New Year's Resolution... "See Thee More Clearly.."

Day by day, 

Day by day,

Oh Dear Lord,

three things I pray:

To see thee more clearly,

love thee more dearly,

and follow thee more nearly, Lord

Day by day.

Happy 2017! I hope the start of a new calendar year is finding you and your family healthy, safe, and blessed with a sense of God's abundant love. 

As a new year begins, we often make "New Year's Resolutions" to be more intentional about personal practices we know will do us good. Among mine are to get more consistent about good sleep and exercise. But also, we as a congregation have made a resolution for 2017, which we hope will benefit not just our current members, but all those around us who need hope, healing and the Good News of God's grace.  

We are beginning a visioning process for Living Grace that will help solidify our sense of mission. What exactly is Living Grace here to do for its surrounding community? What is our unique role to play in sharing the Good News of Jesus in southern Frederick County? 

To work toward that vision, we will begin by doing a lot of listening. We have formed some teams to help listen to our surrounding community, to each other, and to God. This process is meant as a way for our whole congregation to work toward a sense of vision and mission that comes, not just from one person or a few people, but from the Holy Spirit, moving through our congregation and community.

Very soon, you will hear about some cottage meetings, which will be our opportunity to listen to each other: to share our own stories about what Living Grace has meant to us, and what it might do in the future. This is one very important way each member can be part of setting our course for the coming year. I heartily encourage all members, no matter how active or inactive you've been in the past, to take part. 

I will also be forming a weekly study group to help us "listen to God" in our lives and the life of Living Grace. I have extended invitations to a few members, but if you feel called to the task of reflection and prayer, I hope you will get in touch and let me know. The schedule is still being determined. 

The song I posted above (it's an oldie, but a goodie) works well for the season of Epiphany: the revealing of Christ, not just to a select few, but to all the nations. My prayer is that the first few months of 2017 will hold some "Epiphanies" for Living Grace, which will light our path through the coming years. I hope you'll join us on this exciting journey!

In Christ,

Pastor Tim

Worship on Sunday? But...Isn't That Christmas?

Well, it happens every few years, and it's happening again this year, so I want to make sure we are all on the same page.

Yes, Christmas Day is a Sunday this year.

No, we are not canceling worship.

Here's our schedule of Christmas Events for the eight days before (and after) December 25. This is just one of many places where we'll be listing them.

Saturday, Dec. 17, 5:30pm-7:30pm. Christmas Pot-Luck at Schafer's Mill Rec Center. A-L bring veggie or salad, M-Z bring a dessert. Ham, Turkey, Juice, iced tea provided. Soda and alcohol are BYO.

Sunday, Dec. 18, 10am. Children's Christmas Pageant as part of 10am worship! All children welcome to participate...we'll even have a few extra costumes for the little ones. Invite your friends!

Sunday, Dec. 18, 1:30pm. Come caroling with us at Buckingham's choice retirement community! All ages welcome! 

Saturday, December 24, 7pm (Note the later time). Celebrate the Word made flesh with a festive Christmas Eve worship, featuring special music and carols. Oh Come Let Us Adore Him!

Sunday, December 25 10am ONLY. Christmas Day worship. Come as you are...even pajamas are acceptable! A simple time of prayer, song, and Communion. A wonderful way to experience the true meaning of the day with your family.

Sunday, January 1st, 10am ONLY. Sunday worship with Communion. Start your new year off right, celebrating the Christ Child whose name is "God Saves"!

So there it is. Now, if you're like me, you may think of Christmas Day as a very special "family day", where you huddle close around the Christmas Tree, open gifts, listen to your favorite Christmas albums, maybe travel to be with relatives, but church is not a normal part of the routine. After all, didn't we all get dressed up and attend church the night before?

I want you to know I understand that, and a part of me is feeling exactly the same way. But my plan is still to get up early with our kids, open a few gifts, have a nice breakfast, head to worship, commune and sing our hearts out, then have a low-key day of family celebration. The morning will probably be pretty hectic. But it will teach my kids that even on Christmas Day (especially on Christmas Day) God wants some time with us, and we need time with God. Yes, Christmas Day is a family day. But God is part of our family. God is our Father. Jesus is our Brother. And especially on the one day a week God asks us to spend time with him, it is very appropriate to take some time with our "larger" family and celebrate together. Also, for visitors from out of town or folks who may be having a lonely Christmas morning, this is an important time for God's church to be "open for business", rain or shine.

Having said all that, please know that we are "Grace People" on Christmas Day just as on any other Sunday. We don't show up for worship trying to earn salvation. We don't gain more "points" with God by being there more often. We are saved by God's amazing grace, and that's true 365 days a year. So listen for the Holy Spirit, and celebrate that grace in the way you feel is best for yourself and your family. Come on Christmas Eve. Come on Christmas Day. Do both. Do neither. Unlike Santa, I will not be "making a list" or "checking it twice"! But know that like on any other day, you are welcome, you are loved, and that when we gather in Jesus' name, God's grace really is ALIVE!

God's blessings, and Merry Christmas! 

-Pastor Tim

Nobody's "All Saint", But We Are All Saints.

Pope Francis and Bishop Munib Younan, president of the Lutheran World Federation, 

embracing at a joint service of prayer yesterday!

"[But] as for me, the silence and the emptiness is so great, that I look and do not see,–Listen and do not hear–the tongue moves [in prayer] but does not speak … I want you to pray for me–that I let Him have [a] free hand."

Saint Teresa of Calcutta, 1910-1997

Years after Mother Teresa's death, it came to light from some of her private correspondence that she spent nearly fifty years--almost her entire time of ministering with the poor in the slums of Calcutta--deeply troubled in her spirit, unable to feel God's presence in her life. For some who had placed her on a pedestal,  this came as quite a shock. But for many who have had similar struggles, it made this "saint" of the church--officially beatified by the Roman Catholic church just a few months ago, in fact--a much more relatable person. Not perfect, but willing to love and serve anyway.

Our culture has a big problem with gray areas. It's always been hard to accept that those we lift up as paragons had real flaws. But in this election season, with our country more divided than any time in recent memory, we have become even more dualistic. Everything has to be black or white, good or evil, Us or Them, binge or purge, all or nothing, saint or sinner. It seems it can never be both. And one fascinating thing about dualistic thinking is that in a world of "heroes and villains", nobody ever casts him or herself as the "villain." No, the whole point of thinking that way is to boost our own ego, and make "heroes" of ourselves.

Since today is All Saints Day--and yesterday was Reformation Day--I'm thinking about the distinct witness that Lutheran Christians can have in our divided, "all-or-nothing" culture. You see, we don't view "Saints" in quite the same way that some other Christians do. We believe in a doctrine Luther and the reformers called "Simul Justus et Peccator" which means, "at the same time justified, and a sinner." The idea is we never stop being sinners. We can't. We live in a broken world, and every day we do and say broken things, we think broken thoughts,  and we contribute to a broken system. But also, every day, we are justified: we are made righteous by Jesus' sacrifice on the cross for us. We are baptized children of God. We are holy.

The New Testament Greek word we translate as "saints" literally means, "holy ones." Paul consistently addresses his letters "to all the saints" in the place where he is writing. Does he mean the "holiest of the holy?" Just the most perfect ones? Nope. He means everybody. All the people in that congregation. All who are made holy, not by their own doing, but by God's doing in their baptism. A saint is a baptized person. You're a saint. I'm a saint. We're all saints. But nobody is "all saint". We're sinners, made holy by God's grace. We're saint and sinner. Every day. 

Yesterday, some saints from the Roman Catholic and Lutheran side of God's family got together for worship and prayer, and to sign a joint statement that will lead to more visible unity in the church. You can find out more here. It needs to be said: This would not be possible for us if we saw things in the black-and-white way the world sees them. That's what got us to where we were. Both Lutherans and Catholics have been responsible for horrific violence toward one another over these last 499 years. Everyone up there leading the prayer service, and everyone signing that statement, was and is a sinner, representing millions of other sinners. Martin Luther was a sinner, and he spent his life saying as much. Yet through the one baptism which unites us, we can recognize one another, even across historic divides, as saints of God.

And today as we celebrate the "saints" who have gone before us--loved ones who have died and are at rest--for many reading this there will be mixed emotions. Sometimes with "All Saints Day" comes a certain pressure to idealize people we've lost. To not "speak ill of the dead." We may feel uncomfortable when we think about troubled relationships we may have had, or ways we may have been hurt or victimized by these "saints". We may remember some of these "saints" with pain. Today, we need to remember that the "saints" who have gone before were sinners, too. And it's okay if we're still working on forgiving them. But by God's grace, we rejoice that we will see them again on the day of resurrection. And when that happens, all of us sinners, all of us saints, will be empowered by God's Spirit to truly accept that we're accepted: to fully take into ourselves God's forgiveness for all we've done wrong, and by doing so, be empowered to fully forgive others. In the meantime, we have the "foretaste of the feast to come", the Communion table, where Christ and ALL the saints--and sinners--join us for a meal. Come eat with us this Sunday. All of us. 

The Church: We're not Costumers. We're not Manufacturers. We're not in Sales. So...what DO we do?

"How beautiful upon the mountains

   are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,

who brings good news,

   who announces salvation,

   who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’"

Isaiah 52:7

I know I am not alone in getting geekily excited when I hear our doorbell ring in the middle of the day. Usually, that means...our Amazon order is here!

It's interesting how different of a world we live in now that online shopping is so prevalent. Just about anything you can imagine, and can afford, can come right to your door within a day or two. I am by no means a compulsive shopper--in fact, I may have set one or two speed records shopping for jeans at Target--but still, when a truck pulls up in front of our door, and someone walks up to our door with a package, it's always a bit of a thrill. And this gets me thinking about Church...stay with me...

Ever since America's early days, the Church--not just the Lutherans or the Protestants, but the universal church--has had to be constantly reinventing itself. For the first time in over a thousand years, the Church had no state authority. Churches had to find their own ways of supporting themselves and growing, rather than relying on tax money. And at the beginning of the twenty-first century, we're realizing we also have less and less cultural authority: fewer and fewer people in our country are identifying themselves as Christians, and fewer and fewer are attending church or supporting a church out of a sense of obligation. 

In a way, this is a very special time. It means those who are active in church, are here because they actually feel called to be here! But clearly, it's also a time for the Church in America to be reinventing itself, as it has done in the past. 

The temptation, of course, is to compare the Church to something else we have seen as "successful", and try to model ourselves after that. The one I've heard most often is "a business." I'm not hugely fond of that analogy, but I will admit it may work, as long as we understand what "part" of the business we are working on.

The first and most grievous mistake, I think, is to think of ourselves as "customers." If we go this route, the Church exists to serve our own individual needs. We will find the church that has the best programs, the coolest music, the biggest youth group, the fanciest building, and "consume" these products, until something better comes along, and just as we stop shopping at Giant when a Wegman's comes to town, off we go to another church. I don't need to tell you: this is not what Jesus intended for his movement of followers. Jesus says, "whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve" (Mark 10:43-44). Church is not a product we consume. It's not entertainment. It's a movement we are a part of, and we are at our best when we are serving. 

Okay, so maybe Church is more like a factory. We come together, and craft the best, most effective message to attract people to our movement. We use our God-given creativity to come up with compelling, relevant programs so that Church feels like exactly what our target demographic wants. We do market research, we figure out what people most want, and we become that. Whatever size, shape, and  color you like, we're it. Except...we're not responsible for "making" anything hat pertains to the Church. In fact, what we have to share--the Good News of Jesus Christ--is going to sound pretty ridiculous to some. Paul writes, "the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1:18). Why would anyone worship as God and King, man who died in such a humiliating way?

...So, of course, we're the sales team, right? If this is what God gives us to work with, at least we spin it in a way that seems like what a normal, reasonable, patriotic, upstanding American would want, right? We've got to pretty it up, add some special effects, turn it into a multi-media experience, get it ready for theatrical release, and let everybody know that this is the God they've always wanted, right?

Well, the thing is, Jesus didn't say "go out and market my message to as many customers as you can find." He said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19). Disciples are not customers. Disciples are students of Jesus, who want to make their lives look more like his. This does not require sales. It's the Holy Spirit's job to inspire faith in our hearts when we hear the gospel. Even though it's rarely what we want to hear, we simply can not do anything to save ourselves: God has already done everything, on the cross. And it's the Holy Spirit's job to take that faith, and transform it into lives of service to others.

So what are we doing here? What's left? 

...I'm so glad you asked. I think if we're going to stick with the analogy of "Church as a business," my best approximation of what we do relates back to the beginning of this post...we're the delivery trucks. We're not buying, making, marketing or selling this lovely brown box God has given us. We are just responsible for showing up at the world's doorstep, ringing the bell, and handing them what God has already bought for them: the free gift of God's grace and unconditional love, through Jesus Christ. Of course, showing up at the world's doorstep is always tricky, because it means we have to actually go there, rather than expect the world to pick up its package at our "worship warehouse". It means we have to navigate changing roads, and find our way around new obstacles every day. We will inevitably have to "tune up" our trucks, so we know they can get where God needs them to go. But it also means we get to be there for a very special moment, time after time: the moment when someone opens their door and discovers they are about to receive something they didn't order, nor could they ever afford, but which will save their life, and change the world. 

Pretty cool job, if you ask me.

I invite your prayers for our church council this evening, and for our congregation in the coming weeks, as we discern a visioning process: as we "tune up" the delivery truck that is our congregation, and figure out how best to make our deliveries in this community. I think this route will be full of surprises from the Holy Spirit.   

Bringing Prayer Out Into the Open

I've tried an experiment in the last couple of weeks.

On Wednesday afternoons, I've set up camp at a table in Urbana's Starbucks, with the sign you see above on my table.

The very first time I did this, I had someone approach me to talk and pray within the first five minutes. She happened to be sitting one table over!

Last week, I sat and read, and didn't hear from anyone.

I'm not expecting that this will bring in tons of new members to our church. That's not why I'm doing it. I'm doing it because I believe in the power of prayer. I've been enormously helped by it in the past. It doesn't cost us anything to pray for our neighbors, but it could benefit them in ways we'll never see, or that they may not even realize, but ways that are real and palpable nonetheless.

And I'm doing it because I want people in our community to know that Christians are here to serve, and to help. We aren't just looking for people's time, people's money, people's votes or influence or resources or whatever folks may think we want. We're not here to take. We're here to give.

So I'm taking one of the most valuable things we can offer--the chance to lift up someone's name and situation before the One who made and saves us all--and I'm bringing it into the public space. Into people's surrogate office, and living room, and kitchen table, here in the center of the community.

I'm committing to be there 12pm-3pm most Wednesdays. I'd love to have you stop in and join me.

-Pr. Tim 

Checking In with God

This past Sunday was a wonderful time of fellowship and mutual support for our "Faithful Village" parenting group. The kids played, the adults talked, everybody had pizza, and near as I can tell, we all had a pretty good time. It was great, in a way, just to "check in" with others facing similar struggles, and know that Laura and I are not alone, and we're not crazy--others are facing challenges too!

As the kids get back into their routine of school, it's also a good time to get back into my own routines. I'm trying to get a few minutes on the elliptical several times a week, get a more consistent bedtime (notice the active word is "try!"), but one thing that I'm happy to say has been a constant over the summer--when it hasn't always been--is time to "check in" with God through daily Bible reading. It helps give me themes to think about, a rhythm to live by, questions to ask, and gets my ears open for what God may have to say to me in this new day.

There are a bunch of really good ways to get into a daily routine, and maybe readers have others to share with me. But here are a couple of good resources to help get on a daily routine of Bible reading.

Moravian Daily Texts.  This is the resource I'm using currently. The Moravian Church has been distributing a short list of daily Bible readings every year since 1731!!! I subscribe by email (it comes in at 5 EST each morning), but you can also get a printed book with all the texts for the year in it. It's pretty basic stuff--a psalm, a lesson from the Hebrew Bible, and a lesson from the Gospels. Rather than trying to connect with a theme or a season, these texts basically walk you through the Bible in small chunks, one after another. Not every verse will speak to me every day, but usually between the three, one will grab my attention.

Evangelical Lutheran Worship: Daily Lectionary.  One cool thing about our "new" hymnal (which is getting ready to celebrate its ten-year anniversary!) is that in the back of the book is a three-year lectionary of daily readings for either private devotions or for prayer with others. (If you have the book, it starts on p. 1121). The advantage of looking at these readings is they tie into the texts for worship in Sundays--Monday through Wednesday tie back to the previous Sunday, Thursday through Saturday look forward to the upcoming Sunday. One small disadvantage is it's a trick getting started, because you have to know what lectionary year we are in (right now until November we're in Year "C") and the book refers you to another section for Sunday readings. But it's a great resource if you're looking to connect your "Sunday life" to the rest of the week.

Lutheran Study Bible: Year-Long Bible Reading Plan.  What's cool about the LSB is that it provides not one, but three Bible reading plans that you can do in one year. They do not cover all of scripture, but they do give you something to think about every single day. There's a "challenge" track (about 3 chapters per day), a "survey" track (10-20 verses) or a "sampler" track (just a few verses). You can start and end at any time, because it is not connected to the seasons. An important piece of advice I'd give is don't feel the need to ingest "mass quantities" of scripture every day if it makes it harder to stick with and really get something from. Dietrich Bonhoeffer once wrote that, in the right frame of mind, you can do a Bible study on just one word!

I guess that gets me to the most important point about "checking in" with God: the best plan for you is not necessarily the one the covers the most ground or manages to say exactly what you need to hear every day: the best plan for you is the one you can actually get in the habit of doing. Research suggests that if you get into doing something every day for 21 days, it can form a lasting habit. Christians have known that for almost 2,000 years--notice the 40 days of Lent, and the roughly 25 days of Advent! Just like with dieting or exercising, lofty goals work for some, but for most of us, it's getting into a routine that we can stick with long-term that will make a difference.

Just a note: another thing that can help us stay on track is accountability with others. If you're thinking about starting a devotional routine, maybe tell a close friend and invite them along for the journey. You don't necessarily have to be doing the same thing, but some way of checking in with each other periodically, and knowing that check-in is coming, may help you stay on the ball. I am part of a discipleship group that has its own Facebook group. We are invited to post on the page some brief thoughts from our daily reading. I plan to start transferring my daily thoughts to a blog post which I'll then share publicly. That way, I can be accountable to you all, and maybe remind you if you have decided to start a routine!

I hope this has been a helpful "check in" about "checking in" with God. Check on!
Pr. Tim

5 ways to Share the Good News...Digitally!

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’" Acts 1:8

As our summer habits become autumn habits, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on one of our habits as Christians...sharing Good News.

The Good News (or the "Gospel"), has a pretty simple definition. Paul writes, it is "the power of God to save everyone who has faith." (Romans 1:16) When we hear about everything God has done for us, especially through Jesus, we can trust that whatever happens, God is in control, and God loves us, no matter what. Nothing we say or do can change that.

But in a multicultural society, where we know not everyone believes the same thing, it's intimidating to "share" this Good News with others, even if it's made a big difference in our own lives. We worry about being seen as judgmental or narrow-minded. We worry we'll offend someone, or lose a friend. I know I do. A few years ago, I baptized Maggie's best friend, who lives just up the street from us, and I wish I could say it was based on our taking the initiative, but we had known her family for almost a year before they told us they were looking for a church! 

We really do have something special and life-changing in the Good News of Jesus. We're invited to a party of grace and mercy that begins in this life, and extends into eternity! Why would we not want to share that invitation? But we may also have been turned off by Christian "Evangelists"...angry people shouting judgments through bullhorns on a street-corner, or well-meaning folks who make you get up from Saturday morning breakfast to take their tracts. 

I would submit that sharing the Good News--God's saving power in our lives--is a lot easier and less dramatic than you think, especially in a digital age. No door-knocking. No bullhorns. I promise. So, without further ado, Here are 5 ways to Share the Good News...Digitally!

1. Be a Good Online Friend. 
We know that our country, and our world, is increasingly divided along partisan lines. Those of us on social media know the poison gets pumped up a hundredfold online. Friends, coworkers, old acquaintances, may seem like entirely different people online--especially around election season--and it can be disheartening. But as Christians, we're called to be "light for the world" and "salt of the earth." And the first part of doing that is actually showing up in the world. The first step in being a good evangelist is being a good listener. So I want to encourage you: If you're on Facebook or Twitter, stick with it. I know it gets ugly sometimes, but we can make it more beautiful. And as much as you may be tempted, please don't unfriend everyone who disagrees with you, even if they do so in a pretty vulgar manner. You don't have to comment if you don't want to (and often it's not a good idea) but sometimes it can expand your worldview, and it might expand theirs. If it gets really bad, your can hide their posts without them even knowing. But they'll still see yours. Just being yourself online, and letting others see, can be a powerful witness to Christ.

2. Be a whole person. 
I'm laying it out right now: I'm on Facebook...a lot...maybe a tad too much...and I have just one profile. I'm not divided up between pastor, dad, husband, and sci-fi geek. I'm one person, and I have one profile. I know some folks feel the need to separate things out a bit, and that's fine, but I think it's a powerful witness to Jesus in our lives that we be who we are--warts and all--and show the world how we're doing. Christians are not perfect. We mess up. We have crappy days. We get mad. We have opinions, and sometimes those opinions even change. Share what feels comfortable for you, but avoid the temptation to only show your "highlights reel" to others. Be real. 

3. Connect with people from Church. 
You guys. If you are on Facebook, and you have not "liked" Living Grace's page yet...can you please minimize this tab, go on Facebook, and do so right now? Thanks. We do appreciate it. And hopefully, you will appreciate hearing what Living Grace has been up to. And if you are at Living Grace and take a picture or have something to say about an event, email us or share it to our profile! We appreciate your making our page better! But also, I encourage you to connect with other church members on Facebook. I have a few Facebook friends from this congregation, but I'd love to have more! Just send me a friend request! It's a blessing to strengthen these relationships, and be sharers of Good News with each other. Additionally, I have been clued in to a ton of pastoral care issues, where people really did need to hear from me, through what they share on social media. Honestly, my generation rarely even thinks to call our pastors with a joy or a concern. But if it goes up on Facebook, your brothers and sisters can be there for you. 

4. Connect with the wider Church.
Did you know that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America just had an awesome and productive Church-wide Assembly in New Orleans? Did you know Lutherans are currently on the ground in flood-ravaged Louisiana through Lutheran Disaster Response? Did you know Lutherans are making a difference for development across the world through Lutheran World Relief? These are just a few things you can find out about in real time, by liking and following these pages. And branch out from our "Lutheran bubble", and even from our country, too...God's Church is global, and God is doing some great stuff all across the world! We can't share it if we don't know about it!  

5. Check in, check in, check in!
If you have a smart phone, you may be one of those who checks in at your favorite restaurants, bars, community events, baby showers, supermarket openings, etc., etc., etc....so why not "check in" at church? Make it a habit. If you hear a line from a sermon or a song you like, put it in there. Or don't write anything at all. Just click that little button that says you were here, and this is a part of your life. And if Living Grace shares something you like, why not share it too? It makes the church a lot more visible online, and it makes an important part of yourself visible to friends, who might just get curious about it someday.

Thanks for indulging this long-ish post. I encourage you to share it if you like it. It might be useful for more than just our members. The news about God's work really is good, and I hope you'll join me in sharing it, both in person and online!