The definition of the word “faith” is the foundation of any remaining schism between Catholicism and Protestantism.
Up until 1522, faith meant agreeing with church doctrines.
Martin Luther redefined the word. He wrote, “Faith is a living and unshakable confidence, a belief in the grace of God so assured that man would die a thousand deaths for its sake.”
This definition requires a level of commitment for each Christian that surpasses the ordinary. Doctrine does not rule us. Faith in a forgiving and merciful God rules us.
How many of us would die a thousand deaths, relying on the grace of God?
The Protestant Reformation was powerful because it interpreted scripture with fresh eyes.
As great a moment as this was in religious and cultural history, it was never expected to be the last. The leaders of the Reformation were scholars, explorers, and discoverers.
This challenge to an accepted definition of one word gives us a freeing foundation to think and act boldly within our faith, knowing that we serve a merciful and gracious God — not any one thinker of any age — no matter how great.
We love you and next we need to have you so that we can play together and to teach us new song. God bless our lovely Dad Silas to give us a new teacher from outside our country. We love you and Silas. we are hoping to hear more greetings from you and Dad Silas. Dad has promised we are going soon to have you and your team? Next we have requested to visit our fellow children. Call CHARITY HOME CHILDREN, Pray for our DAD SILAS, Bye Bye Bye
Today Glory of Pentecost Brothers and Sisters Fellowship in Kenya is rallying children to the Gospel. Pastor Silas Kadenge invited 2×2 to send a message to the 300 children expected.
2×2 as an outreach growing from Redeemer Lutheran Church is in a unique position to cross the ocean with a message to children. Our ministry here included ministry to children who spoke or heard the Swahili language in their homes. We used many Swahili words in our worship. We often sang popular hymns alternating verses in English and Swahili.
So we sent a message of love and concluded it with the words to Jesus Loves Me in both English and Swahili.
Pastor Kadenge wrote to us that he had a girl read the message to the children and they sang the song. The children wanted to know where we were. He told them we were with them but physically we are in America.
Pastor Kadenge is putting us in touch with other supporters from America.
It will be interesting to see how this network grows.
If life was always peaches and cream, we would have no need for religion. We turn to God in weakness to find our strength.
So in comes the Church.
Church leaders will explain God’s ways. We will have a roadmap for solving problems.
Church leaders are rarely at a loss for words when it comes to advising congregations. They preach guidelines for peaceful and productive lives in Christ.
Followers nod in agreement. They file out of church assemblies with a sense that they are leaving a place where people care about one another and will follow God’s Word.
A pastor recently shared his story.
He had listened to a bishop address his synodical assembly with words of peace, admonishing them to work with one another to resolve differences in accordance with the Scriptures. It was a moving message which drew a standing ovation.
This pastor and his congregation were having some issues with Synodical leadership. He was encouraged by the message. He managed to buttonhole the bishop before the end of the Assembly. He told him he was moved by his sermon.
“Let’s do it,” he said with enthusiasm. “Let’s get together and talk through our issues.”
The bishop responded. “Uh, OK, why don’t you write an agenda and send it to my office. We’ll set up a meeting.”
The pastor was excited. He drafted an agenda of the issues his congregation wanted to discuss and sent it to the bishop’s office.
Months went by with no response. At last, the bishop responded that he had been advised that the issues might end up in court and he should not meet with the congregation.
You read that right! The issues MIGHT end up in court. So what’s the point of talking.
This parallels Redeemer’s experience. Bishop Burkat had a lawyer at her right hand (literally) at her first meeting with Redeemer leaders.
This attitude of—not all, but more than one—current bishops in the ELCA violates the Gospel and is a dereliction of their assigned duties. They are no longer shepherds but predators. Clergy’s key advisors are lawyers—not more experienced pastors, not people with a spiritual gift for wisdom, and not the Bible.
The Gospel is clear that we are to attempt to work out differences without the courts. But in today’s church, leadership is not looking for resolution. They are looking for the WIN.They are looking to be seen as powerful. Resolution might call for ceding some power. Opponents must be defeated!
The Church is following the way of the world—exactly as the New Testament (both Gospel and Epistles) cautions. It is crippling the Church, one little conflict after another. Every WIN by intimidation is a defeat for the Gospel.
“Resolution” is so distasteful that the word is avoided. SEPA Synod is billing an upcoming workshop as conflict “transformation.”
Today’s Church does not believe its own scriptures.
It is a sad day when the only thing separating the Church from the world is tax exemption and immunity for its actions—but not those of its opponents—under the Bill of Rights.
A recent blog written for nonprofits addressed the difference between involving supporters or engaging supporters. Read it. It applies to faith communities.
Congregations have levels of involvement.
Attendance at functions.
Attendance at worship.
Involvement in education.
Support with offerings.
Greater support with offerings.
Participation in worship (reading the lessons, taking the offering, communion assistance)
Participation on committees and governing boards.
And then we come to outreach, a most fundamental reason for gathering together in Christian community.
There are levels of involvement here, too. Many congregations never pass levels one and two.
Attendance.
Support with offerings.
Active support to raise money. (Bake sales, car washes)
Support of social service agencies. (Walk-a-thons, Charity runs)
Assisting organized charities or social service agencies in events (helping with a building project for Habitat for Humanity, traveling to disaster areas to help with clean-up)
Active involvement in a cause (running a day school, organizing a food pantry, visiting a prison, cooking and delivering meals to the homebound)
This last level reaches the highest level of commitment—hands on engagement in ministry.
In the Church, we often settle for coins in the coffer when sweat on the brow is better stewardship.
It’s the difference between involving people in ministry and engaging them. It may make the difference in the vibrancy of your congregation.
Think about it! No one talks about their offerings. People talk about the things they actually do! What a great way to tell the story!
How might your congregation engage your members in ministry?
“There isn’t going to be a central, merged denominational office somewhere. The new church unity will be in new networks of people with common beliefs.” — Rev. Parker Williamson
Parker T. Williamson is editor emeritus of the Presbyterian Layman newspaper. A graduate of Yale Divinity School, he earned the Master of Divinity at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, VA.
Yesterday, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America announced an upcoming workshop for congregations. We first saw this listed as Weathering the Storm, but notice it is now advertised as Weathering the System.
Weathering the System
October 27, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
St. John’s Lutheran Church
505 North York Road, Hatboro, PA 19040
The six-hour workshop on conflict resolution is advertised as conflict transformation.
A buzzword unused is an opportunity squandered.
How do you weather a storm?
Make sure you win! Winning, at any cost, even at the expense of mission, outranks problem-solving in today’s church leadership. As one leading businessman wrote today, “It’s because defeat and power and humiliation and money have replaced ‘doing what works for all of us.'”
Although the names of presenters are not posted, you will learn from the best. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Lutheran Church in America, has been involved in years and years of conflict. They know the ropes!
Topics within synod’s expertise include:
how to create and define conflict using deceit
intimidating the opposition
exploiting vulnerable volunteers
how to identify which volunteers to eliminate to ensure victory
discouraging lay involvement to assure managerial success
how to pit clergy against laity to maximize success
guidelines for effective use of inflammatory language
when to apply the constitutions
when to ignore the constitutions
how to use Roberts’ Rules of Order
how to ignore Roberts’ Rules of Order
isolating the opposition from the rest of the Church
divide and conquer: tried and true techniques to guarantee divisiveness
tips for withholding professional services while appearing to serve
demonizing your opposition
use of litigation as a management tool
ignoring facts that do not serve your purpose
how to use partial truths to gain popular support
when to lie unabashedly
best practices in name-calling and finger-pointing
how to camouflage objectives with semantics
use of charm and charisma to deflect attention from the issues
how to keep knowledgeable people from asking questions
when and how to declare your opponents as non-existent
the underestimated value and strategic use of prejudice
creative use of statistics
techniques for silencing opposition
maximizing the “gotcha” factor
when and how to ignore Gospel imperatives
counting coup: the proper way to celebrate victory
The announcement quotes a former participant:
“Conflict and stress are a part of life. Both can be positive. It’s all in how you deal with it.”
Don’t miss the upcoming workshop. Learn how to deal with conflict from the masters!
Update: a subsequent announcement names The Rev. Dr. Jennifer Phelps Ollikainen of Liberty Lutheran as the presenter. Liberty Lutheran is independent of SEPA Synod, so content may actually be helpful!
For waywardness kills the simple, and the complacency of fools destroys them; but those who listen to me will be secure and will live at ease, without dread of disaster. — Proverbs 1: 32-33
The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I did not turn backward. I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting. The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced. —Isaiah 50:5-7a
Today’s object is a dunce cap. You might make your own from a large sheet of oaktag or you can decorate a party hat with the word “dunce.”
Wear your hat and face your congregation. You might have a teacher carry it to the front of the sanctuary and place it on your head for more drama.
Point out that it is September — back to school time. Students are once again facing their teachers.
Two lessons from the Old Testament talk about the role of student and teacher.
The dunce camp was once a commonly used form of punishment in American schools. Students who were unprepared or lazy were humiliated in hopes of setting them straight.
It was something to be dreaded.
Today, we attempt to be more understanding. Struggling students may be battling learning disabilities. Even so, teachers today sometimes control students and classrooms with a quick tongue designed to shame them into better behaviors.
Rebellious students are nothing new. The analogy is part of both the Isaiah and Proverbs texts.
Isaiah faces humiliation head on, embracing it. He wears his dunce cap with pride (facing the crowd who watched as he was beaten).
The critics will wear themselves out. God will sustain.
The gospel lesson that accompanies these lessons (Mark 8:27-38) is also a teacher/student session. Jesus is questioning his students and preparing them for the trials they will soon face—the final exam, so to speak. Peter steps up and gives the answers his best shot. Jesus rebukes him in front of the disciples. We can only imagine his embarrassment and shame. Did it stop Peter?
Jesus prepared him. In Verse 38 he cautions disciples:
“Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
Witnessing in today’s world is a challenge. We all face the possibility of being ridiculed for our beliefs. We weigh carefully in every social situation just how bold we should be in expressing our faith.
We fear shame.
Today’s message: Face shame with confidence. (And there is a definite “Or else!”)
In the business world there is a new trend in thinking. It isn’t good enough to create a good product or provide excellent service. Your business must create “remarkable” experiences—something to write home about.
Think of this as more than a mint on the pillow welcoming a hotel guest. It’s the mint and the slippers/robe tied in a bow with a handwritten welcome note—something beyond the ordinary.
How does this apply to church? We believe we have a truly remarkable product — salvation, love and unity with the God of all creation.
So why does the mainline church get “buzz” only when things go wrong?
Most church people interact with the church on Sunday mornings. Most Sunday morning worship services are satisfactory for the initiated, with little for congregants to talk about or remember the next day.
Can they be made remarkable?
The argument can be made that this isn’t why we gather for worship. We gather to praise God.
If that isn’t remarkable, it should be!
So how do we achieve this?
We have created hurdles over the centuries. Tradition, which provides order and sense, can become a straitjacket.
There should be a balance between providing comfort and security and moving beyond traditions to expressions that result from deeper self-exploration and the infusion of differing, if not new, ideas that result from broader inclusion.
Here’s where we go wrong: The Church tends to sweep into congregations with edicts of change, which alienate existing members and don’t attract new. When this fails, the Church criticizes church members.
This approach creates “buzz,” all right. But it is not the kind of buzz that will grow churches.
Most people aren’t as afraid of the new as they are afraid of losing the old.
The old is our foundation. There is no reason our foundations cannot be remarkable.
In church work, it might be wiser to start by concentrating on the foundations—the individuals who already worship regularly. Enhance their experiences, making the familiar remarkable. When they are happy, valued and feel included, they will feel confident in telling their remarkable story.
But that’s Sunday morning. The Church has six more days in a week to create remarkable experiences in their communities. People will talk about these. They might even get some press!
Our Ambassadors recently saw this in action in a church (St. John’s, Hatboro, Pa.). A member gave a passionate temple talk about the congregation’s food pantry and how it has grown to meet changing needs over the years. This retired school teacher was proud to tell his story, starting from his interest in this type of ministry from his boyhood experiences. He concluded by describing a thank you note the pantry had received.
There is a demographic that the church rarely considers, the Boomers, the generation born between 1946 and 1964. They were called Boomers by their parents’ generation before that generation christened themselves The Greatest Generation.
The Boomers are an outstanding generation that face difficult years. While their parents had a World War to unite them, the Boomers faced the rise of individualism and the moral and societal changes of a democracy gaining sudden world prominence.
Their experience and strengths represent many and varied feats.
Many are caring for The Greatest Generation and putting children through college, while taking on increased grandparenting demands.
Professionally, their careers were peaking when the Recession hit. Many are struggling to find employment comparable to their pre-Recession lives.
Adding to the challenge is the sharp shift in job skills that technology has demanded. Most Boomers feel a need for schooling and juggle learning with work and home demands — while their competition (their own children) still live under their roof, unburdened by the financial pressures of running a home.
They are experienced. They lived through the Korean War, Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, the Space Age, The Gulf War, Iran, Afghanistan (too many unrests to mention) and now 9/11 and the Arab Spring. They’ve witnessed the end of the Cold War and demolition of the Wall that remained from the war their parents fought. They have battled polio, AIDS, and new virus strains. They’ve seen cures for the diseases that claimed their grandparents. They’ve witnessed the societal change among the races and genders. They have seen the Church crippled by scandal.
The maps they studied in school have been recharted dozens of times.
Boomers were part of information revolution that continues to reshape society.
Women of Boomer age were at the forefront of the fight for equality. Some achieved it. Most still struggle.
Many boomers are divorced or widowed. Many parent blended families. They know firsthand the challenges that younger Americans will face.
They are reaching the age when their health may be challenged.
They are facing end of life decisions—their parents and their own. They can be troubled and grieving.
With all the challenges that Boomers face, they are still a capable lot! They have skills and better health than previous generations. Many were raised in church even if they have abandoned religion as adults.
They are the decision-makers of many families. They are not likely to go to church to be told what to do. It is more likely that the Church can learn from them.
With all the attention on youth and the Greatest Generation, they feel forgotten.
They are a generation that could be very well served and also serve the Church.
Should we mention that the commercial world is discovering they have economic clout?
But how many churches set out to serve the Boomers?
Join Bishop Ruby Kinisa as she visits small churches "under cover" to learn what people would never share if they knew they were talking to their bishop.
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Contact Info
You can reach
Judy Gotwald,
the moderator of 2x2,
at
creation@dca.net
or 215 605 8774
Redeemer’s Prayer
We were all once strangers, the weakest, the outcasts, until someone came to our defense, included us, empowered us, reconciled us (1 Cor. 2; Eph. 2).
2×2 Sections
Where in the World is 2×2?
On Isaiah 30:15b
Be calm. Wait. Wait. Commit your cause to God. He will make it succeed. Look for Him a little at a time. Wait. Wait. But since this waiting seems long to the flesh and appears like death, the flesh always wavers. But keep faith. Patience will overcome wickedness.
—Martin Luther
