I experienced today, once again, the sweet blessing of being a part of the Body of Christ. I’m nearing the end of a four year leadership training process in which I’ve been matched with six other pastors to learn and grow and share in the process. We’ve gotten close. Today, one our our brothers learned that he has cancer. He was miles from home and family as he got the news. But he was with us, and we were able to surround him with love and cover him and his wife in prayer. It’s a painful and uncertain time, but the love of Christ was tangible in the midst of it as we cared for one another.
Archive for the ‘The Body of Christ’ Category
The Blessing of the Body of Christ
Saturday, April 17th, 2010Blessings of Being Away
Thursday, April 15th, 2010In many ways it is very hard to be away from home as a Pastor. A man’s daughter dies unexpectedly. A member has even more serious surgery than expected. Another member is hospitalized. And I’m not there. It’s hard not to be physically present to provide care as I normally would.
But there is a blessing in this. Others are moved to “step up” and into that “gap” created by my absence. Others share and participate in actual ministry, caring for others in ways they might not have otherwise. This is a good thing, and I praise God for these opportunities for others. I pray that the people of God would see themselves, more and more, as those who are able to provide caring ministry for others. It’s not only a pastor’s job and privilege.
Easter Eggstravaganza!
Tuesday, April 6th, 2010Click this link (here) to see a slide show of the Easter Eggstravaganza! Thanks, Will for putting this together!
Working Together
Saturday, March 27th, 2010What a great morning for our congregation! At the same time two very different, yet important, things were happening. First, a group was meeting at a member’s home for study and growth and training. Who are these people? They are the individuals who are being trained to be OSL’s first “Stephen Ministers,” regular people, trained and prepared to provide a listening ear and friendly encouragement to those who may be going through a challenging time. (perhaps after the death of a loved one, during a prolonged illness, after a divorce, etc.) You can read a little more about “Stephen Ministry” here.
At the very same time, a group of perhaps twenty (mostly) men were working at church, getting rid of the winter’s deposits of sand from the parking lot and spreading out a new layer of mulch in the beds and borders around the church building. Now, getting rid of sand and laying down mulch are simple maintenance things, not really essential to what a church is about. They are jobs that just need to get done. What IS special, is the relationships built and strengthened when guys and their sons are working shoulder to shoulder sweeping, shoveling and raking.
Both groups met for most of the morning. The groups were working for very different purposes, but both groups were strengthening and building a sense of community that is VITAL for the mission and ministry of our congregation. For that alone it was exciting to see so many people “working together.”
The Body of Christ
Saturday, March 20th, 2010“Christ has no body on earth but yours. No hands but yours. No feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion for the world is to look out; Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good, and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now.”
–St. Teresa of Avila
Tied Together
Monday, March 1st, 2010A couple days ago, two of my boys tied themselves together. They used a piece of rope and several belts. They tied their arms, legs, and middle together so that they were side-by side (picture the old “three legged raced.”) They stayed like this for about an hour and a half.
They fell a lot. They laughed a lot. Surprisingly, they didn’t get mad at each other much.
Watching them, I thought this was an interesting experiment and an interesting picture for the Church. We are “tied together.” Baptized by One Spirit into the One Body of Christ–we’re in this together. Each part doing it’s work for the benefit of one another. Sometimes we fall down in the process, because we are still learning to work together and because we are naturally clumsy. How great would it be if we singly laughed every time we “fell down” together. This could also be a good image for married couples!
I am thankful for the Spirit of Christ in our midst at OSL. We do get along quite well. But it’s always good to keep these types of things in mind and to remember not to take ourselves too seriously, to have ample grace for one another, even as Christ showers such grace on us moment by moment.
A Great Day
Saturday, April 11th, 2009Today we had our fourth (?!) annual Easter Eggstravaganza. It is such a great time. The place is packed with a few hundred people, kids with their families. We get together for a few songs and a sharing of the Easter story. Then the kids all break up and go hunt for some eggs with treats inside. There are some crafts, lots of snacks and even some cute and cuddly “springtime animals” (rabbits, baby goats and even a chicken!) It’s a BLAST.
I love that so many people get to hear the true reason for Easter. I also love that so many people are just having a fun time. The kids really do seem to dig it. And I think that makes the parents happy–even if it is a little nuts trying to keep track of them all. 
One of my FAVORITE things, is seeing all the different people from our congregation coming out to do something to help. People of all ages just jump right in, and it is wonderful. It takes a lot of people to pull this off! Thanks, everyone for doing such a fantastic job and for doing it in the Joy of the Lord.
Praying Out Loud With Others
Thursday, March 26th, 2009I just got back from a gathering with some other pastors. We meet once a month for a time of prayer. We may pray for each other. Most often we pray for God’s work in our region and in and through our congregations. It’s an awesome time. I am so encouraged when I hear these brothers in the Lord praying.
Some people are painfully shy and nervous about praying out-loud in front of/with other people. This makes me so sad. Are we too concerned about what others might think of us? That we might pray “the wrong thing?” What is it?
A Holy Time
Saturday, December 13th, 2008Last night was pretty amazing. We “set apart” (that’s one of the definitions of “holy” btw) time for prayer especially for those who are in a time of deep distress. There are so many in our congregation that are experiencing a host of different struggles.
A good number of folks came out. We had a few songs, four bible readings and a few extended times for prayer. One of the times of prayer was modeled after something I’d experienced in Kenya. Everyone with a specific need was invited to gather around the altar to kneel. Friends and family were invited to either pray for those kneeling at the altar from their seats or to come up and stand behind the person perhaps placing a hand on their shoulder. We prayed silently for those gathered for a while, then I prayed a general prayer for all of them. Finally I went from person to person and gave them a simple blessing. This seemed to be a regular part of worship in Kenya and it was amazing to witness. It was just as beautiful last night to see the love and care the people of God have for one another. Even more amazing is to know the God who invited us to pray, heard our prayers and who will answer in His way.
Here are the readings if your interested:
We started with Hebrews 4:14-16. Here is God’s invitation for us to approach His “throne of grace” because of our “great high priest,” Jesus.
Our next reading was the great confession of faith and confidence in the spite of deep distress from the prophet Habakkuk. (3:17-19)
Later, we considered Psalm 86, which is itself a prayer that both acknowledges our own great need and the gracious character of God and requests God’s rescue.
The final reading was Paul’s expression of confidence in the ultimate victory of God through Christ in Romans 8:31-39
A Time For Prayer
Wednesday, December 10th, 2008There are several families going through really, really hard times in our community of faith. Because of this we’re going to have a special night for prayer, praise and meditation on God’s Word this Friday evening. If you’re in the area, you’re welcome to join us. We’ll meet at the church building at 6:30pm.
The format will be pretty casual. We’ll have some singing, some bible readings and lots of time for prayer.