Frustrated? Take a Look Back

Hello Emmanuel,

When being a Christian feels really difficult, don’t forget to look back and see why it’s so worth it.

My family and I received an invitation to attend a celebration on March 30^th.  In 2004, Ansonia UMC finished building a $700,000 multi-purpose facility which included a large kitchen, a carpeted fellowship hall and 2 classrooms.  I was appointed to Ansonia just as they were breaking ground.  It was a lot of hard work and a significant commitment for a church of 80 people to make such a leap of faith.  What followed was a whole lot of God stuff. 

It is 10 years later and I got the invitation to look back with Ansonia and see why it’s so worth it.  Story after story of churched and unchurched people flowed through that new addition and were impacted by God’s grace in various forms.  It will be interesting to meet with the people of Ansonia UMC again and talk about how God has been so good.

The lesson I’m learning is to not be so easily frustrated with ministry.  We want to change the world and the world doesn’t get changed.  However, what does happen is one village gets changed or one neighborhood gets changed or one family gets changed or one individual at a time gets changed.  Over time it all adds up to God having a plan of one sort or another.

We are on this earth for 90-100 years if we are lucky.  In God terms, that is a miniscule snapshot of a much bigger picture.  Truth is we don’t even see things from a 100 year perspective.  We often reduce ourselves to thinking about how our day went.  If it went well, then we think things are well.  If the day went bad, we think things are bad.  With this mindset, it is no wonder we interpret life as a rollercoaster.

I wonder how we would evaluate our life if we could look back 1,000 years and compare where we are to where we were.  I suspect we would be much more optimistic.  I know that as I look at where Ansonia was 15 years ago I get all warm and fuzzy.  Not that they didn’t have their down days or even down years, but over the course of many years God was clearly working among them.

When you get frustrated with your day or week or year, consider taking a look back and seeing where you have been.  I find that most people do make strides forward even if it was a bumpy ride.  And I also find that people of the faith who are committed to listening to God’s voice generally finish up stronger than when they started.

And if you don’t, then look back even further.  Who you will find is the life and sacrifice of Christ who makes anyone’s rough years look gentle.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Are You Suffering?

Hello Emmanuel,

So hopefully I’m on the backend of the flu.  I got the ‘b’ strain this year.  Last year I got the ‘a’ strain.  While variety is the spice of life, I don’t think I’ll take the chance of getting the ‘c’ strain next year (even though there is no such thing… yet), so I’ll likely be getting the flu shot come next Fall.  I shared this with the nurse at the Little Clinic--which I’m convinced is named such to make it look like suffering from the flu is no big thing—and she looked at me as if to say ‘duh’.

So now Kim is getting paranoid, thinking she is getting sick.  It certainly is a possibility.  Pray that it isn’t the case.  Poor kids.  Not much fun in our house lately.

So do you ever have those days or weeks when you just feel like you are in survival mode?  Physical sickness can do that for you.  I know that a big part of me just wanted to get through worship with voice intact.  My sermon delivery is never at its best in such circumstance, but that’s why it’s called ‘survival mode’.

How do you get through those times when you don’t feel that thriving is an option; when it’s all you can do to get through the day in one piece?  And maybe it isn’t because of a physical illness.  Maybe it is because of a spiritual sickness?

It’s generally easy to identify when we are physically sick (i.e.102 temp, sore throat and congestion).  What if survival mode is because your spirit is suffering?  Do you know when that is the case?  Have you ever felt hopeless?  Unfulfilled?  Not at peace?  Restless inside? 

Consider getting back in touch with God.  I’m not necessarily talking about tasks of being religious like going to church or being in a Small Group.  I’m talking about getting serious about what God wants you to do (which includes being part of a church…. Really being a part).  Being a disciple who is only in survival mode isn’t God’s intentions for you.  He wants you to thrive; to fill a purpose; to reach others; to love others; to hope for others.  If He wanted you to just be a survivor, then He would’ve just died for you, saved your soul, and left no instructions on how to move forward.

We all have our moments when we just want to get through our day.  However, if that is your big, overall picture on life, then I’m here to say that something isn’t right.  Make it right.  Tell God you want to live for Him and He will show you a path.  You may or may not struggle with that path, but it won’t be a path of survival.  It will be a path of purpose.  God didn’t make you to just survive.  He made you to do something for Him.

Now I need to go check the medicine cabinet…. Just in case Kim needs to just survive this week.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Omelets, Burritos, Stir Fry and Pasta!!!

Hello Emmanuel,

It’s much easier to see God working around you when you have good balance.

Kim and I are back from our cruise.  You know what that means, right?  Yep… time to lose weight.  If there was ever a time to preach on gluttony as one of the 7 deadly sins, it is on a cruise ship.  I could go into detail (like describing the omelet bar, stir fry bar, burrito bar, pasta bar and the bar bar).  Let’s just say at no point during the 7 days (not to be confused with the 7 deadly sins) that I was never really truly hungry.

So it is time for my daily regimen of the get-back-in-relative-shape routines.  This involves walking a mile or biking 10 miles; a minimal amount of push-ups; and not eating after supper.  As much as it irritates my wife, it is an automatic loss of 10 pounds.  It isn’t difficult.  It just takes a small amount of self-discipline…. Which brings me to the topic for this week’s MMP.

Do you have balance in your life?  It’s much easier to see God working around you when you have good balance.

I find that when I have self-discipline, it brings balance to my life.  In a typical person’s life there is work, play, family time and self-care (yes, this is an over simplification, but just go with it, okay?).  When I have no self-discipline, I find that I work more than I should or I play more than I should or I don’t take care of myself like I should.  My life gets out of balance and that can cause me to get grumpy (much to the demise of those who live with me).

For example, those who work too much sacrifice other aspects of life.  It is no different for clergy.  In fact, the West Ohio Conference tells us annually how clergy are at or on the bottom of the list of professionals in terms of self-care because clergy tend to spend too much time caring for others (or they go on too many cruises).  As a result, the average life-expectancy among professions for clergy is 2^nd worst to that of a firefighter.  Weird?  I thought so too.

But God wants you to live well.  God wants you to be balanced.  He has blessed you with more than a few aspects of life.  However, each aspect leans on other aspects to create a balance.  Balance opens a bigger window where you can look out and see God working around you.  Are you balanced?

If not, can you bring yourself to get in balance?  No one else can do it for you.  It might take some self-discipline.  Consider how it is with your relationships.  That will sometimes tell you if you are out of balance.  Are your kids hungry for more of your attention?  Maybe it is time for family game night.  Is your job performance suffering?  Maybe it is time to focus more on your work.  Are you unhealthy or feel bad about yourself?  Maybe it is time for better self-care.

As for me?  It’s time to go exercise.  I’m in the worst shape of my life… quite literally.  I hope you find balance in your life.  It’s much easier to see God working around you when you have good balance.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Why Did We Do That?

Hello Emmanuel,

Today’s topic:  culturally relevant ministry

I’m not into scrapbooking.  To be honest, I don’t get it at all.  Lots of glue and pictures and cutouts are just going to make a big mess.  Scrapbooking isn’t the only thing I don’t get.  I don’t get karaoke (I can’t even spell it right… thank you, spellcheck).  I don’t get passion for music or investing much time in cooking fancy stuff or woodworking or landscaping or working on cars.  One might say I am rather a boring person…. Except that I do have a few passions.  One of them:

Culturally Relevant Ministry

I might be boring, but I really like allowing a church to not be boring.  If Emmanuel took after my personality, I truly think few people would attend.  However, as I spoke about on Sunday, self-awareness is an important quality in which to take advantage.  Therefore, I put forth energy to stay out of the way and let others create a non-boring church.

If the community is ever going to realize that Emmanuel has something to say to them that matters, they need to see and experience that Emmanuel is going to offer activities that directly impact their interests.  Ministry needs to be culturally relevant.  There are many people who like to scrapbook.  And since, to my knowledge, Scripture does not suggest that scrapbooking is a sin, then let people scrapbook.  People came and hopefully recognized that Emmanuel wants to matter to them.  Emmanuel wants to be relevant to the community…. Not just the church members.

There are those who like to do crafts or dress up for Halloween or karaoke or square dance or see puppet plays or eat or play cards……. Just because I may not get it doesn’t mean it shouldn’t happen.  On the contrary, we leaders of the church should be looking for ways to be relevant to the community even if we don’t understand the community’s interests.  As long as we don’t compromise our very basic (and simple) understanding of God’s expectations of us, then why not go to great lengths to help the community see that we matter.

Culturally Relevant Ministry

Being relevant gets us closer to our purpose for the community.  If we matter to the community, the community will more likely take to heart what we have to say:  God loves you.  God wants you to be his disciple.  Are you willing to love like God wants you to love? 

When a church is irrelevant, people don’t care what you have to say.  But when people spend time in the building doing what matters to them, they just might start listening to what matters to us.  Why?  Because who isn’t willing to listen to someone who cares about them? 

It’s a basic concept that Jesus used.  He went to the people and spoke on their turf about what mattered to them first, whether it was healing or religion or family or money.  Then after he showed them that they mattered to him, he spoke up.  And for many, he started mattering to them.

Culturally Relevant Ministry

I hope we all understand why we reach out; why we invite; why we welcome.  It is because we want God to matter to everyone possible.  So scrapbook away! 

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Our Annual Opportunity

Hello Emmanuel,

Introduce yourself.  Make an acquaintance.  Maybe make a friend.

I’ve identified unique themes for the month of January in regards to our worship services at Emmanuel.  I suspect they are similar in other churches as well.  This is my 5^th January at Emmanuel and I have begun to look for these themes every year.  So far, it hasn’t failed me.

I’ve mentioned before how attendance spikes in the first few months of the calendar year, especially in January.  Not to bore you with numbers, but Emmanuel is about 10-20% higher in January than the yearly average attendance for the year.  If you aren’t interested in numbers, keep reading.  If you are, keep reading. 

It isn’t just about the numbers, but who makes up the numbers.  Every year there are a handful of people whom you have never met or even seen who start out with the intentions of committing themselves to worship on a regular basis.  We are seeing that at Emmanuel already.  This will last, sometimes, as long as the year.  Most probably it will last only a few months.  In some cases, it will only be a few weeks.

Introduce yourself.  Make an acquaintance.  Maybe make a friend.

In addition, I watch irregular attenders sometimes become regular attenders.  Sometimes it becomes a permanent change in worshipping habits.  Most of the time, however, it lasts for a few months…. Maybe until just after Easter.  People want to make a bigger commitment to worship God.  The attempt is made.  January is a popular time for attempts, successful or not.

Introduce yourself.  Make an acquaintance.  Maybe make a friend.

There are congregations out there that would love to have the opportunity to make new connections with new people---to show them that God cares they are coming to be a part of the faith community.  The first difficult step is to provide the kind of church community that is attractive enough to the unchurched that they are willing to visit, even if only out of curiosity.  Sadly, there are churches that struggle to just get past step one.  I believe Emmanuel has got past step one. 

Step two is to offer authentic and relevant faith that understands the basics of grace and unconditional love.  Again, while Emmanuel is not perfect, it is able to communicate this for the most part.  It isn’t necessarily so easy when the church is full of sinners, however.  But we keep trying and, in my most humble opinion, do adequately.

The third step:  to introduce yourself; make an acquaintance; maybe make a friend.

The tipping point for many who want to renew their commitment to the church is whether or not they feel they are connected to the community in real, practical ways.  Even as Emmanuel as grown, please realize that many have also left the church, sometimes to go elsewhere and sometimes to go nowhere.  I have not done any kind of scientific study, but many of the comments that I lock away in my mental file is that, right before someone leaves the church, if they have any concern, it is that they don’t feel a connection.

Introduce yourself.  Make an acquaintance.  Maybe make a friend.  Be a connection.  Be that person that the newly committed attender looks forward to talking with.  Be that person who missed them when they weren’t there.  Don’t just care, but show that you care.  Don’t be afraid.  Jesus cares.  You should too.  I have yet to have a person tell me that they are going elsewhere because they felt someone cared that they were there or not.

Ultimately, this isn’t about trends or number.  This is about seizing the opportunity to encourage someone else to connect with God on a spiritual level.  People are most likely to do that if they have friends who are doing that.  God created us to be in community together.  When we are, then we are most likely to see God’s purpose for our lives….. and purpose is what drives us to act and speak and do.  Mix purpose with divine intent and you have a church who goes about connecting people with God.

No church will ever be everything for everyone, including Emmanuel.  But when you help people understand that you care, that is a first step to helping them see that God cares.  When people believe that God cares, they tend to stick around…… and make friends with others who will show up next January.

Such is the life at Emmanuel.  Keep the circle going.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Holy Freezing Nose Hairs, Batman!!!

Hello Emmanuel,

You know it is cold when your nose hairs freeze.

Okay…. Probably not the way to start your Monday, but you’ll agree that it is nasty cold outside!  This only magnifies the ongoing issue that goes on in our house.  We have a teenage boy who doesn’t define cold as Mom defines cold.  As a result, the choice of apparel as he leaves the house constantly ends up in a conversation similar to the following:

Mom:  where is your coat??!?!

Teenage Boy:  I don’t need a coat.

Mom:  It is COLD outside.  Get a coat on!

Teenage Boy:  But it’s not cold!

Mom:  I don’t care.  Get a coat on… and a hat while you’re at it…. And where are your gloves???

Teenage Boy:  (suppresses eye roll and decides that silent obedience is the better part of valor)

Consistent with my attempt at wisdom, I avoid getting involved (mostly because my definition of ‘cold’ varies also).  I also have memories of running across the street to school in jeans and a t-shirt regardless of the weather.  My justification involved the fact that I could get from my front door to the school’s front door in about 8 seconds if I ran.  Why would I waste time with a coat?  Exactly.

So what about you?  What about your definition of ‘cold’.  Our definitions vary, not just from a physical aspect, but also from a spiritual aspect.  For some, getting a taste of ‘church’ and hearing a message twice a year is good enough, thank you very much.  On the other hand, there are those who are ridden with self-inflicted guilt if they miss a Sunday for any reason.  Most of us are somewhere in between.  How do you measure your needs when you discern the temperature of your spiritual self?  Ah!  Maybe that is the wrong question.

God wants you to be engaged with Him.  Maybe it isn’t a question of how much you need.  Maybe it’s a question of how much God wants from you.  2014 can be a year when you stop looking at yourself and start looking to God.  If you believe that God won’t ask any more than you can give, then why fear pursuing the desires of God for your life?  The reality is that God will likely bless you more than you could ever bless yourself.

Now to be clear, this isn’t really about church either.  To be intimately engaged with God can be made possible by being involved with a healthy church.  However, your relationship with God goes beyond church.  It speaks to a personal relationship that the church can help foster.  How much does God want from you?

I challenge you to use 2014 as a year to gauge the difference between what you think you need and what God desires for you.  It may not be easy.  It may even be painful.  In my experience, there is an angst involved with listening to God’s voice.  You don’t know where He may lead you.  In my experience, there are also blessings involved.  I am glad to be His follower.  I hope you are too.

May your spirit stay warm in 2014

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

A Giving Church

Hello Emmanuel,

Be a giving church.

I once heard it said (and I’ve relayed the message on several occasions), that if you want to know what is important to someone, don’t listen to what they say.  Look at their checkbook and calendar.  This may seem a bit overly simplistic, but not much so.  The bottom line is that, given the choice, we will spend our time and our money in whatever ways are most important to us.  

This is my 5th Christmas at Emmanuel and I am blessed every year to see such a giving church.  The time and resources spent to share Good News at Christmas shows the commitment that people have with their walk with God.  This year is going to be no different.  Examples have already been made known and I feel it is important that we recognize the impact that such giving has.  So let me share a couple of examples.

First, the United Methodist Women’s effort in organizing another Breakfast With Santa event went as well as ever.  So many people put forth the effort to spend their time and energy so that the community continues to hear the message that Emmanuel has something great to share.  It’s good to know that the hard work that the UMW puts forth in raising funds for missions and outreach is able to be shown in how the UMW also gives back.  

Be a giving church.

Second, if the church is able to make a significant impact on an individual---and if that individual has the means---that individual will, in turn, impact the church even after he or she goes home to the Lord.  Such is the case with Ethel Jett.  Ethel is an example of how the wonderful cycle of disciple-making can continue when the church makes intentional efforts to show the love of God.  Two years after her passing, Ethel provided a significant gift to the church much like many did before her.  The cycle continues.

Be a giving church.

Once again this Christmas Eve, we will be taking up a special offering to help support Inter Parish Ministry and the Free Food Bank in their traveling food pantry.  The pantry includes stops at Emmanuel where well over 100 families are given food at each stop (next year it will be about once a month).  In addition, a cooking class has been offered to help educate others on how to prepare the food that is handed out.  Finally, agencies across the county have used Emmanuel to network with one another in order to improve the efficiency by which food and other help is handed out.

Be a giving church.

These are only a couple of immediate examples.  There are many others.  The questions is, ‘How do you give?’.  My guess is that you give in ways that are important to you.  I hope your walk with Christ includes a church home that both nurtures you and encourages you to be more like Christ…… a Christ who gave all to those he cared about most, including you.

If you are involved at Emmanuel, but don’t feel the impact of a God who loves you, please come talk to me.  I can help get that changed.  If you do not have a church home, come try us out.  We aren’t perfect, but we do like to give the kind of effort that pleases God.

Merry Christmas…..

….because God is good all the time,

Pastor Joe