God is with us

Occasionally one of our members will have had the opportunity to attend some kind of "big box" church that features a slick band, lighting worthy of a Broadway show, and glib speaker who is more performer than proclaimer.

After hearing their excitement about all of this, I often think, "Boy, are they going to be disappointed with our worship."

For a church our size I think our music ministry is outstanding.  But we do it primarily with volunteers.  Our church sanctuary has the feel of a church and not an auditorium.  And "glib speaker" is not a term that people are going to hang on me.

I used to get kind of discouraged when one of our folks would come back raving from their experience at the "big box" church.  But then I stumbled upon a quote from author, Art Just, from his book, "Heaven on Earth," that put everything in perspective:

No matter how difficult our hymns, how untrained our organist, how weak our singing, God is present in our liturgy, offering His gifts of salvation.

Worship is our opportunity to be served by God.  Yes, you read that right.  God serves us in worship. He comes to us and speaks a Word of forgiveness to our burdened and anxious hearts.  He feeds our faith as He invites us to come to His table of grace.  He proclaims His Word of hope and love in Christ Jesus so that we might have no doubt that we are His loved children.

And, in worship, we're not passive spectators.  We answer with God's Word when He speaks to us.  We offer our praises in words and songs.  We get to give our tithes and offerings, one way to show our appreciation and love for our Lord.

Just helped me to realize that the point of worship is not to dazzle those who attend.  Having God come and serve us in worship is a greater blessing than anything we can do on our own.

So be in worship with us this Sunday.  The Lord will be there in Word and Sacrament - God is with us.

Interruptions are a part of the job

While on vacation last week I spent some time thinking about how I use my time.  It seems that my schedule is packed pretty much every week and I need to be a good manager of my time.  I still use an old fashioned day planner (glad Staples hasn't stopped carrying these things) and on Monday evening or Tuesday morning I plug my meetings, tasks and projects into the schedule.

Additionally, I've been reading a couple of time management books a friend gave me.  There isn't much there that I haven't already read or tried to practice at one time or another.  What I found particularly helpful was the encouragement to determine your peak times for work, those time segments during the day when you can be your most effective.

For me, it's the morning hours leading up to lunch time.  I feel fresh and most creative when I arrive at the office.  Then, for some reason, I get a second wind sometime between 4-5 pm - when most people are getting ready to leave for home.

With this insight I planned this week to keep the mornings to myself for sermon and Bible study preparation and for working on a few projects I'm responsible for.  After lunch I planned to schedule meetings and take care of the administrative things that are usually fairly easy to manage.

During my sermon preparation time between 9 and noon yesterday I was interrupted three times by people who had to talk with me.  Some folks came by at noon just as I was ready to eat lunch.  Trying to play catch up in the afternoon was difficult because of more folks "just stopping by" or calling on the phone.

I sat at my desk thinking, "I could get some work done if it weren't for all these interruptions!"

But then I took a few minutes to think about all of these interruptions.  In nearly every case these interruptions were actually people who needed their pastor.  Needed my counsel.  Needed my advice.  Needed me to listen as they spoke about their troubles.  Needed someone to pray with them.

A pastor friend once said to me, "George, ministry is a people business."  And he was right.  Ministry is all about people.  Isn't that where we find Jesus? He didn't work out of an office.  He spent His time connecting with people.  Hearing their requests.  Responding to their pleas.  Offering a healing touch.  Giving a Word of hope.

Those few moments of introspection put everything into perspective.  Yes, plan your work and then work your plan.  Use your time wisely and try to get the most you can out of each day.  But don't be surprised by the interruptions.  They're a part of the job.  Maybe the most important part.

If time had a "rewind" button

I'd rewind time to September 9.

Making my way to Green Bay to see my beautiful daughter, son in law and grandson.

I loved seeing the town, visiting the park and the playground and the farm.

I'd forgotten how much I'd missed my old friend, Howie, the dog my daughter rescued.

I was reminded again that Josh makes the best tacos of anyone.

I had my heart warmed by Drew time and time again.  His smile alone does the trick.

Most of all, I was so glad to see Katie.  Almost nothing makes me feel as good as when I hear her call me "Daddy."

But yesterday I had to come back home.

Time moves on relentlessly.

Much to do here.

But if time had a rewind button, well, you know what I'd do.;

The Lambeau Experience

Yesterday, I joined over 78,000 people who have gone ga-ga over the Green Bay Packers.

I've spent the last week in Green Bay visiting my daughter, son-in-law and youngest grandson.  I discovered that the area is a pretty nice place to live...in the summer.  The winter? I'm not so sure about that.

Josh was able to obtain tickets for us in a suite.  Let me just say that I'll never be able to attend another sporting event - unless it's in a suite.  Comfortable seating, beautiful views, free food and drink - it's the only way to watch a sporting event.

77,000 of the fans were wearing some kind of Packers merchandise.  The other 1,000 or so came to support the Jets but were mostly dressed as civilians, which made them stand out anyway.

The staff at the stadium were unbelievably nice and polite.  In fact, my kids say that people in Green Bay are really friendly and down to earth.  Except on game day.  Then everyone - every man, woman, child and dog - goes nuts for the Packers.

I'm told that churches set their worship schedules around Packer games.  My kids go to a church that has a full scale worship service on Wednesday evening for those who would rather spending Sunday morning tailgating.  That's doesn't seem right to me although I didn't mention my concern to any of the 78,000 people who were wearing Packers gear and going crazy over Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers is the quarterback for the Packers and I saw his picture on approximately 78,000 billboards.  It's good to be popular in Green Bay.

As for the game, the Pack dug themselves a big hole early.  Rodgers fumbled the opening snap and that led to a touchdown for the Jets.  It also led to much wailing and mashing of teeth in our suite by the Packer faithful.  But in the end, Rodgers threw for over 300 yards and led the Pack to victory.  

As we left the parking lot I was kind of surprised to see so many folks firing up their grills and breaking out more adult beverages.  I said to Josh, "They tailgate after the game?"  He nodded and replied, "There will be lots of folks calling in sick tomorrow."

But the 78,000 left the stadium happy.  The Packers won and all is well in Green Bay.

Just the facts...

Joe Friday, on the Dragnet TV show from many, many, many years ago, used to say to the folks he was interviewing, "Just the facts, just the facts."

So here's the facts about worship this weekend at LICL:

Worship is held on Saturday at 5 pm and Sunday at 8 and 10:45 am.

Sunday school and Bible Classes take place on Sunday at 9:20 am.

Pastor John Pope will proclaim the Word of God at all three services.

Come to Life in Christ and meet some of the friendliest people in town.

There you go - just the facts.  Now, come and join us for worship this weekend!

One more thing to be thankful for.

Who can remember all of God's blessings? It would be like trying to remember every single thing that happened yesterday...and the day before...and the day before.

The truth is that God's goodness and blessings to us is innumerable.  I'm amazed that God is so good to a poor, miserable sinner like me.  Still, that can't stop me from giving thanks for the fact that my kids are such good friends.

This is something lately for which I'm really rejoicing.  I've had experiences of late where one of our members has passed away, only to find out that one or more of their children are not speaking to each other or have drifted so far apart that they rarely have any contact with each other.  When the kids aren't speaking to each other it makes a difficult situation just that much more complicated.

So I rejoice today that my three kids are such good friends.  They do lots of calling and texting to one another.  "Facetime" gets a workout too.  They keep each other up to date on what's happening with their lives.  They ask each other for prayers.  The love and support they offer each other really warms my heart.

Thank you, Lord, for my children.  May they always love You and love each other.  Amen.

In a word...be welcoming!

While browsing some of the blogs I read each day I found an article about a woman's experience at visiting a church.  She wrote that if she could have given that church one piece of advice it would have been, "Welcome me.  Help me."

She pointed out the important truth that it take a lot of courage to visit a church you've never been to before.  Where do you park? How do you enter the building? Where do you find the sanctuary...Sunday school...adult Bible classes?

She made the important point that it's nice to have a greeter who says, "Hello," as a guest walks through the door.  But if the guest is trying to manage a couple of small children and looks as if she has her hands full, it is really beneficial if the greeter will ask the question, "How can I help you?"

In short, how a person is welcomed and helped will often make the difference in whether of not that person makes a return visit to that church.

The article caught my attention because I visited with two different families last week who want to become a part of our church family.  Both families mentioned that one of the major reason that they kept coming back to LICL was the welcome they received when they first visited.  Our greeters were friendly and helpful.  They provided information about the church and asked if there were any questions.  When these families came back the second week, the greeters remembered who they were and offered another warm welcome.

I realize how much easier this makes my job.  When our greeter teams are doing their work well, folks form a positive first impression about the church.  More often than not they will be ready to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ which is why we want them there in the first place.

I'm sure that we can do even better in meeting and greeting guests on Saturday and Sunday.  Still, it makes me feel good when prospective members speak of how much they appreciate all the effort our greeter teams make at making people feel at home.