Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers and singing and joy! The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon, as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon. There the Lord will display
his glory, the splendor of our God.
Isaiah 35:2
From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. [Or received the grace
of Christ rather than the grace of the law
John 1:16
What a great Worship Service we had this morning! The music was truly magnificent. The choir, the Beeber family, Meggan and Alex on the piano were all so Heavenly. I love our Music Ministry. We have Bluegrass, Classical, Blues, Rock and even more. The amazing thing is that they all sound wonderful.
Well, here is one of my favorite topics: God’s abundance. Rick’s message this morning on the Advent Love theme focused on the parable of the workers who, no matter how much they worked during the day were all paid the same amount. Abundance, equity, love: what do they have in common?
To me, this is a core message of Jesus. I like the teaching I heard on the Lord’s Prayer. “Give us, this day, our daily bread.” This was explained to mean that we may expect that our needs, today, will be met, today, and that tomorrow’s needs will be met, tomorrow. So if we Elders are working together, I will, most likely, not make decisions on the basis of fear, of shortage, or calamity or other such crisis. I believe that we, the Church, need to model faith and to practice faith.
This morning Rick gave the congregation a bowl of 36 bows (ribbons for gifts). He said members could give a bow to someone who has served the Church this year. Of course, more than 36 people have served us this year. Some people “regifted” their bow to another who had also served. This is certainly an example of how God leverages his resources and provides abundance in blessings. Those 36 bows recognized many more than 36 people and more than 36 people made statements about gratitude. What a beautiful lesson.
People were recognized who put in hundreds or thousands of hours of work in our Church. Others were recognized who are new or who had a less time-consuming job. All the work was important. Every minute of effort added to God’s work. I am certain, that everyone who contributed was not recognized in this way, this morning. Everyone was compensated. I am a believer in all those worker rights kinds of issue. “Equal pay for equal work in the workplace,” and all that. It is right that people be compensated for their work to support their family and build our community. This is man’s way of seeing things, perhaps a little simplistic. The child care worker barely gets a wage to watch over our most precious resources, our children, while others are paid obscene amounts to create inequities amongst us all (An example of grace under the law.).
God’s equity, emanating from His Love, is more precise. Give us, this day, our daily bread. Why do we need more than that? I cannot say what the right amount is for anyone. What you need this day is most certainly different from what I need. I certainly have more than I need every day. God loves every one of us. God does know our needs. If we listen, we will know His will. He has sent the Holy Spirit to help us learn and grow.
I hope we, as Elders, can practice, what I believe, is God’s abundance. After all, our Father is the owner of the universe. Why shouldn’t we expect that He will provide what we need in carrying on His work here in Lansing and beyond? We must work to banish fear and embrace love and abundance in our leadership and stewardship of the gifts and mission before us. God is with us. He will bless our efforts to serve Him and His people.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Transitions, Brunch and the Holy Spirit
“And a second reminder, dear children: You know the Father from personal experience.
You veterans know the One who started it all; and you newcomers—such vitality and
strength! God's word is so steady in you. Your
fellowship with God enables you to gain a victory over the Evil One.”
John 2:13
This morning was the annual Elder’s brunch hosted by the Lipsy’s. Thank you to them for their generous hospitality. As usual with any food event at our church the fare was wonderful. I am still full from my voracious pleasure from the many sweet, savory and satisfying dishes.
We held our transitional meeting with incoming (me) and outgoing Elders. We selected Kris as our Chairperson for 2010. This is a wonderful choice. He is a spirit-led guy with a servant’s heart. Our Church will benefit from his leadership.
Now, I said that this blog will not be minutes of the meetings. The above could be seen that way. The food and fellowship is symbolic, to me, of Christ’s vision of His people. Communion is a fundamental and central feature of First Christian. The warmth and camaraderie are also hallmarks of our congregation. For the Elders to have a meal together to mark the transition from one Elder’s Board to the next honors the out-going Elders and welcomes the incoming members. Such celebrations add texture and richness to our relationships.
The selection of a new leader, such as Kris, provides insight into our priorities. To me, we have declared our intent to be Spirit led. Lest anyone wonder, I strongly believe that any of our Elders could have led us well. We are blessed with a wonderful group of loving, Spirit filled individuals.
Though, not too profound, this blog entry is the kind of reflection I hope will, over time, collect into a picture of the Elder’s work and my part in that work. Hopefully, others will make comments that will add more breadth and depth to this picture.
You veterans know the One who started it all; and you newcomers—such vitality and
strength! God's word is so steady in you. Your
fellowship with God enables you to gain a victory over the Evil One.”
John 2:13
This morning was the annual Elder’s brunch hosted by the Lipsy’s. Thank you to them for their generous hospitality. As usual with any food event at our church the fare was wonderful. I am still full from my voracious pleasure from the many sweet, savory and satisfying dishes.
We held our transitional meeting with incoming (me) and outgoing Elders. We selected Kris as our Chairperson for 2010. This is a wonderful choice. He is a spirit-led guy with a servant’s heart. Our Church will benefit from his leadership.
Now, I said that this blog will not be minutes of the meetings. The above could be seen that way. The food and fellowship is symbolic, to me, of Christ’s vision of His people. Communion is a fundamental and central feature of First Christian. The warmth and camaraderie are also hallmarks of our congregation. For the Elders to have a meal together to mark the transition from one Elder’s Board to the next honors the out-going Elders and welcomes the incoming members. Such celebrations add texture and richness to our relationships.
The selection of a new leader, such as Kris, provides insight into our priorities. To me, we have declared our intent to be Spirit led. Lest anyone wonder, I strongly believe that any of our Elders could have led us well. We are blessed with a wonderful group of loving, Spirit filled individuals.
Though, not too profound, this blog entry is the kind of reflection I hope will, over time, collect into a picture of the Elder’s work and my part in that work. Hopefully, others will make comments that will add more breadth and depth to this picture.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
what have I gotten myself into?
"I exhort the elders who are among you, I being also an elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. Feed the flock of God among you, taking the oversight, not by compulsion, but willingly; nor for base gain, but readily; nor as lording it over those allotted to you by God, but becoming examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a never-fading crown of glory” (
1 Peter 5:1-4
I love Google. I was looking for some guidance about Eldership. Of course, there has been good teaching, in the past, in our Church, about this topic. I needed a quick refresher and voila, there it was. Got Answers ministries has the following on its website:
http://www.gotquestions.org/duties-elder-church.html
"Simply put, the elders should be peacemakers, prayer warriors, teachers, leaders by example, and decision makers. They are the preaching and teaching leaders of the church. It is a position to be sought but not taken lightly—read this warning: "Let
Not many of you become teachers, my brethren, for you know that we who teach shall
be judged with greater strictness" (
James 3:1"
Without trying to sound cliché or falsely humble, the office of Elder is an intimidating charge. If one thinks deeply about the above 5 items it is difficult to imagine being successful. There are at least 2 factors, however, that give me some hope. First, there are 11 other elders. My colleagues are loving, thoughtful and wise people whom I can depend on for insightful and inspired counsel on difficult matters and on some of those more obvious, to some, matters which sometimes confound us less experienced members.
Second, and most important, is the Holy Spirit who is within me to catch me before I fall. The holy Spirit is here within all of us to help us until the return of Christ. Then there is Grace, a gift from Jesus who died for our sins. Except for Grace, we all would be hopelessly lost. I would be at the head of that line.
There but for the grace of God go I, to misquote John Bradford who was burned at the stake in 1555 in England, for his Christian views. Being a Christian can be a rough business.
So, on this blog, I hope to write my impressions of what God is calling me and First Christian church to. I expect to consider some of the challenges and rewards of learning Christ’s will for me, the Elders and our Church and then working together with all of my brothers and sisters to continue to move in that direction. I want to clearly say that I believe our Church is within God’s will. Exactly what He wants of me and our Church is not entirely clear to me, but may be to others. I am open to hearing the Holy Spirit and moving with Him. I expect the Holy Spirit to work through my Elder Colleagues to help me grow and gain understanding of our mission.
A blog, as I understand, is a little less formal in terms of writing. It is more like a notebook that is open to the public. In any case, that is the way I intend to use it. I hope others will make comments and add to our collective understanding of our Church and what the Holy Spirit has for us. I do not intend for this to be minutes of Elders meetings or a commentary of church minutiae. I hope to ask questions and try to seek core concepts and how they work in our Church. If I mention a name it will be to raise that person up and acknowledge their leadership and contribution to God’s work.
Again, please feel free to make comments. Please encourage others to join in this conversation. Together, let’s continue on the strengths of the past and create an even better future.
1 Peter 5:1-4
I love Google. I was looking for some guidance about Eldership. Of course, there has been good teaching, in the past, in our Church, about this topic. I needed a quick refresher and voila, there it was. Got Answers ministries has the following on its website:
http://www.gotquestions.org/duties-elder-church.html
"Simply put, the elders should be peacemakers, prayer warriors, teachers, leaders by example, and decision makers. They are the preaching and teaching leaders of the church. It is a position to be sought but not taken lightly—read this warning: "Let
Not many of you become teachers, my brethren, for you know that we who teach shall
be judged with greater strictness" (
James 3:1"
Without trying to sound cliché or falsely humble, the office of Elder is an intimidating charge. If one thinks deeply about the above 5 items it is difficult to imagine being successful. There are at least 2 factors, however, that give me some hope. First, there are 11 other elders. My colleagues are loving, thoughtful and wise people whom I can depend on for insightful and inspired counsel on difficult matters and on some of those more obvious, to some, matters which sometimes confound us less experienced members.
Second, and most important, is the Holy Spirit who is within me to catch me before I fall. The holy Spirit is here within all of us to help us until the return of Christ. Then there is Grace, a gift from Jesus who died for our sins. Except for Grace, we all would be hopelessly lost. I would be at the head of that line.
There but for the grace of God go I, to misquote John Bradford who was burned at the stake in 1555 in England, for his Christian views. Being a Christian can be a rough business.
So, on this blog, I hope to write my impressions of what God is calling me and First Christian church to. I expect to consider some of the challenges and rewards of learning Christ’s will for me, the Elders and our Church and then working together with all of my brothers and sisters to continue to move in that direction. I want to clearly say that I believe our Church is within God’s will. Exactly what He wants of me and our Church is not entirely clear to me, but may be to others. I am open to hearing the Holy Spirit and moving with Him. I expect the Holy Spirit to work through my Elder Colleagues to help me grow and gain understanding of our mission.
A blog, as I understand, is a little less formal in terms of writing. It is more like a notebook that is open to the public. In any case, that is the way I intend to use it. I hope others will make comments and add to our collective understanding of our Church and what the Holy Spirit has for us. I do not intend for this to be minutes of Elders meetings or a commentary of church minutiae. I hope to ask questions and try to seek core concepts and how they work in our Church. If I mention a name it will be to raise that person up and acknowledge their leadership and contribution to God’s work.
Again, please feel free to make comments. Please encourage others to join in this conversation. Together, let’s continue on the strengths of the past and create an even better future.
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