Sermon: “The Lord Will Come”

I preached this sermon at the Highland Park Congregation in
West Seattle on Sunday, December 7th, 2008

2 Peter 3:8-15

“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.

Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed it’s coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.”

I have to admit; I am always uncomfortable when I hear people talk about the second coming of Christ. Usually it is from people that possess a holier than thou kind of attitude! A “you-better-live-your-life-like-I-pretend-to-live-mine” kind of attitude! I believe that we should not be living our lives in preparation for the returning of Jesus Christ but as if He has already returned and is here with us now in our midst.

There is a song from the 90’s by Collin Raye, one of my favorite singers, called “What if Jesus Comes Back Like That?”. Throughout the song he paints different scenarios of who Jesus could come back as. Such as a hobo or a woman born addicted. The question is how would we treat those people? How do we treat those people? How do we treat each other? How do we treat ourselves? Those are the questions we should be asking ourselves. Let’s not get caught up in Jesus coming in the future but get focused on how we are living our lives for today because of our devotion to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Doctrine and Covenants 163:3a – “You are called to create pathways in the world for peace in Christ to be relationally and culturally incarnate. The hope of Zion is realized when the vision of Christ is embodied in communities of generosity, justice, and peacefulness.”

We have been called and we have a lot of work to do! There are constant wars going on and it is hard to find peace. And I am not just talking about global wars between countries. We have wars going on in our schools, in our neighborhoods, in our homes, and with ourselves.

We have entered the holiday season and today we celebrate the Second Advent Sunday. Advent is the period around Christmas in which we prayerfully anticipate the birth and coming of Jesus Christ. Today is the Advent Sunday of Peace. A theme that I am very passionate about as I am sure many of you are as well.

Unfortunately, there are many who battle personal struggles that are manifested during this time of year. Depression rates rise. This “happy” time of year is not joyful for many. Many don’t experience peace in their personal lives. If you are one of those people then I urge you to be a peacemaker unto yourself before you become a peacemaker unto others.

Doctrine and Covenants 163:3b: “Above all else, strive to be faithful to Christ’s vision of the peaceable Kingdom of God on earth. Courageously challenge cultural, political, and religious trends that are contrary to the reconciling and restoring purposes of God. Pursue peace.”

Sometimes we are too afraid to say certain things from the pulpit because we don’t want to get too political. We label certain issues as “political” when in fact they are social justice issues and therefore they are issues that, as Christians, we need to be concerned about. We need to stand up for our brothers and sisters who have been treated unfairly by others, sometimes even by us.

Doctrine and Covenants 163:3c: “There are subtle, yet powerful, influences in the world, some even claiming to represent Christ, that seek to divide people and nations to accomplish their destructive aims. That which seeks to harden one human heart against another by constructing walls of fear and prejudice is not of God. Be especially alert to these influences, lest they divide you or divert you from the mission to which you are called.”

One of my favorite quotes is “You can safely assume that you’ve created God in your own image, when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do” – Anne Lamott. Unfortunately, too many “Christians” spew out rhetoric of hate in the name of Jesus Christ. We need to heed caution to this. I am sure many of us here are guilty of it from time to time. Maybe not in big ways but possibly in small ways. Be mindful of how you treat others no matter how different they are from you. Treat each others as you would want to be treated.

Let’s go back to this idea of “The Lord Will Come” for a moment. There is a Duran Duran song by the name of “What Happens Tomorrow”. Part of the song goes as follows:

Fighting because we’re so close
There are times we punish those who we need the most
Though we can’t wait for a saviour
Only got ourselves to blame for this behaviour

And nobody knows
What’s gonna happen tomorrow
We try not to show
How frightened we are

You’ve got to believe
It’ll be alright in the end

Wow! How true is that! We can’t wait for the saviour to come. Live life like He is here. I am not saying we are called to bring peace to the world without Him but that because of being followers of the teachings of Jesus Christ we go out to spread the good news!

The time to be peacemakers in the world is now. We need to stop living lives devoted to self-serving interests and start living our lives dedicated to the betterment of the world. Not to the USA but the World. We ARE a global family. We ARE the Community of Christ.

Today is Communion Sunday. That day when we have the opportunity to take the bread, resembling the Body of Christ, and the wine, resembling the Blood of Christ, and take it as a reminder of the commitment we made when we made the decision to follow Christ. Hopefully though, we are not living our lives with the hope that by taking Communion we are continuously saved. Hopefully we are not living our lives by doing actions that we expect to be forgiven for on Communion Sunday. Hopefully we are living our lives as if every day is communion. We should not view communion as a chance to rededicate ourselves to being a disciple of Jesus Christ but see it as a continuation of the dedication we already made when we choose to follow the Path of the Disciple and commit ourselves to living out the teachings of Jesus Christ and bringing Jesus’ message of Peace unto others.

Doctrine and Covenants 163:11a – “God is calling for a prophetic community to emerge, drawn from the nations of the world, that is characterized by uncommon devotion to the compassion and peace of God revealed in Jesus Christ.”

This is one of my favorite verses from 163. I love the phrase “Uncommon Devotion”. The Seattle based Young Adult Group that I co-lead for the church, Young Adults of the Puget Sound, uses that phrase as the focus for one of the services that we do once a quarter in NW Congregations. At one point in the service we do three silent vignettes. No speaking parts, just signs and our interaction with each other.

1. The first vignette is of a lady holding a sign that says, “Let us stand up for Justice and stand against child labor!”. The Young Adults are shown walking by the lady. They ignore the lady, mock her, make light of the situation, and look disgusted as they proceed past her. The last young adult is shown approaching her and standing in support of the cause.

2. The second vignette is of a man holding a sign that says, “I love Jesus and I’m gay. I’m afraid of how others will treat me.”. In this vignette a group of young adults approach the guy and start to get aggressive. They pretend to yell. One even aggressively pointing to the bible at the guy. After a few moments another group of young adults come up and firmly but gently form a protective barrier around him. The aggressive individuals leave.

3. The last vignette is of a female in her teens holding a sign that says, “I’m 16 and I’m pregnant. I’m scared and I don’t know what to do. I’ve considered abortion, but I just don’t know…”. A male and female young adult nearby are playing the role of her parents and are shown to be arguing. The parents confront the daughter, yell at her, and then send her to her room where she begins to cry. A friend of the girl arrives and comforts her friend. Then the friend proceeds to take the pregnant teen to her parents and acts as a mediator and they all reconcile and embrace.

We are all called to reach out to those in need. No matter what there situation is. I have been told after our services that these silent vignettes are the most powerful part of the service. After all, as we know, we should “Preach the gospel wherever we go and when necessary, use words.”. May we live our lives as an example of Jesus’ message of Peace in this world.

When you take your communion today do so because the time for being Christians that just keep the pews warm on Sunday morning is over and that you are ready to get out into the community that lives out your uncommon devotion. Don’t just wait for Jesus to come back and do it for us! Be Peace-Makers! Be Peace Doers! Be the living example of Jesus Christ on Earth today! Fulfill your callings as Disciples!

Reunion 2008 – My Highlights!

So, as promised here is a post about my experiences at the 2008 GPNW Samish Family Reunion at Samish Island Campgrounds in Bow, WA. For those that do not know, “Reunion” in the Community of Christ faith movement is a church camp where families of one or more from a particular area come together for a week of fellowship, worship, fun, and serves as an opportunity to build community.

For the fourth reunion, out of the past six reunions, I served on the planning committee this year. So, because of that I along with most of the committee arrived on the campgrounds on Saturday, July 5^th (a day before the campers). We spent the extra day setting up and even went out to dinner at Red Robin that Saturday night.

Reunion was officially the week of July 6^th-12^th. Instead of talking about the week as a whole, here are the highlights (from my perspective):

• Guest Ministry. We had a wonderful group of guest ministers. Our main guest minister was Tom Mountenay. Tom directs the Co-Mission Pastor Initiative for my church. He is such a gifted minister. I was usually busy during the adult class (which he taught) but the moments that I was able to make it, he was wonderful. Then there were the two guest ministers from our Mission Center. Mission Centers are jurisdictions in the church. My Mission Center is the Greater Pacific Northwest Mission Center and contains the Community of Christ congregations in Alaska, all but one in Oregon, and most of the congregations in Washington State. So the two ministers assigned to us from the Mission Center staff were Debbie Sullivan and Kathy Sharp. Debbie is a congregational support minister from Southern Oregon. She taught the 5^th and 6^th grade class at reunion. She also presided over two services and was the preacher at another. Her ministry blessed us. Then there was Kathy Sharp. She is the GPNW Mission Center President. I have known Kathy for most of, if not all of, my life. I grew up going to church camps with her son. Kathy is also very gifted and I always enjoy being around her.

• Young Adult-lead Monday Evening Service. I co-presided over this service with Erik Skoor, my Co-Leader of YAPS (Young Adults of the Puget Sound). Tom preached and did a fantastic job. The theme was “Called by your name” and at the end of the service we created a visual sending forth. What we did was type the name of every person so that it displayed while some background music was going on, we then showed a picture of all the congregational signs of those represented at reunion. It ended up serving as a very moving sending forth at the end of the service.

• The Praise Singing. The praise singing before every service was amazing. I just loved it. We were lucky enough to have some great singers and musicians with us at reunion. Not only that but we also had some great songwriters with us and thus some of the praise songs we sang were original pieces. We could have just had praise singing and I would have left feeling closer to God.

• Wednesday Evening Communion Service. Each day at reunion focused on a different continent. On Wednesday that continent was Africa. So, Debbie Sullivan planned an African-themed Communion Service. She e-mailed some church ministers from Africa to find out what they do for their communion services. One is that in their worships the men sit on one side and the women on the other. We did this for the first few minutes of the worship but then let anyone sit where they wanted to. Instead of bread and grape juice they use plantains and hot tea. Debbie couldn’t find the plantains so she used sweet potatoes (apparently they are similar). Also, instead of the servers coming to our seats we came up to them while singing an Africa-themed song. It was a joyous service!

• Thursday Afternoon Baptismal Service. Will post more about this in another post, just wanted to make sure I commented that it was a highlight.

• Young Adult Stuff. In addition to our Monday Night Service we also had a luncheon on Monday noon and a dialogue session on Tuesday afternoon.

• Volleyball Tournament on Wednesday. For the second year in a row, my doubles team got third place. This year I was with Lindsey Ellwanger, who is great at Volleyball. Me, not so much! J

• Friday Night. Until 2 AM on Saturday morning I sat on the porch of a cabin with some other friends. We spent the night sharing stories of having to go to the bathroom while in the car, laughing, etc. It was a great way to spend the last night at reunion!

• Coffee Stand. Oh, how can I forget the coffee stand? This year some youth ran a coffee stand for the week as a fundraiser. They actually brought up a coffee trailer and set up shop outside the dining hall. They sold Mochas, Lattes, Smoothies, Italian Sodas, etc. The smoothies were wonderful. The drinks were actually pretty cheap. I spent 29 dollars at the coffee stand. I bought a drink every morning and every afternoon.

I just loved this year’s reunion. It was my favorite reunion to date. This Sunday we have a post/pre-reunion meeting. Onward to planning for the 2009 Reunion. This will be our 50^th year at Samish Island Campgrounds.

Camp Genesis

I was reading a blog post from blogger Mike at Simply a Night Owl about his experience counseling for a church children’s camp this past weekend when I realized I never made a blog post about my recent camp experience. On the weekend of June 6th-8th I directed Camp Genesis, a Community of Christ-sponsored annual camp for 3rd & 4th graders. This was my third consecutive year directing this camp and it was a great experience.

After several months of planning, coordinating, delegating, communicating, and recruiting I left at around 10:30 AM on Friday, June 6th, to head up to Samish Island Campgrounds. After a few stops I arrived at around 12:30 PM. I then spent the next couple of hours moving into my cabin (one of the new cabins with a restroom!), prepping for the camp, and finishing various tasks. Mid-Afternoon some of the counselors started to show up. At a little after 5 PM we carpooled over to meet several of the other staff members for Dinner at the Chuckwagon. I got a buffalo burger. I found out that I don’t really care for buffalo burgers!

After dinner we arrived back at the campgrounds at around 6:45 PM. We then spent the next 45 minutes getting the counselors moved in and doing the finishing touches on camp prepping. Registration started at 7:30 PM and the campers were already arriving. We spent the evening doing a few mixers, singing camp songs, introducing the staff, and set up some rules for the weekend. This year instead of giving rules to the campers I had them come up with the rules. We finished the night by having a campfire and sending the campers off to bed! After working on some things, I went to bed as well.

My alarm clock went off at 5:30 AM on Saturday morning. WAY TOO EARLY! WHAT WAS I THINKING? I got up and realized that I forgot to bring soap and shampoo. What was I to do!? So I went into the dining hall to see if there was anything I could use. Nothing. So, I ended up putting hand soap on a washcloth and used that. Umm, didn’t quite do the trick but it was all I had to use.

As I was prepping in the dining hall for the day some campers walked in at around 6:45 AM. Apparently most of the boys had been up since a little before 6 AM. Those crazy campers!

Throughout the morning we had worship, shared in a meal, participated in a theme class, and had a nature walk. My Camp Pastor, Shannon McAdam, did a great job with the worship and class. Our theme this year was “Grounded in Christ”. The campers really took everything in and fully participated! After lunch the campers were sent to their cabins for a much needed nap. The campers and counselors spent the afternoon in rotating classes. 1/3 of the campers went at a time to a Skit planning class, Games class, or Cooking & Log Book class (they made Dirt Cups for dessert that evening). After the classes the campers had the option to go on a nature walk or play at the playground for recreation.

The dinner on Saturday evening was done family style. Each table had two counselors and 4 to 5 campers and there own food portions of the dinner. They were to pass the food around the table and use words like “Please”, “Thank You, “Your Welcome”, etc. This dinner has been a tradition at Genesis for several years.

Our Saturday evening was spent playing kickball, having a campfire, and then having mandatory showers! Every year I make the campers take a shower on Saturday evening of camp just before they go to bed so I can send them home clean the next day. Apparently, some boys decided it would be cool to take a shower while still wearing there their pants. Oh to be 8 and 9 years old again! After showers they were sent to bed! Luckily, I didn’t have to stay up that late either and was able to get to bed at a decent time.

Sunday morning didn’t come quite so early. I didn’t get up until 7 AM or so. Remember that soap/shampoo issue? Well, this time I used dish soap so I could at least get suds. Still, not perfect but better than the hand soap.

We spent the morning sharing in a meal, cleaning up the campgrounds, and experiencing a closing worship. Before lunch they got their logbooks. Logbooks are like mini-school yearbooks but for camps. They have pictures, camper/staff addresses, and tons of other information. Another fun thing about logbooks are that campers and staff get to write messages and sign each other’s logbooks.

Towards the end of lunch the parents started to arrive. Most were picked up by 12:30 PM. The last parent was picking up four of the campers and wasn’t there until 1:30 PM. That was ok though! Some friends had come in to the dining hall to prepare a the food for a 65th Wedding Anniversary at the Community of Christ congregation there on the island. So, I just ended up helping them for the afternoon. I then attended the wedding anniversary party. The party was for Winston and Nedra Inslee. It was a great celebration with friends and family of the Inslee’s. I got home at about 8 PM that evening.

It was a great weekend. I had a great group of campers and an excellent staff. I experienced God that weekend through the spirit of a child. My church has a scripture passage that says, “Do not neglect the smallest among you, for even the least of these are treasures in God’s sight. Receive the giftedness and energy of children and youth, listening to understand their questions and their wisdom. Respond to their need to be loved and nurtured as they grow.”. Every time a youth camp take place this scripture is fulfilled.

To view pictures of the weekend, click here!

Nationalism in the Church

I was at a conference today for my church, Community of Christ, when I noticed something. The conference was at my church campgrounds on Samish Island. What I noticed was that the podium was adorned with an American flag, Canadian flag, and my church’s flag. The Canadian flag was included because the Adult Reunion was starting this evening and that included the participation of some Canadians.

I absolutely cringe when I see a national flag in churches. I don’t believe they belong there. Here is the problem. In America, I tend to see people worship their flags way too much. Though, I am not too fond of the flag to begin with. If they were used just as a symbol of pride then that would be one thing. Though, flags represent a nationalistic symbol of allegiance to a country. An allegiance that often becomes more important than relationships with our fellow man and woman. As a Christian, I find that disheartening and not of God. So, when I see a flag in a church I cringe.

Following 9/11 so many Americans went to the store to buy patriotic symbols. Anything that had red, white, and blue on it sold out immediately. There was a flag shortage. As a Junior in High School, I joined right in. I remember going to several different stores and all I found was a few car flag decals and buttons that had an American flag on them. I bought what I could. It was just a few days later that I saw what was taking shape. People started vandalizing mosques and terrorizing those of Arab descent. They did so because of their Nationalism, not Patriotism. For me, Nationalism became a four-letter word. These people that did this were those that flew a flag in their yard or had flag symbols all over their car. They were often self-proclaimed Christians. They might as well of had a flag in one hand and a bible in the other. Ever since 9/11, I cringe when I see someone that has an overabundance of Nationalistic symbols on their car, in their yards, or in there home.

I share this because it has helped shape how I feel about flags and furthermore how I feel about them in the church. A few years ago I went to a Community of Christ congregation in Richland, WA. While there I went into a classroom and couldn’t believe what I saw. There seemed to be more flag symbols in that classroom than religious symbols. I was shocked. Part of my shock was because my congregation does not have an American flag in it. In fact, when I pointed out the flags today to another young adult at the conference I commented that you could tell that this next camp was going to be mostly senior’s. She then made a comment to the effect of “Who does that anymore?”. I told her that some congregations in the Northwest still do but that we don’t and the congregation she grew up in didn’t either. We were not used to it but that wasn’t necessarily the norm. You find it less here in the Northwest but start heading East and it is hard to find a congregation without a flag.

Once a quarter the young adult group (YAPS) that I co-lead goes to a Community of Christ congregation in the Northwest and puts on the Sunday morning service for them. Well, we went to the Rainier Valley congregation in Seattle, WA, last summer and noticed that they had flags in their sanctuary. So, another young adult said we should move them and sure enough, we did. Quietly and quickly we put them in the back room. Not sure if anyone noticed. We did pull them back out before we left the congregation.

Eventhough my congregation does not have a flag in it, a family did adorn the worship center with patriotic/nationalistic symbols one Memorial Day Weekend a few years go. I wasn’t there that Sunday but came into the building a few days later and noticed it. I couldn’t believe it and this immediately moved it. I mean who are we worshipping here, a country or God?

Now, there is an event when I have been and still am ok with a flag being in a church setting. Every three years the members of my church from around the world gather for a weeklong conference at our International Headquarters in Independence, Missouri. At the opening session of this conference there is always a flag ceremony. Every country that our church is located in has their flag introduced during this ceremony. I am ok with this because, for me, it represents the disbanding of barriers and coming together as children of God. Not as one country pretending to be better than another but as a representation that we are all here on God’s planet and we need to celebrate being in that Global community.

So, the next time you see a flag in a church question yourself on why it is really there and if it belongs in the church building.

God-incidences / Young Adult Retreat

This past weekend I attended a Young Adult Retreat in Southwest Washington at Lewis River Campgrounds sponsored by the MAYAs group in the Community of Christ. At the retreat we had some wonderful classes that focused on Discernment. During one of the classes we went through the process of doing some personal discerning. There were two questions posed to us and we were to pick one of them. I chose the question that asked “How can I share my testimony effectively?”. As I started to reflect the following came to me: God will always be there. You will never be alone. Trust. Don’t get bogged down by the word “effectively”. Upon further reflection more came to me: Being “effective” is not important but being true, honest, and compassionate is. You may not have an impact now but they may realize the impact your testimony had on them later on down the road.

During our closing worship on Sunday I shared a shorter version of the following. I don’t believe in coincidences but the the term “God-incidences” is used frequently used on the CyberCongregation. I do believe in God-incidences. This past couple of weeks I have been focusing on the God-incidences in my life this past year. A year ago I quit my job in the payday loan field because I could no longer work for a company that saw the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. I then went on a road trip to my church’s World Conference and back. Once back home I thought it would be easy to find a job. Though, it wasn’t as easy as I thought. I was trying to find a job that would still allow me to be as active in my church as I was. Then in early June of last year while directing a 3rd and 4th grade camp one of the caretakers at Samish Island Campgrounds asked me if I could cook for a family reunion (i.e. for my readers that do not know, family reunions are these week-long camps in my church where families of a particular jurisdiction get together for a week of worship, fellowship, and fun). The family reunion was only a few weeks away and they desperately needed a cook. I agreed and actually ended up spending 8 weeks last summer volunteering at church camps in various capacities. I realized this was the reason I had not found a job yet. God-incidence #1.

While at these camps a Communications Coordinators position for my mission center (local church jurisdiction. mine includes congregations in Washington, Oregon, and Alaska) became available. I immediately felt like this was another reason I had not found a job yet and considered applying. Several people I know told me that I should apply. When I told one of them that I wasn’t sure they told me, “Sean, don’t you think this is the reason you have not found a job yet. It is as if God made this job available at this time for a reason”. I then had some that didn’t even know I was unemployed tell me that they immediately thought of me when they saw that the position was open. Thus, I decided to apply. God-incidence #2.

I finished volunteering for the camps and waited for the interviewing process to begin for this position. Though, it kept being put off and still has been put off as of today. Though, these last several months I have realized that despite the financial hardships that being unemployed can bring to you and your family that there was a reason that I have not been working. Though, I have been actively trying to find employment and have applied for so many jobs. I have realized so much about myself throughout all of this. I have spent time discerning, praying, studying, etc. I have spent time serving. I have realized my passions. More importantly I realized that the reason I felt that I was perfect for the Communications Coordinator position was not necessarily because of my computer skills, dedication to the church, etc. but because of my passion for witnessing. I realized that I viewed this as an opportunity to creatively think of ways to communicate the ministries of the Mission Center. Thus, as an opportunity to witness to others through communications. God-incidence #3.

Not long after this realization another job opening in my Mission Center became available. This position was for the Missionary Coordinator position. I had already considered applying for it when I found out late last summer that it would become available. A lot of the time I spent in discernment these past several months was actually spent considering whether or not to apply when it became officially available. As soon as it became available I immediately had several people confirm to me that I should apply. In fact, at the end of the retreat a friend told me that because of my comments in the classes throughout the weekend that she realized that I was right for the job. I have applied (already blogged about it here) and the opening closed yesterday. God-incidence #4. The interview process is suppose to take place this month and the position begin on May 1. I feel that I am called to this position. The thought of possibly getting the job truly excites me! We shall see what happens with it. I will keep y’all posted!

Some other God-incidences occurred within a few weeks before the retreat this past weekend. I came to the realization two weeks ago on Sunday morning that I would not be able to go. That I just couldn’t afford it. Then that afternoon while at a meeting planning for a church camp one of the committee members asked me if I could house sit and do yard work for her for 10 days while she went on vacation. I didn’t agree right away but once I did I requested that she pay me some of the money up front so I could afford to go to the retreat. She obliged. God-incidence #5. Then a week ago Saturday my car started giving me problems. Another result of having no job is not having the money to keep my car in good shape. Again, I made the decision not to go to the retreat as I didn’t feel comfortable driving my car the 3 and half hours down to the retreat and back. Then just two days later a friend asked if I wanted to carpool with her. God-incidence #6. I appreciatively accepted the offer.

The retreat ended up being just the break I needed. I am so used to being on staff at camps that I was looking forward to just being a camper and it was great. We worshiped, took classes, played games, etc. Even had an afternoon jam session and sang songs from the hymnals. I loved that! It was a smaller group but I actually liked that as it helped us connect more. I was able to rekindle old friendships as well as make new ones.

I urge you to praise God for the God-incidences in your life!

The pictures that were throughout this post were taken at the retreat.

Missionary Coordinator

I was going to put this at the end of my previous post but decided it was long enough as it was. Like I said I have been thinking a lot about mission lately and have sensed this burning desire to dedicate my life to it. Last fall a position became open in my Mission Center. For my readers who are not Community of Christ affiliated, a Mission Center is a jurisdiction that oversees 20 to 50 congregations in my church. My Mission Center is the Greater Pacific Northwest Mission Center and includes 40 plus congregations throughout the states of Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. This position is to be the Missionary Coordinator for the Mission Center as well as a Congregational Support minister. At the time a couple of people suggested that I apply for it but I wasn’t really sure whether I should or not. Over the past several months I have prayed about it and continued to contemplate whether I should apply or not. Well, within the past week or so I have decided to apply for the position. The job posting was actually just made last week and I do meet the requirements.

I have had several people confirm to me that I am making the right decision and some telling me that they had hoped I would apply. Some of what the job would entail is basically overseeing the Missionary work in my mission center, coordinating our Bold Moves! program, and empowering congregations to be dedicated to mission. With this role, I would also be a Congregational Support Minister in the Greater Seattle Area and be assigned to 6 or so congregations. The possibilities are endless and I am increasingly excited about this position. I will e-mail my application in by the end of this week and I believe the interviewing process will begin late this month and into early next month with everything being completed by the end of April and ready to start work on May 1. I guess I would ask for prayers that everything work out according to God’s plan, whatever that may be!

Mission, Witnessing, and Church

So, I have been thinking a lot about mission as of late. Well, really for the past 8 months or so. I have been struggling with the complacent attitudes of my fellow church members towards mission and witnessing and truly embodying the meaning of being a Disciple. Most are way too comfortable with coming to church, sitting in their seats for an hour, and then leaving. Though, we are not called to be seat fillers! We are called to be Disciple’s of Jesus Christ! We can’t fully represent the meaning of Disciple without putting forth action. Action is a key word here. It represents that act of doing something! We need to be doing something!!!

You see I have always had a zest for wanting to reach out and bring ministry to people. For me, I think I especially realized the importance of mission when at the age of 17 I attended the 2002 Community of Christ World Conference. There the keynote speaker during the opening session posed a question to us that still resonates deep within me. It was something to the effect of, “If you’re congregation was no longer around. If it was here one day and gone the next, then who in the community, besides current church members, would be affected because of you not being there”. That spoke to me on such a profound level. Basically the point was that if no one would be affected then we aren’t doing something right.

Last summer I was asked to be a Counselor to the Pastor in my congregation and I accepted. My focus as a Counselor was to be on Witnessing and Peace & Justice Ministries. This excited me so much! My discipleship theme song has always been Steven Curtis Chapman’s “Live out Loud”. I love that song because it represents “action” so well. I mean look at the words in the chorus, “Wake the neighbors. Get the word out. Come on, crank up the music, climb a mountain and shout. This is life we’ve been given, made to be lived out. So, la, la, la, la, live out loud.”. So anyways, I started out with a vision that first and foremost the Cedarcrest Congregation would begin to touch the lives of the Marysville community and that secondary, as a result our congregation would begin to grow physically and spiritually. That we would wake up from this slumber that we were in and be revitalized as a congregation! I was pumped. I was ready. Man, was I fooled!

I decided to organize a Witnessing Taskforce after the model of a missionary in my church down in Texas. Her congregation was growing and reaching out to people in wonderful and new ways. The Witnessing Taskforce would organize a witnessing event once a quarter in our community, whether it be on the church grounds or at another location. The only rule I had was that if it was a fundraiser that the money may not be for any programs at Cedarcrest but something that would specifically help others. I even scheduled myself to preside and preach on a Sunday in September to kick off the program and make the announcement. The theme that day was “Find the Lost and Rejoice”. I felt it was a perfect theme to introduce this taskforce to the congregation. When I presented the idea to my congregation I announced that anyone who would like to be on the taskforce to please talk to me. That our first meeting would be in November with our first activity planned for the first quarter of 2008.

I announced it several times over the next few weeks. My excitement level started to decrease as no one came forward to be on it. I finally was able to get one person to agree to participate but he almost had to begged to be on it before he agreed. I realized at that time that if the congregation would not get motivated enough to start doing some witnessing in our community that we might as well close our doors and go our separate ways or merge with another congregation because there was no reason for us to continue to be open anymore. You see my congregation says they want to support witnessing opportunities but when it comes down to it what they are really saying is that they want someone else to do it for them. So, I decided that it was not in the best interest of my congregation for one person (me) to do the work for the whole congregation and thus the Witnessing Taskforce never got off the ground.

The idea of mission has still been continuously on my mind though. You see eventhough efforts with my own congregation have not been fruitful there are still other things going on. The biggest of which for me is the fact that I co-lead a young adult group for the Greater Seattle area in my church, Community of Christ. We call ourselves YAPS or Young Adults of the Puget Sound. Our group has had great successes since it was formed two years ago and was actually an extension of a group out of my congregation that started a little over 4 years ago. We are being given the opportunity to reach young adults who don’t normally come to church on Sunday morning. Young adults who are tired of the traditional worship lifestyle but still want to stay connected to the church. Once a quarter we put on a worship for a Northwest Community of Christ Congregation and that has been a wonderful ministry to be a part of. Then once a month we have an activity or retreat. We have discussed having young adult specific worships once a month or meeting for bible study at a coffee shop. Opportunities seem to be endless and it is so good to experience. So, I have continued to ponder mission and think about the successes of the young adult group and roadblocks at my congregation. Please note that I say roadblocks and not failures. People do have to wake up eventually and realize they are getting nowhere on the path they are currently on.

Then recently, especially over the past week or so I came to a realization. I realized that my congregation is spending too much time focusing on our building, on the structure. We worried too much about the maintenance and upkeep on the building and the land that we don’t have time for anything else is because we are getting burned out. And since we get burned out by our building we don’t spend our energy on mission and thus we don’t grow as a congregation. And because we don’t grow as a congregation then we have a few people doing a lot of the other work as well such as presiding, preaching, etc. I realized that Cedarcrest really needs to sell the structure, because that is all it is, and replant ourselves. We don’t need to close our doors for good we just need a change of address. We need to meet in a gym, grange hall, or another facility that we can rent out and not have to worry about mowing, cleaning the toilets, etc. Let’s face it, as it is we are not being very good stewards by owning a building for 20 to 30 people to meet in it one morning a week for worship. If we didn’t have a building anymore then we could spend our energy on reaching out to the people of Marysville. Then sometime in the future after we have grown we could by our own building again fill it with programs that the people of Marysville need.

When it comes down to it, I don’t know what Cedarcrest will end up doing. We will soon be experiencing a change of Pastor yet again as our current one only agreed to two years. I will most likely not even be attending the same congregation in a few months as I hope to move about an hour or so South from where I currently live. Though, I do still care about the congregation that I grew up in and want to see it experience new life and revitalization.

Two blog posts that have fueled my thinking as of late and are related to mission and buildings are “Churches and Buildings” by Glenn at re-dreaming the dream and “The Island Church” by Christian at Flannel Christian.

Thoughts on Memorial Services

This past Monday I attended a memorial service for an elderly gentleman by the name of Martin “Joe” Furlong from a neighboring Community of Christ congregation. Memorial services can kind of leave me feeling awkward at times. Upon arrival we proceeded into the chapel at the funeral home and sat down. As I sit there, I couldn’t believe how much noise was coming from outside the chapel in the foyer. It kind of seemed rude to me. People were talking loud, not even trying to whisper.

Once all were inside the chapel the minister started the service. It was pretty much a quiet service, as to be expected, until they invited the congregation a chance to share. The family were given an opportunity to share first. I was touched by the fact that most, if not all, of his grandkids in attendance (ranging in ages of like 7 to 16 or somewhere close to that) shared a story with those in attendance. What struck me was how quickly the sharing from each person would turn into laughter, embedded of course with teary eyes. As I sat there listening to the stories of Joe from his family and friends I was intrigued that so many had their own special humorous story of Joe to share. It was great. I fully appreciated it. One of the funnier moments was when a relative of Joe’s, someone who i know well and is a former politician, stood up to share how she was a Republican and Joe was a Democrat but the she had seen the light (or something to that effect) and became a Democrat. The chapel erupted in applause and even an elderly lady in front of me shouted “Amen” or “Woo-Hoo” or something like that. Now, some would have seen this as inappropriate though I definitely got the feeling that Joe would have thoroughly appreciated it. He was obviously a man of humor.

Now, I didn’t know Joe that well. My mom, whom I went to the service with, knew him well. I believe they went to the same congregation as she was growing up. I remember meeting him once. Eventhough he was married he often came to Single’s camp to offer counseling and simply be a friend to those in attendance. His last time coming to a Single’s camp was the first time I cooked for one. That is my only time that I remember crossing paths with him though I know I must have while in my younger years.

So, why did I go? I didn’t know the guy that well but that didn’t matter to me. I went for two reasons. First, as a sign of support for the family. I know one of his sons, Gary, and have had Gary’s kids at camps that I have directed and/or counseled at. So, I went to support them as they mourned their loss. Second, I went as a sign of respect. Joe died at the age of 89 as a well known Community of Christ member throughout the Northwest. Though, often times people at his age aren’t able to go to church for years before actually dying. Thus, I have noticed that people seem to forget about those that paved the way before us and don’t attend their memorial service when they die. I noticed the same thing a few years ago when an elderly man in my congregation passed on. It is quite sad really. So whenever I can, I go to show respect to those that have come before me in my faith movement.

UPDATE (3/12/08):

I forgot to share something else about this particular memorial service. It was my first time ever going to a graveside service. The graveside service immediately followed the memorial service. The rows of cars proceeded up the driveway to where the casket would be buried. Once the pallbearers carried the casket up the hill to the grave site everyone gathered around it. The casket was lifted up onto the device that would then lower it into the ground. A Catholic Priest started to share in a ritual when the casket started to slide off the device (for lack of the correct term). All the sudden, Gary, stood up to stop it while one of the daughters shouted something to the effect of “Father is trying to get away”. Most broke out in laughter. Again, laughter was present. It was not a sign of disrespect but really a sign of respect for Joe.

The Art of Preaching!

As many of you know I participate on the Community of Christ world church CyberCongregation. This is a discussion board for members and friends of the church from around the world. Anyways, one of the discussions this past weekend caused me to do some researching in my Priesthood Manual. As I was doing the researching I came across something in the manual concerning preaching. I strongly felt a need to send an e-mail with the particular text from the manual to the priesthood in my congregation.

The priesthood in my congregation has been reminded by our current pastor, Delta Campbell, as well as former pastors that we need to be continually trying to improve our preaching. For preaching is such an important ministry and such a vital aspect to our Worship life. When planning for a sermon we are able to grow Spiritually and Mentally. When on the receiving end of “good” preaching we are able to grow Spiritually and Mentally.

Here is the passage from the Priesthood Manual: 

“Preaching is hard work. It demands our best. Whenever we think we get by with a “Saturday night special” we are foolish. Cracking open a can of Chicken Soup for the Soul, or thumbing through this month’s Reader’s Digest for a cute story or clever quotation. Saturday evening will not satisfy the hunger of today’s discerning congregation.”Whenever we dust off last year’s sermon from the file cabinet without thought of Sunday’s listener’s and their needs – we are foolish. Whenever we try to find enough material to “fill the hour”, we are foolish. Whenever we pull together a string of scripture verses and desperately knit them together into some cogent thought, or give them no thought at all, we are foolish. Whenever we say, “Preaching’s not my gift, so I’ll not work at it”, we are foolish. The list goes on and on. It is not the foolishness of preaching but the foolishness of the preachers that threatens a sermon’s value. We need to take the fool our of “foolishness”, and that begins with getting an important message.” – The Priesthood Manual (2004 Edition), Page 161.

I explained the following to the priesthood: I felt lead to share this with you. Please know that I am not thinking of any particular person when sending this but that I feel it is a good reminder for all of us. This past World Conference we were presented with counsel that by the end of conference was discerned by the conference body to be scripture. We now know it as Doctrine & Covenants 163. In a portion 163 we find a powerful reminder of what it means to be called to the Priesthood. Specifically, D&C 163:6c, “The expectation for priesthood to continually magnify their callings through spiritual growth, study, exemplary generosity, ethical choices, and fully accountable ministry is always present. How can the Spirit fill vessels that are unwilling to expand their capacity to receive and give according to a full measure of God’s grace and truth?”. I believe this also partially speaks to the passage I have shared above.

May we all strive to live up to our ministerial potential. God, the Congregation, and ourselves deserve nothing less.

Priesthood Accountability and Growth

About 4 and half years ago I was to give a testimony about my experiences at SPECtacular that year. For my readers that don’t know, SPECtacular is a week-long sports, leadership, worship, and education camp in Lamoni, IA, at Graceland University sponsored by the Community of Christ. I got up front and said something to the effect of “Yeah, so I went to SPEC. Ummmm, didn’t really prepare for what I was going to say. Uhhhh, I got a gold medal in volleyball. That was cool. Ummmm, SPEC was fun. Uhhhh, yeah, that’s about it” and then sat down. After the service a lady in my congregation took me aside. She proceeded to tell me some good things that she saw me doing. She then told me how disappointed she was with me when I gave my testimony. She shared that there had been several times that I would get up to do something in a worship service but fell short in my ministry. She said that she could tell that I was hardly ever adequately prepared. This really stuck with me.

The next several times that I was to bring up front ministry after that I would go to her for feedback. When I was ordained I shared about this experience and how much it transformed me. When I was scheduled to preach my first sermon the theme was “Take Heart”. During that sermon I stressed that fact that we need to be willing to “Take Heart” with each other more often. That we let things go by the wayside because we are so afraid to upset someone. That things go unsaid because we don’t want to offend. I urged the congregation to “Take Heart” with each other by being willing to share positive and constructive feedback with each other and additionally that we need to be willing to listen to what is being said. That it is being said out of love and respect and not animosity.

Fast forward to this past January.

Back at my congregation’s monthly priesthood meeting in January we broke up into pairs to answer 4 questions. A different partner for every question. One of them was related to priesthood specifically. For this question I was assigned to this same lady. We reminisced about the experience I had and then we briefly came up with a program to help priesthood in our congregation grow in their ministry. For this program every active priesthood member in our congregation will be assigned with one other priesthood member. We hope this program will accomplish a few different things.

1) Feedback. The partners will let each other know when they are presiding, preaching, etc. and ask them to be pay particular attention while the partner gives there up front ministry. Then afterwards they would meet and the observing partner would share positive feedback (what they did well) and constructive feedback (what they should work on). This allows us to be held accountable. It allows us to grow as ministers. Furthermore the partners can discuss what each of their specific offices should be doing and identify things that can be done that are not currently being looked after.

2) Growth. The partners may decide to that they will each read the same Spiritual Growth book and then discuss it. Or they may decided that each of them will read a Book in the Bible and then discuss it. They may attend classes/workshops together.

3) Support. The partners would serve as a support system for one another. Someone that they know they could share their frustrations and concerns with. They could pray for one another. The could decide to meet together and pray for the needs of the congregation or the needs of the community.

We introduced this idea during the sharing time and it was received really well by everyone. Then at our February priesthood meeting this past Sunday we agreed to implement it and as of right now the pastor and my partner are discerning who should be assigned to each other. We plan on changing the partners every trimester (when our worship schedule comes out). There will not be a strict guideline to follow. The pairs will decided what works for them. Also, it will be assigned so you are not with someone that is in the same priesthood office as you or in your family.

I look forward to the positive growth that will hopefully happen in me and my fellow priesthood members at my congregation.