This month has turned out to be an awesome month! We began with Mothers' Day--the day after the fun-filled Acolyte Festival in Orlando. The Lord changed my sermon that day: although at 10:30, I got to preach both sermons--the one I had worked on during the week, and the one that the Lord began to give me at the Acolyte Festival. The Lord put it on my heart to re-affirm my commitment to reach out to families, children and youth--and to ask the congregation to do the same. Last week, the Scriptures were about Paul and Silas finding freedom even in the midst of the jail--and leading the "free" jail-keeper who was weighed down by fear and the worries of life, to discover the same freedom in Jesus Christ. There is power in the Gospel to change our lives.
Yesterday was Pentecost. Two baptisms and a call to commitment--to use our spiritual gifts wherever the Lord the leads us to do so. Our gifts are empowered by God--He is the one that sets us on fire to shine His light in the world. Shared how Dave had the spiritual gift of working on cars and motorcycles: I can remember as a teenager visiting him in his garage. He'd say, "hand me that wrench". It seems to me that almost every visit (whether it was me or any of the other guys who stopped by) turned into some kind of Bible study or time of spiritual counsel. A congregation of 100 people can be ministering the Gospel in 100 places at the same time if we are all using our gifts and opportunities to serve Jesus Christ and witness to Him.
Now, this coming Sunday is Trinity Sunday--with Bishop John Howe coming to visit. We have nine individuals prepared to stand up and re-affirm their faith in Jesus Christ. One first confirmed her faith 65 years ago and wants to continue her walk with the Lord. One couple have come through two intense years with major life changes, and want to thank God and commit to living their faith forward. Another says simply that over the last couple of years at Our Savior, the faith is just making more sense and their faith has become more meaningful.
After the Service, we will have an International Banquet with Bishop Howe sharing briefly about Singapore and Antioch--the international nature of the Church. Special music, special food, special day. Should be fun and refreshing!
A mighty month--if I may say so. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
New Wineskins
Last week, three of us traveled to the New Wineskins for Global Missions Conference up in Ridgecrest, North Carolina. It was excellent. I have a whole thick file of ideas and contacts to follow up on in the weeks to come. But immediately, I can say I was inspired yet again by being in the presence of so many engaged in the advance of the Gospel worldwide. The intriguing thing is that I did not know how energized I was by the conference until today--on Wednesdays, we have morning Eucharist and healing prayers, a Bible study in Hebrews, an evening Eucharist, and today the first session of our new course, Where 2 Now? It was evident all day long that I was excited to be teaching and refreshed. Why did it take three or four days for me to discover that God has renewed me through the Conference? In part, because we often--let me change that to, I often--look for fireworks, those sudden bursts of light and excitement that appear to signal drama and passion. In this case, New Wineskins was more like a gentle fanning of the flame. Yes there were powerful words spoken by for example Archbishop Akanya of Nigeria. But the power of the week was that my vision of God was gently refreshed so that the enthusiasm has grown in intensity these last few days.
About one in five persons around the world, maybe even one in four, has no access (that's the key word) to the Gospel or the Church in their own heart language. They are often called "unreached peoples" who are waiting to be told of the Good News of Jesus Christ. Another name is "hidden peoples". Both names have their advantages, and one of the advantages of hidden peoples is that that description points to a challenge that can be addressed. Namely, it is hard for the Church to get excited about people whom the Church knows nothing about. When different peoples of the world are hidden from our view, we are likely not to know about them, care about them, feel a connection to them, pray for them, or invest in them. Likewise, we will not see what God is doing among them--for nobody is hidden from His view or from His love. The conference awakened me to some of those hidden peoples and to the incredible things God is doing among them. I began to see them and His plan for them.
Then today we opened up the Scriptures: Ephesians 2 in Eucharist, Hebrews 10 in Bible Study, and Mark 1 in Where 2 Now? And all of those Scriptures relate to what God purposes to do among the hidden peoples. The Word of God jumped out at me today in part because God had fanned the fire in North Carolina. It was a rich, rich day. God is awesome! The Good News of Good Friday and Easter is really good news! And it applies in Florida as well as around the world. And the neat thing is that God invites me, our parish, and the whole Church to get involved, to see this good news up close, and to be inspired by the extravagance of His generosity around the world. Let's have Church again tomorrow :-)
About one in five persons around the world, maybe even one in four, has no access (that's the key word) to the Gospel or the Church in their own heart language. They are often called "unreached peoples" who are waiting to be told of the Good News of Jesus Christ. Another name is "hidden peoples". Both names have their advantages, and one of the advantages of hidden peoples is that that description points to a challenge that can be addressed. Namely, it is hard for the Church to get excited about people whom the Church knows nothing about. When different peoples of the world are hidden from our view, we are likely not to know about them, care about them, feel a connection to them, pray for them, or invest in them. Likewise, we will not see what God is doing among them--for nobody is hidden from His view or from His love. The conference awakened me to some of those hidden peoples and to the incredible things God is doing among them. I began to see them and His plan for them.
Then today we opened up the Scriptures: Ephesians 2 in Eucharist, Hebrews 10 in Bible Study, and Mark 1 in Where 2 Now? And all of those Scriptures relate to what God purposes to do among the hidden peoples. The Word of God jumped out at me today in part because God had fanned the fire in North Carolina. It was a rich, rich day. God is awesome! The Good News of Good Friday and Easter is really good news! And it applies in Florida as well as around the world. And the neat thing is that God invites me, our parish, and the whole Church to get involved, to see this good news up close, and to be inspired by the extravagance of His generosity around the world. Let's have Church again tomorrow :-)
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Simplifying Church Life
Simple Church (Rainer & Geiger) is a provocative book for an Anglican/Episcopal parish to implement. The thesis is that the congregation needs a simple,visible and understandable path by which guests and members can find their current place in the life of the Church and the next step to take. We have embarked on an effort to make our path more clear--and to arrange all of our ministries around that path. This has been more challenging than I first expected.
Our path includes three signposts: Who Is Jesus, Anyway?, Where 2 Now? and SHAPEd to Serve. These three programs introduce individuals to the faith and conversion, to the basics of spiritual formation and participating in a small group, and then finally, discerning new opportunities for significant service to God in the Church and world. Worship is at the heart of our parish life serving both as an anchor and a goal of all that we do.
The challenge that I have laid before all the ministry leaders is to begin to prayerfully discern how their group or event connects to that path. It may be that some ministries can readily identify their one spot on the path; while others may actually attempt to three or even for of the steps on the path.
The exercise has highlighted the need to become more clear. We have worthy ministries led by good people that do not visibly connect to other worthy ministries led by good people. Guests and our own members do get confused and frustrated. Having identified the challenge, we press in asking God to help us articulate a path or strategy that makes sense here in this community.
Stayed tuned. There's more to come. Or as we used to say years ago: PBPGINFWMY!
(Please be patient: God is not finished with me yet!)
Our path includes three signposts: Who Is Jesus, Anyway?, Where 2 Now? and SHAPEd to Serve. These three programs introduce individuals to the faith and conversion, to the basics of spiritual formation and participating in a small group, and then finally, discerning new opportunities for significant service to God in the Church and world. Worship is at the heart of our parish life serving both as an anchor and a goal of all that we do.
The challenge that I have laid before all the ministry leaders is to begin to prayerfully discern how their group or event connects to that path. It may be that some ministries can readily identify their one spot on the path; while others may actually attempt to three or even for of the steps on the path.
The exercise has highlighted the need to become more clear. We have worthy ministries led by good people that do not visibly connect to other worthy ministries led by good people. Guests and our own members do get confused and frustrated. Having identified the challenge, we press in asking God to help us articulate a path or strategy that makes sense here in this community.
Stayed tuned. There's more to come. Or as we used to say years ago: PBPGINFWMY!
(Please be patient: God is not finished with me yet!)
Monday, February 8, 2010
Reviewing the Start of a New Year
Every year, we start with several events that are signposts for the life of the parish and the diocese. Those events include a parish forum, a Deanery pre-convention meeting, the parish annual meeting, the Diocesan convention, and the Vestry retreat. It has been a busy and full month, which has energized me and I believe gotten us off to a good start for 2010.
The Diocese became the first Diocese within TEC to affirm the Windsor Covenant. The Covenant is a limited tool to assist all Anglicans in learning how to better work together as the Body of Christ within the global contexts of today. It has theological implications--ways to discern good and bad theological developments. It also has missiological implications--ways to affirm the advance of the Gospel among new peoples (remember that still today at least 1 in 5 people has no access to the Gospel or the Church in their own heart language.) The Covenant will take a big step forward in April when the lead bishops (called Primates) of twenty different provinces gather in Singapore. They are expected to adopt the Covenant--that's twenty out of thirty nine provinces worldwide.
Here in the Parish: we have identified three focus areas for 2010: simplifying our ministries, celebrating our outreach and missions, and embracing our multi-generational efforts. We are a very energetic parish with lots of activities: but sometimes that amounts to plain old busy-ness and stepping on each other's toes. Therefore, we will explore how to team up clusters of ministry (e.g. all of the evangelism efforts) so that by working together we actually make it simpler for all of us--and for our newcomers and guests who might be joining us.
We are involved with mission efforts in Liberia, Honduras, China, Thailand, the Dominican Republic and now Haiti. Most of what we are doing however is hidden and un-celebrated. You could say we are being humble and discreet. Maybe. But in doing missions and outreach the way that we are, we miss the opportunity to celebrate and to praise God for what He is doing across the world--in part, because He has invited us to support and pray and encourage these efforts.
Lastly, we are seeing the beginnings of change within the parish. Some of our families have just come together to jump start our family ministry: we are thinking of calling it Jacob's Family Fellowship. Over the course of 2010, God is going to re-shape Our Savior. For the last number of years we have been an older congregation with a few younger families. By the end of this year, I expect we will begin to say that we are a multi-generational congregation, eagerly welcoming young families and seniors alike. This will take some work--but it will also be exciting.
In the Vestry, we initiated some new changes at the retreat designed to build leadership year after year. Beginning this year, each year our Junior Warden will become the next Senior Warden--thus helping us to intentionally build continuity in leadership. That involves making some other changes--for example, empowering a building and properties committee. Part of simplicity is sharing ministry. Jethro told Moses to share his responsibilities. The changes in the Vestry encoruage me as Rector to share some of my ministry with the Vestry which they in turn can share with others.
There's been no bells or whistles this past month: but it has been a significant time of setting things in motion that prepare us to respond to God's call on us more effectively and confidently. "Aslan is on the move."
The Diocese became the first Diocese within TEC to affirm the Windsor Covenant. The Covenant is a limited tool to assist all Anglicans in learning how to better work together as the Body of Christ within the global contexts of today. It has theological implications--ways to discern good and bad theological developments. It also has missiological implications--ways to affirm the advance of the Gospel among new peoples (remember that still today at least 1 in 5 people has no access to the Gospel or the Church in their own heart language.) The Covenant will take a big step forward in April when the lead bishops (called Primates) of twenty different provinces gather in Singapore. They are expected to adopt the Covenant--that's twenty out of thirty nine provinces worldwide.
Here in the Parish: we have identified three focus areas for 2010: simplifying our ministries, celebrating our outreach and missions, and embracing our multi-generational efforts. We are a very energetic parish with lots of activities: but sometimes that amounts to plain old busy-ness and stepping on each other's toes. Therefore, we will explore how to team up clusters of ministry (e.g. all of the evangelism efforts) so that by working together we actually make it simpler for all of us--and for our newcomers and guests who might be joining us.
We are involved with mission efforts in Liberia, Honduras, China, Thailand, the Dominican Republic and now Haiti. Most of what we are doing however is hidden and un-celebrated. You could say we are being humble and discreet. Maybe. But in doing missions and outreach the way that we are, we miss the opportunity to celebrate and to praise God for what He is doing across the world--in part, because He has invited us to support and pray and encourage these efforts.
Lastly, we are seeing the beginnings of change within the parish. Some of our families have just come together to jump start our family ministry: we are thinking of calling it Jacob's Family Fellowship. Over the course of 2010, God is going to re-shape Our Savior. For the last number of years we have been an older congregation with a few younger families. By the end of this year, I expect we will begin to say that we are a multi-generational congregation, eagerly welcoming young families and seniors alike. This will take some work--but it will also be exciting.
In the Vestry, we initiated some new changes at the retreat designed to build leadership year after year. Beginning this year, each year our Junior Warden will become the next Senior Warden--thus helping us to intentionally build continuity in leadership. That involves making some other changes--for example, empowering a building and properties committee. Part of simplicity is sharing ministry. Jethro told Moses to share his responsibilities. The changes in the Vestry encoruage me as Rector to share some of my ministry with the Vestry which they in turn can share with others.
There's been no bells or whistles this past month: but it has been a significant time of setting things in motion that prepare us to respond to God's call on us more effectively and confidently. "Aslan is on the move."
Diocese of Central Florida Convention 2010
The following article can be found at http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2010/2/3/central-florida-affirms-covenant.
Central Florida Affirms Covenant
The annual convention of the Diocese of Central Florida has passed four resolutions regarding its place in the Episcopal Church and the broader Anglican Communion.
Meeting Jan. 30 at the Lakeland Center, delegates approved resolutions that:
- Affirmed the Anglican Communion Covenant.
- Joined the diocese's bishop, the Rt. Rev. John W. Howe, in affirming the Anaheim Statement, issued during the 76th General Convention.
- Said bishops of the Episcopal Church will walk apart from the diocese if they participate in the consecration of the Rev. Canon Mary Glasspool as Suffragan Bishop of Los Angeles. Canon Glasspool still must receive consent from a majority of bishops and standing committees.
- Asserted that Episcopalians “currently have, within the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, all of the needed liturgical resources at our disposal to minister to all of our members with respect to marriage and human sexuality.”
- Dissociated the diocese from the Episcopal Church's affiliation, through its Executive Council, in the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.
Bishop Howe's annual address touched on many themes, including support for earthquake victims in Haiti; long-term planning for the diocese; and a review of the diocese's rejection of any property-related lawsuits against departing congregations.
The diocese “made good on the promise that if there were those who had to leave we would say to them, 'Go in peace to love and serve the Lord,' ” the bishop said. “To repeat the bottom line: we have had no inhibitions, no depositions, no litigation, and no loss of property. In dealing with these separations we have done something that has not been duplicated in any other diocese. I hope we never have to do it again, but if we had to go through it, we did it right.”
Saturday, September 12, 2009
A Biblical Model for Ministry Today
Church of Our Savior, like our diocese, the Diocese of Central Florida are committed to the Faith revealed in the Scriptures, proclaimed by the Apostles, and affirmed by the Church Historic. As you read through our website, visit us on Sunday, or join in our ministries, you will find a dynamic, Biblical and generous faith. It is important to me to see our vision and commitments shaped by the Word of God--and that includes the key question of our relationship with the Episcopal Church. The Episcopal Church is in a national crisis, with the majority of the leadership articulating a change in the Church's ministry and teaching. Some individuals, parishes, and even dioceses have felt it necessary to re-align with other parts of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Our Diocese has chosen to affirm the historic Faith revealed in the Scriptures and to seek to deepen our relationships with the Anglican Communion.
Is there a Biblical model for staying? Currently, I am drawing wisdom from David before the death of King Saul. God had raised up Saul to be king, had judged Saul for his disobedience, and had anointed David to be king in the future. David remained faithful to the Lord even at the risk of his own life. He was forced into exile. Yet when he had the opportunity to kill Saul, he refused to do so. Saul was God's king and David would wait upon the Lord to determine the day when the crown would pass from Saul to David. Meanwhile, David raised up his army, his council of advisers, and his community. He trusted God for the future and committed himself to obedience and faith in the present day.
I do not know what God's plans are for the future of TEC. It may be pruned off of the Anglican Tree and replaced with the new Anglican Church of North America (ACNA), or it may repent and return to faithfulness, or something far more complicated. God will however judge and rebuke the heresy and foolishness that is tolerated within the Church. There is no question or doubt about that. God will be faithful.
The question is will we be faithful and obedient to Him? Will we follow the example of David? Will we confess our sins (mine are many) and receive His grace and forgiveness? Will we surrender our lives and ministries to Him, and trust Him for today?
At Church of Our Savior, our intention is to do just that--to call upon Jesus as our Savior, the only name given by God for salvation (Acts 4:12). At Church of Our Savior, we will have confidence that the Lord will lead us by His Word--we can trust that what He says in the Scriptures is valid and full of life. Even in the midst of these profound questions about the life of the Church, we believe that God will show us how to proceed right there in His Word.
Hebrews 11 highlights a list of heroes of the faith and then concludes, "And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."
This is our call--to press ahead, to follow the example of our heroes, and to look to Jesus to complete that which He has promised!
Is there a Biblical model for staying? Currently, I am drawing wisdom from David before the death of King Saul. God had raised up Saul to be king, had judged Saul for his disobedience, and had anointed David to be king in the future. David remained faithful to the Lord even at the risk of his own life. He was forced into exile. Yet when he had the opportunity to kill Saul, he refused to do so. Saul was God's king and David would wait upon the Lord to determine the day when the crown would pass from Saul to David. Meanwhile, David raised up his army, his council of advisers, and his community. He trusted God for the future and committed himself to obedience and faith in the present day.
I do not know what God's plans are for the future of TEC. It may be pruned off of the Anglican Tree and replaced with the new Anglican Church of North America (ACNA), or it may repent and return to faithfulness, or something far more complicated. God will however judge and rebuke the heresy and foolishness that is tolerated within the Church. There is no question or doubt about that. God will be faithful.
The question is will we be faithful and obedient to Him? Will we follow the example of David? Will we confess our sins (mine are many) and receive His grace and forgiveness? Will we surrender our lives and ministries to Him, and trust Him for today?
At Church of Our Savior, our intention is to do just that--to call upon Jesus as our Savior, the only name given by God for salvation (Acts 4:12). At Church of Our Savior, we will have confidence that the Lord will lead us by His Word--we can trust that what He says in the Scriptures is valid and full of life. Even in the midst of these profound questions about the life of the Church, we believe that God will show us how to proceed right there in His Word.
Hebrews 11 highlights a list of heroes of the faith and then concludes, "And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."
This is our call--to press ahead, to follow the example of our heroes, and to look to Jesus to complete that which He has promised!
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