~ by the Pastor and guest writers ~
|
When God Calls (August 24, 2004) Presbyterians like to spend time talking about what it means to be “called by God.” Pastor Nominating Committees go through a long process of searching for a pastor and through a lot of prayer and discernment they issue a “call” to a new pastor, trusting and believing God has “called” that person as the congregation’s new pastor. Nominating Committees in particular congregations go through a similar process when they work together and present to the congregation a list of names for the congregation to select as elders. At the heart of their work is the belief that God “calls” women and men to the office of elder. The election to the office of elder is not a choice for who are the most popular or well-liked people in a church. If in fact, God does the calling, my hunch is we may very well select some “peculiar treasures.” I have been thinking about the call to serve as an elder at First Presbyterian Church and whom God will call. I have spent time reading again Scripture, Presbyterian history, and The Book of Order. The “call” to this office is an extraordinary opportunity and responsibility for service in the church. It is certainly not an office to be entered into lightly. Nor is it an office that requires perfection. If that were the case none of us would be “qualified” in any way to be ordained as elders. This is an extraordinary time here at First Presbyterian Church. I mean that in the best sense of the word because I believe God will call some wonderful women and men in the days ahead to serve on our session. For such a time as this, God will put together a session of elders who will lead, teach, and pastor our congregation in the next few months. As you know, I am entering my fourth year as your pastor and I have had the opportunity to observe and learn a great deal about who you are as a community of faith. Has this congregation had some difficult periods? Absolutely! But we are still the body of Christ and our gracious God will lead us into the future to ministries we have yet to discover and celebrate. Think about all the saints in this place who surround us each day as a great cloud of witnesses. For that, I am truly grateful to God. In October our congregation will select its next class of elders. I know there are many of you who are capable and blessed with gifts to serve in this office. This may very well be a time in our congregation when God is calling. You may have spurned the call in the past but God is persistent. Think about the people God called in our biblical stories. Jonah ran away. Moses whined that he could not speak. Most made excuses but God kept saying, “Don’t worry. I will be with you.” In the next few weeks members of the Nominating Committee will be praying for God to call new elders. When they talk with you I ask that you will be open to that call. If you need help discerning that call I have two good ears and will lead you through a process of discernment. What I want you to hear is that this is an opportune time to serve a church that has a tremendous future because God will lead us by calling women and men who love the Lord and love this church. How good is that? Come, taste and see!
 Tough Minds and Tender Hearts (August 10, 2004) In a sermon from almost fifty years ago, the late Martin Luther King talked about Christians having “a tough mind and a tender heart.” Jesus knew that if his disciples were going to reach out to this demanding world with his challenging and transforming gospel, they must become a community of tough-minded followers. That means the community of faith must be willing to do the hard work of thinking through complex issues that face congregations. Christians must do so with tenacity and humility, recognizing that hard thought doesn’t always lead good people to the same conclusions. Jesus urged his disciples to move beyond sheer emotionalism itself as an insult to the good minds that God has given us. As John Calvin, our Presbyterian forbear was fond of saying, “The tongue without the mind is most displeasing to God.” Jesus told his disciples to be tough-minded but that was the first part of his advice. Jesus had no interest in creating a community of tough, cold, and calculating minds. Keen minds go with soft and tender hearts. I have long been convinced the easier way is to be only tough-minded and exclude people from the community of faith. The more difficult road to walk is to be tender hearted and welcome ALL God’s people into the church. Jesus implored his disciples to cultivate soft and tender hears. Again, Dr. King comments, “What is more tragic than to see a person who has risen to the disciplined heights of tough-mindedness but has at the same time sunk to the passionless depths of hardheartedness?…The hardhearted person never truly loves….He is an isolated island. No outpouring of love links him with the mainline of humanity.” Hardhearted Christians are those who have missed the primary lesson on God’s grace. Jesus would not reduce discipleship to either a community of soft hearts or a community of tough minds. He demands both of us. A tough mind and a tender heart. He knew that this is a crippled world, a world where best friends betray, a world where trusted disciples hurt each other and want retribution. But that is not the way of Christ. What God created good is a world mired in the destructive web of sin and evil. The fact beyond understanding is that for just this world God sent Jesus. It is for this world that Jesus sent out his disciples, not with a gospel of retaliation and intimidation, but with a gospel of forgiveness and love. The good news of the gospel is not: “Today something good is going to happen to you.” In fact, you and I know that the opposite is just as likely to be true. No, the good news of the gospel of our crucified and risen Lord is that whether our day be good or bad, there is still One who loves us, cares for us, understands us, expects much and more from us, and stands ready to give us a second chance. Knowing that truth, you and I can be a community of tough minds and tender hearts—a community that reflects the very image of God. Thanks be to God!
|
| The Church |
|
Calendar | News | Reflections | Music |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | Photos | Leadership | Youth | Missions | Links |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|---|
