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

Boiled Okra Believers

 

            Years ago, I had a Seminary professor who talked to us about “boiled okra” words.  She was from Texas, and in that classic southwestern accent spoke about this unique dish.  Apparently, when you boil okra, it becomes a slimy mass in your mouth that goes down so fast you can’t taste it.

            That may be a good thing for boiled okra but can be bad for followers of Jesus.  Even so, I am guilty.  Wondrous things happen all around me.  I quickly swallow it down, and move on to the next event.

            But this morning in prayer, I found myself reflecting on the incredible things that have happened in just forty eight routine hours around here.  It is amazing what happens when we, as the Psalm says, “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8).

            Wednesday night, over forty fourth and fifth graders were running through the building on “wacky hair night”.  They were all excited to show me their green hair, their huge 1960’s “beehives”, and other outrageous displays.  For an hour and a half, with wacky hair, our elementary age children were singing and learning about Jesus. 

            This morning, in Bible study around the book of Job, we all wrestled with how to deal with our anger.  Wednesday night, in our men’s study, we talked about how to handle those times when temptation comes our way.  Tonight, I have the privilege of joining forty men who have set this weekend aside to be at a retreat to listen for the voice of God in their very real world.  The list of course can and does go on and on.

            I have to confess that so often, it is all boiled okra.  I take it for granted.  But when we stop and think about it, better yet, when we stop and pray about it, we find that at every instance, God is doing an incredible thing if we are willing to taste it.

            This weekend, throughout our time of worship, we are going to be reminded about those good things, and that all of us have the opportunity to celebrate and support God’s work here and elsewhere.  It is true, as the Psalm says, we can “Taste and see that the Lord is good…”  When we stop and look at his work right in front of us, we are reminded that our God is good and can provide for all of our needs.  Come join us for worship as we talk about this some more!

In Christ,

Pastor Pete

Your Restaurant Server and Your Soul

            How generous are you?   I don’t have any scientific data, but I would wager that if we rated ourselves on a scale of one to ten, most of us would place ourselves on the upward side of the line.  It is easy for all of us to be legends in our own mind!

            But how would your wife, your husband, your children, or your friends rate you?  Even more, where do you think your server at the last place you ate would place you?

            I have been thinking about that as we prepare to speak about generosity because every one of my daughters has worked or is working as a server or hostess at a restaurant.  This week I sat down with some of them and emailed others to see what they thought about this issue of generosity.  The stories they told me were incredible.  There were wonderful accounts of people who treated my daughters with so much kindness and generosity.  There were other stories that made their preacher-father think unholy thoughts…

            Could it be that the way we treat those who serve us in a restaurant is a window into our soul?  Could it be a fair picture of who we really are and what we think when it comes to money and generosity?   The question is worth pursuing.  This weekend, we are going to be listening to Jesus and his encouragement (actually that is too soft a description) to be generous.  He criticizes the man who spends all his time building bigger barns to enable a future easy life.  Instead, he commands his followers in a beautiful and poignant phrase to be, “rich toward God.”

            Nobody lives life with the goal of becoming stingy.  Every single one of us wants to be generous.  This weekend, we are going to talk about a way to do exactly that.  Come and join us!  And after church, make sure treat your servers well at the restaurant…the preacher’s daughter may be serving you!

See you there,

Pastor Pete

           

What about Suicide?

What about Suicide?

          I hope you had a chance to see the interview last week on CNN with Rick and Kay Warren as they met with Piers Morgan.  Rick is the well-known pastor of Saddleback Church and the author of several best-selling books.

            Basically, the interview wanted to know how they, as a pastor family, dealt with the recent death of their son by suicide.  Rick and Kay were intensely honest and vulnerable about the experience and helpful in understanding the realities and the pain that go with this increasing epidemic in our nation.

            Most of us don’t want to even think about this.  At the same time, many of us have been forced to.  I have been interested in the number of emails and conversations I have had with many of you in the last week or so as we broach this topic.  The circumstances are different, but all around it there is personal pain that often meets good people who don’t quite know what to do or how to respond.

            The scenario reminds me of Jesus as he gathered around the tomb with Mary and Martha.  Their brother Lazarus had been in the tomb for three days, but even so, Jesus instructed them to roll away the stone.  The sisters were hesitant.  Behind that stone was nothing but the foul aftermath of death.  Even so, Jesus told them to push it aside.  They did.  Then, Jesus did what Jesus does.  He spoke into the darkness, and all that was in that tomb, and out came new life.

            This weekend, as we speak to this hard topic of suicide, I am praying that Jesus will do it again.  Every one of us would rather keep that stone in place over this darkness.  But this weekend, with humility, love, fear, and holding on to Jesus, we will remove it.  As we will see, despite the darkness, the church has a word to offer.  In this place of seeming hopelessness, the church can and should offer hope.  Corrie Ten Boom used to say: “There is no pit so deep that he is not deeper still.”  In that confidence, join me in praying that throughout our weekend services, Jesus will do it again, and we will be able to offer a word of hope, even to the darkness that is suicide.  See you there,

 

Pastor Pete   

Is There a Hell and Do People Go There?

Is There a Hell and Do People Go There?

 

            These days, as we all face the temptation to be and do "church lite", we must remember that there are simply times when the church has to go deeper.  This is one of those times.  This weekend, we are going to address fundamental, eternal, and very hard questions.  Ironically we are going to be speaking to two curse words; hell and damnation.  In effect, we are  asking if those words are real.

            In one sense, there is no shortage of opinion.  Awhile back, I was watching a talk show as the host interviewed a representative from a well-known but very controversial church.  The representative was very clear about it and did not hesitate to name specifically who was going to hell and who was not. 

            On the other side of the equation, I remember a conversation I had with a long time church member from another place.  She was very clear.  She said that she simply chose not to believe in hell, end of story.  Needless to say, the conversation didn’t last very long.

            If we are honest, most of us are somewhere in the murky middle.  Pastor and author Timothy Keller, in a recent article, reports that according to a recent survey, 64% of Americans expect to go to heaven when they die, but less than 1% think they might go to hell.  C.S. Lewis used to say that when we get to heaven we are going to be surprised at who is there and surprised at who is not there.

            The contemporary church needs to address this “murky middle”.  What we think about the afterlife really does matter. It should and does make a difference on how we act every day. 

            So I invite you to join us for worship this Sunday morning.  With humility, fear, and an earnest desire to hear truth, let’s see what the Bible has to say about this dark side of the afterlife.  I think you will find that there is much more to it than simplistic images of eternal fire and devils with pitch forks.  In our day and age, when so many are living in hell on this side of eternity, we all need to pay attention to the same Christ, who still says, “I am alive for ever and ever!  And I hold the keys of death and Hades…”  See you on Sunday morning!

In Christ,

Pastor Pete

More to it Than Just Getting off the Ground!

            A couple of weeks ago, I returned from a week at the beach and a wonderful vacation.  Since we were very near Kitty Hawk, N.C., I decided to pick up a biography of Wilbur and Orville Wright that I have wanted to read for years entitled “The Bishop’s Boys”. 

            It is a great beach read about these two bicycle mechanics, raised by a pastor turned Bishop.  In a fascinating way, it described how the Wright brothers succeeded in inventing the airplane and subsequently changing the world, when so many others had failed.

            They were modest, not given to publicity, and were not flamboyant.  They had little outside assistance in their work.  They had no sponsors and no formal engineering education.  They were, however, curious, persistent, and pragmatic mechanics.  In a nutshell, all these qualities enabled them to stick it out through the hardships when others gave up.

            But there is an even more interesting reason for their success.  Several people were working on flying machines at the same time or soon after.  Some of them were generally successful in getting an airplane to fly.  That seemed the ultimate issue of the day:  getting the craft off the ground.

            The genius of the Wright brothers is that they would not stop there.  They uniquely figured out the challenges of airborne control and forces, and designed a system that would work in the air.  In a nutshell, several folks figured out how to lift an airplane into the sky.  The Wright brothers succeeded in not only getting it in the air, but controlling it once there.  As a result, they literally survived when so many others crashed.

            There is a profound spiritual lesson here.  Faith is not just about getting airborne.  Lots of people have spiritual experiences and exciting seasons.  They are certainly wonderful and we celebrate them when they come. All of us need to spiritually get off the ground!

            But faith is also for the long term.  Our belief needs to carry us to people and places.  We need to be able to adjust for wind and currents and land safely. 

            Sometimes, we modern people find ourselves impatient with all the schedules and structures that accompany our Christian practice.  We would simply like to get away by ourselves, have a personal experience with God that lifts us and offers us that thrill of spiritual flight.  Perhaps we could use a reminder that as important as that is, there is more to the faith.

            This week we are concluding our summer series with Paul and Acts and the closing verses seem frustrating.  After twenty eight chapters of buildup, Paul finally gets to his destination, Rome.  But then, he just does what he has always done.  Here we are at the climax of the book, and Paul is just preaching and teaching, spending time talking to folks while imprisoned in his home and the book ends.  Relatively speaking, it is strangely normal and a pattern we have seen many times before.

            But in the normalcy, there is a message.  The world is not changed nor converted to Christ simply by spiritual fireworks, as nice as those are.  The work of the church is not just about getting people in the air.  There are also important issues of control, navigation, and training.  The basics of the faith like worship, giving, studying, prayer, are all a critical routine that give us the ability to travel and not just fly. 

            Come join us in worship this weekend.  We will speak more about our call to change the world, but we will be reminded that to do it, we have to do more than just get in the air.  See you there!

Pastor Pete

When the Storms of Life Come...

When the Storms of Life Come…

             Early this morning, we began our Bible study on the book of Job.  You might remember the story.  Job is doing well.  He lives in blessing.  He is surrounded by wealth and family.  But suddenly, it is all taken away.  A tsunami of tragedy comes upon him and his family and everything is taken away.  He cannot understand why.  The rest of the book is of course, his journey around the question why. 

            Most of us do not find ourselves in the same degree of intensity of storm as did Job, but quite a few of you have come close.  So many in our community and congregation have seen and dwelt in this land of storm and tragedy.  As with Job, sometimes it is simply overwhelming.

            That is why this week’s reading from the book of Acts is so relevant.  The Apostle Paul was making his way to Rome, doing exactly what God wanted him to do.  Even so, he found himself sailing into a literal storm.  The tempest lasted for two weeks and drove the little ship and the almost three hundred people halfway across the Mediterranean Sea.  While many on the vessel had no clue what to do or where to turn, Paul rose to a place of loving guidance and leadership, and helped get everyone to safety.  Even in the stormy waves, Paul found a stable place.  From that place, he was able to work, minister, and serve in a way that literally and spiritually saved the lives of those around him.

          His story is worth hearing.  So often, those storms come upon our lives and the lives of those we love and know.  Like Paul, our faith gives us stable footing even in the midst of the most intimidating waves.   I invite you to join us for worship this weekend.   We all need to know what to do when the storms of life come our way.  See you there!

In Christ,

Pastor Pete

Our Idols Can Consume Us

Our Idols Can Consume Us

            Two thousand years ago, the Apostle Paul arrived in the city of Athens.  He had not planned to be there.  In his previous missionary adventures, he had been opposed by mobs, and the believers sent him down the coast to Athens to escape. 

            All alone, he is walking through Athens, and the text says that he was “greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols…” (Acts 17:16)  This prompted a discussion with the philosophers of the day and subsequently, with the city leaders on “Mars Hill”.  This weekend in worship, we are going to listen to how Paul handled that discussion, but as an introduction, note that all of it began with Paul’s distress over the idols in the city. 

            What is the big deal about those idols anyway?  Aren’t they just statues?  Besides, we don’t do that today.  We don’t have stone images of gods and goddesses, and we don’t find ourselves bowing down before those images.

            But as Timothy Keller highlights in his great book, “Counterfeit Gods”, though we don’t have idols made of stone, we still have plenty around.  He speaks to three premier ones: money, sex, and power.  Idols are, after all, the things in which we ultimately place our trust and hope.   Perhaps some may find the claim overstated but in his book “The Wounded Healer, Henri Nouwen reminds us how dangerous the idols of our own creation and abilities really are.  He retells a tales from Ancient India:

“Four royal brothers decided each to master a special ability. Time went by, and the brothers met to reveal what they had learned.

"I have mastered a science," said the first, "by which I can take but a bone of some creature and create the flesh that goes with it."

"I," said the second, "know how to grow that creature's skin and hair if there is flesh on its bones."

The third said, "I am able to create its limbs if I have the flesh, the skin, and the hair."

"And I," concluded the fourth, "know how to give life to that creature if its form is complete."

Thereupon the brothers went into the jungle to find a bone so they could demonstrate their specialties. As fate would have it, the bone they found was a lion's. One added flesh to the bone, the second grew hide and hair, the third completed it with matching limbs, and the fourth gave the lion life. Shaking its mane, the ferocious beast arose and jumped on his creators. He killed them all and vanished contentedly into the jungle.”

As pastor Nathan Castens says, “We too have the capacity to create what can devour us. Goals and dreams can consume us. Possessions and property can turn and destroy us--unless we first seek God's kingdom and righteousness, and allow him to breathe into what we make of life.”

And so, perhaps we can understand Paul’s distress over the city of Athens and its idols.  Sometimes the pride of our human ability and achievement can consume us.  Come join us this weekend and we are going to hear how Paul spoke of the Gospel to this cultural center of Athens.  See you there!

Pastor Pete

You Are Making a Difference!

            Usually, when I walk into the church in the morning, things are a bit quiet.  I try to get here early, have a cup of coffee, and catch up on a few things before the day really gets going.

            Not this morning.  I could hardly get in the front doors.  There were two hundred people (mostly children) in our gathering space!   They were all seated having breakfast and laughing (very loudly) together.  You might know that we sponsored a gathering of United Methodist children from around Virginia that is called “Helping Hands”.  Our own Beth Christian has been the key sponsor of this event for several years.
            But every year we have been cramped in tiny spaces or in multiple buildings.  Not this morning!  We had room!  All the children slept on the floors and in classrooms and other places, but compared to previous years, it was like being at the Hilton.

            After I walked in, all the kids went running outside to have their picture taken and I was making my way back down the temporarily empty halls.  I found myself offering a prayer of thanksgiving to God for this beautiful new space, but also offering a prayer of thanksgiving for all of you.  All the prayers, the planning, the meetings, and the sacrificial giving, by God’s grace, built this space.  And now, hundreds of children are gathered here in worship, singing, going out in mission, and laughing.

 

 

           What really started my thoughts this morning was the first person I saw when I walked in the door.  Her name is Linda and she is a pastor of a United Methodist Church in Norfolk.  She brought several children from her church with her and they all slept on the floor of one of our classrooms last night.  She had the biggest and most generous smile on her face.  She looked at me and over and over again said thank you.  She thanked me for our church offering up this space to them and opening our doors.  She said that her time here had really inspired her as they were about to build some new spaces at here church.  I told her some of the stories behind the window and altar furniture and she was moved.  She also said that she hoped to sponsor a Helping Hands event in her church soon.  She was so appreciative of us and her encouragement inspired me to pass this on to you.

            All this is to say that we have finished the many services of dedication, consecration, moving, walking, and opening.  This week, we really put this new building to work, as we have already done with Bible School and many other events in our short time here.  But in it all was a reminder of what God has done for us and through us.  I just wanted to pass along the way that your efforts are working so powerfully, and inspiring others who come in our spaces.  I can’t thank you enough for building and offering this church!

Love in Christ,

Pastor Pete

A Strange Weight Loss Program

This week, I read an article from a sermon by Rich Doebler.  He tells a story from Thomas Costain's book The Three Edwards, describing the life of Raynald III, a 14th-century duke in what is now Belgium. Grossly overweight, Raynald was commonly called by his Latin nickname, Crassus, which means fat.

After a violent quarrel, Raynald's younger brother Edward led a successful revolt against him. Edward captured Raynald, but did not kill him. Instead, he built a room around Raynald in the Nieuwkerk castle and promised him he could regain his title and property as soon as he was able to leave the room. This would not have been difficult for most people, since the room had several windows and a door of near-normal size—none of which were locked or barred. The problem was Raynald's size. To regain his freedom, he needed to lose weight.

But Edward knew his older brother. Each day he sent a variety of delicious foods into the room. Instead of dieting his way out of prison, Raynald grew fatter. When Duke Edward was accused of cruelty, he had a ready answer: "My brother is not a prisoner. He may leave when he so wills." Raynald stayed in that room for 10 years and wasn't released until after Edward died in battle. By then his health was so ruined that he died within a year—a prisoner of his own appetite.

This Sunday in worship, we are going to be speaking to the many things that take hold of us and put us in that room with Raynald.  It is not always, nor even usually food.  All of us find ourselves entangled with and often held prisoner by the things of this world, keeping us from those places to which God has called us. 

But in contrast, we will be visiting Paul and Silas in a prison in Philippi.  Surprisingly, despite their chains and restraints, they were able to sing.  In the prison, they found Someone powerful enough to overcome the forces inside and outside those walls.  All of us need that same power as we deal with our own “Raynald Rooms”, whatever they may be.  We have a lot more to say about this and I hope you will plan on joining us as we join Paul in Philippi this Sunday!  See you there,

In Christ,

Pastor Pete

Have You Checked your Oil Lately?

Have You Checked your Oil Lately?

            I remember a time, years ago, when I was selling a car.  We had advertised it but hadn’t had much luck.  Finally, a man stopped to take a look.  I met him, and prepared to take him around the vehicle but he went straight to the engine.  I opened the hood, and he took out a rag, checked the oil, saw that it was clean (thankfully I had just changed it!), and shut the hood.  He simply said, “I’ll take it.”  I offered to show him the rest of the car but he said he didn’t need to see it.  He knew that if the oil was clean and changed, the car had been well taken care of.

            I was a bit taken back by the man’s clarity and simplicity.  He had a litmus test to check the quality of the car and the owner’s care ((though I had to admit with five young children, I was thankful he didn’t look inside!)  I find that a similar litmus test applies to our spiritual lives.  If we want to know the quality and condition of a person’s relationship with God, we don’t check the oil, but I do think we can look to one’s prayer life.  When that place is solid, regular, and functioning, there is typically a caliber and power within his or her relationship with God.  But if that prayer oil is old and dirty or low, there is good chance that the persons “relationship status” with God is rusty and in need of attention.  The engine just doesn’t produce the power it was designed to offer.

            All this is to say that this weekend, we have the opportunity to spend some time with a man who has established his and our prayer life as the top priority for his life and vision for Methodists in Virginia.  Bishop Young Jin Cho will be here to consecrate our new building and will be preaching at our 9:17 and 11:00 services.   Bishop Cho begins and ends with prayer.  He has established prayer as the central theme and foundation of our work together as Methodists in Virginia.  As a result, I find that when he speaks, I tend to listen more carefully.  It seems fitting to give more trust and credibility to a person who centers their life on prayer.  When they are listening well to God, it is a lot easier to listen to them.

            So I hope that you will join us this weekend and listen to our Bishop.  It is a unique opportunity that you will not want to miss.  Even if you are coming to Saturday night Connect or our 8:00 AM service, I encourage you to be a “double dipper” this week.  See you there!

In Christ,

Pastor Pete