I'm NOT Thankful And Here Is Why....

Hello Emmanuel,

I’m not thankful.  Why would I be?  It’s that time of year when my demise is around every corner.  Everyone is seeking me out for reasons for which I am totally opposed.  I want to be able to think about the future with joy, not with fear and trepidation.  I don’t want to be paranoid about every person who looks at me with anticipation.  This is simply a deplorable time of year and there is nothing much I can do about it.

You might think I am being irrational, but no one is chasing you around wanting to cut your head off.  No one is seeking to twist and pluck and stuff and bake you.  It isn’t pleasant, I tell you.  It’s easy for you to sit back and relax.

So I’m NOT thankful and don’t tell me differently.  You can talk all you want about God and blessings and grace and unconditional love.  It makes me little difference, as I’m sure you’d understand if you were in my shoes…. Or feathers.

So leave me along this Thanksgiving.  Let me enjoy my existence.

Sincerely,

Mr. Turkey

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P.S.  Don’t be a turkey.  Be thankful.

Why? 

Because…..

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Cry Babies

Hello Emmanuel,

 My cat is a cry baby.  She didn’t always used to be that way.  When we first got her, she never meowed.  She sauntered around the house like she owned the place.  We gave her the driest, cheapest, cat food and water and she considered life as good and appropriate.  This went on for years…..

…. And then one day we ran out of cat food.  Instead of going to the store, we took the lazy way out and opened a can of tuna.  Our lives have forever been changed.

Now every time she hears us get the can opener out, she fully expects to get tuna (and since then, we have actually bought canned cat food.  Don’t ask.  I don’t know why.).  And she lets you know what she fully expects because she is the loudest meower I’ve ever met.  In addition, she winds herself around your feet as you try to fix your own breakfast.  I would get irritated with her, but it isn’t really her fault.  We have conditioned her to expect certain things.  Her standard of living has gone up.  And when it doesn’t stay up, we hear about it.

Sadly, humans are not much different.  We expect the world to meet our expectations based on what we have learned in the past.  What we forget is that circumstances are constantly changing.  We don’t live in a static world.  The uncertainty of every day can, in fact, slap us in the face.  Just ask the common ‘Joe’ (or Julien) in Paris, France.

I often think about how tough life was 20 years ago when Kim and I got together.  The thing is, I didn’t think it was all that tough pastoring 3 churches, managing 3 kids and making 1/3 of the income we do now.  But to think about going back to that circumstance now fills me with dread.  I have been conditioned.  I guess you could say I’m spoiled in a relative sense.

So now it is time to pause and give thanks.  It’s time to stop thinking about how bad you have it or had it and start thinking about how good you have it.  It’s time to thank God for having the opportunity to be conditioned to expect the daily blessings.  Consider that you, too, are spoiled.  Think about what your ‘can of tuna’ has been.  And if it isn’t the sound of a can opener, what is it that causes you to expect something good to happen every day. 

…. And if you don’t get the ‘tuna’, do you really want to be known as the cry baby?  Or do you want to saunter around your day, figuring out that life is still pretty good?

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Re-remembering

Hello Emmanuel,

My computer didn’t start up right today.  That is a great way to start a new day with high anxiety.  My laptop is several years old now and thus has all the work I’ve done since coming to Emmanuel.  That is a lot of sermons and meetings.  So any time my computer acts funny, I backup all my files onto my flash drive.  I learned that the hard way.  I once had a laptop suddenly die and lost 2 years’ worth of sermons. 

Do you backup your information?

I’m not talking about computers here.  I’m talking about re-enforcing what you know and what you believe.  There are those moments in life when humans act funny too—when there seems to be glitches—and we wonder what went wrong.  It is in those moments when we may need to take a breath and re-remember what we knew before.

I had the kind of October in which I had to do such.  I made myself re-remember the simple things about who I am and what I’ve learned:  I am not always in control of everything and to be okay with that; trust is the foundation of any healthy relationship; relationships are at the center of anything important in life; God knows all even when no one else does;  acting on what you think is true usually makes a bigger mess of what is actually true. 

Those are some of the basic matters of what I re-remembered.  What do you need to re-remember?  Maybe you need to write them down.  If you forget the basic lessons of life, you may end up going backwards.  God wants you to go forward.  Don’t lose your information.  God taught it to you for a reason.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

A New Month

Hello Emmanuel,

It’s a new month.

I normally like to say ‘it’s a new day’.  That is, what happened yesterday is over.  What will happen today has yet to be done.  Forget what happened the day before and look to what can be.  It’s a way to get past a bad day and hope for a good day.  However, what happens when you get a string of bad days?  What happens when taking it day by day doesn’t seem to be working?

It’s a new month.

I know that optimism doesn’t always come easy.  Negative experiences are imprinted on our brain.  When we have enough imprints, we start to expect more negative experiences.  Before you know it, you become that grumpy old person that you didn’t like when you were a kid (a kid, by the way, that thought the world was a fun, happy place).

Case in point, tomorrow we get to vote.  It is well documented that the common Joe is frustrated with our political system.  I won’t go into all the details here because… well…. I don’t want to remind us of our imprinted negative experiences.  But how do you approach the polls?  Are you the grumpy old person or the kid who is looking for the new day… or the new month?

Hanging onto hope, be it in the political world or otherwise, can be a daunting task.  So how do you become one of those odd people that stubbornly hold on to optimism even in the face of adversity?  Well, let me introduce you to Jesus.  He gives us every reason to be optimistic because, inevitably, in the end, life wins.  Death loses.

Over the next couple of Sundays I’m going to risk bring Jesus into the political realm.  No, I don’t have a death sentence.  I am going to be openly optimistic about the hope that Christ gives us when we find ourselves in a grumpy world.  And let me start my boldness by suggesting that the political part of our culture is a grumpy world.  Don’t believe me?  Watch any news network and observe money being made on grumpiness.  No one ever seems to look forward to having a guest looking for a new day (though that is often a phrase that is passed around), only one who is lamenting the current day or complaining about yesterday.  Money isn’t made on optimism.  Even the Christian-based news media struggles with this reality.

So come worship with us.  I won’t promise that I will be optimistic throughout Sunday morning, but I promise that Christ’s message will be.  It’s the real reason I keep showing up to work.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Undefeated

Hello Emmanuel,

I apologize if you get this late.  It is 11:59 A.M. as I type this, so technically it IS the Monday Morning Pulpit.  I have been reminded how busy things can get in the church.

The Bengals are 6-0 for the first time since I was a Junior in High School (1988).  I remember that my Junior year was my best year.  I got the best grades that year; scored a 26 on the ACT; batted .361 with 20 stolen bases in 21 games and wrote my first novel. 

 Do you remember your best year?  Have you had that time frame when everything seemed to be great?  Yes?  No? 

We have the habit of remembering the bad times.  I don’t know why.  Perhaps it is because feelings like sadness and fear are the two strongest emotions and they leave a deeper imprint.  But for this edition, I challenge you to think really hard on when the best time was for you.  I’ll give you a second……

Ok… second is over.  Got it?  Good.  Now I want you to consider the possibility, even if it the slightest possibility, that tomorrow or next week or next year is even better than the best you’ve ever had it.  Do you think that is possible?  Do you think God wants it to be possible? 

For it to be so, it starts with a mindset.  It starts with believing that God wants you to have a good, happy, fulfilling life.  It starts with the faith that says ‘With God, anything is possible’.  It then proceeds with you behaving like you expect things to go well.  Stop looking for monsters under every bed.  Walk like you know that God is on your side (or you are on God’s side).  Talk like the optimist God wants you to be.  You might have heard the phrase, ‘the power of positive thinking’.  I prefer to think of it as the power of faithful living.

Live like God has given you life.  Talk like Jesus has given you hope.  Love like you know what it means to be loved. 

The Bengals are on a bye next week.  You know what that means?  For the first time ever, they will be undefeated after the 7^th week of the season.  Who Dey!

Now I’m going to go tackle the rest of my Monday.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Do-Overs

Hello Emmanuel,

Ever want a do-over?

Vacations are counter-intuitive to the human condition.  In some ways, vacations are nothing more than an attempt to fool ourselves into thinking we don’t really want what we inherently want…… routine and predictability.

I’ve watched others become so controlling and intentional in planning and spending their vacation that they have just as much irritable stress as they have in their ‘regular’ life.  I shake my head (smh for those in the texting world) at how silly that looks on the surface.  It’s one of the reasons I like to cruise.  I don’t have to stress and plan.  I buy a plane ticket.  I buy a boat ticket.  Then wherever the boat takes me is where I go.  Kim is a little bit different.   I won’t go there.  It’s Monday and it will get me off to a rough start on the week.

But sometimes I want a do-over.

I didn’t go on a cruise last week.  I stayed around town.  In addition, I didn’t turn my phone off.  I didn’t turn my email off.  I didn’t turn my facebook off.  I didn’t turn my texting off.  In the kind of world that we live in now, I suppose I wasn’t really on vacation because I didn’t vacate much of anything that I would normally be connected with.  The only difference is that I didn’t respond to most of that which demanded my attention.  Instead I let it pile up until that day when I ‘got back to work’.  Guess what?  Today is that day.  Yea for me!

Sorry if I sound a bit grumpy.  It’s another silly reality of vacations.  Watching people get back to the grind is a whole lot more entertaining than being the person who is experiencing such.  So I’ll stop complaining now and perform an exercise that will help me get back into a healthy mind-set.  My iced tea is in front of me at Panera.  Ready?  Here we go:

The annual Craft Show is this Saturday.  We fill the church with crafters and make money to spend for missions.  There is also food!  It isn’t free, but it still tastes good.

We are collecting shoes for the local schools.  Bring them in.  It will fill a basic need for many kids which will make Jesus happy.

We are collecting candy for the Community Boo Bash on October 25^th.  It will fill a perceived need for kids which will at least make them happy.  I don’t know how Jesus feels about sugar rushes, but the community will once again feel welcomed at Emmanuel.

October 20^th starts the Grow Class intended to help people ‘grow’ in discipleship at Emmanuel.  It is a 6-week class from 7:00-8:00 (on Tuesdays).  The cost is $11.  Sign-up at church or call me (833-5219).

The next food pantry at Emmanuel is October 23^rd.  Help is needed from 9:00-1:00.

October 24^th is the bonfire at Ron Hill’s house (4039 Amelia-Olive Branch Road) at 6:00.  This is carry-in style.  Bring your food to roast and your chair to sit in and your heart with which to fellowship.

October 15^th (every Thursday at 7:00) starts a new Bible Study.  This one will be on 1^st and 2^nd Corinthians.

This Wednesday there will be a memorial service for David Bowman at the church building.  Russ’s brother passed away unexpectedly.  Visitation will be from 6:00-7:00 with the service starting at 7:00.  This is one of those opportunities to show love and life even in the midst of death. 

A meeting was held Sunday for those interested in helping in the Nursery ministry.  Contact Nicole Georg (Nicky.eby@gmail.com) if you are interested or call me (833-5219).

Charge Conference is this Sunday.  This means that Emmanuel leaders will be getting together to worship and prepare for the 2016 calendar year alongside other leaders of other UM churches.  This year the worship will take place at Amelia UMC at 3:00 with the conference following at 4:00.  Feel free to join us if you wish.

I know I didn’t get everything.  There are youth meetings and Finance meetings and Vision meetings and visits to make and prayers to pray and papers to fill out and small groups to group with and new ministry ideas to think up……

Busy enough?  Maybe.  But in the midst of it all, remember why we do it.

It’s because, when we really needed it, Christ gave us a do-over.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Holy Urinals, Batman!!

Hello Emmanuel,

So I went to my first comic convention this past weekend.  My 12 year-old has a fascination with super heroes and so I decided to take her to see what the hype was all about.  What I rediscovered was that I have the same fascination too.

I met Adam West at the urinal.  I know.  You didn’t expect to read that as part of the next paragraph.  For those of you too young to know who Adam West is, he was the ‘original’ batman in the 1960’s tv series.  I didn’t say anything to him (nor did I offer to shake his hand).  If I have to explain why, then you are too young to read this paragraph.

Through the next 3 hours or so, I saw and met a lot of people who were very comfortable looking out of place.  Indeed, because I was not in costume, I was the one who looked out of place.  Nevertheless, it was a fine time with Hope.  She got her picture with many characters and a few actors as well.  Adam West and Burt Ward?  Nope… wasn’t going to pay $100 for a picture.  I’ll settle for the awkward bathroom encounter.  It was free.

I saw a lot of people who didn’t care what I thought.  It was refreshing.  If they wanted to dress up like a hero even though they didn’t have the physique to do so, they did so anyway.  Good for them.  Tight clothing (or lack thereof) shouldn’t be worn by some people.  However, I wonder if many of us Christians could take a lesson from such attitudes.  Do you worry about what other people think of you?  Perhaps there are times when it is important (like job interviews), but are there times when you shouldn’t let it bother you?

God has made you unique.  You might not have super powers, but you do have gifts.  There are things that you have and things you can do that make you special.  You may or may not like those gifts, but trying to disguise yourself ends up hiding the person God made you to be.  There were no Clark Kents or Bruce Waynes at the convention… but a lot of supermans and batmans. 

If you are one that struggles with your uniqueness, I invite you to try going to a comic convention.  And if that doesn’t do anything for you, try going to a church.  Unique people are everywhere and often encourage the use of unique gifts.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe