Pictures (And Music!) Are Worth a Thousand Words!

 

          Last week, a friend of mine sent me this pictures that just may capture many of us right now:

          If you are like me you can laugh with the image but Christmas is a funny thing.  This picture can be us!  All of us are supposed to hold on to this joy, and yet there are so many things to do, to worry about, and to work through.

          So, if you need something to move your spirits back to where we need to be and we have just the thing for you!  This Saturday night at our Connect service and Sunday at our 9:17 and 11:15 services, (no 8:00 service this Sunday) we will be having a special service of music.  Our choirs and musical groups will be joining together to remember the wonder of Christmas and to celebrate the gift of Jesus who came to us as a child.  There will also be a couple of surprises in the service, so you don’t want to miss it!

          So come on and join us so that we can find and celebrate that joy that is ours this Christmas! 

Pastor Pete

Pulling Anxiety and Planting Peace

            A couple of years ago, a woman came by my office.  She had been through a lot, was dealing with many issues and things were pretty complicated in her life.  We talked for a bit but despite the complexities, he question was fundamentally simple.  She wanted to know how to worry less.  The Bible speaks of “the peace that transcends understanding”, but how do you get there, and how do you find it in the messes of life?

            I have come to learn that this person and question is representative of many.  At times our anxiety is paralyzing.  Our fears tend to dominate and rise to the top of our lives.  The amount of time spent in fear and anxiety takes away from so many of the things we could do or enjoy.  So how do we find peace in the midst of the challenges of life?

            We are going to speak about this a good bit more this weekend in worship, but to get us started, I came across a helpful illustration this week by Mike Bechtle, in an article for Discipleship journal;( quoted in the October 21, 2008, entry of Men of Integrity (September/October 2008)

            He spent some time working on his lawn and noticed something that may be clear to many.  He was fighting all the weeds in his yard, but observed that the weeds would tend to grow in the clear and bare patches of ground.  He would reach down, pull the weeds, but within a few days, more weeds were back.

            In contrast, he noticed that there were not nearly the same amount of weeds in the places where there was grass, and virtually none where the grass was thick.  There was simply no room for them in the thick turf.

            Lawn care folks will tell you that the way to get rid of weeds is not just by pulling them out but also by planting new grass.  It is the same way with worry and anxiety. We think that the way to find peace is by pulling up all the weeds and things that cause that angst.  We would have a clear patch of good circumstance and life will be better and care-free.  But of course, the weeds come back. 

            A better option is to plant grass in those bare spots.  When we plant healthy material, there is not as much room for the anxiety to grow.  And so perhaps the way to reduce anxiety and to find peace is to plant seeds of peace.  Engage life pro-actively with acts of worship, kindness, encouragement, and love for others.  Don’t spend your life pulling anxieties but instead planting peace.  Plant those things in the patch of a soul and perhaps we will find that there is not so much time for worry and fear to crop up.

            The road to peace is certainly more complicated, but at the same time, it is a beginning place.  I hope you will join me in worship this weekend.  We are going to speak more fully to this as we strive to discover a different kind of peace this Christmas.  See you there!

Pastor Pete

Re-Gifting is OK!

            Perhaps you, like me, have been a bit frustrated with the early turnout for Christmas marketing.  It was barely November when the radio stations began full time Christmas music.  We are making our way to “Black Friday” and now that has crept into Thanksgiving Day itself. 

            We could spend a good bit of time bemoaning this market strategy driven movement, or we can take the time to reclaim the purpose of Christmas itself.  Over the next five weeks we are going to work through a new sermon series entitled, “A Different Kind of Christmas”.  Each week, we are going to discuss things like love and peace, highlighting how those oft used terms really have a unique meaning that comes to light under the Bethlehem star.

            This week, we are going to be speaking about gifts, and how you and I have received a unique, though often overlooked gift in the person of Christ at Bethlehem.  We are given an opportunity to be in relationship with God.  The gift is not just in the blessings offered by our all-powerful Lord, but is found in the inherent nature of the relationship itself.  That is the greatest gift.

            In contrast to the manners of the day, we are encouraged to “re-gift” that relationship.  In the busy-ness of our days and season, we tend to shy away from that relational priority with God and others, but the late priest Henri Nouwen in his book “Out of Solitude” (Ave Maria Press 2008) beautifully captured the often un-appraised value of this gift:

“What we see, and like to see, is cure and change. But what we do not see and do not want to see is care: the participation in the pain, the solidarity in the suffering, the sharing in the experience of brokenness. And still, cure without care is as dehumanizing as a gift given with a cold heart.”

            His words remind us that Christ came to a painful and broken world and the greatest gift is not just that he offers wholeness.  The coming of the Christ child also reminds us that the most valuable treasure he offers is simply himself and his presence in hardship and suffering.  He offers this gift with the warm heart of his presence.

            Therefore, as you and I move into this Christmas time, it is important to remember the simple gift of being with people, especially people who are hurting.  So often, we can’t solve all the problems nor can we make it all better.  Jesus can but all too often, we are just not that good.  But we can always offer the ministry of presence.  Even if it doesn’t take away all the brokenness, it still re-gifts the gift of Jesus and does it with a warm heart.  Come join us for worship and we will talk about this some more. 

In Christ,

Pastor Pete

A Sunday Morning with a Mercy Mom

            Many are aware that this past weekend our church did something unusual.  Instead of worshiping in our regular way, we “gave it away”.  Approximately six hundred people went out on Saturday and Sunday to serve the community in mission instead of gathering in typical fashion in our sanctuary.

            One of the most powerful aspects of this healthy disruption to our routine is that we can experience the harsh reality in which so many around us are living.  At the same time, we are reminded of that transforming power of love.

            My family and I had the privilege of working at a local ministry called “Mercy Moms”.  This is a residential home that houses several mothers who have been living on the fringe of life.  Some are recovering from substance abuse, others have different struggles.  But they all have babies.  The problem is that they have never learned how to be moms.  So this ministry houses them and their children and teaches them the basics of parenting, finances, and other general life lessons.

            It is led by a young woman named Ashley.  I was building some shelves for the moms when Ashley told me her story.  It is a story which she yearns to tell and has told many times.  At sixteen she was pregnant and had an abortion.  She entered into a downward spiral that resulted in a drug addiction and a second pregnancy at age 23.  She kept this baby but didn’t know how to be a mom.  She told me that she had simply decided that this was her destiny.  She figured she was just a drug addict and that she would never be anything else. 

            But then, someone from a local congregation took her in.  The family loved her and accepted her and as a result, she accepted Christ. They mentored her and provided life lessons that she had missed.  Her life is so different now.  She is healthy, strong, and speaks with such passion and love.  And now, she does the same thing for other mothers who need that love, hope, and Savior. 

            Ashley finished the story and I was finishing the shelves.  But then, several young women walked in, returning from a morning of worship at their church.  It was clear that their faith was as young as the babies in their arms. 

            I can’t say much for my carpentry.  The shelves were adequate, but not beautiful.  But that picture on a Sunday morning, of those women carrying those babies, returning from church, well, it just doesn’t get much better than that.  I am holding on to that one.    

            Sometimes we church folk forget how powerful our own spiritual ammunition really is.  When love starved people meet the real thing, and Jesus is the real thing, they soak it up.  That means that when we love people in tangible ways in the footsteps of Jesus, we have the privilege of being a part of that thing that really works, that really changes people.

            This weekend, as a veteran church person, I had the privilege of stepping out of the routine and being reminded of why we do what we do.  Jesus really loves people, and Jesus really can change people.  When we hook into this same love and this same Jesus, we get to witness this wonder time and time again.  Thanks be to God! We are going to speak some more about this in worship this weekend.  See you there!

Pastor Pete

Those Chairs Aren't Just for Four Year Olds!

            Last week, I was reminded of a truth I learned years ago, that some of the most powerful “God moments” happen during the week, as opposed to just in weekend worship.  It was something simple but I just had to take a picture:

 

            This is an image of something that happens all the time around here; people gathered for Bible study.  But this particular Wednesday afternoon, our “Senior Saints” and others were at the church for their study.  They usually meet in one of our nice new classrooms.  But, here they are in a very different place. 

            As I hope you know, we were hosts to our CARITAS guests last week.  This ministry works with folks who are temporarily homeless.  They live in various locations, usually churches, from week to week until they can get their feet on the ground again.  So, they slept in our classrooms and ate in our activity rooms.  We had the privilege of sharing meals and getting to know them and their stories.

            All of our regular classes had to cancel, postpone, or move.  That is why this picture is so special.  It is of our seniors and others, in a tiny pre-school art room, sitting on tiny chairs, around a table designed for four year olds.  Our oldest members led the way to make room for those who need a bit of help.  They would of course say that this is no big deal, they didn’t even think about it.  Perhaps they didn’t but I couldn’t help but notice their leadership in our church, showing us the way of inconveniencing ourselves and our spaces for those who are down and out.

            That picture reminds us of why we do what we do.  This weekend, we are going to continue that adventure and “Give it Away” on Saturday and Sunday.  Instead of gathering for worship in our usual way, we will worship by going out into the community and serving.  Some will be passing out food, others will be painting and repairing, while others will be helping to sing and lead worship in other locations.  Hundreds of people will serve and be served this weekend and our prayer is that each will experience the reality of love and hope that is the kingdom of God. 

            Thank you Woodlake for all that you do and all that you are.  May God bless us as we strive this weekend to be a living testimony of the love that he has for all of us!

 

In Christ,

Pastor Pete

Christmas Eve on Halloween

          Today is Halloween, but already, Christmas decorations are beginning to come out in the stores.  Last week, our church staff spent a good bit of time reviewing plans for our Christmas Eve services, trying to be ready for our first Advent and Christmas in our new building. 

          That time was the opportunity for reflection about the sacred nature of our Candlelight Services.  Most are aware that one of the key memories of Christmas Eve is that special time when we sing Silent Night, the lights are turned out, and the individual candles are lit.

          The service never fails to move us.  That is in part, because of the method through which the candles are lit.  Three or four people light their candles from the Christ candle.  They light the candles of others who then go out and light even more, and more.  Within two minutes, from that single light of Christ, five hundred candles are lit.  Quickly, the darkened room comes alive with light that is brighter and more lively the electrics. 

          It is a beautiful Christmas scene but is also a timeless example of the way that God does things.  In a word, God’s is constantly about the business of multiplication. From Christ, God reaches down, lights our light so that we can extend that light to others, and so on.  It is God’s designed way of reaching and changing the world to reflect his kingdom.

          We live and breathe in a culture that often forgets this.  Too often, our gaze is upon our own lights, neglecting the cold and dark wicks around us. But in God’s eyes, despite the beauty of our light, the darkness commands more holy attention and therefore, should command ours.

          This weekend, we are going to be continuing our “Crazy Christians” sermon series and will speak about the challenges and priority of sharing our faith verbally with people around us.  I hope you will join us.  In this day and age, when so many are struggling to speak to others about that which we hold so dear, all of us can use some encouragement to share this light of power and hope.  See you in worship!

Pastor Pete

Anxious to Matter

            Years ago, that great movie “Pearl Harbor” came out.  It was about a couple of brash young fighter pilots and a nurse with whom both of them fell in love.  There was a fascinating scene as one of them, played by Ben Affleck, volunteers to serve in England, prior to America’s entrance into the war.  The “Brits” are in the middle of the battle and are being beaten.  Airplanes are returning with battle damage, and they are losing friends and fellow pilots daily. 

            Ben Affleck walks into that scene boldly.   He hasn’t even unpacked his bags as he approaches the weary squadron commander.  He tells him he wants to get up there right now and join the fight.  With fatigue in his voice the British Commander says, “Are all you Americans so anxious to die?”  After reflecting briefly, the young American pilot says, “Not anxious to die sir….just anxious to matter.”

            None of us today are in such a high stakes drama.  Our battles are generally tamer in nature.  All the same, I find that this young airman’s words strike a chord with most of us.  In the end, most of us want to matter.  We want to raise a family that is healthy and that stands for something in this world.  We want to leave our communities and this world a better place than what we found. 

            This general tendency is amplified in the Christian faith.  Our life is supposed to make a difference in this world.  Jesus said that we were the salt and light, the city on the hill.  As such, we are supposed to be a kingdom representative that makes the here and now more like the way it will be in eternity.  As such, we are anxious to matter.

            In the vein, please remember that this weekend in worship matters.  God has laid out incredible opportunities before us right now and in the coming year as Woodlake Church.  In worship, we are going to be placing our commitment cards on the altar.  Those may be simple pieces of paper but they represent our collective desire to make an eternal difference.  Those cards, like that young pilot, are our words to God saying we are “anxious to matter”. 

            I hope you will join me in praying for this weekend.  For several weeks we have been claiming that these two commitments will change your life.  I am confident that they will also play a premier role in helping our church to serve the kingdom in ways that matter eternally.  Thank you in advance for your participation in this important day!

In Christ,

Pastor Pete