co-missioned – Salvaged Faith

foolish vigor

Posted on March 18, 20111 Comment

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While I might be young, I’m also a bit daring. I have found myself in recent events at the front of the room instead of the back. Maybe it is my naiveity, but even standing at the front or on a committee, I wonder where the hope has gone. I wonder where the risk has gone. This isn’t even a commentary on my denomination, the United Methodists… I have had many ecumenical conversations recently and I am sideswiped by “we can’t do that, or get away with that” comments.

It sometimes feels like the church has lost its foolish vigor. We have neglected St. Paul’s call to forget the ways of the world, forget success by earthly standards, and to just take a chance and stand with the cross. We have neglected the call to take up our cross and to follow Jesus – because we are scared of where the cross takes us. It isn’t just fear, or temptation to suceed, sometimes it is just down right laziness and the tedium of daily tasks that keep us from diving in.

I think I’m able to keep going, because in the midst of all of the “safe” choices and the call to “increase numbers” and the forms I have to fill out… I hear about a few folks are taking risks.

A local presbyterian church held a Christmas Eve service this year at a bar in town. They took the risk and were invited back for next year. It wasn’t a success numerically – but they were out there, in the world, and if even one person thought in a different way, they were successful.

A group of young pastors gathered in Washington, D.C. for an event I attended. We gathered in the chapel at the capital building and prayed and sang. We have found some courage from one another to try new things, to apply for grants, to start programs and to ask questions. We are putting ourselves out there – and we do so knowing that there is a small community of support to help us.

Congregations in Cedar Rapids are responding to the changing communities around them and are throwing open their doors for native African congregations to meet in their midst.

The churches who have joined mine for the Co-Missioned transformation process are all taking risks and trying to pay attention to what the Holy Spirit is calling us to be and do. We have had to let go of some things in order to embrace this time of listening and waiting. It is hard, and it is scary to let go of what we think works for us. But every time we do so, we have been blessed by God’s movement.

I want us to be more foolish. To be more daring. And to trust where the Spirit calls us. Don’t be afraid to step out there. Don’t let your head tell you “no” when your heart is screaming “yes.” Don’t get caught up in this world’s definitions of success – numbers and money and power… just go where God tells you, wipe the dust off your feet if people don’t respond, and then go to the next place. Don’t be afraid of failure. Don’t worry about looking stupid. Take up your cross, with foolish vigor, and follow.

Celebration of our Present

Posted on March 6, 2011Leave a comment

Instead of preaching this Sunday, we shared some videos about the life of our church and the process we are in. ENJOY!

Narrowing our Focus

Posted on January 30, 2011Leave a comment

This week, we continue our journey with the Corinthians. As we learn together from their mistakes, we can overcome some of the roadblocks and realities we face as a church.

Last week, we talked about how mishandled conflict can divide the church and even in seasons of peace… like we are experiencing now… past conflict can still leave residue on our lives… it can make us timid to engage, it can leave us tired and worn out, and it stifles creativity within the church.

We talked about how in a culture of winners and losers, we are called to be neither – we are called to be foolish. We are called to let the Cross of Christ guide our lives.

Today – we continue with that idea of holy foolishness.

The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1:18)

As Paul continues to write to the Corinthians, he notes that there are a whole lot of ideas floating around in the world.

In Paul’s day, some were calling for miraculous proof for truth in the world. Some looked to philosophy and wisdom as the basis for their life.

But God doesn’t work in either of those ways, Paul writes. God turns each of them upside down and it’s God’s weakness – not his power – that saves… it’s his folly – not his wisdom – that gives life.

Let’s read between the lines a little bit in this letter.

Let’s try to imagine what was going on in Corinth that made these statements necessary.

Those who first responded to the call of God there established a little faith community for themselves.

And then they looked out upon their friends and neighbors, family and business acquaintances and they wanted to figure out how to share this message of God with them.

Now… this big group of people were not all the same. Some were men, some were women. Some were Jewish, some were Greek. Some were rich, some were poor. Some were young, some were old.

And I think what happened, is that everyone disagreed about who was most important to reach out to first.

They did not have a shared vision or understanding about what God was calling them to do…

Kind of like this church:

Those Corinthians each had their own idea about what was going to work, and so they went out into the world and started sharing this amazing Good News about God.

In many ways – each of those ideas discussed around that building committee table were good ideas… Each person had a group in mind that needed to hear the gospel and so they were planning on building this sanctuary, or gym, or coffee shop… whatever it took to reach that specific group of people.

But I think that what we have to do is stop and back up a second.

What happened when the Corinthians tried to do this? What happened when they made assumptions about their neighbors and tried to custom tailor the message for everyone? What happened when each person went their own way and they tried to do a thousand different things at once?

They thought… If the Jews want signs, maybe we’ll put on big spectacles! That will draw them in.

They thought… If the Greeks want wisdom, we’ll have long conversations and ignore the the gospel.

Everyone went off and did their own thing and the Good News became torn into pieces and watered down and no longer had any power or punch. It started to look exactly like what everyone else was doing.
Everywhere they went, the message failed.

The people were discouraged.

Someone realized that Jesus was no longer being preached… and they wrote to Paul for help.

I can imagine in this letter to Paul that we have never seen, that someone writes: We give up. We wanted to share the gospel with people, so we came up with all of these ways of reaching out and we started doing what everyone else was doing… but it’s not working. People keep turning us down and we are exhausted. We give up.
What is Paul’s response?

He reminds them that they are called to be foolish. They are called to be laughing-stocks of the community.

They aren’t called to change their message with every shifting wind that comes along.

What they are preaching doesn’t make any sense to the people of the world… but they are supposed to keep preaching it anyways.

What Paul does here is he gives them a common, unified vision. He gives them something to stand on, something to be unified with.

The world may not understand you, Paul writes, but you need to stick with the message of the gospel anyways. You need to figure out what it is that you guys really stand for and are about and let that guide you.

You see, its not just division that comes by throwing our lot in with specific people that gets us into trouble… saying, “I’m of Paul” or “I’m of Apollos”… it’s also the fact that we can’t agree on who we are supposed to reach out to and how we are supposed to do it.

Paul keeps telling them to be foolish, because he is asking them to make the cross of Christ the center of all that they do.

He is asking them to believe in their future, to believe in the direction God is pushing them, to hold fast to the vision of what awaits them.

Hold fast to the cross… because it is there at the cross that life and death meet. And it is there at the cross that life wins.

Hold fast to who God has called you to be, no matter what the outside world thinks.

Hold fast.

Paul is asking the church in Corinth, and Paul is asking us to articulate a clear and compelling vision.

Without a vision to unify us, we will always react to everything the world throws at us. We will try to build gymnasiums and coffee shops just because everyone else has one. We will buy into the latest fad and sell off Jesus just to get a few more people in our doors.

That is not our goal.

Our goal is faithful living to the gospel of Christ.

Our goal is to live the kingdom life right now – even if it isn’t fully here yet.

Our goal is to love and forgive in a world where it is popular to get revenge.

Our goal is to sacrifice for others in a world where people think only for themselves.

Our goal is to gather around a table and eat the bread of Christ and the cup of heaven and as we do so to participate in a heavenly banquet. All of that is complete foolishness to the world… but it is who we are called to be.

A colleage from an online preaching forum wrote: We are willing to believe practically anything on Sunday morning in church, but we aren’t likely to keep acting on it come Monday because it’s so foolish by the world’s standards. (Betsy)

And she is right. When we do not share a vision. When we do not let that vision guide everything that we do, we’ll change as soon as we step outside of those doors. We’ll go back to the ways of the world. We’ll change with the winds. We’ll lose who we are supposed to be.

In these next few months, our church is listening for what that vision is. We are joining together in prayer and study to hear God speaking. To hear what specifically God wants us to do.

Not what some famous author wants us to do.

Now what the culture says we should do.

But what God wants us to do. Right here. Right now.

May God speak. And May we hear.

my afternoon as a “telemarketer”

Posted on January 29, 2011Leave a comment

As our church is working on discerning their vision and mission, we have felt led to get some input from the community. We want to know what others think about the needs in our midst, what they feel about the church’s role in our community, and what they might like to offer to help meet those needs.

So our grand idea was to have a phone bank.

We created a script.
We got some volunteers.
We put a notice in the paper that we would be calling folks.
We organized some yummy treats.

And then we got together to actually do it.

Our numbers were small, but mighty.

We practiced our phone calls with one another, edited our script, divided up the phone book for our community and our list of inactive/less active members, and set to work.

*ring, ring* = voicemail

*ring, ring* = no answer

*do, do, do* = this number has been disconnected.

*hello, I’m calling from the Methodist Church… CLICK*

My cell phone only records the last 20 calls I made, so I have no idea exactly how many I did make… but it was well over 20. I talked in person with only four individuals.

Others in our group had much better luck. Two other women talked with at least seven people. The lone man in our small bunch had well over 13 responses. (Which makes me wonder about whether people are more willing to talk to an older man than a young woman who just might be a telemarketer selling something)

We talked with folks who were churched and unchurched, young and old, who lived in town and in the country. Probably 70% of the people we recieved information from people indicated that their top concern was the youth of our town. It was amazing to have such a common response, although it was spoken of in a few different ways.

We ended the afternoon tired, worn out, but feeling like some good listening occured. It wasn’t the way I usually think of a church group spending the day, but I think we heard from a few people we probably never would have talked to.

Our next step is a lunch with community leaders to get their perspectives about how the church can better support/encourage what they are doing and what needs they also see.

It’s quite a journey!!!

The Winners, The Losers, and The Foolish

Posted on January 23, 2011Leave a comment

A young rabbi found a serious problem in his new congregation. During the Friday service, half the congregation stood for the prayers and half remained seated, and each side shouted at the other, insisting that theirs was the true tradition. Nothing the rabbi said or did moved toward solving the impasse.

Finally, in desperation, the young rabbi sought out the synagogue’s 99-year-old founder. He met the old rabbi in the nursing home and poured out his troubles.

“So tell me,” he pleaded, “was it the tradition for the congregation to stand during the prayers?”

“No,” answered the old rabbi.

” Ah,” responded the younger man, “then it was the tradition to sit during the prayers?”

“No,” answered the old rabbi.

“Well,” the young rabbi responded, “what we have is complete chaos! Half the people stand and shout, and the other half sit and scream.”

“Ah,” said the old man, “that was the tradition.”

As we reflected together at our Conference on the Past back in October, and as I have been in conversations with many of you… conflict was the tradition of this church as well.

For many years… even when the pews were filled… there was a sense of competition, tug-of-war, a sense of unease as this congregation was pushed and pulled from one end of the political spectrum to another and back again… from laity empowered ministry to pastor-in-charge ways of doing ministry to times without a pastor altogether.

How many of you have felt like this church has sometimes been on a roller coaster?

I cannot speak for our past Bishops or our leadership or the Holy Spirit… because I know very well that the Holy Spirit moves in mysterious ways… But I do want to say that no matter who has been sent to lead this congregation what really matters is not the pastor up front, but each of you.

That was one nugget that a few of you shared with me over these past few months. That in spite of everything that this congregation has been through – maybe because of everything that this congregation has been through – you have realized that the people sitting around you are who really matter.

Like that Jewish congregation of sitters and standers, no matter what your differences, you still get together and you still come together to worship and serve.

I think what we can all admit about the past, however, is that there have been times of winners and losers, folks who have gotten their way and those that didn’t, people who stayed and people who left.

As we continue on this “Come to the Table” journey, we are entering a time when we want to find out just what is on our plate. We want to discover what’s going on here in this church right now, but also what is happening out there in the world.

As we walk with the church at Corinth, they will help us to understand that many of the problems we face today are problems people of faith have been facing for thousands of years.

There may not be much comfort in that… but at least we have good company!

The first reality we must face, the first course on our dinner plate, if you will… is conflict.

As soon as Paul finishes praising God for all of the potential that this congregation has, he launches into a plea that the people of Corinth would stop fighting with one another.

“In the name of Jesus,” Paul writes, “you must get along with each other! You must learn to be considerate of one another and cultivate a life in common.” (message paraphrase)

He sees among them a whole lot of folks vying for their piece of the pie, wrestling for the spotlight, people who believe that they are right and everyone else is wrong. He sees people who really do want to be faithful… but they are putting all of their eggs in the wrong basket. They think that to be faithful they have to be on the winning team.

So they pick sides. They follow Apollos or Cephas. They throw their lot in with Paul. Some of them even go around saying, “to heck with all this division… I’m following Jesus!” And in doing so, they only stoke the fires of competition even more. It’s like playing a trump card.

Photo by: Philippe Ramakers

But you know what… they aren’t using that trump card in order to actually be more faithful to Jesus… they are doing it to put others down. “I’m a Christian and you’re not” they seem to be saying.

In the worldly realm of politics, we understand how this works. There are winners and losers on each issue, there is competition for money and time and we don’t care who gets run over in the process. We don’t care who our words hurt or what we do to our nation in the process.

And it is sad to say that sometimes that spirit gets into our churches as well. Paul saw it happening in Corinth… and before it got too bad, he wanted to set things right again.

Paul was aware that this continuous practice of win/lose behaviors ends up exacting a high cost. Listen and see if any of these sound familiar:

Sometimes it causes people who actually do have great leadership skills to sit in the background and keep quiet. They simply do not want to enter the fray.
Sometimes, we are so hurt by past conflict between winners and losers that we are afraid to disagree with anyone, and so a diversity of opinion is lost.
Sometimes, confidence disappears.
Sometimes, anxiety that comes from past hostility seeps into our current conversations and tiny differences are intensified and exaggerated.
Sometimes, we are unable to discern creative solutions to our problems because we are afraid of trying something new and failing.

Even when a church finds itself back on healthy ground… even when the fruits of the spirit and running rampant in our midst… the residue from those past conflicts can stick around for a while. We are so tired of having winners and losers, that we simply choose not to participate… or when we do, we are timid, and afraid to say what we really think.

I think the first thing we need to see when we confront this reality that is before us is that conflict… in and of itself… is not bad.

Jill Sanders once told me that conflict is simply two ideas co-existing in the same space. Whenever you have community, you will have conflict. You will have differences of opinion. You will have perspectives that offer different solutions.

Conflict is not bad. It is necessary. It sparks change. It leads to growth. We can’t learn without conflict.

How we deal with conflict is a completely different story. If we quickly chose a side and fight to the death, we are repeating old patterns and will lead to our ruin.

God gives us another way. God has formed us as the church by the Holy Spirit so that we can show the world how to be a people of truth, peace, wholeness and holiness. We can show the world that you can have conflict, without competition, violence and war.

The second thing we need to see, confronted with this reality, is that we have a standard by which to judge all of our conflicts. It isn’t the side of the winners… it isn’t the side that has the most money… it isn’t the side that is even right.

As Paul writes to the church of Corinth:

The good news that points to Christ on the Cross seems like sheer foolishness to those hellbent on destruction, but for those on the way of salvation… it makes perfect sense. (message paraphrase).

The cross is what unifies us. The cross is our standard. The cross of Christ, his life, death and resurrection, should be the focus of all of our decisions.

So faced with a conflict, faced with difference, we are called to look to the cross. We are called to love as Christ loved… sacrificially. We are called to die to our old ways and take up the ways of our resurrected one. We are Easter people. We are people of hope. We are people who love the unloveable and forgive the unforgiveable. We are called to find a way through the chaos… and we do it through the cross.

And sometimes that makes us look like fools by worldly standards.

But it is what we are called to.

We are called to not just follow in name only- but to actually become the name of Christ… to let the cross of Christ transform us. To make ourselves different. To be the crucified and risen body of Christ in the world… to go to those who suffer and suffer with them, to bring healing and hope through Christ’s love and to share the good news of the salvation of the world…

Potential Energy

Posted on January 16, 2011Leave a comment

I must admit that growing up, I was a bit of a science nerd. What can you expect from the girl who wanted to be a meteorologist? But I think the best part of science were the experiments – the hands on exploration of concepts. Because I saw it happen, I believed it. Because I was able to be a part of it happening, I learned it. It was the combination of not just hearing the words spoken, or reading them in a book… but actually doing it… that helped these concepts to be not just in my head, but also in my heart.

And I realized… faith is much the same way. Unless we are actively practicing our faith as we are learning about it… unless we are out there loving people and helping folks and praying and seeking God – then all of the stuff that we read in the bible or hear in a sermon are just words. But when we have hands on learning… when we have the chance to apply what we hear and read to our daily lives… then anything is possible.

Will you pray with me?

First off this morning – to engage you with more than just your ears, I want to give you a visual demonstration of this thing we are going to talk about this morning: Potential Energy!

Already the children have helped to explain some of these concepts to us… but I thought that Wiley E. Coyote might be able to help as well:

Well, there we have it, energy that is stored up in something – whether it is an object or a person – is POWERFUL. Just like a mousetrap that is spring loaded – or an actual coiled spring- all that energy is there, just … waiting… for the right…. Moment… to… SNAP – to release! To let all of that bundled up and constrained potential energy loose!

Well, I look around this morning and I see a whole lot of potential energy. I see a whole lot of bodies waiting… sitting… storing up… a whole lot of energy that can be released on this world!

{Well, inside… the energy is inside… Sheesh – some of you look like you are ready for naps already! Let’s make sure none of that energy goes to waste! }

The apostle Paul looked out on the communities he ministered to, also, and made a similar statement. Especially in our epistle for today. Today, we start to explore Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth… a church full of potential energy for the future.

“To the church of God that is Corinth,” he writes, “to those called to be saints… Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

“I give thanks to my God always for you… not because of anything that you have done – but because of the grace of God that has been giving you in Christ Jesus. And you have been enriched in every way by the Spirit of God, but especially in speech, in knowledge and in testimony.”

Paul starts out this letter with some praise, with some encouragement, with a reminder – that God has blessed them, God has equipped them, God has stored up in them a whole lot of potential energy and resources and talents and spirit… This is a church FILLED with the potential to truly set their city on fire with the love of God.

In particular, God has blessed them with three spiritual strengths. They have been gifted with speech, knowledge and testimony. They are a community that knows how to share their faith with words. They aren’t afraid to tell other people about God and maybe more importantly, they know what they are talking about. They have been taught well.

They have been blessed with speech, knowledge, and testimony. Are they using them to their full potential? Is all of that stored up blessing being used to its fullest extent? We’ll talk more about this in the coming weeks – but it is pretty safe to say that the answer is, no. They have everything they need… but much of their blessing is still waiting to be unleashed.

I was asked this week, if Paul were writing a letter to this community, gathered here on Sunday mornings, what three things would be lifted up as our spiritual strengths? What has God gifted and blessed this particular community with?

I have to admit… it didn’t take me very long to answer this question. And that is because as a community, we have done some work to discover who we are.

Back on October 31st… just two and a half months ago… we gathered as a community downstairs for worship. We broke bread with one another, we sang, we told stories. And we celebrated with one another who God has called us to be. We celebrated the things that have brought us together to this moment.

“The Family Meal 2” painting by De More

And if I had to pick out the three things I saw as our strongest gifts out of that Celebration of the Past they would be food, fellowship, and openness.

We are a church that has often brought people together around food. Whether it is a funeral supper or feeding RAGBRAI riders, a potluck or a progressive dinner… meals are one of our greatest passions and strengths!

We also have a strong fellowship with one another. We meet in small groups during the week, we take time to be with one another after weekly worship, we are a community and a family.

We are also open in many way. We often talk about how our communion table is open to all who wish to come. We have been open to going and serving in new ways – like when we answered the call to clean up after flash flooding in other communities and took with us folks who were not connected with our church. We are open to new people and to going to new places.

To heck with Paul… I’m writing a letter to you this morning and I say that “ I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in your desire to break bread with others around the table, for the fellowship that you form through study and prayer, and for your openness to whomever the Holy Spirit sends your way… and wherever the Holy Spirit sends you.”

Now, we could have some debate on other fantastic and amazing gifts God has blessed this church with. Contrary to popular opinion, there are many. This church is so gifted, you can’t breathe without drawing in some Holy Spirit. All around us are financial resources, resources of time, a beautiful space with a roof that doesn’t leak anymore… people who can paint, people who can sing, people who can sew, people who can build things with their hands, people who garden and farm, people who can use computers, people who pray… people who love God and want to serve him and who have all come together to this place.

I look at that collage and I see amazing huge potential.

Lots and lots and lots of potential energy stored up. The Holy Spirit flowing within this church just waiting to be released onto the world!

I do not, for a minute, want to suggest that there isn’t some kinetic energy going on here as well… In so many ways, we are out in the world, living out our faith… the potential energy is being turned into kinetic energy and we are active! We serve all over the place, we respond when there are needs, we care for one another.

But…

Like the Corinthians we also have some obstacles in our way. We have some things that hang us up and get us stuck so that we can’t move.

Over the next couple of weeks, we are going to hang out with these Corinthians. We are going to learn about their troubles and their problems and think about whether or not they are things that get in the way of our ministry too. Think about ways of removing these obstacles so that all of that potential energy stored up inside of us can be unleashed on the world.

But, I think another reason why our potential energy sometimes doesn’t get unleashed is that we aren’t sure where to use it. We aren’t always sure what the needs are. We don’t know where our gifts and talents and strengths are needed.

For the next month and a half, as a part of our “Come to the Table” journey – we are going to be listening. We are going to open our ears to folks in the community as they come and share with us the ministries they are engaged in. The first one of this is right after church today, as Terri Schutterlee from the Iowa County Food Bank shares with us what they are doing to help fight hunger right here in Marengo and how we are and can continue to be a part of their work. We want to invite you to especially stay after worship on these Sundays to have a cup of coffee and a treat and to ask questions about what more we can do.

There is so much potential here. And when this energy gets unleashed… when we figure out exactly what God wants to do with us… world – you better watch out!

Amen and Amen.

Both/And #reverb10

Posted on December 12, 2010Leave a comment

Being a fan of postmodern/emergent sorts of thoughts, I dig the “both/and.” Down with dichotomies. Yay for integration.

This year, when did you feel the most integrated with your body? Did you have a moment where there wasn’t mind and body, but simply a cohesive YOU, alive and present?

What an amazing question!

Looking back on the journey of this year, there are two moments that really stand out as moments when I moved past the artificial distinction between my spirit and body and really claimed the fullness of who God created me to be.

The first would be my ordination. So much of that day was surreal. It was so large and expansive and crowded and yet intimate and personal. My biological family and my church family came together to celebrate the day with me. And kneeling up there with my mentors pressed in close around me, with three bishops’ hands grabbing a hold of me, I felt bodily the spirit that is within me. “Take authority!” came the voice and the spiritual calling and the physical person became one. The feel of the linen cassocks, the brilliant reds of the stoles, the warmth of the hands, the weight, the smell of bodies and perfumes, the light, the word being proclaimed, the touch of the bible under my fingers… each of those experiences of my senses was intensely spiritual and holy.

The second moment is a bit more casual. At a training session for the church, five folks gathered together at lunch. We were lamenting the fact that we had rushed through the process and felt like we were fumbling. We had come up with a theme – a launching point – a framework – for this process we were leading the congregation through and it had flopped. It was forced. It didn’t work. And we let go of it.

We sat there at lunch, near the warmth of the fire blazing at Pictured Rocks Camp, and we let the Spirit take over. As we waited and listened and ate – we realized that eating is a spiritual discipline for our congregation. Food is holy. It brings us together. The physical and the spiritual are one. And when we got our own perspectives out of the way and made room for God it was amazing. We transformed our entire process during that half an hour.

Setting the Table: The Silverware

Posted on October 24, 2010Leave a comment

Sing vs. 1 & 3 from “For One Great Peace” #2185 in The Faith We Sing

This is small part, in one small place, of one heart’s beat, for one great peace.

Sitting in the kitchen this week and helping with the United Methodist Women’s supper reminded me of the small part all of us have to play in this church. Some took up a knife to chop vegetables and others turned the crank on the ham salad. Some took up their usual post at the sink to wash dishes. Some found themselves in a familiar role serving drinks. Some set the tables. Some cleared the tables. Some served the food. Some cut the desserts. Each one had a small part… and each one of those small parts was absolutely necessary for the whole thing to happen.

This is small part, in one small place, of one heart’s beat, for one great peace.

Just as the supper could not have happened without all of those parts working together, neither could our church have survived 166 years in this place, without the body of Christ working together.

Not one of us was a part of this church when it began. Not a single one of us was a part of its founding. Or you would be really really old!!!

No, every single one of us was either born into this community or came to it of our own free will… possibly we were dragged here by our parents. =)

But as each of you have come through the doors, something about this community led you to stay. And I think that something has to do with more than just a friendly face or a smile and a handshake. I believe that you stayed because you realized that you had a part to play. You stayed because you were invited to be a part of the Body of Christ.

Note, I said invited… not forced, not coerced… not preyed upon by the lay leadership committee like vampires who smelled fresh blood. We must confess that does happen at times.

No, you stayed, and didn’t run screaming for your life… because you were invited to play a part. You stayed because this church had something to offer and because you found a way to offer back. You stayed and became the body of Christ.

And for those of you who are just coming through our doors for the first time this morning – I pray that you might find that part to play also.

This is small part, in one small place, of one heart’s beat, for one great peace.

The apostle Paul reminds the community in Rome and reminds each one of us here today that God has given us a part to play.

“Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking around life – and place it before God as an offering,” he writes.

“It’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you.”

“Since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be.”

Do your small part, in this small place, your one heart’s beat, for one great peace.

You see, the body of Christ in this place is made up of each of those excellently formed parts you were made to be. And for the last 77 years or so… you have been doing that. You have played your parts. You have been teachers. You have been listeners. You have been check-writers. You have hammered nails and painted walls. You have dried tears. You have planted seeds. You have lead others. You have each played your part.

When we set the table this morning with this silverware, it is because we bring before God all of the ways that we have served our Lord in the past.

Just as spoons and forks and knives all have different roles to play in helping us to eat… so we have been working along side one another as we have served God.

Take out those index cards you were given at the start of the service. Whether we are new to the faith or have been part of it since before we could speak, we each have some way that we have served the Lord. I want you to take your note card and share each of those ways you, personally, have played your part. Did you share leadership? Did you pray for others? Are you someone who is quick to offer help? Have you played a supporting role? What part of this body of Christ are you?

Take a minute to write down those things God has called you to share.

This is small part, in one small place, of one heart’s beat, for one great peace.

We each have a part to play, just as if we were forks, knives and spoons. God has set each one of us here with particular gifts and strengths to use.

But that also means that we have weaknesses. We have some things that we are not so good at. Just as a fork makes a lousy tool when we are trying to eat soup and a spoon doesn’t have a sharp edge to cut with… each one of us lacks certain gifts and talents.

As Paul writes to the Romans – each of us find our meaning and function as a part of Christ’s body. “But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we?… let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.”

You see, part of being the Body of Christ is recognizing that you are a fork and not a spoon. Part of being the Body of Christ is realizing that we need one another.

I for one have lots of things that I am not called to do.

I am not a details person. I can see the big picture and how things flow and can give a general impression about something… but I tend to forget about the small details that make the thing work.

And while I have been blessed with the ability to clean up messes without getting squeamish – I come completely undone around creepy crawly jumpy things.

This morning, I went to use the bathroom in our downstairs level and lifted up the toilet lid. There, on the seat, was a frog.

I had no idea how it got there, what it was doing, or what I was going to do about it. I just kind of stood there dumbfounded for a few minutes, until the cats realized something was up. Tiki, our big fat orange cat, walked up to the toilet… thinking he might drink out of it… when he noticed the frog. He batted, the frog leaped, I yelped and chaos ensued. The cats chased the frog around the bathroom and laundry room for a few minutes before I ran upstairs to my husband, absolutely freaking out.

I am not good around creepy crawly jumpy things. And I know it.

Part of being a part of the body of Christ is being honest about our weaknesses so that other people know where they are needed.

Working together, we have to let each other’s strengths to shine. We have to get out of the way in the places where we are weak so that we have the energy to do what we do best.

To be the body of Christ – we need to live out and embody those things we know and do best… but then we need to get out of the way. We need to let others teach us and help us. We need to give others a chance to lead. We need to practice saying, I need you.

Part of what we acknowledge when we come to the table is that as forks, we are not spoons. As knifes, we are not forks. I want you to flip that card of yours over and put a star on it somewhere. And then I want you to write down on that side of the card something that someone else here in the church has done for you. Some way that another person stepped up and lived out their part in the body of Christ. Some way that you couldn’t serve because it’s not who God made you to be.

Saying, “I need help,” is a difficult thing to do in the middle of a rural German community. But it is what Christ calls us to. Get out of the way and let others do their work. Be honest about your weaknesses. But then, lend a hand when your gifts are called for. It is not a sign of failure… it is a sign of true community.

This is small part, in one small place, of one heart’s beat, for one great peace.

And when each of our small parts get together, when each of the small things we can do add up… God works among us in amazing ways.