Tag Archives: ministry

A Night at Flying J

17 Friday Aug 2018

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Last evening was a Flying J night.  There’s a core group of half a dozen or so people from our congregation who go over to Flying J truck stop twice a month to make sure people can get showers, get their laundry done, and get a meal.  We work with individuals and families who live in the parking lot, who are homeless, struggle with poverty, live in motels, and more.  Many work and are doing what they can to get from one day to the next.

Last night there was a total of 22 people.  That’s the total between people from the church and our guests who come each Thursday we are there.

We know each of these people by name.  Often, we know a portion of their stories too.  In many instances we have been working with them for a few months now – trying to assist them in ways that they want help and how we can actually help.  We aren’t the savior of these people though.  We’re not there to fix them or solve all their problems.  We can’t.

We go to Flying J for a reason.  We go because these are people we are called on to reach out to, get to know, spend time with, and offer what we can.  This is what ministry is really about.  It’s not fixing others.  It’s about being with people.  It’s about reminding people of their humanity.  We do that when we listen to people, when we hear their stories.  When we eat with people.  When we talk.  When treat people with respect.  When we can offer dignity.

In many places, the church is re-learning that ministry can be hands on.  In some places, the church has been doing this for a long time.  In some places, the church is learning this for the first time.  Regardless, ministry is messy.  Anything involving people tends to be that way.

But there are times to rejoice too.  We rejoice when we experience joy with a family whose life together changes for the better.  We rejoice when a family went from living in their vehicle months ago to securing employment and moving into an apartment.  That is a joy not just for them, but for us too.  We rejoice when we hear another one of our friends finds a job so that his family can start to look for a place to live.

Flying J has become more than a truck stop for me.  It has become a place where I see friends and catch up on their lives.  It’s a place where ministry happens.  It’s a place where joy is shared.  It’s a place Jesus shows up for both our guests and ourselves.  And we get to encounter Jesus.

A model for church?

27 Friday Jul 2018

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I’ve been thinking a good deal about models for church – how church runs, if you want to think about it that way.  For many decades here in the US, we’ve been using a pretty standard model.  There’s a building, a pastor, limited other staff, programs, committees, and worship is the big thing that we try to get everyone to on Sunday morning each week.  There’s other stuff in that model too – education, ministry, budgets, and service projects.  I’m sure I’m missing a few things, but that’s not the point.  You know what I’m talking about.

But here’s the thing – this hasn’t been the only model for church.  In Europe, the model has been different – mostly because of the relationship between church and state is far different from the US traditionally.  When the church is an official state religion, you end up with a very different model.  The state collects taxes for the church, staff is usually greater, with larger and older buildings, worship happens, but has few attendees, and the church provides some services to the general public – weddings, funerals, baptisms.  The churches in these countries are usually more bureaucratic.

There are other models – African churches are different from American and European churches.  Some countries have more evangelists than pastors – a role that doesn’t exist in American Christianity.  The services are joyful expressions that last hours and are the heart of Sunday, with multiple offerings.  The church is more central to the life of the community, and the church hierarchy has more influence on government in many instances.

In all of these examples, the models have worked…until the don’t.  There were other models before these.  And when they didn’t work anymore, the church changed.  There are a variety of reason why a model doesn’t work any longer.  The current model for the church in the US is not working any longer.  The numbers show this.  Attendance has been in decline for decades.  Membership has too.  Offerings to church has gone down as well over all.  Although, the people who remain are actually giving more.  There is a focus on seeing results for what is given.  The numbers don’t lie.

Recently I made the argument that the church needs to be open to different models. There isn’t going to be a one-size-fits-all silver bullet.  I do think there is something fundamental though – a shift in focus.

In the current model, there is usually great focus given to getting more people into worship first.  There are reasons for this – worship is the center of Christian life.  And so churches have spent a great deal of time, energy, and effort at figuring out ways to get people to worship.  Some of this makes sense.  It is during worship that an offering is made – the revenue for the running of the church. Churches adjust worship, add new things, have the latest technology, go old school with the liturgy, using social media – all with an effort to get people into the pews for worship.

Let me say this – I have nothing against worship.  I’m a pastor and worship is a big part of what I do.  I enjoy worship very much. But I wonder if there are other models that draw people in outside of worship.  That’s not to say that worship should be excluded – it’s still a central part of Christian life.  I’m saying there are other models that draw people in that will lead to worship.  But worship isn’t the end all, be all either.

If you are like me, maybe you need a visual.  Here’s a rough draft of the concept.

Photo on 7-26-18 at 4.06 PM.jpg

Throughout the Gospels Jesus is inviting people into relationship with him.  He’s telling them to come and follow him.  He’s inviting them into the work of the kingdom.  He’s got a mission that he is sending them on.

But he isn’t inviting people to worship, in the sense that we think about it today.  He invited people into ministry and mission, and he invited people into discipleship.

As you can see from the drawing, I put those two areas at each end of the church “pipe” as I’m calling it.  They are entry points into relationship.  And each of those moves towards and through worship and drives us out to do the other end.  Think of worship as a pump that moves us through to the other side.  In other words, if someone is invited to mission and ministry, they will be drawn towards worship and be sent out towards discipleship.  Worship still has a central place in the life of the church – but a different role maybe.  Ministry and mission, as well as discipleship are ways that Jesus brought people in and I think Jesus calls on us to begin relationships with people.

People want to be a part of ministry – especially hands-on ministry.  People want to take part in mission.  They are drawn to it.  As a result, they will want to grow deeper in relationship with the people they are doing ministry and mission with.  Worship is an opportunity for that.  Worship is a communal activity in the church.  At least in the Lutheran tradition, it involves gathering people in, hearing the Word, being in meal together, and being sent out.

Sent out where – for more ministry and for discipleship.  Discipleship is going deeper in living the way of Jesus.  It involves learning, listening, thinking, questioning, relationship, and more.  While ministry and mission are hands-on, discipleship is heart and head on.

Some people may be invited into discipleship and be drawn to that as well.  In growing deeper in discipleship, there will be a desire for relationship with other disciples where people can gather, hear the Word, be in meal together, and be sent out.  Sent out for more discipleship and ministry and mission.

A new model for church isn’t a total scrapping of everything the church is about.  It’s really more a change of what already exists.  Instead of focusing on getting people to worship first, the change is on reaching people through mission, ministry, and discipleship.  Those relationships will drive engaged people towards worship and send them out for more ministry, mission, and discipleship.

The practical question becomes, how do you pay for the running of the organization?  Good question.  Maybe offering in worship is just one aspect.  Maybe our idea of offering needs to expand because isn’t ministry, mission, and discipleship exactly what the church is called to? Is that not participating in the unfolding of the kingdom?  Are there opportunities to support these efforts directly?  I have no idea.  But I’m willing to guess that there are.

This also raises other questions – what does the structure of the church look like?  What is the role of the pastor?  What does church look like as an organization?

These are really big questions, which I don’t have the answer to.  But I think it’s important to ask the question, to explore, to test, to try things.  It’s important to recognize the reality that what worked in the past isn’t working any more.  It’s important to look at the reality of the numbers and face them, rather than kick the can down the road.  There is no more road for many churches.  And even though many church should have been tackling this challenge years ago, it’s never to late to start.  But the longer we wait, the worse the options will be.

But the good news is that this is a great time to be the church.  Yes, the numbers look bad.  But all that means is that we are given an amazing opportunity to do something that happens once every 500 years or so – rethink church and discern how God is calling the church to carry out the mission.  We have an amazing opportunity set before us.  We can approach it with fear, clutching onto a model that doesn’t work, saying things like “we’ve never done it this way before,” or we can respond in trust to the faith that God gives us, opening our arms to new models that haven’t been tried, and saying things like “We haven’t tried that before, I wonder what would happen…”

God is giving us an amazing opportunity.  How will we respond?

“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.

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.

Blessing upon Blessing

20 Friday Apr 2018

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Luke 14:13 – [Jesus said:] “But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,“

Last night was the normally scheduled evening for a faithful handful of disciples of St. Stephen Lutheran Church to head over to Flying J truck stop for a couple of hours to provide showers, do laundry with people, and eat with people at Denny’s.  We go over to the truck stop because we know there are people who are living in the parking lot in their vehicles and there are transient people passing through.  And we start with a belief that everyone deserves to feel human, to be clean, to have food in their stomach, and most importantly, to be community where people aren’t looking at you and judging you.

Last night was our normal time to do this, but it was anything but normal.  When we started this ministry, I knew there were people living in the parking lot, but I didn’t know how many.  I knew there were people who needed some basic necessities.  I knew there were people who needed to be reminded of their humanity.  I knew there were people who were doing what they could with that they had and it wasn’t enough.  I knew.

And I shared this with others who took it to heart and followed my lead – as crazy as it sounded.  And we went over to the truck stop.  The first night I wasn’t even there – I was sick, but our people went anyway.  And they encountered a man, did laundry with him, and got him food.  One person.  That’s what it started with.  One person. We continued, trying different times and days, just to see when we could encounter more people.  There was a time when no one showed up.  It was disheartening to say the least.  Then we had two who came regularly, but they weren’t living in the parking lot, but they came.

Then the last time we came, we started to encounter a couple of other people.  I’m not sure who was blessed more by the encounter – the couple we spent time with, or us.  Most likely, both.  The blessings just take place in different ways for different people.

And then there was last night.  It was our normal time to be there.  But it wasn’t normal at all.  15 people came.  Not volunteers from the church.  People who needed help.  People seeking supplies. But really people seeing much more than these simple things.

People seeking humanity.  People seeking normalcy.  People seeking community, conversation, interaction with others.  People seeking out those who care that they exist at all. Isn’t that what we all seek – regardless of our economic status, the possessions we have, and the work we do?   Aren’t we truly seeking to be acknowledged as existing – to know that someone cares that we are here?

We met all sorts of people last night.  The first thing we try to do is learn a person’s name.  A person’s name is vital.  It is a recognition of the humanity of a person.  This isn’t just someone who needs something.  This is Owen.  This is Adam.  This is Rob.  This is Jennifer.  They are people, just like you and I.

They come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, genders, skin color, and challenges.  Some of them have full-time jobs, but they don’t pay enough to allow these folks to find decent housing.  They are not slackers, lazy, or dumb.

Last night we showed up with our shapes, sizes, genders, skin color, and challenges of our own.  And we got to know new people in our lives.  We go to share what we had with people.  And they shared what they had with us – their time, their laughter, their stories, their insights, their wisdom, and even some chocolate.

The part of the evening that has the most impact on me is when we go to Denny’s.  Because there were so many people, we were actually divided into two separate groups, sitting next to each other at a bunch of tables shoved together.

This was a feast in many ways.  There was laughter, joking, sharing of stories, lots of food, and more.  There was humanity on display.  There was joy.  And Jesus was there too.  Sitting in our midst.  Reclining at the table with us, blessing this meal, sharing the love of God with all present.

While this was our normal evening to go to Flying J, it was anything but normal.  It was a blessing.  A blessing upon blessing.  For both the people being served and those who were serving.  The question is this though – what happens where there is blurry line between the served and the serving.  Which is which?  Yes, we provide some material things, but it’s so much more than that.  It’s koinonia at its core.  It is proclaiming boldly the Good News of God’s loving and saving presence in the world – only this time at the Denny’s in a truck stop.  We don’t always know where or what the blessing will be, but we know that when Jesus shows up and encounters us, lives are changed – both those served and those serving.  In this sense, there is no difference between serving and being served.  We are all serving and being served at the same time – serving Christ and being served by him.

Blessing upon blessing.  That’s the new normal.  That’s the miracle that is happening on the Miracle Mile.

 

Where ministry happens

20 Tuesday Mar 2018

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Ministry happens in the weirdest of places and often at inconvenient times.

In the last week I experienced ministry in a variety of settings – many that were unexpected.  Often ministry happens when I least expect it.  Sometimes it’s a phone call.  Sometimes it is in a parking lot.  Other times it happens in a store.  And still others, while I’m driving.  Ministry happens in meetings too.

That’s because God shows up in the most unexpected places.  Or at least they are typically unexpected to us.  I’m becoming more convinced that where God shows us shouldn’t surprise us.

God shows up in the midst of good things going on.  But that’s easy to see God in those things.  It’s easy to see God in a sunset, or in someone helping someone else.  It’s easy to hear God showing up in the midst of beautiful music, or in worship.  It’s easy to hear God showing up when you are holding a newborn baby.

But God doesn’t just show up when everything is nice and neat and going well.  Often God shows up in the crap of life.  God is right there in the midst of the mess and darkness of life.  God shows up and is the light.  God shows up in the hospital rooms of people who are dying and learning they have stage four cancer.  God shows up when people learn that their bodies are deteriorating and they are not able to do what they could before.  God shows up at the funeral where families are fighting.  God shows up when relationships are breaking or broken.  God shows up where people are struggling with addictions.  God shows up at a meal where homeless men and women gather to receive food.  God shows up in our parking lots and on our roads.  God shows up.

God shows up where we are struggling.  It is in those times of struggle that God shows up because if those situations relied on only us, we would give up.  We’d let go of hope.  Instead God shows up and gives us the gift of faith.  It’s the thing that gets us through.  It’s the thing that propels us forward.  It’s this faith that inconveniences us and makes us so uncomfortable that we have no choice but to respond to this faith that is given to us.

God shows up because we are too weak to handle it on our own.  Without God showing up, we would crash and burn.  Without God showing up, there would be no hope.

People want to tell us simple lines to make bad stuff go away.  It is a natural human thing to do.  People don’t like the crap that others go through and so some will say – “God needed another angel,” or “Be grateful for the time you had.”  Others will tell us that “God must be punishing you if bad things are happening to you,” or “there is a reason for everything.”  We want to rationalize away things and know that everything is within our control.  But it isn’t.  Sometimes bad things happen to good people for no reason whatsoever.  We can’t change that.

But we can know this – that God loves you.  God loves each one of God’s creation.  God will not abandon you.  God walks with you in your journey.  And God acknowledges that crappy stuff happens and it is terrible.  God walks with us because of the crappy things that happen.  We aren’t going to solve the problem of evil in the world.  Instead, we are called to walk with people who suffer from evil in the world – the outcast, those who are suffering, those who mourn, those who are alone, homeless, and hungry, the imprisoned, the widow, the sick.  We are called to reach those that the world cares very little about.  We are called to remind people of their humanity.  We are called to be Christ’s light in their darkness.  We are called because no one else is going to do it.  God calls on us to do it.

God shows up.  God shows up in our life.  God shows up so that we can go out – to serve and to be served.

Where ministry happens

02 Friday Feb 2018

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Where does ministry happen?  Anywhere there are people is one answer.  If you want to go a bit broader, you could argue anywhere there is creation.

Yesterday ministry happened in a CVS parking lot with two homeless men – a father and son.  These are two guys who fell between the cracks of society.  They aren’t long-term homeless.  They are temporary homeless.  The father recently obtained a job and he hopes to be able to move himself and his son into an apartment soon.  Yesterday they came across some car trouble – the alternator died, leaving them stranded.

Because our congregation has started building a relationship with these two guys, they reached out to us.  A few texts back and forth with some of our folks and I ended up going over to the CVS parking lot to see what they needed.  After a short ride over to the auto parts store to get new parts with the father, we were back to their car – their temporary home.  The father made the fixes that needed to be made in no time and he jumped the car to get it started.

But here’s the beauty of ministry – it’s not one directional, as in from me (supposedly whole) to them (supposed broken).  It’s two directional and possibly more.  That’s because I received ministry from them as well.  In the car ride over to get the parts that were needed, the father shared his faith with me and how God has blessed him and his son, how his life has changed over the years and allowed him to let go of material things. This was a story I needed to hear.  Yes, materially I am better off than these two.  But I, like everyone else, am broken in other ways and need ministry too.

The father’s story was healing for me to hear.  It was a story of Good News.  It was a story of hope and forward movement.  It was a story of trust in God, even when life is difficult and unfair.  It was a story of redemption and resurrection.

I look forward to the next encounter with this father and son.  I look forward to how ministry will happen – both for them, and for me.