This week I am attending the School of Congregational Development held in Evanston IL. This is an annual teaching conference hosted by the United Methodist Annual Conference designed to help church leaders learn new ways to grow congregations, launch new churches, think outside the box and develop quality leaders who will help take the church to new levels.
Overall the conference has been wonderful. The mornings start with music and worship and a message delivered by inspirational leaders (church pastors, seminary professors, church planters, bishops…) Cast from these people – including our instructors – is a vision to transform not only the Church but the very lives of individuals world wide. There is much being touted about crossing multi-racial barriers and this is evident throughout the conference. Our praise music is sung in different languages – Native American, African, Korean, and English. Our speakers are of varying nationalities and ethnicities. Young and old, Hispanic/Latino, men and women…. This multiculturalism is beautiful to behold. God is at work among the many! Indeed there is a wide and wonderful variety of people here.
Our classes are being taught by quality, experienced church leaders. Each class is different, yet each is teaching about how we may reach people in this new age and ever changing culture. One thing to note that the changes many of these instructors are teaching us take time to implement. I just completed a day and a half with a pastor from Grand Rapids MI who has helped his church grow in one of the most depressed, highly unemployed states in the US. It has taken 19 years for him to reach the point where they are today. They currently have about 600-700 in worship each Sunday. It took 19 years of hard work and effort. They have seen a 9-12% growth in membership each year – nothing astronomical, but certainly steady.
Growth in the church means change in the church. These do not come easily nor quickly. Rev. Dan Dick the Director of Communications with the Wisconsin Conference, and author of Vital Signs – the book the leadership of Milton UMC is currently studying – is in attendance at this conference and he writes in his blog, “The great divide between our vision and our reality gapes ever wider, basically because there is such pressure to deliver immediate results. The specters of declining numbers, aging congregations, lost credibility haunt us, and we’re embarrassed that with each passing day our denomination fails to resemble the changing dominant multi-culture more and more. We want desperately to be a different church, but most people wonder if we have the time, energy, resources, and connectional support to turn things around. Outside of the denomination, those with no church affiliation question whether we truly have any inclination or intention for real change.”
Change is something we must approach with character, competency and commitment. Change doesn’t happen overnight. The right leadership needs to be in place. Leadership needs to be open to the needs of a new generation as well as new ways of speaking their language. While many doubt the feasibility of making effective changes in our communities we must know that God calls us to foster these changes. The exciting news is that teaching conferences like this foster an excitement that is conveyed to the attendees which is hopefully carried back to our own churches and communities.
The tools and techniques we are learning about are only a part of what we are bringing back with us. Along with this is the realization that some of it will work and some will not – we don’t always know which will and which will not. What we do know is that when we stop trying our ministry is at an end. God cannot work with a lifeless husk. Sure, God can renew that lifelessness into life – but God will do that through some other being. In the mean time, we are the ones called to be God’s breath of life into others.
Brothers and Sisters do not give up. We may need to change our way of thinking and doing, but do not give up. Give it time – to let that seed you are planting grow; keep reaching – until someone let’s you take their hand; keep seeking – for those right co-leaders to work side by side with; keep praying – for God’s direction and blessing.
Our denomination has a saying you may be familiar with: Open Minds, Open Hearts, and Open Doors. I am often tempted to preach that we need to change this mantra – because I'm not convinced it’s working. Maybe we need to begin saying something like:
Grow Our Minds – To allow new thoughts, new methodology, new ideas to enter in;
Change of Heart – Let us no longer seek to serve only ourselves, but all the world;
Walk Out Our Doors – It’s not about just us! Our church and sanctuary is the world – let us preach and serve in it and not just within our four walls.
New way of thinking? Perhaps, but we need to Re-think our church and we need to cultivate this with all our church leadership – laity up to the bishops. And we need to not stop at re-thinking, but carry this over to doing.
I thank the Wisconsin UM Conference for all that it is doing to rethink and redo. I also give great thanks to the many wonderful instructors and leaders at this School of Congregational Development. It is this offering of instruction by those who are out their doing that gives to me (and many pastors) the inspiration to do more. Let us carry this inspiration out into the field of mission. The harvest is great! Let the workers gather!
Blessings to you
Friday, July 31, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Written On Our Hearts
I’m currently reading through the Bible cover to cover. Each time I read through the Bible something blessedly new comes to my attention. This time, as I read through the book of Leviticus, what caught my attention was not a particular verse, but rather the title of the book itself. What does Leviticus mean?
The opening word of Leviticus in Hebrew is wayyiqra’, which means “and he called” or "The Lord called". The Jews used this word as a title for this book. The opening verse of Leviticus begins with these words, "The Lord called Moses to the tent of meeting and spoke to him”
God had something important to share with Moses; and he called Moses into the tent. After God called Moses he proceeded to lay out the patterns of worship and daily behavior for the tribes of Israel to follow – he gave this to Moses and instructed him to teach the rest of Israel. This tribal name wayyiqra’ would be later translated by the Greeks into the name “Leviticus” that we use today.
Perhaps what captures my interest the most with this is wondering what would have happened if God had called and Moses wasn’t listening because he was too busy?
Imagine that fateful day when Moses was tending the sheep of his father-in-law Jethro. Moses was leading the flock through the wilderness and approaching Mount Horeb, when he saw this burning bush that was not being consumed by the flame.
Moses turns to his fellow shepherds and says, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” (Exo 3:3)
“I must turn aside” tells us that Moses was busy; he was doing something – going somewhere that he needed to turn aside from in order to see this bush. What might have happened had he said to himself or his fellow shepherds, “I’m too busy. I have too much going on right now to stop. Maybe on our way back – if we have time and the bush is still burning – then maybe I’ll stop and take a look.” Would Moses have missed the most important message of his life?
What do we miss when we are too busy to hear God’s call? What plan does God have for us that we fail to live out when we let our busy-ness run our lives rather than letting God run our lives? Imagine that God has some word for us about our own worship and daily behavior and we miss that word because when God calls – because we aren’t paying attention. We aren’t listening. We are too busy.
Leviticus isn’t the only place we find scripture telling us to slow down.
Psalm 37 reminds us, “Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him”
Proverbs 19 tells us, “one who moves too hurriedly misses the way.”
Isaiah 40 shares with us, “but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;”
In the New Testament we hear from Paul who writes this in his letter to the Romans in chapter 12, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”
Our scripture is rife with exhortation to each of us to slow down, to be attentive to the presence of the Lord, to talk to God – pray to God – and to listen to God. We are called to be in the spirit of God. When we are not in this presence of God we face the alternative – not having God in our lives.
There is a deception we perpetuate when we believe we can have a life separate from God. It is this deception that caused our fall from grace – and led to Adam and Eve being cast out of the Garden of Eden. We cannot live a life separate from God. Actually, I might say we could live a life separate from God – but it would be an empty life, a miserable life, a life without meaning.
The Apostle Paul talks about this very thing in his letter to the Corinthians. Listen closely to these words: “You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Scripture of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts. Such is the confidence that we have through Christ towards God. Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." (2 Cor 3:2-6)
As we look at this reading more closely it is important for us to understand that our very lives – our heart and our soul – are written on by Christ; but, we must slow down in order to let Christ into our lives and allow this to happen. When we allow Christ to be a part of our lives – our lives change!
We have confidence when Christ is in our lives. We have a sense of peace and purpose and happiness that in spite of our difficulties we show a growing trust in God’s control over the circumstances in our life. We reflect this peace and praise our Lord – this is a peace and praise that comes from knowing that Christ suffered for us and that as Christians – we too sometimes suffer. And I believe this confidence is evidence that the transforming power of the Holy Spirit is at work within us.
The other night I was part of a discussion where we talked about what it means to be a Christian. Being a true Christian means more than just coming to church on Sunday morning. Being a true Christian means that we are being changed from within. We are changing into the beings God intends us to be.
But this means we have to give time to God to allow this to happen!
We are a letter that is being written. We are the paper and Christ is the pen. The question we must ask is, what is being written? Are we a novel or a Calvin and Hobbes Comic book? Are we the National Enquirer or the New York Times? Are we the sports section or the cooking section? Are we The Daily Post or the Christian Daily?
What is being written in your letter – on your heart? If someone were to read your letter right now – what would they read? Would they read words like that which Paul has written? Would they know that you are a Christian and a true disciple of Christ? Would they know that you are compelled by Christ and that you make time each day for Him?
I would hope so. In fact, I would hope that people would find written words similar to these on my heart – and these are the words I want to share with you as well as all who would listen:
I am a letter of Christ, written not with ink, but with the Holy Spirit sent to me by the living God. God has not written on stone tablets this time, but on my heart. I find my confidence in God through Christ. I claim nothing of myself nor through myself save that which God has given me. All that I am, all that I will ever be, is through the Spirit of God which gives me life.
Peace be with you my friends.
Until next time,
Reverend Patrick Schultz
The opening word of Leviticus in Hebrew is wayyiqra’, which means “and he called” or "The Lord called". The Jews used this word as a title for this book. The opening verse of Leviticus begins with these words, "The Lord called Moses to the tent of meeting and spoke to him”
God had something important to share with Moses; and he called Moses into the tent. After God called Moses he proceeded to lay out the patterns of worship and daily behavior for the tribes of Israel to follow – he gave this to Moses and instructed him to teach the rest of Israel. This tribal name wayyiqra’ would be later translated by the Greeks into the name “Leviticus” that we use today.
Perhaps what captures my interest the most with this is wondering what would have happened if God had called and Moses wasn’t listening because he was too busy?
Imagine that fateful day when Moses was tending the sheep of his father-in-law Jethro. Moses was leading the flock through the wilderness and approaching Mount Horeb, when he saw this burning bush that was not being consumed by the flame.
Moses turns to his fellow shepherds and says, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” (Exo 3:3)
“I must turn aside” tells us that Moses was busy; he was doing something – going somewhere that he needed to turn aside from in order to see this bush. What might have happened had he said to himself or his fellow shepherds, “I’m too busy. I have too much going on right now to stop. Maybe on our way back – if we have time and the bush is still burning – then maybe I’ll stop and take a look.” Would Moses have missed the most important message of his life?
What do we miss when we are too busy to hear God’s call? What plan does God have for us that we fail to live out when we let our busy-ness run our lives rather than letting God run our lives? Imagine that God has some word for us about our own worship and daily behavior and we miss that word because when God calls – because we aren’t paying attention. We aren’t listening. We are too busy.
Leviticus isn’t the only place we find scripture telling us to slow down.
Psalm 37 reminds us, “Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him”
Proverbs 19 tells us, “one who moves too hurriedly misses the way.”
Isaiah 40 shares with us, “but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;”
In the New Testament we hear from Paul who writes this in his letter to the Romans in chapter 12, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”
Our scripture is rife with exhortation to each of us to slow down, to be attentive to the presence of the Lord, to talk to God – pray to God – and to listen to God. We are called to be in the spirit of God. When we are not in this presence of God we face the alternative – not having God in our lives.
There is a deception we perpetuate when we believe we can have a life separate from God. It is this deception that caused our fall from grace – and led to Adam and Eve being cast out of the Garden of Eden. We cannot live a life separate from God. Actually, I might say we could live a life separate from God – but it would be an empty life, a miserable life, a life without meaning.
The Apostle Paul talks about this very thing in his letter to the Corinthians. Listen closely to these words: “You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Scripture of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts. Such is the confidence that we have through Christ towards God. Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." (2 Cor 3:2-6)
As we look at this reading more closely it is important for us to understand that our very lives – our heart and our soul – are written on by Christ; but, we must slow down in order to let Christ into our lives and allow this to happen. When we allow Christ to be a part of our lives – our lives change!
We have confidence when Christ is in our lives. We have a sense of peace and purpose and happiness that in spite of our difficulties we show a growing trust in God’s control over the circumstances in our life. We reflect this peace and praise our Lord – this is a peace and praise that comes from knowing that Christ suffered for us and that as Christians – we too sometimes suffer. And I believe this confidence is evidence that the transforming power of the Holy Spirit is at work within us.
The other night I was part of a discussion where we talked about what it means to be a Christian. Being a true Christian means more than just coming to church on Sunday morning. Being a true Christian means that we are being changed from within. We are changing into the beings God intends us to be.
But this means we have to give time to God to allow this to happen!
We are a letter that is being written. We are the paper and Christ is the pen. The question we must ask is, what is being written? Are we a novel or a Calvin and Hobbes Comic book? Are we the National Enquirer or the New York Times? Are we the sports section or the cooking section? Are we The Daily Post or the Christian Daily?
What is being written in your letter – on your heart? If someone were to read your letter right now – what would they read? Would they read words like that which Paul has written? Would they know that you are a Christian and a true disciple of Christ? Would they know that you are compelled by Christ and that you make time each day for Him?
I would hope so. In fact, I would hope that people would find written words similar to these on my heart – and these are the words I want to share with you as well as all who would listen:
I am a letter of Christ, written not with ink, but with the Holy Spirit sent to me by the living God. God has not written on stone tablets this time, but on my heart. I find my confidence in God through Christ. I claim nothing of myself nor through myself save that which God has given me. All that I am, all that I will ever be, is through the Spirit of God which gives me life.
Peace be with you my friends.
Until next time,
Reverend Patrick Schultz
Monday, July 6, 2009
Lift A Prayer to Heaven
Lift A Prayer To God
One of my favorite television shows, 7th Heaven, features a pastor of a non-denominational church in the fictional town of Glen Oak, CA. The Reverend Eric Camden, his wife Annie, and their seven children experience a multitude of issues throughout their church and community. The dilemmas dealt with on each show run the gambit from alcoholism and drug usage to infidelity and teenage sex; from birth to death; from prayer and faith to broken families and poverty.
The issues dealt with are real life situations many of us face ourselves. Unrealistically however, the show’s “problem of the day” is usually resolved within the scope of a one-hour time slot. Beyond that the characters faith seems to deepen with each show and all the family members end their day with a heartfelt, warm, “I love you” for one another. Reality tells us that none of our problems are solved in such a short amount of time. Reality tells us our faith is sometimes shaken and we don’t always go to be saying “I love you” to one another.
A death in the family, expected or unexpected, peaceful or violent, that of a parent, spouse or child, can take years to work through. Alcoholism and other addictions are a lifelong struggle. Infidelity within a marriage or teenage sex carries consequences that include sexually transmitted disease, unwanted pregnancies, broken relationships and broken hearts. In the same sense developing a deep faith or relationship with God may take a long time especially in the face of our uncertain times of war, economic struggle and unemployment, or disastrous relationships.
In my years of pastoring I’ve come to realize there are no easy answers. Resolving our issues take time, hard work and the help of others. If you find yourself struggling with a problem so large you aren’t quite sure what to do I would like to encourage you to lift a prayer to God. Maybe you’ve never prayed to God before. Maybe you aren’t sure what to say. Maybe you aren’t sure you even believe in God. That’s ok. I want to tell you God believes in you and God cares about you. If you aren’t sure what to pray perhaps you can use these words:
Dear God, hear my prayer today. Right now I am struggling. I am hurting and feeling a bit lost. I am not sure where to turn. Please, guide me in what to do next. Comfort me that I might not hurt so much. Let me know I am not alone. God, bring some light into my ever darkening world. This I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Peace be with you my friends.
Until next time,
Reverend Patrick Schultz
One of my favorite television shows, 7th Heaven, features a pastor of a non-denominational church in the fictional town of Glen Oak, CA. The Reverend Eric Camden, his wife Annie, and their seven children experience a multitude of issues throughout their church and community. The dilemmas dealt with on each show run the gambit from alcoholism and drug usage to infidelity and teenage sex; from birth to death; from prayer and faith to broken families and poverty.
The issues dealt with are real life situations many of us face ourselves. Unrealistically however, the show’s “problem of the day” is usually resolved within the scope of a one-hour time slot. Beyond that the characters faith seems to deepen with each show and all the family members end their day with a heartfelt, warm, “I love you” for one another. Reality tells us that none of our problems are solved in such a short amount of time. Reality tells us our faith is sometimes shaken and we don’t always go to be saying “I love you” to one another.
A death in the family, expected or unexpected, peaceful or violent, that of a parent, spouse or child, can take years to work through. Alcoholism and other addictions are a lifelong struggle. Infidelity within a marriage or teenage sex carries consequences that include sexually transmitted disease, unwanted pregnancies, broken relationships and broken hearts. In the same sense developing a deep faith or relationship with God may take a long time especially in the face of our uncertain times of war, economic struggle and unemployment, or disastrous relationships.
In my years of pastoring I’ve come to realize there are no easy answers. Resolving our issues take time, hard work and the help of others. If you find yourself struggling with a problem so large you aren’t quite sure what to do I would like to encourage you to lift a prayer to God. Maybe you’ve never prayed to God before. Maybe you aren’t sure what to say. Maybe you aren’t sure you even believe in God. That’s ok. I want to tell you God believes in you and God cares about you. If you aren’t sure what to pray perhaps you can use these words:
Dear God, hear my prayer today. Right now I am struggling. I am hurting and feeling a bit lost. I am not sure where to turn. Please, guide me in what to do next. Comfort me that I might not hurt so much. Let me know I am not alone. God, bring some light into my ever darkening world. This I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Peace be with you my friends.
Until next time,
Reverend Patrick Schultz
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
