I just noticed that Mel Gibson was in the news today. The 53-year-old movie star will be a parent again in about seven months. His 39-year-old girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva, is pregnant. My wife commented, "What's happened to Mel?"
We met Mel at a premier showing of "The Passion of Christ" at Willow Creek Community Church several years ago. As he spoke to about 5,000 pastors and church leaders, he was so passionate, (pardon the pun), about the movie and what it represented. It was so much a part of his life that making the movie was like his ministry. No, it was his ministry at the time! But since that night, Mel has had a series of mishaps ... D.U.I, paparazzi sightings with other women, messy divorce, now a father-to-be with someone to whom he's not married. It's seems that in some ways, he's trying to distance himself from being the Hollywood "religious freak."
So, what's happened to Mel? My answer may be totally wrong, but still sound advice for everyone doing some form of ministry. I think that Mel might have suffered from unconventional ministry-meltdown. "Unconventional" in the sense that Mel was not part of a paid staff serving in formal Christian ministry, but he was making a contribution to Christian cinema history. And I've always felt that it was the most factual account of Jesus' physical suffering. Without having the benefit of centuries of crucifixes to stare at on Sunday mornings, his movie inspired a bunch of Protestant Christians to take Christ's sufferings seriously. I remember our Lenten services being much more somber than in previous years. Mel's movie gave us so much to talk about as Protestants who still keep the Lenten midweek worship observances.
Doing any ministry is tough. Jesus said we need to be as wise as serpents and as gentle as doves. He knew that ministry required a unique combination of compassion and toughness. In addition a Christian, or especially a Christian leader, needs to be above reproach. While we are trying to share the light of Christ with others, we take heat from those who are opposed to us. The Apostle Paul was always taking heat from people he tried to minister to. It seems that everywhere he went he was stirring up trouble, but it was "trouble of the good kind," opposition to sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But the Apostle warned Christian leaders to always watch their behavior and to walk in the light of Jesus Christ. He warned against falling back into the "multi-traps" of worldliness, feeding your ego, or resisting the devil who is always looking for someone to devour.
Ministry is tough! It's hard to do ministry and walk righteously at the same time. It can only be done properly with the help of the Holy Spirit. I would want to say to Mel: "You've been duped by the flesh, the world, and the enemy. It's time to turn over a new leaf, and it's never too late to turn back to the passion for Christ you once had. Keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit, and allow him to take over your day as you surrender yourself, and each part of the day to Him. When temptations come, take every thought captive to the mind of Christ, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you walk the right path. Every day has its challenges, but it also offers us the opportunity to make conscious decisions to follow Christ. Hang in there! You can do it with the help of the Holy Spirit."
See you on Sunday,
Pastor Rog
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Dealing with God's Love and Presence
In Jesus' Parable of the Talents, Matthew 25:14-30, he talks about three men given 5, 2 &1 talent respectively. No instructions for each servant, they were just entrusted with his possessions. I was thinking recently of the relationship between Jesus' parable and Paul's statement in Philippians 1:9 - this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more ... It occurred to me, what if the Master entrusted to his servants "love" instead of "talents," or possessions? What if the first servant received five measures of love, and the second servant received two measures of love, and the last servant received one? Does that thought shape the issue differently? It does for me. If the Master is waiting for his servants to invest their love in the lives of others, then the great "sin" of the last servant was that he didn't "bank" his love with another person's life, and at least collect interest. I know that Jesus' teaching is about the use of the gifts that God has given us, but let's not forget to be good stewards of the love that God has invested in us. We love because God first loved us. Love gains interest the more we invest it into the lives of others.
Last week, the blog that never materialized, was invested in the life of Michael Darnell's family. I conducted a funeral on Thursday at the request of Dick and Bonnie Nagel, Mike's in-laws. I was touched by the open sharing at the funeral. The family readily shared how much Mike's life had touched their lives. He had invested so much of his time building extended family relationships, encouraging others, and just all-around leading a life worth living. He added so much value to everyone else. At the funeral I shared my personal translation of Psalm 23 because it seemed so appropriate given the facts I knew about Mike. When I put Psalm 23 in my own words, this is how it came out:
"The Lord as my shepherd makes me lie down to rest
He leads me to calm waters so I will be refreshed
The Lord restores my soul when it runs out of gas
He keeps me on the right path
Even when I face death, no fear will overwhelm me, and God will comfort me
He prepares a table for me, anoints me and spills my cup of blessing to overflowing
with his blessings poured out upon me
Just as goodness and mercy will be with me all the days of my life
I know I will live in the house of the Lord forever and forever."
After going through that little exercise, I realized that David knew God is beside us throughout our life. No wonder Jesus said, "no one can snatch you out of my Father's hand." (John 10:28) How could they? If we have a relationship with the Son, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are with us every step of the way.
See you Sunday, Pastor Rog
Last week, the blog that never materialized, was invested in the life of Michael Darnell's family. I conducted a funeral on Thursday at the request of Dick and Bonnie Nagel, Mike's in-laws. I was touched by the open sharing at the funeral. The family readily shared how much Mike's life had touched their lives. He had invested so much of his time building extended family relationships, encouraging others, and just all-around leading a life worth living. He added so much value to everyone else. At the funeral I shared my personal translation of Psalm 23 because it seemed so appropriate given the facts I knew about Mike. When I put Psalm 23 in my own words, this is how it came out:
"The Lord as my shepherd makes me lie down to rest
He leads me to calm waters so I will be refreshed
The Lord restores my soul when it runs out of gas
He keeps me on the right path
Even when I face death, no fear will overwhelm me, and God will comfort me
He prepares a table for me, anoints me and spills my cup of blessing to overflowing
with his blessings poured out upon me
Just as goodness and mercy will be with me all the days of my life
I know I will live in the house of the Lord forever and forever."
After going through that little exercise, I realized that David knew God is beside us throughout our life. No wonder Jesus said, "no one can snatch you out of my Father's hand." (John 10:28) How could they? If we have a relationship with the Son, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are with us every step of the way.
See you Sunday, Pastor Rog
Thursday, April 30, 2009
First Midweek Connection
Welcome to my blog space. The Midweek Connection will be a way for St. Paul's members to check-in weekly to see what's going on around our "neighborhood." Those who are not members are welcome to check us out by joining the blog site. This is as good a place as any to see what's at the heart of our ministry from week to week. Each week this blog will deal with a variety of topics. Today's topic just happens to be about finances and helpful ministries.
I just heard on NPR this week, according to surveys and polls, that 33% of Americans are suffering the effects of a decrease in their personal income. I know that surveys are not a scientific way to gather information, but it squares with what I know about our congregation. Our church bookkeeper just shared with the Stewardship Team that of the top 150 donors, (mentioned only by giving envelope number, and not by household name for the sake of confidentiality), 66 of 150, or 44% had to reduce their giving for the first 15 weeks of 2009 compared with the same time period in 2008. Given that the Toledo area is one of the most economically depressed areas in the country, that percentage accurately reflects the financial situation of our surrounding neighborhoods. The great news is that 84 of 150, or 56% of the households increased their giving over the same time period. That means that in spite of tough economic times, our giving for the first 15 weeks increased 3.2%. Everyone contributing is making a valuable contribution in the life of the church.
My thanks to everyone for your continued support in tough times. I know that every household can not make an equal contribution, but we are all making an equal sacrifice. Your giving is a sacrifice for Christ. Just remember that the scriptures remind us to give as the Lord has prospered you. In other words, I'll continue to give 10% of what the Lord is giving to me no matter what. I'll trust in His grace rather than in the almighty dollar. You can do the same by setting your percentage of giving, and sticking with it to see what the Lord does to honor your plan.
St. Paul's wants to help anyway it can. Currently, we are offering two ways to assist families. Our once-a-month Community Dinners are being offered the last Friday of every month. Our goal is to help families stretch their budget to the end of the month. We hope that many in our area will take advantage of this offer and will have dinner on us! An offering basket is available each month, but giving is not necessary.
St. Paul's will also be offering a garden space the size of a single car garage for families that want to grow their own produce. Did you know that four tomato plants will produce over 100 lbs. of tomatoes? We have enough space for 40 family plots on the site that a church member has donated for this summer's use. My wife and I participated in a garden co-op many years ago, and we're looking forward to doing it again this summer. It was a great time for meeting our friends and working together. I hope you'll sign-up as soon as possible. St. Paul's wants to be the hands of Christ helping those in need.
Finally, as a matter of national emergency, would you commence to pray for protection for our country against swine flu. Prayer accomplishes a lot. Pray for President Obama's leadership, that the CDC handles this outbreak with wisdom, and that families stricken with the flu recover.
See you Sunday, Pastor Rog
I just heard on NPR this week, according to surveys and polls, that 33% of Americans are suffering the effects of a decrease in their personal income. I know that surveys are not a scientific way to gather information, but it squares with what I know about our congregation. Our church bookkeeper just shared with the Stewardship Team that of the top 150 donors, (mentioned only by giving envelope number, and not by household name for the sake of confidentiality), 66 of 150, or 44% had to reduce their giving for the first 15 weeks of 2009 compared with the same time period in 2008. Given that the Toledo area is one of the most economically depressed areas in the country, that percentage accurately reflects the financial situation of our surrounding neighborhoods. The great news is that 84 of 150, or 56% of the households increased their giving over the same time period. That means that in spite of tough economic times, our giving for the first 15 weeks increased 3.2%. Everyone contributing is making a valuable contribution in the life of the church.
My thanks to everyone for your continued support in tough times. I know that every household can not make an equal contribution, but we are all making an equal sacrifice. Your giving is a sacrifice for Christ. Just remember that the scriptures remind us to give as the Lord has prospered you. In other words, I'll continue to give 10% of what the Lord is giving to me no matter what. I'll trust in His grace rather than in the almighty dollar. You can do the same by setting your percentage of giving, and sticking with it to see what the Lord does to honor your plan.
St. Paul's wants to help anyway it can. Currently, we are offering two ways to assist families. Our once-a-month Community Dinners are being offered the last Friday of every month. Our goal is to help families stretch their budget to the end of the month. We hope that many in our area will take advantage of this offer and will have dinner on us! An offering basket is available each month, but giving is not necessary.
St. Paul's will also be offering a garden space the size of a single car garage for families that want to grow their own produce. Did you know that four tomato plants will produce over 100 lbs. of tomatoes? We have enough space for 40 family plots on the site that a church member has donated for this summer's use. My wife and I participated in a garden co-op many years ago, and we're looking forward to doing it again this summer. It was a great time for meeting our friends and working together. I hope you'll sign-up as soon as possible. St. Paul's wants to be the hands of Christ helping those in need.
Finally, as a matter of national emergency, would you commence to pray for protection for our country against swine flu. Prayer accomplishes a lot. Pray for President Obama's leadership, that the CDC handles this outbreak with wisdom, and that families stricken with the flu recover.
See you Sunday, Pastor Rog
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
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