Reflections From Sunday Evening

We do many things in the life of the church. We teach the faith. We worship the Lord. We encourage the struggling. We visit the sick. We challenge the complacent. We care for the lonely. We comfort the mourners. We speak for those without a voice. We serve the poor. We feed the hungry. We work on behalf of the homeless. We plan for the future. We practice generosity. We support and engage in missions. We go to other countries with the love of Christ. We laugh. We cry. We sit around tables and eat donuts. We drink coffee. We form new groups. We meet with young singles. We teach children to worship through dance. We teach the faith through crafts. We teach our children the stories of the Bible. We give youth opportunity to love God through music. We serve in small groups. We help people learn to think about God. We offer programs for senior adults. We engage in these things and many more. Today we shared in what stands out in my mind. Today was Confirmation weekend. 35 students professed their faith in Jesus Christ. Adult leaders spent months working with them to bring them to this place of professing their faith. Youth leaders, Charles and Kat, gave great leadership. There are not enough great things to say about all who work in our Confirmation program. And then I have the privilege of baptizing and confirming these children of God. It is a highlight in our church year. In a real sense all these other things support this real thing - leading people into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. In addition to the Confirmnands we also baptized 3 adults this morning, 2 children and 1 baby. Wow. What a day. I hope you were able to experience this great day in some way. It has been a great day. I hope you've had a great day too. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

"Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he is risen!" These are the central words of our Easter story. The earliest followers of Jesus Christ were told not to look for Jesus in a tomb because the grave could not hold him. He is risen. It is pretty amazing how we modern people have tendencies to look for life in dead places. I am glad the Royals stopped playing Garth Brooks singing "Looking for love in all the wrong places" during the sixth inning but there is still some truth in the message of that song. As surely as some seek love in wrong places many look for life in the midst of death. People often seek hope, meaning and purpose in life in the wrong places. We look for meaning in money. We look for purpose in gaining high positions. We look for hope in health, work and a host of other sources. But true life is not to be found in these things - even the good things of life. As Christians we have made a discovery. We discover that true life is found in the one who has overcome sin and death. True life is discovered in Jesus Christ. It is a great discovery. When we "seek first the Kingdom of God (which is embodied in Jesus Christ) all these things shall be added as well." That is good news. We gathered today for our Easter celebration. Surely some discovered or re-discovered life and the source of true life, Jesus Christ. As we enter the week expect to run into the one who brings life and is life. The Easter journey continues as we walk by faith with the risen Lord! It's been a good day. I hope you've had a great day too. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

It's been a great weekend. Friday and Saturday our church hosted the weekend session of our Course of Study (education requirement for local pastors). Around 90 pastors met in 5 different classes for learning. The spirit and commitment of these pastors, who serve primarily in our small membership churches, is amazing. I love being around these servants of Christ! It is a blessing to play a role in their education. Contributing to a great weekend were the worship services. The Spirit was alive among us in worship. Two things stand out. The procession of children waving the palm branches were inspiring. They just kept coming! Wow. Along that same line was the toddler who "escaped" from the front of the procession line and bolted to the chancel and to mom who was seated in the choir! That was about as good as it gets! What joy. Another thing about this weekend was my parents move to Assisted Living here in K.C. Cindy, Bobby (our son) and Billy (son-in-law) went down Saturday and moved their things to K.C. By 8:00 p.m. Saturday things were taking shape. This afternoon most of their move was completed and they are getting settled in. It is a blessing to have them near. It was also great having them in church today. With their re-location they are looking for a church! Pressure is on. Today was a joy. Palm Sunday has us off on track for Holy Week. Several opportunities are provided for Holy Week. I hope to see you as we continue to move toward Easter and the joyous celebration of the Resurrection. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

Special Offering

I would like to invite anyone to join me in a special Easter offering. We are working with our districts and annual conference to make a significant contribution to our General Church effort for Imagine No Malaria. You may find information on this initiative on our website, the conference website or the general church website -- or hundreds of others places! Here is the background. Last year at annual conference we were challenged to support the denominational effort for Imagine No Malaria. Basically we want to join with other groups and organizations to eradicate malaria in Africa in our time. This is believed to be "doable!" Our district superintendent, who serves the Heartland North (the district where Platte Woods is located) and the Pony Express District made a pledge. He was basing it on the number of churches and geographical area served - it was something that made sense! Anyway the goal is $184,400. We are well on the way as we approach annual conference this spring. So here is my invitation. There a some people I know who have pledged to be "1 Percenters" of the goal. This means some people are giving $1804 to our district initiative for Imagine No Malaria. I am feeling led to be a "1 Percenter!" I will be giving a check for $1804 on Easter Sunday. I would invite other individuals and groups to join in doing the same. Your Sunday School class might seek to make a gift for this amount, or a portion of it. There may be a number of individuals who seek to pool resources and make a 1% gift. There are untold numbers of combinations to reach this goal. On Easter Sunday we will take Not One but Two! Yes Two offerings. The second will be for Imagine No Malaria. If you have any questions feel free to let me know. This may not be for everyone. Many, many of you give above and beyond to support the on-going mission and ministry of our church. Many of you are giving extraordinarily toward our building project. Now we find a challenge to practice even more extravagant generosity. Join me in being a "1 Percenter!" Steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

Today something happened in my home church, Trinity UMC in Appleton City, Mo. Rev. Ron Beaton shared that this would be the last day Esther Lou and Linda would be playing the piano and organ together. You see after living in Appleton City practically all their lives mom and dad will be moving to K.C. this week. Dad has lived around there his whole life with the exception of a couple of years in the army. He farmed and then sold insurance and real estate for 40 years. He is pretty well known in A.C. Mom taught school in a number of school districts but primarily in Appleton City. She seems to have taught everyone in town! In addition she has taught Bible Studies at church for years and played the piano or organ since she was 14 years old. So you can imagine what it was like when the preacher said they would be moving. Reports are the choir all cried and there was some good emotion among the congregation. This afternoon Cindy and I drove down where they were having a going away event for mom and dad. It was good to see about 100 people come by to express their love and appreciation. I got to visit with some friends. It was a good afternoon. Now we get ready to help mom and dad enter a new phase of life. We all feel good about being closer together and will actually see each other more frequently. This does represent a real change for them. They are not as experienced in this moving business as Cindy and I and my brother John. We have the advantage of knowing that change produces many new friends and experiences. I trust mom and dad will soon enjoy new friends and new experiences as they make their change. It's been a good day. I trust you've had a good day too. blessings, steve