No Evening Service or Practices at Eastgate Tonight

Due to the inclement weather, and anticipating icy roads, sidewalks, and driveways tonight, all evening activities -- the Bell Choir practice, prayer service and Choir practice -- are cancelled.  I hope that you stay warm and safe this day.

The Growth of Christianity in China

Over the past 60 years, most Christians have feared for those who try to practice the Christian faith in Communist China.  Conventional wisdom, often justified, is that such Christians have been repressed, if not persecuted, by the Chinese government.

Recent evidence shows a more vibrant Christianity taking root in China.  A well regarded recent book, Redeemed by Fire: The Rise of Popular Christianity in China by Prof. Xi Lian (recently announced to join the faculty of Duke Divinity School this summer), shows how Christianity has grown in the past century.  The greatest increase seems to have come after Western missionaries were expelled from the country and local Chinese people began adopting and adapting Christianity.

While I imagine that few people will want to read a 350 page academic history book, many might be interested in a short online interview with Xi Lian about the current state of Christianity in China, where he believes at least 50 million people are Christians.  You can read the interview here.

February 24 Worship: "What Jethro Saw Was Not Good"

In between snowstorms, many of us gathered for worship on a bright and sunny morning.  While it was good to be out of the house, it was also clear by the prayer requests that many people felt the need for some time with God, partially to pray for people that we're worried about.  Looking beyond our own needs, though, we also collected a special offering to support Week of Compassion and its global ministry of emergency relief.

In the sermon, I continued our Lenten series following the Hebrews as they journey through the wilderness toward the Promised Land.  This week, we focused on the period leading up to Moses receiving the Torah at Mt. Sinai, including the need for Moses to appoint some leaders to help govern the people and adjudicate disputes.  I suggested that the need for organization was one of the reasons why they needed Law, so that these leaders picked by Moses could be instructed in how to judge and on what basis to judge.

More importantly, I suggested that Jesus had done the same thing for us, who choose to be called his disciples.  Just as Torah could not cover every situation, neither could Jesus' teaching.  Instead, he offered principles to guide our lives.  I believe that Jesus taught the most important principle to live by is love, but that a sinful world challenges our ability to love, which means that we must also learn to live with plenty of forgiveness and perseverance through the challenges we sometimes face -- as Jesus told his disciples, sometimes they would need to pick up their cross and follow him.

Odd note: while listening to the sermon, I discovered that I misspoke a couple of times, identifying Moses as God.  I'm not quite sure what that was about. Needless to say, I don't believe that Moses was/is/or will be God.  So I apologize for my slips of the tongue, if they confuse or startle you.

If you missed Sunday's sermon, if you'd like to listen to it again (the pastor said what?), or if you'd like to share it with other people, you can find an audio copy here.

The Gift of the Flawed Church

As I've continued reading the book Best Advice, with advice for ministers by well-regarded pastors and seminary professors, I've found another insight that I have been considering.

James C. Howell, a Methodist pastor in North Carolina, offers a short essay filled with plenty of practical advice for ministers.  At the end, he briefly confronts an issue that any pastor who reads much about the church will encounter frequently -- the church is broken.  Rare is the book about some aspect of church leadership that does not directly confront multiple problems that the church faces in this time.

If ministers are not careful -- and all too often we are not careful -- we can shape our pastoral efforts to counter these problems, with little appreciation of what may be right in our congregations.  Howell offers an important corrective to such thinking by suggesting that there is a Spiritual gift, if not a theological necessity, for some of the perceived flaws in the church.

He writes:

The failure of faith, I have come to believe, is little understood.  People trash the church for being a silly shell of what it ought to be, but it is the flawedness of the church that leaves room for an incarnate Lord to meet silly shells of people who aren't who they ought to be. People feel a hollowness in their souls and wish the preacher could fill the tank with clever words, but the hollowness was placed there by a God who wants to be sought, not found.
-- James C. Howell, "Don't Take My Advice," Best Advice: Wisdom on Ministry from 30 Leading Pastors and Preachers, pp. 73-74

What an interesting way to approach the shortcomings of a church!  To be sure, the church is full of problems because the church is full of people (to borrow a saying that floats around church leadership circles).  But what if it isn't only our hypocrisy that holds us back as Christians?  What if the church can never fully meet our spiritual needs because no church can fully represent the living God?

More than this, I believe there is a deep appreciation of the incarnate Christ here, of God who becomes flesh not out of His necessity, but rather to meet our shortcomings.  If so, then the church, when we live up to Paul's claim for us as part of the body of Christ, needs be imperfect in order to reach out to other imperfect people.  This does not defend every flaw in our congregations (of which there are some with no defense), but to remind us that not everything broken needs fixing to be useful to God.

Prayer for Mission in Micronesia

This week we pray for Nikotemo Tapaeko, our missionary to the islands of Micronesia.  Nikotemo teaches theology at Ohwa Christian College in Pohnpei.

You can read more about the mission to Micronesia here, including the need for theological training for the pastors in Micronesia.

There are Christian missionaries serving on our behalf in many countries around the world.  Each week, Global Missions highlights the work in one of these countries and asks the wider church to pray for its continued vitality in spreading the Gospel.

Coming Up Sunday, February 24

As we dig out from this week's snowstorm, Sunday worship may not be the most important thing on our minds.  I hope that people are being careful as they shovel walks and driveways -- such work, especially with a heavy snow, is much more strenuous than most people realize.  After that, there will likely be errands to run, or simply a desire to "get out of the house."

Hopefully, many of us will gather for worship on Sunday, which is a good reason to get out of the house.  As we continue the Lenten season, we will journey on with the Hebrews in the wilderness.  After confronting their fears and unhelpful rationalizations last week, the Israelites face an internal challenge.  How will they govern and lead themselves?  Who will choose these leaders?  There are hints of this problem at the Red Sea, where certain people doubt Moses, but it really becomes an issue soon after.  Moses' father-in-law visits the exodus people, only to discover that Moses is spending all day, every day, judging all types of disputes that have arisen in the wilderness.  And, as the sermon will show, "What Jethro Saw Was Not Good."

This period of self-reflection before Easter allows us the chance, like Moses, to reflect on how we spend our days and where our focus lies.  We may discover, with God's help, that we are using too much energy on the wrong things -- it's certainly easy to do.

I hope that you have been safe these winter days, and I hope, if you can safely, that you will dig out and worship at Eastgate on Sunday morning.

February 17 Worship: "Looking Back, with Fear"

While working on tomorrow's weekly email update, I realized that I had not finished uploading my sermon online.  I began earlier in the week, got interrupted, and then completely forgot about it -- I guess that's the danger of any routine.  So I apologize for the delay.

On Sunday, we entered into Lent by following the Hebrews into the wilderness, even as they were chased by the Egyptians.  With the Egyptian army closing in from behind, and the Red Sea ahead of them, many of the Israelites became afraid, and they rationalized why they should never have left slavery in Egypt.  In "Looking Back, with Fear," we considered how we sometimes become afraid in our faith, as our discipleship demands new things of us -- sometimes we imagine how much better it would be if we just stayed ignorant sinners.  A wider perspective shows such attitudes to be rather ridiculous, but it is a trap we often fall into.

If you missed Sunday's sermon, if you'd like to listen to it again, or if you'd like to share it with others, you can find an audio recording here.

Prayer for Mission in Laos

This week we pray for Xuyen Dangers, our missionary to the Asian nation of Laos.  She is a social work supervisor who trains student interns at the Donkoi Children Development Center.

You can read more about the mission to Laos here, including the story of providing training for children and parents while they are in the hospital.

There are Christian missionaries serving on our behalf in many countries around the world.  Each week, Global Missions highlights the work in one of these countries and asks the wider church to pray for its continued vitality in spreading the Gospel.

Coming Up Sunday, February 17 & Ash Wednesday Meditation

This week, on the first Sunday of Lent, we will continue our series, "A Journey of Testing and Trial: Moses and the Hebrews in the Wilderness."  We will focus on the fear panic that engulfed many of the Hebrews as they neared the Red Sea, with the army of Pharaoh chasing after them.  Unimaginable as it might seem to us, some of them actually wished they had never been freed from slavery, and they were anxious to return to begin slaves, rather than face the uncertainty of the future.

After the initial joy of freedom, when the enormity of their journey to the Promised Land began to sink into their consciousness, the Hebrews began to think of all that could go wrong.  Instead of looking forward, they  were "Looking Back, with Fear."  Through the centuries, people facing the challenges and anxiety of change have behaved in similar ways.

As we talked about in our Ash Wednesday worship service, God anticipated the Hebrews' response.  In many ways, the journey "Into the Wilderness" was meant to give them time and space to forever leave behind any desire to return to slavery in Egypt.  If you missed Wednesday's meditation, if you'd like to listen to it again, or if you'd like to share it with others, you can find an audio recording here.

Also, this Sunday, we will collect our first special offering of the year, supporting Week of Compassion, which offers emergency relief and humanitarian aid resources, particularly after natural disasters, in addition to supporting sustainable development.

Steps on the Lenten Journey

Foolishly, I watched the State of the Union and the Republican response on Tuesday.  I say foolishly because I knew that both speeches would make me mad.  Now, a couple of days later, they just make me sad.

Both speeches had some good moments.  Overall, though, both were poll-tested trips into fantasyland, suggesting a number of "no pain, lots of gain" solutions to various political problems.  To hear both Pres. Obama and Sen. Rubio tell it, we are just a few simple decisions away from long-term economic growth that will make the present challenges a distant memory.

As a political junkie, I have many opinions about the various proposals. For the purposes of this blog, though, I simply point out that much of the national political discussion today shows little appreciation for where we are and how we got to this point.  It's difficult to solve a problem, if you won't admit what the problem is.  It's difficult to solve a problem if you won't admit that taking action will require hard choices and sacrifices.  Unless, miraculously, money does start growing on trees.

As we enter into Lent, this offers a good spiritual lesson.  Frequently, Christians get frustrated because living out faith can seem so hard and unappreciated.  Faith -- and often, pastors -- promise that living with love and forgiveness and generosity will make your life better; sometimes, though, we get knocked around.  People take advantage of our generosity; they respond to our love in ways meant to hurt us.  It can make us wonder why we even bother.

Change is hard, and it is made in the face of challenges that make it harder.  We need to admit that.  On these first days in Lent, we can admit how we have been part of the problem -- how our actions have hurt others and how we have often valued the wrong things.  We can take the next steps in our journey of discipleship, following the example of Jesus Christ.  But we are living in an in-between time, in a wilderness period, struggling to leave our sinful past behind and living towards the promise of the Kingdom of God.  They journey is not easy and the path often requires difficult choices.

Our national debt won't pay itself -- we will have to make choices to lower our debt.  Our sinful past doesn't miraculously go away -- we have to decide each day to live differently, following Christ's example.  It's never easy, and those who tell you it is are fools.  But there are blessings to be enjoyed, facing up to the truth (including the truth of our guilt) and trying to live in ways that seem more in line with God's teaching.

I hope, during this Lenten journey, that you try to own up to where you are and how you got here.  And that, in this wilderness time, you look for God's gracious hand, supporting you on the journey and guiding you home.

February 10 Worship: Lincoln Sunday

Another Lincoln Sunday has come and gone.  Aside from the beautiful weather, we enjoyed a wonderful worship service -- if parts of it felt a little different to how we normally gather for worship.  Lincoln Sunday is always a little more traditional, with older music, readings from the King James Version, and a preacher who stays behind the pulpit.  While I wouldn't like to worship that way always (I feel so far away from everyone behind the pulpit), I like it every once in a while.

The Lincoln Sermon is also more traditional, both in form and format.  Usually I preach in a narrative style, drawing out lessons from Bible stories.  19th Century preaching was very analytic and structured in a specific way.  A sermon began with a presentation of the text and its context, followed by theological reading and implication of the text, and then concluding with an application section.  With the Lincoln Sermon, I try to stay within this older structure, even though I adapt it (partially because a traditional 19th Century sermon would put most people to sleep).

I put a lot of effort into the Lincoln Sermon every year, and I felt extra pressure this year because I was dealing with Lincoln's most famous words, the Gettysburg Address.  By and large, I was pleased with the sermon, and I am glad that a few weeks ago I changed my Biblical text to Paul's sermon at Antioch in Pisidia, which I think offered a great parallel to the Gettysburg Address.  The result is "A Few Appropriate Remarks: Abraham Lincoln and the Search for Meaning."

If you missed Sunday's sermon, if you'd like to listen to it again, or if you'd like to share it with others, you can find an audio recording here.

Prayer for Mission in Chile

This week we pray for Elena Huegel, our missionary to Chile.  Elena serves the Pentecostal Church of Chile as an environmental and Christian education specialist.

You can read more about the mission to Chile here, including a video that reminds us of the hope that faith nurtures even in places that seem hopeless.

There are Christian missionaries serving around the world in 70 countries on our behalf.  Each week, Global Missions highlights one of these missions and asks the wider church to pray for its continued vitality in spreading the Gospel.

Coming Up Sunday, February 10

Sunday is Lincoln Sunday.  I have been hard at work at the special Lincoln sermon, which will feature a study of the Gettysburg Address and Paul's sermon recorded in Acts 13.  I hope that it is worth all the effort -- I think it will be.  It is called "A Few Appropriate Remarks: Abraham Lincoln and the Search for Meaning," and it challenges us to appreciate how we find and share meaning in our lives, including in our lives of faith.

In addition, the service will feature music that would have been sung in churches during Lincoln's lifetime, including the Battle Hymn of the Republic.  The scripture will be read out of the King James Bible, which was the Bible that Lincoln read -- and which obviously influenced the words he spoke at Gettysburg.  It should not only serve to celebrate the legacy of Lincoln but to inspire and deepen our faith.

February 3 Worship: "Moses Turned Aside to See"

On Sunday, we enjoyed a spirit-filled worship with a happy problem -- we had to work to make sure everyone had a bulletin and a seat!  Members of the Cub Pack that calls Eastgate home posted the colors and shared the day with us, which was great!  It is always good to celebrate the good skills and ethics that scouting teachings young people.

We also began our Lenten sermon series with a sermon about Moses' call to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Considering the famous story of God speaking to Moses out of the burning bush, we considered how Moses had been prepared for what God was calling him to do, even when Moses himself didn't quite understand the mission.  But after "Moses Turned Aside to See," he then followed God's leading, and fulfilled his destiny.

If you missed Sunday's sermon, if you'd like to listen to it again, or if you'd like to share it with others, you can find an audio recording here.

Prayer for Mission in South Africa

This week we pray for Susan Valiquette and Scott Couper, our missionaries to South Africa.  Both serve at Inanda Seminary in Durban, South Africa in many ways.

You can read more about the mission to South Africa here, including the long heritage of Inanda Seminary in educating and empowering young women for almost 150 years.

There are Christian missionaries serving on our behalf in 70 countries around the world.  Each week, Global Missions highlights one of these missions and asks the wider church to pray for its continued vitality in spreading the Gospel.