Oak Hills Presbyterian

Transition Questions

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0500

These are questions that have been submitted by the congregation and addressed at the Congregational Meeting on Sunday, May 16th concerning this time of transition at Oak Hills. We are so grateful for the honesty of the questions, and for your willingness to let the Session think through these questions ahead of time. Below are the thoughts of the Session as presented at the Congregational Meeting. As you continue to have questions regarding the transition and the search process, please don’t hesitate to ask one of the Elders or Deacons, or to email the church office (office@ohpchurch.org).

1. Will the pastoral search committee include members of the general congregation? Will the Session allow any laity on the pastoral search committee?

Yes, it is the desire of the Session that the pulpit committee include members of the general congregation. We will be publicizing the qualifications for serving on the committee, along with some information regarding the commitment of serving in this capacity, in the near future.

2. Can we specifically list how we are different enough from the other PCA churches to keep going?

What makes any church unique from other churches? Geographic location, style, doctrine, leadership, mission, personality, values would all be likely in this list – and other factors as well. Geographic location is not much of distinguishing mark among the local PCA churches, since we, and all of our sister-congregations, draw from all corners of the metro. We certainly share doctrine with the other PCA churches, and to some extent we share similarities in mission statements and values. However, the way we execute our values in ministry is unique to Oak Hills. Further, we have significant differences in style and personality from our sister PCA churches. Perhaps the greatest factor that makes any church unique from another church is the people that attend it. Much of who we are as a church is about the people in the church. As we walk together and apply the gospel in our relationships with one another, we know one another and become known by one another. This is what makes it your “church home”.

3. Does it make sense to prayerfully consider pursuing a merger with another church. If not immediately, when?

The elders have spent significant time discussing and seeking the Lord on this question. The question itself brings about several other questions and comments that require further elaboration. There has been a slow downward trend in our giving, attendance, and new member growth. We are concerned about this. This is not a new development, but we have been monitoring this for at least the last 18 months. As you know, a large part of the financial problems we face are a direct result of the fallen economy. This is real, and the church feels it the same way many of you feel it. We have taken a number of steps to continually decrease expenses and to carefully monitor our giving and expenses. In fact, we are continuing to do so by moving our office location to a less expensive alternative starting next month.

However, we recognize that finances are only a part of the un-health at Oak Hills. For the past nine months, the Session has been analyzing what we do well and what we do not. We have identified several areas of ministry that need significant attention – many of these stemming from a lack of clear vision and the leadership to coordinate the execution of that vision. Part of the solution that we developed was a revised job description for both Pastor Russ and Pastor Jon. We believed that these revised job descriptions would shed new light on necessary areas of development and growth for us as a church, areas which had not been given proper care and attention. With Russ’s call to leave, we feel no less certain, in fact, we feel reassured that these revised job descriptions are part of the next step for us to become healthy in these particular areas of ministry. In particular, we believe that Pastor Jon’s revised role will greatly increase his function as a pastoral equipper of the saints so as to grant the church much-needed improvement in the areas of ministry strategy, intentionality and execution.

One more area of “un-health” that we have identified is this idea of the congregation being relationally invested in one another. One of our greatest strengths as a church is one of our greatest weaknesses—our relationships. Many of you are actively involved in one another’s lives and finding one another to be a true source of comfort and joy. Some of you are not well connected to each other – and in some ways this has significantly contributed to us being a revolving door for visitors and new attendees. We long for Oak Hills to be a place where people know your warts and love you just the same. But to be known takes safety, courage, and desire, and we wonder if somewhere along the line we lost elements of this. The session actively bears some responsibility for this as we realize we have in many ways not shepherded the people of God as actively as our calling demands. We seek to repent of this. As well, we are seeking the ways in which we can spur you on in an environment focused on this great opportunity to walk honestly together.

What do these things have to do with the question at hand – “Is Oak Hills viable right now?” Everything. We want you to know that we are in the business of actively seeing some of the areas where we are not currently healthy, and that we are going about making the long-needed changes to foster health and growth here. We are hopeful about tomorrow at Oak Hills and the Session believes with all of our heart that the Lord has a great purpose for Oak Hills that is just as unique as any other church which he is Lord over in Kansas City.

What about the finances? Certainly, if money runs out, we’re not viable – just as with any church anywhere. But we are not on the edge of this happening, and assuming we do not see extensive shifts in our congregational giving, we have enough reserves to absorb our current status for at 12-18 months or more. Having said that, we always want to have hearts that are open to whatever it is that the Lord seems to be moving us toward as a church. We will share more about our financial situation in the next congregational meeting but for now know that, along with the diaconate and the finance committee, we will continue to give the proper attention to the role of finances in future planning.

4. For a church of our size is it normal to have 2 full time pastors? In thinking about attracting and hiring the next pastor, will we be able to pay the next pastor the same amount as we have been paying Russ?

There is a “rule of thumb” that suggests that churches need 1 pastor per 100-150 regular attenders/members, so yes it is ‘normal’ for a church our size to have 2 full-time pastors (we run roughly 200 people on any given Sunday). The current and future of our church body dictate a second position. We will be requesting a compensation survey from our denomination in order to better understand how we should be compensating our next Pastor.

5. How can we support the Elders and Deacons? How can the laity of the church become more involved and responsible for the tasks of the church, thereby alleviating some of the load the Pastor carries. (i.e., greeting new people, visiting people in the hospital, visiting new people, making phone calls)

The most important thing that we as a congregation can be doing to support the Elders and Deacons through this time of transition is to pray with and for them as they continue to lead Oak Hills, under the guidance of our Lord Jesus. Beyond that, continue in your faithfulness in the life of this church. Keep looking to Jesus as your Lord and Savior in every area of your life. Serve one another. Introduce yourself to people you don’t recognize on Sunday mornings. Keep short accounts with one another and with leaders, and let love cover a multitude of sins. If you are interested in getting more involved, let any member of the Session or Diaconate know your interest and your availability. Finally, talk with your leadership; give feedback, share your thoughts and ideas, and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

6. How long will Pastor Russ be on the payroll at Oak Hills?

In order to account for unused vacation days, Pastor Russ will be paid, and will receive benefits, through the end of the month of June.

7. How many months do you think it will take to find a new pastor? (estimate?)

This is a difficult question to answer, as it is different in every situation. We expect it could take as little as 6 months, or it could take much longer.

8. Will the Session be guarding against any candidate that subscribes to the “New Perspective on Paul” and/or “Federal Vision” theology? Is the Session aware of the General Assembly of the PCA’s report on these matters?

For those who aren’t familiar with these terms, the “New Perspective on Paul” and “Federal Vision” are labels given to two movements that are hot-button issues for our denomination right now. Without going into too much detail, the New Perspective on Paul has to do with a re-interpretation (and we would say mis-interpretation) of Paul’s letters that understands Paul to speak about our justification by God through the work of Jesus Christ as some combination of faith and works. This stands against the biblical and historically articulated doctrine of justification by faith alone. Federal Vision theology is more complex and more nuanced, but in part understands our relationship to God to be conditioned upon our ability to remain faithful to God’s covenant. In other words, the endurance of that relationship is based on our obedience. The implication is that we can lose our salvation through our disobedience. This is in stark contrast to the promise of Scripture that those who are God’s will never be lost, and that nothing can separate us from the love of God. There are other factors and implication involved, but that is one key flash-point.

Our Session is wholly committed to the biblical doctrine that salvation belongs to the Lord, that sinners are made right with God only and always by the perfect work of Jesus, received by faith alone, and that Jesus’ work is the sole foundation for our eternally secure salvation. Not only are we committed to guarding against any candidate who would subscribe to any doctrine other than that which is biblical, but our presbytery is similarly committed and has the role of examining the candidate that the congregation elects before he begins his ministry at Oak Hills.

Source: Transition Questions

Imagination and Truth

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0600

When you think of the Old Testament character Sampson with his long hair and strength, what do you picture? Is his hair dark? Blonde? In braids? Does he have bangs? And what about his physique? Is he built like a linebacker? Or since his strength is God-given supernatural strength, would he need to be any bigger than a place-kicker?

Everyone who has heard this and other Bible stories has imagined Sampson, or the burning bush or the storm on the Sea of Galilee, and everyone’s imaginations have come up with distinct ideas.

The stories of Scripture are filled with details that fill our minds with images, but they are also lacking in details, which our minds fill out. When I preach, sometimes I fill them out and offer my own speculations from the pulpit. This is not a bad thing, nor is it damaging to the truth of Scripture, so long as we keep a few guiding boundaries in mind.

In this current Advent Series, in certian places I have painted with a broad brush to offer a panoramic view of the story of God’s work among His people from Eden through the Exodus from Egypt. This broad-brush approach is a common method of teaching in Scripture. We see it in Peter’s sermon at Pentecost (Acts 2) as well as in Stephen’s sermon right before he was stoned to death. (Acts 7)

On top of this broad-brush approach, I’ve been working to present these sermons in the form a story—the story of the book of Genesis as it points to Christ. And knowing this is a bit different from how I usually communicate, we’ve devoted time each week to explaining my reasons for this structure to assure you I am not trying to come up with some new way of preaching. Story-telling is one of the ways God instructs His people to convey Biblical truth to their children, (Ex. 12:26-27, Deut 6:7) Jesus used parable to teach. Most of the Bible is narrative, and we need to know and understand those stories to understand the poetry and teaching coming from them. Stories are meant to evoke in us pleasure, wonder and a true sense of realism.

One issue we encounter here is: Along with reading directly from the pages of the Bible itself, are we allowed other ways of telling Scripture’s story (song, poetry, art, children’s bibles etc) and if so, how do we do that in a way that is faithfully under the authority of Scripture? If we are to tell the story of Scripture in any way other than simply reading the written page, we’re bound, eventually, to enter into the tricky waters of speculation. So how can we speculate faithfully?

In this series, there have been points where I have speculated as to how certain events might have transpired. This might be a bit unsettling to some so, using my previous sermon on Sarah and Isaac as an example, I wanted to talk here a bit about my own boundaries for speculation in telling the stories of Scripture in a way that is faithful to what Scripture is saying. I believe speculation is allowable in telling the story of Scripture if all (not just one, but all) of the following are upheld:

1. The speculation flows from the Biblical narrative. In Sunday’s sermon we talked briefly about Hagar, Sarah’s maidservant. I said Sarah thought of her and felt remorse and regret, I referenced Genesis 16 which tells us Hagar and Sarah’s history. There we learn Sarah did regard Hagar with contempt, and that her contempt was due to the fact that Hagar had conceived Ishmael. (Gen 16:4) So we know from the story of Scripture how Sarah felt about Hagar. And we know that the reason Sarah laughed at God’s promise that she would have a son within the year was because she had been barren her whole life and had tried innovative ways of giving her husband an heir (Gen 18:13)—which included Hagar. So to speculate that Hagar came to Sarah’s mind as she heard the Lord talking about her having a child of her own flows from the story of Scripture.

Had I then gone on to speculate about Hagar’s upbringing as the daughter of poor servants, and how she longed to be a princess, but no one ever looked at her with interest due to her social standing—that would have been speculation coming from nowhere. We don’t know Hagar as a child.

2. The speculation is probable. Speculation needs to not only flow from the Biblical narrative, it also needs to be reasonably probable. Not merely possible, but likely. One place I did this was in describing Sarah getting up at three in the morning to feed her baby boy and looking up at the stars and counting. I have no idea if she actually did this or not, but I’ll almost guarantee something like this happened, and often, because Isaac couldn’t have been older than three months at that point—and with four kids of my own, middle of the night feeding are often still in play at that age. Also, we know Isaac and his presence amused Sarah to the point that she named him Laughter—and that for her, the humor was very much about what God had done. (Gen 21:6) So I believe my speculation about a 3:00am feeding or something close to it was likely.

Had I gone on to imagine a pet goat that would sit with Sarah as she nursed Isaac, that not only would’ve been speculation coming from nowhere, but also very unlikely, since the concept of livestock as pets was virtually unheard of. Goats weren’t objects of affection, they were sources of food.

3. The speculation does not fundamentally change or direct the way we apply the Biblical account. Along with flowing from the Biblical narrative and being probable, faithful speculation also needs to be secondary, not primary. If my application hinges on my speculation being true, it is out of bounds. I believe we’ve seen this recently in our culture concerning a wealthy land-owner in the Bible and God’s desire to make us wealthy if we’ll only ask him to. You cannot take that application from the two verses found in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10.

In my sermon last week, I talked about Abraham bringing a knife to the mountain to slaughter his son Isaac. That much we know from Genesis 22:6. But I speculated about what choosing that knife must have been like—that Abraham tested them and thought about them. I even said the one he chose felt heavier than he remembered. Knowing what it was for, I imagine when Abraham picked it up to pack it, it was different than any time he had picked it up before. But we don’t know. I was speculating as a dad with a son of my own.

However, had I gone on to say that part of God’s test was whether Abraham would choose the sharpest knife and then made the application that like Abraham choosing his best knife, we too should give the best we have for the sacrifices the Lord requires of us, I would have been altering the way we apply this story which had nothing to do with Abraham’s knife selection.

I don’t believe we can avoid speculation when we interact with God’s word. We are called not only to be hearers of the Word, but doers also, (Jas 1:22) which means we are to take what we read and try to faithfully apply it to our situation, which inevitably means looking for overlap, which can’t help but draw some speculation. Nevertheless, Scripture needs to hold the authority in our application. What we imagine—and we all imagine—does not stand beside the written record, it stands under it, subject to its authority.

As a preacher, my hope and prayer is to preach the living word of God in a living way, but always faithfully. So when I speculate, my boundaries will be that such speculation will flow as probabilities from the text, but not be the details on which the application of the sermon rests.

And if you ever believe I have wandered too far from the Biblical narrative into the sinking sands of guess work, please let me know. I want to be a faithful servant of the Word.

Source: Imagination and Truth

Matt and Suzanna

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600

WeWe found our way to Oak Hills a little over three years ago. We discovered the church through friends of ours who had attended while they lived in Kansas City. We were looking for a church that began and ended with the Bible, and that’s what we found. It was immediately apparent that Christ was present in the worship at Oak Hills (Mat. 18:20) and we couldn’t help but join them.

Oak Hills is blessed with a leadership that allows its members to serve in the roles to which they are called by God. It doesn’t place members in the awkward situation of filling roles to which they are poorly suited, simply because there’s a hole that must be filled and a church-member feels guilty turning down the pastor. At Oak Hills, all members serve the church in one way or another, not out of obligation or guilt, but out of desire and love. The church encourages and embraces those who desire to glorify God through their gifts and talents, and those who seek to love others by applying and celebrating their God-given talents and desires.

The occasionally overlooked benefit of service to Oak Hills, and by extension – God’s people in general, has been the opportunity to learn from and relate to our brothers and sisters in Christ. “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another,” (Prov. 27:17). I’ve (Matt) been blessed to grow as a Christian, as a husband and as a man through planning church events, leading younger members of the congregation, and taking Christ’s message to the nations of the world.

I love the Lord, but I need to be regularly challenged to pursue Him with all my heart, soul and mind. At Oak Hills, I’ve found that challenge. It hasn’t come through an ultimatum, the threat of ostracism or embarrassment. It’s come from the weekly teaching of God’s Word and the example set by the leadership within the church. Oak Hills is a place where men of God honestly desire to serve and to love those around them, because Christ has loved them. This enduring challenge has shown me that life’s greatest pursuit and worthiest cause is bringing glory to our almighty God, and it remains the greatest challenge of my life.

Source: Matt and Suzanna

Matthew By Doriani - Two Volumes of Awesome

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600

I’m no dummy. I know I run a certain risk in plugging a two volume commentary on the Gospel of Matthew here in this Reader's Corner Blog.

It isn’t that we don’t like to think around here. Of course we do. And it isn’t that our regulars aren’t interested in what the Bible has to say. I believe a great many of us are. In fact, I have reason to believe we have many readers here who are actively involved in some sort of Biblical teaching– pastors, Sunday School teachers, and other students of Scripture.

The problem, as I see it, comes down to book covers: some book covers are awesome, others are boring. I think we can all agree on that. However, every, and I mean EVERY Biblical commentary book cover is boring. And both covers of Dan Doriani’s wonderful two volume commentary on the Gospel according to Matthew are no exceptions.

So to trick you into reading a few of my thoughts on why you should add Doriani’s commentary to your library, I have posted the above picture of pure awesomeness. And if you’ve made it this far, why not keep reading? You’re half way through, and I’m about to give you some first-hand knowledge of the author.

Dr. Doriani was one of my first seminary professors, and one who invested in my learning more than I can say, and I’m sure more than he knows.

Commentaries, as you might know, are verse by verse, chapter by chapter or thought by though expositions of the various books of the Bible. They are among the sort of book most probably don’t sit down to read from cover to cover, but rather selectively when you’re studying a correlating Biblical text. That’s my method, anyway.

The thing I like most about these volumes, and the reason I recommend them, stems mostly from my own personal experience with the teacher who wrote them. Or maybe another way of explaining myself is to say this: you should have Doriani’s Reformed Expository Commentary on Matthew by P&R because the author is a sound, wise, winsome and careful handler not only of Scripture, but of students too.

As a way of recommending his books and also paying some honor to my teacher and friend here in the Rabbit Room, allow me to relay a few lessons Dan has taught me in the years I’ve known him:

-Interpreting Scripture correctly takes work , but it isn’t indecipherable. God did not give us His word to confuse us or conceal Himself, but to reveal Himself. Nevertheless, it is still God we’re talking about, so we should expect to have to work at it with consistency and humility if we are to grow in it. And we should expect this to take a lifetime.

-As you grow in your understanding of Scripture, you might change your mind concerning how you have traditionally interpreted certain passages. If Scripture is inexhaustible, and over time you continue to learn more, you should expect the Lord to use your learning to inform and sometimes even correct your understanding of passages you thought you knew cold.

-There is a rich “earthiness” to Jesus’ ministry recorded in the Gospels. Doriani does an excellent job of taking students out of the metaphysical fog of over-spiritualizing Jesus’ life and times by taking you to a “boots on the ground” historical vantage point. When I hear Dan teach the Gospels (he was my “Gospels” professor in Seminary) he guides me away from regarding these texts as fables or “Middle Earth,” but rather as real events in real time and space– which is what they are.

-Anecdotes. Dan uses anecdotes to teach as well as in these commentaries, but they are rarely if ever cute little one-liners meant to make you squirm over the use of a clever pun. His stories are engaging, almost always new to your ears, and often don’t go where you were expecting– making them potent.

-Once in class, when a student asked which Commentary Series young ministers should have on our shelves, Dr. Doriani suggested we not buy commentaries by the set. We should buy individual volumes from a variety of different series because some from some series are better than others. Ask around and buy individual commentaries on the recommendations of people you trust who have used them. (I’m putting that little nugget of wisdom to work here.) By the way, I have worked with Doriani’s Matthew commentaries, and they are really great, easy to use, super informative and rich in detail. If you are a handler of the Word, you’ll come back to Doriani’s Matthew Commentaries again and again over a lifetime of ministry.

-And speaking of anecdotes, I’ll leave you with one of the most memorable early lessons Dr. Doriani taught me. It was early in my first full semester of Seminary and the workload was piling up. It seemed like each professor thought we had all the time in the world to read 100 pages a night. Doriani’s afternoon New Testament Class was letting out and he gave us some big pile of stuff to do over the weekend. Now, being that we were all Christians there, we thought the Christianly thing to do would be to explain to our esteemed professor something he could not have possibly known– we had other classes with other homework. Maybe he could lessen our assignment a bit. Christians are to be merciful, right? So a group of us explained our situation. He listened to every word. And then with five words, he sent us home not only rethinking our weekend, but what in the world we were doing in Seminary in the first place.

In a reminding voice, he said, “Gentlemen, this is graduate school.”

Oh.

Right.

Source: Matthew By Doriani - Two Volumes of Awesome

Why We Get Men Together for Monday Night Football

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500

You know those little yellow flags NFL referees tuck in their belts?

Those flags, as I’m sure you know, are in case someone commits a foul on the field during the game. Sometimes a quarterback or wide receiver takes a hit—I mean the poor guys gets his clock cleaned.

Was it legal? Look for the flag. No flag, no foul.

Those little flags also tell you who the guy next to you is rooting for. After a big hit, listen carefully and you’ll either hear him say something quiet like, “No flag. No flag! C’mon, no flag!” or you’ll hear, “C’mon Ref! Where’s the flag.”

I’m happy to report that no one has ever called a foul on Men’s Monday Night Football as a regular Oak Hills Men’s event. No one has ever come to me to criticize this tradition as being somehow too unspiritual to warrant the support of the church.

I’m glad for this because even though I am not as big of a football fan as many men and women I know, I believe there is great spiritual value in men gathering together on a regular basis—and if the occasion for such gatherings is to watch football, that’s fine by me.

We have a great capacity to help one another in life, but we’re far less able to give and less inclined to receive, let alone seek, help outside of the context of relationships. So in an effort to help the men in this church get to know each other better, we gather to watch football (and also to eat unhealthy food, but it’s okay because we balance it all out with lots of Diet Coke.)

And we promise you, there are no ice-breaker games or breaking up into small groups to talk about our feelings at half-time.

Since we began Monday Night Football, I personally have been in the homes of over fifteen different families in the church—many of them more than once. And I wasn’t alone. Lots of guys come out and it is always a fun time.

If you haven’t checked this out before, pick up a bag of chips and/or a 2 liter and come to the next one. Come by yourself. Bring a friend. Make it a father-son thing. There’s no age limit and you’re free to root for whichever team you like.

See you there.

Pastor Russ

Source: Why We Get Men Together for Monday Night Football

Good Places to Learn to Know and Enjoy God

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500

I love books—especially used books.

I love the feel of a well bound volume in my hands, the musty scent of old paper, the markings of discovery or disagreement left by someone else who had, at some point I’ll never know, settled down with the same volume to read the same words.

I wonder how the words hit them. I wonder if they liked it.

I love being surrounded by my own shelves lined with all the different colored spines facing out, asking me to read them as though the shelves themselves were volumes telling the story of the educational paths and pop culture trends I’ve followed over the years.

A room full of books, at least for me, commands quiet, even if I'm the only in there. In return, the books still my mind and invite me to reflect, learn, and want to learn more.

I’ll probably remain a book guy, even though technology is advancing determinedly into the realms over which the printed page once held a monopoly.

However, when it comes to learning to know and enjoy God, there are many great resources on the web—sites where you can study most anything you can think up with just a few clicks of the mouse.

Here are a few sites I’ve found to be helpful in my study of Scripture.

• Monergism.com – If you’re leading a study, preparing a talk or just wanting to dig deeper into doctrine or the Scriptures, this site is very easy to navigate and wonderfully informative. Their mission statement says they exist “to proclaim the truths of Scripture as reiterated in the 16th century Reformation that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, as revealed in the Scripture alone to the glory of God alone.

• Desiringgod.org – As John Piper’s online resource, this site has well over a thousand sermons and countless articles and books by Piper and others. As a pastor, I have personally benefitted greatly from Piper’s pastoral heart and craft found here. Hearing him preach has shaped me. He has been my primary teaching pastor over the past four years. I’m grateful for this site. Also, most everything here is free.

• Biblegateway.com – I love this site for the time it saves and the accuracy it ensures. From their site: “The Bible Gateway is a tool for reading and researching scripture online—all in the language or translation of your choice! It provides advanced searching capabilities, which allow readers to find and compare particular passages in scripture based on keywords, phrases, or scripture reference.”

Pastor Russ

Source: Good Places to Learn to Know and Enjoy God

Turning the Page

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Vision Sunday (which we celebrate on the last Sunday of every August) is, in many ways, our “New Year” celebration as a church. Our community here at Oak Hills has so many individuals and families living by semesters that the end of the summer is, for all practical purposes, the end of the previous year, and the beginning of September is the start of a new one.

The past year has been one of great blessing and great struggle for many. Some here at Oak Hills got married, others welcomed their first child. Some have grieved over decisions their parents or their children have made, others over decisions they themselves have made—most often in ways no one around them would ever perceive. Some acquired their first job out of college, others saw their jobs eliminated by the economy we’re in. You name it, someone at Oak Hills has been through it—some to their utter joy, some to their deepest grief.

I don’t know if you’re like me or not, but I welcome a new year like the turning of a page. It’s not as though the previous year never happened. Like the pages in a book, the previous year informs the coming one—giving it a context, foreshadowing some of what’s to come, introducing new characters, moving the unfolding story along.

With a new year comes new opportunities, new characters, new hope that old struggles may lose some of their power, fractured relationships might find some healing and, most importantly, that the Author of the Story we’re all living in might continue to build in us wisdom, insight, perspective and faith we didn’t have the year before.

I’m excited about where the Lord is leading the church in the coming year. I’m excited to see new Champions for ministry stepping forward with hearts eager to love and serve the people the Lord has brought to us as well as those He brings us to.

My prayer for the year to come is that, more than ever, we would be a church on a mission to know and make known the astonishing grace of God.

Pastor Russ Ramsey

Source: Turning the Page

Living in Ordinary Time

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0500

The church I grew up in was one which operated on a liturgical calendar—a schedule of worship which ensured that the “big events” of the faith were observed and celebrated. The colors of the vestments in the sanctuary would change during the different seasons of the liturgical year. During Advent it was dark blue. Lent and Easter were purple and those days between Easter and Pentecost (usually April and May) were gold and white, while Pentecost itself (in late May) was red.

So from November until May, the colors were always changing with the liturgical seasons of the church, heralding Christianity’s high points (like the birth of Jesus and His resurrection from the grave) and low points (like His suffering and crucifixion).

But from May until the beginning of Advent in November, there was basically one six-month long season. Its color was dark green and its name was “ordinary time.”

This name always used to strike me as a bit disappointing—as if it was expressing some notion that during those months, nothing much was happening between God and His people. It didn’t focus on the highs or the lows of the faith like Christmas or Good Friday. There wasn’t a lot of unfolding drama—no advent wreath candles to be lit, no dried palm branches to tie in knots, no midnight singings of Silent Night. Its focus was on the “other stuff” believers needed to know. It was ordinary time.

I came to learn later that “ordinary time” was not a way of calling that time mundane or common, but rather came from the word “ordinal”—which means “counted time.” It was time to be counted, weighed, used and invested.

Ordinary time, as time to be counted and invested, is not exclusive to liturgical calendars. Ordinary time is a common experience for every single person. We live mostly between the extreme highs and lows of our lives. I’d venture over 95% of our lives are spent in “ordinary time.” Its walking with one foot in front of the other, every day, slowly, steadily, devoted.
We’re tempted to think of this time, as I did with the liturgical calendar, as somehow less “spiritual” than the highs or even the lows of life. But ordinary time is not only spiritual, it is essential for the Christian life.

How do I know this? Because the Christian life is grounded upon relationships, and relationships require time, lots of time, lots of ordinary time doing ordinary things which add up to what we know as friendship and faith.

Source: Living in Ordinary Time

A Ladder, A Ledge and a Window- Thoughts on Joy

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0500

If you ever have the opportunity to visit Jerusalem, and you find yourself at the church of the Holy Sepulcher—one of the possible sites for Jesus’ tomb—and if you look up and to your right before entering, you’ll see an old wooden ladder on a ledge resting against a window. Its story requires that you know something about the church itself.

For centuries six different Christian groups have each claimed ownership of the church. This dispute led the Ottoman Sultan, in 1757, to issue an edict known as the “Status Quo,” which defined which parts of the church belonged to which groups.

So, for example, one group had possession of the floors while another had possession of the domed roof (which led the Israeli government to put up trusses when the integrity of the domed roof began to fail because the owners of the floor would not permit the owners of the roof to use their floor to erect scaffolding to repair the roof.)

Some historians say that this little ladder set the precedent for all this. In the early 1800’s, Armenian monks, who held the rights to the outer windows, set out to repair them. But this caused a problem one historian described this way: “At some point the Armenians put out the ladder for the purpose of doing work on the windows, [and] the Greeks protested that the ladder was resting on their portion (the outer ledge). The Armenians refused to remove the ladder - hence the frozen reality.”

Over the years, the heated dispute has cooled, but the ladder remains in place—visible in photos dating back as far as the 1800’s!

The ladder stands as a testimony to the “Status Quo”—no one dares remove it. (Monks make replacement ladders when the existing ones rot.) It’s ironic, considering what that church memorializes.

We can go so far from the hope of Jesus as our Immanuel—“God with us”—when our practice goes from heartfelt faith and joy in the risen Christ to keeping the Status Quo. Monks struggle to cling to where He once was, quibbling over a ladder, yet we seem to lose the glorious message of where He now is because the tomb is empty.

We do some strange things in the name of religion.

We all have ladders—practices we impose on ourselves or that have been imposed on us. (We don’t just throw away, but burn our “secular” music. In hard times, we search for the sin God is disciplining us for until we name a dozen. With disappointment, we analyze all the reasons we didn’t deserve God’s blessing (we used a credit card last month; we skipped our quite times; we forgot to send a relative a birthday gift, and then got angry because they seemed to expect one).

Somewhere between the emptying of Jesus’ tomb and the filling of modern churches we have propped a lot of ladders against a lot of windows—ladders which have stood for generations. But over time, as many of us can verify, we forget why they’re there, even though we labor to maintain them.

And our “religion” becomes devoid of any true joy in Christ, and instead becomes the means by which we keep an “angry God” at bay and other Christians from suspecting we need a Savior.

It is an age-old problem—forgetting what Jesus had come to do and why He had come to do it. The good news is Jesus did not forget. Jesus knew what He had come to do. He knew why He had come to do it. And He knew how we would be inclined to receive it.

I have to imagine that there were times in the history of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher when the focus of the discussions centered on that ladder. Monks arguing their points… forgetting that the more important issue was why, if the tomb was empty, could they not be united in their joy?

Outside the church is a monument to our unwillingness to delight in that joy which sometimes seems to be lost.
But inside the church is a monument to the empty tomb—the promise that the church has been washed whiter than snow. And as long as this is the case, that joy will never be truly lost, even though it may be lost on us.

Source: A Ladder, A Ledge and a Window- Thoughts on Joy

With Friends Like Pontius Pilate -- A Lenten Reflection

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0500

“Pontius Pilate sought to release Jesus.” —John 19:12

Think about that for a second.

Doesn’t John's statement therer sound loaded with implication? It sure does to me. Though Pontius Pilate ultimately became the man who ordered Jesus’ crucifixion, there were several points along the way where his actions were intended to prevent Jesus’ death. Consider the following instances:

—Pilate vocally objected to the credibility of the charges against Jesus many times over: “I find no basis for the charges against this man.” (Mk 15:14, Lk 23:4 14-16, 22, Jn 18:38, 19:4)

—Pilate questioned Jesus privately, away from the Chief Priests, giving Jesus a chance to defend Himself against the charges. (Jn 18:33, 19:9-11)

—Pilate sent Jesus to Herod after finding no basis for the charges against him. Pilate wouldn’t have done this had he thought Herod would disagree. That would have been politically embarrasing. Also, it might have made him appear like a poor judge in the eyes of his superiors. Pilate was certain Herod would agree with him, resulting in a concensus that Jesus didn’t deserve to die. And he was right. Herod agreed. (Lk 23:6-15) This, Pilate hoped, would end the momentum of Jesus’ accusers.

—Pilate invoked his tradition of releasing a Jewish prisoner during Passover

—giving the people a choice between Jesus and Barabbas, a known murderer, thief and insurrectionist. Pilate thought the contrast between these two would leave the decision to release Jesus ironically in the hands of the mob who brought him there. Surely given this choice, the people would free the non-murderer. He was wrong. (Mt 27:15-22, Jn 18:39-40)

—Pilate had Jesus publicly flogged.

This may not sound like an attempt to release Jesus, but the thinking was that maybe Pilate could satisfy the mob by taking Jesus to a point close to death without having to actually kill him. Then, Jesus could live out the remainder of His days bearing on His body the marks of the Roman flogging and in His mind, the memory of the crowd as they cheered for this.

Maybe that would suffice. (Lk 23:16, Jn 19:1)

Wrong again. You might say Pontius Pilate was Jesus’ most ardent defender during these few short hours they had together.

But with friends like this, who needs enemies, right? I don’t mean to foster sympathy for Pilate here. And I certainly don’t wish to defend his cowardly, wicked acts. Ultimately it was Pilate who held the civil authority to order a death by crucifixion—and this is what he did. I do want to say this though. Pontius Pilate was no hero, but neither was he the consummate bad guy with the thin mustache sneering through the wispy trails of smoke rising from the “Cruella De Vil” cigarette in his hand. (Sorry Buechner.)

Pontius Pilate was a middle-management Governor—basically a mayor with soldiers. He hoped, as any mid-level politician would, that his stock was rising. Judea was a stop along the way to the power, stature and respect he hoped to one day possess. He was a godless man motivated by a desire for the outcome of this unrest to be one that played to his favor. And for all of us, when it comes to this part of the Easter story, we have not understood the Cross until we have understood that, left alone, we are vastly more like Pilate than we are like Jesus.

Pontius Pilate didn’t want to release Jesus for Jesus’ sake, but for his own. He’d rather not have to explain to his superiors why a religious dispute required him to have a man under his authority executed. He’d rather not have to feel like a puppet at the hands of powerful and influential religious leaders. He’d prefer for this matter to end with everyone alive and happy. But not really for the sake of anyone’s life or happiness except his own.

This intrigues me because it raises questions: How many of my actions which appear noble and for the good of others are really more for the sake of making my own life easier? And what does that say about what really drives me to act nobly? Appropriate questions to consider leading up to Easter? What about you? What in your own motivations of the heart testify to your need for the Cross and the Empty Tomb.

Source: With Friends Like Pontius Pilate -- A Lenten Reflection

Every Teacher is an Art Teacher

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0500

There is a scene in the film A River Runs Through It where the narrator, Norman Maclean, describes his education, saying, “I attended the school of the Reverend Maclean. He taught nothing but reading and writing. And being a Scot believed that the art of writing lay in thrift.” The scene flashed to a young Norman handing a paper to his father. His father scans it and hands it back, saying, “Again, half as long.” Norman goes back, writes his paper again, only half as long, and his father reads it again and repeats his instruction, “Again, half as long.”

This is strange instruction to students today who mistake the purpose of writing in school as being more of a quantitative endeavor than a qualitative one.

Many students, I imagine, think the hardest writing assignments are the longest ones, operating on the notion that writing twenty pages is harder than writing five. This theory inspires the thinking that the more they write, the smarter they appear.

But as Eisenhower said, “An intellectual is a man who takes more words than necessary to tell more than he knows.” What if the Reverend Maclean is right. What if the art of writing lies in thrift—the fewer words the better?

We want students to embody truth, beauty, goodness, wisdom and eloquence. St. Augustine said we educate to “seek to lead the citizens of earth toward citizenship in heaven while instilling in them the desire to introduce the values of the heavenly kingdom into the kingdom they presently inhabit.” So we want students not just to know things. We want students to remain students and become teachers. And we want them to be able to teach what they know gracefully and persuasively.

This takes eloquence.

Eloquence is the ability to understand ideas and concepts and then to express them with persuasion and grace. I believe we see this objective outlined in 1 Peter 3:15 “In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect…”

This verse describes eloquence in its purest sense. First notice that Peter is saying that this kind of speech is honoring to the Lord. Christians honor Him by being prepared to testify of the hope within us. But then notice the two prongs of Peter’s point—that we are to be prepared to give a reasoned defense for the Gospel (PERSUASION), and that we are to do this with gentleness and respect (GRACE). This, I think, is as much an art form as anything. So if you are one who teaches, I submit to you this thesis:

Every teacher is an art teacher. And you should regard you self as such.

As a teacher do more than impart raw data. You teach young minds to receive that data, process it, comprehend it and grasp how the data they’ve just received comes to bear on the rest of what they know. You want them to know truth, recognize beauty, practice goodness and live wisely.

Why? Of course so that they might glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

But how is this done? Not merely through stowing away all they know. But through “seeking to lead citizens of earth toward citizenship in heaven.” The New Testament calls this the Great Commission—to go and make disciples of all the nations, bearing witness to Christ Jesus with our whole lives.

This is an art—balancing grace with persuasion and conviction with love while using words to paint a picture of truth, beauty, goodness and wisdom for all the world to see.

And as it is with all art, some students are naturals at this while others struggle from the start. But every artist, to be good at their craft, must log hours of practice. And they must be taught. They must try and fail. They must savor the two things they get right, even though there are a dozen others they got wrong. They must develop logic and reason. This stuff only comes through practice.

And to do this, they must use words.

So cultivate eloquence in your students by requiring them to trade in the currency of words. Make them write. Make them speak. Give them the gift of the experience of talking in front of an audience, even if they’re terrified. Try to help them understand why this experience is a gift.

As a teacher, you can measure how well your students know the truth you’ve taught them when they can tell you what you’ve taught them. You know they have seen beauty by their expression of it. They will reveal their committment to goodness by the grace employ in their speech, both toward those who agree and those who don’t.

But don’t mistake flowery words for eloquence. Persuasion and eloquence are not the same. Mere persuasion can often be fruit of wearing down of the other side under the weight of the sheer quantity of words.

Trade in the currency of words. Make words count, not by how often they’re used, but by how well. Look for grace and persuasion, for truth, beauty, goodness and wisdom in those words. Help them hone their craft of expression by requiring them to speak, write and respond with regularity.

And evaluate their work. Be willing to hand it back and say “Again, half as long” in order that they might be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks them for a reason for the hope that is in them—and that they might do it with gentleness and respect.

Grade them on reason. Grade them on rhetoric. But grade them on kindness and humility too.

Reward them not just for the completion of the assignment, but for employing truth, beauty, goodness and wisdom gently and with respect, lest they lose their hearers as Proverbs 18:19 predicts: “A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city, and quarreling is like the bars of a castle.”

May God be pleased to use your investment in these children so that they might spend their lives seeking to “lead the citizens of earth toward citizenship in heaven while instilling in them the desire to introduce the values of the heavenly kingdom into the kingdom they presently inhabit.”

Source: Every Teacher is an Art Teacher