Dear Friends,

Today has already been a difficult day. The electricity went out for a while last night, and now I can’t get online no matter what I try. Add to that the church secretary being on a two-week vacation. It feels like I’m doing things twice and going twice as slow. So it’s probably a good thing for me to sit down, clear my head, take a deep breath, and thank God for all the blessings that come my way.

I must admit that being without email is like being without a telephone. That virtual reality of being connected to the world-wide-web has become such a part of life today that there is a recognizable loss without it.

In a book I’ve been reading, Real Followers, by Michael Slaughter, Sally Morgenthaler wrote the forward for the book. In it she writes about being a “virtual follower” of Jesus Christ instead of being a “real follower.” She quotes Michael Slaughter, who says, “Virtual followers…exist in effect, but not in fact. I want us to be the ‘real deal’ – real followers of Jesus. I want to lead us away from self-realization and toward God-realization.”1

Abraham Maslow, the sociologist who invented “Maslow’s Hierarchy,” calls the pinnacle of life “self-actualization.” Within self-actualization he makes room for religious life, saying that people like Ghandi are examples of self-actualization.

But Sally Morganthaler says it’s not about me, the individual. “None of us has a choice as to when we live. But we all have a choice as to how we live. Do you and I respond to our “now” by retreating into laissez-faire churchianity? Do we settle for virtual piety, a go-through-the-motions display, forgetting that Jesus’ bedrock requirement for discipleship is quite simply, “Love me with your life?”2

Indeed, every time someone wishes to unite with the church by becoming a member, I tell them that we’re not really interested in folks becoming members, but we are vitally interested in people becoming disciples of Jesus Christ!

In his book, Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living, Bishop Rueben Job’s final chapter, and third rule, is “Stay in Love with God.” John Wesley, Bishop Job points out, called this “attending unto the public and private ordinances of God.”

“Ordinance is a strange word to our ears. But to John Wesley, it was a word that described the practices that kept the relationship between God and humans vital, alive, and growing. He names public worship of God, the Lord’s Supper, private and family prayer, searching the Scriptures, Bible study, and fasting as essential to a faithful life.”

3 Here is the great difference between a virtual follower and a real follower: staying in love with God! I know lots of messed-up folks who haven’t got their lives together at all (I would include myself here…) who are also in love with God. I also know others who project an image of having a successful life both professionally and at home, who seem to be disdainful of the public worship of God (you don’t have to go to church to be a Christian). They may take the name of Christian, but is it the real deal? Of course, that’s between them and God.

“The fact that Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved him is very revealing. Peter denied Jesus three times, but in the presence of the Risen Christ “he declares his love three times. Peter was drawn toward a new beginning, a new future. The failures of the past are to be forgotten and the new possibilities are to be embraced.”4 Here is a new season full of possibilities for you and for our life together as disciples of Jesus Christ. Let’s decide, by God’s grace, to be the “real deal.”

Keep lookin’ up!
Pastor Bill

1 Real Followers: Beyond Virtual Christianity by Michael Slaughter, with Warren Bird © 1999 by Abingdon Press, p. 12
2 Ibid. p. 12
3 Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living by Reuben Job © 2007 by Abingdon Press, p. 53
4 Ibid. p. 59

Dear Friends,

Summertime is upon us!  Looking forward to outdoor activities, vacations, gardening, going to the baseball game… Lots of wonderful opportunities.

Many of you know that I really like to fish!   Fishing has been something that I’ve looked forward to every spring for thirty years.  But this year’s different.  I haven’t even bought my license yet!

This year family priorities have taken precedence over the lure of the boat and the lakes and the thrill of the catch.  I had to decide what my priorities were, and live into the really important stuff.

The Spirit has continually led me to return to the small book I mentioned in this column in January,
Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living, by Bishop Reuben Job.  You may recall the Three Rules: Do no harm. Do good. Stay in love with God.
This was John Wesley’s practical guide for living. 

Bishop Job writes in the Preface, “Here we have the foundation and instruction for the faithful and good life in every age.  It is both a simple and profound statement.  It is easy to comprehend and challenging to attempt.  And it remains a guide to the highest form of faithfulness and continues to hold the promise of a way of life that is both rewarding and fruitful in furthering God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.”    (page 9)

In the chapter “Stay in Love with God” Bishop Job says, “Ordinance is a strange word to our ears.  But to John Wesley, it was a word that described the practices that kept the relationship between God and humans vital, alive, and growing.”    (page 53)

The first practice on John Wesley’s list is public worship of God.  The consistent practice of this spiritual discipline keeps we who seek to follow Christ in touch with the presence and power of Christ so that we can fulfill our desire to live as a faithful disciple.

Yes, summertime is upon us. Lots of opportunities.
Please keep your priorities clear.  Stay in love with God!  See you in worship.

Keep lookin’ up!

Dear Friends,

Easter isn’t only one day; it’s a whole season!  True, Easter Sunday was April 12, and it was a truly a great celebration.  But the season is called the Great Fifty Days, as we recall the resurrection appearances of Jesus to his disciples and how it transformed them, and how his real spiritual presence continues to transform we disciples today.

On Easter Sunday we saw, with Mary, the resurrected Christ in the garden.  Mary’s grief is turned to astounding joy!  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Therefore, we can have joy in the midst of all of life’s circumstances.

The next Sunday we saw him, with the rest of the disciples, in the upper room.  Remember how they were afraid?  Jesus came into there midst and said, “Peace be with you!” Thomas wasn’t there, so Jesus returned to get him on board.  Are you on board?  Is the peace of Christ reigning in your life? 

The third Sunday we see Jesus talking to those disciples on the road to Emmaus.  They were so locked into their grief they didn’t know who their fellow traveler was, until he was revealed in the broken bread.  What is keeping you from seeing the Spirit of Christ in your faith journey?

On the fourth Sunday Jesus tells us who he is.  He is the good shepherd, who lays down his life for the sheep.  What difference does that make in your life?  Knowing that someone loves you so much that he gave his life for you – how does that work itself out in your life?

Jesus tells us that he is the vine and we are the branches on the fifth Sunday.  It’s not a good thing to cut your ties to that vine.

We are to love one another as Jesus loves us.  Jesus calls us friends – he loves us, and has appointed us to go and bear fruit that lasts.  This is the gospel message on the sixth Sunday of Easter.

The final Sunday, the seventh Sunday of Easter is Ascension Sunday.  It’s the last word, the final goodbye.  Have you ever noticed that often the last words that were said in the conversation have been the most important? 

All this leads up to Pentecost Sunday, the celebration of the Spirit in the church.  It’s also Confirmation Sunday, another great day in our life together. 

Keep lookin’ up!

Dear Friends,

Resurrection! What a powerful word! Resurrection!
How can it be?  Resurrection!  Could it be for me?

We know only too well how life has gone for us.  Hopes and dreams of what could have been or might have been, opportunities past and gone….

But suddenly, Resurrection! It breaks in on my foggy morning a blazing light, burning the mist away!

Dare I believe it?  What can it mean for me?

“There may be no greater inner agony that the loss of a relationship we desperately want. If a mild acquaintance turns on you, condemns and criticizes you, and says she never wants to see you again, it is painful.  If someone you’re dating does the same thing, it is qualitatively more painful.  But if your spouse does this to you, or if one of your parents does this to you when you’re still a child, the psychological damage is infinitely worse.

“We cannot fathom, however, what it would be like to lose not just spousal love or parental love that has lasted several years, but the infinite love of the Father that Jesus had from all eternity.  Jesus’ sufferings would have been eternally unbearable.”
(Timothy Keller: The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism, ©2008 by Penguin Group, N.Y. page 29.)

Embracing the incarnation and the Cross brings profound hope.  But it is only through the suffering of Jesus on the Cross that we can obtain the hope of glory through the resurrection of Christ.

Dostoevsky shined a bright light on our hope:
“I believe like a child that suffering will be healed and made up for, that all the humiliating absurdity of human contradictions will vanish like a pitiful mirage, like the despicable fabrication of the impotent and infinitely small Euclidean mind of man, that in the world’s finale, at the moment of eternal harmony, something so precious will come to pass that it will suffice for all hearts, for the comforting of all resentments, for the atonement of all the crimes of humanity, of all the blood that they’ve shed; that it will make it not only possible to forgive but to justify all that has happened.”
(Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, chapter 34)

Therefore, my friends, always keep lookin’ up!

Dear Friends,

Here I am at the beginning of Lent, wondering what God is going to do with me now!

Lent isn’t just about Fish Fries, you know.

Lent is a season of forty days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday, and ends on Holy Saturday.  Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word lencten, which means “spring.” 

The Sundays in Lent don’t count in the forty days, because Sundays are always “little Easters,” weekly celebrations of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Lent began as a period of fasting and preparation for baptism by converts and then because a time for penance by all Christians.

It’s supposed to be a time of deep reflection and transformation for we who follow Christ.

In fact, our Ash Wednesday Liturgy tells us this:
“I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to observe a holy Lent:
by self-examination and repentance;
by prayer, fasting, and self-denial;
and by reading and meditating on God’s Holy Word. 

To make a right beginning of repentance, and as a mark of our moral nature, let us now bow before our Creator and Redeemer.”

And so as I bow before God, I wonder what God is going to do with me now.  Surely God wants me to continue to serve here at McKnight Church.  God wants me to serve faithfully and well, always looking for the Spirit’s life in our midst.  The Spirit confirms this call, and bids me be faithful.

How about you?  What does God want you to do this year as a spiritual discipline to help you come closer to him?  What is it that always seems to get in the way between you and God?  Maybe you could or should give that up so that you can be in the presence of the Spirit more fully, and God might just do something very beautiful in you!

May this be the season you draw closer to Jesus, and Jesus draws closer to you.

Keep lookin’ up!

Dear Friends,

These days I have been living into Paul’s letters to the Corinthian Church.  Studying once again the specific issues and the pastoral advice Paul gave to the Church at Corinth has been personally refreshing, and keeps me centered.  The Sunday sermons will continue to be centered in Paul’s letters to the Corinthians throughout the remaining Sundays in February (Feb. 25 is Ash Wednesday).

Other practices keep me centered as well.  Daily prayer, especially the daily use of the Upper Room’s online version, continues to be life affirming, along with weekly visits to www.gratefulness.org.

On these cold and snowy days of mid-winter reading good books is a treasure!  I have just finished a trilogy by Brian McLaren on post-modern theology.  These three books were a delight, because they do theology in story form, with dialog among the characters.

Our pastor’s reading group, which meets here the first and third Wednesdays of each month, is beginning a new book.  Dirty Word, written by Jim Walker, the pastor at Hot Metal Bridge United Methodist Church, is about how the message of the cross is meant to be scandalous, but the church has domesticated it and diluted it so much that it doesn’t have much real life-changing power left.

I think it is ironic that the season of Epiphany began, in the second Sunday, with the Baptism of Jesus, and then the first Sunday of Lent returns to Jesus’ baptism, and goes just two verses further: “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

Notice how the “good news” is bracketed: the time is fulfilled – that’s now!  The kingdom of God has come near – it’s in our midst!  Repent – it’s time to grow in your faith, so that you will continue to be converted!

When was the last time you grew in your faith?
Do you think you are where God wants you to be?
These are questions for us as we approach Lent.

Keep lookin’ up!

Dear Friends,

A New Year comes upon us so quickly!  As we look back, there has been much to celebrate; there are unfinished projects; and there are also some things for which we seek God’s forgiveness, and then to let go.

The exciting news is that God is always up ahead, calling us forth into the future!  God tells us “I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.”

The future rushes in upon us as a mighty wind, blowing into all our nooks and crannies, places where we would rather keep things just as they are thank you!

God’s Spirit is also portrayed as a light, shining in the darkness.  Those nooks and crannies don’t have a chance!

You and I are completely known and loved by this gracious, holy God, who knows our past, and who keeps on calling each one of us to follow the Light, to set sail and let the Wind from God carry us where it will.

Yes … yes … thy will be done.  In some mysterious, intriguing way, God invites us to be companions with the Spirit as the Spirit moves us forward.

The apostle Paul wrote, “Forgetting what is past, I strain forward o the prize before us.”  It’s not as if there is no value in the past.  All the past, all the good and the bad, are gathered up into God’s memory we have a limited memory (some better than others…), which is some of what it means to be created in God’s image.  But God’s memory is surely true and just, honest and faithful.

I place my trust in God, who calls us into this New Year.   I hope that you will too.  May our life together be a journey filled with grace and love and new opportunities for sharing the Good News, and for loving one another even more deeply in 2009.

Keep lookin’ up, and keep lookin’ ahead too!

Dear Friends,

I’m wondering, do you carry a star in your heart?  What is the hope that is in your heart? 

Recently in politics, we have heard a lot about hope.  I was asked to give the November devotion that always begins our church council meeting.  I chose an email that I receive weekly from the Alban Institute in Washington, D.C.  The title is “Hope: A Matter of Choice,” by Howard E. Friend, Jr.

Mr. Friend begins, “There is a movement arising and gaining momentum that is without precedent in human history, a movement grounded in hope.”

He is not talking about the kind of hope that has been spoken of in the political arena, although it surely is a piece of the hope Mr. Friend writes of.

Rather, “It is a movement without visible spokespersons, charismatic leaders, or dominant figures, so it avoids becoming cultish and personality-centered. Those drawn into this movement do not shy from harsh realities, but refuse to surrender to discouragement and hopelessness.

He writes about what hope is not.  Hope is not a matter of logic.  Hope is not a feeling.  Hope is not a place to arrive.  Hope does not depend on outcomes.

Rather, hope is a choice – not an impulsive, unreflective choice, but intentional, resilient, resolute, flexible and determined.

In the first Sunday of Advent, the OT passage is from Isaiah: “Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord, and do not remember iniquity forever.  Now consider, we are all your people.”  The Psalmist prays, “Let your face shine, that we may be saved,” and Jesus says to us in Mark’s gospel, “Keep awake!”

So the theme of the Sunday messages will be encouraging us to carry a star in our hearts as we begin with “Sleepless Nights,” the first Sunday in Advent, through Christmas and into Epiphany, where we come with the Wise Men came to “Pay Him Homage.”

Let us journey together in hope – 
“Carry a Star In Your Heart!”

Keep lookin’ up!

Dear Friends,

We now have a very important new statement on the front of our worship folder:

“We will be a growing community in Christ, spreading the word of God by reaching out to all people in an accepting, supporting and loving way.”

This is our new vision statement, arrived at following months of meetings, Bible study, and much prayer.  We believe that this is God’s vision for McKnight Church! 

“We will be…”  Whatever we are now, perhaps even in spite of what we are now, it is our prayer that we will become what God wants us to be!  Guess what?  We’re not there yet!

“…a growing community in Christ…”  How do we measure growth?  When we were children, our parents measured our growth on the doorway into the kitchen, with pencil marks and dates.  Will we measure our growth by average attendance?  Or will we measure our growth by the fruit we produce as we grow in Christ?   Perhaps the best way to measure growth is through a combination of both an increase in average attendance and spiritual growth – observing the Spirit at work in people’s lives.

“…spreading the word of God…”  Jesus sent his disciples out following his resurrection.  We call it the Great Commission: “Go therefore 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 that I have commanded you.  And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20)

“…reaching out to all people…”  The apostle Paul wrote, “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him.  For, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’”  (Romans 10:12-13)

“…in an accepting, supporting, loving way.”  What other way can there be for us?  However, we also recognize that it can be a very difficult way.  It’s hard to consistently take the loving way, but that’s the way Jesus went, and that’s the way Jesus wants us to take.  Even from the cross, remember, he prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”  But the joy is in the journey!

So there it is, the vision that is cast before us.  Now we pray that the Spirit will draw us into it and that we will be faithful as we go forward in this new chapter in our life together.

Keep lookin’ up!

Dear Friends,

I have always thought of October as a spectacular month in many ways.

As the calendar turns, so do the leaves on the trees.  They become rich yellow, red, and some even turn purple.  On a sunny day they truly do take your breath away!

The first Sunday in October is always World Communion Sunday.  That’s spectacular too, in a different sort of way.  Christ-followers all around the world, in all sorts of different churches and denominations, celebrate our oneness in Christ.

There’s lots of opportunities to serve and help in so many different ways – many are listed in this issue of our Focus.

Our Stewardship Campaign always gears up in October, and you will see and hear lots more on that topic in worship this month.

The month concludes with our Charge Conference at St. Paul’s UM Church, as we celebrate the ministry of McKnight Church, along with St. Paul’s, Epworth, and the River’s Edge Circuit.

We will be able to network with our neighbors at this important event.

One of the tasks for ordination as an elder in the United Methodist Church is to write a Bible study on a book of the Bible.  I wrote mine on Exodus.
I have been preaching from the Book of Exodus, but the New Testament Letter to the Philippians is also in the Lectionary for September and October, and is another one of my favorites.

The apostle Paul writes, “Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that … I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27).

I am so glad, and I am deeply grateful that we do indeed stand together, working and serving side by side through this month of October, for Jesus Christ and for the Kingdom of God.

Dear Friends,

Don’t you sometimes feel as if you’re traveling down the road about eighty miles an hour?  So much to do, so much to keep up with, our senses continually on overload – it reminds me of an ominous message I saw on my computer at home yesterday: cpu usage 100%! (there’s issues there...)

What can quiet my spirit so that I can make this journey one of grace and peace, one that will conclude with “well done, good and faithful servant”?

The messages, media, and things that clamor for our attention are “legion”.  In the New Testament, “legion” is used for the hosts of demons or hosts of angels, though the word is Latin, and was used for the principal unit of the Roman army.  During the New Testament period it seems that a legion was well over 6,000 men, which would include the auxilia. 

This would certainly be a suitable description of how our consciousness is assaulted on a daily basis!

One of the ways I try to stay centered on my journey is found in the prayer chorus we have been singing: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you, allelu, alleluia!”

This little scripture song quiets the chaos within, brings a peaceful stillness, and lets those legions of “things” slip harmlessly away as I pray that God will show us want God wants McKnight Church to be and to do to be faithful in this day.

The blessings of life are indeed abundant; however, they must always be held in their proper perspective, or they will surely become “legion”, swirling us away from what is best – the grace of God – into the stuff that tries constantly to crowd in upon us.

My friends, always keep the best first!  Matthew wrote it for you and for me, because he knew, and God especially knows, how easily we can be lead astray!

Dear Friends,

We continue to pray together and work together toward the time when God will surely reveal to us our new purpose/mission/vision statement.  How eager we are to progress toward what God is calling to us in this day!

One of the participants in the small group that is praying and working toward this new chapter in McKnight Church’s life suggested a book: Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, by Robert Schnase, a United Methodist Bishop.  In the introduction Bishop Schnase writes, “People want the best for their churches.  They long to fulfill the church’s mission of making disciples, and they intuitively know that the congregation is the primary channel through which God forms people into the Body of Christ.  Yet many laypersons and clergy have difficulty breaking down this universal mission into achievable tasks and practical strategies that strengthen churches.”

That’s precisely what we want to do with this purpose/mission/vision study.  You will find the Bible study in one of the pages of this edition of the Focus.  If you are not in a small group that has been lead through the study, you are encouraged to participate individually and give the small group your feedback.

I agree with Bishop Schnase: “People of all ages hunger for congregations that embrace these qualities:” radical hospitality; passionate worship; intentional faith development; risk-taking mission and service; and extravagant generosity.

In the midst of a world whose days seem like a whirlwind, in the midst of a people who continue to drive ourselves ever harder and harder to accomplish more and more, may the voice of God call us back to God’s presence – a place where there is rest for the weary and peace for the soul – the place where God says “Follow me.”

Dear Friends,

What gives new energy and life to a faith community?  What can push us forward in eager hope and joy?
What brings vitality and growth in Christ? 
What causes a church to turn and begin to develop in a new direction?

The answer to the above questions can only be the powerful Spirit of God at work in our life together!

Last month on a Saturday morning, Faith Geer, a staff person at St. Paul’s UMC in Allison Park, led a small group of us in developing a process whereby we may discover and articulate a new purpose, mission, and vision for McKnight Church.

Our first step in the process is to engage one another in guided study and reflection on a passage of scripture.   This will be accomplished by a member of the small group who will lead times of study and reflection with the various groups in the church. 

Information and feedback will be gathered and brought back to the small group at the end of May.

The group will review, reflect, and pray together about our task.  We intend to have a report by the end of summer to the Church Council and congregation.  Then we will try out our new purpose, mission, and vision statements and see if they fit!

Please keep this group of people in your prayers as we go about our tasks.  The participants include
Diana Barnett, Bob Brown, Laura Miller, Tom Wiley, Mike and Linda Woolley, and myself.

Also, when you are approached with the guided study and reflection, we hope that you will pray that God will open your ears, your heart, and your mind, so that we can truly discern God’s will for McKnight Church.

Keep lookin’ up!

Dear Friends,

What does the Cross mean to you?  What does the Resurrection mean to you?  The gospels tell the stories, from some different points of view… but the bottom line is, what difference does it make in our lives?

The Apostle Paul writes to the Christ followers at Corinth that the message about the Cross is the power of God to we who are being saved.  He says that he decided not to proclaim lofty words or wisdom, but only Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

For me, it is first and foremost, the hope that I find that transcends all my circumstances in life.  No matter how tough things may get, I can affirm Charles Wesley’s hymn, “O Love divine, what hast thou done!  The immortal God hath died for me!”

Jesus Christ is God’s gift to us!  The love of God is poured out to us in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  This gives me a sure and certain hope that I can cope with whatever comes my way and live redemptively because of God’s love in Christ.

Secondly, it gives me the strength to continue on in my journey of faith.   To be a Christ follower means that we’re on a journey with Jesus, and during the Lenten Season it’s a journey that finds its way to Jerusalem and the Cross the tomb, and to the Great Day of Resurrection.

Luke writes, “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.”  It echoes the passage from Isaiah 50:7 – “The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame; he who vindicates me is near.”

Grace to you, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

That’s the way the apostle Paul begins what we know as his letter to the Corinthians.   This apostolic greeting has always resonated with me.   What we are supposed to be about is grace – blessing people with God’s grace.  

The grace of God is moving along quickly in this season!   It’s amazing that Ash Wednesday is already upon us – February 6!

Ash Wednesday leads us into the season of Lent.   “At the heart of the Christian faith is our participation in the life, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ as Lord.   We proclaim that “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).   Jesus Christ was born into human history in the fullness of time for our salvation.   In time he lived and taught, suffered and was put to death; but God “Raised him from the dead and made him sit at this right hand…and he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all” Ephesians 1:20, 22-23).

“Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are delivered from sin and death, and by the Holy Spirit we are born into eternal life with God.   This we confess; this we must renew continually in our worship and in our lives.”
(Handbook of the Christian Year, Hickman, Saliers, Stookey, & White, Ed. ©1996 by Abingdon Press, Nashville; page 105

“I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to observe a holy Lent:
     by self-examination and repentance;
     by prayer, fasting, and self-denial;
     and by reading and meditating on God’s Holy Word.”

The United Methodist Book of Worship, The United Methodist Publishing House, Nashvill; page 322 – Ash Wednesday liturgy.

I pray that we will grow in the grace of God together during this season of reflection, prayer and fasting, so that together we will grow up into Christ Jesus, who is the head of the body, the church.

O God, may it be so!
Keep lookin’ up!

Dear Friends,
Happy New Year! At the turn of every new calendar year I look back at the finish of the previous year and have a sort of life review. How did I do last year? What were the important things that happened? How did I journey through those days? Did I make any progress in my discipleship? How was it with my family? How was it with my soul? What would (or could) I do differently this year?

Bishop Bickerton sent his pastors a Christmas gift. It is a small book entitled Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living. Written by Reuben Job, a retired United Methodist Bishop, it’s only 77 pages, but how profound, how true they are!

In the preface, Bishop Job writes, “The path we are on has become so well worn that only a radical change can jar us out of the deep ruts of our dilemma. And this radical change is possible because we see the devastating cost of going on as we are. Continuing on as we are is no longer a viable option. The risks are too high and the results too costly. But where are we to turn, what are we to do?”

Bishop Job continues, “I believe we have reached a place where, as a people of faith, we are ready to give serious consideration to another way, a more faithful way of living as disciples of Jesus Christ. This way must be so clear that it can be taught and practiced by everyone….And with God’s help and our willingness, it can change our world.

“This way of living was given to John Wesley in a time much like our own. He took this blueprint, fleshed it out, taught it, and practiced it. And now it has been passed on to us. Now it is up to us to see if we will take it, teach it, and practice it until it becomes our natural way of living....Some already practice this way of living, and I believe many more are ready to try it.”

Here are the three rules: 1. Do No Harm 2. Do Good 3. Stay in Love with God Sounds like something worth trying, doesn’t it? Could these be New Year’s Resolutions?

Keep lookin up!

Dear Friends,

As I write this, I’ve already had a sumptuous turkey dinner with our church family last Sunday!  What a wonderful time of celebration it was.

It was the culmination of a whole day of blessings. We saw Adam Hill with his family at worship.  Adam is serving in Iraq, and is home for two weeks leave.  If you weren’t here, you really missed the glow on Allison’s face!

We gave out Children’s Bibles to Faith Hayward, Jacob Matthews, and Tyler Baur, and we also dedicated the new Pew Bibles.  It was truly a Thanksgiving Sunday.

Now we turn our hearts toward Advent and Christmas.  Let’s not rush so fast to the manger…

The theology of Advent is powerful because we cannot fully understand Jesus’ birth without first understanding that he is Savior and Lord.  This means that any authentic celebration of Advent and Christmas must be experienced as part of the larger story of his life, suffering, death, and resurrection.

Our worship patterns will serve to heighten this inner connection between his birth and his redemptive passion, death, and resurrection.  The lectionary readings (the scripture we read in worship) express not merely an expectation of Christ’s nativity, which has already happened, but the coming of Christ to rule, to judge, and to save.  The hope we have and the expectation we share are all of the kingdom of God!

Dear Friends,

November brings us to the wonderful season of Thanksgiving.  Boy, am I ever thankful for Thanksgiving!  It’s an opportunity to name our blessings, and share our blessings with those we love – those who are our blessings!

 One of my favorite hymns of gratefulness is

Now Thank We All Our God:

 “Now Thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices, who wondrous things has done, in whom this world rejoices; who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way with countless gifts of love, and still is our today.”

 The words of devotion are wonderfully inspiring.  However, Martin Rinkert, a Lutheran pastor who lived during the height of the Thirty Years War in 17th century Germany, was the only pastor left alive in his walled city, which had become overcrowded with refuges. Several deadly waves of pestilence and famine swept through the city, as well as various armies, leaving destruction in their wake. During the plague of 1637 it is said that Martin Rinkert conducted up to 50 funeral services every day. It would have been easy to lose heart in the midst of some of the most severe human hardships ever endured. But this faithful pastor refused, because the Lord was his salvation, his life, and his comfort.  Indeed, in the midst of great suffering, Rinkert could write, “O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us, with ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us; and keep us still in grace and guide us when perplexed, and free us from all ills, in this world and the next.”

 Now that’s the gift of faith!  If there were no benefits, no gifts, no blessings that we could so easily point to and thank God for, would you still have faith?  Would you still trust God?

As always,

Keep lookin’ up!
Pastor Bill

Dear Friends,

The other day I made a sympathy card on my computer at home (I have the Hallmark software) and sent it to a dear old friend whose mother passed away.  On the front of the card are a few leaves that have fallen.

That got me to thinking, not only about the change of the season, but the losses we face in life.

My mother passed away November 16, 1976.  She was only 59 years old, and I was 26.  Those were very difficult days for my family, and I’m sure that my dear friend is in the midst of those days now.

Everyone experiences loss in life.  Indeed, it is like a leaf stem unattaching itself from the branch, fluttering to the ground.  The one to whom we have always been attached is suddenly gone.  We see them no more.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian Church about this, pointing to the resurrection of Christ to give us confidence: “What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.  And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.  But God gives it a body as he has chosen.  It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory.  It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.  It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body.  When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this moral body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’  ‘Where, O death, is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting?’  but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

In the midst of those losses, there is great beauty, if we can but have the eyes to see and the spirit to receive and be grateful for it all.

As always,

Keep lookin’ up!
Pastor Bill

Dear Friends,

Easter is not just one day! Easter is the Eighth Day, the day of new creation following the Passion Week, which ushers in the end time, praising the never-ending light of eternal life!

Worship emphasizes the Easter appearances of Jesus with the apostles and others. We rejoice as the disciples witness to the experience of the glorified Lord. The church calls it the Great Fifty Days, the time between Easter Day and Pentecost.

The Easter Alleluias resound and reverberate throughout the whole season, which unfolds the reality of life in the Spirit. It comes to full fruit when the whole church celebrates the feast of the new age of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. On that day we proclaim that the good news of the gospel is shared in every tongue, in every place, unto all the world.

From at least the fourth century, the church has regarded the reading of the book of Acts as the continuing preaching of the apostles and the outpouring of the Easter gospel. Saint John Chrysostom called this the “demonstration of the resurrection.”

So for the next few Sundays during worship we will be focusing on some of the powerfully dramatic stories from Acts, right up through Pentecost Sunday, looking at what the church, in the power of the Spirit of the Risen Christ, did with that precious gift of resurrection power.

Of course, we would be remiss to not ask what the church today, in this generation, can and will do with that same resurrection power? Has it changed, or somehow diminished? No, but certainly the world we live in has changed. Nevertheless, the question remains, what will we do with the power of Jesus’ resurrection today?

Pastor Bill

Pastor Bill’s personal e-mail address is bill.lavelle@gmail.com

Dear Friends,

The Great Day of Resurrection is fast approaching! I’m thrilled to be able to celebrate Easter with you this year. One of my favorite hymns so powerfully affirms the faith I have in Jesus Christ:

“I serve a risen Savior, he’s in the world today;
I know that he is living, whatever foes may say.
I see his hand of mercy, I hear his voice of cheer,
and just the time I need him, he’s always near.

“He lives, he lives, Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way.
He lives, he lives, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know he lives?
He lives within my heart.”

That’s where the rubber meets the road! That’s the bottom line for Christians! Does Jesus the Risen Christ live within your heart? Can you affirm that God is doing a life-affirming work in you?

The Apostle Paul affirms this same faith of Jesus Christ in his letter to the Christians at Rome:
“In all these things we are more htan conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37-39).

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Nothing will ever be able to separate us from that great love and radical trust that Jesus demonstrated as he faced death on the cross. That same love and trust is offered to all, without distinction.

May you know the abundant life of Jesus Christ in your life. May the resurrection become a place of transformation in your life, so that the Risen Christ lives in your heart now and always. Amen!

Pastor Bill

Pastor Bill’s personal e-mail address is bill.lavelle@gmail.com

Dear Friends,

Pastor Bill’s personal e-mail address is bill.lavelle@gmail.com

Dear Friends in Christ,

As I write this column today I am making preparations for prostate surgery, which will happen February 5, assuming all things come together as planned.

Of course, all this came as a surprise to me. Prostate cancer is one of those “silent” diseases, striking 3 out of 10 men over the age of 50, making it one of those “common life crises” that most everyone goes through along the journey.

As the surgery date approaches, my family and I are buoyed by your prayers and expressions of love and support. The spirit of care and concern is plainly from the Lord. This is how God works in us and through us in our life together.

I am reminded of the apostle Paul, who wrote to the Philippian Church, “I’m going to keep that celebration going because I know how it’s going to turn out. Through your faithful prayers and the generous response of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, everything he wants to do in and through me will be done. I can hardly wait to continue on my course. I don’t expect to be embarrassed in the least” (Philippians 1:18-19, The Message).

Paul was in prison for the sake of the gospel. None of us have had to make that sort of sacrifice. However, all of us can say that whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.

I am especially grateful for my good friend Rev. Bill Edsall, a retired elder from the New Jersey Conference, who is with us. Rev. Edsall will lead our worship during February, and our neighboring United Methodist pastors will help out too as needed.

I hope and expect to return to full-time work by the first of March, perhaps even sooner if possible. In the meantime, may God’s richest blessings be with you all.

Pastor Bill LaVelle

Pastor Bill’s personal e-mail address is bill.lavelle@gmail.com

Dear Friends in Christ,

It was so exciting to spend our first Christmas here at McKnight Church! What a great time we had all the way through Advent, beginning with the Hanging of the Greens and culminating in Christmas Eve worship. It was truly a blessing for your parsonage family, and we hope it was for you as well.

We are grateful for the many cards, gifts, and expressions of appreciation and support. We pray that we will continue to earnestly seek together the movement of the Spirit and be faithful to the opportunities that are brought our way, for God knows that this is a congregation that has a witness far beyond its doors.

Now it's time to move into a new year. What might be in store for us? Only God knows. However, we can be sure and confident that as long as we pray and seek his face and his will for us together, God's blessing and God's Spirit will always abide with us and work in and through us.

The most well known portion of John Wesley's Covenant Prayer is an appropriate expression:

Lord, make me what you will.
   I put myself fully into your hands:
   put me to doing, put me to suffering,
   let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you,
   let me be full, let me be empty,
   let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and with a willing heart
   give it ail to your pleasure and disposal.

What a wonderful prayer! Can you pray this prayer and give yourself to God afresh in this new season? I pray that you will.

May the peace of Christ rule in our hearts and lives together as we enter this new year.

Pastor Bill

Pastor Bill’s personal e-mail address is bill.lavelle@gmail.com

What a joy it is to pray that God’s blessing of peace will come into someone’s life! The general condition of our world is indicative of the lack of peace in people’s lives, is it not?

How can we make peace for ourselves and our world? Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God” (Matt. 5:9).

We understand a blessing to be a prophetic announcement – the spoken or written truth is not independently true, but is dependent on the speaker or writer.

“Matthew’s Beatitudes are not practical advice for successful living, but prophetic declarations made on the passionate conviction of the coming-and-already-present kingdom of God.”* That is, the blessing brings into reality that which it declares.

The Roman emperors called themselves “peacemakers” and “Sons of God.” Imagine that! What kind of peace are we thinking of and yearning for? Our culture still has an affinity with that Wild West image of Clint Eastwood’s “peacemaker” type of justice. In what, or in whom, will we place our trust and hope for peace?

Most of you know by now that I have a bumper sticker on the back of my van that reads, “God is not a Republican…or a Democrat.” Personally, I’m not placing my trust or hope for peace in a political process. Nevertheless, I am eager to vote and participate in electing persons for the community in which I live. I pray that they will be good stewards of the gift they have been given from God through his people.

Rather, let’s look forward together to hear the angels say, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!

In the meanwhile, keep lookin’ up!
Pastor Bill

*The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume VIII, © 1995 by Abingdon Press, page 177

Pastor Bill’s personal e-mail address is bill.lavelle@gmail.com

As we participate in the Trinity Bible Study, we have noticed that when Jesus began his ministry he moved out of the family home to Capernaum. He relocated.

Capernaum is located along the Sea of Galilee. That's where he called several of his disciples - Peter, Andrew, James and John. That's also where they went when they finished their preaching and healing tours, according to Mark: "And when they came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house..."

Everyone has a place they call home. One writer tells us that it's the place where you go where they won't throw you out.
Your parsonage family, having relocated, has made this our home. We are grateful for all of God's wonderful gifts, especially of God's people! One of my favorite websites is www.gratefulness.org.

Gratefulness can be a lifestyle. The apostle Paul commended this lifestyle to the Philippian Church, and to us as well, when he wrote: "Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:4-5).

Rejoice, with gratefulness in your hearts, and keep lookin' up!
Pastor Bill LaVelle