November 8 is coming, but November 9 matters more!

   November 8 is coming. That is the final day to cast ballots for the Electors who will represent us in the Electoral College as a new President and Vice-President are chosen. Section I of Article II in our United States Constitution states that "The Congress may determine the Time of choosing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States."
   People are troubled. People are worried. People are anxious. Between 125 and 145 million people will vote, and it feels like at least that many people are not happy about their choices. Facebook, which started as a college project and then became a place to post pictures of vacations and grand-kids, has become an endless stream of opinions, half-truths, total lies, frustrating posts, and maddening commentaries.
   What should the church do? Does it matter? I am sure that it does. We have an obligation to bear a faithful Christian witness to Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God who is at work even now putting the world back together.

• When Jesus headed into the clouds in Acts 1 he tells the disciples that "you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
• When Jesus spoke the Great Commision, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:20), the Greek word written down down was poreuthentes, which literally means "to depart, to leave, to cross boundaries." Thus, a witness to Jesus Christ is one who can overcome divisions, be they geographic, sociological, racial, or cultural. 

   November 8 is coming. The outcome of the election is going to divide people. Some will be happy about the outcome and some not happy. Some will be outraged. What will be our response? STOP. BE CAREFUL; what you say or do next matters. Are we going to be able to live with other the next day? 

   I believe November 9 matters more. Regardless of who wins and who loses, the church's witness the next day and the next day and every day after that can lead people to Jesus or away from him. He gave us that kind of power.

   Start preparing your hearts now. Grace and peace, Scott

   #Nov9mattersmore

Causing a Commotion in Worship

   I was sitting on the end of the seventh row of the large church auditorium at the New Room Conference in south Nashville, Tennessee. The opening speaker, passionate about Jesus, had the room of 1500 sitting on the edge of our seats; he was really good. After a little while, I uncrossed my legs to adjust in my seat and my foot brushed against…

   …my water bottle, sitting on the inclined floor in front of me. It starts rolling and I froze. It did not stop. At first slowly and then making more and more noise, I closed my eyes and prayed that God would make me invisible. He didn’t. It rolled down the aisle on the right side of the huge room, all seven rows, coming to a stop right at the front of the stage. The speaker is still going, not aware of what had happened, but everyone around me has been watching my water bottle and turning around looking for the dummy that got it started. At this point, the man sitting in front of me, turns around and says, “That was a holy roller moment.” I recognize him as Professor Ben Witherington, a world-renowned Bible teacher as Asbury Seminary in Kentucky. He then smiles wide and says, “I’ve never seen a water bottle answer an altar call.” God was humbling me through a bottle of water.
   Are we rolling toward Jesus? Are we moving forward when God calls? Do we respond in worship?
   Psalm 19:1 proclaims that, “Heaven is declaring God’s glory, the sky is proclaiming his handiwork.” Speaking about God, Isaiah 55:12 says, “mountains and the hills before you shall break forth in song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” Just days before the crucifixion, the Pharisees scolded the Jesus-followers as they sang the praises of Jesus. He responded that if they didn’t sing that God would make the rocks cry out (Luke 19:40).
   Oh Lord, don’t make rocks cry out your praise when we’ve been perfectly created to do it. I sometimes need people to knock me over to get me rolling. God is drawing us toward him. Will we roll with it, or resist? Lord, help me to turn around and come to you. Draw me nearer
Grace and peace, Scott

The God of Jane, of Julie, of Joe

   "The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" is one of the fundamental names by which God was known. It probably had something to do with the fact that the first believers would not pronounce the name of God, understanding it to be too holy. This name also caught on because God was first encountered because of the people who shared about their knowledge and relationship with the One Above All. Think about it; when you encounter God because of a person, like Abraham or Isaac or Jacob, you are encountering God because of that relationship. Because of your witness, people have come to know God through you. They might not use the name, but some people have come to know the God of Terrie, or Melissa, or Chris, or John.

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   This truth should apply to how we 'do church' today. Every person has been created by God. Every person, of every age, needs Jesus to overcome the separation caused by sin and restore us to right relationship with God. As a church, we share Jesus with the young and no-longer-young, every Sunday. But, the earliest years of a person's life are the most critical. A Barna Group study indicated that 43% of all Americans who accept Jesus Christ as their Savior do so before reaching the age of 13, and that 64% of born again Christians made that commitment to Christ before their 18th birthday. We need to be for all people, but we really need to be 'all in' for some people.
   One of the most powerful ways that a church can reach and raise up children and youth is through placing committed Christian adults in their lives through small groups. This is where we teach that the God of Connor, or Trish, or Taylor, is also the God of the teenage boy or elementary-age girl. It is exciting to know that this Fall our Youth Ministry is introducing small groups for Middle School and High School that start next week. Meeting in homes, they will be another place for committed adults to share the God they know and follow with receptive ears and hearts. Our Kids Ministry actually started its first small group for girls a couple of weeks ago! This happens when people generously share their gifts and their time.
   Our church is committed to sharing the Good News in ways that work. Small groups are one way to reach one group in need of the Gospel. In the coming months, we are will be finalizing and offering church-wide training on how sharing the Gospel happens most effectively through individuals in order to reach people outside the church.
   Grace and peace, Scott

Paul's (and Scott's) Prayer for the Church

I ask that he will strengthen you in your inner selves from the riches of his glory through the Spirit. I ask that Christ will live in your hearts through faith. As a result of having strong roots in love, I ask that you’ll have the power to grasp love’s width and length, height and depth, together with all believers. I ask that you’ll know the love of Christ that is beyond knowledge so that you will be filled entirely with the fullness of God. Glory to God, who is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us; glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus for all generations, forever and always. Amen.

- Ephesians 3:16-21

   Allow me for a moment to address the question of who wrote the Letter to the Ephesians. It is considered, by some, a contested letter, as there are characteristics that have caused some to doubt that Paul wrote it. I side with Luke Timothy Johnson in understanding that the differences are all within the norms for any author who writes to different audiences on a variety of topics; there is no reason to think the Apostle Paul did not write this letter. In it, he summarizes the Gospel in a way that is unique among his writings. Back to the prayer...
   Paul is writing to Gentiles (not Jewish and probably Greek in ethnicity and culture) who are probably gathered in many locations around Ephesus. His prayer is very bodily in nature: they they would be strengthened, their hearts would be healthy, and they would be able to stand firm because they are rooted in love. He also prays for their minds, that they might be able to understand how large is the love and power of God in their lives and in the whole cosmos. Yet, he also refers to something deeper than knowledge: the mystery of the fullness of God. Finally, whatever blessings we choose to accept or deny, God is at work with us or without us through Jesus Christ, putting the whole world back together.
   God wants to use us for good. Paul knows God is offering everything we need to be used by God. He prays for unity, if it is possible, and for us to point to the truth that is illumined by Jesus Christ shining in the world. This was Paul's prayer for churches back then; it is my prayer for us now. Grace and peace, Scott

Ministry Sunday starts in the Bible: God's Word on How We are Made

Christ is just like the human body - a body is a unit and has many parts; and all the parts of the body are one body, even though there are many....
Certainly the body isn’t one part but many. If the foot says, “I’m not part of the body because I’m not a hand,” does that mean it’s not part of the body?
But as it is, there are many parts but one body.... You are the body of Christ and parts of each other.
- from 1 Corinthians 12

He gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. His purpose was to equip God’s people for the work of serving and building up the body of Christ until we all reach the unity of faith and knowledge of God’s Son. God’s goal is for us to become mature adults—to be fully grown, measured by the standard of the fullness of Christ.
- Ephesians 4:11-13

Above all, show sincere love to each other, because love brings about the forgiveness of many sins. Open your homes to each other without complaining. And serve each other according to the gift each person has received, as good managers of God’s diverse gifts. Whoever speaks should do so as those who speak God’s word. Whoever serves should do so from the strength that God furnishes. Do this so that in everything God may be honored through Jesus Christ. To him be honor and power forever and always. Amen.

- 1 Peter 4:8-11

Three of my favorite words: "I Don't Know"

   Born in 1946, Marilyn vos Savant has been known for much of her life as having the Highest IQ ever recorded and was actually listed in the Guinness World Records for it. So, she's kind of smart. Since 1986 she has been writing a column in Parade Magazine where she fields questions on the widest range of subjects and ideas. Her column from July 29, 2007 shared questions she found difficult to answer, but not because they were too tough. Take a look at some of the questions she did not print and answer in her column...

• I notice you have the same first name as Marilyn Monroe. Are you related?
• Do you think daylight saving time could be contributing to global warming? The longer we have sunlight, the more it heats the atmosphere. 
• I see falling stars nearly every night. They seem to come out of nowhere. Have stars ever fallen out of any known constellations?
• When I dream, why don’t I need my glasses to see?
• Can a ventriloquist converse with his dentist while his teeth are being worked on?
• I just observed a flock of geese flying in a ‘V’ formation. Is that the only letter they know?

- from John Maxwell's Good Leaders Ask Great Questions written in 2014.

These are hilarious. I really do believe that there are no dumb questions, but these come close, right?
   I've never met Marilyn vos Savant, but I trust that she is very smart. I like the fact that she is able to admit that there are some questions she cannot answer. I've known some really smart people: some have been related to me, many have been church members, and a couple of them were teachers or professors with whom I have studied. The thing that every smart person I've ever known has had in common; they know that they don't know everything. I love it when someone tells me, "I don't know." It makes me feel great. Because, I don't know everything and sometimes wonder if other people can relate.
   I think Paul was right on it when he wrote in 1 Corinthians 8, "We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes people arrogant, but love builds people up. If anyone thinks they know something, they don't yet know as much as they should know." And Proverbs 3 is a verse for life: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6
   May we all not know it all. Grace and peace, Scott

Lost! She was knocking on our front door...

   The doorbell was ringing and someone was knocking repeatedly. Well, that is what Julie told me when she woke me up! The clock showed 5:40 AM, which my body knew immediately was a half an hour before my alarm was set to go off. Yet, I could hear the knocking and went to check.
   Standing on our front porch, with tears streaming down her face, was a young girl looking for her mom. Along with her older brother, the three of them had joined an early-morning running and exercise group, known as a boot camp, and had made it to our church from their starting point at the parking lot of the Baptist church. Her brother had run ahead and she was left behind.
   The story turns out great. She calmed down immediately while sitting on our front porch and left her mom a voicemail on her phone. We talked about Middle School and playing basketball and soon enough we could hear the call of her mother through the trees a block away.
   It happens. We get separated from the crowd. Sometimes our brothers run off. It unsettles us. It should. We were made to run together. We are supposed to travel in the company of others. So, the young girl standing on our steps could have been any of us and maybe has been us, at one point or another. What did she need in that moment?
   Really, this same scene is played out every week at the front door of our church. People walk up looking to attend worship, or our youth or children's ministries, or they come looking for help with food or clothes. All them are looking to connect. All them are looking for someone to travel with. God has literally made us to help them. We are made to connect. As Christians, we are commanded to be those who open the front doors of the church and welcome them. Serving them with hospitality and compassion, connecting them and offering comfort, showing them that better days are ahead; this is what it means to serve through the church.
   This is exactly what Ministry Sunday on August 28 is about - showing us where and how our time and care can help put the world back together for the people who come to our church. We will hear from volunteer Team Leaders in 8 main areas: hospitality, care ministry, students, children, office administration, worship, events and missions.
   People walk up every week needing the same thing our new friend did that morning: to be reassured they were in a safe place, to be called by name, to have someone care about them, and to know that they could be reconnected to the best stuff of life. Serving on ministry teams is what it means to be the church.
   Grace and peace, Scott

Two letters to two different places, but one message for us all

   Along with notes written to first-time guests, a note following up on a prayer request, letters to two committees within the church organizing for their work, and probably three dozen emails, two items I wrote this week will stick with me.
   I wrote two letters this week to young men who were very involved in the youth ministries I helped to lead over the past 17 years of ministry. One of the young men enlisted in the US Marine Corps two weeks ago, and I got his address on Parris Island from his mother. I got the address for the other young man from his mother, too. He is in prison for a sudden act of violence that led to an outcome, I believe, he did not intend. It is hard to imagine two different destinations for letters, right? I am struck, though, how similar my content was to them both. I think that if you were writing the letters, your versions would be similar, too.
   I told them both that I loved them. I wrote about God's desires for them. I shared my prayers for them. I wrote about how our family is doing, so they would pray for us, too. And, I included the same passage of Scripture to them both. My friend at Parris Island and my friend in prison both need to hear James 1:2-6 & 12,

My brothers and sisters, think of the various tests you encounter as occasions for joy. After all, you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Let this endurance complete its work so that you may be fully mature, complete, and lacking in nothing. But anyone who needs wisdom should ask God, whose very nature is to give to everyone without a second thought, without keeping score. Wisdom will certainly be given to those who ask. Whoever asks shouldn’t hesitate. They should ask in faith, without doubting. Whoever doubts is like the surf of the sea, tossed and turned by the wind....
Those who stand firm during testing are blessed. They are tried and true. They will receive the life God has promised to those who love him as their reward.

I believe that these words are as true and timely for both of them as they are for all of us. I need to hear that testing leads to faith and endurance. I need to be reminded to pray for wisdom. I need to hear, again, that those who stand firm will be rewarded. Grace and peace, Scott