~ by the Pastor and guest writers ~
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A Perfect Church (October 30, 2002) The halls were quieter on Monday morning. No trays of food with tasty dishes to sample, such as homemade tamales. The dozens of Presbyterians who gathered here for the Mission Presbytery meeting had made their way back north. In the quiet and early time on Monday morning I began to reflect on all this church had done to welcome almost 400 people to our home here in the Valley. In the quiet time it gave me a moment to give thanks to God for this congregation of loving and welcoming folk. So many of you gave tirelessly of your time, talent, and food to make this one of the best Presbytery meetings on record. Each time someone would compliment our church I would ask that person to speak to those in the blue shirts and thank them for what they did. The accolades were so many that I lost count! The list is long for all who made the weekend a huge success. If you have not been thanked, I hope this, in some small way, is a way to express that thanks. Are we a perfect church? I doubt if any of us would make that claim or be so bold. But I do know we do many things well and welcoming a host of strangers from Presbytery is at the top of the list. I think it may be real blessing NOT being a perfect church. That leaves room for growth and movement in the right direction. It means that we have not “arrived” and God is continuing to call us to a future with Jesus Christ. We have some immediate challenges ahead for us. Let me tick of a few:
A few days ago when the subject of roof replacement came up in a conversation I raised a question: What will God see in this church when it comes time to remove the roof? Think about that. I pray God will see more than programs and projects, but a group of disciples filled with the Holy Spirit and committed to using the spiritual gifts that each member has been given. What does God see inside the walls and halls of First Presbyterian Church? What does God see in your life? In mine?
 Faith and Money (October 16, 2002) Many people don’t like to talk about money—or anyone else’s. We know how much CEOs and star athletes earn. We also know how changing the welfare laws has affected people of low or no income. But when it comes down to our own situation, many of us are uncomfortable with money, for a lot of different reasons. It’s too personal. It reflects on our sense of success. It tells too much about us. But I confess I am comfortable talking with you about money for other reasons. Let me say to you from the start that as pastor of First Presbyterian Church I have no “stewardship gimmicks” to offer you. Those of you who know me by now understand I don’t have much patience or respect for clergy or church leaders who attempt to manipulate others by playing on their feelings and emotions. What I will serve up to you is my understanding of money and stewardship from my reading of scripture. In a world that knows it has great need, but does not know where to seek satisfaction, the people of God must understand that they have been given gifts in order to fulfill a calling (Isaiah 55:1-2: “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.”). Because we are blessed and called, we can look at the gifts of God in ways that go beyond anxiety, guilt, or methods of gathering and distributing material goods. Stewardship is not about financing First Presbyterian Church. It is not even gathering resources in order to establish programs and projects. Rather, in the same way that Abraham was “blessed to be a blessing,” we have been given many kinds of abundance. Those many blessings include not only our money, but also our time, our talents, our relationships, the earth and life itself. With these blessings, God equips us for mission for a needy world. So we ask ourselves: How do we recognize what God has given us? How do we live with what God has given us? How do we understand the world around us and our place in it? This week you should have received a letter from the Finance/Stewardship Committee calling for each of us to pledge our time, talent, and money. As a minimum, we are asking our members to increase their pledge for 2003 by ½% of their gross income. If I pledged 3% last year that would mean 3½% this year. Many will pledge more than the minimum. As you prayerfully consider your pledge of money, your time and talent are part of that pledge as well. What would that mean? At least two things: faithfully engaging in Christian education and worship on Sunday on a regular basis, not just when it fits one’s schedule, and serving on committees and ministry teams when asked by our session and other church members. An hour for Christian education and an hour of worship is a little more than 1% of your week. I am convinced as a congregation we can do better. What does the LORD require of you? I will have more to say on stewardship as we approach Commitment Sunday on November 10. That is the Sunday we are asking you to come to worship with your 2003 Pledge Card and bring your gifts to God. Yes, I will preach on stewardship on two Sundays, October 27 and November 10. I pray that God will speak a clear message: We are not just managing surpluses for the good of humanity. We understand that all resources (time, talent, and treasure!) are God’s and that they are to be used for God’s purposes.
The Energizers (October 2, 2002) by Rebecca Villarrreal Director of Christian Education You know the Energizer bunny, the one who just keeps going and going and going… You can probably think of a bunny or two among your friends and neighbors. Well, I’ve found a few of those bunnies myself right here at FPC. As I get to know more of you I see how fortunate this church is to have so many people who give so much and care so deeply. Recently somebunny (get it?) brought up a concern regarding the need to bring more families into our church. In the book Imagining a Church in the Spirit by Ben Campbell Johnson and Glenn McDonald it’s noted that “Mainline churches in North America are in trouble. Membership is declining and many denominations are downsizing.” We’re not just talking about Presbyterian churches here and this isn’t a new phenomenon, many churches have been seeing decline for the last 3 decades. Johnson and McDonald say the greatest problem facing mainline congregations today is the loss of vision. So what is “The Vision” for the Christian church in the 21st century? It is, simply put, to re-present Christ. Not represent, though we as believers should be good representatives. But to re-present Christ is to re-evaluate what we do, to re-focus, to re-view. To step outside ourselves and see what we can do or offer to bring glory to the Father. One way our church is aiming to re-present Christ (and to bring in families from the Community) is by identifying our spiritual gifts. The Ministry Team has a survey that will help you to determine your particular gifts. You will be getting the survey through your Sunday School class, Youth Group, Choir, etc. It will help you to name your talents and determine for yourself where your gifts can best be used here at FPC. The Church today has big challenges, but the good news is that we have a dedicated body of believers eager to meet those challenges, and they keep going, and going, and going…
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