Author: The Pastor

Homecoming

/ The Pastor

After my trip to my hometown this past weekend, I will never think of the phrase, "Over the Hill", in the same way again.  It will no longer be something to tease people with about getting older, rather it will be something to remind me about going home.  Who would have ever thought a drive home could cause someone to think so much (much less, think theologically).

The drive from Jackson, MN (where I serve as a pastor) to Dawson, MN (where I grew up) is nothing too exciting.  The land is flat with an occasional hill or two (including my favorite hill outside of Dawson — more on that later).  There are a couple towns to break up the monotony of the 2 1/2 hour drive and even a lake to dress up the scenery.  Other than that, The trip between Jackson and Dawson is nothing to put in a tourist magazine.

But there was something about the drive home on Friday that got me thinking.  I hadn’t been home since Christmas and found myself really looking forward to getting home.  My sister and brother-in-law along with my 2 1/2 year old niece were going to be there.  I was going to see my two grandmas who live in the nursing home there.  Along with these homecoming a cousin of mine who serves in the Air Force was returning home after being stationed in a former Soviet Union country (I can never remember the name).  This was going to be a fun weekend.

The drive between Jackson and Marshall (the half way point) was nothing exciting.  But once I left Marshall something changed.  Now I was becoming anxious.  I found myself looking more and more forward to getting home.  I had to resist to urge to press my gas peddle closer to the floor in a effort to hasten my arrival.  Each farm place and bend in the road become more and more familiar.  Finally I arrived in Clarkfield and that meant the westerly turn that brings me closer to Dawson.  Ten more miles then I wold be making the northerly turn to Dawson.  The ten miles outside of Clarkfield were the longest ten miles of my life. 

Then finally mile marker 8 arrived and I headed north. As I drove along (and I did increase my speed here) I recognized a familiar hill.  It was the hill that I knew once I reached I could see Dawson.  Sure enough, I crested the hill and there was Dawson.  I was "over the hill".  I was going home.  My heart raced a little more and before I knew it I was walking into my parents home.

As I think about this experience I wonder if that is what it is like for someone who is approaching the end of their life.  As they lay there in bed are they "cresting that hill" and seeing their final destination.  Does their "heart race a little bit" as they perceive that they will be home shortly.  I wonder.  I have seen people completely at peace with dying and this has to be it. 

I look forward to going home.  I look forward to seeing my family.  I look forward to that peace and comfort that only loved ones can provide.  And if I feel this way about a boring 2 1/2 hour trip home then I can only imagine what my real homecoming will be.  I look forward to "cresting that final hill" and seeing my Savior waiting for me.  What a sight that will be.  In the mean time, I continue my journey.  God bless YOUR journey and happy homecoming to you.

P.S. If you would like to read more about homecomings read Anne Graham Lotz’s book, Heaven: My Father’s House

-edh-

Still being stimulated

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

I am still being stimulated.  The comments to my last post are continuing to cause me to think.  I know there are a variety of people out there that have different beliefs than us, but what is our responsibility in "the discussion"?  If someone is "clearly in the wrong" based on our Christian belief, what should our reaction be?  Do we point out their "error" and condemn them or do we keep the avenues of communication open?

As Christians it is easy for us to say that the Jews are wrong or the Muslims are wrong.  On the flip side of the coin, they can say the same about Christians.  If this is our attitude, then communication shuts down and what about evangelism?  If you encounter an atheist and they say your wrong and you say they are wrong, then evangelism is not going to happen.  Evangelism begins with relationships.  Even though we may believe the other person is "wrong" we still have a Christian responsibility to love and honor them by listening and keeping avenues of communication open.  By doing this we are not validating their belief but rather we are honoring them as a child of God.

Keep an open mind and be patient, but also remember to pray.  We cannot engage this difficult task of evangelism on our own.  Transformation happens through the Holy Spirit.

On a personal note:  I am super excited about heading to my parent’s home today.  My sister and brother-in-law will be home with my 2 1/2 year old niece, Meara.  I haven’t been home for a couple months so this will be a fun and happy homecoming.

Take care and God bless.  -edh-

Get stimulated

/ The Pastor / 4 Comments

If you have checked out some of the blogs that I have been reading, you have probably noticed that there are two of them that are written by confessed atheists:  Skeptico and School of Thought.  I have found both of these blogs to be very interesting and intellectually stimulating.

For example:  Recently the author of Skeptico posted a blog entry titled Still no evidence prayer works.  As a Christian who believes very strongly that prayer works I was intrigued to read what this person had to say.  It made me think about my prayer life and how I would respond to such a person.  Check out how he ends his post: "Ironically, Paul Kurtz of the skeptical Center for Inquiry will be undergoing cardiac surgery today. I wish him well, and I won’t be praying for him."  That is really too bad. So I will pray for Paul and I hope you will join me in doing that (actually…I left a message on this person’s blog indicating I will be praying for Paul).  Prayer does work and I hope the author (and Paul) feel the power of prayer.

The reason I am writing this post is to say that we need to expand our minds and explore where and why people have problems with Christianity.  If we can understand the argument it might better inform how we share the Gospel with people.  I believe many evangelism efforts fail because we don’t understand people.  Faithful (and effective) evangelism begins with relationships.  We need to get to know people and most importantly, LISTEN.

So I encourage you to check out blogs written by people who have different beliefs than you. If you are ONLY reading things by people who have similar beliefs as you, then you are not going to be as intellectually stimulated.  If you’re a Christian find a blog written by an atheist or a Muslim for example.  You get my point.  I am still exploring blogs and I understand that I need to expand my reading base.  Let me know if you have any recommendations for me. Take care and God bless.  -edh-

P.S. Don’t forget to pray for Paul.

High hopes

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

I sometimes wonder if I let my enthusiasm be something that sets me up for disappointment.  I wonder if I set my goals too high.  I wonder if I am being overly optimistic about how people will (or should) respond to something.

About a month ago I started teaching a class on evangelism.  I had advertised the class well.  I mentioned how important it is to be a church that shares the Good News with one another.  After all, that is what the church is about.  I told people they would leave this class with tools to help them share their faith.  I then used this line:  "If you care about the future of the Church, then this class is for you."  If felt I hyped up this class enough that I could realistically expect a couple dozen people.  I had six people the first day with only four of them continuing on.  Needless to say I was disappointed.  I know I am serving two small SW MN congregations, but I somehow expected more people to care about evangelism and the Church.

I know it is not about quantity but rather about quality, but why can’t people have the same enthusiasm as I do about sharing our faith?  Why do people place sports and work and play time and etc. above God?  I ask this question a lot and I never seem to give myself a good answer.  Some days I feel like banging my head against the wall and wonder why I keep doing this.  Why bother…no one cares.

Then I think about those four people who have been faithfully coming to a class about evangelism.  Maybe they will be a catalyst in the Church.  Maybe others will see their efforts and want to learn more about how to share their faith.  Maybe their example will start a ripple effect in the church that will cause Salem and Belmont Lutheran Churches to explode with members causing us to have to add more worship services and eventually more space.  Maybe because of the massive increase in members we will need to add more staff maybe even another pastor.  Maybe…hold on a second…I am getting too excited (honestly, my heart is beating a mile a minute now).

<Pause to catch my breath>

Am I setting my hopes too high…maybe.  Will I get disappointed…maybe.  Will I stop being enthusiastic…HOPEFULLY NEVER!  -edh-

God is doing a “new thing”

/ The Pastor

What new thing is God doing in your life?  But more importantly, can you even perceive that God is doing anything in your life?  Isaiah 43:18-19 (the Old Testament lesson for March 25) reads as follows, "Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old.  I am about to do a new thing: now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?"(emphasis mine).

Text study this morning has got me thinking again.  It is amazing how that happens when people get together to study scripture.  I am not sure if this is what I am going to preach on, only time (and God) will tell, but what I am thinking is this:  What "new thing" is God doing in my life? In the congregation I serve? In the Church? In you?  I perceive some activity in my life but I am still trying to figure out what it means.  I perceive some activity at Salem and Belmont Lutheran Churches (the congregations I serve) but I am still trying to figure out what it means.  I know God is doing something new in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but I wonder if anyone knows what is going on.  And I know God is doing something in your life.

I believe it is all a matter of listening to God.  I think we get so caught up in ourselves that we don’t stop to recognize that God is up to something.  I know God is up to something amazing in mine and Connie’s lives but what?  I get so lost in emotion and selfishness that sometimes God’s voice gets lost.  I need to stop and listen.  I need to tune out the noise.  I need to perceive.

God IS up to something.  What "new thing" is God doing in you? -edh-

Anticipation

/ The Pastor

The scripture texts for this coming Sunday (March 25) are: Isaiah 43:16-21; Psalm 126; Philippians 3:4b-14; and John 12:1-8.

As I read these texts in preparation for my weekly text study, with a dozen or so other pastors, I can’t help but think of one word — anticipation.  Isaiah talks about making a way in the wilderness…so the people might declare the Lord’s praise.  The Psalm makes mention of "restored fortunes".  Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, says he is still pressing on toward the goal for a prize.  And the Gospel text in John contains the account of Mary anointing Jesus with oil in preparation for His burial.  So…what are we to make of these texts?

In all the texts there seems to be an anticipation of something: A way home; restored fortunes; a prize; and the cross.  And as we wind down this Lenten season there is something exciting about this.  Easter is a couple weeks away.  The Good News of the resurrection is going to slap us across the face.  But yet I am forced to wonder…do people sit in anticipation for this or is there something else people anticipate more?  Do I get more excited about the New Life Jesus came to bring or do I get more excited about my team winning in the NCAA basketball tournament?  Do I take more joy in the fact that my sins are forgiven or does my joy come from a good cup of coffee in the morning?  Maybe this is a question we need to ask ourselves…where do we find joy?  I know how I would answer now, but in the heat of the moment, where do we instinctively go…to God or somewhere else? 

Hmmm…

Just some thoughts to get us thinking.  Take care and God bless. -edh-

The Prodigal Father sermon

/ The Pastor

I have posted my sermon from yesterday (March 18) on my alternate blog, Sermons by Eric.  Last week I talked about the Gospel text from Luke 15 that is normally titled "The Prodigal Son".  In my post The Prodigal Father, I pondered the idea of changing the name of the Prodigal Son parable.  In my sermon yesterday I did just that.  Let me know what you think.  Am I off my rocker?  I may be, but sometimes we need to fall off our rocker to get a better perspective.  Sometimes we waste too much energy trying to stay on our rockers that we fail to see other possibilities.

I believe God is wasteful with his forgiveness.  After all…we WILL let God down again and hurt him.  So thanks be to our "wasteful" God.  -edh-

The Prodigal Father

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

The Gospel text for this coming Sunday is from Luke 15 (see my post titled Wild Forgiveness).  The parable Jesus is telling is commonly called "The Prodigal Son".  When looking up the definition of "prodigal" I come up with "wasteful".

I wonder…maybe I should title my sermon for Sunday "The Prodigal Father".  After all, wasn’t the father in this parable being wasteful with his forgiveness and mercy?  Aren’t we called as Christians to be "wasteful" with the Good News of forgiveness; boldly proclaiming this to everyone and anyone…even people we deem unworthy?  Maybe we have something to learn from this "wasteful" Father of ours.  God sent Jesus to die for the forgiveness of our sins.  Are we worthy?  Thank God for wastefulness.  -edh-

Text study

/ The Pastor

Starting with today’s post, Wild forgiveness, I am going to start a little text study with anyone who would like to participate.  It is a chance for us to ponder out loud (or on the keyboard) about the upcoming Sunday texts.  If you feel so moved to offer any insights, I (as well as others) would love to hear (or see) them.  Then on the following week you are invited to check out my sermon blog and see what I preached.  The link to this sermon blog is in the left side bar titled Pastor Eric’s Sermons. 

Text study has always proved to be very valuable to me personally/spiritually and as a pastor preparing sermons.  If nothing else I will have a chance to engage in a discipline of writing down my ponderings in preparation for Sunday.

God bless you this day and always and I hope to see you again soon.  Take care. -edh-

Wild forgiveness

/ The Pastor

The Gospel text for this coming Sunday (March 18) is from the 15th chapter of Luke — the Prodigal Son.  The younger son in this parable gets sick and tired of living at home.  He is tired of working for his dad and tired of the rules.  So in his "infinite" wisdom, he decides to go it alone.  He asks (or rather, demands) for his part of the inheritance.  Essentially, this younger son is slapping his father in the face through this strange request and basically considers his father dead.  But the father does something surprising; he gives his son what he asked for and the son takes off.  The father is devastated.  The son goes and wastes his money on reckless living and then quickly falls on hard times.  After a period of time slopping pigs, this prodigal son finally comes to his senses and decides to throw himself on his father’s mercy; hoping to be treated as one of his hired workers.  The son rehearses his speech and heads for home, not knowing exactly what to expect, but hoping for something better than living with swine.

Meanwhile…back at home the father is sitting on his porch, looking down the road and waiting anxiously.  People tell him to give up but the father refuses.  His son maybe gone — lost — but he still holds out hope that he will return.  Then…off in the distance the father sees a familiar silhouette.  It’s his long lost son.  Without batting an eye, the waiting father jumps off the porch and runs to meet his son; a completely undignified act.  And before the prodigal son has a chance to run through his rehearsed speech, the father begins doting on him and plans a party, much to the chagrin of the older son; the one who has always stuck by his father’s side.  The father’s mercy and forgiveness is too wild for the older brother.  Maybe too wild for us.

Three characters — three completely different people.  Many messages — many possibilities. 

So…who do you relate to?  Is that even a question to ask here?  What is the point of this parable?  Where do you find hope in the parable?  I find myself pondering these questions as I consider what to preach this weekend.  Should I talk about the prodigal son…that is the title of the parable?  Should I talk about the older brother; who is resentful towards his wayward brother?  Or maybe, just maybe, I should talk about the gracious father who showed wild forgiveness. 

So many messages — so many possibilities.  How does this parable speak to you?  Hopefully God will place the answer to this question on my heart by Sunday.  In the mean time…how does this parable speak to you?

Praise God always and forever…AMEN! -edh-