Ministry Ministry Matters ~ supporting Christian ministry with resources, community, and inspiration ~ This Sunday, 3 November 2013

Ministry Ministry Matters ~ supporting Christian ministry with resources, community, and inspiration ~ This Sunday, 3 November 2013

Knowing and Serving Young Adults by Emanuel Cleaver III

A friend of mine invited me to go fishing with him. I’m not a fisherman. In an effort to show that I was not clueless, I bought my own equipment. My friend used crickets and worms as bait; I used French fries. The reason I used French fries is because I love French fries. At the end of the day my friend had caught a bunch of fish. I’d caught none. I asked him, “Why did you catch so many while I caught none?” He replied, “Because you were using bait that you like and I was using bait that they like.”

The North American church has a problem when it comes to reaching the young adults who are missing from our congregations. We want to use the bait that we like instead of methods and practices that speak directly to them. Young adults get bored when staying in one place for too long. They have grown up in a world where things are constantly changing, where technology is advancing daily. A new Apple product comes out, and people stand in line to be among the first to have it. Most of our congregations, on the other hand, find a worship style and way of operating that they like, and they want to stay right there. In the church, we do not want change. When young adults encounter our change resistance, their relationship with us is short-lived.

But consider this for a moment: The young adult culture of upgrade and change is a natural fit for the pastor. Pastors must look for and lead their congregations to the next pasture, where the sheep can be fed and satisfied spiritually. We may find ourselves feeling unstable in this strange and ever-changing culture. But as pastors we should also see the opportunities inherent in this new world and be inspired. The pastor’s task is all about upgrade and change.

The story of King Kong was first made into a movie in 1933. The film-makers used clay animation to create the great ape. In 1976 the classic film was re-made, but this time the filmmakers brought the story to life with trick cinematography and a robotic King Kong. King Kong appeared on screen again in 2005. This time, rather than using old methods, the filmmakers created a digital King Kong. This Kong looks much more lifelike than his predecessors.

Each King Kong was created using the technology and tools that were available at the time. Had the 1976 film used clay animation like in the original, it would not have done well. Had the 2005 film used the technology of the 1976 film, it would have been a box office flop. Each filmmaker told the story of King Kong in a way that spoke to that particular generation. The story itself remained the same, but the way it was told was new each time.

Sharing the gospel in new ways doesn’t mean changing the gospel or watering it down. It does mean that our methods must be different. As pastors, we must understand the people we are aiming to reach. We must determine how they are most likely to be reached. We must adapt our old methods and adopt new ones. My first ministry appointment was a predominately older white congregation in the center of a predominately black neighborhood with young families. By the time I arrived, the community already had a negative perception of the congregation, and it was very difficult to shift that perception. The church clung to old models of ministry while the world around it had changed drastically. We so often fail to adapt to changing times, misguidedly hoping to reach twenty-first-century people using twentieth-century methods.

When we invite into worship young adults who did not grow up in the church—which increasingly is most of them—it is like a blind date. Christian scriptures and church culture are strange to most young people today, just as the gospel message was strange to the Gentiles when Paul shared it centuries ago. Our congregations don’t appear to know a lot about young adults, and young adults don’t know a lot about the church. We use words they are not familiar with, like narthex, doxology, communion, and sanctification. United Methodists use acronyms that mean nothing to our guests, like UMM, VBS, UMW, UMYF, and GBOD. We assume that our listeners know this strange language, our customs, and the stories from our scriptures.

Pastors, we must live into our biblical job description. That is to lead the sheep within our reach to nourishing green pastures. We must always be looking for ways to bring along new sheep, to expand the ministry. We must attend to the tasks inherent in the true role of pastor. We must prioritize our own spiritual lives. We must remain focused on our mission. We must “own” our role as risk-taking leaders. And we must teach, equip, and encourage our congregations to see their pastors in a new light.

There are sheep outside our church walls, and they are looking for meaning and purpose in life. We are meant to lead them there, to discover the sustenance of new pastures together. Are we ready to change our bait, to live into our true roles as pastors, to forge a way into this uncharted territory?

Dr. Cleaver's book Pastor on Track: Avert Crisis and Claim Your True Role will be published in the spring of 2014 by Abingdon Press.

~~~

Adapting to Your Neighborhood by John Flowers and Karen Vannoy

Who is my neighbor?” The lawyer asked Jesus a good question, regardless of what motivated him to ask it. Jesus defined neighbor in the broadest terms, but we have narrowed the definition down to those who think and act like we do. That narrow definition distances us from our neighbors and eventually estranges us from them. When a church is estranged from its neighborhood, isolation and decline will soon follow. If we want to avoid or reverse decline, we must learn to adapt. One of the most important adaptations any local church can make is from a culture of ignoring its neighbors into a culture where the local church embraces the neighborhood.

Take Small Steps— They Lead to Culture Change

It is easy to identify churches that are stuck in a nonadaptive culture. Look for telltale signs, like:

NO SKATEBOARDING
ALL REQUESTS FOR HELP ARE REFERRED OUT
NO FOOD OR DRINK IN THE SANCTUARY!

In the new culture, churches with teenage neighbors might build a skateboard ramp for use in supervised activities. In the new culture, churches located in desperately poor neighborhoods might start a food pantry, clothes closet, or ESL classes and offer them on Sunday mornings when the working poor can come. As a bonus, churches might invite the recipients of the services to stay for worship. In the new adaptive culture, churches with gathering spaces might throw neighborhood birthday parties for kids.

Forget Homogeneity; Embrace Diversity

One local church stood at the crossroads of outrageous wealth and desperate poverty. One mile to the northeast, there were million-dollar homes, boutique shops, and high-end restaurants. One mile to the southwest, there were modest apartments and a junior high where 90 percent of the students were on subsidized meals. One mile to the northeast the population was 85 percent Anglo and retired. One mile to the southwest the population was Latino and working class.

This church had blinders on. The only population they could see lived to the east and north. One longtime member realized something had to be done. He went west to the junior high school and talked with the neighborhood school’s principal.

“Hi, my name is Alan. I am a member of a church not more than one mile from here. I’m afraid we have not been good neighbors to you. May I ask what are the most pressing needs of the students at your school?”

“Reading,” the principal responded, thinking, Here is one more do-gooder. When he hears my answer, he will run like a rabbit. “Most of our kids are behind at least one grade level in reading skills. If you want to be a good neighbor, then teach our children to read.”

The principal ended this conversation quickly, thanking the well-intentioned man for coming to visit. She felt secure in the notion that she would never see him again. To her surprise, she got a call from Alan one month later.

“I am sorry it has taken me a month, but maybe we can help with the reading skills problem,” Alan reported. “I have twenty retired adults who are ready to become one-on-one reading tutors with kids after school. I have a van ready to pick up the kids from school once a week and bring them to the church. Since kids are often hungry when school lets out, we will have a snack ready when they get to the church. We will also have a sack supper for them to take home and share with the rest of their families. We can tutor kids to read for 30 minutes at each session. But we don’t want to stop there. Many of our retired adults would love to learn how to speak Spanish. Can we trade teaching kids how to read in English for the students teaching us Spanish? What do you think?”

It took some time to work out the details, but imagine the intergenerational, interethnic, cross-socioeconomic friendships that developed when this local church and school began to work together. Inside each one-on-one relationship, each participant was a student for 30 minutes and a teacher for 30 minutes. “I have something I can teach you, and you have something to teach me.” They ate together and learned together, all because one church leader refused to ignore his neighborhood any longer.

Think Strategically

Your unique setting for ministry will be, in large part, defined by your geographic location. If your church is surrounded by families with children, get to know the families. Go door to door, hang out at the sports fields, and ask the parents what their challenges are. Work to build the best possible children’s program to make new, young disciples of Jesus to transform the world. If your congregation is located next to a college or university, then it is a sin to neglect a ministry to students, staff, and faculty. It’s great if you have an active Wesley Foundation or campus ministry. But if you’re a church next to a campus, they are your neighbors, and you cannot give over the whole responsibility to the Wesley Foundation. Instead you must partner with them to serve the whole area.

In a retirement area, van ministries are important, and daytime activities are vital. One friend has a church filled with retired people, so he established a ROMEO group (retired old men eating out). But remember the new retirees are a different generation. They are the babies born in the 1940s and 1950s and don’t share many characteristics with their parents. What reached the greatest generation won’t work for the first wave of boomers as they hit retirement. Learn who these new retirees really are, how they live, what they need. We must adapt to our neighborhood to thrive as a local church.

The Ignored Neighbor

In Not Just a One-Night Stand: Ministry With the Homeless, we wrote about a downtown congregation and the struggle that transformed the church’s life. Like their business neighbors, they spent tons of money on twenty-four-hour security and custodial labor to combat graffiti. A fortress mentality infected the members, along with other downtown residents. But when a young adult group began to see the homeless as neighbors, as much as the bank, the hotel, and the fine restaurants, a seismic shift began to take place.

The church moved from having a front door as secure and complicated as a bank vault, to seeing the homeless population as neither a threat nor an inconvenience. The church’s shift to embrace all its neighbors was not without pain and deep change. But the shift was the Spirit’s breath of life into a dying church. Eventually, what had been a mission to the homeless became a ministry of, by, and for the people of Travis Park, the homeless members as well as those with roofs over their heads. Amazing gifts of the Spirit arrived when the neighborhood was embraced. A neighborhood watch program was organized by the homeless members, on the property of Travis Park Church, for the purpose of protecting the people who had begun to call the church grounds their home. The church leaders who operated out of the old culture of ignoring neighbors watched in disbelief, while church leaders who had adapted to a new culture began working with and supporting new leaders in the homeless community to create a safe sanctuary around the church.

One of the fascinating side effects of embracing their neighbors was the elimination of all graffiti from the walls around the church building. Tagging and destruction of property stopped. The people who slept around the building’s perimeter were very protective of the church that sought to treat them with dignity and respect.

Who is my neighbor? The parable of the good Samaritan teaches us that our neighbors are the people who travel the same road and occupy the space next to us. Who is God sending across your path?

The authors' book Adapt to Thrive will be published by Abingdon Press in the spring of 2014.

~~~

Highway Hypnosis and Church by Betsy Hall

Recently, a friend was explaining highway hypnosis to me. Basically, it's all those times I have driven to a destination only to arrive not remembering how I got there. Then it hit me, I do the same thing at church a lot.

So here's what I resolved to do:

I'll read the Lord's Prayer (or other liturgy) off the screen or listen to those around me when I find myself reciting by rote.

I'll sing the praise song or hymn with feeling, even though I am an awful singer. Even if I don't like the theology or have forgotten what an ebenezer is (a stone of help). 

I'll intentionally park and sit somewhere new. Then I'll talk to somebody I don't know. Easy I thought as I wrote that, I'm an extrovert. So maybe I'll still talk to somebody new but I'll plan to listen more than I talk.

I'll take notes during the sermon. Easy again, we usually have a place for taking notes. But I'll intentionally listen for what God is saying to me through the sermon.

I'll stay away from the donuts, not easy.

Then it occurred to me, sometimes as a church leader I suffer from highway hypnosis like:

Spending time with just my Christian friends. Not really venturing out past the Christian cocoon I've made for myself.

Asking the same people to help with the new project I'm working on.

Teaching a class or leading a small group the same way I've always done it because it's easier that way.

I could write more, you could add to the list, we've heard it all before. Yawn.

It's simple. I need to change it up by being present and stop doing church like I drive.

~~~

How to Offer Worship for Those Within Your Reach by Lucinda S. Holmes

One of the biggest shifts in culture and religion today is that if people come to worship at all, it is with eagerness rather than curiosity. Those who do arrive at our church doors are yearning to be touched by the Holy. We offer that experience not by worrying about our worship style, but by focusing on mission. Our world is no longer predominately filled with Christian “insiders.” In fact, today we must recognize that nearly everyone is an outsider—even those who are inside the walls of the church. It is our task in worship to share blessing with others, with outsiders. Thus, worship is an act of mission. But who is in our mission field?

We now have access to detailed information about the people within our reach, and it enables us to understand those people so that we can truly serve them as we worship. Research has identified seventy-one different lifestyle segments, and all of us fall into one or more of these segments. Let’s examine two examples of how lifestyle segments can shape our mission-focused worship:

Example Number 1

Basic Demographics

The first example is a military community and command officers training center, whose residents have above-average income. There is a mixture of the highly mobile and long-time residents who are community business owners, educators in public schools and private colleges, and health care workers. There are three prisons with professional staffs, as well as inmates and hourly workers with below-average incomes.

Lifestyle Segments 

Two of the largest segments in the community are Sports Utility Families and Diapers and Debit Cards.(1) Sports Utility Families are upscale middle-aged couples with school-aged children living active family lifestyles in outlying suburbs. Diapers and Debit Cards describes young working-class families or single-parent households living in small, established city or town neighborhoods.

Relevant Worship

People with these lifestyles come seeking practical help to live a Christian lifestyle at home, work, and play and to shape healthy relationships. Out of seven distinct kinds of worship, this context combines Coaching and Transformation, blessing worshippers through the real presence of the Christ’s expression of grace through new beginnings, spiritual guidance, and fresh starts.(2) In this military community, technology (and music!) is often used to amplify and reinforce discipleship images such as putting on the whole armor of God. In addition to the use of sermon titles that begin with “How to…”, emotionally moving stories of personal change and hope are shared.

The Sunday Morning Experience

Experiencing the real presence of Christ begins with hospitality, and worshippers are greeted with several delicious food and drink choices. Insightful hosts engage newcomers, discern their yearnings (called “triage”—another military and healthcare reference), and then find just the right seat where they can receive the newcomers unconditionally. The transition into worship is a smooth one, with music, often secular, setting the theme of the day. After worship the hosts make contact again for a few moments of significant conversation and make a hand-off to others (small group leader, pastor) for next-step mentoring in the faith.

Success is measured by the twelve recent adult baptisms, the number of marriages “saved,” and the service awards won through community partnerships. Outcomes will differ with each missional context.

EXAMPLE NUMBER 2

Basic Demographics

This community was once a stable, white-collar/blue-collar single family mix; it was slowly aging and solidly middle class. The community now finds itself with multi-generational households, a loose definition of “family,” and a growing segment of young working-class families and singles with multi-racial backgrounds.

Lifestyle Segments

In contrast to the Diapers and Debit Cards of the previous example, this congregation is made up of Aging in Place (middle-class seniors living solid, suburban lifestyles) and Blue Collar Comfort (middle-class families in smaller cities and towns with solid blue-collar jobs).

Relevant Worship

The pastor led this church’s laity in an effort to truly discover and understand the people in their neighborhood. The church council participated in exercises and conversation, learning that Inspirational and Healing worship would most deeply resonate with the people in the community, offering what they most yearned for—hope and healing for tomorrow. Worship designers discovered that people in their neighborhood’s lifestyle segments were heavy TV watchers, and accordingly they used resources such as video clips in worship. Music style varied from a choir and organ to a praise band, but it was always memorable and heartfelt, ending with many “Amens.”

The Sunday Morning Experience

Post-worship hospitality is a contrast of joy and laughter around the simple refreshment table with quiet, intimate conversation and prayer for those who remain in the sanctuary. Food served is a hot or cold drink choice and cookies to pick up on the way to work.

Success in this context is the number of people visibly moved and engaging in brief follow-up mentoring conversations with a prayer/care team member. It is also seen in those crowding around the Comfort and Care literature rack to pick up titles like “Dealing with the Addiction of a Family Member,” “Getting Beyond Abuse,” or “How Prayer Can Lift Your Spirits.” Regulars are beginning to bring their family members and friends. Strong family ties is the common thread in these community lifestyle segments.

These examples provide a glimpse of the powerful ways we can now see, know, and serve the people around us so that we may truly bless them in worship. As pastors we can offer worship that is faithful and a blessing for the particular people to whom God is calling us. We can raise up new leaders who respond to spiritual callings of their own, and we can have both mission impact and integrity throughout the worship design process.

(1) These names, and the 19 lifestyle groups and 71 lifestyle segments mentioned here, are defined by Experian Marketing Resources and described in their resource Mosaic USA.

(2) These worship distinctives are described in Thomas G. Bandy’s book See, Know, & Serve the People Within Your Reach (Abingdon Press 2013).

~~~

It's Your Choice by Timothy L. Owings

Luke 21:5-19

A man was checking into a hotel some years ago when he noticed behind the counter what he took to be the hotel’s slogan: “There are no problems, only opportunities.” Given the key to his room, he rode the elevator to the eighth floor, walked down the hall, and opened the door to his assigned room only to be greeted by a growling guard dog. In near panic, he inched his way around to the phone, called the desk, and stuttered out, “I have a problem in my room,” to which the desk clerk responded, “At our hotel, there are no problems, only opportunities!” “You can call it what you want, mister,” he replied, “but there’s an attack dog in my room and I need some help!”

Truth be told, more than a few of life’s unsettling situations have both problem and opportunity wrapped up inside them. When our options are weighed in the balance of uncertainty, we have a choice: will I deal with this matter as a problem to be endured or an opportunity to be overcome?

Jesus is nearing the end of his life. In fact, the Gospel lesson read today from Luke takes place only a couple of days before his arrest, trial, and crucifixion. In keeping with the tradition of his ancestors, our Lord and his disciples are in Jerusalem for Passover. They make their way to the temple. There, observing the thousands of men and women coming and going, Jesus probably overheard one of his followers admiring the grandeur of that magnificent building. Abruptly, he replies to the comment with an unexpected response, which I paraphrase: “All this beauty, every dressed stone you see, every ornate appointment in this place will one day soon be nothing but rubble!”

Confused, even stunned, they ask, “Teacher, when and how in God’s name will such destruction come about?” At that moment, our Lord proceeds to describe in broad strokes the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple that, some forty years later, came to pass under the Roman general Titus and his tenth legion. But the future crashing, burning, and looting of the temple are not the focus of his comments. Rather, he turns the conversation from what will happen in the future to how those who confess him must live their lives in the face of difficulties that could become opportunities. None of those listening then, and none of us today, want to hear the rest of that conversation.

Why? Because in a handful of sentences, our Lord tells us that when we follow him, when we say yes to being a Christian, we place our lives in the most challenging of places we can ever imagine. For those living in the first century, it meant persecution, arrest, prison, even death. Within our lifetimes, some still pay the ultimate price for being a Christian. To embrace our Lord’s values, to love our enemies, to speak peace in the presence of war, to offer reconciliation in the midst of division always requires courage. Therein is the choice all of us must make every day God gives us to live.

The first choice we make is whether or not we will actually live the faith we confess. Let’s be brutally honest with each other. It’s one thing to say in the midst of meaningful worship, “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,” and quite another thing to live those words day after day, month after month, year after year. For those first Christian disciples, being a Christfollower was not so much an expression of words but a way of life. They left their nets and their families, walked away from many of their formative religious experiences, and followed a peasant carpenter from Nazareth.

What did they get for their trouble? Church history tells us all but one of the first twelve disciples died a martyr’s death. What did they get? They knew physical abuse, emotional abandonment, and more than a few wounded and broken friendships. The choice to be Christian in our speech, our actions, our lifestyles, our values is a choice every one of us makes every day. What will you choose?

If we choose first to follow our Lord, the second choice is this: will we choose to see life’s challenges as problems to be endured or opportunities to be overcome? The key verses in our Gospel lesson are verses 13 and 14. After telling his followers the kinds of abuse they would experience, Jesus says: “This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds.” He then goes on to tell them not to make up their minds about what they would say, but rather that they see those moments as opportunities to be faithful in saying something positive and hopeful in Christ’s name.

To have lived any length of years at all reminds us that to be human is to experience more than a few of life’s struggles. We struggle with health, with career, with family, with relationships, with money, and yes, with faith. At every turn, the question is never if we will have struggles but rather how we will live through our struggles as men and women of faith, hope, and love following Jesus Christ.

Finally, the choice to follow Jesus and to embrace life’s challenging moments with faith has one further option: will we choose to trust in God’s faithful presence? It is one thing to sing with great conviction, “Simply trusting every day, trusting through a stormy way,” and quite another thing to actually trust in God’s unfailing presence in the midst of life’s storms. The promise our Lord gave to those first disciples is still the promise he offers us. He promises to be with us. Our choice is to trust that no matter how brutal life becomes, God chooses to love us, strengthen us, guide us, even bless us no matter what.

Hear the Word of God. Difficulties, even persecution because of our faith, will no doubt come to every one of us. When they do, make the choice to speak and act in faithful ways, trusting Jesus Christ, who promises to be with us always. Amen.

~~~

The Paralyzing Intersection of Prayer and Personality by Whitney Simpson

Growing up prayer was modeled in my home on a regular basis around the dinner table and in bed each evening. I learned to pray using written prayers like “God is great, God is good.” These were prayers that I repeated each evening. I believe these written prayers were a great way to begin the habit of prayer (and I love and appreciate liturgy). However, as an adult, I began to think I did not know “how” to pray on my own once I had outgrown those childhood prayers. I assumed prayer must be repetitive and boring. It must be quiet, calm, and routine. I wasn’t good at any of those things (and nobody likes boring). I felt lost.

Communing with God through prayer is defined in Scripture as entering into God’s presence. I am an extrovert who loves being around other people. I enjoy encouraging and companioning others, and fellowship with others. I also love to hang out with God! However, while I longed to commune with God intimately and quietly, my extroverted personality did not lend me toward a natural inclination for sitting at the feet of Jesus.

The outcome (until recent years) was a paralyzing place on this road of Christianity that halted me. That place was the expectation of what a prayer life was to look like in my own life. Yes, I have read the books. Yes, I have practiced varying models of prayer and meditation. Yes, I created prayer journals and notebooks and logged answers to God’s prayers. And yes, I often disliked every pattern that someone else defined for me. I never stuck with a pattern for more than a few months. The traditional prayer patterns others had great success with fizzled away in my life. Nothing worked. I felt like a praying failure. What happened? I became paralyzed in my prayer life. There wasn’t one. It was nonexistent.

As a parent of a growing son, I’ve recently invited him to simply talk to God at night for his prayers. I have dropped my own childhood expectations of what his prayer time is to look like and simply invite him to take a moment to give thanks and pray. His hesitations are much like my own, “Mom, I don’t know what to say.” Here is what I’m learning in my reply, “You don’t have to say anything at all.” The posture of prayer is just that - a posture of entering into God’s presence. Find what works. When I finally understood prayer in this way in my own life, I realized I had constant opportunities to live my life through prayer and meditation.

There are so many ways I enjoy connecting with God and I now include them all as part of my (once dead but now active) prayer life. When my intention is to connect and communicate with God, any moment can indeed be an act of prayer. That statement either seems completely out of reach and ridiculous or you just felt a huge sigh of relief. Maybe you, like me, have struggled with what it “looks like” to pray. Maybe you, like me, have read the books, started logs and notebooks, and fallen asleep at night saying prayers.  

While I’m an extrovert, I enjoy and long for times of solitude and silence with God. However, I often felt like a failure during these times as I longed for communion, yet remained disconnected. There had to be more. It seems I was missing the point of prayer. Finally, I decided one last attempt to become unstuck and embraced the creative longing of my soul by discovering ancient tools for prayer and meditation. I met God in scripture through Lectio Divina, bought a sand labyrinth, opened up the crayons and markers and discovered the healing time spent with mandalas. I discovered walking and praying in a local labyrinth (where there are no intersections to become stuck).  It wasn’t until after my exploration of these new/old ways to pray in my times of solitude did I finally understand the bigger picture and how my longing for varying ways to pray connected me to God. My personality type (using the Myers Briggs assessment) labels me as an intuitive feeler. My prayer life did not thrive with my previous goal oriented path. My prayer life was longing for stillness and communion with God through movement and creativity.

Today a yoga pose on my mat is prayer. The steps I take through a guided Labyrinth are prayer. The movement of my kayak paddle on the still water is prayer. The words of a poem are prayer. The stroke of a paintbrush is prayer. The crayons on a paper Mandela is prayer. The dirt under my gardening fingernails is prayer.

God wants to commune with us. God longs for our connection and attentiveness. God wants us to cry out in joy and thanksgiving and supplication. God also made each one of us different. Wouldn’t it also make sense that God expects us to pray differently?

The path toward discovering how God created you can freely lead you on the path to discovering communion and connection with God. Don’t become paralyzed at the intersection of your own personality and prayer. My longings are my own but I’m certain there is an avenue for prayer and meditation that will help you connect intimately with God (and not feel like a failure doing it).  Let us each draw nearer to God, be free to draw near, you might even need some crayons in the process.

Finally, let’s draw near to the throne of favor with confidence so that we can receive mercy and find grace when we need help. - Hebrews 4:16 CEB

What is your favorite way to pray? 

~~~

Come, Holy Ghost by Neal Bowes

This Thursday evening, doorbells will be ringing, and Americans will be distributing about 600 million pounds of candy while answering the call of “trick or treat” from their costume-clad, plastic-pumpkintoting neighborhood children. Today Halloween is regarded by most as simply a fun time to dress up, go out with some friends, collect candy, and maybe play a good-natured prank. The name Halloween actually comes from “All Hallows Eve,” meaning the eve of All Hallows Day, or All Saints’ Day. Christians celebrate All Saints’ Day on November 1 to remember our brothers and sisters in Christ who have died. But Halloween also corresponds to the ancient Gaelic festival of Samhain (SOW-in). The ancient people of Ireland believed that spiritual beings entered our world on Samhain and began the tradition of carving lanterns into vegetables and wearing masks to ward off or confuse evil spirits.

The idea of scaring away evil spirits may seem foolish to our twenty-first century sensibilities, but as Christians we cannot simply brush off the idea that spirits are active among us. Jesus frequently encountered evil spirits during his ministry, and many people came to Jesus asking him to deliver them from such evil spiritual forces. The apostle Paul reminds us that we are in an ongoing struggle against “forces of cosmic darkness, and spiritual powers of evil” (Ephesians 6:12). On the other hand, we have a greater spiritual presence—the Holy Spirit—on our side, equipping and protecting us.

Who Is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is, like God the Father (or Creator) and Jesus Christ, one person of the Holy Trinity. Christians recognize God in three different manifestations. We know God as the Creator of all things, who reigns from heaven. We see God most clearly in the person of Jesus, the human incarnation of God, who lived with us, taught us, and sacrificed his life for us. And we experience God through the Holy Spirit, who prepares us to do God’s work and blesses us with a growing faith and an ever-increasing understanding of God.

Youth may be confused about who the Holy Spirit is and what the Spirit does. No doubt many adults are, too. It might be because the work of the Holy Spirit occurs on such a personal level that it is nearly impossible to come up with a description of the Spirit that applies to everyone. For instance, the Holy Spirit reveals God’s truth to us, convicts us of our sins, and offers us guidance and comfort. But these revelations come to us individually and we receive them differently, depending on where we are in our faith journey and what we need to hear at a particular time.

Many Gifts, One Spirit

The Spirit not only reveals God’s will but also equips us with spiritual gifts. The Spirit’s gifts are unique to each person. Some people are very comfortable talking about their faith with a complete stranger, while others are not. But those other people may have the ability to bring life to a Bible story for a group of three- and four-year-olds. Still others might be especially good at making people who are new to a Christian community feel welcome or at caring for those are sick. Some have an amazing command of Scripture; some can preach; some can organize mission and outreach projects.

Every person has a particular and personal relationship with the Holy Spirit. Despite the differences, the Spirit works in all persons for the glory of God and for the good of all people. We are incredibly blessed when we learn to recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit, come to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit, and open up our lives to God’s continual presence.

This article is also published as part of LinC, a weekly digital resource for youth small groups and Sunday school classes. The complete study guide can be purchased and downloaded here.

~~~

Incarnation by William H. Willimon

We are on our way to a great adventure. We will travel to wonderful, mysterious places you cannot visit on your own, destinations so exotic you must have a guide to lead you there. You will be told secrets that the world does not openly discuss. Your world will be expanded, your life enriched and changed ... While there is nothing to be gained from overly intellectualizing the faith, there is much to be lost in dumbing down Jesus Christ. For one thing, the church doesn’t delight in insoluble cerebral puzzles; life does. As a pastor I discovered that people bring to church bigger, bolder questions than I pose in my sermons. They ask: Why am I unhappy? Is death the last word? Why can’t I keep my promises? Is this all there is? If Jesus is the Redeemer, why doesn’t the world look more redeemed?

Hucksters, religious and otherwise, prance the web pronouncing, “Six simple steps to…” or, “The secret of happier….” The church need not prove the lie behind the allure of simple truth, life does. All around us we see the sad wreckage of those who believed the reductionistic deceit that, “It’s all just a simple matter of…”

More important, Jesus defies simplistic, effortless, undemanding explications. To be sure, Jesus often communicated his truth in simple, homely, direct ways, but his truth was anything but apparent and undemanding in the living. Common people heard Jesus gladly, not all, but enough to keep the government nervous, only to find that the simple truth Jesus taught, the life he lived, and the death he died complicated their settled and secure ideas about reality. The gospels are full of folk who confidently knew what was what-until they met Jesus. Jesus provoked an intellectual crisis in just about everybody. Their response was not, "Wow, I've just seen the Son of God," but rather, "Who is this?"

The Doctrine of the Incarnation makes it possible to say what Christians must say about Jesus Christ. We never needed a Doctrine of Incarnation until we met Jesus—a material, fully human being just like us who was also the eternal unlike us.

Matthew says that when Joseph was told (in a dream) that his fiancée was pregnant, and not by him (God seems to enjoy delivering news like this when we are asleep and defenseless!) Joseph bolted upright and broke into a cold sweat. Having his world rocked required Joseph to rethink everything he once knew. Joseph could warn us: thinking about the jolt of Incarnation can be a bumpy ride.

Take my hand, we are about to enter deep water. Join my astonishment that Christians don’t just believe that Jesus was much like God; we think God is who Jesus is. And because we know that God is like Christ, we know the way the world is moving and what we must do to move with the grain of the universe.

Currently we are experiencing an outbreak of “spirituality.” As for me, I pray for a counter resurgence of “incarnationality.” In Christ, heaven and earth meet, God gets physical. In seeing Jesus, we believe we have beheld as much of God Almighty as we ever hope to see this side of eternity. “Anyone who has seen me, has seen the Father” (John 14:9) is an astounding statement for anyone to make—particularly if that person is a poor, unemployed, homeless, wandering beggar who was eventually tortured to death by the government.

On how many occasions Jesus taught us by throwing out a parable beginning with, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like….” He made God’s realm mundane by saying, “A woman was kneading dough to make bread,” or “A king set out to make war,” or “A man had two sons.” He revealed heavenly things through earthy, time-bound parables. This inextricable mix of the earthly and the heavenly, the temporal and the eternal, the mundane and the mysterious characterized everything Jesus did; and, so his first followers came to believe, everything Jesus is. We’re at the heart of the Christian faith: Almighty God, the same being who hung the heavens and flung the stars in their courses, has become a man who lived in Nazareth.

The Doctrine of the Incarnation is thus our human attempt to make sense out of an event that has happened, is still happening—heaven and earth overlapping, interlocking in a Jew from Nazareth who lived briefly and died violently. Then three days later, the women shout, “He’s back!” God here. God now.

The Doctrine of the Incarnation is our attempt to think about that.

excerpted from Incarnation: The Surprising Overlap of Heaven & Earth by William H. Willimon ©2013 by Abingdon Press. Used with permission.

~~~

Worship Connection by Nancy C. Townley

24th Sunday after Pentecost

COLOR: Green
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4; Psalm 119:137-144; 2 Thessalonians
1:1-4, 11-12; Luke 19:1-10

CALLS TO WORSHIP

Call to Worship #1:
L: For all those who have paved the way for our freedom of worship, we give thanks, O Lord.
P: For those who have taught us about witness and the power of love, we give thanks, O Lord.
L: For those who work in our church that we may come to know what it means to serve, we give thanks, O Lord.
P: For all the saints, those who rest from their labors, and those who labor still, we give thanks, O Lord.
L: Praise be to God, who continually inspires and guides workers and witnesses.
P: Open our hearts and spirits, O Lord, and help us to become good workers for you. AMEN
Call to Worship #2:
L: Our hearts are filled with joy when we think of those who have framed our faith.
P: We appreciate all those people who have taught us the great lessons of faith and life.
L: We offer our love and support to those who labor diligently in the world, helping those in need.
P: We give of our substance, our prayers, and our support to their work.
L: Lord, encourage us in our work, that we might bear witness to your love.
P: Keep us ready to serve you in all that we say and do. AMEN.
Call to Worship #3:
[Using THE UNITED METHODIST HYMNAL, p. 378, “Amazing Grace,” offer the following call to worship as directed.]
Soloist: singing verse 1 of “Amazing Grace”
L: How many times in our lives have we felt lost, alone, abandoned.
P: Yet there is One who will never leave our side. We can depend upon God’s loving presence to rescue us and to heal our brokenness.
Soloist: singing verse 3 of “Amazing Grace”
L: Even though we have been battered and blown by storms and struggles, we still can place our trust in God’s abiding presence.
P: It is the grace of God that has brought us through and will continue to be with us all our lives.
Soloist: singing verse 6 of “Amazing Grace”
L: Our lips shall sing and shout forth our praise of God.
P: Let our hearts and spirits rejoice and continually be praising God for all God’s mercies. AMEN.
Call to Worship #4:
L: Sometimes we feel too small and insignificant to be of any notice to Jesus.
P: Yet the Lord provides a tree for us to climb so that we can see Jesus.
L: That tree is faithfulness, compassion, love, hope, joy.
P: We are given the opportunity to witness to the Savior’s presence in our lives.
L: Lord, help us when we forget how much we are loved by Christ.
P: Open our hearts to receive his invitation this day. AMEN. 

PRAYERS, LITANY/READING, BENEDICTION

Opening Prayer
Lord God of love and peace, open our hearts today to receive the invitation of Jesus to come and be present in our lives. Release us from our smallness and create an atmosphere of confession and healing love in our hearts and our spirits. For we ask these things in Jesus’ Name, AMEN.
Prayer of Confession
Lord of mercy, forgive us when we make excuses for our lack of faith. We let our selfishness and apathy get in the way of illumination and peace. We find ways to duck out of our opportunities for service and witness, claiming that we are too small or too ill-equipped to be effective witnesses to Jesus Christ. How foolish we can be! All of our lives God has been present to us, whether or not we knew it. God’s love is always surrounding us. Yet we have not taken the time to recognize it. We whine and complain about the misfortunes that have befallen us and wonder where God is. We want immediate release from our struggles. And when release comes, we again move off in our own realms of self-centeredness. Help us, O Lord. Stop us from being so faithless. Open our hearts with your forgiving spirits that we, having been healed and forgiven, may actually be effective witnesses to your love and compassion. For we ask this in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.
Words of Assurance
You have always been loved by God. Know that you are healed and forgiven, that God has placed a special blessing in your life. Rejoice! For God is with you. Serve God in all that you say, think, and do. AMEN.
Pastoral Prayer
God of trees and pathways, you stand ready for us to gaze in your direction. As Jesus walked down the Jericho path, observing Zacchaeus, help us to remember that you are continually present to us, watching and guiding our steps. When we falter, you pick us up, dust us off, and place us back on the path. When we run in directions that are harmful, you are ready to rescue and redeem us. When we shout our disbelief, you offer to us your love and are ready to receive us. Today as we have gathered, remembering all those who have gone before us, who have paved the way for our faith, help us to be aware that we stand in that same long line of witnesses to your love. Give us courage and strength to serve you in all that we do. Remind us again that you are not looking for us to be perfect before we come to you, for you will take our rough edges and make them smooth. You will find the sparkling gem in the rough stone. You will help us learn to serve and witness to your love. Let us place our trust and our lives in your loving care. For we ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.
Reading
[This reading is done effectively as “Readers’ Theater"--it may be done with one person present, within view of the congregation, and the “voice” offstage, using a microphone, if one is available. Or it may be done with both characters in front of the congregation. I recommend that if both characters are in front of the congregation, Voice should be seated to the side and slightly behind Reader 1. This will need to be rehearsed. Each participant should think about the strength of his/her lines.]
Reader 1:
How can I see him? Nobody will let me through the crowd! They won’t move for me! It’s just not fair! I have as much right as anyone to see Jesus.
Voice:
Hey, Zacchaeus, why don’t you climb up that sycamore tree?
Reader 1: 

It’s always this way. They are just jealous. I got the job as tax collector and worked my way up to chief tax collector. They don’t like it. They say I’m a traitor and so that’s why they are keeping me out. And then they wonder why I don’t associate with them, the scum of the earth!
Voice:
Hey, Zacchaeus, why don’t you climb up that sycamore tree?
Reader 1:
You know, even if I saw Jesus, I don’t know what I’d be looking for. They say he’s some sort of miracle worker, that he likes everyone. Ha! I’ve heard that before. He probably won’t like me. No one does. Just because I’m small of stature doesn’t mean that I don’t matter. But I probably won’t matter to him. I’m not one of the obedient faithful.
Voice:
Hey, Zacchaeus, why don’t you climb up that sycamore tree?
Reader 1:
Still, maybe there’s a way to see Jesus. I just want to get a look, you know. Not that it will matter to either him or to me. Perhaps if I just climbed up into that sycamore tree over there. It’s an easy climb, and it would certainly give me a vantage point to see Jesus. Ha! They can’t keep me from seeing him after all.
Voice:
Zacchaeus, hurry and come down from that tree. I want to visit you in your home today!
Reader 1:
Who, me? You want to visit with me? You want to come to my house?
Voice:
That’s right. Are you going to come down?
Reader 1:
Yes. Yes, I’m coming. I can’t believe this. Look at all those others. He’s not going to their house. He’s coming to my house.
Voice:
Zacchaeus, I am pleased to spend some time with you.
Reader 1:
Lord, I don’t really deserve this visit. You probably know all about me. How I have lied and stolen from my own people. I have lined my pockets anttheir expense.
Voice:
What do you want to do about this, Zacchaeus?
Reader 1:
Well, I will give half of all that I have to help the poor, and I will make restitution to all those whom I have defrauded, paying back four times as much as I have stolen. Please forgive me for my greed and my selfishness.
Voice:
Salvation has come to this house today, Zacchaeus, son of Abraham. For you were lost to greed and avarice, but now you have been found, forgiven, and healed.
Benediction
Do not be afraid to witness to the love of God through Jesus Christ. Go in peace, knowing that God’s peace and love go with you. AMEN.

ARTISTIC ELEMENTS

The traditional color for this Sunday is GREEN.

Note: Today is an interesting mix of emphases. If you are celebrating All Saints Sunday or celebrating the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost, there is a way to create a worship center that may encompass either focus.
SURFACE:
Place four or five risers on the main worship center. The tallest riser should be about 8” above the level of the table; the other risers should be shorter, heights of your discretion. The tallest riser should be placed on the center back of the table (a cross will rest on that riser). The other risers should be “staggered” across the table, not in a straight line, with shorter risers in the front.
FABRIC:
Cover the entire worship center in green fabric, making sure that it drapes down over the front and “puddles” on the floor. Take a strip of brown or tan fabric; place it under the riser on which the cross will be setting, and weave it across the worship center, draping it down onto the floor with the green fabric (this represents the path). This brown fabric may be about 12” to 14” wide.
CANDLES:
If your focus is on All Saints Day, have a variety of votive candles, which you will place in front of each of the risers, with the exception of the cross riser. You may determine the number that seems right for your setting. If you are focusing on Pentecost 23, I recommend a cluster of 35 votive candles on each of the risers on the worship center, with the exception of the cross riser
FLOWERS/FOLIAGE:
I have used a small, potted artificial tree to represent the sycamore tree on which Zacchaeus climbed. I placed it at the side of the table, covering the pot with fabric that matched the main color (in this case, green). Other plants, which are leafy and of moderate size, may be used on either side of the cross and in front of the worship center. If you are focusing on All Saints Sunday, I would use ivy on either side of the cross riser and a green leafy plant in front of the worship center on the floor.
ROCKS/WOOD:
Not recommended for this setting.
OTHER:
If you are focusing on All Saints Sunday, you may want to have pictures of some of the “saints” of your church who have been instrumental in “growing” the church. Place these on the four risers on the worship center. You might also consider pictures of the disciples, apostles, missionaries, etc., who, for you, represent All Saints. This can be very effective.

~~~

Worship for Children by Carolyn C. Brown

From a Child's Point of View

Old Testament: Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4. This passage deals with fairness on the national/global level. Older children appreciate Habakkuk's question when it is presented in personal terms (e.g., a farmer caught in the cross-fire between warring armies; a child starving in a country where the leaders live in luxury). They quickly agree with Habakkuk that it is not fair, and they wonder why a loving God allows such things to happen.

God's answer—that in the long haul, justice will be done—seems a bit like a cop-out to children who live so much in their own present. It helps to hear a trusted adult speak with appreciation of this view and cite examples. But it will be some years before children really accept this view.

They can, however, apply God's "sign" to their present. Basically, it says that no matter what seems to get the best results at the moment, it is always better to live by God's ways.

Psalm: 119:137-144. This is a psalm to sing while waiting for God's justice to be realized. Its vocabulary is a major obstacle to a straightforward message—judgments, testimonies, precepts, righteousness, commands, laws, and faithfulness are used interchangeably. If it is suggested that all these words describe God's ways, children can begin to understand some of the praise statements. The Good News Bible translation is particularly helpful.

Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12. In this letter, Paul and his co-workers greet the Christians at Thessalonica and compliment them on their discipleship. Verses 11 and 12, especially as presented in the Good News Bible, offer two significant encouragements to children:

1. Verse 11 expresses the hope that each of us will live up to the calling (or potential) for which God created us. Underlying that hope is the belief that God has a good plan for each person. Children dream of doing something wonderful and good during their lives. Paul, in this text, tells them that he hopes those dreams will come true. He also hopes that they will be worthy of their dreams and of God's plan for their lives.

2. Verse 12 encourages readers to live so well that people will say, "If this person is a disciple of Jesus, then Jesus must be wonderful," and "You can see the loving power of Jesus in this person."

Children will need help to dig both these encouragements out of Paul's words.

Gospel: Luke 19:1-10. This story of Zacchaeus is most likely familiar to the children. They relate quickly to the short fellow who is elbowed to the back of the crowd, is resourceful enough to climb a tree in order to see Jesus, and then is singled out by Jesus for special attention. The story gives them hope that Jesus notices and cares for them, particularly if they feel overlooked or shoved to the side.

Younger children will overlook the fact that Zacchaeus was a tax-collecting cheat. Jesus' notice of the short guy is plenty to satisfy their needs. Older children appreciate the fact that not only was Zacchaeus short (an awful fate for a ten-to-twelve-year-boy in our sports-minded culture), but he was also unpopular—and deserved to be, because he cheated! Zacchaeus was "pond scum" (substitute the ultimate put-down currently used by children in your congregation)!

Jesus' treatment of Zacchaeus does two things. First, it assures children that Jesus loves them and will forgive them—even when they have acted like pond scum. Second, it challenges them to treat the Zacchaeuses they meet with the same forgiving love that Jesus lavished upon the original.

Watch Words

Avoid speaking in generalizations about the evil, the wicked, and oppression, in favor of naming specific oppressors and evil practices that children recognize.

Instead of speaking of the salvation that came to Zacchaeus' house, talk about the friendship and forgiveness Jesus offered, and about Zacchaeus' response.

Let the Children Sing

The hymns of discipleship mentioned during the last weeks continue to be good choices. "We Shall Overcome" or "They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love" are especially appropriate and are singable by children.

Celebrate the importance of the Bible with "Wonderful Words of Life."

"I Sing a Song of the Saints of God" is one way to respond to Paul's challenges.

The Liturgical Child

1. Present Psalm 119 as an acrostic, with each verse praising the Bible read by a different reader. Readers may be of different ages or members of a children's class. Young readers do better if they memorize their verses.

2. Explore the Lord's Prayer petition, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Then offer a litany prayer for God's justice. (To each prayer, the congregation responds: "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.")

Lord, it is easy to pray, "Thy will be done," but so much around us seems to go against your will. We need your direction and courage and power. (RESPONSE)
You created the world filled with food, but we see pictures of hungry children every day on TV. Help us find ways to share. (RESPONSE)
God, we all need a home. But so many people do not have one. Work with us to find houses for all who live in our area. Guide those who work to resettle refugees. (RESPONSE)
Lord, guide us as a nation. Give us the wisdom to elect fair leaders. Direct those leaders to laws and policies that are just. (Describe current situations in the world and your community which cry out for God's justice). (RESPONSE)
God, make us doers of your justice. Help us to play fair at school and at work. Teach us not to make enemies, but to make friends. Give us the courage to stand up for your ways among our friends. And remind us of that way when we are tempted "to forget." (RESPONSE)
WE pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

3. Ask the children's choir or a children's class to sing a song about Zacchaeus as an anthem for the worship service. (Most children's groups have a much-loved Zacchaus song in their repertory.)

4. Base the charge preceding the benediction on 1 Thessalonians 1:11-12:

May God make you worthy of the life to which you are called. May God give you the power to do the good deeds you want to do. May Jesus look good because of what you do. And, may you look good because of what God does through you.

5. Even if you do not celebrate All Saints, praise the God who is so powerful that we need not fear any other force in the universe. Pray for fun and safety while celebrating Halloween. And pray for the wisdom to remain our loving selves while wearing masks and costumes.

Sermon Resources

1. Introduce the Zaccheus Game. Every player takes the role of Jesus, watching for people who are lonely, "up a tree," or just plain having a bad day. when such a "Zacchaeus" is found, the player does something nice for him or her. Sometimes the player does not ever know if the kindness makes a difference. But sometimes the player can see the person respond—almost as readily as Zacchaeus responded to Jesus' request to be his dinner guest.

~~~

Sermon Options

CELEBRATE SPIRITUAL SUCCESS

2 THESSALONIANS 1:1-4, 11-12

One thing that Christians need to learn to do is celebrate. After a promotion, a championship, or an award people celebrate (see Luke 15:6, 9, 32). Too often believers fail to celebrate the goodness of God's blessings. No, this is not the time to stop pressing on, but Christians can learn to celebrate along the way.

When Paul and his colleagues wrote the believers at Thessalonica, the first chapter was a celebration in prayer. Though they couldn't be present physically, they were present spiritually, and the apostles celebrated the past advance and the future potential of the Thessalonian believers.

I. Celebrate Spiritual Success by Thanking God for Spiritual Advances (vv. 1-4)
In the past, Paul had been concerned about the Thessalonian believers. His first letter to them revealed that concern. Since then reports had come back regarding their spiritual progress. This second letter was a celebration. As always, Paul was eager for his fellow believers to experience the grace and peace of God. Beyond that, however, there was already cause to thank God.

The first cause for celebration was the Thessalonians' exceptional growth in faith. The first report Paul had received from the church told of a puny and feeble people. Paul had admitted to the Thessalonians that he wanted to see them again so that he might supply what was lacking in their faith (1 Thess. 3:10) . But now, in the most recent report, how they had matured! Paul felt compelled to thank God for the growth spurt of faith.

The second cause for celebration was the Thessalonians' increasing love for one another. The last time Paul had written them he had prayed that the Lord would make their love increase and overflow (1 Thess. 3:12) . That prayer had been realized. Nothing cheered the apostles more than to see their spiritual children growing in faith and increasing in love.

There was a third cause for celebration. In fact, Paul and company not only thanked God, but boasted to all the churches about the perseverance the Thessalonians had demonstrated through their most recent trials. They had kept their confidence in Christ. It was appropriate to celebrate their success.

II. Celebrate Spiritual Success by Petitioning God for Spiritual Potential (vv. 11-12)
Still, Paul was not satisfied. The future promised further challenges for the Thessalonians. They had not yet realized their full potential. With God's help they would. So Paul prayed for three things.

First, Paul petitioned God for the Thessalonians' ultimate spiritual witness. He wanted to see them live up to their calling as Christians. Not all believers lived lives worthy of Christ's name. The apostles prayed that the Thessalonians would. Second, Paul petitioned God for the Thessalonians' ultimate spiritual enablement. He wanted God to empower them to fulfill all their commitments to Christ. Every desire and every behavior must be prompted by faith. Finally, Paul petitioned God so that the Thessalonians might glorify the Lord Jesus and be glorified in him. Only the grace of God could accomplish all this, but still, that was their spiritual potential.

As Paul wrote to the believers in Thessalonica his expectations for them had changed. They had grown in faith, increased in love, and persevered in trials. That was cause to thank God. The celebration was well begun. But the battle was not yet over. To fulfill their potential they still needed a divine dose of God's grace to live worthy of their Christian calling, to carry out their Christian commitments, and to glorify God. (Timothy S. Warren)

FILLING THE GOD-SHAPED VOID

LUKE 19:1-10

It has been suggested that each of us has a God-shaped void within us that nothing else will satisfy other than the presence of God. Zacchaeus was a perfect example of this.

I. There Is a Universal Search for Meaning to Fill the Void
A study by the Surgeon General found that our nation's college students drink nearly four billion cans of beer and enough wine and liquor to bring their annual consumption of alcoholic beverages to thirty-four gallons per person. College students suffer from a more fundamental malaise than alcohol and drug abuse. Their lives are meaningless.

We are living in the midst of a spiritual crisis of unprecedented proportions. Our nation has lost its way. We suffer from meaninglessness, which in turn leads to separation, alienation, and ultimately to despair. The same is true for much of Europe. There is no sense of community and, as one German leader commented, "the specter of nihilism looms over us."

II. God Wants to Bring Meaning to Our Lives
Although we think that we are searching for meaning, it is really God who does the searching. The Bible records God's search for mankind. He called Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees; he came to Isaiah in the temple; he came to Hosea in his marital tragedy; he came to Amos on the hills of Tekoa; he came to Samuel as a boy in the temple; and today, God finds us.

Our search is so scattered. Life is not a search for Easter eggs. Perhaps we should "be still and know," in order to be found.

III. Finding God's Meaning for Us Makes a Radical Change in Life
When Jesus wanted a disciple, he did not say, "Come and get (something)," or "Look, I have (this) to give you." He made remarkably few promises. There was much to be done and rarely a word about anything to be had. There was not so much a bounty to be grasped as a hurdle to be leaped and a road to be traveled.

Meaning comes not in getting but in doing. Zacchaeus does not enter the Christian life by negotiating a contract. He immediately saw his task: feed the hungry, set the record straight.

The prodigal (Luke 15) should have returned to the Far Country, set the record straight, and balanced the books of those he damaged. Zacchaeus, in searching for himself, determined it was futile but when he was found, he discovered also his neighbor. (William L. Self)

~~~~~~~

Ministry Matters

201 8th Avenue South

Nashville, TN 37202 US

~~~~~~~