We welcome the New Year 2014 as we count the BLESSINGS of 2013. We have grown spiritually and in youth numbers as we enter the New Year and it is awesome to know how much God loves and cares for us – each and every day. His BLESSINGS are so apparent and our appreciation of how he blesses us just continues to grow. Thank you God, thank you parents, thank you youth and thank you Mt. Haley Church of God. May we proclaim His Gospel!
Sing Lullaby
But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. (Luke 2:19 NIV)
What if Mary, the mother of Jesus, had known the entire course of her son’s life at the moment of his birth? What if she knew that his life and ministry would spark a religious conflict in Jerusalem resulting in his execution? What if she could grasp the prophetess Anna’s words, “and a sword will pierce your own soul too” (Luke 2:35b NIV)? What if she could see the glory of Jesus’s resurrection, the promise of eternal life, even as he lay in her arms as a newborn?
Successful Worship
Today, I read an article posted on the Church of God Ministries news website. This article is entitled “Turning Hearts and Minds Toward God in Worship,” and it explains the approach to worship taken by one large Church of God congregation in Scottsdale, Arizona. There are some incredible stories coming from that congregation: many people being baptized as believers, many people engaging in mission projects in that community, worship attendance doubling over the past four years.
But what I find fascinating in this article is how they describe their approach to worship.
Church of God Convention Moves to OKC
This past June, I wrote about the new movement in our identity as Church of God people: our new General Director, Rev. Jim Lyon, is using the phrase “Jesus is the subject” as the primary rallying cry for the Church of God in this present time. In that article, I called this phrase a “wonderful starting point.” I still believe that to be true: that “Jesus is the subject” is a wonderful theological truth, and that it is just the beginning of the reflections we can make on our identity as the Church of God.
In the past few weeks, many important changes have been unveiled by Church of God Ministries, our movement’s central offices in Anderson, Indiana. I would like to discuss one of them in particular with you, the Mt. Haley Church of God family, in this article.
Incarnation
One of the most profound truths of the Christian faith is easily overlooked at this time of year. We are in the season of Christmas, of course. (More technically, we are in the season of Advent; in the church year, the season of Christmas doesn’t begin until Christmas Day. But guess how long Christmas lasts? From December 25 until Epiphany, January 6, which is a total of – you guessed it – twelve days!) During this season, our thoughts turn toward the birth of a baby in Bethlehem, a small town outside Jerusalem, over two thousand years ago. We remember that birth because of what that child would do later in his life. He grew up to transform lives through his teachings, miracles, compassion, death, and resurrection. Jesus Christ changed the world as an adult, so we joyfully remember his birth. Otherwise, there would have been no reason for the gospel writers to make note of a child born to an unwed mother in a town far from her home. Right? Continue reading
A Three-Hour Nap
My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. (Psalm 62:1-2 NIV)
Everyone needs rest. Whether it takes the form of a weekend getaway, a vacation to a distant location, or simply a weeknight at home with no responsibilities, everyone needs rest. Often, we work so hard that we overlook one of the most important responsibilities we have: to take care of ourselves.
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. (Genesis 2:2-3 NIV)
The creation story is a wonderful narrative describing God’s relationship to his creation. Many people will emphasize different parts of the story (or, really, the stories – there are two different creation stories in Genesis 1 and 2!). You may remember that God rested on the seventh day, thus setting the example for us that we should rest from our work as well. As Jesus said in Mark 2:23-28, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (NIV). In other words, we do not rest in order to please God by our obedience, but we rest in order to take care of ourselves – because God desires to take care of us in this way.
Earlier this week, I did something rather unusual for me: I took a three-hour nap. In the afternoon, after a full morning, I came home and slept. And I slept hard. You have to understand, I am not a napper; normally, even on Sunday afternoons, I am awake all through the daytime. The last period of my life when I regularly took naps was kindergarten! So when I laid down to take a nap and woke up three hours later – with a pretty foggy post-nap brain – I realized I had needed that rest.
We spend a lot of time and energy in the church on serving other people, donating goods and resources, running errands for people, loving, caring, giving, befriending, helping, … on and on and on. And this is all worthwhile, because our call as the church is to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything [Jesus] has commanded [us]” (Matthew 28:19-20 NIV). Christian faith is not idle faith. We are interested in seeing the kingdom of God grow in our midst, and sharing Christ with others – in a multitude of ways – is crucial to that work.
Yet we must take care of our bodies and souls, as well. It is just as important for us to allow the kingdom of God to grow within ourselves as it is to introduce other people to Jesus. For through our personal transformation, others will see the power of God to change lives – namely, our own. When we are healthy, then we can communicate the message of Christ clearly and appropriately. My three-hour nap enabled me to function well through the rest of the week – not just physically but spiritually as well.
Friends, remember to care for your own selves in the coming weeks and months. Find regular opportunities for Sabbath rest. And then, once you have rested up, resume the outward work of the kingdom of God.
Pastor David
Pastor’s Appreciation
This past month was “Pastor Appreciation Month,” and I have to admit: I feel very appreciated! Thank you to all of you who sent cards, gave gifts, wrote notes, and participated in last Sunday’s potluck dinner after church. None of those expressions of appreciation are required; they are all “bonus blessings” from my perspective. I feel confident in speaking on behalf of Pastor Jerry when I say that we are both deeply grateful and appreciative of you, the good people of Mt. Haley Church of God.
As this month draws to a close, I think it is proper to turn things around. Another way to read “Pastor Appreciation Month” is to ask the question, “For what is your pastor appreciative?” So here is a short summary of a few reasons that I am grateful to be your pastor:
- Your hard work and volunteer attitude. Tara and I have frequently commented on how blessed we are to serve a church that serves! Any time a need arises in our congregation or community, we can count on several people – depending on the required skill sets – showing up to lend a hand. Packing groceries, hauling wood, raking leaves, cooking meals, providing transportation … you serve in wonderful ways.
- Your willingness to learn about the Bible. I am grateful that every single approach to teaching the Bible I have tried has worked – whether Sunday morning sermons, Sunday evening Bible studies, devotional booklets, or anything else! I think back to the study on Revelation we finished about a year ago, and I see a congregation full of people who are really interested in tackling the hard stuff. That’s an enormous help to your pastor!
- Your gentleness and flexibility. Do you realize that Tara and I have served here three years already? And do you remember that this is the first and only church I have ever pastored? I continue to be amazed at how smoothly you grafted me into the church family and how easy you have made it for me to work with you over the past few years. You truly are a blessing to me!
Take a few minutes to read the first eleven verses of Philippians. Those are the words Paul wrote to his beloved congregation in Philippi. I think they speak very well of my appreciation for Mt. Haley Church of God, as well!
–Pastor David
November Youth Update
Life is going to get more interesting this month. My wife sprained her ankle (or at least hurt it) this past week and has been unable to put weight on it or walk very well. Hopefully, in a few days she will be better. We have a full agenda with the Church of God General Assembly, the MSLI, Weekly youth meetings, church, a bowling party and of course, Thanksgiving. We are always active and blessed with an abundant life from God. However, it will be different in a couple of aspects – first the good news. We will be having another grandson due on November 14 with the only obstacle being that it will be in Atlanta, Georgia. Somehow we will overcome the distance.
The unexpected news is “I need to have extensive knee replacement surgery” on Thursday, November 21st. SO, this will cause some adjustments in youth scheduling, it will put me down for a few weeks followed by some weekly rehab and hopefully, have me ready to travel to Guatemala in February. Fortunately, I am blessed with a great wife and super youth counselors, Jo & Lawrence Adams, who will carry on the torch through the next couple of months. We don’t know all the adjustments, however we will keep you informed. I am asking for your prayers!! God will be GOOD all the time!
Our Sunday mornings continue to buzz along with our study of “The Parables of Jesus” and the “Circle Maker” will be coming to close just before my surgery. Our Sunday morning and nights plus Tuesdays have been experiencing great attendance with lots of energy, prayer and the Word of God. Both youth meetings have had to work through some issues this Fall and that can be shared by your son or daughter. But, youth is going well and we are growing both spiritually and in numbers. Praise God!
Our fundraisers continue. Several youth earned money working at the fairgrounds a couple Saturdays ago, we did very well at the Bake Potato Supper, Olive’s yard will begin raking on November 4th, the Gift Card sale ends on November 3rd and we will have a poinsettia & wreath sale beginning next week. Preparing for registrations for Winter Retreat and the International Youth Convention is keeping us very focused.
There will be a Bowling Party @ Northern Lanes on Saturday, November 16th and we will be packing Community Thanksgiving Baskets at Aldersgate Methodist Church on the afternoon of Sunday, November 24th. Our Christmas Party will be December 15th. There will be NO YOUTH on Sunday, November 24th because of the Community Thanksgiving Service at the Meridian Church of God and November 30 because of the Mt. Haley Hanging of the Greens Celebration Service.
We have two Big Events to register for in December. Winter Retreat is the weekend of January 10-12, 2014. A $50 registration is due to the state office by Wednesday, December 4th. To accommodate that due date, we will need your $50 and confirmation of attendance by Sunday, November 30. Registration can take place after that date, but it costs more and the registrations are limited this year. Tommee Profitt will be the band along with Michael Thigpen as the speaker. Letters are being sent to parents this week.
The second registrations is the Early Bird Bonus Registration for the International Youth Convention in Nashville, TN on July 5–8, 2014. The cost is $115 and must be postmarked by December 12, 2013. Registration will continue, however, the cost increases at different due dates. The Speakers, Worship Leaders and Christian Bands haven’t been announced but they will be “Big Name” venues. There will be many discussions about raising the funds for food, lodging and transportation. Parents should have received a letter about this already.
Parents and church, your prayers, support and encouragement are greatly appreciated and we look forward every week to sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with our students through interaction, study, fellowship and relationship. Thank you for sharing your son or daughter.
Love God, Love People
Blessings,
Pastor Jerry
Reengaging as the Church of God
Last week, something fascinating unfolded on Facebook. Church of God Ministries, our national office in Anderson, maintains a Facebook page to help Church of God people connect with each other. (It’s very similar to Mt. Haley’s Facebook page, but it reaches a much broader audience than ours does.) Occasionally, the people who maintain that page will ask a question, post a thought, or share a picture – and usually not a whole lot of discussion takes place.
That was not the case this week, when Church of God Ministries asked these questions: “How can the Church of God re-engage congregations, from California to the New England states? And, what would you say the Church of God needs to do to re-engage the younger generation?”
What followed was an intense, thoughtful discussion involving many different individuals. This is rather unusual for Facebook, especially for an online discussion about faith-related issues! Many of the responses were short and terse calls to “preach the Word of God alone” and “get back to the basics” – a kind of “scripture only” stance that many Christian groups have called for over the years. (In Latin, one would say “sola scriptura“; that phrase was a guiding principle of the Protestant Reformation led by Martin Luther in the 1500s.) While I agree with the principle, there’s nothing uniquely Church of God about that stance.
Many people discussed our annual national campmeeting, which has always been held in Anderson, Indiana. Some people are calling for a moving, rotating convention so that people in all locations have equal opportunity to attend a campmeeting that is close to them. Others are concerned about programming, service opportunities, and speakers at these conventions. Several mentioned how the 20-to-30-something age bracket is missing at the national campmeeting and, not coincidentally, in our local congregations. Again, many church groups (we can use the word “denominations”) are struggling with issues like these.
But one theme kept popping up over and over. While all of the above issues are important, the identity of the Church of God resurfaced again and again as a question that needs to be answered. If we are just another church group that holds annual conventions and connects local churches together and is losing touch with people in their third decade of life, then woe to us. If we do not have compelling reasons to exist as “The Church of God (Anderson, Indiana),” then perhaps we should join arms with other like-minded church groups like the Nazarenes, Free Methodists, and Wesleyans. I would argue that history, tradition, hymnody, emotional attachment, and generational connectedness are not good reasons to exist as a denomination. (These were many of the ideas mentioned in the Facebook discussion!)
Christian faith is about one thing – salvation through Jesus Christ – and the far-reaching consequences of that salvation. We live in a time of great division and distinction among church groups, and truthfully I don’t see that changing any time soon. Denominations are here to stay. While some might question the legitimacy and validity of other church groups (and this is part of our history in the Church of God), I believe each group has something important to contribute to the conversation about salvation through Jesus Christ.
This is what we as the Church of God must figure out in the years that lie ahead. What is it about our history, theology, hymnody, and traditions that leads us to contribute something unique to the global conversation about Jesus Christ? Why do we exist as a people?
Only once we have answered these questions will we be able to address the issue of reengaging widely diverging congregations and generations.
Pastor David
P.S. You can read the full Facebook conversation here:
Pursuing Peace
Jesus said some challenging words in the Sermon on the Mount, found in our New Testament in Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7. Today I’d like you to take a few moments to find and read Matthew 5:38-48. Do that, if you would, before reading the rest of this article.
There is something counter-cultural about the way Jesus calls us to live. In the first-century world, the relatively young Roman Empire controlled Palestine, the area in which Jesus lived and ministered. Jews such as Jesus could have been forced to assist Roman soldiers in carrying supplies and materials for certain distances. Walking “the second mile” thus became something counter-cultural, almost revolutionary: it broke down the difference in power between a Jew and a Roman.
In the first-century world, if someone slapped you (with his right hand) on your right cheek, this was a power-building maneuver: the aggressor states his dominance over you with this action. Turning the other cheek (to receive another slap), as Jesus instructs, leaves the aggressor with an uncomfortable choice. Either he must use his left hand, which was considered unclean, or he must use his right hand again – but this time using the front of his hand, not the back of his hand, to strike your left cheek. Slapping with the front of the hand was understood as a challenge between equals; you might expect the aggressor to say “I challenge you to a duel!” at this point. Again, this is counter-cultural, almost revolutionary: Jesus tears down expectations of power-based relationships between people.
One year ago, a teenage girl stood up for the right of girls like her to receive an education. As a result, in October 2012 she was targeted by aggressors who wished to silence her message by eliminating the messenger. She and several others were shot, many of them killed, but she survived the gunshot wounds to her face. This girl spent the next year recovering and continuing to speak out against the injustices in her world. She became so well-known and beloved for her positions supporting justice and peace that she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize this year. Her name? Malala Yousafzai, a sixteen-year-old Pakistani girl.
In a recent television interview, Malala said something truly astounding. When asked what went through her mind when she realized the Taliban (her eventual attackers) wanted her dead, she said:
I started thinking about that, and I used to think that the Talib would come, and he would just kill me. But then I said, ‘If he comes, what would you do Malala?’ then I would reply to myself, ‘Malala, just take a shoe and hit him.’ But then I said, ‘If you hit a Talib with your shoe, then there would be no difference between you and the Talib. You must not treat others with cruelty and that much harshly, you must fight others but through peace and through dialogue and through education.’ Then I said I will tell him how important education is and that ‘I even want education for your children as well.’ And I will tell him, ‘That’s what I want to tell you, now do what you want.’
Malala Yousafzai is a practicing Muslim. Jesus is seen as a prophet within Islam, and in many ways I see Malala’s words above echoing Jesus’s thoughts from the Sermon on the Mount. What she said is counter-cultural, both in Pakistan and in the western world. Her stance toward her aggressors breaks down power dynamics and asserts the ultimate value that each person in the world has in God’s eyes.
What if we were to pursue peace as strongly in our own lives? What if we loved and prayed for our enemies? What if this is what it means to be “perfect” or “complete” or “mature,” as Jesus commanded us to be, in imitation of our heavenly Father?
Pastor David