"The Middle Door"

Recently our congregation received a nice group of new members. This is usually a very exciting and energizing experience for the whole community. New people bring fresh ideas and a spirit of enthusiasm that spills over into the rest of the congregation.  We literally become a new church! Our newest arrivals stir the pot, mixing in a new batch of spiritual gifts and passions that helps to wake up the rest of us "sleepy heads" and move us forward in our shared mission. 

The challenge for most congregations is to help these new brothers and sisters in the family to feel like they belong and have something important to contribute.  Some experts believe that if  new persons don't make 6-8 new friends in their first 6 months, 80% of them will not continue as active members of the church.

It's funny, we in the church work so hard at the front door when new people come in and we work really hard at the back door when they leave, trying desperately to get them back in.  But what about the middle door?   This is perhaps the most important door of all!

The middle door represents the true life of the congregation.  The middle door represents all those opportunities for members to grow  in their faith, enjoy making new friends and worshipping and serving together in Jesus name.   The middle door is where the action is!   It's what makes new members true disciples and partners in the work of Christ's mission in the world. 

Let's be creative in coming up with new "middle door" opportunities for all people.  It could be as simple as inviting someone new to fellowship hour after worship or forming a team to work on a Habitat for Humanity build in the community.  It could truly be as simple as introducing someone new to another person in the church that has a similar set of interests or hobbies. 

Let's work harder at the middle door! Let's work harder at building stronger relationships!  Then maybe we won't have to form a committee to deal with the "back door" concerns of our church, giving us more time and energy to do the things that really make a difference for the Kingdom of God.
    

Be Opened!

There is a pastor getting a lot of attention these days.  Her name is Nadia Bolz Weber and she is the founding pastor at House for All Sinners and Saints in Denver, Colorado.  She is a great communicator and blogger and I wanted you to sample a small morsal of her writing.  Actually, I have copied a portion of one of her sermons delivered at the Festival of Homiletics recently.  Her focus was on the meaning of healing and the text was the story of the deaf man with a speech impediment who was brought to Jesus.  If you remember,  in Mark chapter 7, Jesus put his fingers in the poor soul's ears and said to him "Ephaphatha" that is, "be opened."

Here is a portion of Pastor Nadia's sermon:

It’s simply a wonderful statement for healing isn’t it? be opened.
It’s an image that’s stuck with me all week.  This might sound weird but all week I kept picturing Jesus sticking his fingers in each of your ears – in the ears of you pastors and saying “BE OPENED”.  And then in the same daydream, before I could stop it, I pictured Jesus’ Holy and unwashed fingers in my own ears. He touched me, sighed, looked to heaven and said Be Opened.  To which I said “oh. no thanks”.
Because, let’s be honest, it’s usually easier to not change and it’s painful to be open and healing can hurt. Like a frostbite patient … when the blood comes back into the extremities it’s incredibly painful.  It can actually be more comfortable to allow parts of ourselves to die than to feel them have new life.  Because sometimes healing feels more like death and resurrection than it feels like getting a warm cookie and glass of milk.
For me what’s hard is that there’s not much self-determination left when I stand in the stark presence of Christ – as he sees me for who I really am and then sighs, looks to heaven and says Nadia – be open.  But Jesus is like that, taking us away from whatever the THEY thinks about us, getting all up in our business and insisting on our wholeness. And by our wholeness I am talking about our wholeness.  Me, you, and every other person serving God’s people.
Be opened jesus is saying to you.
Be opened to the idea that your value isn’t in working 60 hours a week for people who might not even be paying attention.
Be opened to knowing that your own brokenness doesn’t need to be hidden behind someone else’s brokenness.
Be opened to the idea that you are stronger than you think.
Be opened to the idea that you aren’t as strong as you think.
Be opened to the fact that you may not ever get what you want and that you will actually be ok anyway.
Be opened to this whole Gospel of Jesus Christ thing actually, actually, actually being real. And actually being FOR YOU.
Because maybe that’s what healing really is.

Perhaps being opened is the deeper miracle.  Perhaps being opened is the true beginning of a cure!

Velvet Elvis

Are you looking for a good book to read?  Pick up Rob Bell's book "Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith."  I am almost done with it but already it is soaring to the top of my favorite book list for 2013.
Every now and then there is a book that really makes you think.  It's like, "if you haven't read this book, you are living your life without a compass."  Granted, I say that about most of the books I get really excited about.  But this one is worth the read. 

Here is a quote from page 89 in the chapter entitled "True:" 

Being a Christian is not cutting yourself off from real life; it is entering into it more fully.
It is not failing to go deeper; it is going deeper than ever.  It is a journey into the heart of how things really are. 

What is it that makes you feel alive?  What is it that makes your soul soar?

Many close their minds to Christianity because they fear it will make their world small and constricted. Or they feel Christians live in a world completely out of touch with reality and the world we all have to face Monday through Saturday.

Rob Bell does a great job of reclaiming the ancient Jewish truth that "the whole world is soaked in the presence of God.  For the writers of the Bible, this truth is everywhere.  It's available to everyone. 

I invite you to give Rob Bell's book a shot.  You don't have to agree with everything he writes.  Wrestle with it.  Think about it.  Allow your faith to grow and stretch a little!  Let God out of the box and truly be God!

Easter Gratitude

This year's Lenten, Holy Week and Easter celebrations were especially rich and meaningful.  There was a depth and  a sense of the Holy that often brought me to tears.  The various worship experiences seemed saturated by the Spirit's presence.  I don't usually get this "gushy," but I felt the whole journey from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday was especially moving this year.

I wish to thank so many who went beyond the call of duty helping to make this a truly impacting season for so many in our community.  Thank you musicians! Thank you Altar Guild workers!  Thank you First Lutheran Staff and worship leaders!  Thank kitchen workers and soup makers!   Thank you movers and cleaners!  Thank you to all who simply came to worship - your presence is the joy and motivation for our labor!

I am so very proud of our congregation and community.  I offer sincere thanks to God for the many blessings I have received from so many special people. 

"High Tech" is here to stay!

The other day I caught myself criticizing the "younger generation" for spending too much time with high tech gadgetry. I continually catch my students texting each other in my confirmation class.  Drives me nuts!

 Today I was ready to write a sermon on how we need to get back to real experiences and face to face, honest communication.  Then it hit me!  Within a span of 10 minutes, I had already read an online devotional from Luther Seminary, a daily Bible reading on my Bible application from my Iphone, all the while writing this blog that I post on two Facebook pages and our church web site.  Oh, did I tell you, I am also listening to John Denver serinade me on my Pandora account with head phones I use to block out the other noisy people in my house right now.  Well, I better sign off...my favorite Eagles tune just came on.  It's called "Take it Easy." Maybe that's what I need to do for the "younger generation!"

New Blogger Philosophy

It has been months since my last blog. My wife tells me that my comments are too long.  They are  more like an article than a true blog.  She is right. 
I now have adopted a new "blogging approach" that will hopefully keep me more focused and sharing more regularly. 
My goal is to blog each week with shorter, more timely comments and reflections on life and faith.
I apologize for dropping off the radar for so long.  I look forward to a new habit of weekly musings.