church

Not My Own

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

“If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you – and even more.” Mark 4:23-24 NIV

Today, God is moving in great and exciting ways, on college campuses, including Ohio State, Florida State, and most recently at Samford University in Alabama. But the devil is also at work in our society, stirring passions through social media, the speeches of politicians and television. Because we live in an age of such political and social polarization; we Christians need to be careful about what we are listening to and remember to whom we belong. In today’s passage Jesus tells His disciples to listen carefully and to focus on the spiritual meaning behind His words. Just as there was a spiritual meaning behind the teachings of Jesus, so there is also a spiritual meaning behind the words of popular figures, such as Bruce Springsteen, Tucker Carlson, Taylor Swift, and Candace Owens. I recall once when our church was going through a leadership crisis, a sectional elder of our denomination came to speak and what he said has stuck with me all these years, “What’s happening is NOT what’s going on!” So today, before flipping on the news, listening to a podcast, or scrolling through YouTube shorts, remember that our identity as a Christian is not with any nation, ethnic group, or political persuasion. Jesus explicitly told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest.” (John 18:36) God has given us a citizenship in Heaven, and if we are to carry out the assignment that Jesus has for us today, we must be careful who we are listening to. That means taking serious time every morning, not just to have a little talk with Jesus, but to spend a sweet hour in prayer. As Jesus admonished his disciples we need to watch and pray because events may turn in a moment that could change a life for eternity.

I’ll Meet you at the Hymnbook!

/ pastorpete51 / 6 Comments

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Ephesians 4:4-6 NKJV

Sadly the hymn book seems to have vanished from most of our churches. I understand that with new ways of preserving information that books in general are becoming scarce. I also heartily agree that simply being old, doesn’t make a song more biblical and some of the hymns could deservedly be forgotten. However, the great redeeming quality of the hymn book is that it is the one place where we all meet. Black, White, Hispanic, wealthy and poor, young and old, we often go to our own little corners to worship. Yet, surprisingly, I have found in our nursing home services that, like it or not we usually sing each other’s songs! Onward Christian Soldiers, meet at the Mighty Fortress Lutherans sing about. He’s got the Whole World in His Hands is joyfully sung with nary a dark face in the meeting and during my visit to a large African-American church in Philadelphia , I found they delighted singing “What a friend we have in Jesus.” written by a very white Joseph Scriven for his mother back in Ireland. How God may choose to bring unity among the next generation, I can’t imagine, but for now dear brothers and sisters, “I’ll meet you at the hymnbook!”

Making New Connections

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” 1 Corinthians 12:20-21

One of the greatest challenges that many people face today is isolation. We as a society find ourselves separated by age, wealth, education and race. Sadly, this kind of segmentation is common even in the church. Our church announcements end up sounding something like this,

“The eyebrows will be meeting in room 112b on Wednesday nights, the feet are having a luncheon at noon on Saturday, and a short-term mission trip for the toes and fingers will be leaving next Sunday afternoon.”

This sort of dissection of the body of Christ seems completely natural to us because that is what we have experienced everywhere else all our lives. And though some of these specialized get-togethers are sometimes helpful, the dangers of isolation and segmentation are nowhere more pronounced than among the elderly who often find themselves in long-term care. And even in long-term care facilities the specialization that drives further isolation has been accelerating over the last ten or fifteen years. For example, those with memory issues are locked in their own ward, others no longer able to walk are placed in a separate wing, and the list goes on. Worst of all is that these people are not only isolated, but they are also usually soon forgotten by family, friends and neighbors, and even by the church. The parts of the body of Christ that God had designed to be connected to them don’t miss them because they are busy meeting with the other toes and fingers on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Today God is calling the church to do more than hold worship conferences, youth rallies and women’s conventions. God’s heart is to go out into the highways and byways, which includes the long-term care facilities in our community. For those who sense God’s calling, I am making a short book called, “New Frontiers in Nursing Home Ministry,” available for free in its Kindle format all this week.