Author: firstdelray

Thomas Long

     In my last sermon during the month of July, Stories That Matter, I shared the above quote from my friend, Thomas Long. They are not his words. He heard them from a participant in a Storytellers Festival. These words ring true for me. As I think back over my life, I remember it in stories. The story of how I met my wife. The story of when my children were born. The story of the various churches I have served. We live our lives in stories, one story strung together with another. This is also how we live our faith, in stories of God’s encounters with us.

     This makes me curious why so may of us have difficulty sharing our faith with others. Each of us has unique stories, personal stories. Stories of disappointment and stories of delight shape each one of us, mark each one of us. We are simply a unique anthology of stories. And I haven’t met anyone who hasn’t been able to share one or more of their stories.

     Perhaps the difficulty with sharing our faith is that we have misunderstood what Christ asks of us. The customary misunderstanding goes something like this: We should teach others the great truths of our faith. We are all storytellers but are not all teachers. For some, the assignment to teach produces a considerable level of inadequacy and anxiety. There is a huge difference between teaching and sharing a personal story. Christ calls each one of us to share our story of faith.

     Now it is correct that at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, in Christ’s Great Commission, Jesus mentions that we are to teach. Maybe that is were the confusion and anxiety comes from. Yet, the command to teach is given to the church; it is what followers of Christ are to do corporately. In plain speech, as a local congregation, we are responsible for identifying persons among us with the gift of teaching and then charging them for doing just that, teaching the great truths of the faith. What Christ asks of us individually, and we see this in almost every personal encounter Jesus has, is to simply share a story.

     How do we do that? The Bible offers a simple template or formula: Share what your life was like before deciding to follow Jesus, how you made the decision to follow Jesus and how your life is different now. Three stories: life before Jesus, decision to follow Jesus and life after that decision. It seems to me any of us can do that.

Joy,  

Michael, a Christian turned atheists and quoted in The Atlantic magazine.

     Larry Taunton, Executive Director of apologetics ministry of the Fixed Point Foundation, recently initiated a nationwide campaign inviting active members of atheist student groups to share what led them to unbelief. The findings of the study startled Taunton: without exception each student said that there was a disconnect between the claims of the Christian faith and the lives of professing Christians. To be clear – not one student expected to find perfect lives among professing Christians. Each of these students was above average in intelligence and had a firm grasp on the human condition. We are imperfect people.

     What led each student to becoming an atheist was that they saw no evidence of the power of the Christian faith to change lives. The church preaches and teaches about this power of God that is at work in the world and in the lives of followers of Jesus. If it was true, where’s the evidence? People in the church looked exactly like people who didn’t belong to the church. People in the church behaved and spoke exactly like people who didn’t belong to church. People in the church would give financially about two to three percent of their income to the church – no different than people outside of the church giving to charitable causes. Where was the sacrifice? Simply, perfection wasn’t expected, but effort was.

     It is sobering to realize that each of us may be partially culpable for the growing unbelief in our nation today. We speak about the power of God – or at least pay a pastor to speak about it on our behalf. But where is the evidence? What those atheists failed to understand is that the Christian faith is a participatory activity – lives don’t become different simply because we say, “I believe.” The Bible teaches that we have a responsibility to make an effort, to practice certain spiritual habits like regularly reading the Bible and intentionally applying to our lives what we understand the Bible to say. The promise of the faith is that the power of God shows up when there is effort on our part.

     Perhaps these students with above average intelligence didn’t know that important aspect of the faith – that God’s power meets our effort. Could it be that they didn’t know because Christians never taught them? Or is the difficulty simply that the Christians they witnessed simply never bothered to follow an intentional path to spiritual growth?

Ephesians 4:22 (Common English Bible)

Joy,

  

Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God.

     I am reading again the wonderful small book, The Practice of the Presence of God. It is actually a collection of thoughts, sayings and various conversations with a Roman Catholic monk known as Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection. Born as Nicholas Herman, in the French villageof Herimenil in the province of Lorraine, in 1611 his name was changed when he entered the monastic life. This book followed his death and was prepared as a guide for others in movement toward a deeper relationship with Christ.

     Brother Lawrence’s life as a monk began with a difficulty common to each of us – sustaining a period of prayer all the while being interrupted by straying thoughts. This was a source of considerable frustration for him and one to which he gave considerable effort and reflection. His final solution to this difficulty was a simple one: he developed the habit of continual conversation with God. Whether at prayer or at work or at leisure, it became his practice to focus his heart and mind on God. Throughout the day, Brother Lawrence acknowledged the continual presence of God; thanking God, praising God, and asking God for God’s grace to do whatever was required of him. Rather than prayer being something done at set times during the day, it became a continual conversation with God as Brother Lawrence went about his daily tasks.

     For the first fifteen years of his monastic life, Brother Lawrence was assigned “kitchen duty” for which he had a natural aversion. Yet, from his “practicing the presence of God” all during his awake hours, Brother Lawrence resolved that he would seek to please God in whatever responsibility was assigned to him. He approached everything he did – including kitchen work – prayerfully. The result was joy even in the smallest tasks.

     Often I hear good church people make the comment that they are simply too busy to pray. Perhaps Brother Lawrence has a helpful word: resolve to acknowledge the continual presence of God throughout your day and speak to God as if God were standing right next to you. Further, with the realization that God is ever present, try completing every responsibility given to you with the sole purpose of pleasing God. The result may be increased joy throughout the day – even while cleaning the kitchen.

Heather Brogowski in Woman’s Day, August, 2013

     Wonderful words! These words should be posted on everyone’s bathroom mirror as a reminder of how we should behave throughout the day. We seem to need reminding because personal experience suggest that we all have a flawed default setting, it seems that we quite naturally speak of others – or to others – in a critical, complaining manner. What is that about? Why do we spend so much time huddled with a few others complaining about something or someone?

     My suspicion is that we are critical because all is not well with our lives. We have suffered a loss or brokenness and are experiencing grief. Perhaps we are disappointed or fearful. It may simply be that someone was recently unkind to us and we are not processing it very well. Whatever is going on in our hearts, the words above are true; everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

     The reason we are unkind to others is because we have become wrapped-up in our own wounded souls and can no longer see that others are also suffering from wounded-ness. So we behave badly. These words from Brogowski remind us that it isn’t just us who are hurting, so is everyone else. If we are not careful with our words and behavior, we will simply multiply the hurt of everyone. As a pastor let me say, Satan would be most pleased with that!

     What are we to do? Brogowski is absolutely correct; we must be kinder than is necessary particularly when we are not feeling so well ourselves. It just may be that if we share a kind thought or gesture, our own wounded souls may begin to experience healing. Satan, naturally, won’t be pleased. That is because kindness to others has a way of drawing heaven a little nearer.

I Thessalonians 2:12 (Common English Bible)

     Notice the tense of Paul’s writing – it is past tense. Paul is reminding the church in Thessalonica of his previous visit with them. Additionally, he wishes to underscore his teaching while he was with them. Perhaps Paul has heard, as we have, that repetition is the mother of all learning. Here we see the heart of Paul; if we claim to be followers of Jesus Christ our lives must demonstrate evidence. As Paul writes, he has appealed to them, he has encouraged them and has pleaded with them to truly live as persons who belong to God. There is a hint of frustration here.

     If we are truthful, we all could do a better job of living lives that bring honor to Jesus Christ. Paul is that honest. In another place, Paul admits that he holds the honor of being the greatest sinner of us all. And in I John, we are told plainly that if we don’t honestly admit that we stumble from time to time, we simply are not being truthful. So there is no argument, we all could do better.

     This all begs the question, why these words from Paul? Though we can’t answer with certainty what is in the heart of Paul as he writes these words, there is evidence that Paul is concerned about their effort, or the lack of it. Never does Paul have the illusion that we can be perfect – though he does say in another place that striving for perfection is a worthy goal. Nor does Jesus expect perfection. Jesus simply calls us to be “holy.” Understand that “holy” doesn’t mean “perfect” but to be “set apart.”

     If we are to be “holy”, which means in the Bible to be “set apart”, then what is clear is that there is an expectation of “effort.” The question becomes, “Are we even trying to be different from everyone else? Do we still complain when everything doesn’t go our way? Do we still spend more time being critical of people rather than lifting them up and encouraging them? Are we careful about how we behave and the words that we permit to come over our lips? How do we manage our financial resources? Is our giving to the church an appropriate response to God’s work in our lives? It’s not perfection Paul seeks. It’s effort. It seems that the church always has some people who give little effort to living differently from the world.

     During my ministry in Texas I had someone tell me that they had been invited to a dinner in the state capital with the governor. Immediately, they became occupied with thoughts of what they would wear and if their table manners were up to what they needed to be. The invitation resulted in “effort.” Paul tells us here that we have been invited into God’s kingdom. Are we asking the right questions of ourselves as we prepare for the occasion?

Reggie McNeal

     The New Testament Book of Acts instructs the modern-day church of God’s intention for the church, what I will call the four central tasks of the church. These tasks are:

* Bring new people to faith in Jesus Christ and membership in the church. (Connect)

* Provide a clear pathway for people to grow as obedient disciples of Jesus Christ. (Grow)

* Equip and mobilize members in ministry according to their God-given gifts. (Serve)

* Provide a comprehensive ministry of care for all people. (Care)

Joy,

Robert E. Coleman

     Coleman wrote these words to pastors. But they speak to all of us, don’t they? It is very easy to become busy in good church activities and neglect the intentional work of spiritual growth. What is most tragic, many who are busy planning meetings and various church socials think that is all there is to “doing” church. What are neglected are intentional spiritual practices such as daily prayer, study of the Bible and seeking intentional application of God’s teachings to the daily living of their lives. Many are good at “playing church” with all their good intentions, energy and effort. And the church is the stronger for their effort. Difficulty is, what all this activity produces is exhausted Christians who show little formation in their personal lives.

     Make no mistake, the church must have people who will run meetings and plan social activities. The question is, “What is all this activity about?” The bottom line for Jesus Christ – and every organization must have a bottom line – is that increasing numbers of people begin to live differently from the rest of the world. As William Willimon once said, “We know we are making progress in the Christian life when others look at us like we are some sort of alien.” People who are growing in Christ simply look different from the rest of the world. They are more generous with their money, they exercise care with how they speak and treat one another and there is urgency in their lives to advance the work of God in their spheres of influence. Church members who are busy with church functions certainly make the church stronger for all their effort. People who are attentive to their Christian formation make the church the bride of Christ.    

Joy,

commitment to a lifestyle. 

(George Barna)

     There is a crisis in the church of NorthAmerica. A growing number of voices are joining the chorus that is giving voice to the crisis, most prominent among them, Darrell Guder of Princeton Theological Seminary. The symptoms of the crisis include diminishing numbers, clergy burnout, the loss of youth, the end of denominational loyalty, biblical illiteracy, the perceived (italicized word my own, reflecting my bias)  irrelevance of traditional forms of worship, the loss of genuine spirituality, and the widespread confusion about both the purpose and the message of the church of Jesus Christ. The typical response of church leaders, asserts Guder, is to identify methodological solutions. All it takes, it would seem, is money, talent, time, and commitment. This approach to the crisis may seem to be the answer but it is not. The answer to the crisis of the North American church, continues Guder, will not be found at the level of method and problem solving. The answer, quite simply, is a recovery of the missional church.

     This November, First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach will host Dr. Greg Ogden, a Presbyterian pastor, author and leading voice today in Christian formation. The small group resources he has published are the most effective materials today for moving people deeper in their formation in Christ. Your elected leaders and staff want an even more robust future for our ministry. Such a ministry will have an exponentially greater impact for God’s kingdom in Palm Beach Countyand the world. This future begins with increasing numbers of church members taking personal responsibility for intentional Christian formation in their lives. Greg Ogden will show us the way.

           

  

– Todd Martin, Discipleship Presenter at Lenape ValleyPresbyterian Church, 2009

     One way of defining “theology” is that it is how our worldview is shaped, the lens through which core values come into focus and the fixed-point of our lives by which we make judgments of what is appropriate and responsible. What Christians, and I am speaking here specifically about those who claim to follow Jesus, often miss is that our theology is sometimes shaped not by God’s Word but by how “we have always done it.”

  

     The history of the church is replete with moments when church leaders have sensed that theological thought and the practice of ministry have moved from the clear instruction of God’s Word. The challenge in those moments has been a recovery of sound biblical instruction and guidance for moving the mission of the church forward. Just as the human body suffers when proper nutrition is consistently ignored, such as consuming to much fast food heavy in salt and fat, so does the body of Christ, the church, suffer when its diet is something other than God’s design for health and growth.

   

     Naturally, when proper nutrition is ignored for too long, the body suffers. The human body loses strength, energy and vitality. The same is certainly true for the church. Each year, for the past 10 years, the Presbyterian Church USA has lost membership: the lost often totaling 60,000 plus each of those years! Our church was once nearly four million strong and today, barely half that. The Presbyterian Church, as most mainline, Protestant churches, is dying of poor nutrition.

   

     Today, multiple church leaders are looking closely at our practice of ministry to diagnose the source of ill health. They love the church and are concerned about its survival. One of those leaders is Greg Ogden, former Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA. Several years ago, Ogden accepted an invitation to spend a weekend at my former church, the Lenape Valley Presbyterian Church in New Britain, PA.He provided instruction to the Elders about his research into the illness that has diminished the strength of the Presbyterian Church. His presentation was titled, “Getting to the Root Causes,” and has been published in his book, Transforming Discipleship.

   

     Ogden identifies eight causes for the discipleship malaise that has gripped the church resulting in stagnant or dying congregations. Naturally, you can purchase the book from most booksellers and read the research yourself. What I hope you will do is mark your calendar for the weekend of November 9 and 10 this year and listen to Greg Ogden and interact with him. He will be our first guest in our annual School of Christian Formation at First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach.

             

     I share with your leaders the desire that First Presbyterian will be a church that is marked by energy and vitality. More, we desire a church that will be a force in the local community for multiplying disciples for Jesus Christ. This, of course, means a recovery of the Bible’s instruction for a healthy church. The primary difficulty that your leaders will face was summed-up by Todd Martin: “People don’t allow the Bible to get in the way of their theology.” I pray that we will be better than that.