I Feel Disgusted!

Hello Emmanuel,

I feel disgusted with myself.  As many of you know, Kim and I went on a cruise.  It has become a ritual of ours.  It is time away from the busyness of life, away from cell phone signals and the internet.  It is a time to reconnect with each other…….   And with food.

My disgust stems from all the food I ate.  I joke about it with many, but the truth is that the sin of gluttony is alive and well on cruise ships.  I’ve always eaten well in the past, but this time was different.  This time I truly got a taste of what over-indulgence (…hehe… get it?  ‘taste’?) to the extent that I felt…well … disgusted.

Lent starts in 2 days.  I’ve already began the process of living a healthier lifestyle (partly because I couldn’t afford to buy all that food!).  But I’ll admit there is a bit of repentance in the midst of it.  I abused myself and it wasn’t right.  I need to make it right.

Lent is 40 days, not counting Sunday.  It officially starts Wednesday.  We will mark the season this Sunday with the imposition of ashes.  It will be a new season.  It will be a new sermon series.  It can be a new beginning.

The 40 days symbolizes the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness, being tempted by Satan.  The Sundays are ‘mini-Easters’ that give us a break to remember that the resurrection is coming.  In the midst of it all, we will change gears from the season of ah-ha’s (Epiphany) to the season of uh-oh’s--from what we can do to what we should stay away from.  It is a time to look at our dysfunctions in the face and consider how we should grab the wrong things in our life and make them right.

I invite you to a season of repentance with me.  My goal is to lose 20 pounds by Easter.  Maybe eating isn’t your ‘uh-oh’.  Maybe it is something else you need to get right.  Whatever it is, let Emmanuel walk with you just as God will walk with you.  Why?  Because God will again lead us through the 40 days and the 41^st day will be glorious.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Living The Dream

Hello Emmanuel,

So January has come and gone.  It was an especially busy and emotional month for me that included 5 funerals, 2 of which were my uncle and my first mentor.  I’m going to guess (and hope) the next 11 months will not be the same.  Januaries always seem to bring uniqueness to my year.  This isn’t true just in my personal life, but in the church as well.

When the holidays are over, people seem to want to know what is next.  There comes this down time or lull.  There is not the busyness or anticipation of the holidays to keep minds occupied.  So people start looking.  Inevitably, we seem to get more visitors in January than any other month.  Also, people in the church evaluate their roles and also consider what more there could be.  This is the time of year that can bring opportunity.

So I am always looking and listening.  What do you want to do in the life of the church?  Have you found your niche?  Are you content with where God has put you?  I’m always up for having conversation about Call and doing my best to give you the opportunity to live your Call out.  Thanks to how Emmanuel is now structured, I can focus more on one-on-one conversations.  2 weeks ago I broke my record with 12 one-on-ones that were specifically about Call and getting people in the right place to do the right thing at the right time.  It feels good for me to be able to live out my Call.

So I’m always up for a conversation.  Give me a call or email me and we can schedule a meeting at church… or Panera… or Subway… or pretty much any place that serves food.  However, if you want to meet me next week, I’ll be in Cozumel.  Just look for a hammock on the beach.  I’ll be in it with my sunglasses and drink in hand.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Dance and Sing

Hello Emmanuel,

As some of you know me, you know my passion for sports and competition.  I’d much rather kick your butt in ping-pong than to attend an orchestra concert.  Competition is therapeutic for me.  It isn’t for everyone, however.  No one in my immediate family relates to me in this area.  They think I’m a crazy guy when I yell at the tv screen (‘no one on that football team can hear you Dad’).  At the same time, I’m a pastor.  I have found that being a competitor doesn’t work in the realm of leading a church.  So I do have to find other outlets of expression…

Yesterday I had the privilege of driving to Hillsboro to watch Joey play in the Land of Grant Honors Band.  It is a band made up of students from 3 different counties.  It was good music and very talented kids.

Something one of the directors said to us really struck me.  He invited us to fight to keep music programs in schools.  He said music is what makes us human.

I chewed on that for a while.  I do have a passion for the Liberal Arts programs.  Music, art, drama, etc; needs to stay in schools and yet there seems to be a tolerance, to some degree, to let them be the first to go away when money gets tight.

One of the unique qualities that make us human is the creativity in which we can express ourselves.  Music and religion are two of those areas.  It occurred to me that such modes of expression allow the passion of the church to be made known.  If we translate that reality to schools and young people, what happens if modes of expression is taken from them?  I haven’t searched for any empirical data, but I imagine that if we don’t teach and encourage our kids to express themselves, it can’t result in anything positive.

I don’t think God wants us to raise robots.  Certainly, the push to improve our math and sciences is important.  We don’t want to fall behind the rest of the world in these areas.  However, God has given us a unique spirit that desires creativity and expression:  music, art, drama, literature and dance are all ways that we can let loose our spirit and shout in constructive ways how we feel.  It is more than just ‘playtime’.  It is therapeutic.  It is good for the soul.

I’ve never been one to throw myself into music.  Yes, I can play and I can sing, but it has never been my mode of expression necessarily.  When it comes to the arts, creative writing is really my area (I write a sermon every week to convince you of something).  Regardless, the church (and schools) can be and should be a place that encourages the spirit to express itself. 

I thank God for giving us the opportunity for expression.  Let’s encourage it in one another.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Avoid Cheating

Hello Emmanuel,

A new sermon series is starting:  The Ultimate Life.  As part of this series, the challenge is to give thanks for 10 things each day.  That is 10 things days each day for 6 weeks…. 420 things (mine will be on facebook each morning).

So when will I get stuck?  When will I have to think really, really hard for things to be thankful for?  I’m sure I’ll have mornings when I don’t feel like being thankful.  How will I deal with that? 

Truth is that I will still plow through it.  Know why?  Because I told everyone I’m posting it each day.  Facebook has become my accountability partner.  And if I don’t post on one particular day, any one of the hundreds of friends I have will message me.  I don’t want that.  Therefore, the exercise will be a consistent one.

Who is your accountability partner?  Don’t have one?  Get one.  It’s easy to be sneaky and cheat when no one is looking.  It is difficult when someone you trust is watching what you are doing.  Having a person in your life who loves you and wants the best for you is a great asset.  That person will keep you moving straight ahead into the good and right things.  Corners cannot be cut as easy and you can grow as a person more effectively. 

I’ve had many accountability partners throughout my life:  Mom, pastors, teammates, my wife, small groups, classmates and even my kids.  True, being a pastor raises my visibility a bit.  However, believe it or not, pastors have been known to cut corners too if they aren’t held accountable.

So here is to friendship.  Find it.  Cherish it.  Use it to become a better disciple of Jesus.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

I Made It!!!!

Hello Emmanuel,

Well, the holidays are over and guess what?  I’m HEALTHY!  This is the first time in 3 years that I’ve been able to make such a claim.  True, I may get the flu next week, but I’ve been healthy thus far and I’ve not taken it for granted.

Not everyone is healthy right now, however.  It seems every year there is more and more talk about the different strains of the flu and how it can impact a community.  Nursing homes, schools and hospitals are especially hit hard.  No one likes to have their life put on hold by spending time in a bed while feeling awful.

And yet there is another kind of illness that I also see this time of year.  I can’t always put my finger on it, but it seems to be spiritual in nature.  My conversations with people this time of year take on a different tone than in other times of the year.  People tend to be grasping at emotional kinds of issues, struggling with internal tensions that reside in their hearts.

People are often commenting to me why there seems to be more illness and death right after the holidays.  I’m not a doctor or a psychologist, but I can’t help but wonder about the role that spiritual illness plays in the midst of what we see with physical illness.  The connection between the spirit and the body is a mystery that has been looked at throughout the course of human history and from an infinite number of angles.

The Christian perspective is to encourage you to stay connected to the Divine.  A healthy relationship with God creates a kind of peace that surpasses all understanding.  From my own personal experience, when my relationship with God is right, I’m able deal with adversity in a much more constructive way.  Even if it all goes wrong and I moan and complain, if I feel right with God, I seem to get through the tough stuff in better shape.

So how do you stay connected to God?  Pray, worship, serve and give.  Those are the ways I connect.  It’s a reminder to me that all is okay with the Universe because God has made it so…. Even if I don’t feel like it is.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Blessed, Not Stressed

Hello Emmanuel,

Don’t be stressed.  Be blessed.

‘Tis the season for last second Christmas preparations.  It can be stressful.  I know.  Our home is feeling it right this moment.  But….

Don’t be stressed.  Be blessed.

Be honest with yourself.  You didn’t create Christmas.  You don’t help Christmas go.  Indeed—and not to sound mean or anything—but without you, Christmas would still happen.   Jesus is still going to be born.  So…

Don’t be stressed.  Be blessed.

Consider just for the moment that you are the receiver of Christmas, not the giver.  Consider that God is the one who is stressed.  After all, wouldn’t an omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent God be stressed to fit into a flesh-and-blood human, finite body?  God is the giver.  You are the receiver…. So

Don’t be stressed.  Be blessed.

Yes, I know, you have to buy presents and wrap them and possibly fix food and get to certain places at certain times and get the house clean and……  but Christmas happened in a dirty barn.  The gifts form the wise men wouldn’t arrive for at least another 2 years.  Maybe we really need to re-think how we go about this time of year.

Don’t be stressed.  Be blessed.

Christmas Eve services will be at 7:00 (kid-friendly) and 10:00 (traditional).  Let’s be blessed together.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

New Beginnings

Hello Emmanuel,

‘Tis the season for new beginnings…

First, the obvious:  Jesus’ birth is a new beginning.  It is the beginning of a different way to approach God.  Or, from a different perspective, it is a different way for God to approach you.  It would no longer include a bloody bull on an altar somewhere.  Now there would be a way for you to commune with your God with less fear and with more grace.

Second, the not-so-obvious:  many people will be attending Christmas Eve services.  Some of these people will be those who you could see on any given week, actively involved in the ministries of Emmanuel.  A few will be those who are active in other churches, but are attending with family for that particular night.  And then there will be the occasional visitor who is looking for a spark—someone who is looking for a new beginning for themselves.  Maybe they have become bored with life.  Or maybe they have had a rough year.  Or maybe they are looking for deeper meaning or more fulfillment or… well… there are lots of reasons to want a new beginning.

Christmas Eve is a perfect time for Emmanuel to provide that spark.  It is no accident that, statistically, churches typically get more visitors in January than any other month of the year.  Often times, it is a result of those people who went to a Christmas Eve service, a spark was created and more interest created to come back to a Sunday service.  Let’s allow God to create that spark.

December 21^st at 7:00 will be our Blue Christmas service.  It is designed for those who may have had a very difficult year; for those who feel sad this season; or for those who don’t want to be merry right now.  Some of them may be looking for a spark.

December 24^th at 7:00 will be our Kid-Friendly Christmas service.  It is designed to engage the kids as the Christmas story is told again.  I never really know how it might go.  Kids are unpredictable.  On the other hand, sometimes it is the innocent child that participates in the Christmas story that creates more sparks than anyone.

December 25^th at 10:00 will be our traditional Christmas service.  It is the service that many of you grew up with, that will include the nostalgia and memories of family with an atmosphere of peace and hope.   

On an additional note, Emmanuel has the opportunity to send James Pollitt, one of Emmanuel’s members, to Columbia as part of our District’s Mission Team’s trip in February.  We will share the tragedy that has happened to one particular village and then the new beginning that is being sent to that particular village.  The special offerings for Christmas Eve will be used to continue that hope. 

Let’s move through the season with the intent to create sparks.  It is a special time for God to work in people.  Let Him use us.  Let Him use you.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe