"Grounded" in the Holy Spirit!

This is a repost of a Note from Joanna Caldwell on Facebook. Healing IS taking place in the life of Faith Church. Amen.

The Holy Spirit and Coffee
At the GMA Conference, I was introduced to the best coffee ever: "Land of a Thousand Hills" coffee. I'd never had coffee two days after it was roasted before! The aroma was deliciously tantalizing and it tasted every bit as wonderful as it smelled. It's also coffee with a conscience and not just because it's "fair trade" coffee where the workers receive a living wage. This coffee is evidence of the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit! Coffee? Yes! The flyer I picked up at their table tells the true stories of two young women whose families were brutally hunted down and murdered during the 100 days of genocide 10 years ago by a man named Jean. The country was so devastated by the violence that when everything was over, the government turned to churches to bring healing and reconciliation. Through the love of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit working through them, these two young women FORGAVE the man who massacred their families and now they are working side by side with him growing coffee beans. So as I drink this coffee, I'm thinking about the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit and I wonder, if these young women and the hundreds of others like them, can forgive the people who murdered their families, how can we have any excuse to refuse to forgive each other for canceling our favorite church programs, changing the style of worship, hurting our feelings, or anything else? Jesus told us to forgive our brothers (and sisters) without limits. We have been forgiven much, we have no grounds to refuse to forgive others.....in fact, just the opposite, my coffee grounds remind me that by the power of the Holy Spirit, anything is possible.

Reposted with permission.

Full Court Press

In my last entry I related that I was having a hard time dealing with repeatedly bouncing between good and bad news about Faith; struggling with the realities of power and money in the church; and discerning if I’m called to be an Elder. I even found myself searching for other churches. Well God was doing a full court press on me last Saturday and Sunday. Three things came together that have started to put things in perspective.

First on Saturday, I started reading the Book of Order. Over and over again, it stressed the sovereignty of God, and the call to unity as a church in mission, worship, and fellowship; all the while stressing diversity and openness to the continual reformation of a church and its people.

Secondly on Sunday I felt a strong pull to attend the contemporary service at Big Cove. Not necessarily seeking a new church but just to see what was there. Well it was apparent I was meant to hear their message that day! They had just started a series on Acts and happened to be covering Chapter 2 about Pentecost and the Holy Spirit. They talked about the transformative power of the Spirit to change people in ways they could never hope to change themselves. They talked about the need to expect and look for this power to change the circumstances of any problem.

Thirdly I went on to attend Faith’s Sunday service. It was a wonderful service! Being Disability Sunday, the focus of the worship was on the abilities and disabilities we all have. The sermon text, John 4:5-27, was about the Samaritan woman at the well. Despite the woman’s many “disabilities” of sin, infidelity, prejudice, and ignorance, Jesus patiently ministered to her. He ministered to the tiny point of faith she carried, "I know that Messiah is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." (John 4:25)

It was at that point I couldn’t help but realize the disabilities we at Faith are experiencing right now! The disability we all have of wanting “our” service, “our” church, back rather than seeking the presence of the Holy Spirit in God’s worship and church. The disability of disharmony and disunity we are all experiencing as we seek what we want rather than what God wants for us. The disability those of us that “see clearly” have when we are fed up with those that “don’t see” and we all discount the power of the Spirit to transform all our visions and actions into His plan. Disabilities just like any others that need to be met with love, making way for the transformative power of the Spirit.

These three have come together in my mind as a sort of Trinity. The Book of Order, particularly Chapter 3, informs us about God’s plan for the Church. The Disability Sunday worship demonstrates our brokenness and Jesus’ unfaltering love for us that we are supposed to imitate. The Pentecost message tells us where the power comes from that will transform us into the church God wants us to be.

Pretty amazing to experience all that in one weekend!

What is your tiny point of faith?

A Difficult Day of Discernment

I have been struggling to figure out if I am being called to become an Elder at Faith Church. It is evident in the many previous entries in this blog that I have tried to see both sides in our conflict and keep my eye on where God wants to direct us. I go from positive days to negative days regularly and with increasing frequency. Today was a difficult day.

Today I received more evidence that we are a divided congregation. The details are irrelevant, they are the same issues that have plagued us and seem not to want to go away. It’s just that when you try to stay focused on the positive and then the negative jumps back in view it hurts all over again. I suppose today could be described as a Scrooge moment. The way ahead appeared very clear and bleak, unless we do something to change that. That something must rely exclusively on our dependence on God. Yet the ponderous weight of earthly power seems stacked against experiencing that dependence.

At the same time as I am struggling with the call, I also find myself searching the web for another church. I wish I could say this was for research purposes to see how others are doing things; I cannot. I was searching for a place to go.

It sometimes seems clear that if I cannot find enough faith in Faith’s future to accept a call to be Elder, then it is time for me to move on. Other times, if I put my faith in God, it seems I need to stay and accept the call. That is difficult, because I’m not sure if that is to see Faith through these tough times and keep pointing to God on the way or is it to help others see God’s grace in hospice as we wither away.

And to make this decision even worse, the time to make the decision is either before or just after we anticipate getting an interim Pastor. Just like God to force the decision to be made in faith and not based on visible evidence.

I have many more thoughts and questions. But I’ll lay those down at His feet for tonight and try to get some sleep.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOfoXDymFZA

Today was a difficult day.

Life at Faith These Days - Part 2

In Part 1 of this blog entry I told about several good things happening at Faith these days. However, I was also telling you about my friends that are really wrestling with what has happened at Faith and where Faith is going.

Bad things have happened at Faith. Things that have been done by people still at Faith. Things that were allowed to happen by more people still at Faith. There is no escaping this. My friends, and I, and many of us struggle with many questions.

"How many times are we to forgive our brother (or sister)? Jesus' answer is understood to mean indefinitely....as many times as they sin against you. What happens when we let the sun go down on our anger? (in other words we hold a grudge and refuse to forgive, work it out, let it go) We give the devil a foothold....each time."

"What is THE commandment Jesus gave us? To love each other like he loves us and gave his life for us... The kind of love defined in 1 Corinthians 13."

How can we have missed that we failed this commandment? Why is it so hard to follow this commandment? How do we come back together as Christians when we know we have sinned? How can we come back together as Christians with people that don't know they've sinned? How do we deal with our feelings of injustice and that sin must be punished? How do we recognize, confess, and deal with our sinfulness?

My friend found the verses that encapsulate the problem and the answer; Galatians 5:19-23. "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy...I warn you as I did before that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."

The first thing that popped in my head as I was reading my friend's note was the parable of the sower. Read Matthew 13, yes the whole thing. I did and I believe I will be reading it a number of times now.

Here is where I am now in finding my way through all this. After I found out Steve was leaving I was angry. But the Spirit quickly put me in the place where the only thing I could do was to forgive and forget the past, wipe the slate clean and hand it to God. That meant forgetting the hurts of the past and not seeking punishment or retribution. A good parent knows you cannot punish a child for something that happened two weeks ago. BUT that does not mean ignoring new transgressions! So I promised myself to try to address things as they happen. This keeps me from imagining or embellishing things in the past or listening to rumors. I am trying to focus on now and moving forward.

Reading my friend's note and having those parables placed in my head I understand much clearer. Faith is God's garden. It is our job to tend the garden. But God is still the one in charge. There are good patches and bad patches and patches that need cultivation. I've been all three! There are also weeds in the garden, but it is not for us, at this time, to pull them up and risk the budding plants (As seen in Part 1 of this blog entry). Jesus tells us in Mathew 13 that the weeds will not hear the Word and will remain weeds. God will take care of that in his time.

BUT, the gardener in me says, if one of those weeds pops up a seed head above the other plants it's time to take care of it; before it can spread. But how? My friend said it best…

"Loving each other doesn't mean we only speak sweetly to each other saying only "nice" things. Speaking the truth in love can be hard to say and hard to hear, but it's the attitude of the heart that is important when we speak the truth in love. […] We love because God first loved us so it makes sense to me that our focus needs to be on loving and knowing God more. As we know God better, we learn how to love and we are filled with GOD'S LOVE which is different from human love. God's love is 1 Corinthians 13 love. It is a love that is sacrificial, unconditional, dying to self, submitting to God and one another. That is the love we are to extend to one another. Bible study, fellowship, and worship are good things to encourage this."

I have a couple more comments to the Session on life at Faith these days before I finish. I encourage the Session to actively watch for the seed heads and deal with them in a loving and timely manner. I also applaud the Session's efforts in dealing with our budget shortfall in a timely manner. Finally I encourage the Session to understand that the budget is not the problem, it's a symptom. The problem is our spiritual budget. It is easy to get distracted by the easier problem of the money budget but we have a lot of folks hurting and confused and in need of spiritual guidance through these times.

As my friend pointed out; "We've heard excellent, pointed, sermons from Warner, Bob, and Kerry [and Mel] but I haven't felt the pall lift over my heart and I think I am not alone. I think in order to heal from this grief we're in, we need an opportunity to make an active corporate response." I agree, but I don't think we're there yet, and it may be awhile.

Agape, (As Rev. Grigsby would say.)
Dave

I hope my friend doesn't mind my quoting much of their note. My friend was worried about presenting these things. I'll take the heat.

Life at Faith These Days - Part 1

It's been a month since I blogged. Life at Faith has been getting better! Last Sunday was amazing!

Worship was fantastic! I had dropped my daughter off at the airport for the adventure of a lifetime; a semester studying in Costa Rica! I then went on to worship. There were many more folks than usual! There was a delegation of folks from Africa that were in town and came to worship with Frank! That morning and previous evening the church had just hosted two mission teams crossing paths to and from the Gulf coast. Our contingent of folks was back from a South Africa trip! Some friends from work that have been church hunting showed up at Faith that day! The music (all the music) hit a chord with me! Kerry's sermon was fantastic! I wept.

I have been working hard to put up a new Faith Reach webpage; http://hs.presby.org, and it is reaching a stable point and is generating a bit of excitement! The page sprung as a personal response to a list of tenets that Faith's Outreach committee is working to.

• A team ministry that oversees the total missional arena at Faith
• A team ministry that lifts up, communicates policies and interprets
• A team ministry that develops, approves, oversees and implements a budget
• A team ministry that links members with complementary gifts with ministry of service
• A team ministry that manages a dynamic relationship with 15 to 20 local ministries
• A team ministry that provides a Theological foundation and understanding of missions
  
• A team ministry that serves as a primary bridge interfacing with laity, church and world
  
• A team ministry that will provide leadership for Faith into the mission era
  
• A team ministry that uses sound infrastructure, accountability and regulates implementation.

The site has three major thrusts. A news and invitation feature that keeps folks informed on opportunities to get engaged. A series of background pages on different ministries that Faith is involved in. A blog where Faith folks can share their stories and experiences of reaching out with God's kingdom.

My vision is not only to inform Faith members, but attract seekers, and attract non-religious seekers to Faith's work through Faith's friendships. The latter then provides the opportunity to usher them into a relationship with Christ in God's time. Much the way Faith ushered me into that relationship. I strongly feel Faith's future depends on involving people in Faith's ministries and THEN involving them in Faith, not the other way around.

One of the other facets is that I'm funneling the announcements and blog stories to Faith's friends on Facebook through my account there. I've been found by a number of Faith folks already!

BUT... Faith church is still hurting.

I hear reports of some folks complaining about the contemporary music in worship. Which is OK, but not actually during worship disturbing other worshipers!

I talk frequently with a friend who is struggling with the changes at Faith and the way those changes were brought about. They are hanging in with Faith but the hold is tentative and seeking indications of forward movement again.

And I just heard from someone who is really hurting. Someone who has been distancing themselves, painfully, from Faith because of their need to find an active youth program for their child. (They made it clear they were not placing specific blame on Kerry!) This is a situation we all have responsibility for. A situation faced by a number of families at Faith who have made the hard choice. Oddly, or by design, that connection was reestablished though the outreach into Facebook. A bittersweet highlight of that effort's purpose.

(More on this later ...)

Big Tent?

Unless you're Frank or Bob Hamilton I bet you only have an inkling of what the "Big Tent" is, if you have any idea at all. http://www.pcusa.org/bigtent/ We do such a poor job of communicating...

I didn't really know anything about it until my RSS feed from PCnews started coming alive in early June. Now this is normally a pretty slow, and boring, news feed. Unfortunately much like the general impression PCUSA gives on a normal basis; yawn. (Sorry, but its the truth.) But the stories that started coming from the Big Tent show a new, exciting, and engaged PCUSA!

Here is a link to this June's PCnews archive. Take a look at the articles coming from the Big Tent, there are many and they are still coming. I think you'll be surprised; hopefully pleasantly.

http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2009/june.htm
http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/bigtent.htm

Bob Hamilton actually went. Ask him about it!

Dave

Imagine!

In my April 24th blog I talked about imagining what we would like Faith church to be rather than trying to “solve” our problems. This is a method that several sources recommend for broadening our perspective and really tapping into what God wants Faith church to be. So, how do I imagine Faith’s future?

I imagine a Faith church that has recaptured its past vision for outreach. Outreach that manifests itself in a wide variety of hands-on community involved service efforts. Outreach efforts that have local, regional, national, and global impact. Outreach efforts where members are encouraged to work together with non-members. Outreach efforts where Faith teams also join in the work of other faith-based and secular services. But …I also imagine these outreach efforts are rooted in something much deeper than just doing good works! These efforts do not just answer the call to serve the poor. These efforts also answer the call to make disciples of Jesus Christ.

I imagine these efforts are supported through study groups at Faith. Study groups that tie these efforts to Jesus’ call in the Word and Holy Spirit. Study groups that learn to grow in faith through service and be more effective. Study groups that share what they’ve learned from their teammates and those they serve. Study groups that pray for each other, their non-member teammates, and those they serve. Study groups that invite non-member teammates to join in and understand why we do these things. Study groups that hold retreats to relax, rejuvenate, and celebrate Christ’s work through them; inviting all teammates, member and non-member alike.

I imagine a Faith church rich in interaction with each other; member and non-member. Interactions that love each other as the children of God we are. Interaction through bible study that challenges each of us to grow in faith. Interaction through fellowship that celebrates our life in Christ together. Interaction through prayer that supports each other. Interaction through service to each other in good and difficult times.

I imagine a leadership that discerns, guides, and architects the direction of Faith church in becoming the church Jesus Christ desires. A leadership that nurtures Faith’s members along their spiritual paths toward discipleship and identifying their spiritual gifts. A leadership that empowers Faith’s members to use those gifts in the work of forwarding the church. A leadership that is rooted in our Presbyterian reformed past but embraces the leadings of the Holy Spirit to continue reforming into our future. A leadership that provides boundaries and gentle correction to maintain the focus on being Christ’s church.

I imagine all of this culminating each week in worship that brings the church back to where it begins and ends; God. Worship that returns our work to the one responsible for it all. Worship that refuels the church to begin again each week. Worship that is vibrant and diverse reflecting the needs and experiences of all those drawn together to worship God. Worship that does not limit our experience of the God that is limitless. Worship that models how we should live each day as disciples in the community of Christ.

That is how I currently imagine what Faith church can be. Now do I have the lock on what the vision for Faith church should be or the ability, knowledge, drive, and energy to make this happen? Hardly! God’s the only one that can make this happen. And he’ll do that through all of us together working in community on his plan. So, what do you imagine? Enrich the vision of how Faith church can model the kingdom of God by bringing your dreams to the table!