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Judith Gotwald

Adult Object Lesson: Mark 9:38-50

The lesson today is about creating boundaries.

Today’s object is a goldfish in a bowl.

In Mark 9:38-50, the disciples are upset with some copycat miracle workers who are exorcising demons in Jesus’ name. The disciples bring the matter to Jesus’ attention. Someone is stepping on your (they probably meant “our”) territory.

Hey! They had tried to stop them. But the scoundrels just weren’t listening! Surely, Jesus would put the demon chasers in their place.

The disciples wanted Jesus to draw a line — decide who were the true followers of Christ. Keep the kingdom tidy.

But Jesus dismisses the disciples’ concerns. He focuses on them.

He encourages the disciples to loosen up. These new miracle workers aren’t going to diminish His abilities. Why bother drawing lines between people who are working for the same cause?

Here’s a little known fact about goldfish. They were naturally plain old, grey carp.

Japanese and Chinese hobbyists carefully bred their pets to bring out the bright colors.

Today, goldfish are known for their splendor.

And where did it get them? Today most of the beautiful goldfish, chosen for their color and carefully bred to ensure colorful offspring, are kept in a bowl. The chosen fish are destined to live their lives separated from other fish and the world. They will swim all day, every day, in circles peering through their concave barriers at the world they were part of back when they were grey. Their beauty has indeed set them apart — to what end?

Talk with your congregation about the walls they might be putting up between themselves and the rest of God’s glorious creation. Why do the barriers seem like a good idea? When the harshest barriers are at last broken, what result was feared? What result actually came about?

  • The walls between faiths.
  • The walls between denominations.
  • The walls between genders and races.
  • The walls between educated workers and manual labor.
  • The walls between old and young.
  • The walls of culture and language.

Think about the disciples. Did their special status as chosen children of God divide them from the world or prepare them to join the world?

What about us? What walls do we put up? What purpose do we think they serve? What unintentional purposes result?

photo credit: Bob.Fornal via photopin cc
24 Sep 2012

Are We Ashamed of Our Faith?

Today’s Alban Institute forum is back to the same old, never-changing challenge for churches — facing change.

Today’s writer points to “shame” as an element that keeps congregants from being effective evangelists. We greet newcomers with suspicion. That’s no way to build a church!

The writer cites the many scandals the church has faced in recent years and out-dated worship practices as causes, but she correctly suggests that there is more to it than that.

The post drew a number of responses. One writer asked the question 2×2 has addressed a number of times. Do the clergy and hierarchy take any responsibility for the decline in today’s Church?

The answer we see to this question is NO. The problem, as defined by most clergy, is stick-in-the-mud lay people, who attend church for selfish reasons and just don’t do the things needed to guarantee the prosperity of the congregation, clergy and hierarchy. (No one is ever very clear about what those things might be. It usually means “they aren’t taking orders.”)

That’s a pretty big bill for anyone to pay. As numbers decline, the per capita obligations grow and grow. Clergy and hierarchies still have salary demands and budgets to meet and they don’t care if the salary is paid by 40 people or 400 people or if churches must close to meet their deficits. It’s hard to attract new worshipers when an honest assessment of their potential membership involves meeting budgets over which they will have little control—and the reality that in the end, all their work may be for naught if the regional body decides they need your property more than you do.

Another commenter pointed to another reality. Critics of church-goers often have little knowledge of church traditions. Their visits are as those of aliens. The value of singing old hymns and adjusting to church language clashes with modern sensibilities, where things have to be new and stretch our experiences.

Sometimes the lack of familiarity of a younger generation becoming involved in church is comical. A college-trained musician, who took a job as church organist, once commented that in every hymnal he encountered the phrase “As pants the hart for cooling streams” the word “heart” was spelled wrong.

At other times, the attempt to meet new church-goers where they are leads to wrong teaching. A new translation of the Bible replaces the word Hosanna with Hooray. Church-goers know that Hosanna is a prayer.

The lack of young people in church is only going to widen this cultural gap. If they are ever to become involved in church, they will have to learn the ABCs of their faith.

Shame is going to get us nowhere. Wise church leaders will work at building the self-confidence of members so they can welcome visitors with true hospitality. Knowledge of faith builds self-confidence. We have to know what we believe!

That’s a challenge for every church and worrying about change isn’t going to address it!

24 Sep 2012

Devotions for this week have been added to the Daily Devotion Page

Daily Devotion Page

24 Sep 2012

Ambassador’s Visit St. Mark’s, Broad & Chelten

The Ambassadors attended this church in the Oak Lane neighborhood of Philadelphia. It was a return trip for one of the Ambassadors who attended this church 30 years ago.

The service was part of a long day for St. Mark’s with fellowship and education beginning at 9:30. The service began at 11 and was close to two hours in duration with more fellowship afterwards. Afternoon obligations forced us to leave before the Eucharist, but we enjoyed the spirit and wealth of music.

Attendance at the beginning of the service was about 40 but within a half hour the numbers swelled to about 60. About a quarter included children and youth which was refreshing and rare.

Pastor Leonard’s sermon talked about the temptations that ambition and power present to ministry, tying it to Mark’s account of the disciples vying for importance. Once again, we saw a disconnect between what is preached and what is practiced. The conflict SEPA congregations have with Redeemer is fueled almost solely by greed for our property and the need to prevail in power. We note that Rev. Leonard has served on Synod Council for much of the duration of this conflict and has been in a position to influence and temper the conflict without success. In his sermon, he even talked about bishops who covet the position for the status and money. It was all we could do to refrain from shouting AMEN!

The service included lots of hymns. A lengthy opening praise section was led by a praise team. The hymns were many of Redeemer’s favorites. A portable mic was passed among the congregation so that many congregants could participate and be heard. A new liturgy was used, peppered with warhorse hymns from Fanny Crosby’s Blessed Assurance to the Gospel hymn, Lead Me, Guide Me — the favorite hymn of a Redeemer member who died shortly after the lockout. One Ambassador commented that she enjoyed the drum accompaniment to all the hymns.

The sanctuary is beautiful and well-kept and was a pleasant place to spend this cool autumn Sabbath.

We noted that they do not have a web site listed in the synod records but opened a one-post blog in July. We encourage them to expand on that platform. We’ve had great responses from our blog!

23 Sep 2012

Writing Your Congregation’s History: A Real Whodunit!

Continuing our look at the Book of Nehemiah with Pastor Jon Swanson, we note that large portions of this historical account are lists of names.

Nehemiah was a savvy leader. He was embarking upon a great work. He needed help. He rallied the support of a lot of people. He rewarded them by remembering their names and recording their contributions.

Contrast the Book of Nehemiah with the typical parish history. Our Ambassadors have had the opportunity to read many of these online. The typical parish report lists the terms of pastors and what building renovations were made during their tenure. In fact, there is an online archive of Lutheran churches which isn’t much more than that. It’s not unlike the account of Nehemiah but in Nehemiah, you can almost see the workers lugging the stones, felling the trees, sawing the wood, shouting out orders, guarding the progress, and organizing the people for mission.

Nehemiah noted the names of the lay leaders. He included their genealogy. He detailed exactly what each foreman accomplished in the overwhelming task of rebuilding the vast temple. He provided a detailed archeological survey of the site — the gates, the pools, the steps. We are standing there with him amidst the dust and rubble, watching greatness happen.

Don’t waste time. While it is still within living memory, write your parish history from the lay point of view. Who led the choir, who taught the children, who renovated the kitchen, who fixed the furnace?  Who started the food pantry or visited the sick? Were they part of a long-standing family presence or were they new to your community and congregation?

It will build your congregation’s esteem. Members will feel like part of something bigger than themselves — part of a mission that should go on and on—long after not a soul remembers who was pastor when the work was done.

Soon the readers of your history will be like the readers of the book of Nehemiah. They will see your ministry growing action by action, sacrifice after sacrifice, offering upon offering.

It may help you see your congregation as part of a great plan and help you draft a plan to move forward in mission.

22 Sep 2012

A Provacative Link That Should Interest Evangelists

Here is a link from Coca Cola’s marketing team. They are telling us exactly how they intend to double their business by 2020. That’s a lot of sugar water!

The techniques and strategies should interest every serious evangelist. Coca Cola has a story to tell and doesn’t mind telling us exactly how they plan to do it. Their marketing people are well paid and experienced story-tellers. Let’s invest our dimes wisely and listen in for free!

We have a story to tell, too!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LerdMmWjU_E?rel=0]
21 Sep 2012

Rebuilding the Church: Is It Worth it?

I’ve been following the daily blog of Pastor Jon Swanson, 300 Words a Day. This week he has been retelling the momentous story of the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, told by Nehemiah. The story is gripping — all the more because it cuts to the “Why?” of ministry.

  • Why look upon destruction that is so vast that no one bothered to clean it up much less rebuild it.
  • Why cry for it?
  • Why, when given the opportunity, petition a foreign king for permission to rebuild?
  • Why face the opposition that you know is plotting against you for daring to organize efforts to make things better?
  • Why record the details of the work crews that rebuilt each gate and wall?
  • Why be bothered? No one else seems to care!

Perhaps today’s church needs some of Nehemiah’s passion.

We have become very brazen about the state of our church. Attendance down? Oh, well. It’s time for ministry to die. Is attendance down in 90% of a region’s churches? It’s just a sign of the times.

The quote from church leadership should be alarming:

Congregations that will die within the next ten years should receive the least amount of time and attention. They should receive time that assists them to die with celebration and dignity. Offer these congregations a ‘caretaker’ pastor who would give them quality palliative care until they decide to close their doors.  It is the kind of tough-minded leadership that will be needed at the helm if your organization is to become a Transformational Regional Body.” — Transforming Regional Bodies, by Claire S. Burkat and Roy Oswald, a guidebook used to train leaders of regional bodies

The most troubling part of this quote is the time frame. Ten years! In the Lutheran Church that’s almost two terms for a bishop.

Our regional leaders are encouraged to stand by, implementing a ten-year plan to DO NOTHING (and get paid for it).

A ten-year time frame is enough time to revitalize a ministry, to rebuild its foundation. But the plan advised to leaders of regional bodies is to help only the churches with a proven cache of money. Go where the work seems easiest.

Church leaders need to reread Nehemiah until they can shed tears for the temples within their charge. There can be no dignified celebration of church closings when the closings have been brought about by designed neglect. (Click to Tweet)

This trend continues in the church unquestioned because the blame is placed on the people with the least voice or sway — the lay people. Wisdom of church leaders should not be questioned. Regard for their professional status outweighs regard for lay volunteers.

When we are busy protecting church leadership, we forget to ask the “why” questions. Why are we here in the first place? Why does anyone care?

It is time for this to change.

photo credit: UGArdener via photo pin cc
21 Sep 2012

Small Churches Have Great Advantages

One of the great things about being relatively small and unknown
is that the cost of failure is not that harmful. — Srinivas Rao

This business writer goes on to explain why innovation comes from small companies.

Small companies have the leverage to dare.

Small churches have the same leverage—the leverage to dare.

Would the big flagship church in the mammoth building on the corner of Broad and Main change the liturgy dramatically? No, too many people who like things just the way things are would leave with ruffled feathers.

Do bigger churches start innovative outreach ministries? Sometimes. But they are more likely to use their resources to add another pastor or tie into some established social ministry project supported by other big churches.

Small churches have the power to rock the world—the same power once placed in the hands of 12 disciples.

  • We small churches can change the worship time and survive the grumbling.
  • We can include non-English words in worship and not worry about losing 10% of the congregation.
  • We can do one-on-one ministry because we are more likely to personally know the life challenges of each person facing the altar.
  • We can fund a small foundation and charge it to do spread innovative ideas on the web without a pastor feeling his or her territory has been invaded.

Wow!

photo credit: Nina Matthews Photography via photo pin cc
20 Sep 2012

They Will Know We Are Christians . . . How?

Here’s a challenge you can present to your congregation:

There is a popular hymn, “They’ll know we are Christians by our love.”

“Love” is not a very clear word. It requires some definition!

Ask members, colleagues, committee members, governing board, children, youth, visitors, etc. to rewrite the words to the hymn and define exactly how people will know you are a Christian.

“They will know we are Christians by ____________________________.”

Make a youth project out of the question. Ask them to make a montage video of people’s answers with the hymn playing softly in the background. Post it on YouTube and send us a link!

Might be an interesting exercise. Share the new words with one another  . . . or send them to us. We’ll make a blog post out of them!

19 Sep 2012

It’s All About Love . . . or Is It?

Some 2×2 readers who live in the Middle East are being seriously impacted by the recent violence prompted by a single video posted months ago on the internet that was suddenly discovered by Muslim viewers all over the Middle East. Most Americans have seen no more than one frame in the news magazines. We are told it ridicules Mohammed.

Behind the rage is the misunderstanding that one person’s view does not necessarily represent an entire nation’s sentiment. It is the view of the people who made and posted the film. Americans, for the most part, never noticed it sitting out there in “American” cyberspace.

So blood is spilled and lives are lost because the views of very, very few are projected onto the entire American nation. The lives of Christians in predominantly Muslim countries—not an easy position even in peaceful times—are disrupted needlessly.

Other nations view America as a Christian nation. It is undeniable that our founding values were rooted in the Christian understandings of the time, but Americans know that freedom to not be Christian is also part of the American tradition. The fabric of American life is a tight weave of many religions.

The actions that incited the current violence were not the actions of America—a difficult point to make amidst the rhetoric of gunfire.

Most religions are about good values. Christianity is centered on love. But the message is all too easily put aside by the desire to be right and the desire to dominate.

We don’t have to go to the Mideast to see these powerful anti-Christian sentiments displayed by people who consider themselves to be religious. It is the stuff of history — in the early church, in the Crusades, in the Reformation, in our own era of slavery and Indian wars. We can see it today in our local churches—the need to win at any cost.

That cost is the abandonment of our very purpose.

We are praying for the Christians in Middle East just as hard as they are praying for the Lutherans in East Falls.

19 Sep 2012