Evangelism

Never walking alone

/ The Pastor / 6 Comments

Two weeks ago my wife, Connie (who also serves as Salem’s parish nurse) began a program called "Walking and the Word".  At 6:30am on Wednesday mornings you meet at the church (with Connie) and go for a 1/2 hour walk.  Upon your return you head to the church fellowship hall for b-fast (coffee, juice and something healthy to eat) and devotions with me — hence "Walking and the Word".  After three weeks we have 3 faithful walkers.  But whether anyone shows up or not, Connie and I will be there — exercising, enjoying breakfast and devotions.

Today, Connie was out of town for a meeting so that meant I was in charge of everything — including the walking — which was (and is) fine.  I got up at 5:30am and got b-fast ready and the coffee maker set.  At 6am I went outside to prepare for a short run before the walkers arrived.  As I was stretching out a Suburban pulled into the parking lot.  It was W.  W is a sweet man.  He always spoils Connie and I at Christmas with a gift certificate to a fancy restaurant.  This morning W got out of his vehicle and said, "No one should walk alone or walk alone in life.  So I will walk with you."  I couldn’t help but smile.  I explained to him the walkers arrive in a 1/2 hour and that I was going for a run before we walk.  I invited him to come back at 6:30 but he said he is not much of a walker…he just didn’t want me to walk alone.  We chatted for a while and then he left to have coffee with the guys.

What a great thing to say, "No one should ever walk alone".  How true…how true.  No one should EVER walk alone and no one does when it come to Christ.  But here on this earth many people still "walk alone".  They grieve alone, deal with problems alone, celebrate alone, cry alone. 

"No one should ever walk alone"

Most if not all of us know people who "walk alone".  We know people who feel isolated because of choice or because of life circumstances.  They may feel lost and don’t know what to do.  But whether it is a choice or life circumstance…

…"No one should ever walk alone"…

…so go and "walk" with them.  Remind them that with Christ they never truly walk alone.  They never truly grieve alone or deal with problems alone or…you get the picture. 

"No one should ever walk alone" is a nice thing to say but an even better thing to put into practice. W does it literally and figuratively.  So pull a W…pull off the "road"…step outside your comfort zone…and "walk" or walk with someone.  Because…"No one should ever walk alone".  Thanks W…and…happy "walking" to all.

-edh-

The healing of the wild, naked man

/ The Pastor / 4 Comments

"The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him (Jesus); but Jesus sent him away, saying, ‘Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.’  So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him." (Luke 8:38-39)

The Gospel text for this Sunday, June 24 (the 4th Sunday after Pentecost) is from Luke 8:26-39.  This is the story of Jesus healing the wild, possessed naked man who found his joy by running through the tombs (this always gets the attention of my confirmation kids).  As Jesus entered the country of the Gerasenes he is greeted by this possessed man.  The demons plead for their life as Jesus commands them to come out of the man.  Jesus, showing compassion, allows them to enter a swine herd and they proceed to drive the herd into the ocean; destroying it. 

The wild, possessed naked man is now healed, clothed and now in his right mind.  The people looking on, however, are scared silly.  Because of their fear they ask Jesus to leave, so he does.  As Jesus is preparing to leave, the healed man wants to go with Jesus but Jesus commands him to stay and proclaim the good news.  The man obeys and proclaimed "throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him."

The response of the healed man is nothing unusual.  Many of you have probably attended retreats, seminars, worship services or Bible studies where you truly felt the presence of God.  In those cases many people want to stay put.  They don’t want to leave and risk losing that incredible feeling.  This is what we would call a "mountain top experience".  They feel good and safe.  Our problems seem to melt away and time seems to stop.  But we all know that the time comes when we must return home – for life is not lived on the "mountain top, but in the valley".

The healed man had experienced an amazing healing (a mountain top experience) and wanted to stay with Jesus, but Jesus wanted him to proclaim the good news.  And the same goes for us.  We can’t live at the retreat center or seminar or worship service or Bible study.  We can’t live on the "mountain top".  The point of our experiences is to share with others the amazing things that God does for us.  And this command to tell others what God has done for you means to re-enter the valley.  But as we re-enter the valley we can be assured that the Holy Spirit goes with us.  Jesus promised his disciples this and Jesus promises us this as well.

So…"‘Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.’"  Return to the "valley" so others may have a "mountain top experience".  Praise be to God, always and forever.  Amen!
-edh-

Thursday morning tid bits with a dose of Love

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

National Day of Prayer

Today is the National Day of Prayer.  A colleague of mine and I lead the prayer service at the Elementary School next door.  The four schools in the Jackson Country Central school district all had short prayer services around their flag poles (of course not sponsored by them but by the Kiwanis group and the ministerial).  The event took place before school so the students could attend along with the community.  The only group of people that COULD NOT attend were the teachers.  They are on "contract time" so they could not participate in praying for our nation, community, our leaders and for our schools. I understand this whole separation of church and state thing — I understand but don’t like it — but come on, 10 measly minutes.  School is not even in session at 8am.  Next year I will talk to the Kiwanis group about starting this event earlier to allow teachers to participate and pray with the community. 

Car seat mania

Confused?  Check out this out:

100_1358

This picture represents 67 children who are now riding in safe car seats thanks to my loving and caring wife.  She works for community health and one of her passions is car seats.  My wife is a state certified car seat technician.  Most of these car seats came from two drive through car seat clinics she organized.  Last weekend Connie and her crew checked 51 vehicles and only three had car seats that were installed correctly or that were up-to-date.  People with defective or expired car seats got a new one for free thanks to a grant she received.  Unfortunately the local newspaper was not there covering this event, so this is me, giving Connie some "press".  This is also me super excited that these car seats are out of the garage…FINALLY!

A dose of Love

The Gospel text for this Sunday (The 5th Sunday after Easter) is from John 13: 31-35.  Here Jesus talks about this "new commandment" to love one another.  New commandment?  God gives the Israelites a law in the Old Testament to love another, so Jesus is not saying anything new…right?  Well, actually He is.  Unlikely Conversation: A Lectionary Blog talks about the four Greek words for love.  The "Love" Jesus is referring to is a "self sacrificing" type of Love — a kind of love Jesus shows.  This is "new" and different.  So maybe I need to preach on love and talk about what it means to truly "love one another".  I am also thinking that maybe I will refer back to Maundy Thursday where Jesus gives this "new commandment".  How are you doing with "loving your neighbor"?  On Easter Sunday a number of CEOs (Christmas Easter Only) came to worship — how are you doing in showing THEM love?   How can we love people better? 

Hmmm…I have some things to think and pray about.  I am excited to find out what the Holy Spirit places on my heart today to preach to the people on Sunday.  This sermon prep thing is awesome.

Well…it is time to chat with God and see what is up for Sunday.  God bless you and have a most wonderful day.  Take care.  -edh-

I have decided…I am not arrogant

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

I have decided that I am NOT arrogant. 

Last week a read a quote in a Christian Century article that said it was prideful for pastor to feel the need to write a new sermon every week.  That quote has been ringing in my ears, mind and heart ever since I read it (See "Sermon Stealing" below).  Writing new sermons each and every week is not about being prideful, but about being faithful.  A pastor is called to a particular congregation.  The pastor reads and lives the scripture text.  The pastor then comes FROM the congregation to preach a word to the people. This is not arrogance — it is being faithful to the Word of God spoken to each of us where we are at in a particular time and place.  To take a sermon preached previously and preach it now is to cheat people.  Joy left a very good comment about sermon stealing in my previous post when she said: "I think that’s terribly misleading (when pastors steal sermons), and could really damage the pastor/congregation relationship if discovered. If sermons are gifts from God, why would you even want to "steal" them from others? God will give pastors the right words for the right time."  Amen Joy, thank you for that comment.

But think of it this way as well:  What if your pastor were to ask you to share your faith story in worship some Sunday – would you go and find a "really good one" some place; someone who has a "better" faith story than you and use that?  Of course not.  You would share your story; the story God has written for you through Jesus Christ.  If I wanted to hear someone else’s story I would have asked them.  I understand that the sermon is not necessarily the pastor’s faith story, but in a way it is.  The sermon deals with the pastor’s/preacher’s encounter with the Word.  As Joy said the sermon/Word is a gift from God.  The message is different for everyone.  You are not going to preach the same sermon preached in Virginia in the aftermath of the shootings as you would in Minnesota.  You might have similar themes, but the Word is different.  God comes to each person in different ways and gives each us the words we need to say and hear.

And this is a lesson for all people.  When you are asked to share your faith story, don’t try to embellish it to make it more entertaining, but share your story.  We all have a story.  Be faithful and honest with people.  Take the time to listen to God and trust that when the time is right, the Holy Spirit will inspire you to share a Word with people.  Whether you are on the street or at work or in the pulpit.  When a Word needs to be shared with people, God will provide those words.  So be faith and honest and trusting.  Sermons and faith stories are not about us but rather about God.

I am NOT arrogant.  I am just a person trying to listen to God in order to share the Good News with people HERE and NOW.  What’s YOUR story? -edh-

Virginia Tech shooting

/ The Pastor

By now many of you have already heard about the deadly shooting at Virginia Tech.  If you have not, I break this news to you with a heavy heart.  Follow this link for more information.

First and foremost our prayers are needed for the family and friends of the victims and the students at Virginia Tech.  I can not even begin to fathom what they are feeling and going through.  I can only imagine there is fear and uncertainty, pain and sorrow, anger and confusion; among a list of many other emotions.  And even though you may not have been on campus today at Virginia Tech, you still may feel for those students.  My heart is racing right now trying to figure out "WHY?"  What possesses a person to do something like this?  What are they trying to communicate? 

I have so many questions but I can’t help but to also feel for the person who pulled the trigger.  They must have been in so much pain to do something like this.  It makes me wonder if they knew the love of God through Jesus Christ.  I can’t speak to what was in this person’s heart but if Christ was there I find it hard to believe they would have even pulled the trigger.  Maybe Christ was there, but nobody told them about Jesus.  If that is the case it saddens me and make me wonder.  Have I done enough to share the Gospel with the people around me.  Could I be doing more?

Please take a few moments right now to pray for the students at Virginia Tech.  Remember their friends and family and all those affected by this tragedy.  Also remember the shooter and all those who are hurting; those who do not know Jesus Christ.  How can we afford to remain silent with the Good News of life eternal?

In the midst of this tragedy I find comfort in knowing that Jesus is right there on campus at Virginia Tech.  Jesus was in that dorm room and classroom.  Jesus is with those grieving families and friends.  But more importantly, Jesus was with those who died.  We are never alone.  Share this Good News and never stop praying for the Kingdom.

Virginia Tech…you are in our prayers. -edh-

A Masters faith statement

/ The Pastor

I am a huge golf fan, but I don’t sit and watch too many golf tournaments, except for the Masters.  This year the Masters happen to fall on Easter weekend.  Saturday afternoon consisted of me watching about 3 1/2 hours of golf.  And Sunday afternoon (after our dinner guests left) consisted of me watching another couple hours of golf.  Both days had exciting action (as exciting as golf can get).  On the final day (Sunday) Tiger Woods was in the final group so you had to give him the edge.  But it was a no name guy from Iowa, Zach Johnson, that held off Tiger to win his first Masters.  It was only his 2nd PGA Tour win…an amazing story.  But here is the part that made me proud — as they were talking to Zach afterward he starting thanking various people.  Zach thanked his coaches and trainers and his wife and family.  Then Zach said, "But most importantly I have to give all the credit to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Jesus was with me the whole time out there." He said this with tears in his eyes.  You could just feel his faith radiating through the T.V. screen and into your heart.  What an incredible witness. 

I have heard other people say similar things after receiving an award or some other accomplishment, but with Zach, I truly believed him.  His statement of faith came directly from his heart and was not said in passing as a nice thing to say.  I wish more people were that authentic with their faith.

What made me sad was when T.V. stations were replaying Zach’s interviews from that day, nobody replayed Zach’s faith statement (at least not that I saw or heard of).  Why were they so afraid to do that?  That interview was the best one he gave because he did not think about it.  It was a natural response to something that he achieved with God’s help (not that his other interviews were artificial).  Zach spoke from his heart (and faith) in that first interview.

Thank you, Zach, for sharing your faith like that.  It meant a lot to me and I know to many others.

My prayer for all of us is to remember God in not only the bad times but in the good times as well.  Don’t just cry out to God for help, but give God credit in your victories.  Jesus is the reason we can even begin to celebrate in the first place; for Jesus gave us the ultimate victory through the empty tomb.  Praise God ALWAYS and Amen! -edh-

Easter recap

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

I love Easter sermons.  It is one of the few times during the year when I get to preach to a group of people who would not normally come to worship (Christmas and funerals are the other times).  So the question that I asked people this year was the same one that the angels asked the women who were weeping at the tomb (from Luke’s account of the resurrection), "Why do you search for the living among the dead" (See my sermons blog for the full sermon text).  I challenged people to stop looking for meaning and life and purpose elsewhere — Jesus is all you need.  I don’t know if I got through to people, I will TRY to leave that up to the Holy Spirit. 

But sometimes I feel like shaking people and asking them where they have been all year.  I mean, do they honestly think they can find a better savior than Jesus Christ?  "Come on…really…stop your searching and let Jesus give your life meaning."  Then again, maybe I should grab them and shake them up a little bit.  Maybe I should smack them across the head with a 2 x 4 and not just the Gospel.  Maybe that will get their attention (or get me thrown in jail).  Either way, I hope I don’t stop being feisty.  I hope I never stop caring for people’s souls.  I hope and pray those CEOs (Christmas, Easter Only people) finally figure out (through the Holy Spirit) that their search for a "savior" is a feeble one.  Jesus is the only Savior that can bring us life.  Nobody else died on a cross for us. 

Anyway, I hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Easter weekend.  May the joy of the resurrection stick with you all year long.  Praise be to God. -edh-

Un-Feisty Christians

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

A friend of mine commented on a blog entry I wrote recently called Bipolar Christians.  She made an interesting point that I want to highlight this morning.  Kara basically talked about people not being "bipolar" enough.  There are too many people who are lukewarm about their faith.  They walk around apathetic about Jesus.  As Kara said, "Most people today aren’t disturbed by Jesus".  And Jesus should disturb you.  If Jesus does not then you might not be listening hard enough. 

There is a cool blog entry you need to check out at Unlikely Conversation: A Lectionary Blog called Easter and Evangelism.  This author talks about Christians having the best story in the world to tell; and I couldn’t agree more.  Actually I would say we have an AWESOME story to tell.  But my question is this:  Why don’t more people get more excited about this story?  We share good news with each other about our kids, promotions or about losing 20lbs but why not THE Good News?  Well…I think the simple answer is that people are not disturbed by Jesus (as Kara boldly puts it).  We take more joy in our kid’s accomplishments or in our "success" at work or in our body image than in the radical Good News of the cross.  We worry more about our position on the social ladder or how much influence we have or how much money we have saved than in the wild forgiveness God shows us in Jesus Christ.

Maybe the problem is that too many churches don’t get feisty enough about their faith (if you knew my friend Kara, you would know the "feisty" I am talking about).  Maybe there is too much "Minnesota Nice" coming out in our proclamation (a problem my internship supervisor pointed out in me).  Maybe we, as the church, are not taking a definitive enough of a stand against injustices and issues in the world.  I mean think about…we have the best story in the world to tell and there is still a large number of unchurched people in our communities.  There are too many churches satisfied with maintenance (status quo) than in evangelism.  Secular attacks on the Christian faith go widely unchallenged by Christians ("The Di Vinci Code" & "The Lost Tomb of Jesus"). We need to be more feisty.

"Kill the ‘old Adam’", "Sell all you have and follow me", "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you".  If those statements by Jesus do not disturb you, then read them again…He is talk to you. 

Let’s get more feisty about our faith and A LOT MORE bold about sharing the best story in the world.  We cannot afford to be "lukewarm Christians". Thank you, Kara, for making me think more and thank you for being "feisty".  If only more people followed your example. -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.