Happy New Year

I have been thinking that, instead of making some New Year's resolution, I would take this post of The Shiloh Insider to share some simple dreams for what 2014 could and may look like. I call them the Top Ten Dreams for 2014:

10. Name Calling: I wish that people would stop using name calling as a means of solution to disagreements. I wish people would learn to respect varying opinions, even or especially when they do not agree with our own.

9. Sharing: I wish that people would relearn the simple kindergarten curriculum on sharing. The simple task of sharing what we have makes us better people, and makes others, particularly those with whom we share, happier.

8. Helpfulness: I wish that people would take the time and make the effort to do one thing daily simply to help someone else. Whether that helpfulness comes in the form of Random Acts of Kindness (RAK's), or is the intentionally planned assistance that so many of our brothers and sisters rely upon, acts of helpfulness unite us as a community and a family.

7. Open-Mindedness: I wish that people would be less motivated to protect their own ways of thinking and behaving and more accepting of those who think and act in different ways. I often witness true intelligence in the form of accepting others, despite differences, instead of in forcing others to believe and act "rightly," according to some imagined, non-established orthodoxy.

6. Compassion: I wish people would make the effort of seeing the suffering and challenges that others might be facing instead of holding others to some advantaged standard of behavior. Persons never know what goes on with those around them, unless they are willing to invest themselves in them. I wish that we were more compassionate.

5. Unity: I wish that people could be more invested in working toward the unity of all types, kinds, clans, origins and life-styles instead of protecting sectarian groups, kinds, clans, ilks and tastes. Even the Church would be better served if we worked toward the unity of all people instead of laboring for the advantage of some.

4. Kindness: I wish that people were nicer. Where I was raised, people waved at one another and said "Hello." It is simple kindness to allow those around us to believe that they are worthy of out attention and greeting. There is no reason that I can think of why we shouldn't be more than just polite.

3. Giving of Time: I wish that people were more generous with their time, outside of their own immediate family units. It is easy to take care of "our own." To invest time and energy in those outside of our own families is the greatest gift that we can give, especially in a culture wherein time is the chief commodity.

2. Constructive: I wish that people spent as much time and energy being constructive as they do being destructive. It takes no more effort to build someone up than it does to tear down that same person. It simply requires that we be conscious and mindful of the difference.

1. Positive: I wish that people could see that we live in a beautiful world, nation, community, church and neighborhood. There is far less wrong with us than people imagine. If we switched our attitudes from negative to positive, we could overcome together the challenges that we face. Positive energy gives and feeds while negative energy takes and needs. Which will we be in 2014?

I urge readers of The Shiloh Insider to pick each, or one, of these wishes for 2014 and make it true in the lives of those around you. Be a source of goodness, generosity, grace and love. I promise that the world around us will change if we do.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

I was asked if I might be willing to share this story in my weekly blog. While normally hesitant to try worship material in a blog, I will give it a shot.

Christmas was very difficult in 1989. I was in the second year of professional, ordained ministry, serving a church in Junction City, Kansas. Christmas has always been difficult in the Church, since many C&E (Christmas and Easter) Christians judge the entire life of the Church on the power and impact of the Christmas Eve and Easter services. The pressure on musical and pastoral is unlike any other time of year.

Lisa, my spouse, was pregnant. We were expecting a child in late January/early February. Unfortunately, she developed a problem with her pregnancy that had required her to remain in bed until delivery. Coupled with the stress of new ministry at Christmas, the pregnancy added to the difficulty of the season.

I was already troubled by the death of my father, which had taken place about a month earlier. He was 53 when he died, as a result of a medical error that occurred during a heart catheterization. My father died without life insurance or any retirement planning. There was nothing, except the family home in which my mother continued to live. Because I was living hundreds of miles away from the family home in Bremen, Indiana, I felt helpless and out of touch.

It was just another problem for us when the ladies of the congregation scheduled a baby shower. I had to get my sick wife up and over to the church, overcome my sense of loss and isolation, and continue to deal with the immense pressures of ministry. Who needed a baby shower?

The women of the church must have known something that we did not, however. The shower was a tremendous event, one of the memories that I treasure from my five years in Kansas. The people of the congregation and community were wildly supportive and extremely generous. But that is not what really made the difference as we approached Christmas in 1989.

The difference was made when Janice Hornbostle, who, with her husband Marvin, had unofficially adopted us as their own family, put her arm around my shoulder and whispered to me, "Remember that, from here on out, it's all about the child."

Despite my father's death, and the resulting financial troubles, the child would make it all alright. Despite the stress of the holiday season, and the extreme expectations of the church, the child was coming. Despite my wife's fragile health, the baby would solve everything.

I learned to place my hope in the baby. I learned to put my hope in the child. Janice's words have come true, of course. Since the child was born, nothing has been the same. Everything has been different. And what a blessing it has been.

I hope for everyone who reads these words a Christmas that is about the child. Let it be about the baby. It will change everything. Nothing will ever be the same. And it will be a truly blessed celebration!

Merry Christmas!  

Nine Shopping Days...

What? There are just nine shopping days left until Christmas? How in the world did this happen?

I have not bought a single gift.

We decorated the house, inside and out, on Thanksgiving day. Despite the fact that our back fence lights work only intermittently, and although we rarely turn on all the inside decorations, we had a good start to the Christmas season. We had chosen a design theme for the tree and each room (a necessity that I had never paid attention to before marrying and having a daughter). Matching wrapping paper was bought and lies at the ready, one design specified for each of the core persons in the family. Christmas lists were written and distributed (except mine, of course, because I can't think of anything that I really need). Everything was going so well!

I was sidetracked by writing the Bible @ Boston's curriculum and assisting in preparations for Shiloh's annual Christmas musical, by planning worship and organizing the annual staff Christmas party. Did I mention that I had an office under an inch or so of sewer backup?

Okay. Honestly, I have no excuse. I could have gone shopping and gotten the gifts that I know that I am getting the people in my life. I have procrastinated. I have spent too much time idly enjoying the season, soaking in the holiday spirit.

Time to pull the proverbial trigger and get to the stores. But the weather... I have so much to do... I have so many places to be and so much to plan... I hate shopping.

In the Children's Time in yesterday's 10:25 service, Jay McMillen told the children that the gifts that we purchase or make for others share the joy of the season. They share the good news of Christ's coming.

Okay, I am resolved to get it done today! I want to share the joy of Christmas with those to whom I am closest. Now, just how does and automobile auto-start represent the birth of Jesus?

See You Sunday!
Remember that Christmas Eve service begins with a concert at 7:00 p.m. and a candlelight ceremony at 7:30. Plan to join us!  

The Power of Shiloh's Christmas Musical

I sit in the lone chair in an empty office. When I write of my office as empty, I am using no metaphor. There is no carpet, no telephone, no equipment and no connection to the church's network. There is no place to sit and no place to meet with those who might otherwise come to see me. My office equipment and belongings, whether professional or personal, are stacked in another room, located elsewhere in the facility. To make matters worse, there is an aroma that ranges somewhere between bleach and cat urine. This, the result of another sewer drain backup into my office space, the second in less that five years.

Despite the fact that I am unable to accomplish much of my usual Monday morning work, I am feeling particularly "in the mood." The mood is of Christmas. Its source is yesterday's annual Christmas Musical, "Christmas Together." 

"Christmas Together" was a tremendous celebration of the Christmas season. Participants included our joint choirs, Sanctuary Choir, Shiloh's Youth Choir, and our Discovery Team. Those in attendance heard from our ringing choirs, both Youth Bells and Voices in Bronze, our adult bell group. Attendees were treated to the sounds of an all-volunteer orchestra, percussion, guitars, pipe organ, prayers and several dramatic readings. A few of my favorite features were an a Capella rendition of "Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne," and the Fellowship Four (men's quartet), singing "Sing We Now of Christmas." The highlight of the evening, for me, was the prayer for peace and the singing of "Let There Be Peace on Earth." The program brought tears to many an eye and standing ovations at both performances.

The power of Shiloh's Christmas Musical lies in precisely this: I sit in an empty office, facing the uncertainty of new carpeting this week and the tedium of having to move back in, yet I am in the Christmas mood. I can't complete much of my work, yet my spirit is light.

Thank you to all who participated in an absolutely splendid musical. Special appreciation goes to our media crew, directed by John Rabius, and to out Hospitality Staff, managed ably by Joanne Orihood. Despite the inclement weather, more people stayed for the reception on Sunday night than stayed after the 10:30 celebration.

It was not just music that filled the air, but a spirit of celebration and joy. If you attended, I hope that you feel it too. If you were unable to attend, copies of the program may soon be available for check out from the Church Library.

Merry Christmas, everyone!    

Crap Happens...But Jesus Comes

It has been one of THOSE weeks. While the workweek schedule is pretty well managed, with Bible studies and Bible @ Boston's being set, with the Christmas Musical on Sunday (10:30 and 7:00), it could not be a busier time. I have begun to shop for Christmas. We have arranged for the staff Christmas party. Decorations are up, the house and tree are lit. I was feeling quite prepared for the season.

Then...

Then...during 10:25 worship service on Sunday morning, the main sewer drain decided to back up into Shiloh's facility.

As many know, the facility sewer drainage is divided into two main trunks, one that drains from the northern side of the building and the other that runs from the east end of the Christian education wing. It was the north trunk that was effected. Some may surmise that the lowest point on the north side of the facility is actually my office. In my office bathroom, there is a cleanout that leads to the main trunk line.

That cleanout was the major source of sewer water backing up into the facility, via my bathroom and office. The carpet and laminent flooring were destroyed. Some of the furnishings were in need of serious cleaning, as some sat in sewer water for at least a few hours.

Jay McMillen led a small crew of volunteers on Sunday afternoon to remove the worst of the sodden carpet, bleaching the floors, and cleaning up the mess. Thanks to Dawn McMillen, Terry Neff and Lisa Neff for helping out. There may have been others involved, and I appreciate your efforts as well.

On Monday, we tore out the remainder of the carpet. Today (Wednesday), we will remove the flooring and clean out my office (no small feat, by the way). The insurance adjuster came this morning. This afternoon and tomorrow, we will be transporting my office furnishings, books, and assorted decor,  to the Large Conference Room. New carpet is scheduled to be installed on Monday.Of course, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week will likely be spent in moving back into my office space.

It is not fun work, especially for persons, like me, who are allergic to mold. It could be worse, however. Things are being removed, repaired and handled. The carpet is being replaced (and partially donated), and the smell of bleach is diminishing. Ministry will go on. Our mission will continue.

What's a little sewer water to the ongoing kingdom ministry of Jesus Christ? The momentary annoyance of human waste floating in my office, and settling in my carpeting, is overcome with the purpose for which we gather as a community of faith, especially this season.

So, crap happens. But Jesus still comes. (Perhaps a new bumper sticker craze...)

Have a good week!

Thankfulness

This being the week of Thanksgiving, I hope for every reader of the Shiloh Insider an exciting, restful time with family and friends. Lisa, my wife of more than 27 years, and I will share brunch with our adult daughter, Casey, and her fiance, Justin. Afterward, we will be doing Christmas decorations, watching football and cooking together an intimate Thanksgiving meal for two. We appreciate the invitations that we have received to share the afternoon with good friends and family, but we treasure the times that we can take as a couple.

I thought that this Thanksgiving was a good opportunity to lift up some people, or groups of people, for whom I am particularly thankful this year. These are the Top Ten Folk of Thanks, 2013:

10. I am thankful for my good friends, who allow me to be myself without confusion of title or position or expectation. It is nice to be with those who love you unconditionally.

9. I appreciate the fabulous Shiloh Church staff. It is rare that persons genuinely like and appreciate those with whom they work. You are as much my friends a church staff.

8. I love my extended family, on both my side and my wife's side of the aisle. You are a constant source of humor, fun and support.

7. I have come to treasure my Association family. The people of SONKA have been a constant source of renewal and excitement. Even while I grumble about wider church responsibilities, I love the opportunities.

6. I sincerely marvel at the ministry and leadership of Kathryn Anadein, SONKA's designated Association Minister, who is guiding us creatively and boldly into an uncertain future. Thank you, Kathryn!

5. I give thanks for the satanic physical therapist, Whitney, who forced me into more pain than I thought possible, but who, in doing so, has given me much greater mobility.

4. I give thanks to the medical community who strive everyday to provide excellent care to persons, having to cope with insurance companies, patient avoidance, and the money that, unfortunately, determines who does and who does not receive the care that they need.

3. I appreciate the members and friends of Shiloh Church. You refuse to be an audience to faith. You are the actors, playing on a stage that desperately needs to see the face of grace in Christ.

2. I thank God for our daughter, Casey, and her partner in crime, Justin. Your lives together have begun marvelously. Thanks for the wisdom with which you make decisions and the responsible manner in which you have conducted yourselves.

And the number one person for whom I am thankful this season is...wait for it....drumroll...

1. My incredible wife, Lisa, whose hard work and dedication make it a joy to share what is now the majority of my life on this good Earth. Your personality and sense of humor is a constant source of happiness. Thanks for spending your life with me.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

A Foot in Each Camp

The contemporary call to clergy is unlike it has ever been.

When I came from seminary, way back in 1987, cultural change was just beginning to be seen in the aisle of our churches. It could be seen in the changing values of those in the pews, those who rest on the periphery of our congregations, and those who stand outside of them. From that time onward, I have been involved in studying and analyzing the effects of cultural change on congregations and Church movements, both historically and in our contemporary situation.

Today, the Church and the world are altogether different places. The American culture has almost completely turned its back on the institutions of the past, including and especially religious ones. What contemporary culture is asking of religious institutions is only now becoming clearer, and it is quite a divergence from the historical, traditional paths of religious institutionalization.

The culture wants the Church to be an authentic resource for community spirituality and service. I mean by "community spirituality" the notion that the Church is called to represent the mercy, grace and love of Christ in, to and with its wider community. The culture demands now of religious institutions that they do precisely what they proclaim, establish God's kingdom for all people. This suggests that churches spend their time developing, establishing and maintaining faithful representation of the grace of God in Christ. Then, the culture asks of churches that they dutifully represent Christ in what they do "for the least of these." Church program and policy must be shaped around service ministries, particularly in the neighborhoods where those congregations are located.

While clergy are aware of these new trends, and while many are being equipped to help congregations meet the required cultural changes, this is distinctly contrary to what the churches want of their clergy leadership. Churches want the traditional, historical course. They want the comfortable prayers, hymns, liturgies and programs of the past. Even if it means that they will not survive in the developing culture, churches would rather die than change.

So, clergy today have a foot placed precariously in both camps. We are serving churches that seek values, practices and promises of the past in an atmosphere that demands authentic spirituality and genuine, passionate service to hurting communities as a means to building kingdom in the presence and future. The tasks of each are difficult. Together, they are impossible.

So what are clergy today to do? Do we dare choose? Do we opt for one avenue over the other? What do we teach? How do we, as Pastors, lead?

I know one thing for certain. As the gap between the cultural environs of the Church and its own demands and requirements widens, clergy who place a foot in both camps will be torn apart. These are times, instead, for new faithfulness, new leadership, creativity and imagination. The old ways are over and gone, despite the best efforts of our churches. The spiritual evolution is being necessitated, as it always has and will, by the culture in which we find ourselves. Whether or not we can and will change to meet the cultural demands of churches determines whether or not we become part of the developing culture.

I hope and pray that we can and will move forward and outward together, for Christ's sake.    

The Business of the Church

I was involved in an interesting discussion yesterday that I wanted to share with readers of The Shiloh Insider. As usual, I believe that the issues are appropriate for and important within to the wider Church as well.

The conversation arose within the context of budget discussions at Shiloh. A person involved in the conversation mentioned the point that congregations cannot sustain themselves financially unless they think of themselves as businesses. "Look at Shiloh," he suggested. "The congregation has not met its expenditures with its contributions for the past ten or more years." he said.

Actually, since I have served as Senior Pastor at Shiloh, more than thirteen years now, Shiloh has balanced its expenditures to income exactly one time. According to records that I see, Shiloh has rarely accomplished a balanced budget at any time in its history. In the past, the pastors were accustomed to visiting with key members of the congregation to ask them to write checks, sometimes in excess of $20,000 - $50,000, to help make expenses.

Despite what might be understood as lean times, however, Shiloh has built an endowment of more than $1,100,000. Of course, the congregation has used other reserves that were available to it, thanks mainly to the kindness and generosity of members and friends. Its expenses have been met with the generosity and forethought of people who contributed major gifts to the life of the church.

The intent of the conversation was clear, however. According to those with whom I spoke, Shiloh needs to reduce its budget, mainly personnel, by some $100,000 in 2014. That means that staff will have to be let go. That means that ministry will have to be trimmed. It means that the services to which congregation has grown accustomed will disappear. It means that Shiloh will do less.

The conversation ended with this point. "The church is a business, after all."

I could not have disagreed more. The Church is not a business. It is a ministry. While the task of a business is to ensure its own survival and profitability, the task of a ministry is to serve. I would further claim that the financial concerns of the Church have, especially over the past few decades, limited the ministry of congregations and faith communities. They have, because of a lack of funds, ceased to be communities of ministry.

Those places are dying. When ministry ceases, when churches stop doing the ministry to which they are called, they lose all meaning and purpose. They wither and die, from the inside out. Churches that see themselves as businesses pull back from financial risk and humanitarian investment. When we concern ourselves overly with the financial bottom line, we diminish that which we might accomplish together in our communities and throughout the world. We begin to say that "we can't" instead of "we can, and may, and will."

The argument of those who define the church as business is understandable. They want their church to survive well into the future. The problem is that the only way to ensure that this is the case is to invest wholeheartedly in the church's ministry and mission, in its service to the community and world.

So, no, the Church is not a business. It is a ministry. The business of the Church is serving Jesus Christ in, to and for our communities. The business of the Church invites us to risk, to be vulnerable, to care less about ourselves than we do about the service that we render. This, as I understand it, is the business of the Church.    

The Big Picture

Maybe it is just me. Maybe it is the way that I look at things. I have noticed a lot lately that people tend to become increasingly myopic the more they are involved in things that they find important. Don't misunderstand. I agree with them that what they are doing is often very important, in many cases perfect reflections of what those persons are called and empowered to do. I applaud their efforts. But I certainly wish that we could see with wider vision.

There may be justification for narrowed vision. After all, the big picture of the church today is not particularly rosy or promising. The Protestant Church in America has lost more than half of its active membership within the past fifty years. The developing culture seems less and less interested in religious issues and, more pointedly, religious institutions. Fewer people are worshiping, and even fewer are participating in ministry and mission activities. Many of our congregations are comparative ghost towns, relics of past generations. Many have closed their doors and ceased to exist, except in the precious memories of those who were a part.

Not all the news is bad, however. If the Progressive Church movement is correct in its basic assumptions, the death of the church-that-was is grand opportunity for the church-that-will-be, a movement that is more faithful to the calling of Christ Jesus. Where the self-serving church of the past ceases to exist, room is made for the servant and social justice church of the future.

In the church-that-will-be, congregational energy and focus rests upon equipping persons for the service and ministry to which each is called. Ministry is gift and talent based. Mission is hands-on, moving from impersonal benevolence to personal involvement. Church ritual and sacrament move from memorial and sacrificial models to vibrant acts of acceptance and enthusiasm. The church becomes more energetic, more colorful, more alive.

Through my years at Shiloh Church, we have intentionally led the congregation away from the church-that-was, toward the church-that-will-be. We have tried to bring everything that the congregation does into that theological and practical model. It is not like it once was. It is not yet what it will become. Shiloh is a developing congregation, a rebuilding, a reformation, a renewal. The church is a work in progress, and it is moving. 

If we could just allow ourselves to raise our heads from the work in which we are intimately involved long enough to see the bigger picture, perhaps we might better join together in the daunting task of moving the congregation toward a hopeful, vibrant future. Better, perhaps we might see that what we are doing plays a vital part in that larger scenario of new church development and reformation.

I should mention that this coming Sunday is Reformation Sunday, an occasion to honor and celebrate the spirit of renewal and re-formation in the Church of Jesus Christ. It's a big picture Sunday. Come and join us.

Celebration of Ministry

On October 12, members and friends of Shiloh Church gathered for a celebration of the congregation's ministry. We repeatedly asked the question, "What does Shiloh do?"

The context of the question arose from conversation with a congregation - not Shiloh - that is in the final stages of its life-cycle. In meeting with the congregation's leadership, I asked, "So, what does your congregation do?" The responses were limited. The congregation worships and gathers in small numbers for fellowship groups and Sunday School classes. Then there is the annual community dinner, that funds much of the church's function.

"No," I said. "I mean, what do you do in your community as a ministry to, with and for others? What would be missed in the neighborhood if you were not here?"

The leadership looked at me in a way that reminded me of a dog that hears a strange sound for the first time. "What do you mean?" they asked.

I recounted the many ways that Shiloh's ministry is vital to our local community, and beyond. Our golf outing raises funds that support needy families throughout the holiday season. This year, we raised another $7,000. We sell pumpkins, an effort that has raised over $10,000 for the Navajo reservation where they are grown. We budget over $60,000 each year for support of missions and benevolence, and engage in tens of thousands more dollars worth of direct, hands-on ministry. We offer excellence in hospitality, including our Front Porch Ministry, which has become a popular neighborhood feature of Shiloh's Farmers' Market. We have the Fall Fair and the Holiday Bazaar. Our Mission Fair attracted persons from around the community.

I was just getting started, but the leadership of the congregation with which I was working waved their hands, as if they had heard enough. "We can't do any of that." they said. "We don't have the people or the energy."

Shiloh, while becoming leaner in population, participation and financial support, is expanding its ministry and mission. The congregation's impact is widening. On October 12, we celebrated, for over an hour, event after event, program after program, person after person who would be missed in our community and beyond if Shiloh were to withdraw or cease. Our ministry, mission, benevolence and hands-on mission work would be missed. The helpful acts of supportive men and women would be missed. Our love, grace and mercy would be missed.

Congratulations to each and every one of Shiloh's ministries, programs, projects, missions, and functions. Congratulations to the people who do the work. You do much. You would be missed. Congratulations especially to Larry and Carol Oldham, who were named the 2013 Shiloh Service Award recipients. Your service to the community, to Shiloh Church, and the humility with which you approach your calling is obvious to us all.

You can be a part of Shiloh's increasingly vital mission and ministry. Get involved today!

 

  

Roots of Discipleship and Apostleship

I hear friends, colleagues, church members and read scholars who bemoan the shrinking church of 21st century America. It is true, of course. Over the past fifty years, mainline denominations have lost more than half of their former membership numbers. Attendance and participation is diminishing. Dollars for ministry are becoming increasingly difficult to raise. The modern Church of Jesus Christ is in trouble.

I think that this is very good news for what will become the Church of Jesus Christ.

Somewhere along the course of its history, the Church became an organization that people joined in return for the social benefit that they would receive from membership. People joined because they were promised certain services in return for their membership and participation. Somehow, expectations about church members being served overpowered the basic call to ministry and service. Servanthood was eclipsed by member entitlements and member demands.

This development was far removed from the foundations of the Christian movement. As a departure from its Judaic origins, the way of Christ became a movement of equality, compassion and mercy, even in the face of traditional criticism, judgmentalism and exclusion. Jesus continually demanded that persons represent God's will by acts of grace and kindness, generosity and forgiveness. The way of Christ required that persons be both disciples (students who learn from a particular teacher) and apostles (those sent to represent the teachings of their mentor).

Participants in the way of Christ were disciples and apostles. They were servants. They embodied the faith in what they learned, said and did. Moreover, the acts of apostleship were necessarily public. Those who would be practitioners of the way of Christ must have stood with Christ on the side of those who struggle and suffer. Participation meant being equipped and prepared to minister and serve. The leaders often died in representing Christ's teachings. The faithful sacrificed everything in order to represent Christ.

Over the past decades, membership has come to mean being ministered to and served.

Culture has discerned the inherent hypocrisy of membership entitlement in the Church of Jesus Christ. It has called the Church-That-Has-Been selfish and self-serving. It has exposed the dark underbelly of the institutional necessities of the Church-as-corporation.

It is time in the Church of Jesus Christ that we return to the roots of discipleship and apostleship. If we are to faithfully represent Christ Jesus, then we have to become, once again, his faithful disciples and apostles. Each one of us. All of us. The Way of Christ needs to connect itself once again to the root of its very existence, to its core purpose and foundational values.

While the transition will be uncomfortable and difficult in the contemporary Church, to do so is vital for both the continued existence of the Church of Jesus Christ and the representation of Christ Jesus in, to and for our communities. It is time for us to recover a genuine sense of universal calling, to sit again at the feet of Jesus and learn from him what we are called to do in public acts of grace, mercy, forgiveness, kindness and generosity. We desperately need to shed our sense of entitlement in the Church and embrace once again our universal, global, regional, congregational, local and family servanthood.        

Major Fund Raising Drive

There are things a local church pastor should not know about the congregation that she or he serves. Primary among those things, I believe,  is the level of financial contribution of individual participants in the life of the church.

Imagine receiving two calls for pastoral assistance and being aware that one family who is calling contributes tens of thousands of dollars every year to the life of the church, while the other call is made by a family who does not contribute financially. What does the pastor do? In order to avoid such possible dilemma, I have found it better to remain in the dark about individual and family levels of giving.

There are times and occasions, however, when the pastor is privy to financial information. Sometimes that can be a cause for celebration.

Yesterday was a special day around Shiloh Church. Not only did we celebrate the arrival of more than a thousand pumpkins in the church's annual Pumpkin Patch - after unloading them, of course, because who is going to celebrate before unloading thousands of pumpkins? It was also a day when the congregation was going to meet a challenge that was made at its September 15 congregational meeting. That challenge was for members and friends of Shiloh Church to bring additional financial gifts to the life of the congregation. A member said that she and her partner would bring an additional $1,000 check, and she challenged others to do likewise.

We heard from a few families, throughout the course of the following weeks, who were planning to make just such an additional gift. Some were the challenged $1,000. Some were $500. Many were less, but no less appreciated.

I want to tell you the story of one of those gifts.

They are twenty-somethings who have just purchased their first home together. Both he and she are employed full time. They are blessed and they know it. Things are tight, though. There is not an unending source of expendable income, having a new mortgage, ongoing educational expenses, a house to maintain and improve, a wedding to plan, careers to map out, and uncertain financial times.

Our expectation might be that this young couple might make a small additional contribution.

But no.

He wrote a thousand dollar check. He put in Sunday's offering plate, in addition to their normal contribution.

I am inspired by this young family's willingness to risk, to dare to contribute at such a challenging level. Surely, they believe in Shiloh Church. Surely they have invested themselves in the congregation's mission and ministry. They have demonstrated excellent leadership.

Sometimes, pastors get to tell fabulous financial stories. This is one of them. Thanks to all who dare financially, who risk, who take such bold steps. Upon your faith rests the present and the future of the Church.  

"Shiloh Insider" Facebook post

Many of the readers of The Shiloh Insider have noticed that there are no comments on the blog. There is a reason for that, actually, one that few would assume. The restriction on comments has nothing to do with disagreement or the caustic nature of some comments. It has nothing to do with topics of sincere discussion and/or argument. I appreciate such discourse.

On the contrary, the restriction of comment on The Shiloh Insider is the direct result of advertising bots that place, often inappropriate, advertisement, disguised as comment, on the blog. There have been ads from everything to erectile dysfunction and sexually oriented material to skin treatments and hemorrhoid ointments. Despite changing my username and password numerous times, these ads became so numerous and disruptive that removing them was becoming a daily tedium.

Therefore, I disabled the comment function of The Shiloh Insider.

Lately, however, several persons have mentioned to me the desire to discuss issues and comments made through The Shiloh Insider. While the title may suggest that the blog deals exclusively with information that is exclusive to Shiloh Church UCC, the content quite often deals with theological and cultural information that applies to wider Church life. My colleagues often read The Shiloh Insider.  In fact, the blog has readers in Sweden and Scotland, in Mexico and the Philippines, from around the country, and right here in Dayton. It is a public site that many in my UD classes read. Often, people want to comment on the issues and arguments raised.

I am therefore considering the creation of a Facebook page that would invite discussion of the topics raised in and through The Shiloh Insider. I believe that I can provide a weekly link from Facebook to The Shiloh Insider. Contributions to the blog would be available to potential readers through Facebook, as well as through the Shiloh UCC website, www.shiloh.org. I am posting the idea on the Shiloh Facebook page, attempting to determine if there is enough interest for me to go to the trouble of the weekly effort. If you are interested, look for the post on the Shiloh Facebook page, and let me know.

I look forward to the discussion.

It's About Money

In churches specifically, and religious/non-profit organizations in general, the love of money is often the root of all evil. Do not misunderstand, money is also a genuine blessing to churches and human service organizations. It depends, I suppose, on how the church or organization thinks of its money and upon what it does with what is contributed.

I worked with a congregation lately that was considering closing its doors. My first meeting with the Board was a simple fact-finding mission. Where are you in the congregation life-cycle? What ministries or outreach projects are important to you? What do you do in, to and for your community? What do you want? What are your plans for the future?

Worship, done their way, was important to them. Their social group in the congregation was their social group in general. Their building was in need of repair. Their organ was not working. They could not afford to pay for a pastor. They were exploring every possible option to keep them in their building, doing things their way...and, forgive me, for themselves. They could point to no outreach ministry to the community. They could identify no ministry beyond service to themselves. Nothing flowed from inside the building to its community or neighborhood.

Vision for the future meant only survival. It did not entail expanded ministry or retooling in any other direction than that accepted and embraced by the handful who still gathered. They did not want to lose "their church," nor compromise the traditions that had been established there.

Over time, my discussions with the congregation were beginning to make some progress. People were starting to envision a place of mission and ministry, where the church becomes a resource in and to its community. They were beginning to think and dream, beyond their own interests, to the foundations of the faith.

Abruptly, all discussion ended. There was no contact for several months. Finally, when I was able to corner the Board president, I was able to ascertain the cause of our broken communication. The congregation had received a large financial gift, in excess of $500,000. The leader told me that this would sustain them for roughly ten additional years, and that there was no need for them to do any of the things that I had been recommending to them.

The potential ministry of that community of faith may well die because of the money. It is possible that the church may use the funding to move into a ministry model, to develop meaningful mission and ministry to and with its neighborhood and community. I pray that it does. Given the way that this congregation thinks about money, as a means of survival, I suspect that it will not dare to risk its financial security in the chancy avenues of ministry and mission.

Money can do that. Or, better put, the ways that we think about money can do that. Money becomes a blessing when it is used for ministry and service, not when it is retained and protected for survival. Money is simply a means to mission and ministry. If a church fails to utilize it in this way, if it ceases to be a place of meaningful service to, with and for its community and neighborhood, then money becomes a curse. It is the death knell of ministry and mission. It is the death knell of the Church of Jesus Christ.

Every congregation, Shiloh included, needs to consider whether its money is a source of mission and ministry or if it is used simply for protection and survival. Is money a blessing or a curse?    

Every Person in Four-Way Call

I was thinking this week about last week's post in The Shiloh Insider. In that article, I explained the four-way call of clergy within the United Church of Christ. In the UCC, clergy are responsible for being in relationship with God, the local setting and calling body, the community in which one serves and the wider church. Our code of ethics makes clear that the call is to represent God's will in multiple arenas, at all times, as well as one is able.

What if that calling belonged to more of us than just the clergy class? What if it were understood as God's calling to each of us?

As the themes of the Revised Common Lectionary have highlighted over the past several weeks, those who would be Christ's disciples must take up the Cross and follow him. Apostleship involves self-sacrifice and sometimes radical notions of service to others. Those who follow Christ Jesus must intentionally engage in works of self-sacrificial service, carried out for the sake of those who are served, and for the betterment of the community at-large. From that ministry we cannot turn back. We cannot escape it, if we are to be faithful followers.

Therefore, the four-way call, that previously belonged exclusively to clergy, is a helpful way to think about the ministry and calling of every person. Each of us is responsible to represent God's will in faithful relationship to God. This is the prime directive. Every person is accountable for representing the grace of God in Christ. Each is a mechanism of grace and kindness and mercy. Each is a vehicle of God's love and forgiveness.

Each is called to represent God in the local setting, in those arenas that are closest to us, most familiar. Each represents God in family and friendships, in how we work for justice and peace in our towns and cities, how we represent God in our most intimate relationships. Each is responsible for assisting the local setting be a clearer expression of God's will. As each person does so, we work together to shape community. God's will expands form the most personal and intimate relationships to the social arena. Each person in accountable for expressing God's will in the social, cultural arena. As a natural expansion of the personal, intimate setting, our social obligations occur organically. As we live, personally, in relationship with God, we can live in personal relationship with others, with our communities and with the wider population. We are called to represent God's will regionally, nationally and globally. There can be no disconnect between expression of God's will on any level. (Disconnect is hypocrisy in the eyes of the world, after all.)

Each of us, lay and clergy, is called to represent God's will in personal, community and global expressions of faithfulness. Each is called to embody grace and acceptance, generosity and kindness, love and compassion.

At Shiloh, we attempt at all times to equip persons for fulfilling the ministry to which each is called, in relationship with God's will, with those who are closest to us, in our communities and in the wider, regional and global communities. To this end, God empowers us with God's own Spirit, equipping us with everything that we need to bring God's kingdom on Earth. Join us, as we each work out our four-way call.  

Four-Way Call

I serve the wider church, and the community, in a number of ways. Sometimes, it seems that I serve the wider church and the community as much as I serve the local church to which I am called as Senior Pastor. This situation can occasionally become a matter of concern for persons who do not understand the four-way call of clergy.

As part of the clergy call, there are four areas of responsibility for which clergy are accountable. The first arena of call is to the Word and Will of God. Clergy persons are asked to exercise great care to ensure that what they say and do is reflective of God's love and grace. That Word and Will call clergy to act in ways that sometimes fail to reflect other values or other considerations. Clergy are accountable for faithfulness to the Word and Will of God. This call takes considerable time and energy and includes prayer, study, spiritual discipline and meditation.

The second arena of clergy call is the community in which one serves, as part of the global community. Clergy are responsible for representing Christ in, to and for the community in which one is located. But clergy are responsible for seeing local community as part of the global family of God (see arena #1). To be an active and vital part of the community, clergy are called upon to represent Christ, not so much as examples to be followed or honored, but in initiatives and life-styles that reflect God's love and grace. Once again, this takes considerable time and energy.

Thirdly, clergy are called to accountability to the local church in which one pastors. Clergy persons are responsible for ensuring that the local church represents God's love and grace in the community and the world. Clergy must see the local church as an expression of and embodiment of God's grace within and for the community (applying God's will within specific communities). Clergy are accountable for local church training, education, preparation and action that faithfully expresses God's word and will in the community and world. Of course, this requires a considerable amount of time and energy.

The fourth arena of clergy call is the wider church. Clergy persons are accountable for the ministry of the church beyond local settings. Clergy must be actively involved in wider expressions of God's grace and love. Sometimes, and with some persons, personal skill sets are needed by the wider church in different ways and to different levels. Lately, I have been called upon to be very active in the wider church. I serve the Association in a host of different capacities. I serve even wider, as a participant in the conversations about Conference restructure and as a delegate to The United Church of Christ General Synod. These responsibilities take tremendous amounts of time and energy.

Clergy are called to all four arenas of accountability, not just one of them. This happens to be a period when my skill set is being used in the wider church. I believe that God has called me, equipped me and enabled me to fulfill the richness of the ministry to which I am called, in all four arenas. I hope that the local church can demonstrate patience and understanding in a period when my gifts are called upon in the wider church. I am not ignoring or abandoning you, as someone claimed to the head of Shiloh's Personnel Committee. I am not padding a resume. I am not thinking of myself. I am being faithful to the four-way call to which I am called.

This is too Hard!

Two weeks ago, I opined, in The Shiloh Insider, about the three basic theological/practical objections to a theology of grace. I claimed that those three arguments are: 1. Grace is about radical equality, but the traditional Church has preferred a religion of privilege and power; 2. Grace sounds too facile in theory but is, in actually, too difficult in application; and 3. Grace is about the here and now instead of the hereafter.

It is the second of those arguments with which I am most interested today. As a regular feature of Shiloh's  7:00 p.m. "Discovery Time" contemporary service, the gathered worshipers comment on and discuss the texts/message. The text was from Luke 13, where Jesus heals a woman in the synagogue on the Sabbath. The message drew a parallel between what God asks of Jesus and what God asks of us. God asked Jesus to speak for him, to embody those words in acts of grace and kindness (particularly demonstrating God's love for those previously excluded), and to sacrifice his entire life for the sake of God's kingdom on Earth.

God asks the same of us. God invites us to speak for God, to articulate God's love, acceptance and mercy to every person in every place. God asks us to embody those words in acts of grace and mercy, paying particular attention to those among our brothers and sisters who have been rejected and made disadvantaged by the systems under which persons live. And, finally, God invites us to dedicate our entire lives to the establishment of God's kingdom on Earth.

As the worshiping community discussed the message and texts, one of those in attendance spoke what I imagine most were thinking. He said, "This is too hard. It is too much."

Grace sounds simple in its basic theory, but is remarkably challenging in its actual application. We are only human, after all. We are not able to speak for God, to embody God's grace in acts of love and kindness and generosity, and we certainly are not prepared to place our entire lives on the sacrificial altar of God's kingdom on Earth. It is too much. It is too hard.

This is too much and it is too hard. No human being can possibly speak and act from God's will. No human being is capable of sacrificing self for the sake of expressing God's will in real, concrete, practical situations.

Two questions. Firstly, then why does God grant us the power of God's Holy Spirit? Why are we empowered and equipped? Is it not in order that we may do far more with the Spirit than we are able to accomplish if left to our own skill sets? Does the Spirit not work miracles through us?

Secondly, why do we gather in communities of faith? Why do we worship together, study together, fellowship together, work together? Is it not to share the apostleship to which each of us is called? Is it not to support one another in the course of our mutual ministries and shared mission? Does the community not lift us, support us, enable us?

Grace sounds simple, but it is exceedingly difficult in its application. Sometimes, it is too hard. Often, it is too much. Thank God, in those times, we can rely on the empowerment of God's Holy Spirit and the shared apostleship of the Church. If the Church fails in doing this work, if it allows persons to feel less than empowered and supported, then it is not doing its work. If it fails to call persons to accountability for the Spirit that is breathed into them, and fails to embrace them in their work, then the Church is meaningless in establishing God's kingdom on Earth.

At Shiloh, we work all the time at finding ways to help persons feel empowered, to help people feel the support of a loving, called, equipped community of faith. We could use some additional help. How can you help us?

Charity Golf Outing

This past weekend, on Saturday, August 17, Shiloh Church held its annual charity gold outing at Cassel Hills Golf Club, in Vandalia. This year marked Shiloh's ninth annual golf outing. In the first three years, the occasion was simply used as fellowship. It made no money. In 2008, however, Shiloh saw the need to tie the golf outing to a ministry need. Seeing the need to support needy families in our area through the Christmas and holiday season, Shiloh tied all proceeds to that cause. In the past six years, Shiloh has supported local families with over $25,000 of direct assistance, all raised through the church's golf outing.

In the 2012 golf outing, Shiloh raised just over $7,100. This year, Shiloh is likely to see even more available direct assistance, as the congregation anticipates that final contribution levels will eclipse that sum. At the end of the outing, dinner and auction, the church had raised $6,500. On Sunday, we heard of many additional contributions being made by members and friends of the congregation. Those contribution figures are still pending, but one may assume that the numbers will be greater than those of 2012.

Shiloh's deep appreciation goes to every person who played in the outing, those who supported it with contributions and assistance, those who donated items to the auction, and those who thought about and prayed for the success of the event. The efforts of Pastor Jay McMillen are of special note, since his hard work makes the outing both a possibility and a huge success.

Shiloh wants to recognize its sponsors. If you see these persons, or if you happen into these businesses, let them know that you appreciate their support. 

Diamond Plus Sponsors:  Shiloh Church Women's Board and Vince Russel at Johnson Investments

Diamond Sponsors: Shiloh Church Deacons, Dr. Lisa Peterson & Family, Ben Rupp with the Insurance Board, Englewood Meijer Store, Englewood T.J. Chumps, Tom and Shelby Parnell Family

Platinum Sponsors: Dave Dillard at Dillard Electric, Northmont Class of 1993, the Ivory Family of The Kid's Institute, Reg Richwine Family

Silver Sponsors: Sandi's Clothes Encounter, Alan Pippenger at Requarth Lumber, Glen Green Construction, Bill Homan and Family

Gold Sponsors: Dr. Bob and Zoe Hittner Family, Dave and Lou Tiley Family, Linda Peterson and Family, Roth and Company, Superior Mechanical, the Benvenuto Family at Tony's Italian Kitchen, Shiloh Church Discovery Team (7:00 p.m. Service), the Gerhart Family at Titan Flooring, Jim Shepler DDS and Family at North Main Dentistry, Chris Clausen at Super Tech Automotive, the Bowser family at Miami Valley Vending, Chris Pulos at Brower Insurance, Bill Kindred at Kindred Funeral Home, Jeff Reichard at Reichard Buick,Tammy Greenberg and the Routson Family at Diversite Salon and Day Spa, Rick Snider at Baker Hazel Snider Funeral Home, Rick Holmes and Family at the Architectural Group

Donation Sponsors: Uptown Hair Studios, T.J. Chumps, Englewood, Texas Roadhouse, Regain Solace, Boston's Bistro and Pub, Buffalo Wild Wings, Englewood, Bead Dazzled (Kathy Penfield), Tony's Italian Restaurant, Shiloh Quilters, Pipestone Golf Club, Kroger State Liquor Store, Chick-Fil-A (Miller Lane), Miami Valley Country Club, Meadowbrook Country Club, Midwest Colerain RV, Shumsky (Lorie Woods), Linda Peterson and Family, Pastor Jay McMillen Family, Matt Weaver Family, Tiley Family, Earl McMillen Family, Dr. Lisa Salata Family, Judy Peck, Gary Wachter Family, Rev. Carl & Lisa Robinson.

Thanks to each of you, and our golfers, we are giving Christmas to sixty or more families this holiday season. God bless you all!

Enemies of the Theology of Grace

Paul's theology of grace was rejected as orthodoxy in the early church by, among other formulas, the establishment of Apostolic Succession. Apostolic Succession afforded authority in the late first and early second century Church by granting standing to those who would trace their theological lineage back to the original disciples of Jesus. Thus, it stands as a rejection of the theology of grace in Paul, because Paul, as we all know, was not among Jesus' disciples.

Today, the enemies of the theology of grace are a bit more subtle. They are real and powerful, but they work covertly, behind the scenes. They have shaped the ways that we have thought and acted and spoken. 

Firstly, the theology of grace in Paul was powerful in the Hellenistic world because Paul's theology resonated with the Hellenistic virtues. Grace makes great sense when we can claim spiritual status, when we can claim that, in Christ, God has changed the essential nature of humankind from earthly and physical (Adamah) to spiritual (in Christ). If the essential nature of humankind is altered in the Crucifixion and Resurrection, then all human nature is affected. It is a universal grace. In Christ, God diminishes physical human nature, with its passions and desires and hungers, and strengthens the spiritual, perfect, eternal heavenly virtues.

The Emergent Culture, that which has been surfacing since around 1968, is forcing the Emergent Church, or whatever readers may want to call it, to recover the theology of grace. Culture is leading the spiritual evolution of the Church. The Church has tried, for nearly fifty years, to reject the spiritual evolution being made necessary by culture progression. Conservative movements have tried to draw us back, away from a theology of grace, and toward an increasingly narrow understanding of our relationship with God.

The Church that has formed as a response to cultural evolution has rejected the theology of grace in at least three ways:

     1. Grace Counters Religious Advantage: If everyone's essential nature is made spiritual in Paul's understanding of grace, then there is no advantage to believing a particular thing in a particular way. There is no advantage to orthodoxy in ritual or sacrifice. There is no essential advantage to being in the Church. All are saved (made spiritual) and all are instruments of God's grace, inside or outside the Church.

     2. Grace Requires Action in Application: While the theology of grace reads simply enough, perhaps a bit too simply, it is incredibly difficult in application. It is more than a philosophy or system of belief. Grace required action. It necessitates ministry and mission. Grace can only be true insofar as it is expressed in relationship to living, breathing beings. Grace is the great mobilizing force of the Church-That-Will Be. The Church-That-Was rejects it as too easy in theory and too difficult in application.

   3. Grace is About the Here-and-Now Instead of the Hereafter:  The Church has learned to diminish the meaning of human life by placing salvation in another world, after humans die. Grace is the construction and maintenance of a new world in the here-and-now. It is qualitative. The effort to which grace calls humanity is development of kingdom...on earth....now. The emphasis of our efforts must lie in the development of a way of life, on Earth, that blesses and benefits every person in every place. It is justice and peace and compassion and mercy as ways of life, personal, interpersonal, social and universal.

The enemies of the theology of grace have been loud and confident. The voices of those who work tirelessly for the Church-That-Will-Be have been increasing in both volume and impact. Those voices are beginning to be heard. Let us shout from the mountaintops and sing in the dales the wonderful theology of grace.

Come sing with us!

   

Grace or Religion?

The Church of the first century was faced with the same dilemma that we face in the Church today. Then, the dilemma was best understood as the dynamic that existed between the theologies of Paul and the theologies of Judaizers, like some of the other early apostles. Paul taught the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ as an archetype for faithful life, one that reflected the perfect and eternal heavenly virtues of his Hellenistic culture. Peter, and others, taught that persons must remain true to ancient religious principles in order to attain salvation.

Peter's theological school of thought was primarily moral. Laws, rules and regulations established what it meant to be "in" the Church, in the faith, in relationship with God. Relationship was established and maintained only to the point to which persons were willing and able to remain faithful to the rules and regulations, including those unwritten and unspoken expectations that form community values.

Paul's theological school of thought taught that persons were saved exclusively through the grace of God in Christ. Essential human nature was changed in Christ from primarily physical (Adamah) to primarily spiritual (Christ). Crucifixion and Resurrection are about the empowerment of humans to participate in the process of universal salvation as instruments of God's grace in the world. Humans become spiritual beings, capable and called to exercise grace in relationship to others.

Peter is restrictive. Paul is permissive. Peter is exclusionary. Paul is inclusionary. Peter is judgment and criticism. Paul is empowerment and constructive.

Of course, the developing institution of the late first century chose the path of Peter's theological school of thought over that of Paul. It chose religion over grace.

The Great Reformation was, essentially, a recovery of Paul's theological school of thought. While the Reformers attempted to embody a theological system based in empowerment and grace, the systems that resulted could thing only in terms of new orthodoxies, rules, regulations and morals. Denominationalism failed to fully embrace the possibility of a Church of Grace. The Church continued to pursue religion instead of grace.

Today, culture is leading the way in the spiritual evolution of the Church of Jesus Christ. As it moves in more and more progressive avenues, as equality, justice and fairness among all peoples become hallmarks of contemporary culture, exclusionary religions become increasingly irrelevant. Grace abounds. Acceptance rules the day. Diversity is celebrated instead of feared.

The Church of Jesus Christ has a choice in developing inclusionary culture. It can be about grace or it may cease to exist. It can opt to fall into distant memory or it can be a vital force for the ongoing mission of Jesus Christ. The culture is forcing the Church to choose grace over religion. God is, as usual, acting in strange ways. Maybe this time, the Church will choose grace over religion.