Most all of us know the account of the feeding of 5,000 found in John 6 verses 1-13. Jesus had went across the Sea of Galilee or if you prefer the Sea of Tiberias, the people had followed watching the things he did for those who were sick. I have shared with you in past blogs how we have become so familiar with these “stories” from the bible that we often read the words and miss what lies beyond; those things which move us from mere words to the gospel and enrich our minds and fill our hearts with hope. I love to read what others have written about certain verses and I mean the plural, more than just a couple of people. There are several commentaries that I often turn to. One of my favorites is “The Daily Bible Study” series written by William Barclay.

So let’s go beyond the words and follow Mr. Barclay’s thoughts on this miracle. You can picture in your minds the moment that the disciples realized the enormity of the crowd that had followed Jesus.

It is late in the day and the first thoughts are those of any normal person.

The realization that the people must be hungry by now. Step back for a moment and consider how we have arrived at this point. Jesus was under constant pressure from the demands of the crowds that always followed him. There were times he attempted to withdraw, get some much needed rest and even if possible instruct his disciples, leading them to a better understanding of who he was and what he was doing; preparing them for what was coming. There is a lot of detail in Barclay’s writings, things that help us understand the who, what and why of our gospel readings. I will as they say “cut to the chase”.

Second was Jesus’s wish to not call attention to himself at this time.

Jesus had gotten into a boat to put some distance between him and the growing crowd. At this time it was wise to avoid any confrontation between Jesus and the authorities for it was not yet his time. Jesus got in the boat and set sail from Capernaum to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. It was easy to see the direction the boat was taking. The distance would be about four miles. Let’s set the scene.

-They were headed for the fords of Jordan and near a village called Bathsaida Julias, this was the village Philip came from. Near this village there was a little plain where the grass always grew and here will be a wondrous happening.

-The Feast of the Passover is near, meaning the roads in the area were full of people going to Jerusalem.

-Jesus went up into the hill behind the plain and he was sitting there with his disciples.

-Also it is possible that the numbers of the crowd were swelled by travelers on their way to the Passover and seeking to avoid the territory of the hated Samaritans.

Thirdly would be:

Jesus’ concern upon seeing the size of the gathering crowd and condition of the people. They were hungry and tired and the route they had taken to avoid the Samaritans had added distance and time to their travel. At this point we get to the heart of our story. The weight of the problem being laid at Philip’s feet, which was really Jesus testing him. Philip would be the natural one to go to as he would have local knowledge of the area. Philip’s despair was evident. It would take more than six months wages to feed a crowd like this and they would be doing well if they had a days wages amongst themselves. It would also be a miracle if this much food could be bought or found in this area.

Coming in at number four on the list.

Andrew, he had discovered a young boy with five loaves of barley bread and two small fishes. A couple of notes here.

-Barley bread was the bread of the very poor.

-The fish most likely small sardine like fish which swarmed in the Sea of Galilee. They would have been pickled as fresh fish were an unheard of luxury.

-Andrew was always bringing people to Jesus.
Andrew went in search of something believing God would provide. He was not accepting things as they were, he had faith in what Jesus could do. Well we know what happened here. Jesus told the people to be seated, taking the Barley bread and two small fishes, breaking them up and distributing them until all had eaten their fill. He even told the disciples to gather what was left and put in baskets, so none would be wasted. Familiar story but beyond the words is a wonderful possibility. In a world of show me and widespread hostility, miracles have a rough road to travel. Even looking back most people today discount, disbelieve or avoid accepting anything as a miracle. Old or New Testament receive the same treatment, skepticism or out right unbelief. Admit, many just find it hard to conceive and herein lies the wonder of this story. Here in my opinion is William Barclay’s uncanny ability to offer insight through the Holy Spirit that could very well be truth. The question what is “The meaning of a miracle” has many answers and explanations. The truth is we will never know what happened on that hill and plain near Bethsaida Julias. Barclay has three possibilities. I like the third one and will share it with you.

It is not likely these people had just left on a nine mile trip without making any preparations at all, considering the burden of travel in those times. Barclay also points out that if there were pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem, who got caught up in the excitement of the day and fell in with the crowd following Jesus, they most surely would have possessed supplies for their journey. Miracle, consider this when taken literally it is easy for some to question such a small amount doing so much. You know when Christ spoke about being born again, even the Apostles thinking in a literal sense were confused. Maybe these people acting as many would were not about to produce what they had allowing their human side to selfishly keep it all for themselves. Look at it this way. Jesus producing what little he and the disciples had, and with a smile thanked God for what they had and began to pass it out. Maybe the miracle was not the changing of the loaves and fish but of men and women, who seeing what Jesus did, they followed his lead.

Well we have come a long way beyond the words and I will leave you with these two points in William Barclay’s own words.

-There was Andrew. There is a contrast between Andrew and Philip. Philip was the man who said: ‘The situation is hopeless; nothing can be done.’ Andrew was the man who said: ‘I’ll see what I can do; and I’ll trust Jesus to do the rest.’

-There was the boy. He had not much to offer, but in what he had Jesus found the materials of a miracle. There would have been one great deed fewer in history if that boy had withheld his loaves and fishes.Little is always much in the hands of Christ.

*You can find ‘Daily Bible Study” at most major bookstores also can be purchased on-line. It is a complete commentary on the entire New Testament and will provide many hours of profitable study. Thanks for reading and remember that there are many paths to study and read the Gospel in this digital world,while never forgetting to pray and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
jk

I have been trying to find the right words to began this weeks blog, which I had earlier decided not to write. Mitch Napier passed this week, Monday to be exact and for family, friends and church the loss will be felt for a long time. Funny how we dodge the reality of such by our verbiage. We could have said he died but most of us try not to say the “D” word. Death….there is a finality about that word which is in a way strange. There are many ways to say it but the reality of the result is the same. The efforts of friends, family and church to ease the grief is comforting and welcomed. One phrase of comfort I do not agree with, “in time it will be better”. I don’t believe that, I do believe that in time you will learn to tolerate it, adjust and live life as expected. Grief, the burden of which is heavy on the heart, mind and body can overwhelm the best of us. I saw such grief in Mitch’s family, friends, and his church family. There is a difference between the grief of acquaintance and the grief of love; the burden here is the heaviest to carry, but the sweetest.

The totally un-expected passing of Mitch left everyone confused and asking all the usual questions. How could this happen, I just saw him earlier in the day, this can’t be happening, why?…..Safe to say we all want this not to be true, but it is and we will have to deal with it, each in our own way. The pain and grief of his son Nathan was heartbreaking. You could see his realization of the burden he now has inherited. He is his father’s son and those traits of responsibility, compassion and living as God had intended has been passed from the father to the son. God and family and investing in the lives of others, giving without expecting any return. Living the servants life and joyfully looking forward to the day he is called home. Nathan knows he can do no less, these things his father believed, taught his family and showed his friends by his actions every day of his life.

Ecclesiastes 7:1

A good reputation is more valuable than costly perfume.
And the day you die is better than the day you are born.

The Napier family and those who have had the privilege to know them have Faith and Hope for the days to come. For we know without hesitation:

Thessalonians 4:13-14
13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.

Yes his passing will be a burden, but it will be a “Sweet Burden” whose fruition will be to continue to tell “The Story”, unselfishly serving others and finding peace at the foot of the cross. All of faith know a better day is coming.

jk

 

Two interesting articles from one of my daily devotionals that gave me pause and led me to consider two very real issues of faith. The blog this week is inspired by two devotions published this month in the “Upper Room”. One challenges us to look at circumstances in which we may have forgotten that our God is constant and unchanging. The scripture reference is Psalm 46: 1-7. The devotion is written by Dave Brandon and puts forward the issue of living life by the “what if’s” instead of by “what is”. The other issue is one many of us struggle with every day. In our world today there are many obstacles that challenge and at times keep us from living a christian life. The author is Marvin Williams using as scripture reference Philippians 3: 12-21. Today I will reference only verses 17-21. The message is to “Press On”, something that the problems of this life can make difficult. So lets look at these verses up close and see how they might apply to living for what is and pressing on in difficult times. First we look at Psalm 46: 1-7.

I would suggest you open your bible and read by verse as we go through this. Albert Barnes has this introduction to this Psalm. “This psalm has been called Luther‘s Psalm. It was that which he was accustomed to sing in times of trouble. When the times were dark; when the enemies of truth appeared to triumph; when disaster seemed to come over the cause in which he was engaged, and the friends of the Reformation were dispirited, disheartened, and sad, he was accustomed to say to his fellow-laborers, “Come, let us sing the 46th Psalm.”

A very good explanation of the very core meaning of the 46 Psalm and translates well into our situation today. What do we do in times of trouble? What do we do when the enemies of the “True God” come against us? What do we do when we struggle to tell “The Story” and are marginalized and persecuted. Do we become dispirited, disheartened, and sad, or do we turn to God….our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble. This being the very first thing we encounter at the very beginning of the Psalm. Trust in whomever and whatever you want but we have found him to be present and effective in meeting our needs in times of trouble. Verse 2 states plainly that we should trust in God. We shouldn’t let the political and natural commotions taking place in this world separate us from our God. Verses 3 and 4 are symbolic in depicting the many rivers and streams, possibly referring to people being converted to the faith and flowing as rivers and streams to the “City of God” which most commentators believe to be Jerusalem. God being gladden by this. So what can we take from these first four verses. Life is what it is, but with God we can find refuge in his strength that nothing can overcome. There may be chaos all around us but we must continue to bring people to the faith and thus persevere in his name.

Looking at these last three verses we see a God who appeared in times of distress, brought his people out of troubles and kept his covenant with their families. We are also reminded in verse seven that even though we may be feeble and outnumbered the Lord of hosts is with us. Summing up part one of this post, we will find no peace in the misery of the past living for “what if”. We must live for “what is” adding to that “to be”. Simply put, trust in God….The Lord of Hosts is with us.

Again, open your bibles to Philippians 3 starting in verse twelve and going through verse 16. Paul shares with us that he is not by any means a complete Christian, but is striving to press on. Some of you will be familiar with the Wesleyan question asked of all Pastors as they are ordained, “are you going on to perfection”. Paul knows he will never be perfect but he continues to press on. If you feel you have been called out by Christ be assured that the calling has a purpose and only if you press on will you understand the full purpose of that calling. To carry that a bit farther, when you accept Christ you are called out to his purpose, all of us must press on throughout this life. It is interesting that Paul refuses to rest on his “laurels” so to speak having eyes and purpose only for what yet needs to be done. We need to remember that… “the fields are white for harvest”, we waste time seeking to harvest where it has already been done, we must press on to newer fields. Too often we lower our standards and relax our efforts to “tell the story” relaxing our resolve when God is calling us to press on. Always looking forward, keeping our eyes on the goal. If we wish to mature in the faith as Christians we have to accept that a certain amount of discipline is necessary which will include much effort and at times some agony. William Barclay put it this way.
“As Paul saw it, Christians are the athletes of Christ.

We close this chapter looking at verses 17-21. Paul begins in verse 17 by asking the people to “unite in imitating me” Paul was the one person who could invite people not simply to listen to him but also imitate him. Are we living in such a manner that we might invite others to imitate us in our passion to live for Christ, so they might “press On”? Paul reminds these people that “our citizenship is in
heaven” painting a picture in their mind that they could understand.Paul says to the Philippians: ‘Just as the Roman colonists never forget that they belong to Rome, you must never forget that you are citizens of heaven; and your conduct must match your citizenship.’ Paul closes on a note of hope of all Christians. Because we press on these mortal bodies which are subject to decay will become heavenly bodies which will live with Christ in the splendor of their reward. Press on for the goal of life everlasting in the presence of our Lord.

Join me in the pew next week, as we look forward to what is to be and press on to our goal.  jk

A yoke is a fitting for a so-called beast of burden that would be placed around the neck of one or more animals like an ox for example. This fitting was placed around the neck and allowed the animal or animals to pull various loads. it was a curved piece of wood with leather straps as a binding which would allow them to draw a plough or a cart or any other type of weight. During our bible study this past Tuesday a certain verse from Acts 14 caught my attention. They strengthened the disciples and urged them to remain firm in the faith. They told them, Acts 14: 22 “If we are to enter God’s kingdom, we must pass through many troubles.”

We also know that our Lord said this in Matthew 11:28  “Come to me, all you who are struggling hard and carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest.” Many of us today are carrying heavy loads, in the workplace, family, debt and the emotional problems that they bring with them. The next two verses are ones of encouragement. In Acts 29 and 30 we find these words “29  Put on my yoke, and learn from me. I’m gentle and humble. And you will find rest for yourselves. 30  My yoke is easy to bear, and my burden is light.”

It is a hard truth and one we as Christians sometimes overlook or just ignore. As the church we must learn to accept our hardships, just as we should as individuals. Paul went back to encourage these people and the churches that were being established that this should not be a time to of wasted energy fighting them or wondering “why us or why me”. We need to spend our time getting to know God and his plan for our lives the more time we spend doing that, the stronger we will grow in the faith.

Paul also wrote about a yoke in 2nd Corinthians 6: 14-18 :
14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 15 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols?For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”17 Therefore,“Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”18 And,“I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

Maybe I am taking to many liberties and searching for a connection that at best is a stretch. I believe that part of what Paul is saying here is that our journey will be much easier if we seek the fellowship and strength that is offered through the Christian community.  Do not mistake my writing to infer that we withdraw within our walls, that is not what we are called to do. Our burdens are many and at times too heavy but with Jesus’ “The yoke is easy to bear, and the burden is light.”I believe that many of our churches are torn apart by conflict and issues that distract from the real mission Christ calls us out to do. Let us be yoked together as one in serving Christ Jesus.

There is always room in the pew……jk

Been a rough week here in the pew. Usually by Thursday of the week I have the blog written and I began to delete or add where needed. This time however I have only a blank page. I started the blog in 2013 and at the start of 2016 I devoted full time to it, trying to publish once a week and there are 75 posts to date. I have no formal training or education in the writing arts and it is a lot of work to put something on a page every week. Thanks to the digital age, Bill Gates and the wonderful world of knowledge that can be acquired on the internet, I have managed to sneak by. I was told, write about things you know about. Well the truth is I don’t know about a lot of things, which isn’t such a bad thing, it narrows the field a bit but produces a result I wasn’t counting on. Things I know about aren’t all that interesting. There was one thing I wanted to know more about, I wanted to know more about God and Jesus.

Now I have always thought of myself as a Christian, I believe there is a God and I know about Jesus. For a long time that was my standard answer to the question “are you a Christian?” When I look back at the years gone by a more appropriate picture of my faith would be as follows. I was like a person on a golf course, standing under a large tree during a violent thunder storm. “You believe in God?” “You bet I do”  I uttered quickly before the next lighting strike. When the sun came out I went back to the game. I have come to realize that being a Christian isn’t a game. There are no time-outs and no such thing as halftime, there is no quarter given. (weak play on words) It has been a difficult week and in retrospect a disappointing few weeks. There is so much chaos in the world.   The partisan divide in our nation which is driven by such hate and lack of civility has placed us at the mercy of those who use violence and destruction of things and people they disagree with as an acceptable form of expression of opposition to current elections and others policies. Silence comes in many forms. I will share one example with you. After 9/11 all air traffic was grounded for a few days. Ever look up and see the contrails (Contrails or vapor trails are line-shaped clouds sometimes produced by aircraft engine exhaust.) crisscrossing in the sky and wondering who was up there and where were they going? There was for those few days an empty sky, there was a visual silence. Well that is where I’m at today. To one who writes or tries to, a blank page is the ultimate definition of silence.  I have given thought lately to lay the blog aside. It is a case of time spent and results. Don’t misinterpret what I have written here. A lot of time is spent in preparation and after all these years the blog has never caught on. There is also the consideration that maybe I don’t write so well. I have been wondering if my energies would be better spent creating  bible studies, which keeps me in the word and requires research and study. This is not a question of ego, it is about how I can best serve and reach people with the good news. Well I have managed to fill the page with a rambling dissertation of my personal frustrations. You know God never leaves a blank page……and if you listen and seek you will see and hear.

Romans 8:25-27Common English Bible (CEB)

25 But if we hope for what we don’t see, we wait for it with patience.

26 In the same way, the Spirit comes to help our weakness. We don’t know what we should pray, but the Spirit himself pleads our case with unexpressed groans. 27 The one who searches hearts knows how the Spirit thinks, because he pleads for the saints, consistent with God’s will.

I do not know how this ties in, as I was writing, the above verses came to mind. William Barclay writes in his series Daily Bible Study:

THE first two verses form one of the most important passages on prayer in the whole New Testament. Paul is saying that, because of our weakness, we do not know what to pray for, but the prayers we ought to offer are offered for us by the Holy Spirit. The New Testament scholar C. H. Dodd defines prayer in this way: ‘Prayer is the divine in us appealing to the Divine above us.’

I know that I need to pray and seek his will but I have no words. H. Dodd gives this advice. We cannot know our own real need; we cannot with our finite minds grasp God’s plan; in the last analysis, all that we can bring to God is an inarticulate sigh which the Spirit will translate to God for us.

I think that applies to many of us. We need to leave the chaos and uncertainty of this world behind and just pray. His will be done…..jk

How do we build bridges and at the same time defend the faith? I address this to the church in general. No denomination can claim that it has not relaxed or even in some cases changed the way the traditional scriptural beliefs apply to their church doctrine or tenets. You may refer to it however you wish, for me it became a buzz word……inclusiveness. We have been told we must be tolerant of others and sometimes it is difficult but I believe it to be a necessity of christian character. Notice this definition of tolerance: noun – the ability or willingness to tolerate something, in particular the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with.(New Oxford American Dictionary) As an example the New Oxford American Dictionary lists “the tolerance of corruption” and “religious tolerance.” Interesting to note that along with so many other things religion has now become just another something to tolerate. As I look back, I remember asking the older folks “how you feeling today”? Many times I got the simple answer “tolerable”.

We know that bridges make it easier for us to go to different places and in real time make it easier for people to come to us. Building bridges between church and communities is integral to church growth. I’d like to expand that a bit. Building bridges is important and necessary in order to fulfill our Christian calling.

The Great Commission (Matthew 28New International Version (NIV))
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

A very simple straight forward charge that leaves no doubt as to our focus and task. The problem comes as we decide how best to do this and to what length do we go to get it done. We usually become entangled with various programs and many of you will disagree, the cosmetics of it all, being more concerned with the appearance than the substance. I have read many articles and I settled on sharing with you these six from “Evangelicals for Social Action.” Here are six* suggestions for cultivating an outreach-minded congregation.

BUILDING BRIDGES BETWEEN CHURCH AND COMMUNITY

1. Welcome whoever walks through your door.

A good place to start in cultivating the congregation’s commitment to reach out to
the community is by loving the people in the community who come to you.

2. Network in the community.
Networking is the exchange of information, ideas and resources. The goal of
networking is to build relationships as you gather information, scout out potential allies, and let others know about your church.

3. Cultivate a sense of belonging to the community.
“Your people shall be my people,” said Ruth to Naomi (Ruth 1:16). In the same way, help the congregation to think about residents of the community as “our people.” Find ways of identifying with the struggles of those
in the community. (Heb. 13:3)

4. Incorporate a commitment to outreach mission into church life.
How much does a concern for community outreach enter into the life of your church? Consider ways to enfold a loving awareness of the community of ministry into “ordinary” aspects of church life. The church should be a refuge for members from the bruising realities of the world, but not a fortress where people go to shut out the world.
5. Interweave the interests of church and community.
Help to develop the habit of talking about inward ministries and outreach ministries in the same breath as all part of the church’s mission.

6. Take the church out into the community.
A congregation cannot hope to build loving relationships with the community,
particularly those who are most needy and vulnerable, by “sitting in the four walls of the church.” Develop the attitude that everywhere we go we are the church.

The more your congregation enters into the life of your community, the more the life-giving Spirit can flow through you to your neighbors.

(* I list only six here.)

Here I believe lies the real mystery. If you took the time to check the boxes on the above most all of you would say your church does all those things; I would have to agree with most of you. So what is the problem? Maybe we need to do a better job of telling the story and not being weighed down by the cosmetics. More on this in a future post.

Building bridges between the community and the church will take us to two different worlds. Those who know and follow Jesus and those who do not know Him, each have different needs and require different approaches, or do they? We read this in 1st Thessalonians 1:3

3 This is because we remember your work that comes from faith,[ your effort that comes from love, and your perseverance that comes from hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father.

Faith, love, perseverance and hope and the presence of Jesus Christ and
God the father. Perhaps we should be praying more and seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit. These early Christians in Thessalonica had been building bridges within their idol-worshiping culture and Paul praised them for that, but more for the way they were doing it. We read this in 1st Thessalonians 1:6-10

6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

It is worth noting how they built this bridge.The bridge they were building had two components: the “word of the Lord” and the example of their faith. It was clear to everyone that they had “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (v.9). They preached the truth that was Gospel driven, Giving Hope through a Christ Centered, Jesus Loving, Holy Spirit Led ministry of boldness, zeal and love. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul says that the greatest things are faith, hope, and love (v.13).and he commends the people of the church in Thessalonica for exhibiting these very traits. They work in faith and labor in love while hoping in Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 1:3). (Our Daily Bread)

To wrap this up we must acknowledge the need to defend the faith. Christianity is under attack world wide. To put this in perspective, it is really no different than it has always been and to go even further Jesus himself said we would suffer for the gospel. The advent of of the digital age has given the enemies of the faith a powerful tool to distract us from our task, dismiss and demean the message we seek to share and drive us back behind those four walls we tend to hide behind. We are placed in a sometimes unattainable position because while confrontation is sometimes necessary, it should not be a part of our Christian mission. What do we do?

I believe we must get back to telling the story and seeking the Holy Spirit through scripture study.

Acts 17:2-4 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.

2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Philippians 1:7 So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News.

2. 1 Peter 3:15 but honor the Messiah as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.

I quote from a Daily Bread article.
“As God declares Himself to those around us by His Word and through our lives, we can become a bridge to those who do not yet know the love of Christ.” If we live the gospel others will listen. After so many words what is being said? The best defense of the Gospel is to tell the story any time and any way we can. We have been called for a purpose and with God’s grace and guidance we will endure.

From The Pew,
God Bless…..jk

I once wrote that the church had become a service industry and as prepared today’s blog that statement came to my mind. If you have ever been a part of a committee or group that is charged with examining the state of church membership or how to bring more people into the church, add to your church roll, then you are part of a very normal percentage of folks who engage in the fill the pew programs that are so much a part of our church culture today, along with the yearly or semi-annual revival. I want to be sure and state that negativism doesn’t help either. So up front, this blog is not about doing away with but adding to the things we can do to add souls to the community of faith. This is not a church bashing blog. This blog is not about numbers or denominations, it is about his people, his creation and maybe if we quit looking at numbers and religion so to speak our task will be plainer. I believe that saved or not saved we are, each of us a child of God, his creation, each just as precious to him as the other. Here is an excerpt from a blog of mine two years ago.

“To grow a church has to have a lot of different programs other than worship itself. It’s all about how you present yourself; make people want to come, offer a range of services that meets every need. Family things, what do you have for the kids, is there a Youth Director, what type of Music Program do you have? Is there a Family Life Center and what does it include? What about the young adults and seniors, do you have programs for them? Now I could go on and on but the point is this. Church today is about the services it can offer to its members. Most of the things I have listed are the ones people ask about. I have never really heard anyone ask, do you preach the gospel of the Living Christ and is the pastor anointed by God preaching the word and led by the Holy Spirit? When I shared this with some friends they had a question for me. What does it matter how large or small a church is, or what services it offers its members, as long as people are saved and their lives are better? Well I can’t argue with that but I do still wonder why the success of a church is determined by its size. Religion is a weird science for lack of a better term. I think I will stick with John 14:6 Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Back to last weeks post, a re-thought if I may. Growing a church is not easy with all the distractions and other choices that are competing with the church these days. The “nones” we wrote about last week offer a real challenge because they comprise such a large and diverse group. If I were to pick a reoccurring theme here it is that the complexity of this group and the above mentioned reasons dictates that the problem cannot be approached with anything we are now doing. The stats say what we are doing is not working. As if all of these stated challenges are not enough the survey also stated that a significant number of these folks say they are too busy for religion, which reminds me of a sign I saw when traveling the back roads. Small country church, the sign read “ARE YOU TIRED OF RELIGION……TRY JESUS”….

Simple statement or slogan if you wish but I believe within it there is some good advice. We continue to look to numbers, buildings, music, tradition, programs and acceptance of the new norms in society. Struggling to be a part of it while maintaining the values and tenets of our faith. This is in reality is a nice way of saying “looking for loop holes” to justify certain behaviors. Here is an excerpt from a letter I used in a post several months ago. How do you think we as christians are viewed today as opposed to the early church and Roman society?

The Letter to Diognetus, the work of an unknown author, written in about 130, describes Christians to the Romans as follows:
“They dwell in their own countries simply as sojourners…. They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh. They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven.  They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time, they surpass the laws by their lives. They love all men but are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned. They are put to death, but [will be] restored to life. They are poor, yet they make many rich. They possess few things; yet, they abound in all. They are dishonored, but in their very dishonor are glorified…. And those who hate them are unable to give any reason for their hatred.”

Look closely at the letter above. Early christians did not have the facilities we have now, no need to make a list, simply put…..they didn’t have the stuff to work with that we do. We need to keep building, to add facilities and services and programs to stay in the game so to speak. However, I believe in our zeal to compete we have lost the simplicity of “Jesus” , the power of the message. We must live our lives so as to avoid the temptations of the flesh, we must live in a way that allows us to be “citizens of heaven” here and now. We must obey the laws but our very behavior should exceed that which is expected. Even though we will know rejection and at times persecution we must love all men. We may lose our life but to die for Christ is to live. We may be poor but what we have must be used to enrich the lives of others. We may not have a lot but through Jesus Christ we have all we will need. We may be dishonored here on this earth but we will be honored in heaven among the saints. We may never understand why we are so hated but know well the love of Christ which exceeds all understanding.

We have a story to tell and I believe we have become too busy acquiring “stuff” to point to, when all we really have to do is tell the story…..

I love to tell the story
of unseen things above,
of Jesus and his glory,
of Jesus and his love.
I love to tell the story,
because I know ’tis true;

it satisfies my longings
as nothing else could do.

Go tell the story…the stuff will come latter. Hope you return to the pew next week.  jk

 

Continuing on from last week’s thought that maybe we were looking in all the wrong places when examining the loss of people attending church, got me to wondering about where we need to look. I think most of us can agree that whatever we have been doing, while certainty not a complete failure, still we are not retaining or gaining those souls needed to do the Lords work. From previous discussions in morning bible study, which by the way started this line of thought, three groups come to mind. There are those that have been hurt by the church in some way or another. I am not going to mire this down listing reasons that people are hurt or get mad and leave; fact is they do and you may know someone like this or might even be that someone. There are of course those that don’t believe period. This we will come back to at another time. Then there are the “Nones.” This is an interesting group because they include those that have left, believers and non-believers and those that are not or have never been affiliated with any organized religion. “Nones” is a term sometimes used to refer to those who are unaffiliated with any organized religion. This use derives from surveys of religious affiliation, in which “None” (or “None of the above”) is typically the last choice.

Let’s run the numbers on this. There are lots of different surveys and research articles About the “nones”. I tend to look at Pew Research center. Also part of the information I will share is from an article written by Michael Lipka from FacTank, News in Numbers. This article paired with Pew Research numbers provides an interesting look at this subject.

A growing trend in American religion in recent years has been the percentage of adults who do not identify with a religious group. In 2007 the number was 36.6%. The latest figure, 2014, has that number at 55.8%. I am going to try not to overwhelm you with numbers but they do tell a story. Responses to how they became “nones” is telling. Remember that this group includes religious people who indicate that a lack of belief led them away from religion, Mr. Lipka writes that number to be about 49%. There were other reasons listed such as many respondents said that science, common sense, logic or lack of evidence played a part in their being where they were today. Others interestingly enough simply said they do not believe in God. Quoting directly from the article, “One-in-five express an opposition to organized religion in general. This share includes some who do not like the hierarchical nature of religious groups, several people who think religion is too much like a business and others who mention clergy sexual abuse scandals as reasons for their stance.” One in ten who were raised in a religious affiliation are now inactive. They just went home and stayed there. Oddly enough they still hold certain religious beliefs but have withdrawn from any active practice. Interesting to note that within this group there are sub groups, confusing is it not? Are you beginning to see the point that the task the church is facing is not a simple one by any means. there is no “one program cure” for what ails us. There are the agnostic, don’t believe period, then a rather odd group who describe their religion as “nothing in particular”.

If I were to pick a reoccurring theme here it is that the complexity of this group cannot be approached with anything we are now doing. The stats say what we are doing is not working. I have saved the best to last. A significant number of these folks say they are to busy for religion, which reminds be of a sign I saw when traveling the back roads. Small country church, the sign read “ARE YOU TIRED OF RELIGION……TRY JESUS….

Next week we will continue to explore this issue of losing souls. That’s right, this whole thing is not about numbers or denominations. It is about his people, his creation and maybe if we quit looking at numbers and religion so to speak our task will be plainer. I believe that saved or not saved we are, each of us a child of God, his creation, each just as precious to him as the other.

I welcome your comments, hope to see you in the pew next week.

jk

 

 

 

 

 

Things aren’t the same now as they were when I was growing up in the church. The number of people who attend church these days is much less than in my day. Many denominations are losing people and many churches struggle to stay relevant in todays culture and demographics. Received an email from a good friend in reference to last weeks blog which questioned where the church was today and rate of growth or lack thereof. The email was refreshing because it said what many of us won’t. Here is a quote from that email. “I don’t have a clue and pastors really don’t either, how to get everyone on board with dynamic growth and spiritual outreach.” Numbers have become a big thing in judging success in almost all activities and now even church. So, let’s look at some numbers. Pew Research Center November 3, 2015.

“Is the American public becoming less religious? Yes, at least by some key measures of what it means to be a religious person. An extensive new survey of more than 35,000 U.S. adults finds that the percentages who say they believe in God, pray daily and regularly go to church or other religious services all have declined modestly in recent years.

But the Pew Research Center study also finds a great deal of stability in the U.S. religious landscape. The recent decrease in religious beliefs and behaviors is largely attributable to the “nones” – the growing minority of Americans, particularly in the Millennial generation, who say they do not
belong to any organized faith. (http://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/)

Among the roughly three-quarters of U.S. adults who do claim a religion, there has been no discernible drop in most measures of religious commitment. Indeed, by some conventional measures, religiously affiliated Americans are, on average, even more devout than they were a few years ago.”

Not as bad as some say, but make no mistake, there is little comfort in the numbers to those who see their church or denomination losing people.

“The falloff in traditional religious beliefs and practices coincides with changes in the religious composition of the U.S. public. A growing share of Americans are religiously unaffiliated, including some who self-identify as atheists or agnostics as well as many who describe their religion as “nothing in particular.” Altogether, the religiously unaffiliated (also called the “nones”) now account for 23% of the adult population, up from 16% in 2007.”

So it only natural that such figures should raise enough concern that a host of solutions would come forth like the blooms on a large healthy honeysuckle vine. We find ourselves today being overwhelmed by well meaning criticisms and of course the next great “growth Program.” There are always a host of books, seminars, companies that specialize in church growth materials and any number of lay led committees that for as long as I can remember seek to stem the loss of people to the church and return the church to a position of influence in our communities and nation. What is the mission of the church?

The Great Commission

Matthew 28
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Is this it? Is this all there is to it? Perhaps we have missed or overlooked something. Did we miss these nine words….. “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Now that expands the playing field a bit. I will expand on this in the weeks to come. Right now I just want to think about where we are and possibly where we need to go. Leaving this thought and moving to a recent morning bible study, where our discussion took us to the state of the church today, one of the members present had a interesting line of thought as to church growth.

Maybe we are looking in all the wrong places, using the wrong tools and passing over a wealth of folks. Got me to thinking maybe it’s a chicken and egg thing. Transferring that thought to a “faith or church thing”, which comes first? After some thought I’m inclined to believe he might be on to something. Which does or should come first? Faith or Church? Well of course we can go to Acts and Pentecost which takes us to the infilling of the Holy Spirit and Peter’s impassioned message to the people gathered in the city at that time and brought these results.
Acts 2: 40-41
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

The church as we know it today did not exist. What did they have that allowed them to grow and prosper? They believed, they had hope and most of all they had faith. Nothing is hidden from God’s sight. Nothing is greater than God’s love. Nothing is stronger than God’s mercy and grace. Nothing is too hard for God’s power. Going back to last weeks post this is where I believe we are today in many churches and denominations.

“We have found it useful to build church buildings, and denominations, and clerical hierarchies, and liturgies, etc. Nobody should think, though, that these are one and the same as the true church; you don’t see any of these things in the vision given us in Rev. 7.” Stefan Stackhouse

No this is not a “get back to basics” thing. It is about recognizing what comes first. We have to recognize that the world has changed and the complexity of the culture and the demands of society must be understood and confronted to restore and preserve the faith. Simplicity is not the word we need here.

One last thought…..””Just about every denomination in the American church—including many evangelical denominations — is seeing a decline in numbers, so if it’s a competition, then we’re all losing, just at different rates.” -Rachel Held Evans

Next week…?, Faith, Church

Hope to see you here in the pew……jk

I started out this week to write about a subject inspired by an article written by John Pavlovitz,  “Hello From The Outside”.(http://johnpavlovitz.com/2016/01/12/hello-from-the-outside-how-the-church-fails-and-forgets-those-who-leave/)

Well one reference led to another and I was soon  overwhelmed with information. The article was straight forward and at times pretty blunt. Blunt meaning in this case likely to not be received well by some in the “church”. Here is an excerpt from that blog.

“Some advice to churches and pastors and church staff about their back door:

If your church is too big to minister to people individually, your church is too big.

If you have no scalable system of pastoral care other than telling people to get into a small group, you have a lousy pastoral care system.

If people can come and go for months in your building (and ultimately leave) without you or anyone knowing it, you’re failing those in your care.

Pastor, if all you want to do is preach from the stage or the pulpit, stop calling yourself a pastor and admit that you’re a preacher or a religious celebrity.

Churches, if all you’re interested in doing is putting on weekly one-hour crusades, stop calling yourself a church and just be religious event planners.”

 So just what exactly is the “true church”? You can google that and find any number of answers. Stefan Stackhouse had this little gem in his writings.

“We have found it useful to build church buildings, and denominations, and clerical hierarchies, and liturgies, etc. Nobody should think, though, that these are one and the same as the true church; you don’t see any of these things in the vision given us in Rev. 7.”

(https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-true-church-according-to-the-Bible)

Stefan also points out that the true church is as Jesus said in Matt 18:20: “Wherever two or three are gathered together in His name, there He is in the midst of them.” Ah, at last biblical references to which I immediately went to. There were many, and I decided to look closer at Acts 7: 11-12… And all the angels stood in a circle round the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell upon their faces before the throne, and worshipped God, saying: ‘So let it be. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength belong to our God forever and forever. Amen.’

The praise of the Angels where they ascribe blessing to God; and we his people must always offer blessing to him for creation and redemption and divinely ordained events and outcomes. He has made us and we are his and through his son Jesus Christ he has redeemed us

The Angels ascribe glory, wisdom, honor, power, and strength to God and we must always at all times in all things offer thanksgiving to God. We must never be guilty of the sin of ingratitude. What about that back door? People leave churches, denominations and in some cases the church altogether. The real danger is that they will never open or enter another front door again. We can do no better than to meditate on the praise of the angels and do everything in it. It has been said and written that the God we serve is Holy and so should we be. That back door will always be there and no “program of the week” will keep some from using it. Matt 18:20: “Wherever two or three are gathered together in His name, there He is in the midst of them.” It is really pretty plain. The presence of God is not dependent on numbers and the best advice for the church is to do as the angels do……praise at all times the glory, wisdom, honor, power and strength of God, seeking his presence among us, to be Holy just as our God is Holy.

Come in the front or back door, just come. See you in the pew next week.

jk