All of Me

Our Thursday lunch-time Bible study group at Seneca Presbyterian Church - affectionately known as "Brown Bag and Bible" - has been studying the Gospel of Matthew for over a year. Just last week, we looked carefully at the story of the rich, young ruler as it is told by Matthew. (You do realize that you have to put Matthew, Mark, and Luke together before you get all three attributes: rich, young, and ruler, right?) The man comes to Jesus asking what he must do to "have eternal life" - which is another way of asking what must I do to "be saved?" We struggled with what Jesus asked this young man to do: sell all his possessions and then come and follow him. Once again, it highlighted an issue that keeps coming up - over and over again: does salvation (life, eternal life, wholeness, peace, entering the kingdom of God) come to us by grace or by works? As Protestants we immediately reply - instinctively - by grace, of course. BUT why then does Jesus first tell the young man to "keep the commandments" and then proceed to tell him he must go even beyond the commandments and sell all he has in order to "enter the kingdom of God"?

 That, my friends, is a question that takes a lifetime of faithful discipleship to consider and probably never answer - completely. Moreover, the entire idea of "selling everything" raises issues of our relationship with wealth. You cannot read any of the Gospels - not to mention the entire Bible - to know that how we deal with our possessions is mightily important to God. It is a difficult subject, especially in the current political climate, which makes it all the more important to address. I hope we can - but I don't think the pulpit is the place to do so. The issue touches us so deeply that meaningful conversation must happen in a context where trust is present and dialogue (not monologue) can take place.

But we don't have to talk specifically about money in order to explore the story of the rich, young ruler. Consider with me:

• What was this young man truly seeking?
• Why to you think he came to Jesus to find an answer?
• What to you think he was expecting that answer to be?
• Why did he turn away?
• What do you think happened to him after encountering Jesus?
• What does it really mean to follow Jesus with all our lives?

 I want to reflect with you on Sunday about what it means to transform lives. Faithful discipleship should change us. By grace, God receives us as we are. Then God proceeds to change us into what God wants us to be, for the sake of ourselves and for the sake of the world. Do you agree? How has your life changed since you began to follow Jesus?

Please enter the dialogue!

A Church for All People ... Serving God through Serving Others

Sunday I shared with you - my church family - my desire to reflect with you on the unique identity and giftedness that we enjoy as the brothers and sisters in Christ known as Seneca Presbyterian Church. It is based on my theory that congregations just like individuals can be uniquely gifted and called for service in God's kingdom while sharing a unity of spirit with all Christians. Just like individuals the challenge is identifying our unique gifts and callings - what they truly are, not just what we want them to be. Of course, that's a bit more challenging with a congregation of 330 souls - each of them uniquely gifted and called. But in this community that we call SPC, there are some obvious and remarkable strengths that just about anyone who knows us would affirm.

I want to spend the next five Sundays reflecting with you on those gifts. I don't do it just to "pat our collective backs" - though this will give me a chance to thank and praise you for what you do so well. I also believe that those whom God gifts, God calls. And those whom God gifts well are called to extraordinary service. So in these sermons I will also try to offer some ideas about how we can do better what we already do well - all with the grace and power of the Spirit.

I truly want this series to be a dialogue - but since that's hard to do standing in the pulpit, we need to find some other venues. This blog is key for creating the dialogue, so please comment, and not just to me but to each other. Email is also an option - and phone calls - and even face to face conversation. I'm anxious to see how the experiment plays out!

So here is my outline of sermon topics for the coming weeks. Watch for postings each week - hopefully by Wednesday. Read and respond! And I extend my thanks to those who already have.

The Church for All People… Serving God through Serving Others

We believe that we are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ.

As a Church of Jesus Christ…

We are called to welcome and care for all God’s children.(January 22)

We are called to the work of transforming lives, beginning with our own.(January 29)

We are called to be faithful stewards of God’s abundance.(February 5)

We are called to be partners with God in the re-creation of the world.(February 12)

We are called to be a congregation for all ages.(February 19)

Claiming Our Identity in Christ

I have a theory - or maybe more of an observation - that just as people are gifted in different ways, so are congregations. We all know people who are highly gifted - musically, athletically, intellectually, artistically - and some are simply gifted at being with and among people - bringing out their best. In the Church we believe that everyone is gifted - by God - for service in God's world. We all have skills, interests, passions, and experiences that make us unique people. When we find, claim, and use our gifts, we thrive. It's like an steam locomotive running perfectly at full throttle. The energy and joy we experience when we are operating out of our gifts allow us to keep giving, over and over again, seemingly forever.

What if it is the same for congregations? What if we are not meant to be all the same? What if we are uniquely gifted for specific ministries? Of course, gifts don't excuse us from doing the basics well. Even the most talented pianist must still learn how to balance a check book! But if the theory holds, every congregation is gifted and called to do some things extraordinarily well. Finding out what those gifts are can mean functioning at full throttle under the energy of the Holy Spirit. Denying those gifts or using them meekly could mean struggling to survive and failing to live up to all God means for us to be.

If you understand what I'm trying to say, and you think it has some merit, let me ask you:

• Can you name and describe congregations you have experienced who were living out of their gifts? 
• How did they discover and claim them? 
• Do they involve everyone in the congregation? 
• What difference does it make for their life and vitality? 
• What are the gifts of Seneca Presbyterian Church that we should claim and nurture?

I'm working on a sermon series that articulates the gifts I see at SPC. Help me shape it with your reflections and stories!

Chipping Some New Stones off the Old Rock

It's a new year and time to get back to old routines - like posting some ideas to help me ponder preaching this week. I'm looking forward to a new year tradition - the ordination and installation of new Ruling Elders, Deacons, and Trustee. As their Teaching Elder (notice my careful use of the "new" language for officers in the PC-USA), it has been an honor and privilege to work with them as they prepare for their term of service. As Presbyterians, we do have a remarkable tradition. Our elders and deacons serve alongside clergy with equal authority and responsibility for governing, supporting, praying, dreaming, and seeking God's will and direction for each congregation. Our services of ordination and installation exemplify how seriously we take that tradition - and they are holy moments. 

"And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it." 

Those are remarkable words spoken by Jesus to Peter - and they are the text for Sunday. As I ponder them, I am drawn to the amazing work of those first disciples who built the Church - and all those churches - in a world that had no idea what they were doing or building. I'm also pondering how similar is the challenge we face today in building the Church. 

The Church has been the center of my life basically all my life. It's a part of me. When I hear bigoted remarks spoken in the name of faith or learn of yet another scandal that chips away at the world's perception of the Church, I can easily say, "That's not the Church I know." But what of those who do not know? When those who stand outside the Church and outside faith hear of yet another misguided prediction of the "end of the world," they can't or won't distinguish between us and them. We are all part of that body of belief called "Christian." 

So ponder with me:

• How do we proclaim a Gospel of inclusion and justice when too many portray our faith as exclusion and judgment? 
• What perceptions of the Church do you encounter in your lives from people who live outside our faith? 
• How does the work and witness of the Church move forward into a world that is more and more "not-Christian," and not afraid to say it?