A Story of Epic Proportion

So often as I read through the stories of the Bible I am overwhelmed by the enormity of its stories. They are large, grandiose, big! From these opening words of Genesis a picture is formed in our minds of an immense, immeasurable vastness – it is dark and empty and quite frankly scary. And God is there – and God said let there be light – and we go from empty darkness to a light filled world and it is good. This story of creation continues with God creating day and night, separating land from waters and earth from sky. Creating the world where plants and animals live and thrive and grow and ultimately humanity is born and given rule over God’s creation. Talk about epic stories!

And we don’t have much further to read before we hear the story of Noah and the building of the Ark. Noah and his faithful family are the only ones of civilization who have remained faithful to God. God speaks to Noah and tells him to build an ark. Noah is given the materials, the dimensions, the building plans and ultimately brings the animals two by two into the ark where for forty days and forty nights the rains deluge the world, flooding and cleansing the world of evilness – or at least evil people. And then we read about …

The Tower of Babel – a tower being built that reaches to the skies – the very heavens, yet God scatters the peoples and gives them different languages to speak so they have great difficulty in communicating to one another; Joseph being sold into slavery by his own brothers; the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt – Moses and the burning bush; the Ten Commandments… Our Bible is filled with stories of wonder and grandeur and largeness.

And we haven’t even begun to look at the New Testament stories of miracles and healings and the birth of a child in an out-of-the way manger in a small town called Bethlehem. Now that is a story of epic proportion!

It is a story that begins with a young girl being visited by an angel of God and being told she is to give birth to a child, a boy; yet, she has never been with a man. This will be no ordinary child but will be the savior of all humanity. This is the story of Joseph’s acceptance of his fiancé’s pregnancy, but not without some initial doubt. There is a journey across the country from Nazareth to Bethlehem where Joseph needs to register his name for a census. And Joseph and Mary, the young girl, barely arrive in Bethlehem when she goes into labor and the only place available to them is a manger offered by a helpful innkeeper.

The child is born and in the night shepherds come down from the hills to pay homage to the new born baby. From the Gospel of Matthew we learn that wisemen from the East come to worship and offer gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And so there is a new beginning for the people through the birth of this child.

Often a story of epic proportions appears so grand that we say to ourselves – I could never be a part of that story! If my brothers sold me into slavery and I was imprisoned for years I don’t think I could have risen from the depths of that darkness to become second-in-command of an entire country like Joseph.

I could never shepherd an entire nation out of slavery and bondage and lead them from Egypt through 40 years of wilderness wandering and into the Promised Land like Moses. I just don’t have that within me.

If I was Joseph I’m not sure I would respond as he did, with faith and trust.
There are so many of these large stories our bible speaks of that seem beyond our comprehension that we are compelled to accept them on faith, but then we come to this last story I mentioned – the one of the child’s birth in Bethlehem, the birth of the savior, the messiah, Emmanuel – “God with us”

Now this is a story we believe in and accept in faith, but it is also a story we participate in. Every year we spend weeks leading up to the celebration of Christmas - the birth of a Jewish boy. And I am amazed that this is a story celebrated by men and women and children around the world in over two hundred countries and over 2000 different languages.

Some will celebrate this story publicly, others privately and some in secret – yet around the world on December 25th we come together celebrating the birth of this Jewish boy that we believe grew up to become the savior of the world. This is the savior who did not promise to keep us from all sin, but one who promised to save us from our sin and forgive us for our sins.

This is the one who came to us that we might have a platform to stand on when we address God; one who said we are to address God as our heavenly Father in-spite of our past sins, one who came to heal the broken relationship between humanity and our Creator – a relationship broken from the days of the Garden of Eden and never truly repaired until now.

Perhaps in this story we associate best with the wisemen from the east who make a journey seeking out the one they have read about from the prophets of old, and the one whom the shining star leads them too. Perhaps you have been on a journey seeking Jesus Christ in your life. And you have found it is not an easy journey – rather it is filled with hardship, doubt, frustration and even anger at times. Yet, you persevere and are ultimately led to Jesus – you find him and receive him – kneel down and offer your gifts to him.

Or maybe you find yourself being more like the innkeeper – the one who offers up whatever he has available to someone in need, even when everyone around you is saying no, or rejecting those in need. You give what you have gladly, without expectation of repayment.

Perhaps in this story you find yourself one of the crowds of people in Jerusalem and Bethlehem and throughout Israel – calling out for a savior – seeking one who would rescue you from the rule and rod of the oppressor. Perhaps you have found yourself lost, lonely, seeking an answer.

Today we come together in this story, with millions of others around the world, as a savior is born and in this season we are reminded that God has drawn near to those of us who have drawn away and have been drawn away by sin.

Your sin, my sin has been forgiven, because a child has been born, a son has been given to us – a savior who brings peace. A peace that allows us to lie in bed at night knowing that perhaps not everything in the world is good and maybe not everything or everyone around is good, but a peace that helps us to understand that everything is good between you and God.

Not because of what we've done, but because of what he’s done; not because of who we are, but because of who he is. For unto us is born a savior and he is Christ our Lord.

Bullied No More

Last night I was invited to speak at a presentation and viewing for a 40 minute video entitled "Bullied: A Student, a School, and a Case That Made History". The presentation was organized by Robert Alexander, a Milton HS graduate and co-chair for the Fair Wisconsin South Central Action Network. In conjunction with Robert, Brian Juchems, program director for Gay Strait Alliance Safe Schools helped coordinate and present.

In the two hour presentation and ensuing discussions we talked about the problems of bullying. Jamie Nabonzy, the central character in the video, was an Ashland WI student and was bullied throughout his middle and high school days for being gay. He was beaten, kicked, groped, urinated on, and his life was threatened.

I remember middle school and high school days well - even though that was some thirty years ago for me. On occasion I was bullied. On occasion I stood by while others were bullied. I think I remember mostly being afraid during those times. As I watched the Jamie Nabonzy video, I remember a feeling of anger at his treatment and wondered that none of the bystanders stepped in to help. Of course, I don't believe I ever stepped in to help someone else who was being bullied back in my day. I seem to remember a feeling of relief that I wasn't the target.

It's now thirty years later and I'm no longer afraid and no longer content to be a bystander. My question is - what do I do now? How can I help be a part of the solution for those who suffer the abuse, mistreatment, ridicule, embarrassment... of being bullied. Bullies target many types of people - not just GLBT. The target can be someone too tall, too short, too fat, too skinny, too nerdy, too .... The target is someone who is perceived different and vulnerable.

Being different is not something to be ashamed of or to try to hide. Nor is being different a reason for being targeted - although it happens. God has made each one of us uniquely different for a reason. We may not understand that reason nor always appreciate it. Yet, Jesus gave to us a commandment that we are to love one another as we do ourselves. In other words, we should treat others as we would like to be treated.

I plan on inviting Robert and Brian to our church for a showing of the video and open discussion as we get into the new year. Perhaps that is my first step towards helping and no longer standing by.

Peace to you my friends,

Patrick

Pirates of the Wisconsi-bean

This Sunday morning I cancelled our worship services due to inclement weather - snow, ice, blowing and freezing temps gave cause to question as to whether we should hold services or not. Better sense prevailed when I received call after call (I had made it to the church office myself) from ushers, advent candle lighters and readers, and our Sunday School director saying they were snowed in and were not coming to church.

Typically, I strongly dislike canceling service because it is the one time a week about 150-180 of us come together to worship our Lord, sing & pray together, and hang out. So, with a bit of down-heartedness I placed the notice on our website, contacted the local radio/newspaper station listing cancelations, and changed our church answering machine. I then went back home.

Earlier this week my three and a half year old daughter wanted to play pirates. I had promised we would do that this weekend. So... instead of feeling down, I thought to myself - here's a wonderful opportunity to make hats, eye patches, telescopes and even a sword or two.

Our cedar chest was our ship; Jackson the dog was the shark. Together the three of us arghed, ayed, and matey-ed the afternoon away. In a very real way this was part of our worship of the Lord. God calls us to be in a wonderful, healthy and happy relationship with one another.

I am thankful for the extra time we had together as a family. Usually half my Sunday is consumed with church services. This way I had some morning time with Brenda and Grace. Some present wrapping time while they napped. Some pirate time in the afternoon and evening. And felt very blessed by the love of my family and Christ.

Blessings to you all.

Peace out

Patrick

The Need To Do Church Differently...

Recently Adam Hamilton asked a question of his Facebook friends: "What are the five most important qualities of pastoral leaders that create or lead vibrant, alive churches?" He received 55+ responses and then followed up with another question: "What is the one thing that could strengthen current and future pastoral leaders in the UMC that would have the greatest possible impact on reversing the decline of the church?"

These are excellent questions and ones (especially the latter) that I have been asking myself. This last year I began research, asking the vital question, why is our denomination declining? Statistics reveal a number of startling indications:

1) The percentage of Americans claiming "no religion" has almost doubled in two decades, climbing from 8.1% in 1990 to 15% in 1980 (ChristianityToday, Nov. 23, 2010).
2) Young Americans are dripping out of religion at a rate of five to six times the historic rate (30-40% have no religion today, vs. the 5-10% of a generation ago) (Putnam and Campbell - American Grace)
3) In 2004 UM membership was 8.1 million (Recent Changes in Membership and Attendance in Mainline Protestant Denominations) while a 2008 report showed UM membership fell to 7.7 million.
4) David Kinaman reports in his recent book, UnChristian, that non-church attenders (especially the younger ages) view Christians as: a) hypocritical; b) judgemental; and c) homophobic. This is one of the reasons our teens, tweens and twenty-somethings are turned off from church.

The statistics go on and on, relevant to attendance, participation, financial giving, biblical study participation... In general the UM church (mainline churches across the board) is declining and church leaders (such as mega church pastors like Hamilton, Slaughter, bishops and others) are seeking answers as to why.

I lead a smaller church of around 275-300 members. In the last 3.5 years we have added 76 new members (not an astronomical number by any means - but a significant one for our size especially in light of church reports I read where membership is declining). Many of the new members are younger families - vitally important as our overall mean membership age was in the later 60's - early 70's. We have launched a new mission ministry team that has taken members and non-members (young teens and older adults) to Alaska and Cleveland OH on mission endeavors. Beginning of 2010 we launched a second service of contemporary style. We have added a Sunday night Bible study class, and are involved in numerous community outreach activities and actions that have touched the lives of our locals. Our average attendance has gone from 100 (2007) to 140 (2010), while our annual financial giving has increased $10 - 20,000 each year since 2008.

Why do we seem to have success in growing? I firmly believe it is because:
1) Our church has a vision. It has been cast in our 7-year ministry plan. This plan provides guidance and direction to our church leadership. The key to a successful plan is to continue effective vision casting/communicating to the congregation. This is something I need to continue to do effectively.
2) Our church is turning the corner from being a welcoming church to an inviting church. When I talk with visitors I inevitably ask the question - what do you like about our church? What keeps you coming back (for our repeat visitors). The answer - your church is very welcoming. We feel like this is home to us. The trick is to take this welcoming attitude out into the streets and extend invitations. Welcoming is reactive. Invitation is proactive.
3) The service has to be a quality, worshipful experience from beginning to end. The music has to be good. The media (we utilize slides and video in our services) has to be run well. The message has to be biblically sound, yet relevant to our current day situations. And people need to be fed, so when they leave they are: 1) wanting to come back; 2) wanting to invite someone to join them; 3) feeling like they have received something to nurture them through the week.

Each year our church leadership undertakes a year long study to improve leadership skills and understanding of how Christ calls us to serve those in need, while building the kingdom of God. Last year we studied Rev. Dan Dick's Vital Signs. This year we studied Bishop Schnase's 5 Fruitful Practices. In 2011 we will be taking the first of our annual leadership retreats to worship together, learn together, and become better leaders together.

Last year, I invited several younger and upcoming leaders in our church to participate in a Spiritual Formation group with me. We meet once a month in study of the Bible, mission and ministry callings, how our church needs to grow in following the vision cast through our Church Ministry Plan and to be faithful to God's call upon our own lives. I am keeping the same group, but am adding several new people to the group. I keep in mind that this is the group of people who will be making decisions in the near future regarding our church growth, outreach, ministry and mission. How can I help them grow to hear what God has to tell them, and to be open to God's shaping and forming?

We have also opened our doors and facilities to many of the community groups. We have four Girl Scout troops and one Boy Scout troop which use our building monthly. We have a Strong Women's and Strong Men's workout group which meet twice a week throughout the year. We host the Milton Youth Football for organizational meetings. The Share Food program handles 70-80 people and families each month, providing discounted foods for them. There are other group activities that take place in our church - we have intentionally decided our church doors are open 7-days a week, not only Sunday morning.

This is just a little insight as to why our church is growing and thriving in a time when many are not. As to why the denomination in general is declining, I believe it is because we are struggling with doing church differently. We all need to find ways to reach the unchurched and sometimes that means shedding old ways - even to the possible ire of the "old timers" who insist we do it this way because... well, because that's the way we've always done it.

Our church needs the courage to do church differently, while maintaining scriptural integrity and faith. Our church leaders and especially pastors must be willing to cast the vision and then have the ability to keep the vision before the congregation - communicating it effectively. Our church leaders, not only the pastor!, must be in the community learning the needs of the people of the community. And there must be a desire - a heartfelt desire - to follow God's call for the local church and building of the kingdom of God - even when this goes against what the congregation believes they need. The two do not always go hand-in-hand.

peace out my friends,

Patrick

It's the Little Things...

Mother Teresa has often been quoted for saying that God doesn't desire us to do great things, but to do little things with great love. How true this is. For the third year in a row I have held my annual Chicago Street Milton Food Pantry Drive and have again met great success with it. Let me preface this all by saying - I am not writing this article to say hey! look at me and what I'm doing! But rather I want to show that the little things we do can make a significant change in someone's life. It's the little things we do with great love that are important.

Each year the day after Thanksgiving I go around our block (the Chicago Street Block) and place a letter attached to a grocery bag (I get bags donated directly from Piggly Wiggly) at each home. Now, each year I've expanded the houses I include to neighboring streets, so technically I'm going beyond the Chicago Street block, but nevertheless...

The letter invites the household to fill the bag with non-perishable items, canned foods, toiletries... all which will be donated and delivered to our Milton Food Pantry. I try to be as unobtrusive and un-impossing as possible. So, I drop the letter and bag off in the evening by placing it on the household door step. In the letter I indicate my pickup date and time (usually a week later and between 8:00am-9:00am). The family can place the products on the doorsteps and never see me. Thus, I try to respect their privacy and not impose upon the people by having them answer the door or "have to" talk to me.

This year I've collected 21 bags of food items, canned goods, toiletries, and some treats for our Food Pantry. Over the course of three years I believe we collected around 60-80 bags of items. After each drive I deliver a handwritten thank you note to the home for their generosity.

In these difficult economic times and especially over the holidays, every little bit we can do helps a family in need. Perhaps this posting might spark your own idea of where you can do a little bit of something with a great deal of love.

God bless you all and may you be kept safe during this Holy Day season.

Peace out,

Patrick