I Love My Church - Part 2

This is based on an article from Hal Seed (accessed here  on February 13, 2014).

Hal Seed writes, “A quick read of the book of Acts or the letters in Revelation proves that Jesus loves his church. He died for it, prays for it, lives for it and is going to return for it.

[But] let’s be honest: It’s not easy to love the church. It’s easy to love Jesus. Loving His bride is another story. Churches are filled with frail and fault-riddled people. Every church has a unique personality. All are loved by Jesus, but not all are loved in equal measure by each of His people.”

I wrote about the first reason here.

Based on Hall Seed’s ten reasons that he loves his church, I have ten reasons that I choose to love Jesus’ bride, the Church. They are in no particular order – this is not a ranked list. This week, reason number two:

2. She Is/Can Be Incredibly Fruitful.

Three times a year, St. Matthew offers an Adult Discipleship Class based on the book “God For Us” (Lutheran Church Australia). In this class we explore the basics of the Christian faith from the Lutheran perspective – which means it is a study based on Martin Luther’s Small Catechism.

One session of this class is held at a time when a regular adult Bible study is held. This is deliberate. Even though the “regulars” of that class end up going through this “basics” course numerous times, it is good that they do so for several reasons.

One, it is never a bad idea to refresh in our minds the basics of our faith.

And two, it gives an opportunity for new Christians to mingle with “seasoned” Christians.

Recently, I was excited to see this in action. Long-time members of St. Matthew – many of them life-time members – sat with people who were on our campus for the first time ever. They were learning about God and Christ together. They were getting to know each other, talking with each other about life and about a Jesus, and making plans to worship together.

What I was witnessing was just how incredibly fruitful God makes the Church. He brings men, women and children to Himself through the Church!

Now, I believe, teach and confess publicly that God makes people His children through Word and Sacrament. But I also believe that God does this best – and most often – through His Church!

By “Church” I mean “the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered” (Augsburg Confession, Article 7).

The Word and Sacraments make the Church incredibly fruitful. The grace of God gives each member of the Church a place in that fruitfulness. What an amazing gift that God has given us!

This is why I can love my Church! Because this is what God is doing in my Church!

Next week we’ll look at reason three: Responsive.

I Love My Church - Part 1

Recently I read an article by Hal Seed (accessed here http://ministrytodaymag.com/index.php/ministry-leadership/a-pastor-s-heart/20700-10-reasons-why-i-love-my-church on February 13, 2014).

In it he writes, “A quick read of the book of Acts or the letters in Revelation proves that Jesus loves his church. He died for it, prays for it, lives for it and is going to return for it.

[But] let’s be honest: It’s not easy to love the church. It’s easy to love Jesus. Loving His bride is another story. Churches are filled with frail and fault-riddled people. Every church has a unique personality. All are loved by Jesus, but not all are loved in equal measure by each of His people.”

I love my church. And by “church” I mean “the one holy Christian and apostolic church,” “The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod,” the four churches that I have served as a pastor (Christ, White Cloud, MI, St. John, Mayville, WI, Redeemer, Ontario, CA, and St. Matthew, Hawthorn Woods, IL), and the churches of which I was a member before I become a pastor (St. Paul, Round Lake, IL, Good Shepherd, Lake Villa, IL, Messiah, St. Louis, MO, and St. John, Arnold, MO).

I agree, loving Jesus is so much easier than loving His bride, the Church. But just like the love of a spouse in marriage, love of the church is more a choice than a feeling.

Based on Hall Seed’s ten reasons that he loves his church, I have ten reasons that I choose to love Jesus’ bride, the Church. They are in no particular order – this is not a ranked list. This week, reason number one:

1. This is not about us.

There is a reason every single church exists. But the reality is not every single church lives – or even knows – this reason. However, that doesn’t change the fact that Christ establishes every congregation of the “one holy Christian and apostolic church” for a reason. Ultimately, that reason is to “go and make disciples of all nations.”

Congregations get into trouble when they forget this. The life of the church isn’t about “us” – it’s about “all nations.” Or to put it another way, the Church exists to love God and to love our neighbors.

When that doesn’t happen, a church can be considered “dying.” Because if the focus is on ourselves and our needs then our focus is on someone who is not alive.

St. Paul puts it this way, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).

Instead, we need to focus on the living God and the people He sent His Son to save.

As a disciple of Jesus, we are called to be reflective light in this world. We shine, but not with our own light. We shine with the light of Jesus Christ. Much in the same way the moon shines at night – not by its own light but by reflecting the light of the sun.

The Church is filled with disciples of Jesus and we need to reflect the Son’s light by loving God and loving our neighbors.

If we make Church about us, we’re shining the light on ourselves for ourselves. Much like a church that illuminates its stained glass windows from the outside. We make it so we can see ourselves but the world doesn’t see much of anything. Our attitude should be to have the light shining from the inside out. In other words, for all the world to see.

Next week, we’ll take a look at a church that is incredibly fruitful.

Living History

This is for you more “seasoned” readers of In My Father’s Footsteps. But I pray that all will be blessed by it.

A few weeks ago, the 40^th United States President, Ronald Reagan, would have celebrated his 103^rd birthday. Of course, he died in 1994 at the age of 93.

I was born in 1965, and during my lifetime many famous and infamous people lived and died. For example:

Bob Hope (2003)

Bing Crosby (1977)

George Burns (1996)

Presidents Truman (1972) , Eisenhower (1969), Johnson (1973), Nixon (1994), and Ford (2006).

During my lifetime, the following milestones where reached:

The 200^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, forming the United States of America (1976).

The 150^th anniversary of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (1997).

The 5000^th Anniversary of the City of Jerusalem (2000).

And because baseball is my favorite sport, I include these items that happened during my lifetime:

Babe Ruth’s homerun record was broken by Hank Aaron (1974).

Hank Aaron’s homerun record was broken by Barry Bonds (2007).

Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games played streak was broken by Cal Ripkin, Jr. (1995).

My point is that the world is constantly changing in many ways. But I wonder if we realize the significance of this?

I’ve heard it said that for most people in the United States, their concept of history begins with the day they are born. Whatever happened before they were born is insignificant to them because they played no part or lived no part of that “ancient” history.

My experience has been that this does happen. And it is a very narrow view of life. Self-centered, too.

As some of you might expect, a quote from Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, also known as George Santayana, is appropriate to insert here:

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" (p. 284, Reason in Common Sense, Dover edition 1980, the unabridged republication of volume one of The Life of Reason; or the Phases of Human Progress, originally published by Charles Scribner's Sons in 1905. There is an online version that I accessed February 6, 2014 here.)

Now, while it is true the older I get the more interested I get in “ancient” history (stuff that happened before I was born). But to be honest, I’ve always been interested in all kinds of history. I think it started in grade school when I first learned about the American Civil War. In high school, two of my favorite classes were English Literature and Mythology, Fantasy and Folklore with Mrs. Hazel Fish. In her class I  learned about the history of England and the mythology of England (which is, in a sense, also history).

Where am I going with all this? Just this, I think it is of vital importance to know history. Not all of it, of course. But enough of it to gain an understanding of who you are and where you’ve “been.” This will help you understand and map out where you are going in life.

This is the way God intended for us to live. That’s why Jesus Christ lived His perfect life steeped in the history of salvation – celebrating Passover each year, as well as the other major feasts and festivals of the Jewish Faith (Feast of Tabernacles, Yom Kippur, etc.). These celebrations were intended to teach the people “where they came from” and what God had done – and continues to do – for his people.

I suspect that the reason many people do not embrace Christianity is because it is a faith that is immersed in history. So much of it is based on what has happened before any of us in this current generation were born.

But Christianity can be described as “living history” or “ancient and future history.” A Christian – a disciple of Jesus Christ – is part of something so much bigger than themselves. And so much older than themselves.

For me, this brings the comfort of a rock-solid institution. It has momentum. It has stability.

But it is also active and exciting, because while it is “historical” it is also very much alive!

Christianity has as its foundation, the fact that “Jesus lives” – not “Jesus lived.”

And because He lives, you and I will live also!

Where the Rubber Hits the Road

“What do you want to talk about?”

In my experience, that’s the way many Bible studies start. A group of people get together – men or women or couples or youth – and they first decide what topic they want to tackle.

Marriage. Vocation. Sex. Bullying. Leadership. Innovation. Success. The topic list is virtually endless.

But here’s what I’m thinking. Even though life is full of topics, that shouldn’t be the focus of a Bible study that I’m leading or participating in.

The focus should be on the Bible. The focus should be the Word of God. Ultimately, the focus should be on the Word of God – Jesus Christ.

I want to learn how to be a successful leader. I want to be able to teach my sons how to respond to bullying. I want young people to know the proper place sex has in their lives. I want my marriage to continue to be stronger and even grow stronger.

So I read books and watch videos and attend seminars and symposiums.

All of this is well and good.

But where the gumme hits the strasse (“the rubber hits the road”) is the Bible.

To truly grow as a Christian, to truly develop as a disciple of Jesus Christ, I need to be immersed in the Bible.

I recently finished reading Start with Why by Simon Sinek. I first heard of it after watching a short video called How Great Leaders Inspire Action. Excellent video and excellent book. I learned A LOT from both and highly recommend both. They can teach you so much about being a leader, being an innovator, leading a company, business, and even a church.

But while it is an insightful book and video, it is also just a topic. It is just a tool that can be used to become or be a better leader, innovator, businessmen, church council member, etc.

What I’m getting at is that tools only get you so far in being a disciple of Jesus Christ.

As a disciple, I want to have as many tools in my tool box as I can get.

But without the Bible, I’ll just have a cluttered tool box.

But with the Bible, there’s practically no limit to where I can go using those tools as a disciple of Christ.

The reason this is so is because the Word of God, the Bible, is powerful.

Psalm 29:4 says, “The voice of the Lord is powerful.” Through the Word God created the universe. Through the Word God redeemed sinners. Through the Word God will re-created a new heaven and a new earth.

The Bible. That’s where all topics, all tools, get their power. Start with the Word and there’s no telling how powerful God will make you in this world!

How Do You Hear Me?

I deal with “words” in almost everything I do. I write sermons. I write devotions. I write articles for blogs. I speak, preach, and even sing every now and then.

I still find myself dismayed or even angry when what I say or write isn’t received as I intended it to be heard or read.

It is a reminder to me that communicating is a “two-way street.” Even when I’m writing a blog post or preaching a sermon, I should not think of it as a monologue. It is a dialogue – because it involves at least two people, me and the person or persons who hear (or read) me.

I strive to be thankful when that communication actually becomes a dialogue where we speak to each other. 

Even if the response is negative.

For the response may be negative or positive, as you might expect. However, it also may be positive and I receive it as negative. That’s when I have to be reminded of a simple, little formula I came up with a few weeks ago for a devotion that I shared with some friends.

It was about emails and text messages, but it is relevant for any communication.

Send with the best intention.

Receive with the best construction.

At the heart of all communication is exactly that – the heart. What is in my heart develops into my communication. If I am loving God and loving my neighbor, then what I say or write will be “sent” with the best of intention. This is living the truth of “Christ who lives in me.”

Then I have to be reminded that after I say or write “with the best intention” I cannot control how what I say or write is received. I pray that it will be received with the best construction, but I know this doesn’t always happen. And I simply can’t control that!

The relationship I have with the person hearing or reading me can go a long way to being received with the best construction – and that will help me to put what I want to say in a proper context. But the stark truth is that I simply cannot control how what I say is received.

When I’m feeling particularly hurt or scared, the temptation will be to stop communicating. Just shut up and shut down. That way no one can take what I say the wrong way. No one gets hurt.

But that isn’t true either. I’m hurt – because I cannot communicate what I want to say. Others may get hurt – because they won’t hear what God wants them to hear (speaking as a preacher of the Gospel here).

I hope you will read this with the best construction, because I really am writing it with the best intention.

Let me know, please?

What's Your Story?

I’m having trouble staying on task lately.

I’ve gone the route of making excuses – I’m very busy, I have a full-time ministry at a congregation with over a 1000 souls, I have a wife of nearly 23 years and 3 sons (oldest of which is a senior in high school, youngest of which will be a freshman in high school this fall, and the middle son who has epilepsy).

Last week I fell and broke my arm. That become another seemingly valid excuse for not getting things done.

Before that I had a bout with the flu.

Before that were the Advent and Christmas seasons – a traditionally busy time of year for a preacher.

But so what? Lots of people have that kind of life or similar and seem to get a lot more done than I do.

It occurs to me that this is a story of my life. It isn’t the story but a story. And it is one that I’ve been telling myself for a long time.

But I am taking deliberate steps to change this story.

Yes, I’m busy. But instead of that being a crippling excuse not to do anything in an excellent way (see Excellent – a devotion where I wrote about this) I choose to see it as an opportunity that God has given me to make a difference in this world!

Yes, I was injured. But instead of that being a crippling excuse not to do anything in an excellent way, I choose to see it as a reminder that I am fragile and need to take care of myself, take time to rest and recuperate regularly, and that my life is an amazing adventure given to me by God!

I mentioned the story of my life – and that is what I was thinking about as I started this devotion.

The story of my life is what God has and is doing in my life. God has saved me from sin, death, and the power of the devil. God did this by ransoming me – buying me back – through the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ.

What God is doing in my life right now is nothing short of amazing. And I don’t say that as a conceited jerk. God has allowed me to meet, fall in love, and continue to be more in love every day with a beautiful woman. This August will be our 23rd anniversary.  God has entrusted to us three young men – Eddie, Kurt & Mark. That is mind-boggling humbling to consider! 18 years ago my wife Nancy and I were awaiting the birth of our first-born. Every day since has been an incredible adventure of love and humility.

Then there are the other parts of my life that God has called me to and been directing. The pastoral ministry (going on 19 years), Christian men’s ministry (10th anniversary), and day-to-day ministry of sharing the Gospel with others through various activities at my church and elsewhere.

That’s the story of my life – and God’s is the author and has the starring role. When I start focusing on other stories about my life – by putting myself in the starring role – that’s when I get bogged down with busyness and weariness.

I’m changing my story.

How about you?

Excellent

“What’s the most excellent thing I can do today?”

I have that quote on my white board above my desk in my office. It is from a man who plays drums in a rock band that I’ve like for nearly all my life. It’s his “motto” for living.

I liked it so much, I wrote it down. And since it’s in a place I look at every day, I can say that I ask that question every day.

But asking the question is different than seeking the answer to it.

Below it, I recently wrote this question:

“More importantly, why should I do it?”

Again, asking the question is different than seeking the answer to it.

Recently I’ve found myself either too busy to really seek the answer to those two questions or distracted by other things to seek the answer to those two questions.

Today, I deliberately stopped the busyness and distractions to do both. I’m seeking the answer by writing about it – and that will become the devotion for this week’s “In My Father’s Footsteps.”

Even though I often don’t seek to answer the question, I do want to do something excellent each day. I do really want to make some kind of difference in this world.

And I do make a difference in that I’m the husband of a beautiful and loving woman. For going on 23 years she’s chosen to live with me – and that’s an excellent thing.

I’m the father of three sons. That’s an excellent thing.

I’m on the staff of a church that’s starting to realize that God has called them to do some excellent things in this world.

What’s the most excellent thing I can do today? Get out of bed. Breathe in and out. I understand that it sounds pretty simplistic and not at all extraordinary.

But what I mean by that is that the most excellent thing I can do today is, first, to be available to God’s calling.

God has a plan for me today. And God – being God – can only have excellent plans! I will begin my day by talking with God (prayer).

Secondly, I will do the things on my life list for this day in the most excellent way I can. I will not do them just to get them done. I will do them to the best of my ability, using the gifts God has given me.

“More importantly, why should I do it?”

There’s two parts to the answer to this question. The first part is “Why wouldn’t you want to do something excellently?” While the answer to that is not good, it is realistic. I’m lazy. I’m distracted. I’m busy. I’ve got so MUCH to do. Like I said, that isn’t a GOOD answer, but it is a real answer.

The second part is answered by looking at what Jesus Christ did. Everything Jesus did was excellent. Start with the creation of the universe. “And it was very good.” Then, from His birth to His life, to His death, to His resurrection, to His ascension – all that was done most excellently. He saved the entire world.

And now, through Baptism, that same excellent Christ lives in me! How can I NOT do an excellent thing this day?

God has called me to this time and place to do an excellent thing.

What is the most excellent thing I can do today?

How about you?