Synod Assembly thoughts...

 

With Synod Assembly fast approaching, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking today about this concept of the body of Christ.  Beginning on Sunday, the ELCA body of Christ here in Upstate New York will spend three days together hearing about and sharing in a variety of ministries. 

We will celebrate the reception of a new congregation in our synod, Immanuel in Olean.  We will hear about how our gifts are being used to combat Malaria in Africa and hunger around the world and in our own streets.  We will engage in inspiring Bible studies which will remind us of what it means to follow a God whose love for us was poured out upon a cross.  We will hear from six nominees for the office of bishop who will share their love of the church with us as each lays out their vision for mission in Christ’s name.

There will be voting members from churches large and small, urban and rural, progressive and traditional, as different from each other as day and night.  But all of us will be in assembly, connected to each other by the waters of baptism – standing, sitting, praying, and singing at the foot of the cross.

Beginning on Sunday evening, we will gather together from across New York State visibly living out the reality that the church is one body with many parts.  We are one church with many sizes and many gifts.  If this is so, doesn’t it stand to reason that the body of Christ needs churches of all sizes?  Sure, I’ve had my moments when I’ve thought that just once I’d like to serve a congregation that is numerically growing through the roof.  Wouldn’t that prove that I’m somehow a great leader of a healthy congregation?

Sure, all healthy things grow. But I don’t believe that growth is ever as simple as healthy equals bigger. A pea will never be the size of a pumpkin and a rose will never reach the height of a redwood no matter how much you water them, fertilize them or teach them redwood growth principles. It’s just not in their DNA. All healthy, living things reach their optimal size at maturity, then they grow in different ways from that point on.  So again I ask the question, if this principle applies to churches doesn’t it stand to reason that the body of Christ needs churches of all sizes  - urban, suburban, and rural?

You are not a failure if your congregation reaches its optimal stage of maturity, then starts growing in ways other than butts in seats for weekend services.  Yes, we should always be striving to do church better.  But what works for one congregation may not and probably will not work for another.  In the body of Christ, one size does not fit all.  God doesn’t sell fast food franchises.

So here’s a radical thought:  What if Jesus doesn’t see small churches as part of the problem, but part of his plan? What if it’s been his idea all along to populate every corner of the globe with pockets of his followers – some large, most small – so that everywhere you go you find his people?

And what would happen if we realized this truth and got to work with Jesus on planting, supporting and multiplying healthy small churches, alongside our healthy big siblings?

I don’t pretend to have the answers for how to do ministry.  It just seems to me that if my toes were as large as my leg, it would be really hard to get around.   The body of Christ is a beautiful, living being uniquely gifted in more ways than any one of us could possibly imagine!

So I can’t wait to get to Synod Assembly this weekend.  I can’t wait to see how my sisters and brothers in Christ, from congregations both large and small are being poured out in love as they follow the One who makes all things new.

Peace in Christ,

Pastor Doug

I saw God

A wonderful thing happened in church on Sunday.  I saw God.  Now I know it sounds a bit strange to say something like that because don’t we always see God in church?  Yes, but… well that’s a conversation for another time.

But here’s the crazy thing: this God-sighting didn’t happen where I expected it to.  It happened at the tail end of Lulu Grace’s baptism.  After having promised to support and pray for her, we welcomed Lulu “into the body of Christ and into the mission we share”.   And then it happened.  Lulu grabbed Joanne’s extended hand and off she went down the center aisle smiling and waving her little princess wave to everyone.  While Joanne was reminding all of us of the great promises that were made to Lulu by God, her parents, and her congregation, Lulu took a dive.  Yup!  Down to the floor she went.  Here’s where I saw God.  No, God didn’t push her or trip her.  As Lulu began to stumble, at least a dozen hands extended out to her to try and cushion her fall.  There was the church in action!  There was God!

Later in the worship service, we heard about Jesus going away and sending an advocate to be with us.  In just six verses of that gospel reading, Jesus extolled his friends to “love” five times.  Not the gushy, emotional, nutritionally empty feeling of love that we have no control over, but the self-sacrificing, agape “I’d die for you” kind of love that we can control and that Jesus poured out for us on the hardwood of an executioner’s cross.  We heard that this advocate is one who pulls up alongside us in “agape” love to be our voice and to accompany us on the journey of life.  Then we heard that to be a spirit-filled church, a community of the Spirit, is to come alongside each other to comfort and encourage as Jesus first did for us in his incarnation.  We were then challenged to become such a Spirit community where we grow in our ability of coming alongside each other in faith and love.

That’s what God’s people do.  Contrary to those who see the church as a “crock”, we come alongside those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death; we come alongside those whose courage falters; those whose hearts have been shattered; those who cannot imagine a tomb of death being empty and we become advocates for each other; partners on the journey.

This pulling up alongside in love stuff?  It’s real.  It’s what Jesus first did and what the Spirit, the Advocate, continues to do.  Where you see that, you see God. 

So, Lulu you won’t remember this, but God was with you on Sunday.  I saw it first-hand.  And you know what?  Wherever you go and whenever you fall, get ready for a flurry of hands to lovingly reach out, ready to buffer your fall because that’s what God’s church does.

Your partner in the Spirit,

Pastor Doug

My Easter Doubts

If you were in church this past Sunday you might have heard me preach about why Luke’s story of the road to Emmaus is my favorite Easter text.  For starters, the risen Jesus comes to two common, every day, unknown folk, one of whom is never even named.    Sure the women who had come with Jesus from Galilee are the first to hear of Jesus’ resurrection early that morning from two men in “dazzling clothes”, but it is Cleopas and his unnamed companion, who find themselves late in the afternoon inadvertently walking in Jesus’ presence discovering firsthand that Jesus hasn't stayed dead.  These two folk are so ordinary that we never even hear of them again.  They are like us, ordinary people struggling to keep faith alive.  That Jesus comes to them and to us is indeed good news!

Here’s what I didn’t say in Sunday's sermon and probably for good reason.   Where the gospel reading was intent on conveying how Jesus accompanies us on our journeys of doubt, confusion, and fear, our first reading in Acts (from the same author) provided a different glimpse of resurrection reality that quite frankly wears me out.

Unlike Cleopas and his companion who walk in fear and doubt, Acts tells of Peter, a post-Easter superhero of the faith, who stands with bold certitude calling all to repentance and baptism.  He’s so persuasive we’re told that 3,000 people are baptized right there on the spot!

So who would you want as your pastor?  Peter the bold-hearted with thousands of adoring fans or Cleopas the sometimes doubting, confused and fearful one?  The choice seems obvious to me.

What congregation wouldn’t snatch Pastor Peter up in a heartbeat with those kinds of statistics under his tunic?  I mean, come on 3,000 baptized in one day?   So what do we know about that other guy Cleopas?  Very little.  We know that he and his nameless companion are confused, fearful, and full of doubt.  Their hearts have been broken by the sting of death.  Their world has shattered all around them.  They stand in need of healing.

We also know what happens next.  Incognito Jesus engages them in conversation for hours without judgment and finally at the end of the day breaks bread with them, suddenly revealing that he is alive and well!  Without hesitation, these two companions make haste to get back to the other disciples, eagerly proclaiming this healing news of resurrection!  They just can’t help it  This news is too great to keep to themselves!

Both Peter and Cleopas convey good news of resurrection but in very different ways.  Yet when push comes to shove I will hang out with Cleopas over Peter any day.  Cleopas has doubts about faith.  He has fears about life.  He gets confused easily and doesn’t appear to have all the answers.  I have those days, weeks, and months too and I bet so do you.  And yet in the midst of my own doubts, God still seems to join me on the journey.

On my walk of faith, I don’t want some hot shot super-pastor placating me with clichés about how God is awesome.  I want someone to walk with me who knows something about fear and doubt. I want someone to walk with me who admits that they too don’t have all the answers.  I want someone to walk with me who acknowledges that sometimes life just sucks.  Because you know what? Sometimes it does. And yet despite my struggles, Jesus still seems to come to us doubting and confused people, breaking bread, opening eyes and making all things new for us too. 

Blessed to walk with you on the journey of joy and doubt,

Pastor Doug

 

Prayer for pastors on Easter

The following prayer comes from Brian McLaren.  Disclosure:  Finally a prayer that has nourished me.

Peace,

Pastor Doug

A prayer for pastors on Easter

Dear Lord, I pray for all the pastors today
Who will feel enormous pressure to have their sermon
Match the greatness of the subject
and will surely feel they have failed.
(I pray even more for those who think they have succeeded.)
Help them to know that it is enough
Simply and faithfully to tell the story
Of women in dawn hush ...
Of men running half-believing ...
Of rolled stones and folded grave-clothes ...
Of a supposed gardener saying the name of a crying woman ...
Of sad walkers encountering a stranger on the road home ...
Of an empty tomb and overflowing hearts.
Give them the wisdom to know that sincere humility and awe
Surpass all homiletic flourish
On this day of mysterious hope beyond all words.
Make them less conscious of their responsibility to preach,
And more confident of the Risen Christ
Who presence trumps all efforts to proclaim it.
Considering all the Easter choirs who will sing beautifully, and those who won't,
And all the Easter prayers that will soar in faith, and those that will stumble and flounder,
And all the Easter attendance numbers and offering numbers that will exceed expectations
And those that will disappoint ...
I pray they all will be surpassed by the simple joy
Of women and men standing in the presence of women and men,
Daring to proclaim and echo the good news:
Risen indeed! Alleluia!
For death is not the last word.
Violence is not the last word.
Hate is not the last word.
Money is not the last word.
Intimidation is not the last word.
Political power is not the last word.
Condemnation is not the last word.
Betrayal and failure are not the last word.
No: each of them are left like rags in a tomb,
And from that tomb,
Arises Christ,
Alive.
Help the preachers feel it,
And if they don't feel it, help them
Preach it anyway, allowing themselves
To be the receivers as well as the bearers of the Easter
News.
Alleluia!