Imagine the Abundance

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Text: Ephesians 3:14-21, Matthew 14:3-21

Friends… do you know how much potential you have?
I’m not talking about the potential for worldly success… although you have that.
I’m not talking about the potential for raising funds as a church… although I know its there.
I’m talking about your potential in Jesus Christ.
I’m talking about the untapped depths and lengths and height and breath of Christ’s love in your life.

Oh friends…
I’m going to take a few minutes to be honest this morning.
Honest about the discouragement and frustration and heartburn that some of us as your leaders here at the church have been feeling.
Our worship attendance has been down, but so has participation on Wednesday nights.
I had one gentleman stop me the other day in the hallway and say, “Pastor, I think you are doing a great job… but where is everyone?”
And it is hard not to take it personally.
And I know that our families and our members are busy.
You are engaged in your community and sports.
You are working more hours than you want.
You are traveling to visit family out of town.
You want a morning to sleep in.
It’s hard to get your tired bones moving as fast you could before.
I get it.
I’m right there with you.

But, if you are anything like me, when you take a moment to catch your breath in the midst of the rushing too and fro, do you ever wonder if there is something else you are missing?
Do you stop and notice that perhaps there is something… some power… some spirit that is lacking in your heart?
Do you ever feel like you are going through the motions instead of tapping into the incredible love and power and promise of Jesus?

For many, and this isn’t only Immanuel… this is the state of the church in the U.S…. church has become just another item on a long list of activities and social commitments. As your schedules ebb and flow, it might be something that falls off the calendar for a season.
And as at least one person recently shared with me, when they stopped coming, nothing much in their life really changed.

In my head, I thought – surely that can’t be the case.
But in my heart, I started to fear that maybe this was true.

Does church actually make a difference in your life?

If it is simply a collection of activities and social commitments – maybe not.
You can join other clubs.
You can busy yourself with other volunteering opportunities.
If you aren’t happy about a decision either locally or in the denomination, you can step away to find a place that is a better fit.

But to be honest, that’s not how most of you describe Immanuel.

At the start of this series on the Feeding of the 5000, I asked what drew you here.
What was it that compelled you to join the crowds of people here on 49th Street?
And you talked about the people.
You talked about the relationships.
You talked about family.
And something we are all learning in the midst of our incredibly busy lives is that you have to make time for family.
You have to guard your time with your family.
You have to set it as a priority, or something else will come in and decide it is more important.

Starting in Lent, eight of us began gathering at 6:30 in the morning at Java Joes for a Covenant Discipleship Group.
It was dark and none of us wanted to be up that early, but we decided to make time and carve out this little window, because it was important.
We were initially only going to meet for eight weeks, but those relationships became so important that we have continued to meet once a month at 6:30 am, just to maintain them.

Our Wednesday Night Ladies give their time every single week to be here and to prepare meals for our Immanuel family.
It is not just a service opportunity, it is a community, a small group. They watch out for one another and check-in when one is struggling.

The same could be said for the Monday night group at Java Joes.
Or Wednesday afternoon Bible study.
Or Re:Ignite.
Or Chancel Choir.
Or the Sunday morning Women’s group.
Or Praise Ringers.
Or the list goes on…

When you set aside time for your family and make it a priority every single week, you solidify relationships that will sustain you for the long haul, through thick and thin, good times and bad.
You learn how to be present in the midst of disagreement and work through it.
You discover what it means to be served, but also to serve.
You get to know someone’s beautiful quirks and annoying habits and what it means to love them anyways.
THAT’s what it means to be family… and it is why so many of you show up here week after week.
And let me tell you… if you haven’t connected with one of these opportunities, you actually are missing something that will change your life and I or any other staff member would love to have a conversation with you about how to get involved.

But I would be lying if I said that after that first Sunday of this series I went home encouraged and energized.
I didn’t.
I actually felt a little bit frustrated.
Because I think that church is about far more than family.
What it means to be church is not just about the relationships that we have with one another – as beautiful and holy as they are.

Being church is about being caretakers of an incredible message that this world is hungry to hear and experience.
That is why thousands of people left their work and picked up their families and traveled to the countryside to catch a glimpse of Jesus.
There was something about his message and his actions that tapped into this yearning in their souls. A hunger to be healed, to be known, to be empowered.

I think about those first disciples.
They were kind of like a small group in the church.
They spent a lot of time together and traveled and ate.
They became like a little family and they cared for one another.
They provided for one another.

But in this miraculous event, Jesus invited them to not just look to their own needs, but to look outward at the crowds all around them.
It was an invitation to not just be a part of Jesus’ church, but to BE the church. To themselves be the hands and feet of God in the world.

And so he took their meager gifts and transformed them and the result was this amazing abundance of food and relationship and ministry.
I’m not just talking about their five loaves and two fish on that day in the countryside.
I’m talking about their very lives.
He transformed them from a faithful little family group into a world-changing movement that has turned everything upside down.
He directed their eyes and their hearts outward.
Jesus put his Spirit within them and strengthened them for the work ahead.
And they traveled the world with this message.
They faced controversy and conflict.
Some were killed for the good news they proclaimed.
But even persecutors like Saul were transformed by the power of Christ and became leaders in sharing the gospel.
It couldn’t be stopped!
It couldn’t be tamed!
Everywhere they went, people were hungry to hear and experience it…
and people were afraid and challenged because they really did challenge the powers of this world that are hellbent on sin and death.

We are here today, this morning, because the power of God poured out upon those disciples and their gifts. It filled them up and it spilled over to everyone they encountered.
We are like those twelve baskets of leftovers gathered on that holy, miraculous, evening… the outpouring of God’s abundant spirit of love that has no end and cannot be stopped.

And thank God for that… because that good news is still desperately needed!
I asked you in worship two weeks ago to lift up what kind of ministry you would do if you had incredible resources at your finger tips.
You lifted up the need for daycare and rent relief, homeless youth and a clothing closet, hungry children and adult language classes for immigrants and refugees.
You named the potential for ministry with troubled teens and mental health needs, for warm coats and temporary housing, scholarships and pay it forward opportunities.
You see the needs of veterans and teachers, families at the Ronald McDonald house, single parents who struggle, and the potential for a garden. You named the opportunity to buy back guns or create a soup kitchen or help the underemployed.

Oh friends… imagine our church doing all of that?
Can you imagine the difference we would make in the lives of our neighbors?
Can you picture how the love of Jesus would become real to so many people?

But also… I imagine just thinking about it you will first become incredibly tired, because we can’t do all of those things – at least not all at once.

But I also think about what might happen if we don’t.
If we didn’t even try.
If we keep thinking of ourselves just as a family… simply as a social club… merely as a place to stop by a few times a month and make ourselves feel better…

Peace Lutheran Church in a suburb of the Twin Cities was about to close.
The congregation experienced conflict. And then greying… which literally means the hair in the congregation was getting whiter. Young people weren’t showing up. The decline of U.S. Christianity was partly to blame, but so was the internal focus of the church members.
They only had twenty folks left in worship and when their new pastor arrived they had 18 months worth of funding before they would be done.
So Pastor Greenlund asked if they wanted to go out with a whimper… or with a bang.
They said if we are going to die, lets die well.
So they sent fliers to their entire neighborhood saying that they would fix anything in homes – free of charge – no expectations or qualifications.
They fixed roofs and furnaces, made kitchens accessible, cleaned homes for shut ins, rewired houses.
And you know what… people noticed.
They thought the church might have died already, but neighbors began to believe and trust that the little church on the corner actually, really cared.

This church was on the verge of giving up… but they tapped into something beyond themselves.
They let go of what they wanted and started to ask what God wanted.
They let themselves and their gifts be transformed.
People from the community are throwing in their own money to keep the amazing work of this little church going.
Their membership has quadrupled.
Abundant miracles are taking place all around them.  (Read more here!)

When I think about you… this congregation… this family… I see incredible potential.
Not because of anything that you already possess, but because I know and trust in the God who has called us together.
Right here in this time and in this place.
God didn’t do that by accident.
And the prayer that Paul got on his knees to pray for the Ephesians, I am praying now… daily… for you:

I ask God to strengthen you by the Spirit.
Not with a brute strength, but a glorious inner strength.
I pray that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in.
And I ask Christ that with both feet firmly planted on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love.
Friends, I pray that you would reach out and experience the breadth!
Test its length!
Plumb the depths!
Rise to the heights!
Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.
God can do anything… far more than we could ever ask or imagine, by working within us… deeply and gently within us.
Glory to God in Christ.
Glory to God in the church.
Amen.

IAUMC13

I am a United Methodist Conference junkie. I love the debate and worship, interaction and holy conferencing.  I love getting up to the microphone to speak. I love friendly amendments and the crazy insane process… at its best. I know there are times when it gets out of control and is painful and frustrating.  There are times I probably have forced myself to forget because they were too ugly. But I’m a metho-nerd and I’m sticking with it.

This Iowa Annual Conference was very different for me, however.  As the coordinator for Imagine No Malaria,  I had a booth to run and shirts to sell and a District Giving Challenge to coordinate.  I ran back and forth between my seat and the booth and the treasurer’s office. I sometimes forgot to eat. I helped put together a last minute silent auction and touched hundreds of dollar bills and got to stand in front of the body of our Iowa Annual Conference and testify about why I am saving lives… and they should, too.

It was an amazing weekend. We raised over $100, 000 in gifts and pledges.  Churches were inspired and energized.  Everywhere I looked, I saw green and brown INM shirts dotting the crowd.  We had 38 individuals pledge their commitment to save lives… some giving $10 month, some $100!

But I did miss some of what I love about our conference.  I “missed”  all the debate on resolutions,  only to find out most got tabled u til next year. I was present for about 10 minutes of the hours of budget presentation, questions, and debate ( ha… but I did manage to sneak a question in!).  I missed three worship services… which I’m hoping to catch via the recordings.  Above all, I missed the fellowship of time with colleagues and friends, long lunch breaks and late night conversations.  I didn’t have time to go out and I was too exhausted for the after hours camaraderie. 

The one legislative discussion I did make sure I was fully present for was our strategic priorities conversations and then legislative perfection.  After working for countless hours on listening,  reading, writing, responding,  revising, we brought a document to the conference and prayed with all of our hearts that God would move us to embrace some clear priorities for our future. And when it finally came time to vote, after a number of friendly amendments,  we overwhelmingly approved the vision, mission,  and priorities.  Now, we need to commit to living them out in every way possible. 

IAUMC13

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I am a United Methodist Conference junkie. I love the debate and worship, interaction and holy conferencing.  I love getting up to the microphone to speak. I love friendly amendments and the crazy insane process… at its best. I know there are times when it gets out of control and is painful and frustrating.  There are times I probably have forced myself to forget because they were too ugly. But I’m a metho-nerd and I’m sticking with it.

This Iowa Annual Conference was very different for me, however.  As the coordinator for Imagine No Malaria,  I had a booth to run and shirts to sell and a District Giving Challenge to coordinate.  I ran back and forth between my seat and the booth and the treasurer’s office. I sometimes forgot to eat. I helped put together a last minute silent auction and touched hundreds of dollar bills and got to stand in front of the body of our Iowa Annual Conference and testify about why I am saving lives… and they should, too.

It was an amazing weekend. We raised over $100, 000 in gifts and pledges.  Churches were inspired and energized.  Everywhere I looked, I saw green and brown INM shirts dotting the crowd.  We had 38 individuals pledge their commitment to save lives… some giving $10 month, some $100!

But I did miss some of what I love about our conference.  I “missed”  all the debate on resolutions,  only to find out most got tabled u til next year. I was present for about 10 minutes of the hours of budget presentation, questions, and debate ( ha… but I did manage to sneak a question in!).  I missed three worship services… which I’m hoping to catch via the recordings.  Above all, I missed the fellowship of time with colleagues and friends, long lunch breaks and late night conversations.  I didn’t have time to go out and I was too exhausted for the after hours camaraderie. 

The one legislative discussion I did make sure I was fully present for was our strategic priorities conversations and then legislative perfection.  After working for countless hours on listening,  reading, writing, responding,  revising, we brought a document to the conference and prayed with all of our hearts that God would move us to embrace some clear priorities for our future. And when it finally came time to vote, after a number of friendly amendments,  we overwhelmingly approved the vision, mission,  and priorities.  Now, we need to commit to living them out in every way possible.

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Terracycle Donations for INM

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Why I’m not blogging right now…

A)  Life at the church hit the ground running in mid September and hasn’t stopped since then.

B)  When I’m not at church, I’m desperately trying to spend more time with my husband and family.  Sometimes with little success, but I’m trying.

C)  T.V. shows are back on… and I have some crocheting projects that occupy my time while I watch said shows.  It helps me to feel like I’m not completely wasting my time.  As does my ongoing commentary about where God shows up on television shows (see the link on the menu bar “God and TV”).  These crocheting projects will be gifts for my neice and nephews this Christmas.  Some of you have seen me working on these projects at various conferences this year…. little by little, I’ll get there!
This green blanket is for my nephew who just turned one.  It is made from 64 little tiny squares.  I have finished with over 40 of them already and I have started stitching them together.  As you can seek, Tiki likes to help out.
This blanket will be for my nephew who just turned nine.  He is getting to be SO big.  After doing the other two blankets in pieces, I knew I wanted a project that I could crochet without having to put together.  This was the perfect pattern for something simple!
This last blanket is the first one I have finished.  It is for my neice who is in kindergarten.  She loves pink and purple!  This blanket was made in strips that were then stitched together.

absent

I’ve been away… yes, I realize this.

life has been far too busy to blog. But tonight I cleaned my desk off in my home office and I might actually have a place to blog in comfort again =)

it’s going to be a long week.

Even though this should be a short week, due to Labor Day, it has only just begun to be long.

I was at the church at 7:00 this morning to work on the church newsletter, which I had forgot I wouldn’t have time to print on Monday since I would be relaxing at home.

And then the printer didn’t work. So, the group that arrived at 8:30 to fold and mail them had nothing to do =( But they are so gracious and kind and suffer through my failings gently =)

It’s also going to be a long week because we have had two deaths in our congregation over the weekend. I have a visitation tonight and funeral tomorrow and I am also meeting with another family this afternoon for a funeral at the end of this week.

Add to that a United Methodist Women’s meeting, and Administrative Board, and you’ve got a doozy of a week.

Prayers for strength and endurance are needed! I’m hoping I don’t die of compassion fatigue!

By the way… all of our charge conference forms came in – and there are piles and piles of paperwork to be done… why didn’t anyone tell me how busy September would be?

unfocused

oh and in other news – I’ve been really unfocused in my work and my schedule this week. I’m having trouble keeping on task. I think in many ways there are just so many things that are on my mind and I’m not sleeping very well. Prayers for focus and guidance are needed!

Christ is Risen! Easter Sunday is Over! Praise the Lord!

Well. Somehow I made it through one of the busiest weeks of my entire life. The irony didn’t escape me that while many friends and siblings and loved ones were on spring break, I felt like i was in the midst of finals.

This past week, I had a funeral, gave the invocation at a banquet, had the neice and nephew over for a sleep over, did Maundy Thursday service, Good Friday service, visited three diferent sets of relatives and had 2 worship services on Sunday morning. *whew!*

Now I’m exhausted. But instead of taking the day off monday and sleeping, I ended up taking my car to the shop. And then found out the repairs would be almost as much as the car itself, that the parts had to be ordered and that I shouldn’t even drive the vehicle until the repairs were finished. So, we dropped the car off at my in-laws, rented a vehicle and then got ready to drive to Des Moines for our School for Ministry.

I’m in the midst of it right now. I thought about blogging my way through, but for right now I’m just going to update as we go. Our faculty is Roberta Bondi, Tex Sample and Lovett Weems. So far- it has been EXCELLENT. Bondi is teaching us about prayer, especially through the desert mothers and fathers. Sample is lecturing about justice – especially corporate domination of government, the inequality of wealth and the increasing economic risk that families face. and Weems tomorrow will begin to talk about church leadership. I am just floored by what we have discussed so far and am SO glad that I am here.