It is Friday afternoon and I’m waiting for the snow.  It’s been a pretty mild winter so far, but a storm is on the way – and snowfall expectations are around a foot, combined with high winds.  The snow blower has been repaired and is gassed up; we have a new shovel and new sleds.   Oh and we have milk, bread and eggs just in case we decide to have French toast!

Snow in our neighborhood is great.  The kids and parents get together to sled, and then usually meet up at someone’s house for hot chocolate (and something else for the dads!).  It’s always a lot of fun – even with the shoveling.

But this time it feels different.  I’m just waiting.  The storm is expected to start later tonight, and snow through Saturday into Sunday.  We’ve already cancelled Sunday school, and will delay until as late as possible to decide on worship.  But for now we wait.

This is not the same waiting as waiting for Christmas, or for a loved one to come home, or even for the Novocain to work before the dentist starts drilling.  This wait seems a bit eerie, a bit strange, a bit foreboding – and I don’t know why.  It might be that the forecast keeps changing (potential accumulation is already higher than when I started writing this).  It might be due to the possibility of high winds, wet snow and power outages, and it might just be the long wait itself.  It seems like we’ve been talking about and waiting for this storm for quite some time.

It will start soon (or later, depending on the storm), and tomorrow I’ll be shoveling.  But for now I wait.  And wait.

If you are waiting too, go ahead make some hot chocolate.  Make some French toast.  Huddle up together with a movie, a blanket and your loved ones.  And wait.

I have been mulling this question over and over a lot lately.  You see, I pastor a typical mainline denomination church, which means we are an aging congregation.  And we need young families.

But the question is:  Do we need young families to continue the institution, or do we want young families because we offer something different than the rest of the world – something that meets needs in their lives?

Any institution needs new “customers”.  Think about it.  Go to your local mall and look at the stores that exist, and the ones that are no longer there.  Many companies go out of business each year.  And they go out of business because they did not get new customers.

On a recent shopping trip, my family went into one of the old retail “giants”, a name at one time synonymous with American retail strength (especially in the catalog days).  But this company is going to close in the next few years.  New customers are not shopping there.  Where is the fault?  The bad young families who refuse to shop there? Or is it the retail establishment that does not change to reflect the needs of the young families?

During our shopping trip, we were met with terrible customer service.  Absolutely terrible.  We purchased two dresses for our daughter and the clerk was going to shove them into a small bag – she apparently did not know about garment bags.  We wanted to use our “loyalty points” but she ignored that, finally telling us it was our fault.  We left quite disgruntled.

Upon going into another retail store, we found similar dresses for a lower price and purchased them.  The clerk greeted us warmly, immediately hung the dresses in a garment bag and checked the remaining value on a gift card.

I returned the first dresses to the store, told the supervisor and left.

So – how does this relate to church?  I now wonder how many times we give our visitors the same bad customer service.  I wonder how many times we expect young families to act like the families of 1952, when society was different.  I wonder how many times our visiting young families feel like my family did when we left S***s.  How many will just not return?

For those who follow sports, when your team wins you feel good.  But truthfully whether the Eagles win the Super Bowl (yeah, right) or not, my life is the same.  A sporting event, while entertaining, is not life changing.  The church, however, is.  The church brings the good news of Jesus Christ – news that we are loved, forgiven, at one with God.  And that is important.  The church needs to remember that God loves all people and wants all people to turn to Him.  And that is life changing.  The church offers changed lives – or we should.  The church must be different than all the “choices” out there.

The church can assist families with raising our children in the faith, with living the “sandwich generation” (caring for children and aging parents), with the pressures of two income households, with the pressures of schedules, and everything else.  We need to focus on creative ways to bring us all closer to Christ without creating “one more thing” on the schedule.

And so, young families forgive me when I’ve been the “bad retail clerk”.  And help me.  Tell me – how can we work together to make the church a better place for young families?

Think about how many words you hear in any given day. From the moment you wake up until the moment you fall asleep, how many words do you hear?  10,000?  12,000?  15,000?  When you stop for a moment and think about all sources of spoken word – other people, television, radio and other forms of media, the estimate gets higher and higher.  And we all know that not every word we hear is a good one.  We hear a lot of negative words every day.  And we hear a lot of words that go against our values as Christians.  Words filled with hate, rage, retribution and evil are a part of the everyday lexicon.  And for that reason, it is important to start and finish our days with positive words – words that reinforce love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians’ 5:22-23).

I was reading an article about Mr. Rogers, you know, the “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood” Mr. Rogers.   Mr. Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister and his flock was the youth of America who watched his show.

Before entering that office each day, Rogers would pray, “Dear God, let some word that is heard be yours.” (Jonathan Merritt http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/11/mister-rogers-saint/416838/).  Think about that prayer for a moment. What do you think would happen if:

1. We added that prayer to our morning prayer time?
2. We actually opened our ears to listen for God’s word?

My guess is that we would hear from God.  We might hear from God through the people we encounter, and we might hear directly from God’s mouth.  We might actually be astonished to hear what God says to us – and if we listen to Him, we might just make it a beautiful day in the neighborhood after all.

Dear God, let some word that is heard be yours.  Amen.

It is that time of year again.  We enter into the “Holiday Season” when retail establishments and local government offices get in trouble for saying “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.”

And, of course, we see on many cars the little manger magnet that says “Keep Christ in Christmas.”  And somehow we’ve managed to merge the two thoughts together, as if the only way to keep Christ in Christmas is by retail establishments saying “Merry Christmas.”  How simple.

But that is not the answer – how can we expect a business – a corporate entity – a NON-HUMAN to keep Christ in Christmas?  It is not a retailer’s job to do this – rather a retailer’s job is to sell products and services at a profit.  That is it.  And if a retailer wants to identify itself as a “Christian business” fine – but why do Christians expect businesses to do our ministry (spreading the love of God through Jesus)?  Why do we want the Mega-Box Retailer, Inc. to keep Jesus in our hearts?  Isn’t that what we are called to do?

So I have a solution.  If we want to keep Christ in our Christmases, we need to observe the season of Advent – those four weeks before Christmas – both in our churches and in our homes.

The church does a good job of observing Advent.  We change the liturgy and music to match the season, we preach heavily from both Old and New Testament passages regarding both the first coming and the second coming of Christ.  We light the Advent wreath each Sunday, adding a candle to remember the Hope, Peace, Joy and Love of the season.  At least we try.

But then as people head home – and enter into the rhythm of Monday through Saturday, how are WE keeping Christ in Christmas?  Are we observing Advent or are we feeding into the retailer’s dreams of a “green Chri$tma$?”

This Advent prepare yourselves.  Prepare yourselves to celebrate the first coming of Christ – the birth of Jesus.  Celebrate the joy of the Resurrection and its great promise of hope.  Live your lives in the peace and love of Jesus, and be prepared for the second coming – when all things shall be renewed by God.  Keep your own Advent wreath – light a candle for each week, read the readings, make it a special family devotion.  You might be amazed at how it affects all of you.

Advent is your time and your way to keep Christ in Christmas.  Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord.

Over the past few months, I’ve tried to highlight the plight of Syrian refugees.  I tried to inform the congregation, I’ve prayed for the situation, asked others to offer their opinion on how we can help, and held a special offering.

And I’ve dealt with some of the suspicions:  “Why should we help them when we have needs in this country?”  “Who are these people and why do they want to enter the U.S.?”  “What if ISIS terrorists are hiding among them?”  I’ve tried to answer all of these questions as intelligently as possible.

Then the Paris attacks happened.  And with it a lot more suspicion that the refugees are in reality, ISIS members trying to infiltrate Europe and the United States.  Some states have decided against hosting refugee families, others are considering it.

Now the truth is we never know who is a terrorist – no matter what their religion or nationality.  We can look at attacks in the United States perpetrated by people of all different beliefs.  We can point to white supremacist groups, religious fanatics of all “flavors”, the Boston Marathon bombing, the Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting, the Nickel Mines Amish shooting and many others.  Terrorists, fundamentalists and extremists know no boundaries.

But because of 9-11 and radical Islam, this country is much divided over the subject of the Syrian refugees.  Many do not want to help these people who are in dire need.

Then I read some comments from a colleague, Rev. Daniel Smoak (a pastor in South Carolina) who said:

Christian friends: If your church were to work together to sponsor a family of Syrian refugees and one of them turned out to be a terrorist, would he/she be emboldened in their convictions after living with you for a year, or is it possible that Jesus’ love in your church is stronger than hate? Don’t underestimate ISIS? Ha. Don’t underestimate Jesus.

This got me thinking.  If we truly believe in the love of Jesus, and we truly show that love, wouldn’t we overcome more than ISIS?  Think about it.  If we were to actually live like Jesus, loving one another, caring for one another, being more concerned about connecting people to God than judging them, wouldn’t things change for the better – in Syria, in Philadelphia, in Detroit, in any place in the world?

Or am I wrong?

If so, our faith is empty and our God is impotent.  I am reminded what Paul said in First Corinthians:

But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not  even Christ has been raised.  And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.  More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise    him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.  Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.  If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Don’t underestimate Jesus.  Ever.

Recently I have been convicted of something.  I’ve been hearing the stories of the Syrian refugees and have heard God saying to me “Do Something!”  Now this crisis has been going on for a long time, but I paid no attention to it.  And granted, there are thousands of crises out there that I’ve paid no attention to.  And, Lord knows, I have enough crises to deal with.  I’m a solo pastor of a small, aging church.  I took some vacation time and the church totally respected that.  For the first summer in two years I was able to take some time off without having to cut it short, or be “on call”.  My congregation knew I needed some time away (and a huge “thank you” to them).  And as I returned, there were plenty of crisis moments – multiple surgeries, hospitalizations and the like.

But there is nothing like the Syrian refugee crisis.  And for some reason, this was the time that God opened my ears, eyes and heart.  I am convicted that we must act and must act now.  And our actions cannot just be “here is a check.” We, as a congregation, must get involved.

I’ve asked our congregation to consider how to respond.  And on Sunday, I will do something I’ve never done before – devote the sermon to this issue.  I have charged them before, but not on this level.  I am asking the congregation to join me on this.  To do something for God’s children in a way we have not done before (at least during my time here).

On one hand I think I am risking myself.  What if I “rub someone the wrong way”?  What if I “tick off” someone?  But on the other hand I think about what it must be like to be forced from your home.  And as a church leader, my role is to push us into action.  The church must respond to this crisis.  This is not about liberal versus conservative agendas.  This is not about the latest issue within the church.  This is about life.  The lives of so many people who have no place to live, no place to work, no place to worship because they have been forced out of their homes.  And this is about God.  What does God say regarding refugees?  What does God say about people?  We say “God is love.”  Well it is time to prove it.  It is time to “put up or shut up.”  It is time for action.

Brothers and sisters, please pray for me.  Pray that I deliver the sermon that has been bubbling inside of me.  Pray that our local congregation can do something to help someone in this crisis.  Pray that I am brave enough to follow through with this.  But most important, please pray for those refugees.  Pray for the people truly suffering.  Pray for a response.

As my congregation is well aware, one of the questions I always ask is “what gifts to you bring?”  I was having a conversation about the church in general with a family friend when I asked her that question.  She jokingly replied “I bring dessert.”

Then I told her this story:

We were at a neighborhood picnic for Memorial Day when someone mentioned that I make a good pumpkin crème brulee.  The neighbors asked “where is it?”  I said I would make them some.  Along comes July 4^th, and they are asking again “where is it?”  Two weeks later we had a picnic and again, “where is the pumpkin crème brulee?”

So, while on vacation I made it and started to deliver it.  Most of the neighbors were surprised, not thinking I would ever make it.  But then one neighbor told me his story – his niece was just diagnosed with a serious condition that would take her life at an early age.  With all my seminary training and pastoral work, I stood there and said “I’ve got nothing.”  And he said, “no, you brought this, something nice for us.”  What began as a joke between our neighbors became a source of comfort for someone hurting.

God will use our gifts – whatever they may be.  We just have to be open to using them ourselves.

Peace,

Bill

Oh – and one more thing.  Please pray for the little girl – God will know who I mean.  Thanks.

We were sitting poolside having some ice cream when one of the party said “I’ve always wanted to ask God one question.” We, of course, asked what that question was.

“Does everything happen for a reason?”

Out of the mouth of a 10 year old came one of the most asked questions of all time. Does everything happen for a reason? You’ve probably heard it hundreds of times; “everything has a reason.” You may have even said it. It is one of those non-scriptural phrases that we treat like Holy Scripture. “Well, remember, everything happens for a reason.”
So the question was out there – and answering it can take many forms: Philosophical, theological or dogmatic. Then there is the pastoral answer, one formed of the other three – using our theology and philosophy to explain dogmatic concepts – explaining the nature of God, in a way that informs and builds up a person.
And the nature of God is truly at the heart of the question “Does everything happen for a reason?” Who is God? What is God like? We say a lot about God when we answer that question:
If everything has a reason says that God either made it happen (fatalism) – everything (good or evil) that happens is because God willed it so – God becomes the author of evil. Or there is the approach that God did not will it to happen, but allowed it to happen (as in “great, I will let Bill do that sinful thing BECAUSE it serves my purpose”). Either one doesn’t say much about a God of love does it?
But if we say things just happen, we start to chip away at God’s omnipotence. Is God really all-powerful? Can’t God prevent these things from happening, and why not?
But all of these answers take away that pesky little thing God gave us – free will. We have the choice of doing good or evil. We have the choice of preventing evil from happening. We have the choice – given by God. And yes it causes problems, because we often make the wrong choice, especially when we choose not to follow God. But even in this, God can do good.
Look at the Genesis story of Joseph and his brothers. Genesis 50:20 says “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” When the brothers tossed Joseph into the pit, they were doing evil – they intended harm. God “allowed” this (he gave the brothers free will to make their choices), and used it for good – God can make good out of all bad. God can and will do good things, even when we make the wrong choices. God didn’t say “great, the boys are working according to my plan” rather God took what was bad and produced good – the rescue of God’s people.
God “cannot” prevent us from doing evil – because God gave us the choice to follow or not to follow. And that choice is precious – we would do well to use it wisely. But when we falter, we know we can turn back to God – and God might just do something incredible.

Authenticity is the latest “buzzword” among the church. People are seeking authentic leaders, authentic relationships, and authentic believers. But it is not like there is an “authenticity meter” we can apply to anyone. Yes some people put on their Sunday best for church, and their Monday worst right after the service, but for the most part, we strive to follow Jesus the best we can in a fallen and sinful world. And the best way to do this is to be ourselves while allowing the Spirit to transform our minds into the likeness of Christ.
Memorial Day was a great opportunity for our congregation. The local Memorial Day parade goes right past the church building, and stops for a brief ceremony at the cemetery. We set up a table with information on the church, and gave away bottles of water and lollipops. As people were lining up for the parade, we handed out information on Vacation Bible School and the upcoming Strawberry Festival. No hype or pressure, just a couple of us talking with the community, telling them about some upcoming events.
Now here is the great part. Our neighbors brought their kids to the parade – and they got to see me in “Pastor Bill Mode”. They saw me interact with the community and with church members. And guess what? They saw the same guy who stands in the pulpit every Sunday preaching God’s word. The same guy who leads a tribe of children during VBS shouting chants like a drill sergeant (although much more fun). The same guy who talks about super hero movies, loves model trains, and shares his faith in a simple, authentic manner. The same guy who, a couple of hours later, sat around the picnic table with them, sharing a beverage and a discussion about religion in the United States.
So can I declare myself “authentic”? Or is that an unauthentic thing to do? I have no clue. What I do know is this. I am a sinner in need of a savior. I am a decent guy who tries hard to follow God’s path. I love Jesus. And all of this is true whether I’m in the pulpit, the community, or my backyard.

Peace,

Bill

I was doing some reading when I came across this statement:

A great Orthodox theologian once said that we do not believe in a God who will show us how all of the pieces of the puzzle fit together in the end. We believe in a God who will wipe away every tear from every eye.

Now I am not sure who the theologian was, nor the site where I found that quote. But it speaks to me. So often in the course of ministry we get asked the question “why?” We get asked “if God is good, why do bad things happen?” And we try to answer, often using Systematic Theology, which is a wonderful tool, but doesn’t really address the immediate need. Or we resort to the pithy statements that people make to comfort someone…statements like
“On this side of eternity we only see the hanging threads and knots, but on the other side we will see the great tapestry God is weaving.” And even though I’m sure I’ve said some version of this, I pretty much cannot stand it.

When someone is hurting and saying “why do bad things happen?” they are really asking “what is going on?” “Where is God in all of this?” And we actually have answers, some of which a hurting person is not ready to hear. But one thing they are always ready to hear is this. God loves you and wants to comfort you. A human may have hurt you; the fallen, sinful world might have hurt you. You might have hurt yourself. But God is. And God loves you. And God will wipe away every tear. That is one of His promises.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:3-4