October Sharings

“God spoke to Cain: ‘Why this tantrum? Why the sulking? If you do well, won’t you be accepted? And if you don’t do well, sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it’s out to get you, you’ve go to master it.’” (Genesis 4:6-7, The Message)

On Sunday, September 23, I preached a sermon on conflict, and how we deal with our disagreements and differing agendas as we seek to be faithful to our Lord. The text was Philippians 4:2-3, and the context was a difficult situation in the church. Two prominent women, perhaps leaders of the congregation, were in conflict with one another about something that isn’t named, and Paul was urging the rest of the church to come alongside them and assist in bringing about their reconciliation.

After preaching the sermon, I was reminded of the biblical story of Cain and Abel, a tale of needless violence that tears a family apart. It’s the first tale of violent conflict in the scriptures, a story that draws our attention to the issues of conflict and violence. At first reading, we usually focus on the conflict itself and wonder why Cain would attack and kill his apparently innocent brother, Abel. If we probe a bit deeper, we discover that it is also about freedom of choice and its consequences.

Cain works in the fields while Abel tends sheep. Each brings to God the fruit of their work as an offering. The text says that God preferred Abel’s offering, but we are never told why. Perhaps that is because the issue is really the choice before Cain: will he decide rightly and master the sin that is ready to damage his life, or will he choose another path, one that leads to violence and death? We all know that the story ends badly as Cain chooses poorly and murders his brother. As a consequence, he finds himself in exile.

Like Cain, we often find ourselves faced with conflicts of every shape and size, and we are always faced with choices that will impact how we live our lives and who we are becoming. Conflict is a part of life, and yet we bear responsibility for how we will respond to and manage the conflict. God’s invitation is always to choose well as we pray for God’s grace in every difficult situation.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Tom

Top Ten Myths About Church Growth

A colleague in our presbytery sent me a Top Ten list about church. I'm a Dave Letterman fan, so anything titled "Tom Ten List" catches my eye. I was fascinated by what church growth consultants have found as described in this creative way.

TOP TEN MYTHS ABOUT CHURCH GROWTH

#10. Worship services in growing congregations offer only contemporary music. Research seems to indicate a blend of music that is enthusiastically inclusive tends to attract new visitors.

#9. New Member integration methods lead the way to church growth. Many new members have a gradual increase in there willingness to be more involved, yet begin as passive attendees.

#8. Growing congregations rely exclusively on church signs and big advertising campaigns. Events and a broad based approach is cited as more beneficial to growth.

#7. New people usually come back after the first time because of the coffee hour. The sermon and worship experience, particularly the friendliness of the congregation, are much stronger indicators than the coffee hour.

#6. Denomination is irrelevant to church seekers. 73% said it is important, and even 48% of young people say the same.

#5. Most new people are new to the faith. Only 7% are new to the faith, the rest are mostly transfers from other churches closely related to the congregation.

#4. Most people have been attending their congregation for many years. Fast growth often means fast turn over, and most of the members began attending within the last five years.

#3. Only large churches grow. 39% of the fastest growers are congregations smaller than 200.

#2. Only new and recently established congregations are growing. Most of the growing churches have been around since before 1960.

#1. Only congregations in growing areas are adding members. Actually, caring for children and youth, welcoming, laughter, participation of a variety of people in worship, are strong indicators regardless of community demographics.

It seems that if a church community is loving, inviting, inclusive, and relevant new people will be attracted.

Food for thought, don't you think?

Faithfully,

Pastor Tom

Summer Sermon Series Week 8

Philippians 3:10-16:

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and thesharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehowI may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I havealready obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I presson to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this onething I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to whatlies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenlycall of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us then who are mature beof the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, thistoo God will reveal to you. Only let us hold fast to what we haveattained.

When reading the Bible, keep in mind that the chapter and verse divisions were added in the Middle Ages to make it easier for scholars to discuss Scripture. The chapter divisions were imposed by Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, around 1227 CE, and were first published in the Wycliffe English Bible of 1382 CE. Further divisions into verses were made in the Hebrew Old Testament by a rabbi called Nathan in 1448 CE, and in the New Testament by a scholar called Stephanus in 1555. (http://www.gotquestions.org/divided-Bible-chapters-verses.html)

For the most part, scholars have agreed that these markings are avery helpful tool for study and discussion. However, in studying any particular verses, it is usually wise to read surrounding verses/chapters to make sure you are following the author’s intended train ofthought.

For example, our verses for this week are all part of a larger argument that Paul began in the verses we studied last week. There, he condemns those who argued that keeping Jewish law was still necessary for Christians, reminding them that salvation is found in Christ alone.

Continue reading the book of Philippians each week. Next week is Mission Celebration Sunday,and the week after that is Youth Sunday. We return to Philippians on Sept. 23 with 3:17-4:1. Here, he addresses the opposite struggle that plagued the New Testament Church. Since our salvation comes through Christ alone, andthere is nothing we can or must do to earn it, some had decided that itwas our privilege to “sin that grace may abound”, in the words of Romans 6:1. The more I sin, the more opportunity God has to demonstratehis grace. A tempting thought! But here, as in Romans 6:2, Paulsays “That’s a terrible idea!”Christ has not just saved us from something (our guilt) he has saved us for something (the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.) We “strainforward to what lies ahead,” “pressing on towards the goal for the prize.” Christ has made us his own, so we are always in the process ofbecoming like him, “forgetting what lies behind,” not taking advantageof forgiveness to make things even worse. Earl Palmer uses the illustration of a track and field competitor:“We run the race, not in an attempt to somehow make the team, butbecause we are already on the team… Paul’s is not the motivation or fear, nor is it the motivation of guilt or of pride. It is the motivationof enthusiastic belonging. “I belong in this race, I was made for thisevent, this is my moment.” (Earl Palmer, Integrity in a World of Pretense, IVP, 1992. Reprinted as Integrity, A Commentary on the Book of Philippians, Regent Publishing (2000) ISBN: 1573831816.) As you think about your Christian life, work with this metaphor for alittle while.

• What has Christ made you for?
• How are you in the processof reaching for that goal?
• What are you doing that helps?
• Whatare you doing that gets in the way?