Scarcity Is A Lie - God Is Still Adding To The Universe

   We've talked before about the size of God's creation.  It is overwhelming in its scope.  I suggest that is it a lie for any of us to focus on scarcity, when God has created so very much and wants to provide for us.  Yet, that is the very fear everyone of us faces.

   Genesis 1:17 says, "God also made the stars." I believe that. Men and women have spent thousands of years gazing upward trying to learn and understand that kind of power. The 1920's saw significant contributions to our understanding of the universe and the galaxies beyond our own.  It was in 1929 that Edwin Hubble released his findings of something new and amazing: all of the galaxies in Creation are moving away from us, and the furthest galaxies are actually moving away fastest. His findings were based on a new discovery known today as Red Shift.  As the light source, in this case distant stars, moves away and the light-waves increase and get longer, the color shifts towards the red end of the spectrum.  With this discovery it was proven that the universe is still expanding!  God is still creating.

   For me, these ideas and discoveries speak directly to so much of what I believe about God's work in the world. Our fears of scarcity and our worries about running out of what we need are misguided.  God's agenda has always been for our care and our growth, and here I see science supporting the claim that God is still active in the world working on God's agenda.  God is not done.  God is still at work. 

   I can think of no time more critical than now for our world, our nation, our church, and our own lives to hear this word.  God is at work.  Let us seek to align all of the 'stars' in our lives that we might be all working together for God's Kingdom agenda.  Let us be those committed to growth, to healing, to restoration, and to excellence.

   Grace and Peace, Scott

Scarcity is a Lie - Just Look Up

   I have a point I want to make, so I went to an expert.  I pulled out Stephen Hawking's, A Briefer History of Time.  It is an update to one of the all-time science classics.  Many of us know Hawking, the English theoretical physicist as something of an academic celebrity.  Others know him for the courage he uses to live with significance despite having ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.  Here goes my point...
   We can see about five thousand stars in the sky with our own eyes.  However, these account for only about .0001% of the actual stars in our own galaxy, the Milky Way.  But the Milky Way is itself is but one of more than a hundred billion galaxies that can be seen using modern telescopes, and each one of them contains some one hundred billion stars.  These numbers are staggering.  We all could stand to read them, again, just to try to get our minds around all that our eyes cannot see.
   Which is the stuff of faith, isn't?  Allowing our minds, and our hearts, to reach out and take hold of that which our eyes cannot see.  Hebrews puts it this way,

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen....By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. Hebrews 11:1,3

   The challenge for us in the church is to believe that there is more out there.  Not when it comes to stars, or the planets, mind you.  But that there is enough out there to supply our needs.  Will new people come?  Will they stay?  Will we have enough money?  Enough volunteers?  Will we be able to do what we need to with what we have?  The challenge is to allow ourselves to trust that which we cannot see with our eyes: there is more out there.
   All of this can be summarized by saying we must continually dispel the lie of scarcity that says there will not be enough, and instead embrace the truth that God provides abundantly.  this is as true i your life, in my life, and in our shared lives within God's Kingdom as ever.
   Grace and Peace to you,  Scott
  

Our Shared Teaching Ministry

   Lou McCauley was a woman of great talent and lived with joy.  Her passing last week, just a few days from her 94th birthday, brought sadness along with a deep appreciation by her family of the abundant life that she lived.  I listened to her children and grandchildren share great stories and remembrances.  At one point her son, Ken, spoke about how she was a lifelong-learner, studying French in her 70's and taking up line-dancing in her 80's.

   The truth is, Lou McCauley was also a lifelong teacher to her family.  They talked at length about how she taught them hospitality, acceptance, faith, humor, all by her example.  At the funeral, celebrating her life and the God, I talked about how this mindset was so crucial to Old Testament theology.  God instructed the parents, and in turn leaders of the people, to be ready when the children and others who would come along later would ask why (see the four instances).  Why are these stones important?  Why is this meal important?  Why do we believe and do this?  Our core theology is that we are lifelong-learners and lifelong-teachers.  God calls us to be ready to answer when we are asked.

   This is what Epworth needs.  This is the mindset we must adopt.  We must be able to answer the key questions.  Why do we do this thing?  Why are these traditions important?  Why do we belief this?  We must then act in ways that are true to our beliefs.  We must clarify and then embody a vision of ministry in this community that is able to orient us. 

   Like Mrs. Lou's life, I don't think this happens overnight.  I believe it must happen, though. We'll talk about it this coming week at our first Church Council meeting of the new year.  Every leader in the church is being encouraged to attend, as we learn and teach about vision before splitting up into our various teams and planning for the year.

   Grace and Peace, Scott

Everyone Should Try It For 21 days

Experience is the greatest teacher.

Thomas Taylor in the year 1617, 

quoting an ancient Latin saying

   We know this to be true. We learn best by doing.  We can grasp the nuances, and get a hold of the concepts better when we are a part of the action.  Books are amazing tools, and conversations with wise persons are priceless gifts - but there is something unparalleled about the lessons learned from actually experiencing something.
   Earlier this week, I listed to a friend share with me their opinions on the 'state of the world', and heard their take on how things had changed in the past two decades.  My friend is more than a generation my elder, but we saw things almost exactly the same way.  Society is changing, and every fabric of our lives is affected.  Work, family, travel, communication, entertainment, values...and friendship.  Some of it for the good - some not so good. But the change is undeniable.
   As we start the new year, we'll be listening in to ancient ideas and truths, found in our Holy Scriptures, about friendship and relationships.  But in order for us to get the nuances of how friendship looks in 2011, I am proposing everyone try something together for three weeks: Facebook.

   I want everyone to join Facebook. It costs nothing, requires basically that you have an email address, and takes just minutes to get started.  Then for those who start this coming week, or for those who are already on Facebook, I want everyone to log on once a day for 21 days.  Why you ask?  Because Facebook is the single most influential force on relationships in the world today, and every person, of every generation, could stand to learn some things about how Facebook is shaping our children, our neighbors, our coworkers, and even our parents!  You can easily deactivate your account when you are done, but for now I'd like everyone who reads this to join the other 500 Million people who are 'connecting'. or so they say, on Facebook.  Simply go to www.facebook.com to get started.
   I believe if we are going to convince the world that Jesus' way of living is the best possible way to live - if we stand by our claim that our lives are radically better because of the truths we believe - then we also have to speak and know the language of the world.  More and more that language is spoken on Facebook.
   See you on Sunday, Scott