September Newsletter

“Who is this Jesus?”

I have heard this question asked with increasing frequency in
recent days.  The most poignant time was when I heard Bishop
Bruce Ough (from the West Ohio Annual Conference) tell a story
about his son and now daughter-in-law.  At the time, his son
was engaged, and on a certain Sunday,his son and his fiancé
went to church with the family.  As they sat in church and
listened to the pastor speak about Jesus, the bishop overheard
the young lady leaned over and asked his son, “Who is this
Jesus that the pastor is talking about?”  The reality of the
world we live in is that something like eighty percent of
all people under the age of twenty-five have never stepped
foot in a church, and most of these are not familiar with
the Biblical stories as the previous generations were.

Before we can begin to answer this question for others,
however, we must answer this question for ourselves.  We
need to figure out who Jesus is and what he means to us
before we try to tell others about him.  The Jesus often
portrayed in churches is a meek and mild-mannered man who is
nice to everyone and never gave offensive.  This Jesus is not
only pretty dull, but also seems too unrealistic to a
generation that is slow to trust what seems too good to be
true.  The good news is that the Jesus depicted in the Bible
is very different from this image. Jesus is depicted in
Scripture and history as a dynamic leader, who spoke the
truth of the Kingdom of God even when it was offensive.  

The Jesus of Scripture wove together rope into a whip and drove
the money-changers from the temple courts (John 2:14-16).  He
is the same Jesus who referred to the Pharisees as a brood of
vipers (Mt. 12:34),and he is the same Jesus who told the crowd
gathering to stone the woman found in adultery that whoever
was without sin could cast the first stone (John 8:7). The
Jesus of Scripture and history was (and is) a radical whose
interest lay in telling truth. The church can learn from his
example.  While we should never go out of our way to be
offensive,we should also never gloss over the truth of the
Gospel in order to avoid giving offense.  Jesus calls us to
be salt and light in the world; sometimes the world doesn’t
like that.  

The church needs to offer the world the “real” Jesus, who people can identify with, and who raised the standard at which we aim. This is a Jesus who
younger people and older people alike will want to know and follow.

note: the ideas in this newsletter borrow largely from my good friend, Pastor Jared, with some minor editorial changes.

August Newsletter

From the Pastor’s Pen

Vacation Bible School is over, the county fair is only a few weeks away, and before we know it, the children will be headed back to school. It’s hard to believe how fast the Summer has gone by! As we look ahead to Fall, there’s Charge Conference, revival, our cook out, and many other activities. So as I considered how I ought to spend the last few weeks of Summer, I asked myself, “What is the most important thing I ought to do?”

As I thought about it, I realized how easily we become distracted by all of the activity around us and lose sight of the main thing. If we identify ourselves as followers of Christ, then we find the answer in scripture – Jesus told us to share the Good News with others. (Matt. 28:19-20)

This really jumped out at me this week. In a class of roughly 30 children, only one was in church with us last week. Two more regularly attend church with us. Only 10 kids had a regular church home--that means that 2 out of every 3 do not! Jesus told his disciples that the harvest was very great. The problem is that the laborers are too few. (Luke 10:2)

Many of us do not share our faith with others because we simply do not know how. So I want to offer a few practical suggestions that can help us share our faith.

· Build friendships with one or two unchurched people. Many Christians isolate themselves from all non-believers, but in doing so, the cut themselves off from their mission field.

· Don’t force the conversation to faith. Get to know them and be an active listener.

· Ask them questions. Where do you work? How old are your kids? What activities are you involved in? The more you know about the person, the better you will understand them.

· Expect unchristlike behavior. They may have language, habits, and behaviors that offend you.

· If you have the opportunity to invite them to church, offer to meet them at the door and have them sit with you. The unknown of a church service isn’t so scary if there’s someone who knows how it’s done.

· Pray for these people, and ask God to guide you through his Holy Spirit. God can give us the words to say if we let Him. It takes labor in prayer to see a life changed.

As we close out the Summer, I pray that each of us will find ways to enter into the harvest field, so that we can see lives changed forever.

- Pastor Tom

July Newsletter

From the Pastor’s Pen

As we enter July, I wanted to pause and reflect on the freedom and liberty that we enjoy as Americans. As I stood at the park last week (for Celebrate America Day) and watched the Boy Scouts present the flag, we all joined in the Pledge of Allegiance. Hear again those familiar words that come near the end of that pledge . . . “One nation, under God.”

One of the fundamental questions of our day is whether or not we are truly united as Americans. Today we find our country as divided as it was during the Civil War. We are divided by many things: the war in Iraq, political parties, social outlooks, our views on the hot social issues . . . this space is far too small to list them all.

Likewise, as individuals we find ourselves divided. We know that as Christians, we are called to live as citizens of God’s kingdom, obeying the commands of Christ and embodying the love of God to the world. Often, this puts us at odds with our own will and the norms of our society.

It is with all of this baggage that we come to those words we all learned as children: One Nation, Under God. Are we indeed united as one? Are we a country under God? How can we be?

First, do the commands of Christ affect the day-to-day life I lead? If not, then we need to read the words of Christ again (the red print in many Bibles) and ask ourselves how it applies to our everyday life.

Second, do I allow politics to define me? Instead of drawing lines based upon a party, we need to educate ourselves about the issues and candidates and vote our conscience. And once the elections are over, we need to pray for our leaders, regardless of who he or she might be.

Finally, do I look for ways to use the bounty that God has provided to me to help those who are less fortunate than myself? America has been blessed by God. It is among the richest nations in the world. God has given us an abundance, not for our own pleasure, but as a tool to further His kingdom. Consider John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, who required each family in the societies (similar to our Sunday school classes) to adopt a family less fortunate than themselves. They would look for opportunities to bless that family and embody Christ’s love to them. The Bible makes it clear that if we turn a blind eye on the plight of the poor and powerless that God will bring judgment.

God has richly blessed this country with liberty and prosperity. I pray that we as Americans might be a blessing to God in return.

~ Pastor Tom

June Newsletter

With Memorial Day come and gone, the summer is fully upon us. With it comes a whole host of busyness, ministry, and life. Annual Conference will soon be here, followed by homecoming, VBS, and fair week. Add to this the family vacations, reunions, conditioning for fall sports, and a host of other activities, and our summers are already full to the point of bursting.

For Michelle and I, the activities of summer include several of our close friends who are moving. As we gather boxes to send to them, we are also rejoicing that we are not moving. We are truly looking forward to another year full of ministry with all of you.

In the midst of the comings and goings this summer, take time to find periods of Sabbath rest, both physical and mental, as well as spiritual. Here are just a few ways you can do that:

1. When on vacation, find a church to worship with. It can be a great opportunity to worship with other believers and to experience how others worship.

2. Take a few hours to slow down and enjoy yourself. Take a nap, read a book, sit outside and just watch the world go by.

3. Spend some quality time with your family. Kids and grandkids grow up so fast. Find an activity that you can all do together.

Remember, in whatever you do this summer, that you witness to others through your actions as much as by your words. May God give you the opportunity this summer to share His love with others; may He grant you a blessed, safe, and fulfilling summer.

- Pastor Tom

From the Pastor's Pen - May

As we prepare to celebrate the National Day of Prayer this week, I wanted to take a couple of minutes to reflect on prayer. E. M. Bounds says, “We can do nothing without prayer.” Therefore, if we want to see something happen, we must begin to pray.

In prayer, we are invited to petition the creator of the universe, who in turn moves on our behalf. Prayer is one of the most powerful tools that God has ever given to the Church – and it is one that we rarely use to its full potential. So here are a few thoughts on prayer:

1. When we pray, we need to pray specifics. When we pray in broad, general terms, there i no real way to measure if God has answered our prayer. Instead, we need to pray for the specific needs that we see around us.

2. We need to recapture the idea of praying the promises. Consider for a moment the implications of the promise of John 14:12. As one pastor said, we simply need to read the red and pray for the power. There are many more promises; we just need to get them in our heart and on our lips.

3. There are many types of prayer, and we need to pray all types of prayer. a. Arrow/breath prayers – a quick prayer for someone we see in passing. b. Need prayers –both for you and for others. c. Regular daily prayer time. (these three are by no means an exhaustive list.)

4. Don’t pray later when you can pray now. When someone asks for prayer, pray now. You might not remember to pray later.

5. There is greater power when prayer is tied to fasting and self-denial.

6. Prayer is conversation. Don’t make it single-sided; take time to be quiet before the Lord and listen for his voice.

7. Pray as you are, not as you are not. Just be yourself.

February Newletter

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, there has been a lot of talk about love. While we celebrate romantic love during this holiday, God tells us that we need to practice Christian love all year long. The question, then, arises: what is love. To answer this question, let us look into God's cookbook and see God's recipe for love.

Ingredients:

· Begin with 2 heaping cups of patience - love in passiveness. Love does not hurry, but it endures. (See Heb. 13:1)

· Mix in dash of kindness - love in action. We see this type of love in the parable of the sheep and the goats. What will we do for the least of these? (Matt. 25:31-46)

· stir in two handfuls of generosity - love in competition. How does my generosity measure up against those who aren’t saved? Is there a noticeable difference? (Heb.13.1-2)

· Next add a modest helping of Humility - love in hiding. Phil. 2.3

· Toss in a pinch of courtesy - love in society. Are we at home with all classes and cultures? We must treat them with respect, for they too are the creation of the Most High God.

· Sprinkle in a bit of unselfishness - love in essence. It will keep us from being sour or bitter. Putting others first always builds us up.

· Cover the mix with righteousness - love in conduct. Hate sin and aspire to become like Christ.

· Top the whole thing off with a good temper - love in disposition. Do not irritated or resentful.

· And season it with sincerity - love in profession. Don’t try to act perfect, but be real with people.

· Mix all the ingredients in your heart, spread over a lifetime, and serve to anyone you meet.

Have we tasted of God's love for us? Can others find that same love in us? If not, let us go to God's heavenly kitchen and try God's recipe for love. For more information, read 1 Corinthians chapter 13.

- Pastor Tom

A whole bunch of sermons

Well, it is the day after Christmas and the house is quiet. My two children were pretty warn out from all the running yesterday, and my wife and I are both fighting allergy/cold/sinus. I hope your Christmas was as good as ours. We were surprised when my sister and her husband drove all night to be here on Christmas Eve. It was good to have all the family together again, even if only for a few hours.

Over the next day, I will be posting my Christmas sermons. I wanted to begin doing it earlier, so they might be of more use to someone, but with the kids being sick for two weeks and the rush of activities at the church, this is the first time I've had a chance to catch my breath. I hope they are a help to someone. Blessings from the pulpit.

Pastor Tom

December Pastor's Letter

Christmas is coming and we, like every family, are caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season. There is a tree to put up, decorations to unpack, cookies to bake, cards to send, gifts to buy, . . . the list seems to go on and on.

But in the chaos of all of this running about, we need to be reminded that this season is a time of great joy for Christians. Think about it for a minute. The mall and department stores are playing some of our music, telling the story of a babe born in Bethlehem.

There is a great freedom this time of year to talk about Christ. The opportunities to share are all over the place. The images of Christmas, both Christian and secular, often carry more meaning that we realize. The Christmas tree and the candy canes can give us as much opening to talk about Christ as a nativity or singing carols. We also need to remember that Santa’s real name is St. Nicholas, who gave gifts to help the poor and remind the people about the great gift that God gave to all of us in His son.

So as you celebrate this year, take time to learn about the meaning of this season’s symbols; they may just provide an open door for Christ to come into someone’s life this Christmas. Never forget that Christ’s coming is behind all that we do this season. May His love shine through you as you spend time with friends and family, and may God bless you with a Merry Christmas and a blessed and happy New Year.

- Pastor Tom