The Pastor's Perspective for February

  As we launch out into a new year, let me share with you what I would like to see us accomplish in 2012.

• Hire a part-time Youth Director.  The young people in our church
  have a problem - they're growing up!  Actually this isn't their 
  problem as much as it is our problem.  Many of those who were
  active in the youth group in past years are now away in college.
  We are looking for a person who could actively recruit a youth
  group from scrath.  That's a tall order, and that person will no
  doubt need our prayers, but "with God all things are possivle."
  (Matthew 19:26)
• Integrate contemporary worship into our regular services.  As we
  survey the church scene, we see that growing churches tend to
  use a contemporary style of worship that is appealing to young
  families.  If we want to add youn families to our church, we need
  to incorporate this approach into our worship on Sunday mornings.
• Conduct an organ fund drive.  As much as we need to start some
  contemporary worship, we also need to maintain the traditional
  worship we already have.  A lot of research has gone into how to
  address the needs of our organ. We will conduct a campaign this
  year to raise funds for the most important instrument used in
  traditional worship.

All of these steps will assist us to reach out to those outside the Christian community, but none of them is sufficient in it self to do the job.  The most powerful tools for approaching non-believers are still word of mouth and prayer.  Nothing can replace a personal invitation...and nobody can extend that invitation better than you.  Let's pray for God to show us how our church as a whole and how each of us as individuals can make an impression for Christ.

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Pastor's Perspective for January

As we look forward to a new year, it’s a good time to take stock of where we’ve been and think about where God is calling us to go.        

It was exciting to see the newspaper coverage of our Nativity Scene which we put on in Peterson Park. This year we joined with other churches as way to reach out to our community through Nativity Scenes in the Park. I don’t know if it was our carolers or Janie the donkey that got us on the front page – but, whatever it was, it served as a gentle reminder to me that we must be doing something right!

As a matter of fact, there are a lot of things that we’re doing right. If I were to try to list them, I’m sure that I would leave something out. So let me just say that I am proud of the many ways in which our church is being faithful in ministry to what God has called us to do.

I wonder what God has in mind for us to do in 2012? I am sure he wants us to keep up the good work, but I would be surprised if he doesn’t also have some new things for us. We need to be flexible and creative to find out what those new ministries might be.

I once read a “Shoe” cartoon in the newspaper that reminded me of how easy it is to get into a rut. A gypsy is on the phone to Tech Support: “I’d like to speak to someone about a crystal ball on the fritz,” she says. “What seems to be the problem?” asks the technician. “My tomorrow is stuck in yesterday,” she replies.

It’s easy to get stuck in yesterday, and in order to break out we may need to think “outside the box.”

About this time last year I was watching the Tournament of Roses Parade on television when I heard the announcer say something unusual: “Coming up next is The Ohio State School for the Blind Marching Band.” It took me a minute for this statement to register. “How can there be a Marching Band at the School for the Blind?” I wondered. But, sure enough, there they came! Each musician was accompanied by a sighted person. What an inspiration they were! Someone at that school was definitely thinking “outside the box.”

People’s needs do not change much. We have to find a reason for living. We need a community to belong to. Basic material needs must be met. People’s needs do not change much…but the way we address those needs may vary greatly as time passes and the world changes. How does our church connect with the people God has called us to reach in our community during this next year? Let’s approach that question with imagination and prayer and see what the answer may be.

The Pastor's Perspective for December

Sometimes you can learn a lot from television. I don’t mean from the educational programs – although they can be very informative. I mean from the Situation Comedies! Recently my daughter has gotten me interested in a program about four friends who are Science Geeks. On a Christmas episode, one of the friends, Sheldon, receives a gift from his neighbor, Penny, who lives across the hall.

Sheldon  is very awkward socially, and he reacts almost as if Penny had handed him a bomb. “I don’t want a gift,” he tells her. “If I receive a gift then I have to make restitution. I have to give you a gift of equal value in return. How would I know what to get?” But Penny insists, and Sheldon reluctantly accepts her gift.

Then  Sheldon finds a way to address the problem. He buys several fruit baskets. After he opens Penny’s gift and determines its value by looking it up on the Internet, he plans to give her a fruit basket (or baskets) that add up to the same price. The perfect solution! Or is it?

When  he removes the wrapping, Sheldon is in for a surprise! One day at the restaurant where she works, Penny happened to wait on Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played Spock in television’s original science fiction series, “Star Trek.” Sheldon, who is a huge Star Trek fan, is overwhelmed when he sees a napkin with Spock’s trademark greeting written on it, “Live long and prosper,” signed by Leonard Nimoy himself! He brings in every fruit basket he had bought and lays them all at Penny’s feet. “It’s not enough!” he exclaims.

Isn’t  this a good illustration of the meaning of Christmas? “For God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son…” (John 3:16). How could we put a price on such a gift? How could we possibly pay God back? It only stands to reason that believers would respond in amazement and wonder at the generosity of God. “Let us thank God for His priceless gift!”

 (2 Corinthians 9:15).

Pastor's Perspective for November

Our lives are often marked by griping more than by gratitude. Take this typical husband-and-wife joke:         

Wife: If you had to do it all over again, would you still marry me?

Husband: I guess so. If I had to.

It seems as if some people just need something to complain about. I once knew a woman who was so negative that I said to myself, “If she was given a gold brick from Fort Knox, she’d find a scratch in it!”

The Apostle Paul was no stranger to adversity, but he gave some surprising advice about how to pray in times of trouble: “Don’t worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart.” Philippians 4:6

It may not always be easy to find something to be grateful for. It is not unusual for us to have days when it seems as if everything is going wrong. But it is impossible, short of dying, for everything to go wrong. And even when someone dies, the prospect for that person is that for the first time, everything is about to go right – perfectly and eternally. And for those they leave behind, the fact that death is a victory rather than a defeat can be a very comforting thought.

Maybe that is why we have Thanksgiving in November rather than in June. It’s not hard to feel grateful in the middle of Summer when “the cotton is high and the livin’ is easy.” It’s much harder to give thanks when Winter is staring you in the face. Regardless of what the circumstances may be, it’s a good thing to remember that there is always something to be thankful for and Someone to be thankful to.

The Pastor's Perspective for October

I’m not sure whether congratulations or condolences are in order, but on October 6^th I’ll be sixty years old. (Actually, I don’t feel a day over 59 ½.) I’m happy with where I am, and I carry my AARP card proudly! I’m grateful for what I’ve learned in life, and I certainly would not want to go back to my youth and have to learn those things all over again.

I’m all in favor of birthdays. As Father Larry Lorenzoni says, “Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest.” As somebody else once put it, “Birthdays are God’s way of telling us that we need to eat more cake.” I guess that’s the one thing that I do miss about being younger – when I could drink as many vanilla malts as I wanted to and not have to worry about putting on weight.

I don’t pay much attention to birthdays, however, except for one – my spiritual birthday. That was the day I came alive to Christ and my life was changed forever. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3). Don’t get me wrong – I was already a good Presbyterian boy when I met Christ. And my life has not always been a bed of roses since then. I’ve had plenty of failures and problems and I haven’t always been the Christian I’d like to be. But, whatever difficulties I’ve faced, I’ve never had to face them alone. Christ has been my Companion, my Coach and my Cheer-leader.

Whether you connect with Christ instantly or your ties to God take shape over a long period of time, what matters most is not what happened yesterday, but what is happening between you and God today? Whenever you turn to God and invite him to be your Partner, something new is born. Your life is changed; your world is expanded. As Job said, “In the past I knew only what others had told me; but now I have seen you with my own eyes…” and nothing you look at from then on will ever appear in the same light again. (Job 42:5)