Saturday, March 29, 2014

Pray for Mission in India

This week we pray for Teresa and Anil Henry, our missionaries to India.  The are medical professionals who serve on staff at Christian Hospital in Mungeli.

You can read more about the mission to India here, including a reminder of how a century-old medical legacy is still touching lives today.

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.

Friday, March 28, 2014

Online Worship: Curse or Blessing?

If two or three (or more) gather in Jesus' name by going to the same Internet site at the same time and watching the same livestream program, is Jesus in their midst?  This, inevitably, is the challenging question about whether watching a worship service on TV or joining a worship service online is an act of worship.  To be sure, there is something qualitatively different about wearing a bathrobe and slippers and logging on to the computer than putting on presentable clothes and driving to a common place.  But if people seem to be able to "telecommute" to work without it affecting their workload, why can't people "telechurch" to worship?  After all, if God is everywhere present, that must include a divine presence in cyberspace too.

Personally, I prefer to worship in a common space with other people, but I also know that the experience greatly depends on what you bring to it.  This means that for certain people, at certain times, online worship might work better.  At the very least, there usually is greater flexibility of when to worship online (yes, like Cable TV offers, it's 'worship on-demand').  More to the point, though, if you feel safer and more accepted online (because of the anonymity that the Internet can offer), you are more likely to have a deep faith experience than if you come to a church anxious and defensive, afraid to talk to anybody and doubting that anyone there (including the pastor) has anything of value to share with you.  (On the other hand, over time you hopefully would be able to develop relationships with others who gather in the same place with you, which is much more difficult, though not impossible, online.)

I mention this because I recently came across an online article about one of the more well-known online worship services, called "Darkwood Brew."  It suggests a very serious question: is this one direction that the church will take moving into the next 20 years?  I certainly know that some people will try it -- actually, many are already doing online worship in one form or another.

Then again, I wonder if the centrality of jazz music for Darkwood Brew suggests a path that American Christian worship has inexplicably not taken.  Given the cultural importance of jazz music, I find it rather inconceivable that there is very little Christian jazz worship music.  Certain churches sought to use new technologies rather quickly, such as radio, television, and the Internet, to varying success.  There is no similar appropriation of jazz music, even after a century.


Wednesday, March 26, 2014

The Jewish Celebration of Purim

Over the weekend, Jews held their annual celebration of Purim, which celebrates the preservation of the Jews recorded in the book of Esther.  It is one of the most joyful religious holidays.  Interestingly, it is also one of the few where a woman has the central role.  Some Jews have run with the celebration in the past couple of generations to also celebrate the faithfulness and gifts of religious women.

Religion and Ethics Newsweekly had a story last weekend about this holiday and the recent trend of women taking the lead in its celebration.  If you don't know much about this holiday, or this Biblical story, I encourage you to take five minutes and learn more about it.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

March 23 Worship: "In Times of Punishment, a Vision of Paradise"

Several people told me after worship that they enjoyed the service and my sermon.  I'll be honest -- this worries me a little bit.  Certainly I'm happy when people are happy with a worship service -- enjoying worship usually means that people have found it important, relevant to their lives, and meaningful.  However, I was "leaning in" a bit with the sermon, challenging one of our most cherished notions of heaven as fantasy.  Usually when I step on toes -- which pastors sometimes need to do -- I try to do it delicately and lovingly; but I never imagine anyone will "enjoy" it.

Then again, there's certainly something uplifting about telling the truth (or at least something closer to the truth) in our culture that celebrates so many false things in our lives.  What was the sermon about?  Using Jesus' promise from the cross to a thief, "Today you will be with me in paradise," I explored what paradise Jesus is promising.  In general, I think that the paradise Jesus means is different from the one that we usually imagine.  And it is a paradise that will require us to behave differently, if it is to actually be paradise when we're there.

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.

You can also listen to the related communion meditation and the concluding benediction.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

March 16 Worship: "In Times of Financial Hardship, a Reward"

On Sunday, despite the sudden cold snap, we enjoyed a warm worship service together at Eastgate.  In the sermon, I continued a sermon on "God's Promises in Hard Times," considering financial challenges.  Focusing on the story of the widow's mite -- that is, a woman who is singled out by Jesus because of the importance of her small gift, I explored why the woman made the gift.

Unfortunately, I made a mistake with my new digital recorder, and I did not record Sunday's sermon.  But here is what I think was the most important lesson: we live in a world that tells us, constantly, that we do not have enough.  Even in the church, we constantly think of all that we cannot do (especially when compared with other larger and/or richer congregations).  I think that the widow found great comfort in what she could give, despite how small it seemed in comparison to the gifts of others.  To highlight this, I pointed to the story of Oseola McCarty, a washerwoman who donated the bulk of her life savings to fund college scholarships.  (You can read more about her on her Wikipedia page or in the press release from the university announcing her gift in 1995.)  A woman with only a 6th grade education, who worked in a menial job, managed to save about $250,000 over the years, and then, facing the end of her life, decided how to give it to others.  She didn't do it for praise (though she received a lot of attention for her gift), but to make a difference in someone else's life.  And she did it living out a simple Christian belief -- God had blessed her with more than she needed.

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Prayer for Mission in South Africa

This week we pray for Scott Couper and Susan Valiquette, our missionaries to South Africa.  Scott is a development manager for Inanda Seminary and is a pastor of a Congregational Church of South Africa church.  Susan is a chaplain and instructor at Inanda Seminary.

You can read more about the mission to South Africa here, including a reminder of how education can slowly change the world through each student.

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.

Friday, March 14, 2014

March 9 Worship: "In Times of Betrayal, a Sanctuary"

Evidently, I forgot to post my sermon on this blog earlier this week.  My apologies for this oversight.  This past Sunday, I considered how Jesus' cleaning the Temple could teach us one of "God's Promises in Hard Times" -- the preservation of sanctuary.

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.

You can also listen to the communion meditation.

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Pray for Mission in Hong Kong

This week we pray for Judy Chan, our missionary to Hong Kong, who serves as a communication specialist in radio and English publications with the Hong Kong Christian Council.

You can read more about the mission to Hong Kong here, including ways the ecumenical church honors human dignity.

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.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Ash Wednesday Worship: "In Times of Futility, a Gardener"

Many of us gathered for a special service at the start of the Lenten season -- though, true to this winter, there were a dusting of snow on our cars when the service was over.  It was a time of reflection and confession.  In addition to the ashes, there was some special music -- the choir sang a wonderful arrangement of "In the Garden" by Mark Hayes and I sang an arrangement of the spiritual "Give Me Jesus," which I find to be particularly fitting for Ash Wednesday.

The meditation was the beginning of a Lenten series on God's promises in hard times.  I suggested that Jesus' teaching in John 15, "I am the true vine," offered a reminder that God is actively working to help us become better and more productive, but that it can require some cleaning away of unhelpful things -- "In Time of Futility, a Gardener."

If you missed the 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.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday.  For Roman Catholics, it is day of obligation, when they are expected to attend mass and receive ashes on their foreheads as a sign of penitence and mortality.  Because Catholics do attend mass and receive ashes in large numbers, many Christians think that it is a particularly Catholic tradition -- which, for generations, led many Protestants to have nothing to do with the observance of this day.

However, the tradition is ancient, dating back many centuries before the theological conflict between Catholics and Protestants developed.  In recent years, more Protestant congregations have gathered for worship on this day, also receiving ashes as a sign of penitence and mortality.  This day marks the beginning of the holy season of Lent, which is a time of preparation for Easter.  Before we focus on the happier topics of resurrection, rebirth, and renewal, we prepare by studying (again) things like death, sacrifice, and the judgment of sins.

At Eastgate, we will gather for a special service this evening, at 6:30, which will include ashes, a meditation, special music, and the Lord's Supper.  It is a time to admit that none of us is perfect, and some of our imperfections hurt us, others around us, and even damage our relationships with God.  It is a time to hear again, with the ashes, "Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

Is it important?  I think so.  Partially, I believe that confession is good for the soul and can be the start of healing.  Mostly, though, I think it is half of the essential dichotomy that Paul described of our existence as imperfect humans and as redeemed Christians: in the words of the King James (which were memorably set to music in by Handel in Messiah), "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."  Today (and during this Lenten season) we focus on how we, like Adam, have sinned and will die; in Eastertide, we focus on the promise of faith that there is life beyond death.

Monday, March 3, 2014

Book Review: "Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith"

Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott (Riverhead Books, 2005), hardcover, 336 pages

"The devil is in the details," a common saying goes, but for people of faith, it is often true that God is in the details – or at least that God is revealed in the details. With Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith, best-selling author Anne Lamott offers another book filled with knowing details that illuminate some of the big issues of faith: parenting, politics, divorce, and death, among others.  As in her wonderful Traveling Mercies, the essays and stories are sprinkled with her trademark humor, much of it ironic and self-deprecating; they also are sprinkled with straightforward comments on adult issues and no shortage of adult language, which may startle some readers.

Published in 2005, there is a recurrent theme of extreme frustration with the presidency of George W. Bush and especially with the war in Iraq.  Several times Lamott mentions protesting against the war and praying for peace, a not uncommon theme of the period from many liberal American Christian activists.  Few, though, have the chops to describe trying to love the person who stands for everything you hate, as Christians are supposed to do, and as Lamott does in the ridiculously droll essay, "loving your president: day 2."

While the issue of politics and faith may be emphasized, though, I think the more powerful theme of the book is Lamott's deepening relationship with her son Sam, just entering his teenage years.  Aside from the understandable friction raised by some of Sam's inexplicable behavior, Lamott explores the introduction of Sam's father into his life around age 10, writing honestly about the pain this sometimes causes her, but also being surprisingly open to moments of joy and grace.  This is most obvious when she shares the story of Sam meeting him much older half-brother.

Probably due to Sam's presence and importance, these essays have a much different feel than many of the essays in Traveling Mercies.  Partially, this may be that none are as memorable as Lamott's blunt, and hysterical, description of her conversion.  Mostly, though, I think they reflect a deepening of Lamott's Christian faith, which she more confidently and comfortably claims as part of her identity in Plan B.

There is a wealth of wisdom and observation here, especially about daily life outside of the comforts of a church sanctuary.  Unlike some Christians, Lamott freely admits some of her hypocrisy.  For example, even as she can testify to the hand of God at the bedside of a woman dying from cancer, she struggles to cope with her broken relationship with her own mother, even after her death, and finds mostly pain and anger there.  Then again, Lamott exhibits a patience with God – and even with herself – that also is uncommon and refreshing, and which suggests an openness to continued growth and change which may lessen such hypocrisy.

Overall, Lamott offers an inviting vision of lived faith in these essays, coping with challenging political times, raising a son as a single mother, and coming to terms with her own aging.  While I do not always agree with her, I admire her, and I appreciate her honesty, her earthiness, and her humor as she shares these stories of her faith.  Needless to say, I also admire the skill with which she writes, which makes her books easy and enjoyable to read.

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Prayer for Mission in Nicaragua

This week we pray for Magyolene Rodriguez, our missionary to Nicaragua, who serves with the Convention of Churches Christian Mission of Nicaragua on issues of environmental education, food security, and conflict transformation.

You can read more about the mission to Nicaragua here, including learning opportunities the church provides youth.

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.