Reflections From Sunday Evening

Cindy and I went to church at Kearney UMC this morning. Spencer Smith is the new pastor there. He was apponted in June. Spencer was in junior high when we began serving in Joplin. He was active in our youth group and along with his family was regular in church. It was during that formative time in life that Spencer was sensing a call to ministry. I am so thankful that Spencer has responded to the call to serve as a pastor in the UMC. It was absolutely great to hear him preach today. When I think of where I was at that stage of life and see where our younger preachers are today -- let's just say we are in good hands with our younger clergy. During the service Spencer baptized a baby. The father was Scott MacDonald. He had been in the church in Raymore when Cindy and I were there. After church we visited with Scott, his brother Steven and mother Barbara. The other neat part of our day was walking into the church and seeing Spencer's mom and dad! It was great to see Jill and Dave. It was a pretty amazing day. The Christian life has so many connections. We find ourselves related to people from many different places. We also find the connections tend to transcend time. In Christ we experience a very unique unity. I feel like I got to experience a bit of that today. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

Today Cindy and I worshipped in Atlanta, Ga. and Leawood, Ks. North Point Community Church and the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection each provide live video stream of their Sunday service. I heard two good messages. There was good music in each place. I even registered my attendance with COR today! It is a great service to offer. However, I'm not ready to make video worship my preferred experience. I miss interaction with people. I find it difficult to look on and not participate. I could go on for sometime discussing the pro's and con's of online church. It is something to consider. There are amazing possibilities. We'll see. I find it hard to substitude for face to face interaction. There is something to be said for singing, praying and sitting together in worship. I suppose it is the "high tech" and/or "high/touch" idea. I want to be as high tech as possible. Amazing things can happen. What I really feel committed to is being high touch. This is where ministry takes place for me. It is the high touch of grace. of love of kindness of compassion of mercy of forgiveness of hope of peach of patience of preaching of worship of joy of faith It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

It's been a meaningful day. I appreciate Christine preaching this weekend. We recognized and consecrated 25 congregational care ministers today. Christine gives leadership in this vital area in the life of the church. Thanks for a good word today. We also had a number of children who participated in Vacation Bible School sing at 9:30. They knocked it out of the park. VBS was a great success this year. Seeds of faith were sown and we trust they will grow to fruition in the lives of young people. This week I will be in Oklahoma City as a delegate to the South Central Jurisdictional Conference. The main purpose is the election of Bishops. We will be electing three Episcopla leaders and each area will have a bishop assigned for the next four years. My friend Bob Farr is a candidate for the Episcopacy and I will be encouraging people to support him in this important ministry. Let me close this post by sharing about the memorial service I participated in this afternoon. Bill Stout was 67 years ago. He grew up in Appleton City. He was my "boyhood hero." He came out to our house one Sunday afternoon to show me how to throw a curveball. I was probably 8 years old and he was a high school kid. He was funny and witty. His family and ours were extremely close for those many, many years. Bill died of cancer. We met in the funeral home and had a service followed by a military service at the cemetery. Bill did not always have it all together. He returned from his tour of Vietnam with many struggles. He battled with alcohol for years. He had good seasons of life and some that were not so good. In the past several years Bill was in re-hab at the VA hospital and things clicked. Through counselling and medication Bill found his way to live a good life. I had the opportunity to share a few thoughts at the service today. It was very meaningful to be able to do so. As I think of Bill and then consider the Church it gives me a deep sense of hope. Faith is constant even when the mind and body struggle. In 1975 I prayed with Bill and he made his confession of faith and accepted Jesus Christ as his savior. The seeds of that prayer eventually grew. Today we trust that Bill has been blessed with life eternal. The seeds planted in a visit with one in the hospital grow through the grace of God. The seeds planted in VBS kids grow through the grace of God. The seeds planted in the business of the Church grow through the grace of God. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

Tomorrow we begin our week long Vacation Bible School at church. We anticipate over 300 children coming to learn about Jesus and the stories of faith. This is a tremendous opportunity. Likewise it is a tremendous privilege for those who will lead the children. I cannot help but think about VBS from the "old days." I still have memories of VBS at Trinity Methodist Church. In those days we went for two full weeks. (I would not even mention that to our teachers!) My friends were there. We ate homemade chocolate chip cookies made by mom's and grandma's. We drank red Kool-Aid. We played a game called Red Rover when we went outside to play. It was hot but we did not care. We made crafts from plaster paris. We learned Bible verses. We learned the stories of Jesus. When I think of these days I realize it to be an unimaginable privilege to have had these opportunities. I think about my experience in comparison to that of the hymn writer Edward Mote who wrote "My Hope is Built." "My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus' name." (He originally titled the hymn "The Immutable Basis of a Sinners Hope." They talked differently in the 19th century. Mote would not have been in Bible School. He did not grow up in a Christian home. He was often neglected by his parents who ran a pub in London. Even Sunday mornings would find him playing in the London streets. However at age 18 he was introduced to the Scriptures and was converted at the age of 18. Ultimately he became a pastor at the age of 55 and preached weekly for 21 years. This week we may reach a child who has not been to church before. We will certainly reach out to many who are very comfortable in church. We want to reach out in love and grace to all those who fill our rooms this week. Pray for the children we welcome this week. Pray for our Children's Ministry Dirctor, Jessica Duncan and the many, many voluteers who will be instruments of grace this week. It's been a great day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

Today we remembered the sacrifice our Founding Fathers made when they signed the Declaration of Independence and followed through with their commitment to freedom. It would be good to search the web and study some of their stories. The bottom line lifted up today was "They had security but they valued liberty more." As Christians we have "security." We are forgiven. We have confidence of the love of God. We have the promise of heaven. But perhaps there is something to value even more than "security." We are offered liberty. We may live in freedom of Spirit. We are free.... to live to run to dance to sing to hope to serve to give to work to care to bless to honor to sacrifice We have liberty. We are free. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. May your week be blessed. Remember from where we have come. Be thankful for liberty. steve