What The Pastor Is Excited About....

See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? 

- Isaiah 43:19

Hello Church,

As I and the church leadership prepare for the Relive Church Retreat on February 9th, I wanted to jot down some thoughts that I am especially excited about:

New Ideas - these aren't always easy to come by.  However, I am glad to have a good mix of people who come with various perspectives on what it means to be a church.  There are different ages, philosophies, traditions (or lack thereof) and theologies that can create a pool of new thoughts.

Pulling Together - I love watching people work well together.  When we get on the same page, I truly believe good stuff can be created.  Excitement ramps up exponentially as people connect with each other under a common cause.  

Work of the Holy Spirit - 'and where 2 or 3 are gathered, so I am there with them'.  God doesn't forsake us.  Indeed, God empowers us especially when we work together.  God makes a habit of surprising me.  I can I not be excited at that!

Positive Change - while the retreat is just a first step, it is a first step toward making Emmanuel a better, more effective, more viable and vital church.  No one likes to be stuck in the quagmire of same-thing-different-day living.  I look forward to being better... personally and corporately.  

A Strong Direction - Over the past few years I have felt a lack of direction, as a Pastor and as a church.  The circle chart has run its course and now it is time for something new.  Most anyone appreciates having a renewed purpose to work into.  I am excited to find out what that might be.

A Dramatic Change At Emmanuel

See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? 
- Isaiah 43:19

Hello Church,

If you missed worship on Sunday, you missed a dramatic mess! (and you may want to watch the podcast... it is sort of unbelievable).

Circle Chart ripped up

The Circle Chart is gone.  Not just gone, but destroyed; ripped up; thrown away.  The Pathway that led us through the last 9 years is history.  At this very moment, tiny pieces of paper are littering the sanctuary.   It was dramatic, at least for me.  I have spent the last 18 years letting the Circle Chart (officially known as the Discipleship Pathway) keep me focused on that which God wants me to be focused.  Emmanuel has spent more than half of its existence making decisions as guided by the Pathway.  It is no more.  So what now?

Emmanuel is now a blank slate.  You are invited to help fill in the blanks.  Relive Church 2019 is a retreat for Emmanuel only... to be held at Loveland UMC on Saturday, Feb. 9th, 9:00-4:00.  Lunch will be provided.  Let me know if you want to be a part of this new thing (pastorjoe@emmanuel-umc.com)

As for me,  I am going to implement what I've learned about myself and about the church over the past year.  I am changing how I do my job.  Here are some guidelines that I will be using, in no particular order:

1.  God's Good News is good enough.  We don't have to embellish it.  We just have to live it.... which can be difficult enough.

2.  I am not the church.  I am the leader of the church.  Therefore, I will do my job and the church will do its job.  This is healthier for me and healthier for the church.

3.  A lot of what the church has done the past 3 years doesn't work.  Therefore, I will discourage the church from doing a lot of what it has been doing the last 3 years (but I will not make decisions for the church.... see #2).

4.  I will lean on those who have passion for God's desires; love the church; has energy to do work; and are not afraid to take risks.  I will engage them and spend more energy empowering them.  I will spend less energy on those who want the status quo.  Why?  Because the status quo doesn't work. (see #3).

I suspect these guidelines will be more difficult for the church to get used to than for me to live out.  Mentally, I have already begun.  But I believe, in the long run, the church will be a better place.  People will be a part of the church instead of being observers of the church.  I will live closer to my Call and feel more fulfilled.  The church will live closer to its Call and feel more fulfilled.  It's a win-win for everyone, but especially for God.

God is Good,
Pastor Joe

It Is Time For A New Thing!

See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? - Isaiah 43:19

Hello Church,

Quiet time is over.  We were still and quiet.  Leadership did very little to instigate action.  We prayed on Tuesdays.  We listened and learned on Sundays.  We took in Advent with expectation.  Now the waiting is over.

January is a month for building momentum.  Epiphany is here and just as Jesus built momentum toward His Church, we will also.  The leadership of Emmanuel is going to relive church and is inviting you to relive along with them.  So save the date:

Relive Church!  A church-wide retreat will be held on Saturday, February 9th at Loveland UMC, 9:00-4:00.  Lunch will be provided. 

You will be invited and invited again.  It is time we re-ignite our hearts and pick up our feet and put on our thinking caps.  It is time to let God lead us in a strong direction, instilling within us more passion, better intentions and higher hopes. 

You will not want to miss this.  We will bring together old principles with new ideas and, with God's Holy Spirit, help us to live into a refreshed church together. 

Everything I do in January will be leading up to February 9th.  How I talk; how I think; how I make decisions; what I preach on; what I teach about; and how I lead. 

Relive church!  We hope to see you there.

You can RSVP in several ways:
email me at pastorjoe@emmanuel-umc.com
call the church at 732-1400 and leave a message
call or text me at 513-463-7378
fill out an rsvp form on Sunday morning and put it in the offering plate

God is Good,
Pastor Joe

Mega Church VS Horse And Buggies

Hello Church,

As I try to stay ahead of a renewal process for the church, I find myself trapped between two dynamics that want to pull me in opposite directions:

Biblical Principles

God wants us to 'make disciple of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world'.  This has been the deciding mission statement of the UMC in West Ohio for years.  I don't disagree.  Disciple-making is the bedrock upon why we are the Church.  We want to empower others to be a better Christian tomorrow than yesterday.  It's hard and messy work.  It isn't attractive or pretty.  It involves the day-to-day grind of missed opportunities, failed actions and misplaced words.  There is lots of energy teaching and learning and being transparent and vulnerable.  It isn't fun, but it is biblical.

Cultural Relevance

To make disciples we need to attract people.  People are attracted to various elements of mainstream culture including the big, bright, expensive, technological, informational, fast-paced, immediate gratification, entertainment-driven communities in which we live.  Therefore we must admit the difficulty of 'making disciples' if the church remains separated from the mainstream culture to which people are attracted.  It's fun to be relevant, but a church that is relevant is in danger of losing its biblical principles.... right?

So I find myself in a polarizing dichotomy.  Stick to biblical principles at all cost and risk losing relevance to would-be disciples..... or be a fun, relevant church at the risk of compromising our bible-based mission to make disciples of Jesus.

I think there might be a balance, but I think it would be a precipitous one.  There are churches that stretch the bounds of one extreme or another.  The Amish stick to biblical principles and throw cultural relevance away.  Current non-denominational mega churches (and some denominational ones) embrace cultural relevance and the random charismatic leader throws away (or ignores) selected biblical principles that he deems too insignificant to follow.  I am comfortable with neither.

I believe the key to a healthy and holy church is to strike the balance.  Stick to the biblical mandates of what it means to be a church, knowing some will not be interested in being a part....... and be relevant and attractive enough to be given the opportunity to usher others into the Christian
Faith. 

But believing it and living into it are two different things.  One is much more difficult than the other.  Pray for the church and pray for Emmanuel.

God is Good,
Pastor Joe

 

How To Treat Christmas This Year

Hello Church,

Christmas is polarizing.  The excited become very excited and the sad become very sad.  One might find a few that are apathetic to Christmas, but I doubt that there are even as many as there claim to be.  Christmas evokes emotion of one sort or another.  For some it recalls that nightmarish day when Dad made one sit on Santa's lap.  For others, it recalls that day when one finally got to sit on Santa's lap and tell him everything!

We miss loved ones or we embrace loved ones.  We look forward to company or we dread the loneliness of a full room of people.  We gladly put up the 47 year-old Christmas ornament or we lament how much better things were 47 years ago. 

Christmas is polarizing. I suggest it should be, but not as we typically treat it.  Christmas should be polarizing in the divine sense.  Jesus is coming.  That should be very exciting for some and very sad for others.

For the oppressed and diseased and poor and down-trodden, the revelation of Christ brings an eminent sense of hope out of a life filled with despair.  For the powerful and egotists and narcissistic rulers of this world, the revelation of Christ brings them insignificant existences.  Jesus levels the playing field for all to see and experience.

I hope you can hold on to the true polarization of Christmas.  If you are insistent on making Christmas about you, then you will be surprised to find out that it is not about you.  It could make you sad.  But if you allow Christmas to be about Christ.... then... well....

....sitting on Santa's lap--be it wonderful or traumatic--isn't nearly as glorious as sitting with a Savior.  Missing loved ones isn't as problematic when we discover that Christ re-unites you with them.  And 47 years ago.... as good as it may have been... isn't comparable to how good it will be that one day in the future when the angels sing and the heavenly gates open. 

Let Christmas be about Jesus this year.  Sit still and let Him happen.

Be at Peace,
Pastor Joe

Finger Pointing, Martyrdom And Somewhere In-Between

Hello Church,

What do you own?  Your answer likely includes things you have laying around.  Let's forego those answers for now.  What do you own that are not physical things?

Do you own your words, actions, and thoughts?

What comes out of my mouth is mine.  If I speak unkind words, then I did that.  No one else did.  I should own it.  If I speak kind words, it was me.  My brain told my mouth to convey such words.  No one else did that.  If I speak in the tongues of man or angels but do not have love.... that is my fault. No one else's.

The issues of ownership has been a hot topic in my life lately.  What do I own?  What don't I own?  What does the church own?  What doesn't the church own?  What shouldn't I own?  What is healthy to own?  Where do I draw boundaries of ownership?

Issues around personal responsibility can really get my heart pumping.  Maybe I am just getting old and crotchety, but it seems that when something goes wrong it is always someone else's fault.  There is no sense of accountability.  The idea that you can 'face adversity and overcome it' is replaced by 'if so-and-so would just do such-and-such, then I wouldn't have such a difficult time'.

I go a step farther and speak to corporate responsibility as well.  The church as a group has a responsibility as well as the individual.  God doesn't just call you.  God calls you as part of a larger community. 

Does the church own their words and actions and thoughts?

As I get more excited about what comes next, I am deeply involved in these questions.  What does God want us to own?  Are we willing to invest in God's Will?  Will we put forth the energy, money and time to invest?  Are we willing to let go of what we won't own?  What shouldn't we own?

I hope you sit back and listen this Advent.  A time is soon coming when we will be asked to speak.

God is Good,
Pastor Joe

God Beat Me With A Turtle

Hello,

I want to expand on a moment of epiphany I had this Summer.  It was a moment I will likely remember for the rest of my life.  It happened while I biked through the Cuyahoga National Park.

My conversations with God were fierce on my 8-day bicycle trip from Cincinnati to Cleveland and back.  Too many things were going wrong and a lot of it wasn't my fault.  I was angry about it and had been for a very long time.  So we argued.  I don't often win, but I do have a history of lengthening the conversation beyond its necessity.  It probably amuses Him.  I'm okay with that. 

It took an entire day to bike through the National Park.  It was a dirt path, not conducive to my type of bike.  As I persevered--grumpily going much slower than I preferred while arguing with an omnipotent God--I continued to argue about all that had gone on around me for many months and how it was all wrong.

Then I saw a turtle.

It was slowly making its way across the path.  It didn't seem to care that it was in my way nor that I was approaching.  It didn't even look at me.  It just lumbered along... as if I didn't exist... as if it was only focused on one thing... to get across the path.  It didn't look anxious or fearful or worried.  The world around it would go on as it would without phasing this turtle.  I could rain or snow or blow... or a bicycle could come zooming by.  I don't think it cared.  How wonderful!!

What would happen if I could focus in such a way--to dismiss any and all matters that I have no control over and simply focus on the one thing that was in front of me.  Life would be simpler!  I would have less stress!  And I would be much more likely to complete my task!

Let the world be the world.  I am going to be me.  Let people be mean or nice or indifferent.  I am going to be me.  Let others do what they will do, holy or unholy.  I will be me and try to be holy.  Let others meet God with me or not.  I will meet God, alone or not.  Let other hear or ignore their Call.  I will follow mine.

It was a surreal moment.  God ended the argument much as he did with Jonah.  The turtle might have well told me the words:  'Do you do well to be angry?'.  The turtle meandered across the trail as if it knew the story.  I grumpily trudged down the trail as if I forgot the story.

God beat me with a turtle.

God is Good,
Pastor Joe