Not Ashamed - October 2022 Newsletter

 

What a wonderful September it was, and here we are in October! How fast was that - those festivals really make the month fly by. 

October is kind of this weird space in the church calendar, we could focus on stewardship, but typically that’s saved for November, it’s not Advent yet, and our time within summer is slowly fading away. I’d like to fill this space then with a series I’m calling “Not Ashamed”, based on the Second Letter to Timothy. The New Testament letter, written by Paul, is a short one yet very powerful. Let’s walk further into our faith and our discipleship by proclaiming that we are not afraid of the power the Gospel has over us, and how that makes us unique. 

This act of boldness and enthusiasm can be mistaken for arrogance and false teaching, though, so we may need to be careful of how we share the power of the Gospel. It is about looking inward and outward at the same time, that we may grow upward to be closer to the divine, and also outward to be closer to our communities. 

There may be distractions along the way, some may argue that the disaffiliating churches are interfering with the message of the our denomination (and certainly doesn’t help). We can be sidetracked with the focus of different message, or even could be losing trust in our foundations of faith, because it FEELS as though things are changing rapidly. 

That could not be further from the truth. Somehow our churches became more about our tribes and our own accomplishments more than about being a place for the community to gather. It has become more about having the right people in the building than being an open and safe place for the people of God to worship. Will Willimon, former bishop and professor at Duke Divinity School, wrote in August about the separation, “Rather than ask, ‘What’s Christ up to in my neighborhood?’, we say, ‘I refuse to be a part of a church that doesn’t reflect my values before I came to church.’” (Christian Century, 8/17/22). 

Why would we want to worship a God who looks, acts, and thinks the way we do? Or who is that god we are worshipping and following? God is bigger than we can ever imagine and Jesus guides us to see God through His eyes. Instead of looking to the scriptures for what we want to find, let’s have enough humility and wonder about what God is teaching us to really listen. It might even set our hearts on fire. 

There is room for all viewpoints on all of the great debates happening in our denomination, from whether to include and affirm the callings of our LGBTQ+ members, or in a larger sense, how we will interpret scripture. I remember when I was growing up in the church, and there were this sense of calling the next generation to ministry and finding themselves in the church. There were prayers that the coming cohort of young people would help transform this world so that God’s Kingdom will come near. I’m sure in some circles, they are still praying that. But in some sense, with these prayers, God’s voice is loud and clear. We want the church to be more than about ourselves. We want fear to be a thing of the past, and we want love, justice and mercy flowing just like Micah dreamed about. God moves in God’s own ways. May we not be afraid or ashamed to see where that leads. 

Peace, 
Pastor Dan

PASTOR'S PICKS

Listen: Wholehearted by We Are Messengers

This band has surprised me over the last couple of years. The music is described as "rowdy music for broken messy people and point them to Jesus." What could be better - conversation starters. 

Favorite song - God You Are. 

Watch: Quantum Leap (NBC) - I loved this show growing up, because again, I’m a sucker for time travel. It has been restarted with different actors and I am excited about the possibilities it holds. 

Read: “Three Simple Rules” by Rueben P. Job. 

I had to read this for my licensing class, but I felt pulled back to it this month. It’s a quick read, only 80 pages or so, and follows the three pillars of John Wesley’s theology - first, do no harm. Second, do good. Third, stay in love with God. Simple and yet difficult, but a good reminder.