An Exciting Storm

Hello Emmanuel,

With everything about ready to happen at Emmanuel, I feel like this is the week of calm before the storm.  Every year at this time a check myself to be sure I’m ready for it all.  While I don’t find myself doing any one thing a lot, I do make sure I spend my time making sure all the leaders are equipped for what needs to be done.  It’s a little dizzying for me, but I always seem to enjoy the outcome.  Lots of people love Jesus and will spend their energy expressing such. 

The truth is that it takes a lot of energy.  And we need lots of help.  The Easter Egg Hunt (April 19^th at Batavia Township Park, 1:00-3:00) needs 100 volunteers to help pull it off smoothly (if you want to help, you can register here or sign up in the lobby of the church).  The Chocolate Easter Egg production that raises funds for the United Methodist Women for mission work takes a lot of helpers too… .over a 2 week period.  Easter is full of life, but also full of needed energy.  Add Maundy Thursday (7:00) and Easter breakfast and you have even more stuff to look forward to. 

And this year seems to be even busier.  We have scheduled a Blessing of the Bikes for April 27^th at 10:30 worship.  This is not a new idea, but a new event at Emmanuel.  We are not sure what the turnout will be, but we are saving space in the back part of the parking lot just in case. 

I could go on with all the mission projects we are supporting over the next 2 months, but I’m digressing.  Are you ready for Easter?  Really ready?  I’m not asking if you have your new Easter clothes or have penciled ‘church’ into your calendar.  I’m asking if you are ready to celebrate new life.  Are you prepared to see your day as an opportunity to live anew instead of just living some more?

I admit that I’m not always ready.  I too often get caught up in the busy-ness of Easter instead of the message of Easter.  I too often am relieved when Easter is over instead of excited that Easter has begun.  I’ll try not to do so this year.  There will be too many chances to invite people to meet Jesus and consider that the idea of mortality is being overthrown.

Someone is going to find a new source of hope over the next couple of months.  Indeed, I want many more people to find a new source of hope and life.  I invite you to do your part in making Easter a time for living anew.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Don't Assume I'm Wearing Green

Hello Emmanuel,

Never assume you know someone else’s story.

I’m not wearing green today.  I guess I’m a glutton for punishment.  Today is St. Patrick’s Day.  What better time to talk about a saint.  What I have learned again today is to never assume you know someone else’s story.

St. Patrick wasn’t Irish and he wasn’t even named Patrick.  A son of a Roman imperial official in Britain, Magonus Sucatus was captured by Irish pirates (I wonder if they wore green eye patches) and was sold into slavery.  He escaped 6 years later and eventually ended up in a monastery in France, feeling the call to become a priest.  He later became known as Patricius (Latin for ‘Patrick’).  He returned to Ireland to evangelize the pagans and lead a Christian movement.  He then became the first Bishop of Ireland.

Not much more is known about him, though many legends surround him.  Indeed, there seems to be many more legends around him than what is factually known.  This leads me to my point for today:  never assume you know someone else’s story.

I certainly have discovered many instances of those who meet me, find out that I’m a pastor, and assume they know who I am, what I’m about and even how I expect them to act.  These stories are humorous in many instances.  But mostly it is disconcerting to me.  The label ‘pastor’ isn’t who I am.  It is just one of many roles I play in life.  Those who get to know me find out that I don’t let labels define me.  Those who don’t understand this will either not ever get to know me or will not like me once they do.

The positive side to all of this is that it serves as reminder to me not to put too much emphasis on the labels of others.  There are all kinds of stereotypes out there for teachers, nurses, mechanics, office workers, etc; and the church is full of such labelled people.  I prefer to try and find out who they are.  I am much less concerned with what they do. 

Oh… and this is the way Jesus is too.  He is much more concerned about who you are.  Are you humble?  Selfless?  Loving?  Merciful and compassionate?  Forgiving?  Hopeful?  The qualities that make up a person… if they are Christ-like…. make labels much less significant.

So the next time you meet someone new, don’t assume you know any part of their story.  Get to know them.  You may make a friend in the most unexpected places.  Who would’ve thought that St. Patrick would have ever gone back to his land of slavery and get to know the people?  Not me.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Strutting Models and Loud Music

Hello Emmanuel,

Have you ever worked so hard that you forget to smell the roses?

While the new Lenten series is about life pooing on us, it is also the time of year that I have difficulty keeping up with the joys of church life.  As a result, I fail to announce such on Sundays.

This past Saturday, the United Methodist Women sponsored a ‘tea and fashion’ show with Christopher Banks and CJ Banks offering their clothing line to be modeled.  It was a wonderful success.  The UMW raised $900, all of it going for missions.  The ladies had a wonderful time and I hear the models was strutting their stuff down the catwalk.

Additionally, the youth went to Winter Jam at Bank One Arena.  James and Beth Pollitt continue to commit their time and energy giving youth the opportunity to experience faith in various ways.  Winter Jam was a series of Christian bands offering their unique (and sometimes loud) kinds of music to proclaim how good God is.  James and Beth couldn’t do it all.  Thanks to Ginifer and Chris Swofford; Russ Bowman; Pam Murphy, Tracy Jones and Andrew Shamblin to help with the chaperoning (I hope I didn’t miss anyone).

Finally, Emmanuel played a role in helping other churches in our District consider how they may be able to do Outreach ministry at their church.  Allison Boone, Muriel Cunningham and I were invited to be on a panel to be a part of the Ohio River Valley training day to share about how Emmanuel reaches out to the community.  Many other leaders at Emmanuel were able to attend other workshops to learn from other churches as well.  It’s good to not have to re-invent the wheel.

We may have also seen the birth of a new group ministry.  Scrapbooking/Craft day has now been scheduled for a 3^rd time this winter (March 29^th).  Emmanuel has been more intentional about fighting the winter blahs and it has been met with very good response.  The plan is to be even more intentional next winter by planning more family game nights, euchre nights, crafting days and any other ideas that may come our way.

While I go about my job to keep the church encouraged, inspired and motivated to do God stuff, it’s easy to forget to celebrate after the fact when God gets involved.  However, it is equally important and I ask all of Emmanuel to not be afraid to approach me when I get too caught up on the front end of helping ministry happen and don’t do enough on the back end of celebrating when things go great.

There will be much more to celebrate in the weeks ahead.  God has promised.  Easter is coming.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

I Should Have Been A Weatherman

Hello Emmanuel,

I should have been a weatherman.

In a matter of 2.5 days, our forecast went from predicting 8.5 inches of snow to 6 inches of snow to 4 inches of snow to 2-3 inches of snow.  By itself, the art of predicting weather is no big deal.  However, I feel that predicting it so far ahead of time risks the onset of large scale panic.

And yet, wouldn’t it be cool to be a weatherman?  All eyes of the Cincinnati tri-state area would be fixated on you, listening to your every word that you repeat every other 5 minutes.  I think it an interesting dynamic that so many people place so much weight on what a person says it’s going to do outside 3 or 4 days from now.  Sometimes it is actually accurate… other times?

And don’t get me started on the tv.  So many words and radars and alerts scrolling across the screen, I can’t watch the zombies get annihilated or the CSI’s figure out the impossible.

I wonder if the whole weather-predicting phenomenon for us is a simple issue of wanting to have control of our lives.  How are we supposed to schedule our day if we don’t have control of the weather?  But you say we are getting 8.5 inches of snow 3 days from now?  Ok… cool… so now I can go and cancel my appointments… oh wait… you say we only got 2 inches?  I cancelled for nothing?  Not cool.

Let’s be reminded of how little control we have over our lives and learn how to be okay with it.  I can control what I say and what I do and how I react to what goes on around me, but I control very little else.  I can’t control how my body will age (though I can try and be as healthy as possible); I can’t control if a tree branch outside decides to land on my car; I can’t control what my neighbors think and do and say about me; I can’t control how other nations war (or not) with other nations; I can’t control the opinions of others; I can’t necessarily help it if someone is determined enough to hurt me; and I certainly can’t control--or often times even predict—the weather.

It’s scary to think how little control we have around us.  It’s a big reason why prayer can be so helpful.  Belief in a sovereign God who has a big plan regarding the state of the Universe helps me keep a semblance of sanity in my day.  It helps me keep an even keel and not make any decisions that are rash or overly harsh or not thought through.  I can’t say I never mess things up.  But I find that the decisions I regret are usually the ones I make too quickly…. And when I make decisions too quickly, it is often an attempt to gain some sort of control in some way.

I’m glad that, even though God gives us free will, God has a plan that trumps any control we think we have or don’t have.  The next time you feel troubled about the unknown (or the predicted weather), consider feeling glad instead.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

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