Category Archives: Church

“It feels like family”

25 Monday Jun 2018

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Last week a small group of folks from our church went over to do ministry at Flying J with the poor and homeless who reside in the parking lot and nearby.

We’ve been doing this for several months now.  We make sure people get showers, laundry, and get a meal.  It’s not complicated and sometimes it doesn’t feel like we are doing much given the challenges that people face.  But it’s something – one of the few things that we can do.

And it has been a learning experience for us too.  We’ve shifted from a focus on making sure people have the material things they need, to the relationships.  We actually care about these people.  We know their names and they know us.  We hear their stories.  We catch up if we haven’t seen them in a while and find out what they have been up to.

This is a diverse group – young, old, middle-age, families, single, white, black, men and women.  You name it.

My favorite time is when we go over for the meal at Denny’s.  Everyone is welcome to come.  This past time a trucker who was passing through the area joined in our meal and the conversations.  He shared pictures of mountains in California from some of his trips.

One of the most moving statements I have heard during our time of ministry was uttered by one of our African-American guests.  It took a few times for her to warm up to us over the last month or two.  But this time, she was right in the mix.  We had built trust with her and she with us.  She knew we actually cared about her, not what she had done.  She was attempting to draw in another gentlemen into the conversation at the table at Denny’s.  At one point she said “This is great.  It feels like family.”

Wow.  That statement made my heart leap for joy.

This is what ministry is really about.  It’s not about doing stuff for other people, or getting people a bunch of stuff.  Those are important, but not the most important thing.  Rather, it is building relationships with people so that you and they become family.  This is what it means to be children of God, to dwell in the kingdom.  To be a part of God’s family.

 

 

 

What I would do with $54 million

01 Friday Jun 2018

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I’m sure by now you have seen stories about a televangelist who supposedly heard Jesus tell him that he needed a fourth jet to add to his collection – one that costs $54 million.  He already had the trinity worth of jets, this one must be in honor of Paul.

At any rate, it got me thinking about what I would do with $54 million.  I certainly wouldn’t waste it on a fourth jet.

No, instead, I would use it for ministry.  There’s an abandoned hotel – Hotel Carlisle – down on the Carlisle Pike, just past I-81.  It’s a large property that sits with a deteriorating hotel.  I’d buy it, level it to the ground and build a village of tiny homes for the homeless.  There would be plenty of room for a community center complete with separate shower facilities, laundry, and a community kitchen.  There would be plenty of money to hired the professionals needed to work with these folks too – social workers, medical professionals, etc.  And I would create the space for the residents of the community to be able to open businesses too, if they felt so inclined.

$54 million wouldn’t even be needed for all of that.

The point is, this is a big dream – one that would have a major impact on the lives of many.  This would be a huge sign that the Miracle Mile is where miracles are happening.

In the middle of this community of tiny homes, I’d build a modest church for people to worship in, but it wouldn’t be the typical structure.  It would be a worship space that could accommodate many different worship styles – dinner church, traditional worship, taize, etc.  You name it.  It would be an innovative worship space – a place to try things out because this would be a ministry with people where innovation was important.

Additionally, I would create a mission hub – a place to learn about homelessness.  Think of it as Homeless University.  The people who live there would help educate those of us who have never been homeless.  We’d hear from them of what the needs really are, how people survive, the networks that are created.  It would be a lab to test theories and ideas out about how to eliminate homelessness.  It would be a place for debate and conversation.  It would be a resource hub of information.  It would be a mission hub where new mission to other homeless communities could be launched and where these new missions could draw on support.

Imagine what could be done with $54 million.

That’s what I would do with $54 million.  I’d dream big and then carry it out.

Anyone got a few extra million sitting around and you don’t know what to do with it?

Let’s change the world.  Let’s get uncomfortable.  Let’s believe in miracles.  Let’s participate in the unfolding of the kingdom.

Jesus Interrupted

25 Friday May 2018

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Does Jesus interrupt your life?  Or is Jesus just an interruption in your life?  If all you do is go to church on Sunday for an hour, but live how you want, then Jesus is just a minor interruption in your life,

Jesus should be interrupting your life all the time.

But do we try to bring the narrative of our life back to something in which we believe we are in control?

That doesn’t end well.

Throughout the Bible we see story after story of people trying to do just this.

God interrupts in the Old Testament all the time – much to the dismay of the people who have been interrupted.  With the interruption usually comes a change of their life.

In the New Testament, it starts with Jesus being born and interrupting King Herod’s narrative and life.  Herod thought he had control over time and the narrative.  He certainly had everyone scared.  Only he didn’t have control.  He loses control of the narrative to a baby and strangers who aren’t even on the map. They are from the East.

Seriously though – he loses control of the narrative to a baby.  How fragile is Herod’s narrative that he loses control that easily?

And what does he do when he loses control?  The same thing all those in power do when they lose control – they try to take down as many others with them as possible.  He kills the innocents because he is weak.  He needs to kill those out of power to show his own supposed strength, but the reality is he is far weaker and his end ends with him being a footnote in history to a greater narrative.  He becomes a minor actor with a short scene in a greater narrative.  It’s a narrative he doesn’t control.

This is how all those in power end.  Especially the truly weak – the ones who have the biggest egos and make the biggest claims.  The reality is that they are full of emptiness and empty rhetoric and empty promises.

Instead, it is a baby who offers hope for a new reality.  It is strangers who have a vision of the future.  Herod, like all those who think they control the narrative, ends up destroying innocents in an effort to keep the narrative.  But God interrupts.

How is God interrupting your life?

You Brood of Vipers…

04 Friday May 2018

Posted by in Church, Humanity, Politics, Theology

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Here’s your fair warning – this is going to be political – painfully political.  And no, I’m not going to apologize.  I can’t just sit by and be silent.  My focus isn’t even on the politicians.  If you know me at all, you’ll know that I don’t put much faith in politicians, political parties, or ideology.  I find most of them to be worthless and primarily interested in power.  All of them are seriously flawed and frankly, I expect them to worship their idols of power, influence, money, and their other gods that they create in their own image.  I hope this post is extremely uncomfortable.  I hope it is inconvenient.  I hope this because it sucked writing this.  The focus of this post is on the Christians who read this.

Jesus said:

‘Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure. I tell you, on the day of judgement you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter; for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.’

(Matthew 12:33-37)

I can think of no better passage of Scripture that applies to the filthy state of partisan politics today than this passage spoken by Jesus.

Yesterday I received an e-mail with a link to an article by Jeff Roe on why Republicans would be mistaken to abandon Trump in the mid-term elections.  Persona and policy can get mixed up.  The GOP should celebrate the policies and not the distraction of the persona – that’s the argument anyway.  The essential argument is this – the ends justify the means.

Yesterday as I was driving around I flipped through radio stations.  Occasionally I flip over to talk radio to hear what the chattering is about.  I can usually handle about five minutes worth before having to turn the station.  Yesterday I heard the host in his usual blind allegiance of the president and the actions to cover up his affair with a porn star.  The ends justified the means apparently.  Don’t you know, it was the porn star in the wrong.

Today I saw Rudy Giuliani’s interview on Sean Hannity’s show.  During this interview, Giuliani contradicts statements Trump made about knowing there was a payoff and where the money for the payoff came from.  When the ends justify the means, who cares what was said before.

Yesterday was the so-called National Day of Prayer.  People gathered and there was an official prayer stated.  The prayer is eloquent and hits on some very good points – turning from sin, unity of the body of Christ, turning from evil, forgiveness, reconciliation, healing, etc.  All things that I can get behind, but the problem is that I’m not sure if all Christians agree with the definitions of these terms.

I’m not sure that I have the same definition of unity as our “Christian” politicians and those that support their policies that do more harm than good, that uphold Social Darwinism (where only the strong survive), and where the end justifies the means is the foundation of life.

I’m not sure I have the same definition of turning from evil as our “Christian” politicians and those that support their actions by making excuses for behaviors that are unacceptable for you or I, but seem to be just fine because it was two consenting adults, don’t you know.  Yet these same people threw a hissy fit when another president screwed around with someone in the White House – which was just as terrible. But hey, when you believe that it’s a Christian virtue to lay the foundation of your life at the altar of the ends justify the means, then anything goes, right?

Does turning from evil mean that it’s ok to knowingly lie and defend those lies because the truth is inconvenient and is costly?  Does turning from evil mean that you pay hush money for an affair or that you defend someone who does this?  Does turning from evil mean that you use your Christian label as a pastor to make excuses for a worldly powerful person.  I thought we were called to deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow Jesus if we claimed the label of Christian.

I’m not sure I have the same understanding of the following line of prayer as our “Christian” politicians and those that support their rhetoric:

We pray for all people of all ethnicities and races in America to come together as one, living in peace and unity together.

I’m not sure how anyone can claim to be a Christian and make excuses for a “Christian” politician who offers support to neo-nazis, labels all Mexicans as rapists and murders, who disparages numerous other groups of people.  I’m not twisting words here, go back and see what was actually said.  If you feel the need to defend these words that he said, why?  Why would you defend such vile language from anyone?  Would you defend the same exact words, spoken in the same exact tone if they came from a politician that you didn’t like?  Or do the ends justify the means?

I’m not sure I have the same understanding of the following line of prayer as our “Christian” politicians and those that support their policy actions:

We pray for God’s power to unify families, workplaces, communities, and cities in America. By Your Spirit, lead us to forgiveness, reconciliation, healing, and unity.

I find it hard to say we are all seeking to unify families and communities when we put up more roadblocks to the homeless and poor.  We have families who are living in their vehicles at truck stops.  And they are working, but don’t make enough to find adequate housing.  Men, women, and children living in their vehicles.  And the typical response is something along these lines – well, they should work harder.  Well, they should have not made so many bad decisions.  Well, they get what they deserve.  Well, if they only did this or that.  Well, the churches can take care of them.

BS.

As a pastor who does ministry with the homeless, I can tell you that churches are not equipped to do this.  We don’t have the resources, the training, or the people to do this.  We can do small things, but we don’t have unlimited resources.  We aren’t trained in how to deal with mental illness.  We aren’t taught what to do when we run out of money trying to help someone and they end up back on the street again because all the shelters are full and they have nowhere to turn.

If your response is “well, you should open your own doors then,” or some other snide remark, then you are missing the whole point here.

Jesus never said the ends justify the means.  That’s about as far away from what it means to be a Christian as you can get.  If that is your belief of what it means to be a Christian – then you and I can’t be unified because we don’t have the same foundation.

Is the defense of something and someone who is indefensible worth it?

Or as Jesus said:

Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?

(Matthew 16:24-26)

You want to get mad at me – go for it.  I’ve got thick skin.  Frankly, I’m not too happy with you either.  And I refuse to shut up because I’m pointing out something uncomfortable and inconvenient.  Your comfort is not my concern.  Especially when we have people who are homeless, people who haven’t had a meal on a plate since August, people who have families that are living in vehicles, people who are being trafficked on our interstates, people who are treated as second class citizens because of their skin color or orientation.  If that’s uncomfortable, then it should be.  Being a Christian is not comfortable or convenient.  It’s not suppose to be.  It’s supposed to smack us in the face and make us so uncomfortable and inconvenienced that we respond to the injustice we see around us.

Frankly, I’m tired of Christians who want the label, but refuse to live out the calling.  I’m tired of Christians who value their loyalty to a politician or party (any politician in either party – yes, this applies to Democrats just as much as Republicans) above Jesus.  I’m tired of Christians making excuses for “bad trees,” as Jesus called them, all because they believe that the ends justify the means when it comes to policies.

We are called to live out what Jesus commands us to do, not to have blind loyalty to some politician who is temporarily in power.

Pick up your cross and follow Jesus.  Jesus didn’t say, pick up your tweet and follow Trump.  Jesus didn’t say, pick up your sign and follow some other candidate.  Jesus didn’t say send in a check and blindly follow your party.

These are difficult times in our nation.  The call for unity is something that is needed.  However, it is not possible to have unity where there is a strongly held belief that not everyone is equal in value and worth.  How can there be unity when there are some who create us vs. them situations, where the poor are seen as an expense, where we have leaders who firmly believe that only the strong should survive, where we value things over people, etc.

But not all is hopeless or lost.  Last night I heard something that hit me.  I don’t remember the exact words, but here’s what I heard – when everything has been exhausted, there is grace.

Even in this situation, there is grace.  It’s the only thing that can carry us forward.  We humans can’t fix this ourselves – we are too devoted to our divisions and separations.  We have blind worship of our leaders and ideologies.  We cling to our sin and brokenness.

Only God can fix this.  And it may require something else – something that is deeply associated with being a follower of Christ.  It will require death.  Death of our egos.  Death of our loyalties.  Death of our certainties and answers.  Death of our attitudes towards one another.  Death of excuses.  Death of our sin and brokenness.

Only then will we experience the fullness of being a Christ follower – resurrection.  New life, renewed life, restored life, transformed life.

This is my hope.  This is my prayer.  It’s time to start acting out what we claim to believe.  It’s time to start actually being Christians, not just taking on the label.  If we don’t, we’re no better than the people who Jesus called out as a brood of vipers.

Can the church really change?

04 Friday May 2018

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Yesterday I wrote about what I called inevitable decline. It’s a belief that some, even within the church, have that goes along the lines that the church has to decline.

As I mentioned, I don’t agree with this line of thinking.

I’m wondering though if I’m using the same definitions of terms as those who carry these beliefs.  Definitions of terms are important.  They can make all the difference.  For me the “church” goes beyond the organization or the building.  The church is the body of Christ.  Jesus promised us that he would be with us until the end of the age, so how could the church, in this sense, ever really decline.

I don’t like the idea of decline, especially in relation to the church.  But this goes beyond not liking something. Yes, the numbers for many church denominations are in decline.  So be it.  We can gaze at those numbers all day long.  The question becomes, so what?  Are we looking at the numbers in order to feel bad for ourselves and have some kind of pity party?  I hope not.

I didn’t change denominations, go to seminary for five years, take on a ton of debt to do that, change career and calling, so that I could go through the motions and watch over a declining church.  If that’s your thing, can we just speed up the death, let me go to the funeral, and then set me loose to do what I was called to do – go and proclaim the Good News.

When are we, church, going to be so fed up with the idea of inevitable decline that it causes us to start acting differently?  When are we going to actually embrace what it is we claim to belief that it causes us to start carrying out the call?  I’m not interested in just going through the motions, or mouthing the words.  If that’s your thing – then get out-of-the-way.  I don’t have time for that.

The church is in the midst of change.  But I don’t think this is any different from any other time in history.  The church is always in the midst of change.  Are we so arrogant as to think that we are somehow more special than those who came before us that we are overseeing the death of the church?  Really?  History didn’t start when we were born, nor will it end when we die.

Will the church change?  Absolutely.  Living things change.  They excrete stuff that is harmful.  The church will do this too.  There are things in the church that need to die.  And the beautiful thing about what we believe is that there is resurrection – new life, renewed life, transformed life.  The church will look different in the future than it does now, just as what it looks like right now is far different from what it looked like in the past.

Inevitable decline?  Where’s the hope in that?  Jesus command was to follow him, not gaze at the numbers and throw a pity party.  So get up and start living out the Gospel, proclaiming it.  The world need to hear it.  The world needs encounters with Jesus.  Get out there and do it.  Or don’t you really believe it?

Inevitable Decline?

03 Thursday May 2018

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This is a short one today.  There are some people who believe that decline of the church is inevitable.  There are even some pastors who believe this.  I’m not one of them.

Often when I hear about inevitable decline of the church I hear people say this with a sense of hopelessness.

I don’t buy it.  At the same time, I do believe that the church is in the midst of change.  For me, this stems from the idea that the church is in the business of resurrection.  We proclaim death and resurrection, so why shouldn’t the church experience this too?  we proclaim transformation, so why shouldn’t the church experience this too?  But inevitable decline?  I don’t recall Jesus ever talking about that.

 

Scattering Seeds

02 Wednesday May 2018

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The ministry we do with the homeless is not too complex – at least not right now.  We try to make sure some basic needs are met.  We try to make sure people’s humanity is acknowledged.  We try to create a sense of community.  We try to share Good News with people and let them know that they are not alone.  We try to tell people that they are loved and valued by God and by us.  We try to tell people that they have value and worth.  We try to listen to their stories and walk along side people.  We try to learn from the people we encounter.  The underlying belief is that an encounter with Jesus changes lives – both for the people we encounter and our own lives too.

And the responses vary.  Sometimes people reject us.  Sometimes people are only looking for some material relief.  Some are not open to change in their lives.  Some would rather try to be in control, although being in control is often a part of the problem and a piece of what keeps people where they are.  Some initially come on board and engage with us, only to slip away later on – the tug of their past and their lives is too great.  Some start to see hope for their lives, and then they choose a different path that takes them back into the darkness.  They feel they are lost.

And then there are some who openly embrace it all – they embrace us, even though there is initial confusion on why a group of strangers would go out of their way to care about another stranger – especially a stranger who supposedly can’t offer anything in return.  They embrace a message of Good News, even though their life looks like crap.  They embrace the sense of community.  They embrace their humanity, they acknowledge the pain and suffering they are experiencing rather than trying to dull it.  They let go of control and embrace actual help.

And it’s scary.  It’s scary to completely let go of control of your life.  It’s terrifying.  Yet, this is what Jesus calls on us to do – to let go of our lives, to get out-of-the-way, so that God can come in and transform us.  To let ourselves die, so that we might experience resurrection.  And this is true for those who are being helped as well as the supposed helpers.  With Jesus, the lines blur on who is getting helped and who is helping.

When I think about what is happening, I can’t help but think of the Parable of the Sower.

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the lake. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!’

(Matthew 13:1-9, NRSV)

Our job isn’t to save people – only Jesus can do that.  Our job, if you want to call it that, is to spread Good News carelessly – to as many people as possible.  What they do with it is not our problem.

In sales, there is a saying – Some will, some won’t, so what, who’s next.  If Jesus has sales training I think he would have adopted this saying into one of his parables.

Some will take the Good News of Jesus and allow it to do its work.  Some won’t.  So what – it’s not for us to decide.  Who’s next – who will be encounter next to share the Good News?  We don’t know.  But we are ready.

Is the Gospel only about you?

27 Friday Apr 2018

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Get ready, we’re about to dive into some deep conversation about a passage of scripture and the implications of that passage. Specifically, we’re going to dig into Philippians 1:27.  Here’s the Greek:

Μόνον ἀξίως τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τοῦ Χριστοῦ πολιτεύεσθε, ἵνα εἴτε ἐλθὼν καὶ ἰδὼν ὑμᾶς εἴτε ἀπὼν ἀκούω τὰ περὶ ὑμῶν, ὅτι στήκετε ἐν ἑνὶ πνεύματι, μιᾷ ψυχῇ συναθλοῦντες τῇ πίστει τοῦ εὐαγγελίου
Now before your eyes glaze over, please understand, I’m providing the Greek for a specific reason – I want to show what is actually written by Paul.
Translations of the bible are just that – translations.  There are teams of people who get together and make decisions of what the English version of the Greek should be.  The important thing about that is that the ears of English-speakers prefer to hear a certain way.  Also, translation teams all have their own agenda.  Lastly, depending on where a translation team is from and who their audience is will have an influence on a translation.  An American translation team will likely have some bias towards certain ideas that you wouldn’t find in another part of the world.  Needless to say, translations aren’t a science, but rather are an art.

Here’s a couple of examples of what I’m talking about.

Here is the NRSV translation of Philippians 1:27:

Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel,

And the NET translation:

Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ so that– whether I come and see you or whether I remain absent– I should hear that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, by contending side by side for the faith of the gospel,

And the NIV translation:

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel

And lastly, the King James version:

Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

When you read these, you may not see a whole lot of difference, but the differences are there – especially on this verse.

Here’s my translation of Philippians 1:27:

Only worthily of the Gospel of the Christ to live as a citizen! In order that whether I came and saw you all, whether I am being absent I would be hearing about you, that you all are standing fast in one Spirit, one life force you all are struggling/contending along with for the faith of the Gospel

(I tried to take a more literal translation of the passage, which is why my translation is a bit unpleasant to the ears of an English-speaker.)

The biggest difference between my translation and the others is in the translation of πολιτεύεσθε.

The word is an imperative verb that can be translated as to live one’s live or to live as a citizen.  What’s important to note is the context.  Throughout the first chapter of this letter, Paul is writing in a way that is poking his finger at the Roman authorities and Roman culture.  From the very beginning of the letter Paul is presenting a theology that is counter cultural.  He flips the notion of honor and shame on their head.  He is writing from prison and is talking about how he is free.  He describes himself as a slave of Christ.  He is writing to a church in a city that is loyal to Caesar – it had all the rights and privileges of an Italian city and was home to veterans who were loyal to Rome.

I translate πολιτεύεσθε as citizen because of this context.  Likewise, πολιτεύεσθε is an imperative.  This means it is a command.  Paul isn’t just offering some nice words of personal advice here – it’s a command.  Paul is saying – Philippians, pay attention, you are to live as a citizen of the Gospel of Christ!

The implications of this are huge.  Paul is essentially saying that you, dear Philippians, aren’t to be concerned with being Roman citizens and all the rights and privileges that come with it.  Instead, your allegiance and your loyalty are to Christ – that is who your citizenship is with.

When we see most of the English translations, we don’t get any sense of the idea of citizenship.  However, even the Lutheran Study Bible, which uses an NRSV translation does note the following:

These words refer to life in community and its responsibilities.  Christianity is more than a religion; believing in Christ is a way of life.

When we read these translations, it sounds more like a suggestion (leaving out the imperative) on how to live.  These translations loose the impact of this statement by Paul.  They make it sound more like the personal relationship with Christ, rather than the counter-cultural message that Paul is promoting.

If you think I’m way off on this, go back to the King James version which begins:

Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ

This loses the impact of what Paul is writing even more.  Now it’s just about conversation, not even living one’s life.  Could it possibly be that good old King James might not have wanted his subjects to hear Paul saying that their citizenship is in Christ, not the empire?  Considering that the translators for the King James completing miss several Greek words in this translation, there’s a good chance.

So what’s the point of all of this?  It’s that often we lose some things in our translations.  Too often, our English translations make Christianity to be just a personal relationship thing with Jesus.  In an American context, that fits nicely with our ideas about individualism and freedom.  The problem with that is that individualism and personal freedom are relatively new ideas – ideas that Paul would have no idea about.  I argue that Paul is intending the idea of citizenship here to emphasize that impact and responsibility of following Christ – it’s not just a personal relationship.  It goes far beyond that.  Christ is who we swear allegiance to.  Because we follow Christ, there are responsibilities that we carry out.  Being a citizen is more than just a suggestion on how we live our life.  It’s much deeper than that.

 

Broken

24 Tuesday Apr 2018

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Many of us sit in comfort in our homes of multiple thousand square feet, with our nice lawns measured in either a fraction of an acre or in multiple acres.  We have nice vehicles that are pretty reliable.  We have our well-paying jobs that pay us enough for our necessities as well as for the nicer things in life.  We enjoy our vacations.  We enjoy the health we have.  We sit down in the evenings and enjoy entertainment.  And have no worry or thought that tomorrow will be any different.  Why should we?  We have what we need and many of the things we want.  Is everything perfect – of course not.  But really, we’re doing pretty well.

And many of us have no clue about another population that exists in our midst – usually just down the road.  It’s a population that survives day-by-day.  A population that lives day-by-day.  A population that is constantly worried about what they will eat and where they will lay their head for the night.

This isn’t a lazy population.  They aren’t living in luxury off of welfare.  In fact, many don’t receive welfare, or what they do receive isn’t enough to make much difference in their lives.  They aren’t going to the grocery store to buy lobster.

Many in this population work full-time.  Are you surprised?  They work full time and they don’t make enough to cover housing and the other necessities of life, like food, cosmetic necessities, feminine products, things for their kids, clothing, health care, and transportation.

They live in anxiety – it is a constant blanket that covers them each night.  Only this blanket doesn’t provide warmth and comfort, but rather dis-ease.

Many have animals that they care for. Before you spout off about how these poor folks shouldn’t have animals because they can’t take care of themselves, realize a few things.  These animals are often the only ones who offer these people actual love.  These animals are the only ones who keep many of these people going to the next day – their animals give them purpose for going forward instead of giving up on life completely.  Their animals are there for them when no one else is.

Many of the people I have come across lately are women.  Their significant other left them – often left to fend for themselves and their children.  Their men just up and left, some never to be heard from again.  In some cases, that’s an improvement – at least they aren’t suffering domestic violence any more.

Our society is broken.  There is no other way to describe a society where there are homeless women left to fend for themselves.  We aren’t great – we’re broken.  And for many, there is no recognition that society is broken.  If it doesn’t affect you directly, then there isn’t a problem.  The only problem with that belief is that the belief itself is broken.  What happens to one in a society, impacts the rest.  I know this because I’m willing to bet that as you read this you are felling some kind of emotion – maybe guilt, maybe anger, maybe motivation, maybe a combination of emotions.  At any rate, you’ve been impacted without being homeless yourself.  Your emotional state has been affected.  And that’s just a small impact – tiny actually.  But it’s a start.

Can we agree that we have a problem?  That it’s a problem that we have people who are working full-time and can’t afford housing?  Can we acknowledge that our society is broken – at least in this regard?  Can we agree that something should be done?  And not just throw money at the problem?  Or just focus on the material?

Can we agree on just that?  Once we agree to that, can we figure out what to do as a society?  Can we move past the empty rhetoric of politicians and campaign slogans and propaganda?  Can we actually deal with the problem?

I don’t want to live in a broken society.  Correction: I refuse to live in a broken society.  As Christians, we are called to participate in the unfolding of the kingdom.  I take that call seriously.  I pray that you do too.

Love in truth and action

23 Monday Apr 2018

Posted by in Church, Health, Humanity, Society, Theology

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How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?

Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.

(1 John 3:17-18)

This reading was part of the lectionary for this past Sunday.  It’s the portion of Scripture that I preached on.  The interesting thing about this is the my sermon significantly changed between the two services.  I realized that what I was preaching was not connecting with people.  So I scrapped the middle part of the sermon and made other changes for the second service. That’s the benefit of being someone who preaches with no notes or a manuscript.  The end result was that the second sermon was far superior to the first sermon.

As I prepared for worship this past week, this passage of Scripture caught my attention and would not let go.  When this happens, I have learned to wait and see what God has in mind.

God didn’t disappoint.  This past week I wrote about the ministry we do at Flying J.  We make sure people get showers that need them, we do laundry with people, and we make sure people are fed. Most importantly, we get to know names and start to learn people’s stories and just sit with people – remind them of their humanity and how God loves them.

This past Thursday was no different.  We had 15 people who came seeking a variety of things.  We meet all sorts of people during out time there. This past Thursday, we met someone who needed some help.  Today there was a follow-up.  This person had pretty much nothing – except their dogs.  Just a few bags with them and that’s all.  No money.  No place to go.  No food.  No nothing.

And I was drawn back to 1 John 3:17-18.  This was someone in need – how could I refuse to help?  We got the person set up in a hotel for the night, got them some gift cards for food that they could get for themselves and their dogs, gave contact information for longer term housing and other services, and offered a prayer with the person.  Also, I told this person that we, the church, weren’t interested in just throwing some material things at them and wishing them luck.  This was the start of a longer term relationship.  But for right now, let’s take this one day at a time.  It was time to stop the bleeding – get some food, get into stable housing, and then start to get their life in order.

The person was grateful for the help and saw this as an opportunity for a fresh start.  And in many ways, it is a fresh start.  In some ways, this is no different from receiving forgiveness of our sins – we get a fresh start, even when we haven’t done anything on our own to deserve it.

Last night, this person rested peacefully, in shelter, with food for both them and their dogs.  Today would be a fresh start with new challenges.  But they would not be walking alone.

Love is more than just a bunch of words meant to comfort and console.  Sometimes, comfort and consoling are exactly what is needed. Other times, like in this case, words and speech would be empty and meaningless.  In this case truth and action were needed.

At the beginning of the week I didn’t know why I was drawn to 1 John 3:17-18.  By yesterday, I knew.