I have noticed something in my devotional reading the week. I keep being sent to scriptures that I have been praying through over the last several months. One scripture referenced a passage I have been praying with regard to our building program. It fits with the idea of buildings honoring God. I Chronicles 29 give some interesting descriptions. How might this apply to what we are in the process of doing? I was directed to the passage in Ephesians talking about God doing abundantly more than we can ask or imagine. Frankly that is a passage I have been praying for our church since I was first appointed here. In addition I pray this for our generosity. May we express generosity abundantly more than we might ask or imagine. I do not think the YouVersion Bible Ap has been listening in on my prayers. I do think God listens when we pray. I do believe God speaks to us in many ways including though the scriptures He leads us to read. I do think God intersects our prayers, hopes and dreams with His Spirit. I do think God corrects us when we need correction. I do believe God confirms us when our hearts and minds need encouragement. So this has been a good week of searching the scriptures. It has been a week of affirmation. I pray the same grace for you. Listen for God. Peer into His Word. God continues to speak today. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

We are talking about Generosity this month. In talking about generosity and how it relates to the church I am pointing out two different philosophies. The more traditional way churches seem to operate would be from a commitment to "limit increase". The conversation usually begins with how much did we get last year? How may we hold the line on expenditures? Is it possible to decrease the budget this year? What will we do to "limit the increase" if there is one? There is a place for this line of thought. Denominations and even annual conferences tend to operate in a way that year after year requires a shrinking pool of donors to contribute ever larger amounts. Obviously this cannot go on indefinitely. Thankfully our church is not in that position. We do not have a diminishing pool of generous donors. As a matter of fact we experience healthy change and growth. The other philosophy is driven by a "high expectation" culture. Frankly we Methodist folks do not gravitate toward high expectation. It is something we need to nurture and live into. In a high expectation church people are taught and encouraged to practice generosity. When it comes to budgets the first question is "what is God calling us to do?" Uninformed projections are not helpful. There is still a somewhat fine line between faith and presumption! But it is not difficult to estimate a congregations capacity. I could take our average worship attendance. This is a general figure that denotes the number of people who support the ministry. Actually average attendance is becoming almost as misleading a statistic as membership. We probably have 25% more people attend church in any given month that our averages would indicate. That is because normal attendance patterns are more like once every 4 - 6 weeks than each weekend. But that is another matter to discuss sometime. Once you get the figure that represents your participation it is time to take a look at average household or per capita income in your area. Google average household income in Platte County, Missouri and you will get your range. Multiply your participation number by the average income and you get your total assets to work with. Now figure 10% of that and you see what might be a "high expectation figure." With all this done it is time to step up and discern what God is calling His people to do. We will continue to speak of generosity. Generosity will fuel high expectations. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

Today we remembered those who have moved to the Church Triumphant. We recognize All Saints during this weekend. It is always a meaningful moment when I have the honor of reading the names of our people who have died in the year. It is very moving to watch person after person stand to honor loved ones and people who have influenced them. There are always some whose name is read and few if any stand with them. Perhaps they have outlived most of their friends. Maybe they had been unable to participate in the life of the church for several years and simply lost touch with others. There are others whose influence has been tremendous. They touched the lives of many. But there is something we all have in common. God is intimately acquainted with everyone whose name is read. God certainly hears the bell and remembers. Whether well known or known only to a few God knows and deeply loves His people. That is something to celebrate as we remember our loved ones and friends during All Saints. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

We have experienced a wedding weekend in the Breon family. Our son Bobby married Leslie Jones yesterday evening. I had the opportunity to officiate the service. That was a very unique thing to do! Thankfully by God's grace I got through it fine. Weddings have certainly changed over the years. I have heard the story of my mom and dad's "wedding". They went to the Methodist preacher's house (parsonage) for the wedding. It was dad, his brother, mom and her best friend and the preacher. After being pronounced man and wife they went to mom's house where my grandma had fixed lunch! When Cindy and I got married we had a nice but simple service in Cindy's home church, Ohio Street United Methodist in Butler, Mo. Cindy's pastor and mine shared in the ceremony. From the service we went down to the church basement for a cake and punch reception. Things are different today. We had the ceremony and reception in the same place. It was a downtown K.C. venue. It certainly made it easier on the grandparents! It was a true celebration of marriage. I really appreciate what the best man had to say about my son. I loved the part about his true friendship and character. Good to hear! I suppose wedding ceremonies are different all over the world. They have changed down through history. Hopefully there is a common thread that runs through Christian marriage through the ages. "We are gathered together to unite this man and this woman in Holy Matrimony. Which is an honorable estate. Instituted by God and signifying the mystical union which exists between Christ and his Church, which holy estate Christ adorned and beautified with his presence in Cana of Galilee..." Whether in ancient times in a place called Cana, with a family that has had their story told for centuries yet remain unnamed; or a ceremony in a parsonage in 1952, or a church wedding in 1972, or a modern wedding in 2014, the common thread remains Jesus Christ. Last night was another reminder to me that Christ "adorns and beautifies" marriage. For you who live in this "holy estate of matrimony" I pray you experience a renewal of Jesus Christ in your marriage. He continues to "adorn and beautify" today. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

I had a great trip to Guatemala. For the past 25 years Dr. Marty Kanne has travelled to Guatemala and Honduras to work with the poor and be a catalyst for mission projects among these wonderful people. It has been a joy for Platte Woods UMC to share in this work in many places. We have had a part of school, church, medical and even a sewer project! These projects continually touch people and change lives. On our recent trip we shared in a community dedication of a school. It was a joyous occasion. Now children will not have to walk miles to get an education or miss out all together. We were also able to share in a celebration with a church that now has a roof over their heads. We took a trip to the John Wesley School where young people are provided opportunities they would never have without this work. We saw other churches and met many people. It was a full few days. It amazes me what a church can do when someone has a vision and others join in. You make a difference. On another note... Great worship today. Our own Jennifer Simms put together two great videos that contributed greatly to worship. The Royals video to "Centerfield" stirred everyone. (Go Royals!) We ended up today with an offering of the best we have to share. "Give Me Jesus." Thanks again Jennifer for putting images to music and touching our hearts! On yet another note... Did I say GO ROYALS? This has certainly been a fun few weeks. I got to watch the last two innings of the clinching game 4 on a little tv in a room at a hotel in Guatemala that had only 1 set in the whole place! Believe me, cheers went up! It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

When you need a break from your diversions and leisure...This playoff season for the Royals has been pretty crazy. All of Kansas City has missed sleep and that includes me. Night after night we have been watching and hoping and being amazed. I must admit on the Tuesday night Wild Card game I about gave up. At the end of the seventh inning with the Royals behind by four runs I turned to Cindy and said, "I'm going to bed." She said, "you can't go to bed now." I said "if anything happens wake me up." About five minutes later she was shaking me and saying "you've got to see this!" I watched until midnight and celebrated that unlikely victory. I am glad Cindy did not let me miss the excitement. I wonder how many times people find themselves on the verge of giving up on something and no one there to say, "you've got to see this!" I could put a spiritual spin on this. The fact is we all need someone who will not let us go to sleep and miss the adventure and excitement of the Christian life. Who keeps you alert so your prayer life remains vital? Who keeps you awake to the Word of God in the Bible? Who shakes you out of your spiritual sleep? Who cares enough about you to refuse to let you miss the joy and adventure of following Jesus Christ? We share the Christian life with others. We are intended to live our faith in community. We need someone to walk with us in the life of grace. I pray you be that somebody. Together we live the adventure of faith. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

The question of our day was "Are there things so small and so insignificant we should not bother God with them? There are many people who would imagine God not caring or perhaps even being offended were we to bring Him some of these "insignificant" things. Since the Age of the Enlightenment it seems this attitude has grown. It comes down to our image of the nature and character of God. If God is distant and impersonal a case could be made for not bothering God with the supposed insignificant things. But we think differently of God. We believe God to be a personal God and deeply concerned with ALL things in our life. God is very interested in all the circumstances and situations we face. God cares. If this is true we not only may but should involve the Lord in all things in our lives. The option offered is found in a prayer of surrender. "Lord Jesus, be actively and redemptively involved in all areas and aspects of my life." How would your life be different with Jesus Christ deeply involved in all areas of your life? I invite you to give it a try this week. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve