A Place In Our Hearts
“A Place In Our Hearts”
1 Thessalonians 1
Together we’re going to spend the next couple of months looking at Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians. There are two letters he wrote which have been recorded in our Bible.
The first letter Paul wrote is considered to be the oldest of the letters in the New Testament and it is dated to be around 50AD. The second letter was written about a year later.
One thing I’m learning about being a pastor is that the previous churches you have been part of always hold a special place in your heart. The five churches I have been privileged to serve all have taught me valuable lessons about being in ministry and have helped me grow into not just a better minister, but a better person. So when I hear stories, good or bad, about these churches, it impacts me in some way. I rejoice with them in good news, I feel their pain when their is bad news. It’s hard not to feel these things when you have been part of the family, even if for a very short time.
The church of Thessalonica is thought to be the first church he planted. This was his first baby. So no doubt he was very interested in hearing about how they were doing over time. read more…
Church Lament
Solomon’s Porch, a church in Minneapolis (click photo for website), photo from: http://www.matthewweathers.com
A new year has begun and already I’m getting bogged down in talk about churches struggling with finances, membership and viability. We have a number of churches who are seriously considering their short and long-term future in this part of the country right now. It all boils down to…
“How much longer can we afford to stay open?”
I admit, I hate that question because I’m not sure it’s the right question to be asking. The question I would like to see asked is, “How are we living out the gospel message we hold dear to?”
But that’s a post for another day.
The question I really want to engage with today is, “What does the church of my generation look like?”
Forget the model we currently inhabit. I want to engage with young adults to figure out what the church should look like for us, our generation and our children. I want to empower young people to build the church they want, not to simply sit in the church built by their grandparents and maintained by their parents.
We have an opportunity, right here, right now, to come together and ask questions, to come together and seek answers to our “big questions” in a way that speaks to us. Not that the message has changed over the last 2000 years, because I don’t believe it has, but the way in which we interact, engage, submit to, respond to, and be changed by this message can and has.
Are you a young adult? Do you go to church? If so, how does it feel to you? Is it meeting your needs? Does it inspire you to follow Jesus Christ? Why or why not?
If you don’t go to church, what is it that keeps you away? Why?
I’ve resolved to push our churches, to challenge them to speak to and interact with young people to help understand where they are in their spiritual walk and to find ways in which to enable them to ask questions and grow in faith. This may mean some serious changes need to happen, or maybe it may mean nothing changes, but we won’t know until we ask.
Let’s make an effort to make the church the best embodiment of Jesus Christ we can strive to be for all people, young and old.
Are you with me?
“Church Planters”
A powerful reflection on the role of men in the church. Lots to think about.
They Won’t Be Expecting That!
“They Won’t Be Expecting That!”
Matthew 2:1-12
The video with the children (previously posted, click here) and the what they perceive to be the lead-up to the first Christmas is cute, but it also carries a powerful message.
In the video God is talking about how things aren’t quite working out. How people aren’t quite responding as much as God would like them to respond. So, He decides now is the right time to take the next step in the plan.
So begins the big debate about who to send, where to send him, how to send him, and what will happen.
All along there’s the common refrain, “Brilliant! They won’t be expecting that!”
And no one did. read more…
Emergence Christianity – Phyllis Tickle (a review)
I’ve heard a bit about Phyllis Tickle over the last year, she seems to like to write about this new form of Christianity coming about referred to as “emergence”. So when I had the chance to pick up a copy of her latest book, Emergence Christianity, I took it. I was looking forward to learning more about this movement and how it looks and functions in the wider church.
Turns out this is a pretty good book to start with, at least I thought it to be.
Tickle does a wonderful job of introducing this movement and its history, which may not be as recent as we think. Turns out the church has been exploring new expressions/locations/settings/styles for quite some time. She also does a great job of showing how many of these variations have manifested themselves over the last 50 years.
This book has given me a great deal to think about. I took a long time to read it, for a variety of reasons (not one of which is because it’s a hard read). But I’m glad to took the time to read it carefully as it has given me a great deal to think about as I am increasingly convinced the church does need to free itself to explore new expressions of church to help reach the generations for which traditional church has become stale or meaningless.
If you are interested in learning about these things, you can’t be hurt by picking up a copy of Emergence Christianity.