The plan for the day was simple.  Get the mail, go to the church office, do some administrative work, make a visit, go to a meeting and then work on the Sunday sermon.

Then everything changed.

I got the mail and went to the office.  There was a letter addressed to me from a barber supply company (yeah, I was confused).  It seems that someone has stolen my church credit card.  I called the credit card company and discovered four charges that I did not make.

I tried to finish up some administrative work then headed out to my visit.  The member (who is 99 btw) was in much better shape than my visit on Thursday.  We talked then prayed and I headed out for my meeting.  As I was driving to my meeting, the tire pressure indicator began to flash.  I found a Wawa (I love Wawa), checked all the tires and proceeded to my meeting.  But the indicator came on again.

The meeting was about Alzheimer’s and gave me some good information to share with the congregation.  I was even asked to close the meeting in prayer.

But that indicator was still on so I drove to the same Wawa and filled the tire again.  Realizing it was a problem, I decided to find a tire service station.

On the way a call came in – a hospice nurse telling me that one of our members has had a “change”.  This means she is actively dying.  Unfortunately, this was an hour from where I was, and I still had that tire problem.  I called the nurse and asked her if the next morning would work – she said “yes” to the best of her knowledge.  But something gnawed at me.  I needed to get there.

I let my wife know of the situation and she changed her work schedule to pick up our daughter at school so I could go to the congregation member.  But I was still at the garage.  The manager told me of some needed work – and I told him my situation.  He said to the mechanic “get this done”.  He told the front desk person to handle everything immediately so I could get out fast.  Then, while I was paying the bill, he asked me a name to pray for (YEAH!).  I got out of the garage and headed towards the nursing facility.

Some family members were there when I arrived.  We talked, I listened to stories, I was present.  More family came as did more stories.  Then it was time to pray.  Honestly, sometimes it is hard to pray for a person actively dying.  While I’m confident in the resurrection, I still find it hard to say goodbye (don’t we all?).  And after the prayer I told the person I would see her again – because I truly believe that I will.

This was a day in the life of a minister.  Plans change, unpredictable things happen, and God is glorified.

God is good.

²³ Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. ²⁴ Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵ The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

²⁶ He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. ²⁷ The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

Matthew 8:23-27

I was in sales in my “previous life”.  And often in the office of a Purchasing Agent was a sign that said; “Your lack of planning does not constitute an emergency for me.”
Often Purchasing Agents were given the task of quickly getting needed materials and parts because somebody made a mistake.  This was their way of saying “your crisis is not my crisis.”

As I thought about this, I realized that often in the church we tend to create crises out of things that are not crises – or more important, we tend to make big things out of little ones – all the while missing the call of God.

In this passage from Matthew, Jesus and the apostles are on a boat getting away for a bit of rest.  The apostles have just witnessed Jesus heal a man with leprosy (Mt 8:1-4), a Roman Centurion’s servant (8:5-13), Peter’s Mother in Law and a host of others (8:14-17).  As crowds approached him, Jesus wanted to get away for rest.  They got in the boat and began to cross the lake.

But a storm arose and the apostles panicked saying; “Lord, save us!  We’re going to drown!”  Jesus, however, was not worried – this was not a crisis situation.  He simply rebuked the winds and the waves and the storm ended.

The interesting part is the reaction of the apostles.  They have just (again) witnessed Jesus perform miracles in all the healings but for some reason, they lose all knowledge of this and panic.

We often do this.  Our first reaction to bad news or situations is panic.  We lose our grip, we lose our cool, we lose sight of God.  God, however, does not panic.  God is in control – even when we may be out of control – and God will see us through.

The next time you find yourself in a panicked situation, stop, breathe and pray.  And then let God take over.

Peace,

Bill

Matthew 6:25-34

“Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?  “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I woke up “on the wrong side of the bed” this morning.  Actually, I woke up quite grumpy – it was one of those mornings when I kept falling asleep and waking up over the last two hours of sleep and it wasn’t refreshing.  You see, I have some worries.  But today’s daily lectionary text (one of my favorites, btw) addresses this.  Jesus calls us to a different way of life than worrying because worrying will neither solve the situation nor bring us closer to God.  Instead Jesus calls us to look at the creation and see God’s handiwork and care.  The flowers do not worry about their beauty, they just show it.  The birds do not worry about their food, they just go and get their “daily bread” (see what I did there?), for God provides.

Today, as I am mindful of my mood, I step back and thank God for all God has done.

Father, thank you for all your blessings.  May you remove our worries and fill us with your peace.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

September 11^th.  It is a day fixed in our minds forever.  It is a date such as December 7^th is for those who grew up in the “Greatest Generation.”  It is a day we remember where we were, such as that day in Dallas in 1963.  It is a day we remember.

But what is it we remember?  Is it all about the attack?  Is it about the evil perpetrated on our land?  Or do we remember the heroic emergency workers trying to save as many lives as possible?

One leads to bitterness while the other leads to healing.

Now I’m not saying we should not remember the attack, and in fact, we must be always vigilant.  We need to take steps to keep our nation, our schools, our houses of worship and our homes safe.  As a person who lives with the memory of my home being robbed – of my place of safety being distorted – I understand this.  Places once thought safe are not anymore.  We hear of churches, synagogues and mosques attacked because of hate.  We hear of home invasions.  We hear of school shootings.  And we remember.

Every time one of these tragedies occurs we remember.  We remember heroes who ran into the smoke to save others.  We remember people who stood up to the aggressor.  We remember those who gave all so others may live.  And we remember God.

Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, instructed us to remember.  He said “do this in remembrance of me.”  And that word “remembrance” has power.  It is more than just thinking of the events of old, rather it is an ongoing act.  To celebrate the Lord’s Supper is to not only call to mind what happened, but to experience for ourselves His presence as we remember.

And God was very present on that eleventh day of September in 2001, as God is present today.

Psalm 46:1-3 – “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”

On this eleventh day of September 2019, remember.  Remember those who lost their lives, remember their families, remember the emergency workers, the police, fire department, the soldiers and all who did (and continue to do) so much for our nation.  And remember our Lord who promises to be with us…always.

Doubts.  We all have them.  And we all have them concerning the faith as well.  Sometimes it is hard to “just believe” when you see so many problems in the world.  How can God be all powerful, but shootings such as El Paso, TX or Dayton, OH happen?  How can God be the God of love when His followers seem to hate each other over a multitude of issues?  And the list goes on.

But these questions are not new.  They are not something that just happened in the 21^st century, or during the “Post-Modern” period of time.  They have been with us since the beginning.

In Matthew 11:3, John the Baptist sends a message to Jesus asking; “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”  After all of Jesus’ teaching, Peter denies Jesus’ destiny towards the cross.  Thomas expresses his doubts (as did all the apostles, see Matthew 28:17).

Doubts are normal.  They are a part of the human experience and do not define us as Christ-followers.  And, doubts can lead to greater faith, for doubts force us to wrestle with the scriptures.  Doubts also force us to wrestle with the platitudes, Sunday school answers and other simple statements of the faith.  And wrestling is exercise – which makes us stronger.

Over the past few weeks some “prominent” Christian voices have expressed their doubts and claimed they have lost (or are losing) their faith.  As I read articles, blogs and social media reports, I seem to have missed anyone referencing the strength in doubting.  Nowhere does anyone mention “The Dark Night of the Soul”, in which Saint John of the Cross writes about his time of spiritual desolation (and renewal).  We forget about Jesus prayer in the Garden.  It was certainly a struggle for Jesus as he faced his death.  We forget about Ignatius of Loyola who taught that spiritual desolation is, in itself, a spiritual exercise, and a time to grow stronger in faith.  And there are countless others.

Brothers and sisters, doubts are okay.  Doubting can often be a sign of deep spiritual hunger, one that cannot be filled by your pastor (me included), your favorite musicians, writer, author or anyone else.  That hunger is only filled by God.  The doubts just mean you need to explore God more fully.

By the way, did you read Matthew 28:17 yet?  The Resurrected Christ is about to ascend into heaven.  He is gathered with his disciples and “they worshiped him; but some doubted.” Jesus didn’t respond by questioning their faith, or casting them out of the Kingdom.  He responded with these words:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

He gave them the Great Commission – a ministry for every Christian, and He gave them the ultimate comfort – His eternal presence.  Even when they doubted.

I recently returned from a mission trip.  It was five of our youth and four adults traveling to West Virginia to help do some home repair projects.  Our youth have participated annually for a while, but this was my first opportunity to go.  One of the best parts of the trip was the opportunity to talk with the youth – to work side by side with them and hear their stories.  And I got to tell mine.

Nobody expected the pastor to be very skilled at construction and home repairs, but they soon realized I could do a few things!  And there is a good reason for this.

When I was young, we had little money (and truthfully, little has changed!).  We could not afford to have experts come in and repair things, we did not have money for plumbers or electricians.  But we did have Uncle Bill.  Uncle Bill was married to my father’s sister, and he was the ultimate handyman.  Uncle Bill worked on aircraft during WWII, and held maintenance positions afterwards.  Uncle Bill would come over to fix the drain, replace a part on the dryer, or get the car to start.  And I would watch.

I learned how do to many things around the house that has helped us over the years (and saved us some money as well).  During the mission trip I truly began to appreciate Uncle Bill’s guidance.

But my dad also made an “appearance” during the trip.  I had the chance to tell some “dad” stories and jokes, and even his corny magic trick with a quarter.

This is part of the cloud of witnesses – those who came before us, who influenced us, who brought us up.  Uncle Bill’s influence gave me the skills necessary to help those in need.  Dad’s influence helped me to entertain our group.  Both are very much a part of who I am.

Who are in your cloud?  Who influenced you, taught you, mentored you?  Take a moment to give God thanks and praise for them.

Peace,

Bill

For a successful cruise aboard a ship, one of the most important people is the Cruise Director.  This person is responsible for all of the entertainment, activities, guest parties, lectures and shows.  The Cruise Director’s main responsibility is to assure each passenger has a great time on the cruise.  This means the Cruise Director needs to schedule different activities to meet different wants and desires.  For some it is a cocktail party, for others it might be “Coffee on the Lido Deck” (thanks, Love Boat).

Overall, the Cruise Director tries to make everybody happy so they will tell their friends and more people will take cruises.

Believe it or not, a pastor is not a Cruise Director.  A pastor is not in a church to make everyone happy.  A pastor is not to develop each and every fun event, lecture series and party so that those on the cruise those in the church are “satisfied”.

What then should a pastor be you may ask?  A pastor is a Spiritual Director.

A Spiritual Director helps us see God in all aspects of our lives.  A Spiritual Director assists people in the quest to grow closer with God.  A Spiritual Director helps people assess their lives while guiding them through Christian formation.

And this is so much more important than satisfying people’s desires.  A Spiritual Director guides people to satisfy the “God-shaped hole” residing in each of us precisely because a Spiritual Director points us towards God.

Why are pastors running around so busy yet the church is in decline?  Because the expectation is that we satisfy customers rather than perform soul-work.  It is an unfortunate result of a capitalistic, market based, competitive church environment; “Come to my church where we offer the best coffee.”  “No, come to my church where we do sermon series on how to exercise and eat better.”  “No, my church offers great programming.”  And the list goes on.  Yet the church is in decline because we are missing the point.  It is about God, not us. But to truly structure the church around God, we need to seek God.  To seek God, sometimes we need to be pointed in the right direction.  For that, we need Spiritual Directors.

My desire is to do more Spiritual Direction than Cruise Direction.  And for some people, that is really what they want – to discover God’s will, to become more Christ-like, to satisfy their hungry heart.  And that is a worthy call.

If you seek God in your lives, if you are searching for more than a Cruise Director, feel free to contact me.

I’m excited.  Today is Pentecost Sunday, the one day a year mainline denomination pastors get to preach on the Holy Spirit.

Okay, maybe I am exaggerating a little, but often in our world, the Holy Spirit is the “red-headed stepchild” of the Trinity.  We invoke the Spirit and we mention the Spirit, but we don’t always embrace the Spirit.  We even diminish the power of Pentecost by relegating it to a children’s sermon of the church’s birthday.

So where is the power in that?

The Pentecost experience was not a one and done thing.  Read through the book of Acts and see how the early church depended upon the Holy Spirit.  And nowhere does Jesus ever say “I am going away but I will send an advocate, the Spirit of Truth, who will teach you all things, give you power from on high, then disappear forever, but you can mention Him on one Sunday a year.” 

Truthfully, the church needs a new Pentecost experience.  We need to embrace the Holy Spirit.  We need to ask the Triune God to guide us daily and listen as the Spirit speaks.  When we pray it should be in the Spirit (which does not necessarily mean in tongues, rather fully expecting God’s Spirit to pray with us and do things).  And we need to know that the Holy Spirit is with us.

Even if it isn’t Pentecost Sunday.

It has been nuts lately.  Actually, I’ve been pastoring in “Crisis Mode” since the beginning of the year –  we’ve had a lot of emergencies, pastoral care issues, funerals and the like.  And some of them have been real doozies (but I cannot tell you because they are private, personal things for people).

And now it is Holy Week.  On Palm Sunday my wife and I led the worship service as we journeyed with Jesus into Jerusalem and through Holy Week.  The service was powerful.

We ate lunch during Coffee Hour, had the Easter Egg Hunt and then went to my wife’s ministry setting to do the service there.  After that service we visited my mother (with end stage dementia), headed home and stopped by a congregants house to pray with them because of an illness.

And now I’m finishing up Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday services.  And there are still people to visit.  It does not let up.  But there is a reminder in all of this.  Jesus, while on the cross said “it is finished.”  Were all the sick healed?  No.  Were all the souls saved?  No.  Were all the faithful renewed?  No.  But Jesus’ earthly ministry was finished in one way – and continued on in another – through His followers.

I am but one man.  And while I strive to do all I need to do, I must realize that my call is not to be Jesus, rather His follower.  I cannot get to every visit.  I cannot get to every piece of paper on the desk.  Not every detail will be handled.  Rather I will, with God’s help, do the best I can this week to proclaim the Good News to all I encounter.

May your Holy Week be a time of blessing,

Bill

Wait for it…

We are waiting for the snow.  The forecasters are so sure about it that schools closed last night, appointments have been changed, schedules disrupted.  But so far, no snow.  We wait.

On one hand, it is kind of annoying – having to wait.  Wouldn’t we all rather wake up to see the 5 inches of snow already instead of trying to outwit things.  “Do I go in to work, only to have difficulty getting home?” “Do I cancel that Doctor’s appointment?”  “Do I…?”

And we wait.

It’s not like I don’t have enough to do, in fact I brought home plenty of work.  There is Lenten worship planning, a book study to begin with the Session, upcoming Sunday school lessons, the Safety Team, and lots more that needs to be done.  My wife and daughter also have plenty of work to do.  We are well prepared for the storm.

But we wait.

It seems like people wait a lot in life.  We wait for something to happen to move us forward.  We wait for test results.  We wait for appointments.  We wait in the waiting room for those appointments.  We wait for the next cashier to check us out.  We wait.

And waiting can sometimes be uncomfortable.  But we must face the wait with patience and grace.

The rhythm of the church year is similarly filled with waiting.  The church year begins with Advent, a season of waiting for the celebration of the birth of the Messiah, and a recognition of our wait for His return.    We wait for the great Christmas celebration, and then we wait until Epiphany to take down decorations.

And we are about to enter into another period of waiting, Lent.  Lent is a time of penitence, a reminder of Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness.  During Lent many give up something (and wait for Easter to take it back up again).  Others spend extra time in prayer and bible study.  Lent can be a time of waiting – until we reach Holy Week with the Triumphant Entry, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the real wait – the sometimes painful wait from Friday until Easter Sunday and the celebration of the Resurrection.

Holy Week can be a reminder of our own lives – times of celebration, times of sadness, times of death, and then that time when we stand before God face to face.  For that we wait.  With hope and expectation.

Today, as you wait for the snow to begin, as you do whatever you need to do, take a moment in prayer and meditation.  Consider everything God has blessed you with, including those things worth waiting for.

Peace,

Bill