No greater story of hope
If this is the season in which we celebrate that God comes to us, then we must take some time to reflect upon the nature of such a revelation. Who is this one then that comes with the ultimate purpose to save? What was it like for Him to become one of us in order to redeem us?
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! -Philippians 2: 5 -8
The omnipotent became fragile; the omniscient one didn’t even know the “day or the hour;” the omnipresent one became a temporal being in history, time, space, and in a human body. This is living and stepping into mystery.
Dietrich Bonheoffer says, “The child in the manger is none other than God himself. Nothing greater can be said: God became a child. In the Jesus child of Mary lives the almighty God. Wait a minute! Don’t speak; stop thinking! Stand still before this statement! God became a child! Here he is, poor like us, miserable and helpless like us, a person of flesh and blood like us, our brother. And yet he is God; he is might. Where is the divinity, where is the might of the child? In the divine love in which he became like us.”
Indeed, God knows what it is like to go through struggle, pain, separation, and hurt. He feels our joys and sorrows for He became one of us in order to save us. There is no greater story of hope for us than this. Live in this reality, that God decided to save us by entering our world. Tell God what you feel and what you are thinking, for He not only knows, He understands. This is the message of Christmas.
Michael Smith is a camp alum who has worked on staff and served on the board at camp. He is the pastor of Tabernacle United Methodist Church in Erma.
Lent Reflections – Eat Your Tears
Today’s Scripture Reading
Psalm 30, 32, 42, 43
Deut 7:17-26
Titus 3:1-15
John 1:43-51
“My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? 3 My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” -Psalm 42: 2-3
One of the classic old school joints for praise and worship comes from Psalm 42. I am sure that most of us have sung “As the deer” for so many years that it has been filed away in the “songs to never ever sing again file.” (Other songs could also included “Lord I Lift Your Name on High,” and “Every Move I Make” – the motions also banned).
There are even some of you that when the song is sung, you shout BANG – after you repeat the first line about a deer. Classic. I love the things we do to Scripture in worship for the sake of our entertainment… but I digress. My point here is that with the familiarity of the song we can fall into the trap of losing the beauty of the message. The familiar fades the truth away, and when it is too familiar it is no longer relevant. The word of God, however, is that which desires to communicate to us the very grace and life of God.
Take a look at the following verses. Are there any songs that talk about eating ones tears or food all day and night? How can one set that in the key of G with an acoustic guitar to rock it out? With the hungering and thirsting for God comes often a physical response. Jesus promised that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness would be filled. The psalmist here is not after that; they are after the living God. Did you know that you can meet with God? For instance – I know that many of you may have a special place in your heart for Delanco Camp. But not just for Delanco Camp… there is probably a place at the camp, a special place where you have met with God. Perhaps it is on the bridge in the quiet of the morning, or in the chapel of the pines, or in the Tabernacle?
Often we hear of the altar stories from camp where the evangelist can point to the place at the altar and say it was HERE that they met God. One night for me, I couldn’t even make it to the altar because of the paralysis that came from my tears. I stayed in the pew eating and drinking my tears because God met with me and I surrendered my life to Him. It seems that even now as I walk by the tears are stained into the dusty floor. During this season of Lent, we are meant to take time to pray, reflect, and sacrifice. This is a time to eat our tears. Would you create some space in your life to meet with God? Do you thirst after the living God? He will meet with you. You do not have to worry or fear, He is not hiding from you. Seek Him out during this time of Lent and you will find Him.
Bon appétit on your tears during this season of Lent.
Advice for ministry leadership
Recently I was asked, “What advice do you have for those preparing for ministry leadership”
Below are my responses, in no particular order…
What would be your response to the same question?
Discern your call. Let it be confirmed and affirmed by those inside and outside your church. A hired hand will run away.
Have people in your life who you trust and can turn to when you have questions. Let them be wise counselors, not friends your age or dopes you go to school with. Find someone a few years ahead of you who has been down the road a bit.
Discover what you are best at. Focus on that. Get away from being a ‘jack of all trades.’ Learn how to streamline ministry to focus on what the church does best. Don’t do everything. “If everything is important, then nothing is important.”
Discover what problem you are here to solve. What would go undone if your church wasn’t there? What problems are you solving? Your church or ministry should be a solution to something.
Be a reader. You have to continue to read, grow, and learn.
Develop a thick skin. “Hurting people hurt people.” Remember pastors – sometimes sheep bite.
Prepare yourself for cultural transitions. If you are planning on entering a mainline denomination, you will probably have to change the culture of that congregation. This is a challenging task. You will feel like a stranger in a strange land. It is almost like being a missionary. It is difficult to transition a congregation and it takes time. Don’t get too frustrated.
“Get some change in your pocket.” Don’t make a withdrawal if you do not money in the bank. If you love people and they trust you in your small decisions, then ultimately you can begin to lead towards making larger decisions that require some built in time and trust. Often, we try to cash checks we don’t have the money for. Your good ideas won’t mean anything if you don’t have any change in your pocket.
Look past next weekend. Begin to place into your life the concept of strategic planning and planning ahead. Most pastors or churches cannot see past next weekend. Visionaries are able to see not only past next weekend, but even further down the road.
Love God and love people. Don’t overcomplicate the ministry. If you love them, you can lead them.
Speak Up
“Then the chief priest tore his clothes and said, ‘Why do we still need witnesses? You heard this blasphemy! What is your decision?’ All of them condemned him as deserving death.” -Mark 14: 63-64
There is a time to speak and a time to listen. I think most of us struggle with distinguishing when to do which one, and at the appropriate time. In John 3 we see a man named Nicodemus come to Jesus at night. He was a member of the ‘ruling council’ and he had a very interesting conversation with Jesus. It is in this context where we are told about being ‘born again.’ It is from this text that we also draw probably the most familiar verse of Scripture in the world today – John 3:16. Do you remember Nicodemus? There was another member of such council that is described as being a secret follower of Jesus. His name was Joseph of Arimathea. He is most familiar to us as being the one who asked for the body of Jesus because he had a tomb in which Jesus could be buried in. What is interesting is that both of these men are thought of as being members of the same ruling council that condemned Jesus to death. Where were they this particular evening? Were they not present, or if they were, did they remain silent?
When were we ever silent in defending Christ?
I do not want to leave us with a simple question as if the answer to such a question is in simply yelling or speaking out. The biggest challenge to us will be whether or not our lives echo our hearts’ intentions of loving Christ. Do we love God in our heart, yet live in such a way that we ultimately condemn him? The answer might not just be telling someone about Jesus, or getting into a debate about the proof of the Gospel. This is the easy answer that we learn in Sunday School. This requires little sacrifice other than opening our mouths and being another bullhorn for the Gospel. The answer might require our lives becoming invested in the cause of justice. The answer might be giving a voice to those who do not have one. The answer may not come after one service project. The answer to our question might only come after a life of sacrifice. This will be our voice. This will be our message. This just might be our legacy. Were we the ones who remained silent when it was most needed? Let me close with a poem from Pastor Martin Niemoeller.
In Germany they first came for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me —
and by that time no one was left to speak up.
Nines
As part of your daily devotions I want to encourage you to check out Leadership Network and Catalyst’s THE NINES.
The video project is the result of this question:
“If you had just nine minutes to share with church leaders, what would you say?”
This might not be something you do every day, but I encourage you as part of your spiritual discipline and devotions to take time (it is only nine minutes) to watch these leaders share their hearts with you. Maybe you do this for a season after Lent, or maybe you pick one day a week to watch a video, but no matter how you choose to do this, being exposed to this teaching will only encourage and benefit your ministry and leadership. And the great part about it – there is no reading required!
Reading all of these books on leadership can take a lot of time and is often tough to accomplish. Here you get the best teaching from these leaders in only a matter of minutes. That’s enough talking from me – start viewing these videos. You will find leaders like Rick Warren, Brad Powell, but for those who are United Methodist, I encourage you to also check out Jorge Acevado and Bill Easum. These are just two great UM leaders.
Welcome to the blog for Delanco Camp, an inter-denominational Christian camp in Tabernacle, N.J. If you have questions, would like to contribute, advertise or want to share a story, memory, old photos or testimony of your time at camp, contact Blog Editor Matt Ralph at matt.ralph@delanco.org. Upcoming Events
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