Madison Ave. Church of The Brethren

Typically, January is a time for new beginnings, new ideas, new resolutions. For many of us who make those famous (or infamous) New Year’s resolutions, experience has shown that they usually last for an average of 17.4 days before we shrug them off and go back to former ways. It’s really unfortunate that so many good disciplines and activities and ideas are lost so easily.

There are several new things coming for us this year at MACOB. With the resignation of staff persons and new persons on the Leadership Team and in other positions of leadership around the Church, there will be obvious changes in administration, worship, study times, and activities. One thing in life is certain and that is change. Change is usually difficult, but it always provides opportunity for learning and growth. I pray we can together make this time of change and transition, a positive growing time of ministry and faith maturing for us all.

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From the Pastor’s Desk

In the latter years of King Hussein of Jordan, a terrible tragedy occurred. Two Israeli schoolgirls were playing in a park called “The Island of Peace,” located in the middle of the Jordan River, right on the border between the two countries. While the girls were playing, a Jordanian soldier shot them dead for no apparent reason. The news media flashed the news around the world with lightning speed.

For a short while it seemed the fragile peace between Israel and Jordan could be broken. But then it became clear that the soldier was suffering from an undiagnosed mental illness and he’d acted with no authorization from anyone. Apologies were made and accepted in diplomatic circles, and the world breathed easier.

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From the Pastor’s Desk

The little book of Haggai in the Old Testament doesn’t get a whole lot of exposure or teaching in the modern Church. The book records the prophet Haggai’s appeal from God to His chosen people to consider the true priorities in their life. They had returned from exile in Babylon to a scene of utter destruction in Jerusalem. After a half-hearted, aborted attempt to rebuild the temple, they abandoned that task in favor of building their own houses.  Their abandonment of the temple work also signaled an abandonment of their religious fervor.

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From the Pastor’s Desk

I recently read an article put out by the Alban Institute. It was part of an article written by Lutheran pastor, Rick Barger. I think it’s a sobering commentary on the modern Church. In part it reads:

Folks enter the Church’s doors today shopping for faith. They unashamedly admit that they are ‘church shopping.’ They are searching for something. They seem to know what they want, or at least intuitively believe that when they stumble upon that for which they are searching, they will know it. They have no trouble mixing traditions. That is, one person might join a Presbyterian Church because he likes the pastor and yet still clings to some of his Roman Catholic upbringing, or another person might affiliate with a Lutheran Church because she is drawn to a particular contemporary worship service and its close proximity to her home, yet she reframes all of the ‘grace alone’ preaching through the filters of her Southern Baptist upbringing and the conservative Bible study group she attends weekly. Yet another might worship in an Episcopal Church because of a love of the liturgy and at the same time practice some of the spiritual disciplines of Zen Buddhism. The point here is that they all have deep perceived spiritual and personal needs, and they are determined to get their needs met. If they do not, they are going to go someplace else. They are going to have it their way. And it seems that there are an infinite number of choices. After all, if you can go into Starbucks and choose from countless permutations and combinations on how to have a cup of coffee, why can you not do the same when it comes to being affiliated with a faith community?

A New and Right Spirit: Creating an Authentic Church in a Consumer Culture – 2005  p 15

Some real food for thought there, me thinks.

Then there was the business executive who went to a business convention where they were offered a variety of workshops to help them in their business. One of the workshops was entitled “Jesus as CEO: Lessons from the Bible that Can Help You in Your Leadership.”  He said, “I didn’t sign up for that workshop. I’m a Presbyterian and have already heard most of Jesus’ ideas. Besides, who wants to end his career nailed to a cross?”

Me thinks we have a lot of work to do…… continue reading…