Reflections From Sunday Evening (Christmas edition)

A very real God came to a very real world to very real people. That is the Christmas message. We dare to believe that God is much more than a human invention. God is! We dare to believe God steps to earth and gets involved with the whole of creation. We dare to believe that the characters in our story - Mary, Joseph, shepherds and many others - were very real people who experienced something divine that rocked their world. We dare to believe that our very real God continues to step into this very real world and into our lives. The continual appearing of God in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit touches us and redeems us. We witness many signs of God's appearing in our world and in our lives. One sign. Over 2000 people joined for worship on Christmas Eve. Another sign. Over $33,000 was given to "feed Northland kids." Yet another sign. A teenager gave all his "Christmas money" to help others. (Generosity) Even yet another sign. People continued to gather on the weekend immediately following Christmas - worship. It has been yet another great Christmas at Platte Woods UMC. This caps off a very good year in the life of our church. I look forward to sharing details of our witness and ministry in the next few weeks. Now we prepare for the next step along God's path for us. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

Next comes Christmas! Recently I had a brief conversation with one of our members who commented on being at a Christmas Eve service a couple of years ago. He said it made him feel like he was 8 years old again! I keep thinking about that. There was certainly nothing like Christmas when we were 8 years old. Many of us remember the traditions. With our family Christmas Eve started at church. We always had our children's Christmas program on Christmas Eve. I am not sure how many times I went through the Christmas Story as a shepherd or a star or some other character. Somewhere in that time we would have a visit from Santa! I would take with me the brown paper sack with some hard Christmas candy, some walnuts (they filled up the sack) and an orange. When we left our church family it was on to my grandparents for a meal of oyster stew. Then it was my job to crawl around the tree and distribute a present to everyone. Then it was home for what seemed like the "longest night of the year." By the way...As I write this we are embarking on the longest night of the year. Somewhere I read it is going to be the longest night in the history of earth! The sun goes down earlier and comes up later than any other day. It is the longest night - the Winter Solstice. But there is a good part of this. We are turning the corner. Tomorrow the days will begin to last a little longer. The first day of winter moves forward with the promise of spring coming back around. We are heading in the right direction! When I was 8 years old we had a way of shortening the longest night. We just got up ridiculously early! Then the joy would continue. Christmas. Make Christmas Eve service part of your Christmas. It is a time to sing our favorite carols. We will share the Christmas Story. We light the Christ Candle. We share at the Table of the Lord. We light a candle and sing Silent Night. We take the darkness of night and turn it into a night of joy where heaven touches earth and stirs our hearts. We have services beginning at 3:00 p.m. with our children/family service. We follow with 2 services at 5:00 and 7:00 and then a service at 9:00 and 11:00. I am stirring up the 8 year old in me once again. I can hardly wait for Christmas Eve! See you then. It's been a great day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

First of all I made up with Starbucks this week. Just a misunderstanding. Seems that when I updated my card with a new expiration date not everything in their records matched what I had put in my account. Oops. So it was really on me. The support people I talked to (yes, I did reach out) walked me through the process and checked everything. Now I am good to go. It helped that I decided not to be stubborn or petty. I was both when things were not working like I wanted/expected. There were people eager and waiting to help. Do you want an application to faith and Church? There are a number of points I could make but here is the one for now. The Church is filled with people who want to help. We want to help you walk through struggles and questions. We want to encourage you in your faith. We want to be there when you find yourself working through various issues. We want to be your church. We want to be your spiritual family. We want to walk with you in a life of discipleship. I am glad to be back with a coffee shop. I pray we all be in great standing with the Lord. On another point... The Wesleyan Choir shared the Christmas Cantata this weekend. It was great. We felt the Spirit in the message and music. Thanks to Walter Bryant and all the musicians and the choir members. Joy rang out. It's been a good day (I might say a very good day). I hope you've had a good day too. Oh, one more thing. Be sure to invite (and bring) someone to Christmas Eve services. We start at 3:00 and continue through the night. It promises to be a great time of celebrating the birth of our Savior. See you then. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

I think I am breaking up with Starbucks! For the past 11 years I have enjoyed Starbucks coffee. I have picked it up through drive-throughs. I have gotten it to go. I have enjoyed sitting and reading and conversing with others. I get coffee beans to take home and grind. I have read Howard Schult's book on Starbucks. I have read other books about Starbucks. I have used them in sermon illustrations! I have been loyal. I keep paying a crazy amount for a cup of coffee. I have not stopped liking Starbucks. I may in fact still drop in once in a while. But it looks like I am done as a regular Starbucks consumer. It was not a really awful thing that happened. It came time to reload my card. I do enjoy taking my iPhone and paying right there. Anyway it was time to reload. So I clicked on. I even know my password! I got a message. I needed to update my card. I put in my new expiration date. Then I was denied. So I tried again...and again...and again...I emailed their customer service. They were sorry. Try another card. I do not want to try another card. There is no reason this should not work. I tried some more. Still rejected! So I have decided to move along. It may sound petty. Am I just stubborn? But can't a guy expect basic customer service from a favorite establishment? So now I am grinding Roasterie (or whatever that stuff from Kansas City is). I am not opposed to coming back some day. If they get this thing straightened out and I can use my "gold card" I could be back. I will still drop in some. If I have a Starbuck card for a stocking stuffer it will not be wasted. But a regular customer? I am not sure. Then it hit me. There are a number of people who have a similar experience with the Church. It's just some little thing but it hits us wrong. Loyalty turns to "done". People are not really mad. They are just let down. People don't stop believing in God. (I still drink coffee!) They simply cease participating in worship. Loyalty is not a value anymore. People may drop by once in a while but those days of serving, giving and attending become a thing of the past. This hits me. I do not want anyone becoming a "done" with regard to the church and especially faith in Christ. Should I go ahead and just load another card? Does it really matter? Am I just being hard to get along with? Am I being stubborn? Will I really give up something good that I enjoy just because? Time will tell. In spite of that... It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

I continue to think about Eugene Peterson's distinction between "wish" and "hope." Wish reflects our projection of our own wants, desires and needs into the future. Perhaps we extend our "wish list" to God. On the positive side an exercise like this could morph into vision. A wish list committed to God trusts His divine wisdom regarding what happens. On the other hand we could find ourselves spending our time in wishful thinking. That is more of a day dream and time consumer. It will probably not end in great satisfaction. So we should not spend time wishing we would win the lottery and find ourselves really rich. Hope, on the other hand originates with God. Hope is what God etches on the heart of all people. Hope sustains us in difficulty. Hope encourages us daily. Hope creates confidence that God will never forget us. Hope assures us that wherever we go and whatever we encounter God will already be there to meet us. There are great implications for God initiated hope. We know God is with us day by day. We are confident that God will sustain us in and through all seasons of life. We discover an abiding faith that even our ultimate future is secure in the grace of God. Hope. It's been a good day. I HOPE you've had a good day as well. steve

Reflections From Sunday Evening

Next weekend we begin Advent. This is the season in the Christian year when we prepare for the coming of Christ. We will be taking a look at various themes such as the Second Coming of Christ, the promise of God's redemptive action through the stories of Joseph and Mary and of course the birth of our Savior. There are key words that are emphasized in Advent. We consider Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. This year our series is An Aluminum Tree Christmas. You may remember those. In the mid 1960's the "modern age" created a new version of Christmas tree. Aluminum trees with color wheels were a short-lived experiment. In the next few weeks we will build on these themes. First up will be a "Future Christmas.' Then comes a "Vintage Christmas." We then worship with our Wesleyan Choir with our annual Christmas cantata. That will be followed with a "Present Christmas." On Christmas Eve we will gather for an "Authentic Christmas." It promises to be a joyful time in the life of our church. I look forward to being with you through Advent. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve

Praying for Ferguson

We are anticipating the grand jury findings to be released soon. Ferguson, Mo. is being watched by people all over the world. I am certainly at a loss to fully grasp the entirety of the situation but feel a strong need to remember all the people involved in prayer. Rev. Willis Johnson is our United Methodist pastor serving Well Spring UMC in Ferguson. I would ask everyone to pray for Willis as he stands in the midst of the pain, anger and hope. This situation seems so far away and yet it is directly in our minds. Like many of you I have conflicting feelings. Being a white male living in the suburbs I have no idea what it is like to be a minority person experiencing life in Ferguson, Mo. I have always (and continue) to respect and appreciate the police. I know current and former police officers who I have the deepest respect for. My perspective has always been that they do a tremendous public service and put their lives on the line for our benefit. However there are many whose experience is much different. I realize that in the Black community father's must teach their sons and daughters how to avoid or how to respond to the police. That experience is far removed from my own and most of the members of our congregation. Let me simply say there are different perspectives regarding what must take place in Ferguson, Mo. There are some things I am confident should be done. Number one is pray for peace. No one wants a violent situation to break out. Number two is listen to the cry of any who are oppressed. There are voices that must be heard. May they ring out with clarity and contribute to peace and a better world. While we await the outcome of the grand jury I invite you to prayerfully seek the Prince of Peace. Surely the risen Lord has all the people involved inscribed on his heart. I am praying the Holy Spirit cause justice and peace to rise up. Could we set aside our personal thoughts and perspectives and ask that God's grace reach all people? Praying for hope, understanding, justice and peace. Still searching for answers and the best response. Steve