Thanksgiving

A good day. I was one of a few thousand who got out this morning and ran around a 5k course! I wa pretty happy with it. My pace for a little over 3 miles was under 11 minutes. (All the real runners can stop grinning or laughing out loud in a couple of minutes and we will go ahead.) It is a good crowd of people. There are a lot of walkers. There are families jogging around together. There are little kids who are having a lot of fun. I probably was not the oldest person there! Oh there are those hard core runners. I was about 7 minutes into the race (remember when you start at the back it takes a few minutes to actually get to the starting line). About seven minutes in and I look up and here come the leaders heading toward the finish line! It's pretty amazing. My son Bobby was not winning the race but he ran it in about 20 minutes. So I was only about 12 and one-half minutes behind him!

I always note some of the younger runners. They might pass me four times during the race! But then I would come along and there would be one of those youngsters walking. They run fast and walk, run fast and walk. On the other hand I hardly varied my pace. I started slow and stayed that way! But I was consistent.

I actually try to live the Christian life this way. Consistent. Not running too far ahead. Not stopping. Staying the course. Staying the pace. Consistent. At least that is the goal.

In addition we had the family over for Thanksgiving dinner. Dad said the prayer. I know God heard. We ate. We visited. We watched a Bill Cosby (old time comedy) routine. Watched some football. Basically enjoyed being together.

I don't need a lot to be happy. Today was a day filled with blessings. Nothing huge. Everything significant. Much to be thankful for. I had a good day. I hope you've had a good day too.

Why we do what we do

We keep talking about practices in the church. Why do we put focus on radical hospitality, passionate worship, risk-taking mission and service, intentional faith development and extravagant generosity? Is it merely because Bishop Schnase wrote this book ... or are there other reasons?

I appreciate the emphasis upon these practices because they help us be more intentional about living the Christian life. When we begin to pay greater attention to these various aspects of our faith we find ourselves being drawn closer to Christ. The practices help us experience the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. It does not happen all at once but over time we find our lives changed and become more Christ-like.

I do hope we never lose sight of the reasons we practice the practices! We do not ask people to practice extravagant generosity so the church can get more money. We do so because Christians are geared to give. We practice giving so we develop joy in giving. We could make similar comments about any of these practices.

It is really important to know that we practice the Christian life for growth in faith and discipleship. We don't do these things for "institutional maintenance."

But what we are really talking about here is ordering our lives so we may more effectively reach out to people and share in the process of others becoming followers of Jesus Christ. We need to realize that the world's needs are much deeper than not having a supportive fellowship to enjoy. We need to be forgiven. We need to experience grace. We need to realize that this Christian life business is even more than life and death -- faith in Jesus Christ has eternal dimensions. When we rediscover the eternal issues at stake it certainly helps us realize more fully why we do what we do. We care. We love. We want everyone to live fully now and eternally in Christ!

Reflections From Sunday Evening

It is actually Monday morning. I wanted to wait until our annual church conference last night and that lasted longer than I anticipated. We had a good group join with four other churches to highlight some of our ministries. There are some great ideas out there! I loved Liberty UMC's strong emphasis upon Vacation Bible School and the great number of children they reach (especially those who do not have a church home). Good Shepherd is doing great work with their food pantry. It is great to be part of something (a connectional church) where so many of our churches are involved in vital outreach.

We also took care of some business. These are the meetings where leadership is elected and salaries are confirmed. We had worship. Our district superintendent led us well. It was a good evening.

I also reflect on our services this weekend. It is amazing how consistent we are. There was a lot going on this weekend. 900 people came out Saturday evening for the Turkey Dinner. The youth and all their supporters did a fantastic job. It was really neat. Worship seemed especially alive this weekend. We are always blessed with the great music Walter shares. Through the whole weekend I got this sense that God was with us. It is a good sense to have!

We are moving toward Thanksgiving Day with the blessings of God upon us and all around us. I pray you have a blessed day. It really helps when we have had the experince of God's Spirit stirring our souls in worship.

I've had a great day. I hope you have too.

Reflections From Sunday Evening

Church was an "upper" today. There are days when the people's faces and the atmosphere in worship makes preaching seem natural to me. Today was one of those days. It was an absolute joy to preach about God inviting us to share in the ministry of reconciliation because we are ambassadors for Christ. This is all made possible because we are "new creation" people. God is really good and it is a joy to respond to the grace offered. Thanks to all for making worship a spirit-filled experience today.

That's not all I did today. After church Cindy and I headed out with Reuben and Shirley and went to Arrowhead for the Chiefs game. Got there about midway in the second quarter. It was a beautiful day. The 1-8 Chiefs gave it a shot but like they have all year, came up short. So now we are 1-9. But the crowd was still wearing red and into the game (at least for awhile). I'm going to keep being a Chiefs fan in case some day they get good -- then I want to be able to say I stayed with them in the down years.

But back to better things. We have even better support than you see at Arrowhead at church. When things are going well you will find people at worship. When times are tough you will find people at church. We really do have a great ministry of reconciliation. We are ambassadors for Christ representing the interests of the kingdom of God and of our Lord in the world. We are these things because we are "new creation" people. We are people empowered by the Holy Spirit to break down barriers of separation between people and God. We build bridges to cross the chasm separating people from God. We are in a ministry of reconciliation. It was great being in church today. It was fun being at Arrowhead today. It was a good day. I hope you had a good day too.

Reflections From Sunday Evening

There has been so much going on this last couple of weeks I can't figure out where I would start sharing. I've never seen the church so alive. Everywhere I turn I see our people being involved in some type of ministry.

Visiting the sick....Calling on new mothers and their babies....Bringing food laced with love for a memorial service dinner.....Praying....People at worship....Groups singing....Administrative work (finance has put together a budget)....If it were not so energizing it would be exhausting!
So I guess this evening I am simply enjoying the work of God in and through our church. It comes down to people who have been touched by grace. It is a joy.

On another note. We have really gotten in to preparation for our "blessing project." We are going to offer a personal touch to each of our members. That is not just the folks who are most regular in attendance. That is everybody. We have an opportunity to touch around 2500 families with a simple message.
"I pray God bless you with a long, abundant and fulfilling life that brings glory and honor to God and peace and joy to many."

To touch our people with this simple blessing will require at least 100 of you to help. On Tuesday evening, November 18, I walk through the process with you and turn you loose to bless people in the name of Christ.

Seeing everyone in church today and seeing so many offer a ministry of love at the memorial service today assures me that we will be a continuing blessing to many people. In the midst of all the busy days it has been a great day. I hope you had a good day.

What a Country

The day after election day 2008. I've talked with some today who are practically giddy over the results of the presidential election. I've talked with others who are troubled. This is not about that.

I simply look at our country with amazement. Zimbabwe had an election. The President lost so he said the election did not count! That went over well.

Most nations do not have peaceful transfers of power.

The United States of America is amazing. The presidential campaign was long and hard fought. But today we are all Americans. In January a new president will take office. We will all move ahead.

We had great numbers of people participate in democracy. We voted. We counted. We accept the results.

Now we pray that God rest His hand of grace upon all our elected leaders.

This weekend we will preach on Transitions Pt. II. With the election past we turn to building the agenda for the future. I believe Christians have a vital role in setting the course for the nation. I believe Christians will call our leaders forth and they will accomplish great things because they find themselves in great causes -- held forth by people of faith -- you and me.

It's amazing. I watch our democracy in action and see it at its very best on election day. 2008 is no different.

Reflections From Sunday Evening

Thirteen names. Thirteen names that represent a person, a life, a variety of experiences, family, friends, faith, hope, dreams, pain, joy, peace, tears, laughter.

Thirteen names. Thirteen names of people who lived and died. Thirteen names of people who stood before Platte Woods UMC at one time and said yes to Jesus Christ.

Thirteen people who professed faith. Thirteen people who sang in the choir, shared in a Sunday School Class, taught young people, fixed meals, gave to the needs of others, volunteered in the office. Thirteen names.

Today we named thirteen people -- members of our church -- who have passed on to glory in the last year. Today we remembered thirteen people. They were husbands and wives. They were all someone's child. They were children of God.

We read their names -- people across the congregation stood in remembrance and honor of them -- we rang a bell -- we gave thanks.

Today we remembered the lives of thirteen people who have gone before us and showed the way of life and faith. We gave thanks for the lives lived.

It was a meaningful day for me. I felt a great appreciation for people today. Their faith made me feel good. It was a good day. I hope you had a good day too.