells the story of Luther and his wife who decide to skip Christmas. No Christmas preparations, no gift giving, no parties – nothing to do with Christmas. And with the money they will save, they will go on a cruise starting Christmas day.
As I reflected on our Advent journey this year, it occurred to me that most of us would not want to skip Christmas, but we might be willing to skip Advent.
In fact, I found my Top Ten Reasons to skip Advent this year:
Move 1: 10 reasons to skip Advent and go straight to Christmas
Reason #10: Skip Advent hymns
a. I know you would hate to not sing those Advent hymns.
b. You would probably miss the minor keys and somewhat unfamiliar songs.
c. No more “Richard must think the words are important, or why else would he sing this hymn”
d. Imagine singing Christmas carols every Sunday in Dec. and even a Sunday in November.
Reason #9: Skip the Advent candle lighting each week.
a. Worship has been running long lately, so why add something else.
b. One more thing the Worship committee has to find volunteers to do.
c. The candle lighting is an unnecessary addition to our worship.
Reason #8: Skip the purple colors
a. Purple is for Lent anyway.
b. The color purple that calls calls us to be penitent and reflection.
c. Purple with Lent makes sense – getting ready for Maundy, Thursday, then Good Friday, then Easter – that might call for a time of reflection.
d. But Advent – skip Advent and the color purple.
Reason #7: Skip the Advent devotionals
a. Who has the time?
b. The kids probably do not have time in their busy schedules.
c. No more feeling guilty every time you pass the Advent devotional guide on the table and remember that another day has passed without doing it.
Reason #6: Skip that sense of superiority we get from not rushing to Christmas.
a. No more being a retail store and hearing Christmas songs in November and thinking, “I can't believe they are already playing Christmas songs. They don't understand the true meaning of Christmas like I do!”
b. No more feeling guilty about those thoughts because we are going to skip Advent and head for Christmas.
Reason #5: Skip John the Baptist
a. What a strange guy, anyway.
b. Most of us won't miss him, or his harsh words, or his call for us to repent.
c.Barbara Brown Taylor liken John the Baptist to a Doberman pincher that keeps nipping at our heels all through Advent.
d. But we'll jump ahead to baby Jesus and leave John the Baptist out of the story.
Reason # 4: Skip that Jesus will come again stuff.
a. Advent does not just settle for preparing for the birth of Jesus.
b. We are also challenged to look toward the day when Jesus will come again.
c. But if we skip Advent, we will not read texts like the one in Matthew that calls us to be vigilant and be prepared for when Christ will come again.
d. No, we'll just focus on baby Jesus and not worry about anything else that might be coming.
Reason #3: Skip worrying about what you are doing with your life at this very moment.
a. No need read passages like the one we read from Paul's letter to the Romans that calls them to act as if Christ were coming that day.
b. No more hearing John the Baptist call us to repent and being forced to examine our lives to see if what we are doing to prepare to meet Christ.
Reason #2: Skip those extra church activities
a. The Advent dinner takes up another Sunday night.
1. they'll probably have those three guys acting like shepherds again.
2. we might miss the chance to share fellowship, or invite someone to come with us, or
b. the kids have busy schedules so why make time for the program.
c. No Christmas caroling
1. It's generally cold.
2. if you've heard Mario and me lead the singing, then you probably want to skip it anyway!
3. of course, the people we visit might miss it.
Reason #1 to skip Advent: Skip waiting altogether
a. Heinz Ketchup had a very successful pr campaign years ago that was based on the idea of how great it was to anticipate the ketchup finally coming out of the bottle (I bet some here could even sing that song about anticipating).
1. It sounded good, but what did everyone still do when they grabbed the ketchup bottle? Stick a straw in it; or a knife; or shake it really hard; anything to make the ketchup come out of the bottle faster.
2. Anticipation wasn't all that great, after all.
b. Who wants to wait for Christ to come.
c. Who wants to wait for Christmas Eve service.
d. The birth of Jesus is what it is about, so let's just skip the waiting and get to the point.
We can find a lot of compelling reasons to skip Advent, to race to the manger, and to leave all of Advent behind.
But before skipping Advent all together, consider this story Jim Lowry tells about the nativity scene his grandmother put out every year during Advent.
It was not one of those delicate, beautiful, no one can touch it manger scenes. Instead, it was built with children in mind.
His grandmother had a great gourd almost as big as a bushel basket. His grandfather had cut a hole in the side of the gourd and painted the inside dark blue to look like the sky. He dotted the sky with stars and then he did a most remarkable thing. He installed a little electric light in the sky that could be turned on to be the Christmas Star.
Best of all, they had a shoe box filled to overflowing with a wonderful assortment of mix-and-match figures. Most of the figures were chipped and bruised, and the angels’ wings were bent from years of handling and pretending. For weeks before Christmas, as a way of getting ready, the gourd was kept on the floor with the box of figures beside it.
Together they were an invitation for children of all ages to arrange and rearrange the figures and to tell the story to anyone who would listen; it was a chance for little people and big people alike to become part of the story of that remarkable birth. James S. Lowry, “Introducing the Luke Cycle: Advent Preaching for Year C,” Journal for Preachers, Vol. XXI, No. 1, Advent 1997, 9-10.
Conclusion: Advent invites us to be a part of Christ's story. Not just the birth story, but to be a part of the story of the one who came and lived among us; to be part of the story of the who calls us out of our sinfulness to a new way of life, to be part of the story of the one who dies on the cross and claims us as our Savior, to be part of the story of the One who will come again. Amen.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
"skipping Advent"
Short week of preparation with the Thanksgiving holidays. I have taken a page out of John Grisham's book SKIPPING CHRISTMAS and have been reflecting on what we would miss if we skipped Advent and went straight to Christmas, or at least Christmas Eve. In some sense, Advent is a contrived exercise designed to help us prepare for Christmas. What would happen if we did not have this time of preparation and the reflections and activities that take place during Advent?
Would you miss anything about the Advent journey?
Peace,
Richard
Would you miss anything about the Advent journey?
Peace,
Richard
Monday, November 22, 2010
"Serve, Speak, Love"
The sermon went okay. I had higher hopes for the final piece of the preaching series, but I ended with a pretty basic sermon.
It occurred to me that the content of the sermon may be correct, but the challenge is how to take the message and implement it into the life of the church. I think we (that is, the church) can see what is happening and what might be good to do better than we can actually do what needs to be done.
The Cheers illustration was a slight variation of a the Cheers illustration that generally comes to me mind -- the theme song about Cheers being a place "where everybody knows your name." Interestingly, last night I was reading a book on youth ministry and Cheers was referenced in this way. Certainly, the idea that people need a place "where everybody knows your name" is probably true for today's world as well.
I never did find the great story about a loving act that transcended everything else. Maybe next time.
“Serve, Speak, Love” I Corinthians 13; FPC, Troy; 21st Century preaching series; 11/21/10
Introduction: High school and college – Cheers was a very popular sitcom. Bar in Boston; wacky characters gathered each night and shared their stories.
The bartenders Always had some type of greeting when the customers arrived.
Sam: “Norm! How’s it going?”
Norm: “It’s a dog eat dog world, Sammy, and I’m wearing Milk Bone underwear.”
(Reference to this greeting found on Don't Eat Alone: thoughts on food, fatih, family and friends, blog by Milton Brasher-Cunningham, 11/15/2010, http://www.donteatalone.blogspot.com/)
After a day of getting chewed up in the world, Norm needed a place to go where he could connect with people, where he could share his story, where he could be accepted.
Behind the technology of the 21st century, behind the resistance to organized religion, behind the “I want something new and different” are people who want to be connected and want to discover meaning for their lives.
What do we, the church, have to offer them? What do we have to offer ourselves?
Move 1: Serve
a. We continue to see a rise in volunteerism among the younger generation.
1. service seems to offer a point of connection for younger adults.
2.. Older generation did it because it was part of their faith tradition.
3. Younger generation turns to mission despite its connection to faith traditions.
4. In doing so, they find themselves doing what Christ came to do.
b. how do we capitalize on the willingness to engage in mission?
1. Can we use technology in our efforts to engage in mission?
2. Invite people to
Serving others not only connects us with what Christ calls us to do, but gives us opportunities to connect with others in our world.
Move 2: speak
a. Not a recitation of beliefs or an argument for God, but a personal word.
1. People may not want to hear what you believe in a doctrinal sense.
2. But they want to hear your story.
3. They want to hear you share what has given meaning to your life.
4. They want to know what has impacted your life.
5. They want to engage at a personal level about important things.
b. Allow other the opportunity to speak.
1. Listen.
2. Help people articulate what is happening in their lives.
3. what they value.
Move 3: Love
a. Where can a person go to experience love?
1.We live in a world where if you get mad at someone you can remove them as a friend from FB.
2.Or never answer their phone calls or text messages because you have caller id and can easily avoid them.
3.Our technology encourages ever-changing relationships with low standards of commitment.
4.Where can a person go to discover what ti means to be in an ongoing relationship where they can be loved unconditionally?
5.The church ought to be that place.
b. Paul's magnificent commentary on love was not originally written about marriage, but about how to be in relationship with others in their faith community in Corinth.
1. Wow!
2. We have trouble loving like that with our spouse to whom we have expressed a high level of commitment, can Paul calls us to show that kind of love to each other.
3. Don’t Eat Alone, blog by Milton Brasher-Cunningham, 12/8/09 : In 1972, Madeleine L’Engle was struggling with being told that identifying as a Christian would turn some people off. She responded: I wouldn’t mind if to be a Christian were accepted as being the dangerous thing which it is. I wouldn’t mind if, when a group of Christians meet for bread and wine, we might well be interrupted and jailed for subversive activities. I wouldn’t mind if, once again, we were being thrown to the lions. I do mind, desperately, that the word “Christian” means for so many people smugness, and piosity, and holier-than-thouness. Who, today, can recognize a Christian because of “how those Christians love one another”? (98, A Circle of Quiet, Madeleine L’Engle)
b. We need to be that place in the world where people can experience love and learn to love.
c.If I have an incredible FB page, but do not have love, I am an empty post.
If I have 100,000 followers on my Twitter account, but do not have love, I am just a bunch of words.
If I have wonderful mission projects, but do not have love, I am merely work.
If I speak and engage others with fascinating stories of my life, but do not have love, I am just a windy storyteller.
Faith, hope, love abide these three, but the greatest of these is love.
Conclusion: Today is Christ the king Sunday on the liturgical calendar. The last Sunday before we start Advent. The Sunday we celebrate that the Christ child becomes king.
We can both live out our calling as disciples and engage the world in the 21t century when we serve and invite others to serve; when we speak and invite others to speak, when we love and invite others to know God's love.
Amen.
It occurred to me that the content of the sermon may be correct, but the challenge is how to take the message and implement it into the life of the church. I think we (that is, the church) can see what is happening and what might be good to do better than we can actually do what needs to be done.
The Cheers illustration was a slight variation of a the Cheers illustration that generally comes to me mind -- the theme song about Cheers being a place "where everybody knows your name." Interestingly, last night I was reading a book on youth ministry and Cheers was referenced in this way. Certainly, the idea that people need a place "where everybody knows your name" is probably true for today's world as well.
I never did find the great story about a loving act that transcended everything else. Maybe next time.
“Serve, Speak, Love” I Corinthians 13; FPC, Troy; 21st Century preaching series; 11/21/10
Introduction: High school and college – Cheers was a very popular sitcom. Bar in Boston; wacky characters gathered each night and shared their stories.
The bartenders Always had some type of greeting when the customers arrived.
Sam: “Norm! How’s it going?”
Norm: “It’s a dog eat dog world, Sammy, and I’m wearing Milk Bone underwear.”
(Reference to this greeting found on Don't Eat Alone: thoughts on food, fatih, family and friends, blog by Milton Brasher-Cunningham, 11/15/2010, http://www.donteatalone.blogspot.com/)
After a day of getting chewed up in the world, Norm needed a place to go where he could connect with people, where he could share his story, where he could be accepted.
Behind the technology of the 21st century, behind the resistance to organized religion, behind the “I want something new and different” are people who want to be connected and want to discover meaning for their lives.
What do we, the church, have to offer them? What do we have to offer ourselves?
Move 1: Serve
a. We continue to see a rise in volunteerism among the younger generation.
1. service seems to offer a point of connection for younger adults.
2.. Older generation did it because it was part of their faith tradition.
3. Younger generation turns to mission despite its connection to faith traditions.
4. In doing so, they find themselves doing what Christ came to do.
b. how do we capitalize on the willingness to engage in mission?
1. Can we use technology in our efforts to engage in mission?
2. Invite people to
Serving others not only connects us with what Christ calls us to do, but gives us opportunities to connect with others in our world.
Move 2: speak
a. Not a recitation of beliefs or an argument for God, but a personal word.
1. People may not want to hear what you believe in a doctrinal sense.
2. But they want to hear your story.
3. They want to hear you share what has given meaning to your life.
4. They want to know what has impacted your life.
5. They want to engage at a personal level about important things.
b. Allow other the opportunity to speak.
1. Listen.
2. Help people articulate what is happening in their lives.
3. what they value.
Move 3: Love
a. Where can a person go to experience love?
1.We live in a world where if you get mad at someone you can remove them as a friend from FB.
2.Or never answer their phone calls or text messages because you have caller id and can easily avoid them.
3.Our technology encourages ever-changing relationships with low standards of commitment.
4.Where can a person go to discover what ti means to be in an ongoing relationship where they can be loved unconditionally?
5.The church ought to be that place.
b. Paul's magnificent commentary on love was not originally written about marriage, but about how to be in relationship with others in their faith community in Corinth.
1. Wow!
2. We have trouble loving like that with our spouse to whom we have expressed a high level of commitment, can Paul calls us to show that kind of love to each other.
3. Don’t Eat Alone, blog by Milton Brasher-Cunningham, 12/8/09 : In 1972, Madeleine L’Engle was struggling with being told that identifying as a Christian would turn some people off. She responded: I wouldn’t mind if to be a Christian were accepted as being the dangerous thing which it is. I wouldn’t mind if, when a group of Christians meet for bread and wine, we might well be interrupted and jailed for subversive activities. I wouldn’t mind if, once again, we were being thrown to the lions. I do mind, desperately, that the word “Christian” means for so many people smugness, and piosity, and holier-than-thouness. Who, today, can recognize a Christian because of “how those Christians love one another”? (98, A Circle of Quiet, Madeleine L’Engle)
b. We need to be that place in the world where people can experience love and learn to love.
c.If I have an incredible FB page, but do not have love, I am an empty post.
If I have 100,000 followers on my Twitter account, but do not have love, I am just a bunch of words.
If I have wonderful mission projects, but do not have love, I am merely work.
If I speak and engage others with fascinating stories of my life, but do not have love, I am just a windy storyteller.
Faith, hope, love abide these three, but the greatest of these is love.
Conclusion: Today is Christ the king Sunday on the liturgical calendar. The last Sunday before we start Advent. The Sunday we celebrate that the Christ child becomes king.
We can both live out our calling as disciples and engage the world in the 21t century when we serve and invite others to serve; when we speak and invite others to speak, when we love and invite others to know God's love.
Amen.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
"Serve, Speak, Love"
This Sunday is the last Sunday of the series on being a Christian in the 21st century. I've probably ended up at too generic a spot, but I keep reflecting on the idea that the methods may change, but the bottom line for Christians is to bring God's love to those in need to experience it and to continually grow in our realization that God loves us as well. Thus, I have ended up with a portion of I Corinthians 13 for the Scripture lesson.
Have you had any experiences where God's love cut through established boundaries to find you?
Peace,
Richard
Have you had any experiences where God's love cut through established boundaries to find you?
Peace,
Richard
Sunday, November 14, 2010
"Listening for the Word"
"looking for the Word" becomes "Listening for the Word" this week as I will be sitting in a pew listening to Rev. Kazy Hinds, who is our guest preacher for Consecration Sunday. I look forward to hearing her insights on stewardship this year.
Peace,
Richard
Peace,
Richard
Monday, November 8, 2010
Reflections on "Let's Make a Deal"
I'm not sure it was the best theological analysis of stewardship, but I found it fascinating to consider stewardship in the context of the 21st century. I probably need to do some more reflecting on how the church can utilize technology in the area of giving. Left untouched in the sermon are at least these issues:
Is it appropriate to offer people the ability to pay through credit cards when credit card debt is a major problem in our society?
If we emphasize flash giving (immediate gifts sent to help with different crises in the world), how does that dilute or enhance the regular giving?
I think that pointing out how using automatic payments can help a person become a patterned giver was helpful, but who do we deal with the fact that it removes us from the ritual of actually writing the check or presenting the check (or money) in the offering plate (See Dave Conover's post from last week)?
I did not even get into the use of passive fundraising such as having members use their Kroger gift cards or scan their Meijer's or Wal-Mart cards to show they are linked to our church. it's an easy way for the church to earn money, but how does that impact our theology of stewardship?
Lots left unsaid, but you can look below to see what was said!
Introduction:
Move 1: 21st Century innovations
a. New techniques for the technologically adept.
1.Website
a. Requests
b. Provide info
c. Portal for payment.
2. email usage
3.Electronic fund transfers
4.On-line giving: Paypal and credit card giving
b. Expanded opportunities for giving.
c.Changing profile of givers.
1.Wealthy population changing.
2.A more mobile population of all ages, combined with out-migration from smaller towns and rural areas, and more frequent “caravanning” among retirement aged adults, may continue to diminish the appeal and incidence of place based giving.
d. Examples
1.Kiva loans: Kiva was founded in October 2005 by Matt Flannery and Jessica Jackley.[8]
Kiva allows microfinance institutions around the world, called "Field Partners", to post profiles of qualified local entrepreneurs on its website, www.kiva.org. Lenders browse and choose an entrepreneur they wish to fund. As the loan is repaid, the Kiva lenders can withdraw their principal or re-loan it to another entrepreneur.
Lenders' funds are transferred to Kiva through PayPal, which does not collect its usual fees in this case.[4] It is possible to pay by credit card through PayPal's website, even without a PayPal account, but a PayPal account is needed to withdraw funds.[5] Field Partners charge interest to their borrowers, although Kiva claims to keep track of how much interest is charged and will not work with those charging unfair interest rates.[6] Kiva lenders do not receive any interest because they are not registered as a broker with the US government.
As of September 19, 2010, Kiva has distributed $160,822,200 in loans from 757,183 lenders. A total of 220,977 loans have been funded. The average loan size is $382.77. Its current repayment rate is 98.90%.[1] wikipedia
2. Flash Giving: Giving triggered by a national or international disaster. Donors often give on the Internet, collectively giving large amounts in a short period of time. Flash giving– triggered by international conflict, famine, natural disasters, all unfolded instantaneously by the media – has the potential to engage and empower many donors; may be the entry point of primary mode of giving for many donors.
Move 2: Response to the changing expectations and technology.
a. Utilize our technology
1.Web-site -- we have a web-site, but there are no giving opportunities available, except to link to the pcusa.org website for giving opportunities.
2.Bank -- we put the burden on members to set up automatic payments; we do not have automatic withdrawal capabilities yet.
b. Provide flash giving opportunities
1.PDA -- Presbyterian Disaster Assistance offers an immediate way for Presbyterians to donate to crises around the world, with the assurance that PDA, which has been in disaster business for many years, is shepherding the money to the right places.
2.Endowment Fund -- our Endowment Fund sets aside dollars each year to send to PDA when disasters occur in the world.
c.Interpretation
1.SDOP -- Self Development of People has been doing microfinance loans for years.
2.OGHS -- One Great Hour of Sharing supports the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, which in essence has been offering flash giving for years.
Move 3: Faith perspective still matters
a. Part of our discipleship
1.Sandy McConnell: “We need to give back to God more than the church needs our money
2.“What % of my income is God calling me to give?”
3. Not a church budget question, but a discipleship question.
b. Teach becoming a patterned giver.
1.Some people see making a commitment or a pledge as tying them down.
2.Frees us to not worry about remembering or are you doing enough.
3.After you have have prayerfully been guided by God in making your commitment, you are done.
c.Debunk the idea that our giving is an attempt to get God to respond.
1. If we give the right amount, God will reward us.
2. Sort of, let's make a deal.
2. Exodus – whose hearts will prompt them to give.
Conclusion: Whether the 21st century or first century or in the Israelite's time, the question of stewrdship comes down to what will your heart prompt you to give?
Is it appropriate to offer people the ability to pay through credit cards when credit card debt is a major problem in our society?
If we emphasize flash giving (immediate gifts sent to help with different crises in the world), how does that dilute or enhance the regular giving?
I think that pointing out how using automatic payments can help a person become a patterned giver was helpful, but who do we deal with the fact that it removes us from the ritual of actually writing the check or presenting the check (or money) in the offering plate (See Dave Conover's post from last week)?
I did not even get into the use of passive fundraising such as having members use their Kroger gift cards or scan their Meijer's or Wal-Mart cards to show they are linked to our church. it's an easy way for the church to earn money, but how does that impact our theology of stewardship?
Lots left unsaid, but you can look below to see what was said!
Introduction:
Move 1: 21st Century innovations
a. New techniques for the technologically adept.
1.Website
a. Requests
b. Provide info
c. Portal for payment.
2. email usage
3.Electronic fund transfers
4.On-line giving: Paypal and credit card giving
b. Expanded opportunities for giving.
c.Changing profile of givers.
1.Wealthy population changing.
2.A more mobile population of all ages, combined with out-migration from smaller towns and rural areas, and more frequent “caravanning” among retirement aged adults, may continue to diminish the appeal and incidence of place based giving.
d. Examples
1.Kiva loans: Kiva was founded in October 2005 by Matt Flannery and Jessica Jackley.[8]
Kiva allows microfinance institutions around the world, called "Field Partners", to post profiles of qualified local entrepreneurs on its website, www.kiva.org. Lenders browse and choose an entrepreneur they wish to fund. As the loan is repaid, the Kiva lenders can withdraw their principal or re-loan it to another entrepreneur.
Lenders' funds are transferred to Kiva through PayPal, which does not collect its usual fees in this case.[4] It is possible to pay by credit card through PayPal's website, even without a PayPal account, but a PayPal account is needed to withdraw funds.[5] Field Partners charge interest to their borrowers, although Kiva claims to keep track of how much interest is charged and will not work with those charging unfair interest rates.[6] Kiva lenders do not receive any interest because they are not registered as a broker with the US government.
As of September 19, 2010, Kiva has distributed $160,822,200 in loans from 757,183 lenders. A total of 220,977 loans have been funded. The average loan size is $382.77. Its current repayment rate is 98.90%.[1] wikipedia
2. Flash Giving: Giving triggered by a national or international disaster. Donors often give on the Internet, collectively giving large amounts in a short period of time. Flash giving– triggered by international conflict, famine, natural disasters, all unfolded instantaneously by the media – has the potential to engage and empower many donors; may be the entry point of primary mode of giving for many donors.
Move 2: Response to the changing expectations and technology.
a. Utilize our technology
1.Web-site -- we have a web-site, but there are no giving opportunities available, except to link to the pcusa.org website for giving opportunities.
2.Bank -- we put the burden on members to set up automatic payments; we do not have automatic withdrawal capabilities yet.
b. Provide flash giving opportunities
1.PDA -- Presbyterian Disaster Assistance offers an immediate way for Presbyterians to donate to crises around the world, with the assurance that PDA, which has been in disaster business for many years, is shepherding the money to the right places.
2.Endowment Fund -- our Endowment Fund sets aside dollars each year to send to PDA when disasters occur in the world.
c.Interpretation
1.SDOP -- Self Development of People has been doing microfinance loans for years.
2.OGHS -- One Great Hour of Sharing supports the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, which in essence has been offering flash giving for years.
Move 3: Faith perspective still matters
a. Part of our discipleship
1.Sandy McConnell: “We need to give back to God more than the church needs our money
2.“What % of my income is God calling me to give?”
3. Not a church budget question, but a discipleship question.
b. Teach becoming a patterned giver.
1.Some people see making a commitment or a pledge as tying them down.
2.Frees us to not worry about remembering or are you doing enough.
3.After you have have prayerfully been guided by God in making your commitment, you are done.
c.Debunk the idea that our giving is an attempt to get God to respond.
1. If we give the right amount, God will reward us.
2. Sort of, let's make a deal.
2. Exodus – whose hearts will prompt them to give.
Conclusion: Whether the 21st century or first century or in the Israelite's time, the question of stewrdship comes down to what will your heart prompt you to give?
Friday, November 5, 2010
"let's make a deal"
This week ties the Consecration Sunday stewardship program with the series on being a Christian in the 21st century. part of the 21st century is the opportunity to utilize tools for giving -- donating through web-sites, using electronic funds transfers, setting up automatic payments with banks, etc. Technology can make it easier to give and to set a pattern for giving.
We also see an explosion of opportunities to give. Again, technology allows for many people and groups to ask us for money. How many of you have received an email with a link asking for a donation for someone's ride for a some type of cure or run for some project? And the sophisticated databases make it much easier for us to be targeted for our giving.
The question of do we tithe just to the church or can we count our other gifts as part of the tithe is not a new question, but perhaps it has greater implications in our world today.
But, as I reflect on stewardship in the 21st century, I think it still comes down to some old-fashioned principles -- patterned givers, that is, people who establish a weekly or monthly pattern to their giving give more. People who make a pledge give more than people who intend to give when they can. People who are asked to consider their giving give more than people who are not asked to engage in a discernment process related to their giving. I don't think more options or using technology changes those historic truths.
Perhaps we ought to recognize a pledge commitment as a gift that we are given. Not that our pledge defines our faith, but our monetary commitment gives us a concrete way to express our commitment to God. Not the only way, certainly, but in a world where people need to be able to measure and see their response, our giving back to God gives us a weekly or monthly reminder of the commitment we make to follow Christ.
What makes you want to give back to God?
Peace,
Richard
We also see an explosion of opportunities to give. Again, technology allows for many people and groups to ask us for money. How many of you have received an email with a link asking for a donation for someone's ride for a some type of cure or run for some project? And the sophisticated databases make it much easier for us to be targeted for our giving.
The question of do we tithe just to the church or can we count our other gifts as part of the tithe is not a new question, but perhaps it has greater implications in our world today.
But, as I reflect on stewardship in the 21st century, I think it still comes down to some old-fashioned principles -- patterned givers, that is, people who establish a weekly or monthly pattern to their giving give more. People who make a pledge give more than people who intend to give when they can. People who are asked to consider their giving give more than people who are not asked to engage in a discernment process related to their giving. I don't think more options or using technology changes those historic truths.
Perhaps we ought to recognize a pledge commitment as a gift that we are given. Not that our pledge defines our faith, but our monetary commitment gives us a concrete way to express our commitment to God. Not the only way, certainly, but in a world where people need to be able to measure and see their response, our giving back to God gives us a weekly or monthly reminder of the commitment we make to follow Christ.
What makes you want to give back to God?
Peace,
Richard
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Reflections on "No Longer Reformed"
I actually never got to the first point in my notes as I began my sermon preparation -- that is, exploring what it means to be part of the Reformed tradition that has as its mantra Martin Luther's words: "The church reformed, always reforming." Of course, the rich irony of that quote is that after Martin Luther broke away from the Catholic church, he himself became very rigid in what was acceptable as worship and as the church (certainly the Anabaptists killed by the Reformers would not see the Reformers as being open to reform).
Instead, I chose to rehearse (another way of saying repeated) some of the gifts the Presbyterian Church offers to the world. In fact, if you wonder if I ever read your comments, it was a comment sent to me late last week that sent me farther in this direction in the sermon.
I have also found that my sermons have been a bit longer the last few weeks. It is not intentional, but I keep finding more to say on these topics. This series has captivated me as the preacher, which generally means better sermons.
Although not totally connected with the sermons, I have been fascinated to hear the members share how they have discovered God in their lives in the 21st century. Very different stories have been shared, which speaks both to the all-encompassing claim God has on us and the varied people and their stories that gather each week in worship.
Sermon notes:
Introduction: it was October 31, 1517, 493 years ago today, on All Hallow’s Eve. The local priest was pounding a paper, listing 95 debating points on the door of the church. This door functioned as the bulletin board for the academic community in Wittenburg, in what we now call Germany. All the local scholars were sure to check it out. But more than that, tomorrow would be All Saints’ Day and the church and church yard would be packed with local people. On that day Duke Frederick the Wise, the local noble man, would put his substantial collection of sacred relics on display in front of the church. That always attracted a crowd. This local priest was Martin Luther. His 95 debating points became known as his “95 Theses,” and his posting them began the process we now call the Protestant Reformation that led to the splitting off from Catholic church.
As the Reformation played itself out, people knew what they were. They were Catholic or Reformed. For some it was a choice, but for many where you were born or what tradition your regional prince or king followed determined what faith tradition you followed.
Fast forward 493 years and look around at the multitude of faith traditions found in the world and particularly for us the United States. People can choose from among many traditions – Protestant; Catholic; Jewish; Muslim; to name just a few.
And, loyalty to a particular faith tradition is fading.
A 2009 CBNNews.com survey shows most Protestant church-goers are open to a variety of denominations other than the one they currently attend.
Ellison Research, a national marketing company, found 51 percent prefer their denomination, but would consider others. Thirty-three percent of church-goers do not prefer any one denomination.(http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2009/January/Denominational-Loyalty-on-Decline-)
To slice it another way, Sixteen percent of Protestant churchgoers are exclusively loyal to one denomination, and a total of 67% have a preferred denomination (even if they will consider others).
Let me put that in context for you: people today are as loyal to their faith tradition as they are to what brand of toothpaste they use; or what brand of toilet paper they use; or what type of pain reliever that buy; or what type of soft drink they choose.
·toothpaste (22% exclusive to one brand, with 64% expressing a brand preference)
·bathroom tissue (19% exclusive to one brand, with 59% expressing a brand preference)
·pain reliever (16% exclusive to one brand, with 57% expressing a brand preference)
·soft drinks (14% exclusive to one brand, with 70% expressing a brand preference)
http://www.greymatterresearch.com/index_files/Denominational_Loyalty.htm
On a broader scale, we also live in a time when non-Christians are much more visible in our lives and neighborhoods. In fact, Muslims are one of the fastest growing faith traditions in the United States http://www.adherents.com/rel_USA.html
In this changing face of church in the 21st century, in a world where people do not seem to know or care what it means to be Reformed, much less Presbyterian, how do we, a local congregation, tied to the Presbyterian denomination, live out its calling?
Move 1: How do we respond?
a. On the one hand, those same statistics suggest that now it is easier to win people over to the Presbyterian way of doing things.
1.With less loyalty to faith traditions, we could see members of other churches as our target.
2.If we sell ourselves better than their current churches, we will grow.
3.Of course in that case, the growth of the Presbyterian church will be offset by the decline of other local congregations.
b. I think that approach begs the question – what is our purpose as a church?
1.what does it mean to be called to the fellowship of Jesus Christ, as Paul describes our calling to the Corinthians?
2.I find the Acts passage fascinating because people are worried about what others are doing in the name of God.
3.Gamaliel has a wise response – let them alone; if they are of God, they will prosper and we should have left them alone; if they are not of God, then they will not be around very long.
4.I think we would be wise to not worry about how others are living out their calling, and instead focus on our own calling.
Move 2: We Presbyterians have some important gifts to share with the world.
a. Marj Carpenter tells a story originally told by Pete Peery about a Pennsylvania Quaker farmer, who was talking to his heifer. ‘heifer, thou art a cantankerous cow. Thou knowest I am a peacable man and will not strike thee. What thou dost not know, and what thou has not considered, is that I might sell thee to a Presbyterian.” “In This Corner,” The Presbyterian Outlook, 12/24/2007, 6.
Different gifts from a Quaker, or a Presbyterian, or a Methodist or a Catholic.
Here are some of the gifts we Presbyterians have to share (this is not the complete list, nor are these gifts exclusively Presbyterian.
b. It is okay to think as part of your faith.
1.The Presbyterian Church has traditionally emphasized education.
2.Clergy seminary trained.
3.In a world that increasingly does not want to engage in thoughtful process and instead rely on what I earlier this fall called bumper sticker theology, we invite people to ask questions, to challenge, to disagree.
4.One of the hallmarks of the Reformation was the importance of printing the Bible in the language of the people so that all people could have access to reading or hearing read the biblical texts in their language.
5.That presumed that people could think and interpret Scripture without being told by the church what was the right interpretation.
6.Critique – Careful not to create where only rational thinking is allowed. WE Presbyterians, have been accused at times of being so focused on rational thought we miss the spiritual and emotional side of things.
c.Emphasis on grace.
1.Martin Luther's discovery of God's grace was at the heart of his disagreement with the Catholic church.
2.He discovered in Paul's letter to the Romans that he did not have to earn salvation or that salvation could not be purchased for him by giving money to the Catholic church.
3.From those theological roots, we bring to our world today a reminder that God's grace lovingly welcomes us.
4.This is in contrast to many traditions that approach their faith from the perspective of fear. The threat of hell being the most compelling reason to turn to God.
5.We turn to God because God has lovingly claimed us, not because we fear an angry God.
6.Critique – grace without a response seems empty. Luther did not like James' letter than talked about works, but I think we recognize in James' mention of works that we respond to God's grace by living our lives in ways that show God's grace.
d.We model shared leadership
1.We have a system of governing our church that relies on many people in leadership.
2.There is not a Pope, a bishop or a minister who gets to make the decisions for the church.
3.We have a Session, elected by the congregation, to work together to lead the congregation.
4.We have welcomed women to ordained office as minister, elder and deacon.
5. WE are required to have leadership reflect the demographics of our congregation.
5.While that may seem like a no-brainer to us who gather here today, there are still many churches that deprive women leadership roles.
6.And certainly there are churches that defer all leadership decisions to the minister.
7.Constant struggle to be open to shared leadership.
e. Mission
1. Traditionally, Presbyterians have had a huge commitment to mission work.
2. Marj Carpenter, who tells the story of mission in the Presbyterian church better than anyone I know, has often noted that the Presbyterian Church has opened more mission fields in the world than any other denomination.
3. this congregation has self-identified itself as having a huge concern and passion for mission work.
4. In a self-centered world where concern for one's own self often takes first place; in a world where church's struggling to survive find it very easy to become only concerned about themselves, our commitment to mission ought to serve as a reminder that Christ sends us into the world to serve.
6. In other words, in our world where people get voted off the island or the lesser dancers get booted off the stage, or the people who lose less weight get sent home, we show that God cares about those voted off, booted off and sent home people.
7. And we are called to extend that care beyond ourselves to all in the world who need food, clothing and shelter, and freedom from oppression and injustice.
8. Challenge – to claim our identity as the body of Christ, instead of becoming like any other group that offers assistance.
9. We are continually challenged to figure out how to link our commitment to serving others with the God who sends us to serve.
8. In other words, people need to be fed physically and spiritually.
Conclusion: Almost 25 years ago I moved to a small town in east TX – Corsicana. I went to the Presbyterian church (they had one) when I was in town on Sunday. No one spoke to me for three months, except the minister, so naturally I joined. Then, no one spoke to me for another 3 months (I think it might have been because I wore a sweater in the new member photo instead of the expected coat and tie).
At the same time, I joined a young, single, adult group that was hosted by the Methodist church. Everyone in the group but me belonged to the Methodist church. I even moved in with the Associate Pastor of the Methodist church so we could both save some money.
People would ask me, “why don't you join the Methodist church?” I thought the question was crazy – I was Presbyterian, after all.
I also might note that I bought the same type of toothpaste every time.
Now, I use whatever toothpaste my wife brings home from the office. I'm partial to the fruity kids flavors, but also like the clean, crisp taste of some of those extra white toothpastes.
And, if I were to move to Corsicana, TX or Troy, OH as a young adult, I would go to the Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church, or the Catholic Church or the UCC church.
It is in that world that we share our gifts, our uniquely Presbyterian gifts.
Instead, I chose to rehearse (another way of saying repeated) some of the gifts the Presbyterian Church offers to the world. In fact, if you wonder if I ever read your comments, it was a comment sent to me late last week that sent me farther in this direction in the sermon.
I have also found that my sermons have been a bit longer the last few weeks. It is not intentional, but I keep finding more to say on these topics. This series has captivated me as the preacher, which generally means better sermons.
Although not totally connected with the sermons, I have been fascinated to hear the members share how they have discovered God in their lives in the 21st century. Very different stories have been shared, which speaks both to the all-encompassing claim God has on us and the varied people and their stories that gather each week in worship.
Sermon notes:
Introduction: it was October 31, 1517, 493 years ago today, on All Hallow’s Eve. The local priest was pounding a paper, listing 95 debating points on the door of the church. This door functioned as the bulletin board for the academic community in Wittenburg, in what we now call Germany. All the local scholars were sure to check it out. But more than that, tomorrow would be All Saints’ Day and the church and church yard would be packed with local people. On that day Duke Frederick the Wise, the local noble man, would put his substantial collection of sacred relics on display in front of the church. That always attracted a crowd. This local priest was Martin Luther. His 95 debating points became known as his “95 Theses,” and his posting them began the process we now call the Protestant Reformation that led to the splitting off from Catholic church.
As the Reformation played itself out, people knew what they were. They were Catholic or Reformed. For some it was a choice, but for many where you were born or what tradition your regional prince or king followed determined what faith tradition you followed.
Fast forward 493 years and look around at the multitude of faith traditions found in the world and particularly for us the United States. People can choose from among many traditions – Protestant; Catholic; Jewish; Muslim; to name just a few.
And, loyalty to a particular faith tradition is fading.
A 2009 CBNNews.com survey shows most Protestant church-goers are open to a variety of denominations other than the one they currently attend.
Ellison Research, a national marketing company, found 51 percent prefer their denomination, but would consider others. Thirty-three percent of church-goers do not prefer any one denomination.(http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2009/January/Denominational-Loyalty-on-Decline-)
To slice it another way, Sixteen percent of Protestant churchgoers are exclusively loyal to one denomination, and a total of 67% have a preferred denomination (even if they will consider others).
Let me put that in context for you: people today are as loyal to their faith tradition as they are to what brand of toothpaste they use; or what brand of toilet paper they use; or what type of pain reliever that buy; or what type of soft drink they choose.
·toothpaste (22% exclusive to one brand, with 64% expressing a brand preference)
·bathroom tissue (19% exclusive to one brand, with 59% expressing a brand preference)
·pain reliever (16% exclusive to one brand, with 57% expressing a brand preference)
·soft drinks (14% exclusive to one brand, with 70% expressing a brand preference)
http://www.greymatterresearch.com/index_files/Denominational_Loyalty.htm
On a broader scale, we also live in a time when non-Christians are much more visible in our lives and neighborhoods. In fact, Muslims are one of the fastest growing faith traditions in the United States http://www.adherents.com/rel_USA.html
In this changing face of church in the 21st century, in a world where people do not seem to know or care what it means to be Reformed, much less Presbyterian, how do we, a local congregation, tied to the Presbyterian denomination, live out its calling?
Move 1: How do we respond?
a. On the one hand, those same statistics suggest that now it is easier to win people over to the Presbyterian way of doing things.
1.With less loyalty to faith traditions, we could see members of other churches as our target.
2.If we sell ourselves better than their current churches, we will grow.
3.Of course in that case, the growth of the Presbyterian church will be offset by the decline of other local congregations.
b. I think that approach begs the question – what is our purpose as a church?
1.what does it mean to be called to the fellowship of Jesus Christ, as Paul describes our calling to the Corinthians?
2.I find the Acts passage fascinating because people are worried about what others are doing in the name of God.
3.Gamaliel has a wise response – let them alone; if they are of God, they will prosper and we should have left them alone; if they are not of God, then they will not be around very long.
4.I think we would be wise to not worry about how others are living out their calling, and instead focus on our own calling.
Move 2: We Presbyterians have some important gifts to share with the world.
a. Marj Carpenter tells a story originally told by Pete Peery about a Pennsylvania Quaker farmer, who was talking to his heifer. ‘heifer, thou art a cantankerous cow. Thou knowest I am a peacable man and will not strike thee. What thou dost not know, and what thou has not considered, is that I might sell thee to a Presbyterian.” “In This Corner,” The Presbyterian Outlook, 12/24/2007, 6.
Different gifts from a Quaker, or a Presbyterian, or a Methodist or a Catholic.
Here are some of the gifts we Presbyterians have to share (this is not the complete list, nor are these gifts exclusively Presbyterian.
b. It is okay to think as part of your faith.
1.The Presbyterian Church has traditionally emphasized education.
2.Clergy seminary trained.
3.In a world that increasingly does not want to engage in thoughtful process and instead rely on what I earlier this fall called bumper sticker theology, we invite people to ask questions, to challenge, to disagree.
4.One of the hallmarks of the Reformation was the importance of printing the Bible in the language of the people so that all people could have access to reading or hearing read the biblical texts in their language.
5.That presumed that people could think and interpret Scripture without being told by the church what was the right interpretation.
6.Critique – Careful not to create where only rational thinking is allowed. WE Presbyterians, have been accused at times of being so focused on rational thought we miss the spiritual and emotional side of things.
c.Emphasis on grace.
1.Martin Luther's discovery of God's grace was at the heart of his disagreement with the Catholic church.
2.He discovered in Paul's letter to the Romans that he did not have to earn salvation or that salvation could not be purchased for him by giving money to the Catholic church.
3.From those theological roots, we bring to our world today a reminder that God's grace lovingly welcomes us.
4.This is in contrast to many traditions that approach their faith from the perspective of fear. The threat of hell being the most compelling reason to turn to God.
5.We turn to God because God has lovingly claimed us, not because we fear an angry God.
6.Critique – grace without a response seems empty. Luther did not like James' letter than talked about works, but I think we recognize in James' mention of works that we respond to God's grace by living our lives in ways that show God's grace.
d.We model shared leadership
1.We have a system of governing our church that relies on many people in leadership.
2.There is not a Pope, a bishop or a minister who gets to make the decisions for the church.
3.We have a Session, elected by the congregation, to work together to lead the congregation.
4.We have welcomed women to ordained office as minister, elder and deacon.
5. WE are required to have leadership reflect the demographics of our congregation.
5.While that may seem like a no-brainer to us who gather here today, there are still many churches that deprive women leadership roles.
6.And certainly there are churches that defer all leadership decisions to the minister.
7.Constant struggle to be open to shared leadership.
e. Mission
1. Traditionally, Presbyterians have had a huge commitment to mission work.
2. Marj Carpenter, who tells the story of mission in the Presbyterian church better than anyone I know, has often noted that the Presbyterian Church has opened more mission fields in the world than any other denomination.
3. this congregation has self-identified itself as having a huge concern and passion for mission work.
4. In a self-centered world where concern for one's own self often takes first place; in a world where church's struggling to survive find it very easy to become only concerned about themselves, our commitment to mission ought to serve as a reminder that Christ sends us into the world to serve.
6. In other words, in our world where people get voted off the island or the lesser dancers get booted off the stage, or the people who lose less weight get sent home, we show that God cares about those voted off, booted off and sent home people.
7. And we are called to extend that care beyond ourselves to all in the world who need food, clothing and shelter, and freedom from oppression and injustice.
8. Challenge – to claim our identity as the body of Christ, instead of becoming like any other group that offers assistance.
9. We are continually challenged to figure out how to link our commitment to serving others with the God who sends us to serve.
8. In other words, people need to be fed physically and spiritually.
Conclusion: Almost 25 years ago I moved to a small town in east TX – Corsicana. I went to the Presbyterian church (they had one) when I was in town on Sunday. No one spoke to me for three months, except the minister, so naturally I joined. Then, no one spoke to me for another 3 months (I think it might have been because I wore a sweater in the new member photo instead of the expected coat and tie).
At the same time, I joined a young, single, adult group that was hosted by the Methodist church. Everyone in the group but me belonged to the Methodist church. I even moved in with the Associate Pastor of the Methodist church so we could both save some money.
People would ask me, “why don't you join the Methodist church?” I thought the question was crazy – I was Presbyterian, after all.
I also might note that I bought the same type of toothpaste every time.
Now, I use whatever toothpaste my wife brings home from the office. I'm partial to the fruity kids flavors, but also like the clean, crisp taste of some of those extra white toothpastes.
And, if I were to move to Corsicana, TX or Troy, OH as a young adult, I would go to the Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church, or the Catholic Church or the UCC church.
It is in that world that we share our gifts, our uniquely Presbyterian gifts.
Friday, October 29, 2010
"No Longer Reformed"
Sunday is Reformation Sunday - the anniversary of Martin Luther posting his 95 THESES on the sanctuary door in Wittenburg, Germany, in an act that sparked what we now call the Reformation. I wonder how many people in the pews in Presbyterian churches Sunday could describe what the Reformation was or what it means to be part of the Reformed tradition.
In fact, I suspect that there are many in our pews on any given Sunday morning who would have a hard time articulating what it means to be Presbyterian, at least from an historical or theological perspective. Should we rejoice or lament over that reality?
this week's sermon reflects on the growing lack of denominational loyalty. I may even push the reflections to consider how we interact on a broader scale as we live a time when our neighbors may not be Methodist or Baptist, but Muslim or some other non-Christian tradition.
Should we embrace the lack of loyalty to the Presbyterian church and focus on our Christian calling with little regard to being Reformed and Presbyterian? Or should we work to indoctrinate members and potential members in the Presbyterian tradition?
Luther's mantra was "the Church reformed always reforming." How are we re-forming now, and how do we live out our Christian calling in that context?
Peace,
Richard
In fact, I suspect that there are many in our pews on any given Sunday morning who would have a hard time articulating what it means to be Presbyterian, at least from an historical or theological perspective. Should we rejoice or lament over that reality?
this week's sermon reflects on the growing lack of denominational loyalty. I may even push the reflections to consider how we interact on a broader scale as we live a time when our neighbors may not be Methodist or Baptist, but Muslim or some other non-Christian tradition.
Should we embrace the lack of loyalty to the Presbyterian church and focus on our Christian calling with little regard to being Reformed and Presbyterian? Or should we work to indoctrinate members and potential members in the Presbyterian tradition?
Luther's mantra was "the Church reformed always reforming." How are we re-forming now, and how do we live out our Christian calling in that context?
Peace,
Richard
Monday, October 25, 2010
Reflections on "Sex That Matters"
Someone asked me if I was worried about people being upset with the sermon. I was not worried that that I would upset someone over mentioning sex from the pulpit; but, I did worry that this topic, which I consider to be an important issue in our world today, would not engage people.
The transition from the homosexuality issue to the other sexuality issues in our world today, seemed to work fine. but, it also means that I did not address from the pulpit that thorny issue in the Presbyterian denomination. And, I won't address it in this sermon series. In part, my preaching silence is because I do not think this issue matters to the next generation of church members. I think the older generation clings to the issue because we are more comfortable with the traditional thinking and standards surrounding this issue. But, as the next generation lives with people openly acknowledging their sexuality, people who have gifts for ministry and show the love of Christ in their actions, the issue will seem less important. Likewise, the proliferation of so many other sexuality issues will demand much more of the focus of the church in the 21st century.
So, here are my sermon notes from yesterday.
Introduction: As you know, I have been preaching the fall on how to be a Christian in the 21st century. this week I experienced a bit of 21st technology. I received a FB message from a former member of the church I served in KY who now lives in CA. She is a FB friend of mine, so when I posted by blog with my thoughts as I prepared this week's sermon, she got notice of the blog, including the sermon title. She responded with a message about my sermon title. To which my wife add a FB comment about my daughters being apprehensive about the sermon. I suspect that sermon will not be quite as exciting as the title sounds.
In the Presbyterian Church circles, most conversations these days that involve sex deal with the questions surrounding homosexuality. Should we ordain self-avowed homosexuals? Or how do we stick to a traditional definition of marriage.
The church is focusing focusing on an issue that the world, at least the Western world, and the younger generation does not seem to care about nearly as much.
That's not to say, if the the world does not think it's an issue, the church should not care about it, but I do think it challenges the church to examine where it puts its energy, particularly in a world with many issues revolving around sexuality.
I have the suspicion that we want to keep focused on the issue of homosexuality because then we do not have to engage other issue of sex that matter as well, if not more than the issue of homosexuality.
Move 1: What other issues?
a. Internet pornography
1. On the Web, there are both commercial and free pornography sites.
2. As of October 2008, about one quarter of employees visit Internet porn sites during working hours according to Nielsen Online. (Wikipedia, Internet Pornography)
3. The production of child pornography has become very profitable, bringing in several billion dollars a year, and is no longer limited to pedophiles. notes that there is "overwhelming evidence that [child pornography] is all but impossible to obtain through non electronic means." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_pornography)
4. I now include in my pre-marital counseling a series of questions about
b. Cyber bullying over sexuality
1. Rutgers student who committed suicide.
2. Allegedly some of his fellow students hid a camera that captured him kissing another male.
3. Broadcast this to others.
4.Embarrassment about his sexuality issue and the invasion of his privacy led to the student's suicide.
c. Divorce
1.Different figures, but roughly 45% of the couples that get married today will divorce http://www.divorcerate.org/
2.Divorce rate is higher for evangelical Christians (Barna Research, as quoted on http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_dira.htm
3.Living together – higher divorce rate; indicators show that people who chose to live together on average
d.Infidelity in marriage
1. Infidelity rates are getting higher and higher in the American society. Here are some infidelity statistics based on a survey by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago:
25 percent of men have had extramarital affairs
17 percent of women committed adultery
2. Another 20% have emotional affairs.
3.Only 35 percent of unions survive an extramarital affair. http://www.infidelity-etc.com/index.php/4
4.Do not underestimate the role of the Internet in this issue. The ability for people to engage with others over the Internet, without having to sneak off somewhere to see each other, has created more opportunities http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infidelity
5.Plus, the social web-sites like FB and MySpace allow for people to meet up and become infatuated with the computer image of someone, which no surprise may seem more exciting than the day-to-day image of one's spouse.
e.Premarital sex:
1.Currently 46.8% of all high school students report they have had sexual intercourse. The percentage of high school students who have had sex decreased 13.3% between 1991 and 2005 (54% to 46.8%). 2005 CDC Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance
2. Casual sex.
Move 2: How are we to respond to these sexuality issue out of our Christian calling?
a. At the heart of our response is how we view God.
1.Is our primary image of God as the judge, who creates a world of black and white choices; a God whose purpose is to decide who is in (those who can abide by the rules). Drawing a line in the sand.
2.Or, do we fundamentally, see God as liberating us and inviting us to grow into the image of God that calls us to be in right relationship with God and one another?
3.Of course, the reality for most of us is that we mix those images.
4.In the passage to the Colossians, I think we see this mix. There is both a list of things to do and not do for those early Christians, but also the overarching call to grow into the fullness of Christ, which I think defies the draw a line in the sand mentality.
5.Or, Isaiah's prophecy speaks of the eunuch and the foreigner who are welcomed, the one who was outside the sexual norms and the stranger in the midst, being welcomed by God. But, there is also a reference to their making right sacrifices.
b. McLaren story: a Kenyan graduate student attended the church he served. After a communion service, McLaren found the Kenyan sitting in his seat, with his head in his hands crying. “Are you okay?”
“These are tears of joy.”
“What happened?”
“It is my first time to take communion.”
“but I thought you had been a Christian since you were a child?”
“I have been. But I am the child of the third wife.” He went on to explain that at the time the Anglican Church in Kenya had a policy for polygamous converts to the Christianity. Only the children of the first wife could participate in the Lord's Supper. “Today, when you said that all were welcome to the Table, I realized that here I am not the child of the third wife. I am simply a Christian [child of God], and I am welcome at the Table.” (Brain McLaren, A New Kind of Christianity, 186)
c.It is easy to here that story and see where the black and white approach of the church in another culture misses the gospel that welcomes all people to our Lord's Table.
1.So let's look a little bit closer to home.
2.Consider the issue of pre-marital sex.
3.I am the parent of three girls, two of whom are in high school now.
4.I can easily subscribe to the image of God who says Christians do this and not that.
5.Very black and white. Line in the sand. As least as it relates to the sexuality of my daughters.
6.But, how does that speak to what it means to be made in the image of God that calls us into relationship?
7.In all the conversations and discussions I heard as a kid, or have had with youth groups or others as an adult, parent or minister, let me share with you the most compelling argument I ever heard for not engaging in pre-marital sex.
It was a minister. He was speaking to a group of high schoolers. He was not the hip minister, but the older minister (about my age now!). It was not a God said you should do this or that.
He spoke about how sex was the most intimate moment two people could share. How it was designed as an deep expression of love to be shared between two people.
And he spoke about relationship. How God desired us to have a deep, abiding relationship with another person. A relationship between two humans that God gave us as gift (I am indebted to Dr. John McCoy for having shared this story with the high school youth group).
8.If a study were done with those high schoolers who heard that conversation, would they have a lower rate of engaging in premarital sex? I do not know.
9.But, I think that spoke to the issue in a more meaningful way, in a way that invited the high schoolers to understand their sexuality as a gift from God, and a call to see their sexuality in the context of their calling as people made in the image of God.
e. Divorce rates and infidelity.
1.Again, it is easy to draw a line in the sand.
2.But, missing from that position is the conversation about what it means to be in covenantal relationship.
3.How to live in relationship with one another and how to deal with broken relationships.
4.It is painful to hear divorced people describe how their faith communities failed them and how they left those communities because they did not feel support, or because the faith community drew a line in the sand and included one of the spouses and excluded the other.
5.We have to do better.
f.Internet pornography and cyber bullying.
1. they do not reveal the image of God, but show forth broken relationships.
2. Clearly, those who engage in bullying see the others as outside of their relationship.
3. Think about how pornography violates the relationship between two people.
Conclusion: How we respond to matters of sex does matter.
It speaks to how we view God and how we live out our calling as disciples of Christ.
The transition from the homosexuality issue to the other sexuality issues in our world today, seemed to work fine. but, it also means that I did not address from the pulpit that thorny issue in the Presbyterian denomination. And, I won't address it in this sermon series. In part, my preaching silence is because I do not think this issue matters to the next generation of church members. I think the older generation clings to the issue because we are more comfortable with the traditional thinking and standards surrounding this issue. But, as the next generation lives with people openly acknowledging their sexuality, people who have gifts for ministry and show the love of Christ in their actions, the issue will seem less important. Likewise, the proliferation of so many other sexuality issues will demand much more of the focus of the church in the 21st century.
So, here are my sermon notes from yesterday.
Introduction: As you know, I have been preaching the fall on how to be a Christian in the 21st century. this week I experienced a bit of 21st technology. I received a FB message from a former member of the church I served in KY who now lives in CA. She is a FB friend of mine, so when I posted by blog with my thoughts as I prepared this week's sermon, she got notice of the blog, including the sermon title. She responded with a message about my sermon title. To which my wife add a FB comment about my daughters being apprehensive about the sermon. I suspect that sermon will not be quite as exciting as the title sounds.
In the Presbyterian Church circles, most conversations these days that involve sex deal with the questions surrounding homosexuality. Should we ordain self-avowed homosexuals? Or how do we stick to a traditional definition of marriage.
The church is focusing focusing on an issue that the world, at least the Western world, and the younger generation does not seem to care about nearly as much.
That's not to say, if the the world does not think it's an issue, the church should not care about it, but I do think it challenges the church to examine where it puts its energy, particularly in a world with many issues revolving around sexuality.
I have the suspicion that we want to keep focused on the issue of homosexuality because then we do not have to engage other issue of sex that matter as well, if not more than the issue of homosexuality.
Move 1: What other issues?
a. Internet pornography
1. On the Web, there are both commercial and free pornography sites.
2. As of October 2008, about one quarter of employees visit Internet porn sites during working hours according to Nielsen Online. (Wikipedia, Internet Pornography)
3. The production of child pornography has become very profitable, bringing in several billion dollars a year, and is no longer limited to pedophiles. notes that there is "overwhelming evidence that [child pornography] is all but impossible to obtain through non electronic means." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_pornography)
4. I now include in my pre-marital counseling a series of questions about
b. Cyber bullying over sexuality
1. Rutgers student who committed suicide.
2. Allegedly some of his fellow students hid a camera that captured him kissing another male.
3. Broadcast this to others.
4.Embarrassment about his sexuality issue and the invasion of his privacy led to the student's suicide.
c. Divorce
1.Different figures, but roughly 45% of the couples that get married today will divorce http://www.divorcerate.org/
2.Divorce rate is higher for evangelical Christians (Barna Research, as quoted on http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_dira.htm
3.Living together – higher divorce rate; indicators show that people who chose to live together on average
d.Infidelity in marriage
1. Infidelity rates are getting higher and higher in the American society. Here are some infidelity statistics based on a survey by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago:
25 percent of men have had extramarital affairs
17 percent of women committed adultery
2. Another 20% have emotional affairs.
3.Only 35 percent of unions survive an extramarital affair. http://www.infidelity-etc.com/index.php/4
4.Do not underestimate the role of the Internet in this issue. The ability for people to engage with others over the Internet, without having to sneak off somewhere to see each other, has created more opportunities http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infidelity
5.Plus, the social web-sites like FB and MySpace allow for people to meet up and become infatuated with the computer image of someone, which no surprise may seem more exciting than the day-to-day image of one's spouse.
e.Premarital sex:
1.Currently 46.8% of all high school students report they have had sexual intercourse. The percentage of high school students who have had sex decreased 13.3% between 1991 and 2005 (54% to 46.8%). 2005 CDC Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance
2. Casual sex.
Move 2: How are we to respond to these sexuality issue out of our Christian calling?
a. At the heart of our response is how we view God.
1.Is our primary image of God as the judge, who creates a world of black and white choices; a God whose purpose is to decide who is in (those who can abide by the rules). Drawing a line in the sand.
2.Or, do we fundamentally, see God as liberating us and inviting us to grow into the image of God that calls us to be in right relationship with God and one another?
3.Of course, the reality for most of us is that we mix those images.
4.In the passage to the Colossians, I think we see this mix. There is both a list of things to do and not do for those early Christians, but also the overarching call to grow into the fullness of Christ, which I think defies the draw a line in the sand mentality.
5.Or, Isaiah's prophecy speaks of the eunuch and the foreigner who are welcomed, the one who was outside the sexual norms and the stranger in the midst, being welcomed by God. But, there is also a reference to their making right sacrifices.
b. McLaren story: a Kenyan graduate student attended the church he served. After a communion service, McLaren found the Kenyan sitting in his seat, with his head in his hands crying. “Are you okay?”
“These are tears of joy.”
“What happened?”
“It is my first time to take communion.”
“but I thought you had been a Christian since you were a child?”
“I have been. But I am the child of the third wife.” He went on to explain that at the time the Anglican Church in Kenya had a policy for polygamous converts to the Christianity. Only the children of the first wife could participate in the Lord's Supper. “Today, when you said that all were welcome to the Table, I realized that here I am not the child of the third wife. I am simply a Christian [child of God], and I am welcome at the Table.” (Brain McLaren, A New Kind of Christianity, 186)
c.It is easy to here that story and see where the black and white approach of the church in another culture misses the gospel that welcomes all people to our Lord's Table.
1.So let's look a little bit closer to home.
2.Consider the issue of pre-marital sex.
3.I am the parent of three girls, two of whom are in high school now.
4.I can easily subscribe to the image of God who says Christians do this and not that.
5.Very black and white. Line in the sand. As least as it relates to the sexuality of my daughters.
6.But, how does that speak to what it means to be made in the image of God that calls us into relationship?
7.In all the conversations and discussions I heard as a kid, or have had with youth groups or others as an adult, parent or minister, let me share with you the most compelling argument I ever heard for not engaging in pre-marital sex.
It was a minister. He was speaking to a group of high schoolers. He was not the hip minister, but the older minister (about my age now!). It was not a God said you should do this or that.
He spoke about how sex was the most intimate moment two people could share. How it was designed as an deep expression of love to be shared between two people.
And he spoke about relationship. How God desired us to have a deep, abiding relationship with another person. A relationship between two humans that God gave us as gift (I am indebted to Dr. John McCoy for having shared this story with the high school youth group).
8.If a study were done with those high schoolers who heard that conversation, would they have a lower rate of engaging in premarital sex? I do not know.
9.But, I think that spoke to the issue in a more meaningful way, in a way that invited the high schoolers to understand their sexuality as a gift from God, and a call to see their sexuality in the context of their calling as people made in the image of God.
e. Divorce rates and infidelity.
1.Again, it is easy to draw a line in the sand.
2.But, missing from that position is the conversation about what it means to be in covenantal relationship.
3.How to live in relationship with one another and how to deal with broken relationships.
4.It is painful to hear divorced people describe how their faith communities failed them and how they left those communities because they did not feel support, or because the faith community drew a line in the sand and included one of the spouses and excluded the other.
5.We have to do better.
f.Internet pornography and cyber bullying.
1. they do not reveal the image of God, but show forth broken relationships.
2. Clearly, those who engage in bullying see the others as outside of their relationship.
3. Think about how pornography violates the relationship between two people.
Conclusion: How we respond to matters of sex does matter.
It speaks to how we view God and how we live out our calling as disciples of Christ.
Friday, October 22, 2010
"Sex That Matters"
The sermon title may be more exciting than the sermon! When we discuss issues related to sex in the Presbyterian church, we generally are discussing the issue of gay and lesbian marriage and the ordination of gays and lesbians. In recent years, we have also spent time discussing the definition of marriage, but again the issue is typically focused on how to deal with same-sex couples. As I envision the issues related to sex that Christians have to deal with in the 21st century, I believe that our focus on gay/lesbian issues keeps us from dealing with issues that impact more of our lives. How are we addressing Internet pornography and its rampant use? How do we speak about pre-marital sex and/or abstinence? What are we to make of divorce rates that are higher among Christians than non-Christians in the United States? As I ponder those issues, I am struck that our first reaction is to set standards and draw lines in the sand. I certainly feel that need when thinking about my daughters dating! Is it possible to re-frame our responses by focusing on right relationship and tying our sexual lives to our lives of discipleship? As I write that, I find myself saying, "Really. Richard do you really think that talking about discipleship will make an impression when faced with sexual desires?" Perhaps not, but how else can we connect our sexual lives with the grace and love of God and our growing into new creations?
Love for you send me the answer by Saturday night!
peace,
Richard
Love for you send me the answer by Saturday night!
peace,
Richard
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
"FB or Image of God?" reflections and text
A person who heard this sermon on Sunday and the one before on Twitter suggested that I like Facebook (FB) and I don't like Twitter. Let me reiterate -- I did not intend to pass judgment on Twitter or FB; they are part of the reality of the world we live in now. The question for Christians is how do we live out our calling as disciples of Christ in the world of Twitter and FB.
They both offer us opportunities for community (in a different way than gathering in person) that make connecting more accessible, in some ways. But, there are also big challenges: primarily, the worldview that sees being connected as optional and of our own choosing and the focus on self. To live as people created by God to be in relationship with others and to identify ourselves as people called by God, flies in the face of the Twitter/FB world that seems to be about what we choose in terms of relationships and ministries. Moses, Jonah and Mary, to name a few, discovered that to be connected to the mysterious demanding God who created us often leads us to do things and to go places we would never have chosen.
Here are my notes from Sunday's sermon.
Introduction: FB is Facebook. Facebook is another of those 21st century technological tools like Twitter.
FB is done on a computer, or at least a device that has computer access.
A person creates an account. You announce to the world who you are:
1.Can post comments.
2. Photos.
3.Quotations from songs or famous people.
4.Biographical information.
5.“What's on your mind?” You are encouraged to post what's on your mind so others can read about you.
You have friends on FB.
1. People who befriend you.
2. They have access to your photos and comments.
3. In fact, when you post something new, your friends are notified so that they can go read about you.
4. You can also chat, that is, have an on-line conversation with Friends who are also on-line.
FB is about image. Photos we might post; quotations from others we list that we use to express who we are; or at least who we want others to think we are.
I have been pondering FB and a theological understanding of being created in the image of God for some time,
A few words about being created in the Image of God –
a. Most underdeveloped theological understanding we have.
b. Shirley Guthrie begins his conversation about being made in the image of God by creating a scenario: you meet a perfect stranger whom you immediately like. IN the conversation, the stranger asks you, “Who are you, really?”
1.What would be on the list?
2. How many of the items on your list are relational? I am a father, or sister
3. How many items are purely intellectual or physical? I have green eyes.
As you review that list, does it become apparent that you understand yourself as being made in the image of God, that at the core of your very being we find that each of us is a child of God?
Move 1: Image of God means to be in relationship.
a. Genesis.
1.Created in the image of God means being made male and female.
2.That implies that to be made in the image of God means we are in relationship.
3.No surprise, I suppose, since we know God as the Trinitarian Father, Son and HS.
4.Uniquely relational.
5. God made male and female. It means that we cannot find our true identity in isolated, individualistic autonomy.
b. FB provides opportunities for relationship.
1.Birthdays
2.Messages between people.
3.Crisis – notes of support get posted.
4.Lots of varied interactions. Two years on FB; more interactions, real and meaningful conversations with college students and members who are living away from Troy in the past two years, than I did in the 15 yrs of ministry combined.
c. Seems to create an atmosphere where community
1.Suggestions about friends.
2.Constantly being updated about your friends.
3.Hard to not connect with what's going on in someone else's lives.
d.FB can also damage relationship
1.IN some ways, it seems to me that people seem freer to express their anger or dissatisfaction when able to post something passively, instead of having to see the look on the person's face.
2.Or, instead of telling one person you are mad at so and so, you recount the story on FB, and now lots of people are reading about the problem.
3.Just as FB can create relationship, it can also easily break it.
Move 2: FB can create a false sense of who we are.
a. To live in the image of God is to give up idolatry of self and idolatry of others and other things.
1.FB invites us into idolatry of self.
2.To focus on ourselves, and our thoughts, and our needs.
3.Being a child of God is not enough – we need to create an appropriate image of ourselves, that may be more about worship of self than truth about self.
b. Dan Migliore, a theology professor at Princeton Theological seminary, notes that “human beings are restless for the fulfillment of life not yet realized.” that we continually search for physical and emotional satisfaction.
1.can FB lead to fulfillment?
2.I think that FB carries with it the false allusion that If you post the perfect photo, or the just right quote, or you express yourself perfectly in a post, you can find fulfillment.
3.AS Christians, however, we would argue that our fulfillment can only come in right relationship with God, living as a child of God, in right relationship with others.
4.Ultimately, FB cannot give us that.
Move 3: Being created in the image of God is not a state, but a movement toward a goal.
a. I Corinthians – we are being transformed.
1. Back to the Guthrie list. He notes that if we are being honest in the list, we will discover is it full of self-contradictions.
2. That who we say we are and who we really are at any given moment do not always fits together.
3. We are not quite who we want to be.
b. IN some ways, FB expresses that well.
1. You can continue to update your image.
2. Everyone is in flux.
c. The challenge, of course, is to connect that changes we are making, the changes we acknowledge in our lives, with the new creation God calls us to be.
1. As we think about being made in the image of God, we have before us the example of Christ, the one who lived perfectly in the image of God.
2. AS followers of Christ, we move toward that image of how he defined what it means to be human.
3. A daunting task we never quite manage, but a task to which we are continually called.
Conclusion: “Who are you really?” Ponder that list. Look and see who you say you are. Look at see if you are living as a FB image of your own creation, or as a child of God.
They both offer us opportunities for community (in a different way than gathering in person) that make connecting more accessible, in some ways. But, there are also big challenges: primarily, the worldview that sees being connected as optional and of our own choosing and the focus on self. To live as people created by God to be in relationship with others and to identify ourselves as people called by God, flies in the face of the Twitter/FB world that seems to be about what we choose in terms of relationships and ministries. Moses, Jonah and Mary, to name a few, discovered that to be connected to the mysterious demanding God who created us often leads us to do things and to go places we would never have chosen.
Here are my notes from Sunday's sermon.
Introduction: FB is Facebook. Facebook is another of those 21st century technological tools like Twitter.
FB is done on a computer, or at least a device that has computer access.
A person creates an account. You announce to the world who you are:
1.Can post comments.
2. Photos.
3.Quotations from songs or famous people.
4.Biographical information.
5.“What's on your mind?” You are encouraged to post what's on your mind so others can read about you.
You have friends on FB.
1. People who befriend you.
2. They have access to your photos and comments.
3. In fact, when you post something new, your friends are notified so that they can go read about you.
4. You can also chat, that is, have an on-line conversation with Friends who are also on-line.
FB is about image. Photos we might post; quotations from others we list that we use to express who we are; or at least who we want others to think we are.
I have been pondering FB and a theological understanding of being created in the image of God for some time,
A few words about being created in the Image of God –
a. Most underdeveloped theological understanding we have.
b. Shirley Guthrie begins his conversation about being made in the image of God by creating a scenario: you meet a perfect stranger whom you immediately like. IN the conversation, the stranger asks you, “Who are you, really?”
1.What would be on the list?
2. How many of the items on your list are relational? I am a father, or sister
3. How many items are purely intellectual or physical? I have green eyes.
As you review that list, does it become apparent that you understand yourself as being made in the image of God, that at the core of your very being we find that each of us is a child of God?
Move 1: Image of God means to be in relationship.
a. Genesis.
1.Created in the image of God means being made male and female.
2.That implies that to be made in the image of God means we are in relationship.
3.No surprise, I suppose, since we know God as the Trinitarian Father, Son and HS.
4.Uniquely relational.
5. God made male and female. It means that we cannot find our true identity in isolated, individualistic autonomy.
b. FB provides opportunities for relationship.
1.Birthdays
2.Messages between people.
3.Crisis – notes of support get posted.
4.Lots of varied interactions. Two years on FB; more interactions, real and meaningful conversations with college students and members who are living away from Troy in the past two years, than I did in the 15 yrs of ministry combined.
c. Seems to create an atmosphere where community
1.Suggestions about friends.
2.Constantly being updated about your friends.
3.Hard to not connect with what's going on in someone else's lives.
d.FB can also damage relationship
1.IN some ways, it seems to me that people seem freer to express their anger or dissatisfaction when able to post something passively, instead of having to see the look on the person's face.
2.Or, instead of telling one person you are mad at so and so, you recount the story on FB, and now lots of people are reading about the problem.
3.Just as FB can create relationship, it can also easily break it.
Move 2: FB can create a false sense of who we are.
a. To live in the image of God is to give up idolatry of self and idolatry of others and other things.
1.FB invites us into idolatry of self.
2.To focus on ourselves, and our thoughts, and our needs.
3.Being a child of God is not enough – we need to create an appropriate image of ourselves, that may be more about worship of self than truth about self.
b. Dan Migliore, a theology professor at Princeton Theological seminary, notes that “human beings are restless for the fulfillment of life not yet realized.” that we continually search for physical and emotional satisfaction.
1.can FB lead to fulfillment?
2.I think that FB carries with it the false allusion that If you post the perfect photo, or the just right quote, or you express yourself perfectly in a post, you can find fulfillment.
3.AS Christians, however, we would argue that our fulfillment can only come in right relationship with God, living as a child of God, in right relationship with others.
4.Ultimately, FB cannot give us that.
Move 3: Being created in the image of God is not a state, but a movement toward a goal.
a. I Corinthians – we are being transformed.
1. Back to the Guthrie list. He notes that if we are being honest in the list, we will discover is it full of self-contradictions.
2. That who we say we are and who we really are at any given moment do not always fits together.
3. We are not quite who we want to be.
b. IN some ways, FB expresses that well.
1. You can continue to update your image.
2. Everyone is in flux.
c. The challenge, of course, is to connect that changes we are making, the changes we acknowledge in our lives, with the new creation God calls us to be.
1. As we think about being made in the image of God, we have before us the example of Christ, the one who lived perfectly in the image of God.
2. AS followers of Christ, we move toward that image of how he defined what it means to be human.
3. A daunting task we never quite manage, but a task to which we are continually called.
Conclusion: “Who are you really?” Ponder that list. Look and see who you say you are. Look at see if you are living as a FB image of your own creation, or as a child of God.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
"FB or Image of God?"
I have been reflecting on how we use Facebook (FB). ON the positive side, I know that FB has allowed me to connect with people that I would not have connected with otherwise. In particular, I have found that FB has allowed me to have conversations with college students and members who do not live in Troy in a way that had not been possible before I joined FB. I certainly have been more aware of prayer concerns and issues from members and friends of the church who do not live in town. Some of them receive the elink, so then they read the prayers concerns in the next week's elink, which connects them with the prayer life of this congregation.
But, I also read FB comments that make me wonder why the person would say that, particularly in a public place. And, I read the status of people, and worry about their state of mind and wonder how they could feel that distanced from love and support.
It has occurred to me that in some ways FB users need to be reminded that we are created in the image of God. That God has laid claim on us and we are works in progress as we move toward that new creation God desires of us that also reveals God's image. How would it change a FB comment about another person if we began our comment with, "So and so is a child of God..." and then completed our thought? Or, how differently might we post a status about ourself if we claimed for ourselves the title "Child of God?" Instead of tearing ourselves apart or falsely proclaiming our greatness, we might temper our thoughts with the recognition that God is working in us. We are not finished, but God is with us.
Do you have some positive or negative experiences of FB you would like to share?
Peace,
Richard
But, I also read FB comments that make me wonder why the person would say that, particularly in a public place. And, I read the status of people, and worry about their state of mind and wonder how they could feel that distanced from love and support.
It has occurred to me that in some ways FB users need to be reminded that we are created in the image of God. That God has laid claim on us and we are works in progress as we move toward that new creation God desires of us that also reveals God's image. How would it change a FB comment about another person if we began our comment with, "So and so is a child of God..." and then completed our thought? Or, how differently might we post a status about ourself if we claimed for ourselves the title "Child of God?" Instead of tearing ourselves apart or falsely proclaiming our greatness, we might temper our thoughts with the recognition that God is working in us. We are not finished, but God is with us.
Do you have some positive or negative experiences of FB you would like to share?
Peace,
Richard
Monday, October 11, 2010
"God Tweeted"
I continue to enjoy preaching on issues that seem pertinent to our lives as Christians in the 21st century. I saw lots of heads nodding yesterday as we reflected on Twitter. I hope the nodding heads were not because people were hearing me say that Twitter or technology is bad. I absolutely do not believe Twitter is bad. But, we need to recognize how the church is called to respond and minister in the world of Twitter.
As I look to the future, I see the church's calling to be a place where people can find both community and a place for theological exploration becoming more essential. In a world where it seems that we get all the choices, we need to hear God's claim on our lives and submit to the sense of calling in which God sends us, rather than we choose. I also want to announce to the world that we believe God is at work and that God's work is a little more complicated than can be described in a Tweet or contained in a bumper sticker slogan.
Here are my sermon notes from yesterday.
Introduction: Confession – I do not Tweet. Most of what I know about Twitter (the name for the process in which people Tweet or follow Tweets) I have read or heard from those who do Tweet. But, I know that it is becoming the rage in the world of instant communication.
The way it works is something like this. There are two sides to Twitter communication. One person creates a Twitter account (anyone can do it with computer access). Then, they can begin posting Tweets. Short, less that 140 characters, comments about whatever they want.
Then, other people sign up to follow someone's Twitter account. They then have access to all the tweets (the short messages) that someone puts out.
Concrete example – Mario has a Twitter account. If I wanted to, and I don't think I do, I could become a follower of Mario's Twitter account, and then I would have access to all the messages that Mario would post.
I also know that Twitter is now a big deal. In the first quarter of 2010, 4 billion tweets were posted.[citation needed] As of June 2010, about 65 million tweets are posted each day, equalling about 750 tweets sent each second, according to Twitter.[24]
Twitter's usage spikes during prominent events. For example, a record was set during the 2010 FIFA World Cup when fans wrote 2,940 tweets per second in the 30 second period after Japan scored against Cameroon on 14 June 2010. The record was broken again when 3,085 tweets a second were posted after the Los Angeles Lakers' victory in the 2010 NBA Finals on 17 June 2010.[25] When American singer Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009, the Twitter server crashed after users were updating their status to include the words "Michael Jackson" at a rate of 100,000 tweets per hour.[26]
over a 2-week period in August 2009 from 11:00a to 5:00p (CST) and separated them into six categories:[39]
Pointless babble — 41%
Conversational — 38%
Pass-along value — 9%
Self-promotion — 6%
Spam — 4%
News — 4%[39] (Information taken from Wikipedia, 10/8/10)
God spoke through a burning bush; God spoke through prophets; God spoke through a donkey.
If God were to create again in today's context, the Genesis story might read: “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, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God Tweeted, "Let there be light"; and there was light. (Genesis 1:1-3 NRSV)
I want to reflect on what it means to be a Christian in a world of Twitter. Not to say Twitter is good or bad, but to think about how we live with Twitter.
Move 1: Tweeting exemplifies the me, me, me approach to life.
a. When a person creates a Twitter account, they being using it to share about himself or herself.
1. What did she eat for breakfast
1.where is he?
2.What is she doing?
3.Basically, when a person tweets, they show something of an obsession about themselves.
b. Likewise, if you sign up to follow someone, you are signing up to hear all about that one person.
1. What do they think about something.
2. What are they doing?
3. Let's say you wanted to know more about Lindsay Lohan – you could sign up to follow her on Twitter, and you could learn all about her life, her struggles and the world as she sees it.
c. Into this context, the church has an obligation to remind people of our connectedness to people and the world beyond ourselves.
1.To notice others, even those we would not choose to follow.
2.From our Christian perspective, community is the place to which God calls you, sometimes not even of our choosing, but a place we find ourselves sent to live out our calling as disciples of Christ.
3.And we are called to notice and minister to people with whom we might not choose to connect.
4.In the world of Twitter – we choose the people we want to follow and we focus on that person.
5.In the world of discipleship, God chooses where we are sent and we focus on those people who need to know the love of Christ.
d. We remember as we read the opening verses of Genesis that when God spoke, God had a purpose.
1. God saw chaos, and spoke to create.
2. God created for the purpose of being in relationship with us and for putting us into relationship with one another.
3.God spoke to create as an expression of God's love.
In a world of Twitter, we need to stand as a reminder that God calls us beyond ourselves into loving relationships..
move 2: Tweeting makes things short and sweet.
a. Limited to 140 characters
1.I read an article recently where someone described how he loves Twitter because it forces him to be creative as he figures out how to express himself in such a limited way.
2.Twitter is sort of like a bumper sticker.
3.In some ways, maybe that is good. Sometimes we make things to complex. I have certainly been in meetings when the conversation goes on and on without resolution. A 140 character limit might be helpful at times.
b. but, God demands more from us than a bumper sticker theology and faith.
1.Hard to describe the mystery and majesty of God in 140 characters.
2.When we face the challenging questions of our faith – where was God on 9/11? or why is my 35 yr old brother dying while my 95 yr. Old great grandmother still lives? Or how a God whose ways often seems hidden, yet a God who still searches us out -- 140 characters will not cut it.
3. Don’t Eat Alone, blog by Milton Brasher-Cunningham, 12/8/09 Shane Claiborne wrote an article for Esquire magazine and said something that connects here, I think: “The more I have read the Bible and studied the life of Jesus, the more I have become convinced that Christianity spreads best not through force but through fascination. But over the past few decades our Christianity, at least here in the United States, has become less and less fascinating. We have given the atheists less and less to disbelieve. And the sort of Christianity many of us have seen on TV and heard on the radio looks less and less like Jesus”
4. I believe as God's people we are compelled to resist the temptation reduce God to a bumper sticker. Instead, we need to invite others to explore and discover God in meaningful ways that cannot be found on a bumper sticker or in 140 characters.
Move 3: Twitter does not encourage engagement.
a. Basically, Twitter is a passive from of communication.
1.One person writes.
2.Another person reads.
3.It might be entertaining – I have heard, for instance, that Chad Ocho Cinco the wide receiver for the Bengals makes really entertaining comments for those who follow his Twitter account – but it does not engage the persons with each other
b. The Biblical story tells of a God who engages us.
1. Prayer may seem at times like one-way communication, but then we have these thoughts, or we focus on hearing from God and we have these insights.
2. Discipleship calls us to engage God – to be in relationship with the one who challenges us, who nurtures us, who sends us.
3. We have this dynamic, relational God to share with the world, which becomes even more important in a world of passive communication like Twitter.
Conclusion: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
Tweeting may be a great tool for communication.
God could tweet if God wanted to.
Instead, God sent the Word to become flesh.
As I look to the future, I see the church's calling to be a place where people can find both community and a place for theological exploration becoming more essential. In a world where it seems that we get all the choices, we need to hear God's claim on our lives and submit to the sense of calling in which God sends us, rather than we choose. I also want to announce to the world that we believe God is at work and that God's work is a little more complicated than can be described in a Tweet or contained in a bumper sticker slogan.
Here are my sermon notes from yesterday.
Introduction: Confession – I do not Tweet. Most of what I know about Twitter (the name for the process in which people Tweet or follow Tweets) I have read or heard from those who do Tweet. But, I know that it is becoming the rage in the world of instant communication.
The way it works is something like this. There are two sides to Twitter communication. One person creates a Twitter account (anyone can do it with computer access). Then, they can begin posting Tweets. Short, less that 140 characters, comments about whatever they want.
Then, other people sign up to follow someone's Twitter account. They then have access to all the tweets (the short messages) that someone puts out.
Concrete example – Mario has a Twitter account. If I wanted to, and I don't think I do, I could become a follower of Mario's Twitter account, and then I would have access to all the messages that Mario would post.
I also know that Twitter is now a big deal. In the first quarter of 2010, 4 billion tweets were posted.[citation needed] As of June 2010, about 65 million tweets are posted each day, equalling about 750 tweets sent each second, according to Twitter.[24]
Twitter's usage spikes during prominent events. For example, a record was set during the 2010 FIFA World Cup when fans wrote 2,940 tweets per second in the 30 second period after Japan scored against Cameroon on 14 June 2010. The record was broken again when 3,085 tweets a second were posted after the Los Angeles Lakers' victory in the 2010 NBA Finals on 17 June 2010.[25] When American singer Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009, the Twitter server crashed after users were updating their status to include the words "Michael Jackson" at a rate of 100,000 tweets per hour.[26]
over a 2-week period in August 2009 from 11:00a to 5:00p (CST) and separated them into six categories:[39]
Pointless babble — 41%
Conversational — 38%
Pass-along value — 9%
Self-promotion — 6%
Spam — 4%
News — 4%[39] (Information taken from Wikipedia, 10/8/10)
God spoke through a burning bush; God spoke through prophets; God spoke through a donkey.
If God were to create again in today's context, the Genesis story might read: “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, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God Tweeted, "Let there be light"; and there was light. (Genesis 1:1-3 NRSV)
I want to reflect on what it means to be a Christian in a world of Twitter. Not to say Twitter is good or bad, but to think about how we live with Twitter.
Move 1: Tweeting exemplifies the me, me, me approach to life.
a. When a person creates a Twitter account, they being using it to share about himself or herself.
1. What did she eat for breakfast
1.where is he?
2.What is she doing?
3.Basically, when a person tweets, they show something of an obsession about themselves.
b. Likewise, if you sign up to follow someone, you are signing up to hear all about that one person.
1. What do they think about something.
2. What are they doing?
3. Let's say you wanted to know more about Lindsay Lohan – you could sign up to follow her on Twitter, and you could learn all about her life, her struggles and the world as she sees it.
c. Into this context, the church has an obligation to remind people of our connectedness to people and the world beyond ourselves.
1.To notice others, even those we would not choose to follow.
2.From our Christian perspective, community is the place to which God calls you, sometimes not even of our choosing, but a place we find ourselves sent to live out our calling as disciples of Christ.
3.And we are called to notice and minister to people with whom we might not choose to connect.
4.In the world of Twitter – we choose the people we want to follow and we focus on that person.
5.In the world of discipleship, God chooses where we are sent and we focus on those people who need to know the love of Christ.
d. We remember as we read the opening verses of Genesis that when God spoke, God had a purpose.
1. God saw chaos, and spoke to create.
2. God created for the purpose of being in relationship with us and for putting us into relationship with one another.
3.God spoke to create as an expression of God's love.
In a world of Twitter, we need to stand as a reminder that God calls us beyond ourselves into loving relationships..
move 2: Tweeting makes things short and sweet.
a. Limited to 140 characters
1.I read an article recently where someone described how he loves Twitter because it forces him to be creative as he figures out how to express himself in such a limited way.
2.Twitter is sort of like a bumper sticker.
3.In some ways, maybe that is good. Sometimes we make things to complex. I have certainly been in meetings when the conversation goes on and on without resolution. A 140 character limit might be helpful at times.
b. but, God demands more from us than a bumper sticker theology and faith.
1.Hard to describe the mystery and majesty of God in 140 characters.
2.When we face the challenging questions of our faith – where was God on 9/11? or why is my 35 yr old brother dying while my 95 yr. Old great grandmother still lives? Or how a God whose ways often seems hidden, yet a God who still searches us out -- 140 characters will not cut it.
3. Don’t Eat Alone, blog by Milton Brasher-Cunningham, 12/8/09 Shane Claiborne wrote an article for Esquire magazine and said something that connects here, I think: “The more I have read the Bible and studied the life of Jesus, the more I have become convinced that Christianity spreads best not through force but through fascination. But over the past few decades our Christianity, at least here in the United States, has become less and less fascinating. We have given the atheists less and less to disbelieve. And the sort of Christianity many of us have seen on TV and heard on the radio looks less and less like Jesus”
4. I believe as God's people we are compelled to resist the temptation reduce God to a bumper sticker. Instead, we need to invite others to explore and discover God in meaningful ways that cannot be found on a bumper sticker or in 140 characters.
Move 3: Twitter does not encourage engagement.
a. Basically, Twitter is a passive from of communication.
1.One person writes.
2.Another person reads.
3.It might be entertaining – I have heard, for instance, that Chad Ocho Cinco the wide receiver for the Bengals makes really entertaining comments for those who follow his Twitter account – but it does not engage the persons with each other
b. The Biblical story tells of a God who engages us.
1. Prayer may seem at times like one-way communication, but then we have these thoughts, or we focus on hearing from God and we have these insights.
2. Discipleship calls us to engage God – to be in relationship with the one who challenges us, who nurtures us, who sends us.
3. We have this dynamic, relational God to share with the world, which becomes even more important in a world of passive communication like Twitter.
Conclusion: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
Tweeting may be a great tool for communication.
God could tweet if God wanted to.
Instead, God sent the Word to become flesh.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
God Tweeted
This week I am playing with the way we talk to each other and how God spoke. What can we learn about God from Tweeting, or how should our tweeting be informed by God? What does it mean to speak of Jesus as the Word incarnate when we now live a world that allows us to rapidly spew words across the world, but also encourages brief conversations?
Friday, October 1, 2010
It's a Small World
The background for this Sunday's sermon is easy to state -- the world seems smaller with the communications and technology available. Imagine how Skype and its ability to allow us to talk and see people around the world shrinks the world. I do not think anyone would disagree with that premise.
But, what are the implications of this this shrinking world for Christians? Are we more connected now with our brothers and sisters in Christ? Does knowledge or ease of access equate to being in relationship with others?
How has your faith life been impacted by the shrinking world?
Peace,
Richard
But, what are the implications of this this shrinking world for Christians? Are we more connected now with our brothers and sisters in Christ? Does knowledge or ease of access equate to being in relationship with others?
How has your faith life been impacted by the shrinking world?
Peace,
Richard
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
"Resident Aliens"
This sermon generated as much positive feedback as any sermon I have preached in Troy. Not sure if it means the topic was timely, or if the use of several stories means people really like stories.
It was a sermon I enjoyed preaching because the topic seems critical to me at this juncture in the world (and I suppose, my life). Perhaps a strength of the sermon (and storytelling) is that it lets the listener find her or his own meaning, as opposed to sermons that are less open-ended. But, of course, for some the open-ended sermons are weaker, because they do not share a specific response the listener should do or feel.
Here is the text of the sermon (or at least the notes):
“Resident or Aliens” Sept. 26, 2010; 21st Century Christians series
Move 1: By calling ourselves Christians, we lay claim to being followers of Christ.
We know that Christ came and became human – not merely pretending to be human, or wearing the mask of humanity, but living as one of us.
Now, here is the question for the day – does the incarnation mean that Christ is immersed in the world, taking on our values and living like we do, a resident of the world, if you will; or, did Christ come and like among us for the purpose of show how differently he lived than the rest of humanity and how we are called to join him in that separateness, to live as aliens in the world, if you will?
We are not the first of God's people to ask this question.
a. When we read about the Israelites,w e see that they seemed to go back and forth on this issue.
1.At times, they accentuated their separateness. They were different than others, so they literally separated themselves from the rest of the world.
2.At other times, they seemed immersed in the world During David's time and Solomon's time for instance, Israel lived as another world power with the exception being their worship of God. But the distinctiveness of lifestyle was lost.
b. Early church
1.We see how they seemed to separate themselves to live in community with other Christians.
2.But, we also read their letters and hear the debate about dietary restrictions. That's what's at stake in those arguments – should they be like everyone else, or should they be distinctive.
c. This may have always been a question of Christians, but this question takes on greater meaning in the 21st century, particularly for we who live in places where Christianity has historically been accepted.
1.IN fact, in the Western world, not only has Christianity been tolerated, but it has been a dominant part of our societies since the time Constantine ruled the Roman Empire in the 4th century.
2. Now, we no longer operate with the basic assumption that everyone is Christian and we no longer live in a world that default into accommodating Christians.
3.Think about non-profit status with the government – no longer the purview of just churches or even Christian groups.
d. so the question becomes for us: Do we understand our calling as a disciple of Christ is to blend in with the world around us – at school, at work, in the neighborhood – never really mention you are a Christian, but live your life, to be a resident, if you will?
or do you see ourselves as living our discipleship by separating ourselves from the world and modeling for the world what it means to be a distinctly Christian?
Move 2: Some stories for you to ponder.
a. Trinity University – Sundays; cafeteria; Christians separated themselves; they were different; they prided themselves on their differences. Resident – living as any other college student or alien – living in a separate world.
b. Chaplain in a prison –a colleague served as a chaplain in a prison during seminary; as he prepared for the first worship service, he was going to do the Call to Worship and opening prayer.
Sunday afternoon; prisoners arrive; he looks at them as isn't sure if they are Christians who want to worship or prisoners who like the freedom of being out of their cell in in the worship space.
The hour arrives for worship to begin; prisoners loud and paying him no attention; he tentatively pounds on the makeshift pulpit to get their attention; not ones stops talking; he beings the call to worship once or twice, but no one is listening. He helplessly looks at the the chaplain supervisor, who kind of shakes his head.
The chaplain supervisor then comes to the pulpit and shouts out above the din “Shut the expletive up” "Let us expletive, worship God."
Resident – immersed in the culture and language of prison; or alien – leading worship and speaking of God
c.Priest: (Excerpted from an article in the Boston Globe,
1/18/2002)
For priest, blackjack was means to an end
By Tom Long, Globe Staff, 1/18/2002
The Rev. Joseph R. Fahey was an ace fund-raiser.
As president of Boston College High School, he boosted
the school's endowment by 500 percent and financed an
athletic center, library, and computer laboratory. He
also donated tens of thousands of dollars to the
Society of Jesus.
His means were not always sacred.
''Many Jesuit missions owe a great debt to him and his
abilities at the card table,'' said John Dunn, who
worked for Father Fahey at BC High.
Rev. Fahey, 65, who died Wednesday at
Deaconess-Waltham Hospital, apparently of a heart
attack, was a card counter.
Dressed in his one blue suit, Father Fahey played
blackjack tables from Atlantic City to Las Vegas -
''all for the greater glory of God,'' as he once said
- until the casinos blacklisted him.
A ''mathematical genius,'' Rev. Fahey donated all his
winnings to the Society of Jesus to uphold his vow of
poverty, said Dunn, director of development and public relations at BC High.
Resident – immersed in the culture of gambling and Vegas, or alien – taking a vow of poverty and living a life of financial stewardship?
d.Baptist pastor in Southern town during 1960s. It had been declared that the school would integrate. White community leaders gathered to discuss how to fight the decree or work around it. Angry, loud words spoken. Baptist minister who had served in the community 20+ years sat and listened. Then, he stood and asked to speak. He said, “I'm embarrassed and ashamed. If you have heard me preach and teach the gospel for 20+ years and this is what you are now saying about integration, I am ashamed and embarrassed to be your minister.” He walks out. Soon, others follow. The schools integrated the next week as they were supposed to do.
Resident – immersed in the life and ministry of the community; Alien – able to proclaim the distinctive gospel in a time of crisis. (Resident Aliens, Hauerwas and Willimon)
Move 3: 21st century
a. Being a Christian will not matter, relative to being a Muslim or Jew or spiritual but not religious person or atheist, if being a Christian comes down to a series of propositions or beliefs.
1.Most people won't care.
2.Or they won't be able or willing to make the distinctions between what one group believes over against what another group believes.
b. Being a Christian will matter, it will be of ultimate importance, when we live as transformed people of hope who offer others that transforming power and how we have discovered in Christ.
1.The question will not be, “What do I believe as a Christian,” but “what does it matter.”
2.And the answer will be lived out in our lives.
3. As we live as residents of this world, who also recognize that our distinctiveness as Christians comes from the power of Christ to transform and bring hope.
Conclusion: Soccer referee; no one knows, and probably no one cares; in fact, part of the appeal for me, I suppose, is that when some coach or parent is yelling at me, they may call me lots of names, but Reverend isn't one of them.
Over time, some of the people I work with come to know I'm a minister. I even overheard a parent one time trying to convince an angry parent that I wouldn't be cheating them because I was a Presbyterian minister (I don't think the person found that argument convincing).
One of the referees often kids me about being a minister – he invariably begins our conversations with 'Praise the Lord.” We've never talked about his religious beliefs, but I'm pretty sure he does not actively practice whatever faith he might have.
Recently, he was talking to me and he said, “I need to tell you something.” Thus began a conversation about his wife, who was going to have to have triple by-pass surgery. As he spoke, I was wondering, why is he telling me this? As he finished telling me about her surgery and so on, I asked him, “do you want me to pray for your wife and add her to our prayer list at church?”
a long pause. Not sure what to make of it. Then, he said, “Sure, that would be great.”
I don't know if his response was the easy way out for him at an awkward moment in the conversation, or if he could feel what it meant to have others people commit to praying for his wife and seeking God's healing power.
Still trying to figure that one out.
Christians in the 21st century: residents, immersed in the world around us – yes.
Aliens – offering that distinctiveness that knows the transforming power of Christ and the hope Christ offer – yes.
It was a sermon I enjoyed preaching because the topic seems critical to me at this juncture in the world (and I suppose, my life). Perhaps a strength of the sermon (and storytelling) is that it lets the listener find her or his own meaning, as opposed to sermons that are less open-ended. But, of course, for some the open-ended sermons are weaker, because they do not share a specific response the listener should do or feel.
Here is the text of the sermon (or at least the notes):
“Resident or Aliens” Sept. 26, 2010; 21st Century Christians series
Move 1: By calling ourselves Christians, we lay claim to being followers of Christ.
We know that Christ came and became human – not merely pretending to be human, or wearing the mask of humanity, but living as one of us.
Now, here is the question for the day – does the incarnation mean that Christ is immersed in the world, taking on our values and living like we do, a resident of the world, if you will; or, did Christ come and like among us for the purpose of show how differently he lived than the rest of humanity and how we are called to join him in that separateness, to live as aliens in the world, if you will?
We are not the first of God's people to ask this question.
a. When we read about the Israelites,w e see that they seemed to go back and forth on this issue.
1.At times, they accentuated their separateness. They were different than others, so they literally separated themselves from the rest of the world.
2.At other times, they seemed immersed in the world During David's time and Solomon's time for instance, Israel lived as another world power with the exception being their worship of God. But the distinctiveness of lifestyle was lost.
b. Early church
1.We see how they seemed to separate themselves to live in community with other Christians.
2.But, we also read their letters and hear the debate about dietary restrictions. That's what's at stake in those arguments – should they be like everyone else, or should they be distinctive.
c. This may have always been a question of Christians, but this question takes on greater meaning in the 21st century, particularly for we who live in places where Christianity has historically been accepted.
1.IN fact, in the Western world, not only has Christianity been tolerated, but it has been a dominant part of our societies since the time Constantine ruled the Roman Empire in the 4th century.
2. Now, we no longer operate with the basic assumption that everyone is Christian and we no longer live in a world that default into accommodating Christians.
3.Think about non-profit status with the government – no longer the purview of just churches or even Christian groups.
d. so the question becomes for us: Do we understand our calling as a disciple of Christ is to blend in with the world around us – at school, at work, in the neighborhood – never really mention you are a Christian, but live your life, to be a resident, if you will?
or do you see ourselves as living our discipleship by separating ourselves from the world and modeling for the world what it means to be a distinctly Christian?
Move 2: Some stories for you to ponder.
a. Trinity University – Sundays; cafeteria; Christians separated themselves; they were different; they prided themselves on their differences. Resident – living as any other college student or alien – living in a separate world.
b. Chaplain in a prison –a colleague served as a chaplain in a prison during seminary; as he prepared for the first worship service, he was going to do the Call to Worship and opening prayer.
Sunday afternoon; prisoners arrive; he looks at them as isn't sure if they are Christians who want to worship or prisoners who like the freedom of being out of their cell in in the worship space.
The hour arrives for worship to begin; prisoners loud and paying him no attention; he tentatively pounds on the makeshift pulpit to get their attention; not ones stops talking; he beings the call to worship once or twice, but no one is listening. He helplessly looks at the the chaplain supervisor, who kind of shakes his head.
The chaplain supervisor then comes to the pulpit and shouts out above the din “Shut the expletive up” "Let us expletive, worship God."
Resident – immersed in the culture and language of prison; or alien – leading worship and speaking of God
c.Priest: (Excerpted from an article in the Boston Globe,
1/18/2002)
For priest, blackjack was means to an end
By Tom Long, Globe Staff, 1/18/2002
The Rev. Joseph R. Fahey was an ace fund-raiser.
As president of Boston College High School, he boosted
the school's endowment by 500 percent and financed an
athletic center, library, and computer laboratory. He
also donated tens of thousands of dollars to the
Society of Jesus.
His means were not always sacred.
''Many Jesuit missions owe a great debt to him and his
abilities at the card table,'' said John Dunn, who
worked for Father Fahey at BC High.
Rev. Fahey, 65, who died Wednesday at
Deaconess-Waltham Hospital, apparently of a heart
attack, was a card counter.
Dressed in his one blue suit, Father Fahey played
blackjack tables from Atlantic City to Las Vegas -
''all for the greater glory of God,'' as he once said
- until the casinos blacklisted him.
A ''mathematical genius,'' Rev. Fahey donated all his
winnings to the Society of Jesus to uphold his vow of
poverty, said Dunn, director of development and public relations at BC High.
Resident – immersed in the culture of gambling and Vegas, or alien – taking a vow of poverty and living a life of financial stewardship?
d.Baptist pastor in Southern town during 1960s. It had been declared that the school would integrate. White community leaders gathered to discuss how to fight the decree or work around it. Angry, loud words spoken. Baptist minister who had served in the community 20+ years sat and listened. Then, he stood and asked to speak. He said, “I'm embarrassed and ashamed. If you have heard me preach and teach the gospel for 20+ years and this is what you are now saying about integration, I am ashamed and embarrassed to be your minister.” He walks out. Soon, others follow. The schools integrated the next week as they were supposed to do.
Resident – immersed in the life and ministry of the community; Alien – able to proclaim the distinctive gospel in a time of crisis. (Resident Aliens, Hauerwas and Willimon)
Move 3: 21st century
a. Being a Christian will not matter, relative to being a Muslim or Jew or spiritual but not religious person or atheist, if being a Christian comes down to a series of propositions or beliefs.
1.Most people won't care.
2.Or they won't be able or willing to make the distinctions between what one group believes over against what another group believes.
b. Being a Christian will matter, it will be of ultimate importance, when we live as transformed people of hope who offer others that transforming power and how we have discovered in Christ.
1.The question will not be, “What do I believe as a Christian,” but “what does it matter.”
2.And the answer will be lived out in our lives.
3. As we live as residents of this world, who also recognize that our distinctiveness as Christians comes from the power of Christ to transform and bring hope.
Conclusion: Soccer referee; no one knows, and probably no one cares; in fact, part of the appeal for me, I suppose, is that when some coach or parent is yelling at me, they may call me lots of names, but Reverend isn't one of them.
Over time, some of the people I work with come to know I'm a minister. I even overheard a parent one time trying to convince an angry parent that I wouldn't be cheating them because I was a Presbyterian minister (I don't think the person found that argument convincing).
One of the referees often kids me about being a minister – he invariably begins our conversations with 'Praise the Lord.” We've never talked about his religious beliefs, but I'm pretty sure he does not actively practice whatever faith he might have.
Recently, he was talking to me and he said, “I need to tell you something.” Thus began a conversation about his wife, who was going to have to have triple by-pass surgery. As he spoke, I was wondering, why is he telling me this? As he finished telling me about her surgery and so on, I asked him, “do you want me to pray for your wife and add her to our prayer list at church?”
a long pause. Not sure what to make of it. Then, he said, “Sure, that would be great.”
I don't know if his response was the easy way out for him at an awkward moment in the conversation, or if he could feel what it meant to have others people commit to praying for his wife and seeking God's healing power.
Still trying to figure that one out.
Christians in the 21st century: residents, immersed in the world around us – yes.
Aliens – offering that distinctiveness that knows the transforming power of Christ and the hope Christ offer – yes.
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