Engaging Scripture

Chalices, Clipboards, Graduation Books – The Monday Messy Office Report – June 9, 2014

Every week my tidy Friday office is mysteriously messy on Monday. Here’s what I found today:

1. Communion Chalices – Yesterday was Worship in the Park, and it was a beautiful day! I can’t tell you how many people come up to me asking if we could please have worship in the park more often. Every week, if possible. One of the elements of worship yesterday was communion, and at Faith Church, once per quarter, we have communion by intinction. That is people come forward, break off a piece of the bread, dip it in the cup and partake. We bought chalices from Ten Thousand Villages a couple years ago, made of simple colored glass, and I brought them back to my office after worship yesterday. The leftover bread, I’ll admit, made it to our house, and not much past lunch at that… Over the years I have become more interested in communion. When I was a boy, the church I grew up in had communion once/month, and I remember we would sing a song after communion as the ushers collected an offering for the needy. It always seemed that song was more rousing and heartfelt than the others we would sing, as if the images and truths communion symbolizes would fill hearts with joy. As it should! One word many traditions use to describe communion is Eucharist, Greek for “Thanksgiving.” Giving thanks is a part of the communion story because we read that Jesus took the bread, gave thanks, and broke it. And so, too, we though somber in our remembrance of his broken body and shed blood, burst forth with thankful joy at his victorious resurrection from the dead.

2. Clipboards – I found a few empty clipboards on my counter. I’m pretty sure they are the clipboards we used to hold sign-up sheets for the Summer Lunch Program. I’m really excited that Faith Church is once again participating in our ministerium’s Summer Lunch Program. Starting next week, for ten weeks of summer vacation, we’ll host people from the community for a free meal. The food is donated and prepared by our local food bank, Conestoga Valley Christian Community Services. Not only Faith Church people are signed up to help, but also a number of other churches in our area. It is going to be excellent!

3. Box of stuff from Worship in the Park – It takes a team of people working together to pull off Worship in the Park, and I am grateful for every one of them. Thanks to Becka and the praise team for transporting instruments. Thanks to Elijah for the use and set-up of his sound system. Thanks to Marcus & Melessa for setting up all the drinks and snacks. Thanks to Kevin and Ken for handling offering and communion elements. Thanks to Jim for printing song sheets. Without all of you, Worship in the Park wouldn’t be possible! I had a box of a few odds and ends like leftover bulletins and reports we distributed, as we have a special congregational meeting coming up.

4. Books for Graduates – I also had books that we are giving as gifts to our graduates. We got them books by authors like Brennan Manning and Henri Nouwen, our prayer being that as they move on to their next stage in life they would give attention to their soul. It is so easy to get caught up in the nuts and bolts of what has to happen next, whether that is starting college (admissions, dorms, loans, classes, roommates, etc) or starting a career (interviews, health insurance, co-workers, meetings, etc). In the busyness, we can lose focus on what it means that we are disciples of Jesus. We hope our graduates take a few moments to read those books. Maybe you have lost focus on what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. If so, I’d be glad to talk with you further if you’re interested.

Now it’s time for me to clean up this mess!

Worship in the Park and Summer Vacation

This weekend is the first of two Worship in the Park Sundays that Faith Church has been holding for the last 3-4 years, and thankfully the weather is forecast to be beautiful! We set up our worship band in the High Pavilion at East Lampeter Community Park, and enjoy worshipping God in the gorgeous surroundings of the Park. Our Township does a wonderful job keeping the park fun and attractive. So we invite all of you to join us! Added to the surroundings, our Bishop will be with us. Bruce Hill has been a pastor and leader in the Evangelical Congregational Church for a number of years, and he has been our Bishop for the last three. He is a creative leader with a bold vision and a heart for God and his Kingdom. In preparation for his message on Sunday, perhaps you’ll take a few minutes and read his address to our denomination’s National Conference last week. During worship in the park, we’ll also celebrate communion and take a special offering to support our missionaries.

Warmer weather means not only Worship in the Park, but also summer vacation. My family will travel to Texas next, as we are looking forward to vacationing with family. That means on June 15, Phil Bartelt will be continuing our series in 1 Corinthians, and I’ll be taking a break from blogging for a few weeks. It has been a blessing to have Phil, Lisa, and their kids as members of Faith Church now for almost a year! On June 22, we have another special opportunity, the Conestoga Valley Ministerium Pulpit Exchange. Pastor Tom Eshleman of Groffdale Mennonite Church will be with us, and I will be preaching at Zion Lutheran Church of Leola. Tom has been pastor at Groffdale since September, 2009. He, his wife Jennifer, and their three children came to Groffdale in 2005 as associate/youth pastor. Prior to that he taught elementary school in Harrisonburg, VA. Born and raised in Lancaster, PA, he holds a BA degree from Eastern Mennonite University and a Master of Divinity degree from Eastern Mennonite Seminary. I wish I could be there to hear Tom, so I’ll have to check out the podcast! I’ve gotten to know Tom a bit through the ministerium, and I’ve come to appreciate his obvious passion for Christ.

June is a busy month at Faith Church. Ballroom dance has started back up on Tuesday evenings. The Summer Lunch Program begins on the 16th, and we could still use your help volunteering for that. It’s going to be a great summer!

Bikinis and Bibles – 1st Corinthians 8 & 10:23-11:1

Last week I introduced The Great Bikini Debate and Professional Weaker Brothers. I never imagined I’d be preaching a sermon which featured bikinis. But this past Sunday that’s exactly what happened. Bibles and Bikinis. Think they don’t go together? Think they shouldn’t go together? I envisioned a scenario where those two things might go together. I also envision a very disagreeable response to that scenario!

So we had a great discussion about this after worship on Sunday. If you weren’t there I wish you could have been. What we talked about was how many things Christians disagree about, and what we are supposed to do when we disagree. I hope I conveyed Paul’s teaching from 1 Corinthians 8 & 10 clearly enough to give the principle that Paul teaches Christians who disagree.

So what about bikinis? Should you or shouldn’t you? Won’t bikini-wearers be stumbling blocks?

Are you a Professional Weaker Brother? Should you be? How can you change?

If you’d like we can continue the discussion here. Feel free to comment below!

Race signs, Kids craft, Conference stuff – The Monday Messy Office Report – June 2, 2014

My tidy Friday office is mysteriously messy on Monday. Here’s what I found this week:

1. Conference stuff – After having been away from the office Wednesday through Friday of last week at my denomination’s national conference, not only is my office messier than normal, I also have a bunch of conference stuff to add to the pile. Each year pastors and representatives from each of our churches meet together for a few days to discuss the mission of the church. We hear lots of reports about what God is doing in our churches, and we get stuff! When you walk into the registration area, there is a bag awaiting you. The brown paper bag is filled with all kinds of info to take back to your church. Also throughout the week you can get even more stuff, from display tables or other reports that are distributed throughout the sessions. While there are some business sessions that can be hard to stay focused on, for the most part, I find our national conference to be super inspiring. This year a delegation from our sister churches in Japan participated in our conference, as they were given national conference status as well! It was an awesome moment. A young man who grew up on our church took his pledge to become a pastor in our denomination. When I first came to Faith Church, he was in fifth grade! Amazing. Our conference approved a major strategic planning initiative, one that I believe will help our denomination and local churches be faithful to God’s mission for many years to come. Finally, we heard lots and lots of stories about how God is at work in the Evangelical Congregational Church. It was such an inspiring week.

2. Race Signs – We started off National Conference, for the second year in a row, with a 5K race to raise money for church planting. It was a run, walk, and new this year, ride. One guy did the bike ride, which started at 9am, and in which he got first place, then put on his sneakers and ran the 5K, which started at 10am, and he got third place in that! Our National Conference meets at Messiah College in Grantham, PA, and if you have never been there, one thing you need to know about is HILLS! I pretty much have to expect that my 5K time will be two minutes slower than normal. But it is a lot of fun, as the course has roads, hiking trails, and grassy areas. Both years, I have created the signage. I put most of the signs and cones away in our church’s shed, but I kept two in my office. That’s because later this week I’m going to make new signs adverstising our Worship in the Park which is coming up on Sunday! Feel free to join us worship God in the High Pavilion at East Lampeter Community Park, 10am. Our denomination’s Bishop, Bruce Hill, will be joining us as well. I can’t wait for a great morning.

3. Kid’s Craft – Someone (I know who) didn’t want to bring their Sunday School craft home, and decided to leave it my office yesterday. I really appreciate how creative our kids’ classes are! So I took the project and posted it on my office door.

I’ve spent all day cleaning up this mess…

The Great Bikini Debate and Professional Weak People

It’s pool and beach season, and that means it is once again time for The Great Bikini Debate. Should Christians wear them or shouldn’t they? Our culture has come a long way from the days of the picture above, where a badged beach patrol measured women’s suits to make sure they were legal!

When you consider the various cultures around the world where it is the norm for women to be topless and men to be bottomless, who gets to decide what is okay? In the context of the church, this is quite a debate centering on a number of social issues.

I was at my denomination’s national conference this week, and thanks to one of my pastoral colleagues, I learned a new term: the professional weaker brother.

We were talking about how people can make unnecessary additions to the good news of Jesus. In our denomination that addition has most clearly come in the form of how people who follow Jesus are to handle the use of beverage alcohol. Historically we have been a “prohibition” or “abstinence” church, and our denomination’s book of order states that members of our churches should hold to abstinence as “the only responsible position” to the use of alcohol. In 2008, an initiative to change the “only” to “most” narrowly failed to receive the three-quarters majority vote needed to make that kind of adjustment to our book of order.

The reasons for the prohibition against the use of beverage alcohol in my denomination are varied, but the concern of the group that was discussing this yesterday around the breakfast table was that by requiring people to adhere to a standard that is not sustained by Scripture we have added an unnecessary burden to the Gospel. Why would we do this? As I ask this question, let me also be clear that I am deeply grateful for the Evangelical Congregational Church, and it’s history and theology that has been faithful to the mission of God. In commenting about this particular concern, the heart in that breakfast discussion was a grace-filled desire to see our denomination become even more faithful to the mission of God.

Lest I seem to be harping on two issues, swimwear and alcohol, I want to draw attention to the fact that the principles in play here are much larger than a couple specific issues. In Paul’s day the issue was whether or not people in the church should eat food that had been sacrificed to idols. It was a rather complex issue with few easy answers. So Paul takes some time to walk his readers through a loving response, and in so doing teaches some wonderful principles that could be helpful to us.

Paul very clearly teaches about two kinds of Christians that he saw in the churches in cities like Rome and Corinth in his day: The Weak and The Strong. He was very concerned for the weak, that their new, underdeveloped faith would be crushed by the strong. In our sermon tomorrow, we’ll look further at what he was talking about. To address this, Paul said that the strong should not be a stumbling block to the weak. Before we gather for worship tomorrow morning at Faith Church (9:30am), I want to ask you if it is possible that you have been a stumbling block? The argument that some use against the wearing of bikinis is that the bikini wearer will be a stumbling block to the men at the pool or beach. But is that what Paul was talking about?

As I prepare this sermon, I also realize that our church culture in 2014, though we have found many similarities between ourselves and the Christians at Corinth, is also different from the church culture in Corinth in 55-60 AD. I wonder if it is because some people have become Professional Weaker Brothers or Sisters. Are you a Professional Weaker Bro or Sis? If so, you may be one of those who are adding to the Good News, the Gospel. Again, please join us as we talk further about this tomorrow.

Celebrating singleness – 1 Corinthians 7:25-40

It is GOOD to be single! Let’s celebrate it!!!

Are you single? Do you feel like it is good to be single? When I was in my later high school years and college, I did not think it was good to be single. I badly wanted to be in a relationship.

In our continuing study of 1st Corinthians 7, Paul says that it is really good to be single. I wonder how that sentiment comes across to you who are single?

If you are single, how do you feel when people say things like “Dating yet?” or “When are you ever going to get married?” As I was studying for a sermon on how good it is to be single, I realized that I needed help. I was barely ever single, only for a few months here and there, and then Michelle and I got married young, at 21 years old. So I did some research and contacted some people who have been single a lot longer. Am I glad I did, because the insights those people shared with me were wonderful.

So thank you Ken Sears for the deep thoughtful words you shared, most of which I read in the sermon. Thank you Lisa Bartelt for sharing Peter Greer’s article. Peter shares some great thoughts about how our culture can be so wrapped up with the milestones of married couples, that singles can feel left out. Lisa wrote a post this week with more on that, check it out.

So married people, there is much that we need to learn about singleness!!! Whether you are married or single, perhaps there is much to be learned about what single life is or could be all about. Let’s continue the very cool discussion we had after the worship service. Feel free to comment here.

The Monday Messy Office Report – May 26, 2014

This week I’m taking a break from The Monday Messy Office Report because it is Memorial Day, an office holiday, and tomorrow evening I head to Messiah College for my denomination’s National Conference. All that means is that my office will likely be extra messy next week!

One for all the single people

Are you single and loving it?

I’ve heard that some of the young people at Faith Church have been wondering when Relationship Month will be over! It’s been a lot of talk about marriage, separation, divorce, remarriage, which are topics they are apparently not too concerned about. I was hoping that at least some of what we talked about would be helpful to them! Maybe it will as the years go by.

BUT, this coming Sunday will be different. This will be a sermon specifically for the single people. Does that mean the married people need not attend? NO! Here’s why: if you are married, have you ever given thought to how you treat singles? Do you disrespect them? Do you marginalize them and treat them as some kind of special interest group with a problem that needs to be fixed?

Surely not, you say?

But maybe you do that more than you realize. If you’re married, this is not a sermon for you to check your brains at the door. Being a married person myself I recognize my inadequacy of speaking to singles. So I did some digging on singles, and I found out about John Stott, a well-known pastor and theologian who never married and lived into his 90s. Stott is a man who has clearly thought deeply on the subject. I also found that a number of books about singleness from a Christian perspective have been written. I contacted one our EC pastors/missionaries, Ken Sears, who is single. His response was so thoughtful and helpful, filled with angles of thought that I never considered, that I suggested he publish it. I’ll be sharing some thoughts from these two men.

And most of all we’ll take a look at what Paul says in our ongoing study of 1st Corinthians 7. A few weeks ago I said that marriage is GOOD. But what about singleness? Is it okay if a single person wants to get married? Is it okay if a single person is not happy being single? Is it possible that a person can be single and happy? That they can be single and have a very content relationship with God and others?

Are you single? Maybe you’ve been wondering about some of these things. Maybe you’ve been yearning to be married? Maybe you’ve wondered if you’ll never get married, and if something is wrong with you. Maybe you’re wondering what God wants for you.

I think you’ll find Paul and the other single people I’ve talked with have a lot to say that could be helpful. How about joining us Sunday at 9:30am?

When I’m not feeling happy or content in my relationship – 1 Corinthians 7:17-24

Are you feeling discontent in your relationships? Maybe you’re not feeling happy about a relationship? But are you feeling joy? Is there a difference? And what does it matter?

When we are unhappy or discontent, we are very tempted to RUN! In our passage from this past Sunday, Paul says “Remain in the situation in which you were called.” Over and over he says this. Remain? What if we don’t like the situation? As I have said before, if it is an abusive situation, this would not apply. Get safe!

But what about when a relationship is frustrating? What about when there is a lot of anger and arguing? In Relationship Month, we have heard clearly from Paul that we should avoid separation and divorce at all cost. In this section again he says, “Remain.” Then he adds in verse 19, “keeping God’s commands in what counts.”

My NIV Study Bible notes summarize it well: “There is nothing wrong with seeking to improve your condition in life, but be content at every stage.” There is a tension between being content and keeping his commands. Sometimes keeping his commands means we need to make a change.

My dad, Harold Kime, has taught Corinthians for many years at Lancaster Bible College, and in his notes he says: “Keeping God’s commandments does have spiritual value and worth. The verb, “keep”, that Paul uses here is not a simple obedience. When he says “Keep his commands” it also includes the idea of guarding or preserving. This is not a mere outward obedience but an obedience that guards and preserves the very thing obeyed. We can infer from this that certain types of social condition require a radical change. Certainly Paul would not say, “Were you called being a prostitute, think nothing of it.”

We could summarize like this: Remain in the life state that you are in, but do not sin. At the root of all this is a heart that is committed to say that “Lord, your way is the best way.” Keep his commands requires a heart desire that believes that following God’s way is the best! “Find your satisfaction in the Lord” Paul is not saying that the believers in the church should stay as they are for eternity. He encourages slaves, if they can, to be free. But the focus is to be content in the Lord where they are at. Things may change, but the focus for now is to grow that passionate, heartfelt relationship with the Lord.
We can be so discontent about life. We can start to grow a bitterness about our station in life. Paul says that the Christians should find their contentment in the Lord. And we can grow that deep inner joy without having our circumstances change one bit.

Contentment is being able to be joyful no matter the circumstance. There is a big difference between inner and outer joy. One way to describe the difference is to look at the difference between happiness and joy. I am bit hesitant to use these two terms because they are basically synonymous. But think about them this way: happiness is that outer expression of emotion based in how we are feeling. We like happiness a lot because it means we feel good. Joy is different from happiness because it is a deeper inner state of heart and mind that is trusting in God no matter how we are feeling, no matter our circumstance, no matter our station in life. This deep inner joy, this contentment is what Paul is saying the Corinthians believers need.

There is much about life that we can be discontent about. Paul would say to the Philippian church in Philippians 4:12 “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation. Whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

What are you discontent about? Your marriage? Your singleness? Your job? Your finances? The state of the world? Paul is saying that we should be a people who avoid rushing to change, but instead remain as you are, be content, find that deep inner joy in obeying Christ, and commit yourself to grow in your relationship with him. Here’s what’s interesting about contentment. It is okay to allow the deep inner joy of contentment to bubble up to the surface of your life and overflow with emotional outward happiness. We should never confuse that outward emotion for the inner real thing. But it is okay to be outwardly happy. I would go so far as to say that when we are content in Christ no matter our situation, we will see that outward happiness, that outward rejoicing on a more regular basis! And it starts with a contentment in our relationship with Christ.

It is not just in the pain that we can experience deep inner joy. We can also celebrate the joy of the Lord in the good times. We can and should be content in the Lord, no matter if life is difficult or abundant. A friend of mine from my youth group is now a professor at LBC. He and his wife were married a few years ago, it took them some time to start a family. They are now just weeks away from the birth of their son. I asked him this week how they are doing, and he said “Excited, things are going great, but they’re also thinking about those many sleep-deprived nights ahead of them.”

I wrote back and said, “You will get through it. I won’t deny that I had a hard time in the middle of the night. But it is a phase that passes. I think what I have been learning with my kids, though, is that I can yearn too much for each phase to pass. I can be way too focused on “getting them out of diapers” and “getting them out of car-seats” and so one. In so doing, I have found that I can miss out on the wonderful aspects of the present phase. I think this is the message of Ecclesiastes: eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you die. Enjoy the moment that God has given you. While the moment definitely can have its hardships, it also has great joy. Be content no matter the circumstances. I would encourage you to revel in each and every one of those nights of seemingly endless crying and feedings.” (Not that I was the model dad in that regard…)

What will it mean for you to grow contentment in the Lord?

Kid’s Art, Petrified Cheerio, Penny, and More – The Monday Messy Office Report SANCTUARY Edition – May 19, 2014

My tidy Friday office is mysteriously messy on Monday…except this week. Since starting this series on the blog a few months ago, I have not lacked for material. Almost every week people drop stuff off in my office, or my kids leave half-eaten snacks there, or things just show up for reasons I cannot explain. But this week that didn’t really happen. There have been a few weeks where I’ve stretched a bit and told you about stuff in my office that recently got there, or had been sitting a long time, but didn’t actually appear over the weekend. So I could have told you about the trumpet that has been in here for months that is waiting for a buyer. A family from the church donated it, saying that the proceeds can go straight to supporting our missionaries, which is very cool. So if you want a trumpet, let me know. It has a stand too. But because my office was relatively tidy, I decided to do something I’ve been thinking about for a while: a sanctuary edition of The Monday Messy Office Report.

You would not believe what we find each week in our pews, and especially in our pew racks. Well, then again, maybe you would believe it, because, if you are a part of the family of Faith Church, you sit in the those pews, you know what goes on there. Each week I go through the pews to get rid of stuff that is easily seen, mostly bulletins that people slide behind a hymnal in the pew rack. But every couple months, I give those pews a thorough picking through, and I always find treasure amidst the trash…lots of trash. Those pew racks are designed to hold hymnals and Bibles, people, not trash! Like I said, there are some treasures. So here goes:

1. A Penny – Who knows how long that has been in there, but one of the church’s kids was probably supposed to put it in the offering basket…and didn’t. Reminds me of the time I was supposed to my two quarters in the offering on a Sunday morning when I was about 6 or 7 years old. And I didn’t put it in the offering. Instead, after church I “luckily found” two quarters in the alley behind our house. The perfect amount to buy a pack of baseball cards. Well, I found a penny in a pew rack today, and the church is one cent richer.

2. A Petrified Cheerio – It is hard and discolored. That has probably been in there quite a while, like the penny. Actually, the presence of that single Cheerio cheers me. I like Cheerios a lot, and in fact had some for breakfast this morning. But more than that it is a simple reminder of the change that has gradually been in the works at Faith Church. It is okay now to bring food and drinks into the sanctuary. I’m really thankful for that. People are growing in their understanding that the church is not a building, but the people. Sure, I believe that we should have a proper understanding of sacred space, but it is wonderful to see a small reminder that the church is the people!

3. The Notes! I remember passing notes OFTEN when I was a kid in church. Check these out!

4. Kid’s Art! – This is the real treasure among the trash. I love seeing what the kids, presumably, are drawing on their “Scribble Cards”. Take a look for yourself! 20140519_152302 Faith Church kids are geniuses!