For a week we had a cabin full of four adults and five kids all under the age of 8 up in Ely, MN. My brother-in-law's oldest, Anna, is 3 and full of life! Her favorite words this past week were "no way" and "I don't want to." I personally found the "no way" line pretty funny myself but my brother and sister-in-law didn't quite have the same take on it as I did. Now Gina and I have been pretty lucky with what I would consider good, well behaved kids. I am not saying this to make us look good but having good manners is something we have intentionally tried to instill in our kids. By the end of the week Anna was saying "please" when she wanted something and "thank you" when she got it.
Who we surround ourselves with has an impact on us. If we hang out with folks who are a little on the wild side chances are we will drift that way. If our group of friends are more on the reserved side that will rub off on us too. It is the same way in our faith life. If we surround ourselves with people who take their faith seriously and want to grow in their faith we will find ourselves in the same boat. If we spend time with people who just go through the motions we will do the same thing.
Jesus understood the need for community. When he sent his disciples out he didn't send them out on their own but in groups of two. They were there to support one another and encourage each other in their work. I hope you have found strong community when it comes to your faith life. We were made for community, our faith grows in community and we can have an impact on each other. Hopefully when the opportunity arises for us to be a part of community we wont find ourselves saying "no way."
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Finidng a Community of Faith
For a week we had a cabin full of four adults and five kids all under the age of 8 up in Ely, MN. My brother-in-law's oldest, Anna, is 3 and full of life! Her favorite words this past week were "no way" and "I don't want to." I personally found the "no way" line pretty funny myself but my brother and sister-in-law didn't quite have the same take on it as I did. Now Gina and I have been pretty lucky with what I would consider good, well behaved kids. I am not saying this to make us look good but having good manners is something we have intentionally tried to instill in our kids. By the end of the week Anna was saying "please" when she wanted something and "thank you" when she got it.
Who we surround ourselves with has an impact on us. If we hang out with folks who are a little on the wild side chances are we will drift that way. If our group of friends are more on the reserved side that will rub off on us too. It is the same way in our faith life. If we surround ourselves with people who take their faith seriously and want to grow in their faith we will find ourselves in the same boat. If we spend time with people who just go through the motions we will do the same thing.
Jesus understood the need for community. When he sent his disciples out he didn't send them out on their own but in groups of two. They were there to support one another and encourage each other in their work. I hope you have found strong community when it comes to your faith life. We were made for community, our faith grows in community and we can have an impact on each other. Hopefully when the opportunity arises for us to be a part of community we wont find ourselves saying "no way."
Who we surround ourselves with has an impact on us. If we hang out with folks who are a little on the wild side chances are we will drift that way. If our group of friends are more on the reserved side that will rub off on us too. It is the same way in our faith life. If we surround ourselves with people who take their faith seriously and want to grow in their faith we will find ourselves in the same boat. If we spend time with people who just go through the motions we will do the same thing.
Jesus understood the need for community. When he sent his disciples out he didn't send them out on their own but in groups of two. They were there to support one another and encourage each other in their work. I hope you have found strong community when it comes to your faith life. We were made for community, our faith grows in community and we can have an impact on each other. Hopefully when the opportunity arises for us to be a part of community we wont find ourselves saying "no way."
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Is Retirement a "Biblical" Thing?
We save for, plan and dream about retiring but what does that say about our happiness with our current situation?
I am trying to find some biblical examples where "retirement" is brought up. In the Old Testament there are certainly examples of succession and replacing but nothing quite like spending your golden years doing traveling the world or enjoyig the grandchildren. In the New Testament it seems like all of the promiment figures work right up till their death, even if that death isn't always due to natural causes. Regardless, the bible doesn't seem to talk much about retiring the same way that we do.
I think there are two ways to look at this situation; first, are we finding fulfillment in our life's work? Are we able to combine what we enjoy with our work or are we simply working because it pays the bills and brings in a good wage? We are far too consumed with our occupations. Our work defines us, it brings us purpose but what if we dont enjoy our work? What if we have a passion but we cant find a career in it because it doesnt pay enough?
The second approach involves finding purpose outside of our jobs. What if our occupation was only a portion of our identity, only a way to fund what we really enjoy doing? This was how Paul lived his life. He was known to be a tent maker (Acts 18:3) and he used his occupation to fund his real passion, telling others about Jesus. He never built up a retirement fund and worked up until his death. He worked to fund his mission and found his identity not as a tent maker but as a missionary.
For most of us this is a lofty goal, myself included. But let's take a moment and think about our identity and where we find it. Let's enjoy the present and not dream about the time when we dont have to work any more. Let's realize that we can work for God until the day we go home and in doing so find greater purpose. Pastor Chris
I am trying to find some biblical examples where "retirement" is brought up. In the Old Testament there are certainly examples of succession and replacing but nothing quite like spending your golden years doing traveling the world or enjoyig the grandchildren. In the New Testament it seems like all of the promiment figures work right up till their death, even if that death isn't always due to natural causes. Regardless, the bible doesn't seem to talk much about retiring the same way that we do.
I think there are two ways to look at this situation; first, are we finding fulfillment in our life's work? Are we able to combine what we enjoy with our work or are we simply working because it pays the bills and brings in a good wage? We are far too consumed with our occupations. Our work defines us, it brings us purpose but what if we dont enjoy our work? What if we have a passion but we cant find a career in it because it doesnt pay enough?
The second approach involves finding purpose outside of our jobs. What if our occupation was only a portion of our identity, only a way to fund what we really enjoy doing? This was how Paul lived his life. He was known to be a tent maker (Acts 18:3) and he used his occupation to fund his real passion, telling others about Jesus. He never built up a retirement fund and worked up until his death. He worked to fund his mission and found his identity not as a tent maker but as a missionary.
For most of us this is a lofty goal, myself included. But let's take a moment and think about our identity and where we find it. Let's enjoy the present and not dream about the time when we dont have to work any more. Let's realize that we can work for God until the day we go home and in doing so find greater purpose. Pastor Chris
Hearts Filled with Gratitude
I'm sure by now you have received the nicely written letter from Pastor Troy this week announcing his leaving to accept a new call as Pastor of St. John's Lutheran in Winter Park, Florida. Our hearts are filled with gratitude for the job well done here at CLC over the past five years by Troy. The best we can hope for as a congregation is to hold onto these associate for a good five years, train them, expose them to a healthy ministry and then send them off to replicate that same experience elsewhere in the ELCA. We did that for Pastor John and now again for Pastor Troy.
So, while it is hard to see him go, I do so with the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant." I am excited for him on this new call and wish him all the best.
I wanted to give you all the opportunity to do just the same. Please place on your calendars August 22. That will be Troy's last Sunday to preach. Following worship, there will be an appreciation celebration afterwards where we can bring our words of thanks and well wishes and Troy and Cindy, along with their family, heed the call of the Spirit.
Peace,
Pastor Scott
So, while it is hard to see him go, I do so with the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant." I am excited for him on this new call and wish him all the best.
I wanted to give you all the opportunity to do just the same. Please place on your calendars August 22. That will be Troy's last Sunday to preach. Following worship, there will be an appreciation celebration afterwards where we can bring our words of thanks and well wishes and Troy and Cindy, along with their family, heed the call of the Spirit.
Peace,
Pastor Scott
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Pastor Chris and the Minnesota Bugs
This weekend my family and I will be heading up to northern Minnesota to spend some time with Gina's brother and his family. As we were planning this trip my only requests were that we go to a place with cooler weather (we went to the Oregon coast last year) and minimal bugs. Well, I think I got one of my requests filled.
I am not a fan of bugs at all. Growing up in Oregon didn't help as there are very few bugs in the northwest, especially compared to Minnesota. I wonder if I will have to put ankle weights on my kids to keep them from being carried away by the "bird-sized" mosquitoes we will encounter in the boundary waters.
If I could pick up the phone and ask God a few questions I would certainly ask him about the need for bugs. Are mosquitoes and ticks really essential to the web of life on this planet? What role do they serve? What is their purpose?
Bugs are trivial but don't we find ourselves asking God those "what is the purpose" questions on more than one occasion?
Job was in such a situation and his questions dealt with issues much more severe than pesky bugs. Job had lost everything, his wealth and family were gone and his body was covered in sores. His "friends" encouraged him to give up his faith and die. After multiple conversations between Job, his friends and others God finally speaks and his words are shocking.
"Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it?"
God continues to challenge Job for another 65+ verses, squarely putting Job in his place and reminding him who his in control.
There are many things in the world that don't make sense and probably never will, but who are we to question God? We may not be in the same situation as Job or lay awake at night wondering about bugs, but we all at one time or another question the way things are and, in our arrogance, think we have better insights. Once in a while we need to be put in our place, to be reminded who is in control and through experiences like that we can grow in our faith and trust in God.
I am not a fan of bugs at all. Growing up in Oregon didn't help as there are very few bugs in the northwest, especially compared to Minnesota. I wonder if I will have to put ankle weights on my kids to keep them from being carried away by the "bird-sized" mosquitoes we will encounter in the boundary waters.
If I could pick up the phone and ask God a few questions I would certainly ask him about the need for bugs. Are mosquitoes and ticks really essential to the web of life on this planet? What role do they serve? What is their purpose?
Bugs are trivial but don't we find ourselves asking God those "what is the purpose" questions on more than one occasion?
Job was in such a situation and his questions dealt with issues much more severe than pesky bugs. Job had lost everything, his wealth and family were gone and his body was covered in sores. His "friends" encouraged him to give up his faith and die. After multiple conversations between Job, his friends and others God finally speaks and his words are shocking.
"Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it?"
God continues to challenge Job for another 65+ verses, squarely putting Job in his place and reminding him who his in control.
There are many things in the world that don't make sense and probably never will, but who are we to question God? We may not be in the same situation as Job or lay awake at night wondering about bugs, but we all at one time or another question the way things are and, in our arrogance, think we have better insights. Once in a while we need to be put in our place, to be reminded who is in control and through experiences like that we can grow in our faith and trust in God.
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