Category Archives: Uncategorized

U.S. Coast Guard Station Point Allerton

This is the current patch, there have been a lot since I’ve been there, of Coast Guard Station Point Allerton. I had the privilege of serving there for about 24 years and it was quite an adventure. P.A. is one of the most historic stations in the Coast Guard. One of the most decorated and long- serving life savers in Coast Guard history was the, essentially, commanding officer, Joshua James, who is said to have died at about 70 years of age during a life boat drill, he collapsed and his dying words are supposed to be “The tide is ebbing”. Not sure about the historical reliability, but it sounds great. For my own benefit I will be writing, at times and probably not too soon, about the history of the station and some of my own adventures there. Not sure it will generate a lot of interest, but it’s more for me. Feel free to jump in.

I ripped the following off the station website:

Station Point Allerton

Captain Joshua James, USLSS (1826-1902)

View Larger Image of Joshua James Captain Joshua James served for nearly sixty years patrolling the shores of Hull. He participated in his first rescue at age 15, receiving his first medal of many at the age of 23. In 1876 he was made keeper of four lifesaving stations in Hull, including Point Allerton. He was 62 at the time and rules requiring his retirement had to be waived by an act of congress.

During his career, Joshua James has been credited with saving over 600 people and has been touted as the world’s most celebrated lifesaver.

On March 17th, 1902 the Monomoy Lifesaving Station tragically lost seven of its crew during a rescue attempt. Joshua James deeply affected by this tragedy, took his crew into the surf to ensure the capabilities of the boat and proficiency of the crew met his high standards. After more than an hour of maneuver’s Captain James said to have been “very satisfied” with the drill, and ordered the boat ashore. After returning to the beach and disembarking  the boat Joshua James glanced at the sea and remarked “The tide is ebbing,” and dropped dead on the beach at the age of 75. He left a widow and several children with no money. This situation so intensely appealed to the public that a contribution of $3,733 was collected and given to his wife.

Joshua James is honored every year at his gravesite on May 23rd (Joshua James Day) by the Hull Lifesaving Museum and Station Point Allerton.

Joshua James’s medals include:

  • 1850, Humane Society Bronze for rescue of crew of French brig L’Essai
  • 1885, Humane Society Silver Medal for “brave and faithful service of more than 40 years in the lifeboats of the Humane Society,” and $50
  • Humane Society Gold Medal for Great Storm of 1888
  • Congressional Gold Lifesaving Medal for the Great Storm of 1888

10 Reasons Why Gratitude is Good for You By David R. Hamilton PhD

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Gratitude is an important concept. The world is just full of bitterness, too many of us seem to think that we should never have problems, problems are for other people, not for us. We truly don’t care what is God’s will and when things go well, it must be because we are so good, so gratitude is all about us. We should be grateful and I think Dr Hamilton is right that we should be grateful, but it has to be more than just a technique, because that will be effective for only so long. When you raise it up to God as our source of our blessings and are grateful to Him, it will mean something and it will grow instead of just another technique that will only run its course.

You want legalism? Rely on your works?

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ImageJesus’ Sermon on the Mount, also known as the Beatitudes have been the lectionary lessons for the last few weeks and has raised some interesting discussions. Among them is that guy who lets everyone know that he “lives by the sermon on the mount…” Yea, not so sure that was what Jesus was really intending. That same guy never got angry with anyone and called them a fool, never looked anyone with lust, never stole? Yea, really? Kinda doubtin’ it.

To drive home the point though, because what we are talking about is somehow being saved by grace, vs by your works and “living by the sermon on the mount”, would be your works, if you never do anything bad, you have nothing to be forgiven for kind of thinking.

The Pharisees of Jesus’ time had added on something like an additional 200 commandments and 300 laws, over and above what God told Moses in the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) and they continued to do so, well after Jesus was gone. To the Jew the Law is the ultimate, everything according to the most minute detail. We know we cannot live perfectly under the Law, as Christians we know we need grace. The Law does not save, it only means you didn’t break it. By not breaking the Law does not put God under obligation to save you, only through the grace, sacrifice and redemption of Jesus have we been saved. To illustrate how abstruse the whole procedure became, I have quoted, at length, a passage out of James Michener’s book The Source (which is a really great book, fictionalized account of generations starting at the beginning and going up to the present in Israel).

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“In the middle years of the fourth century there was in the Roman city of Tiberias, called Tverya by the Jews, a lively community of thirteen synagogues, a large library and an assembly of elderly rabbis who met in continuous session to discuss the Torah and its later commentaries, seeking thus to uncover the laws which would govern all subsequent Judaism. For hours and even months they debated each phrase until its meaning was made clear, and it was to this body of men that Rabbi Asher directed himself in the spring of 329. He had no need to hurry, for the assembly had been in session, off and on, for a hundred years and would continue for another century and a half, if not in Tverya then in Babylonia across the desert.

…an extensive courtyard in which stood two pomegranate trees and a large grape arbor, beneath which huddled a circle of old men who did not bother to look up at his approach. At their feet, literally, crouched groups of students, following their words affectionately, while at a table under one of the pomegranate trees sat two scribes making notes of how the argument progressed. When decisions were reached, these scribes would compress into a few pithy lines the debate of months, and that would be the law. This day they wrote little as four rabbis engaged in energetic debate on a minor point. FIRST RABBI: We are concerned with one question alone. Protecting Shabbat. I say that the man may not wear it. SECOND RABBI: Speak out. On what authority do you make this claim? THIRD RABBI: Then listen. Rabbi Meir had it from Rabbi Akiba that if a woman goes out of her house on Shabbat with a bottle of perfume so that she may smell nice, she is guilty of vanity and has broken Shabbat. This case is the same. FOURTH RABBI: More to the point. The law of the sages prevents a man on Shabbat from carrying in his pocket a nail from a gallows. Why? He carries it only for good luck and it is forbidden. SECOND RABBI: What nonsense. The man we are talking about does not seek good luck. FIRST RABBI: Listen to t…

FOURTH RABBI: Nor shall she go into the street wearing a hair net. The same case, surely. SECOND RABBI: But remember this. A woman may go abroad on Shabbat sucking a peppercorn to keep her breath sweet. FIRST RABBI: Only if she placed it in her mouth before Shabbat began. THIRD RABBI: Also, the sages always held that if she happened to drop the peppercorn from her mouth during Shabbat, she could not put it back until Shabbat had ended. SECOND RABBI: TO all of that I agree. But our man is not going to drop it from his mouth. And he placed it there before nightfall on Friday. FIRST RABBI: On those requirements we agree. It must be in his mouth before Shabbat begins. THIRD RABBI: The real question. Has he any right to have it there at all on Shabbat? No, because it is an act of vanity. Lik…

SECOND RABBI: Agreed. If it is merely an ornamentation, the man must not have it [a gold tooth] in his mouth on Shabbat. FOURTH RABBI: And I insist that it is merely an ornament. SECOND RABBI: Hold now! He wears his false tooth in order to eat better. FOURTH RABBI: But he could eat just as easily if he didn’t have it. A false tooth for a man is no more, no less, than a gold headdress for a woman. SECOND RABBI: That cannot be the case. The headdress is ornamentation. The tooth is a necessity. THIRD RABBI: False. A gold tooth is just as attractive to a man as a gold … SECOND RABBI: Who said a gold tooth? I said a tooth. A false tooth added to the mouth for the purpose of chewing better. THIRD RABBI: Is there a difference between a false tooth and a gold false tooth? FIRST RABBI: Indeed! The gold tooth i…

FOURTH RABBI: Error! Error! THIRD RABBI: Is not a false tooth placed in the mouth the same as a woman’s curls added to her forehead? And do not the sages say that she may not wear such curls unless they are sewed on permanently? FOURTH RABBI: Why permanently? THIRD RABBI: Lest she inadvertently add them to her head on Shabbat. FIRST RABBI: Sewing she can be trusted not to do because three acts are involved. Needle, thread and sewing. She knows that each is forbidden. But pinning a curl to the head is not a usual act and this she may forget, so it is forbidden. THIRD RABBI: And a false tooth is not added to the mouth permanently, but must be put in each day, and is therefore exactly like the false curl of the woman, which may not be worn.”

Still want to be a legalist, still want to live according to a bunch of laws? And if that doesn’t convince you check out the Code of Federal Regulations and imagine that as part of your personal life.

I don’t know about you, but I just wanted to go crawl into a corner after reading this. How can you really live your life this way and when Jesus told His listeners that in order to be righteous, you had to exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees, he knew that couldn’t be done, He knew that even the Pharisees couldn’t do it. That is why God gave us grace, that is why He gave His Son Jesus to be the propitiation of our sin. Otherwise we would all be doomed to condemnation. Hey, not my rules, the reality is the Bible, I’ve seen a lot of other “realities”, but they never seem to have the authority to back up what their “reality” is.

So you can get caught up in your works, that just aren’t going to save you. Or you can trust the leading of the Holy Spirit, feel the salvation of Christ. As always you, your family, are welcome to worship at First St Johns, be a part of the family of Christ here at First St Johns, 140 W King St, downtown York, Pa. 10:30 am, plenty of parking in rear. God bless you all. Image

And please check out our Lent/Easter worship schedule at http://www.lutheransonline.com/firststjohns

What you need or what you want? Often a big difference.

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I’m just going to go for this. It may seem that I am trying to antagonize people, I’m not, I’m really not. But on the other hand, I’m really trying to push people to really look at their relationship in Christ and the church, if any, that is supposed to be discipling you in a real relationship with Christ.

I am sure that you are all smart enough to realize that you need to trust, rely on and get the right information from the people you hire to do the job, whatever job they do. Oh yeah, I think we all know the type of person who can surround themselves with “yes-people”, we also knows what happens in most of those situations, hmmm let’s see Ken Lay of Enron and Dennis Kozlowski of Tyco jump immediately into my head. I’m sure we all know it wouldn’t take long to come up with a long list. We know that most of the time those kind of people ride the vessel down to disaster. You expect your lawyer, accountant, CIO, to give you the most prudent advice, to be successful, but to also trust that their practice is in keeping with real doctrine and teaching. Every profession has doctrine and teaching, however we also know that a lot people kind of make it up as they go along, it’s the same in “churches”.

It occurs to me that you should also have that kind of faith and trust in your pastor. It’s always been a mystery to me why people will

 

insistImageon the most expert direction in other parts of their life, but when it comes to your eternal soul, uncritically turn to clergy who they know will tell them what they want to hear, as if church only functions to make them feel good. There are times when it is entirely appropriate to comfort, it’s always appropriate to give the hope of Christ as Savior. But as Paul teaches Timothy: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,  that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:  preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2 Timothy 3: 4:1-5)
Timothy is a student of Paul’s, being trained for ministry, what Paul is teaching Timothy, well, we are there. We’ve been there for a long time and I will readily admit, the church has been its own worst enemy, clergy are all too often more concerned with telling people what they want to hear, taking the path of least resistance, that too often people see that as the way church is supposed to be, and it’s been happening for decades, probably at least since the 1950s.

Ya, I’ve probably said this ad nauseum but if you went to your doctor do you want him/her to tell you the truth, or pat you on the head and send you away with “don’t you worry about that cancer”. We all have a cancer, it’s called sin. It eats your soul up just like cancer eats your body. It’s the clergy’s job to tell you this and not let you die in your cancerous state, smiling and comfortable the whole way down. Seriously, you run into a pastor who, figuratively speaking, pats you on the head and tells you to your face, ‘don’t you worry about that sin thing, that’s so old-fashioned”, I suggest you run not walk and find someone who will help you deal with reality. Anyone who has the slightest clue knows full well that we all have sin issues.

Let’s be honest, you work in the world, you know when you have to confront reality in your work. Isn’t it time to deal with the reality of that vacuum in your soul? You know the reality of your sin, the reality of Christ dying for you, the reality of Him controlling your life and not you. But you keep putting it off, avoiding it. Your spouse, your children? And ya for guys, you know it’s on you. You don’t get your life together, so you give the rest of the family, let’s use the political phrase, “plausible deniability”. Yea, cute, but are you living up to your responsibility as a husband and father?

Yea, it is the church (that is the wrong churches that are out there) and many are not providing the teaching and guidance it should. But you’re the one who is leaving your critical thinking at the door, you’re buying into it and even, uncritically, precipitating it. You are uncritically accepting what you get and not looking critically at what is being taught and practiced. Do you run your business that way? Why on earth would you trust your eternal soul to someone who won’t sit down with you, look hard at your life, get you to think critically and eternally? Instead, you trust someone who just smiles, tells you what you want to hear and sends you on your way. Does that make sense?

It does kind of amaze me you get these smart/tough business types: “I want the straight story from everyone. I want to know how it is!” But they then expect their pastor to give them some little puff-piece as if the Christian thing really isn’t true, but “I’m paying for someone to magically make it true” (i.e. the pastor is supposed to work out everything for me. Yeah, right?) Huh, really? I guess your world is reality and church just there to throw in your money and you get  what you want. If that’s what you really think, I would take a really hard look at your life as a whole. Salvation is in Christ, Christ established His church, Matthew 16:18, in His church is baptism, His Body and Blood, others to disciple you, and those for you to disciple. In His church is the Word of salvation through His Word in the Bible, and His preached Word through His Ministers. It’s His way, it’s not throw in your money and get what you want. It’s to learn to get your life in line with your Savior, being guided by the Holy Spirit, that’s reality! Do yourself a favor and get to First St Johns, sit in a pew and listen (promise you don’t have to talk to anyone) and I don’t care if you throw in a dollar or five hundred. If you feel I’ve really wasted your time after a couple of months, I will happily pay you your $8 back.

Business people love to tell you how hard core they are and how serious they are “Just the facts mam”, market share, ROI, EPS, my personal favorite EBITDA, analyzed financial statements for twenty years, can throw around all the jargon you can imagine. Hey that is important and I liked the challenge of the corporate world. But the ultimate reality isn’t production, cycles, financials, .WSO/DSO, market share, it is your eternal soul. Let’s start dealing with the ultimate reality and live your life in that reality.

First St Johns is at 140 W King St in York, Pa. Worship is at 10:30, before that we have our “Coffee Break Bible Study”, Wednesdays at 10am at the corner of W King and Beaver Sts. So come on down, see what you’re missing in your life, in your family’s life, OK, I’ll buy you coffee! May God richly bless you.

It’s in obedience to God

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It’s in obedience to God

First St Johns, York, Pa. February 16, 2014

 

.Loving the LORD your God, obeying His voice and holding fast to him, for He is your life and length of days… We make our beginning in the Name of God the Father and in the Name of God the Son and in the Name of God the Holy Spirit and all those who love, obey and hold fast to the Lord their God said … AMEN

Lutheran preaching, Lutheran doctrine is about Law and Gospel, you first have to know that you are a sinner, that you have broken the Law. Afterall, what do you need a Savior for if you have nothing to be saved from. This is a path that contemporary Christianity and not what we would just think of as liberal Christianity, for example the emerging church, which is all about shows and entertainment, much of Christianity is teaching that it’s not really about our sin, everyone is good, it’s about what we do. Are we “good”? Do we do “good deeds”? Because we really are good, so there’s nothing we really need to be saved from. Are we “good” to those around us? If we tote up enough points on God’s cosmic scoreboard, then we are good? This is exactly what Dr Luther pushed back against the Roman Church about. Give us money, give us labor, soldiers, do good tasks, good deeds and you will be good to go.

Luther said no, it’s not about what we do, it’s entirely about what Christ did for us, we can’t improve on that, we can’t add to that, Jesus is perfect, Jesus is all-powerful, Jesus is God and by virtue of that, what He does saves us. What He gives us, saves us, He is the complete, total sum of all that is and because of that we can only be saved in Him. In John 15:16, Jesus is telling His disciples and of course, we are His disciples, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit.” It’s about Jesus as our Lord, do we go and do good works? Yes! But it is through His moving us, it is through Him

Yahweh is painting a picture for His people in today’s reading. He has been leading Israel through the desert for forty years, He has been teaching them to be dependent on Him. Not themselves, not other “gods”, not the government, not big business, not big medicine or big academia, Him, only Him. He has provided for them, He has protected them. So our Old Testament reading today starts with: “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways and by keeping His commandments and His statutes and his rules,…” Our reading last week ended with Jesus saying: “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” God is telling His people, “Look, I’ve given you what you need to know about me, I’ve given you the rules, I decide for life and good, death and evil.” Sounds like a contradiction between Jesus and the Father. It’s not, throughout the Beatitudes, Jesus is being hyperbolic. Jesus says, “if your hand offends you cut it off, if you eye offends pluck it out.” In no way does Jesus ever tell us to be stupid. What he is doing is exaggerating his point in both comments. Don’t sin, don’t let your hand or your eye guide you, because it would be better for you to be without an eye than to burn in Hell with both eyes, then to be in heaven. OK, point taken, does that mean when we sin we won’t be forgiven unless we pluck our eye out? No, the grace, mercy and forgiveness of Jesus has paid for our sin, our baptism saves us and what Jesus did through His death, His sacrifice to save us, to pay for our sins. On the other hand, you really want to try it, you really want to go for it, to live your life in perfect righteousness? Do you think you can outdo the Pharisees? Come on, no you can’t! It’s not going to happen! The only way you can be righteous is through Me, for you to have My righteousness, which we have as Christians. At this point in time, the Pharisees have decided that the Law is what it is all about, there has to be laws, commandments, rules for everything. It didn’t start out to be a mean spirited attempt, but that’s what it really ground down to. It was supposed to be a way for people to understand what they should and shouldn’t do. Rabbis, pharisees, scribes would sit together for years debating points of law and through their own wisdom, their own discretion and yes frankly their own pride and prejudices they came up with their own rules, because apparently, the five books of the Law, Genesis through Deuteronomy, the ten commandments, well these weren’t enough, their people needed more guidance. They came up with an additional 240 commandments and 300 rules. When Jesus says “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” He is saying you can’t keep all those rules and regulations, sort of what we’ve found out when you have to conform to the Code of Federal Regulations, our government pumps out rules and regulations by the volume. We have created an environment that doesn’t allow for good will, for honest error, we’ve created an environment that tries to criminalize everything. That is what the Pharisees were trying to do, create an entire maze of laws that were intended for “gotcha”, that’s the new fad today. Don’t really care what’s right or wrong, what will actually serve, only care that I can confuse the issue enough for you to make a mistake and then “gotcha”, oops, you messed up, you’re on the hook now, you blew it, I win, you lose.Laws and regulations don’t make you righteous, we can only be righteous in the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Jesus is trying to untangle all the Pharisaical ,rules He’s telling us, you can get all caught up in these rules and man-made devices, like the National Football League or you can trust in Me, as I tried to teach your ancestors after they had been in the desert forty years. You can try to make it through the maze the Pharisees created, or you can come to me in repentance and humility and trust my mercy and forgiveness. Trust that what I’ve done for you is going to save you, that you do not have to make your life like a football game and fuss over every little bit of nonsense. That you can concentrate on what is important. Trusting in me, doing the good works that I lead you to do, witnessing to others about me, serving and worshipping according to my laws and not a few hundred man-made laws. I’ve referred to the person who tells me that they live by the Sermon on the Mount. They usually say this in this sort of patronizing, “you silly little preacher, I’ve advanced beyond you.” OK, you have just called me a fool, Jesus is telling us that by treating people with contempt you are essentially committing murder against me, [buzzer sound] sorry you lose, thanks for playing and you aren’t going to like your parting gift very much. You decided to play the Pharisee, there’s no love in your heart for God or your fellow man and you’ve ignored what God has said from the outset: “”And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good? (Deut 10:12) Take some time this week to back off from all the man-made stuff, try to see what life would be like to live in the simplicity of God’s leading, God’s rules. God wants life to be simple and straight forward for all of us, He’s not the one making things difficult and complicated. How can you back off your life, to truly follow Him, to truly know His will for you and not worry about the clutter we make when we try to play God and set up all sorts of conditions and rules. How does that affect your life at work, at home, at church?

The commandments and statutes He gave us, if we are faithful to what He has revealed to us, we will be faithful to Him and serving all of those God leads us to come into contact with and to serve. Do you do that? Do you live that way? Or is it all about what you chose and leave God out of the equation?

keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

(Jude 1:21) Shalom and Amin

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Worship should create a new paradigm

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This is a collection of items that are quick and to the point, mostly observations on being a Christian, but emphasis on worship. As always you are welcome to add your comments, I look forward to hearing from people on what I write, it helps to know if they are just being effective. Thanks and God bless and as always come and worship at First St Johns 10:30 am Sunday mornings 140 W King St downtown York, Pa. Plenty of on street parking. Bring this blog with you and you will get a Lutheran Coffee cup and a copy of Lee Stroebel’s “A Case for Christ”.

+++ There’s a story on AOL, a woman who was arrested because she left her children in the car to go to a job interview. She’s homeless, unemployed and needed a job. Yea, enormously stupid, but certainly a symptom of how we have lost a sense of community. We have an employment support group at First St Johns. No, we wouldn’t be able to solve all this woman’s problems, but I’m sure we could have helped. If she had got in touch with me and said “hi, I’m part of the employment group, I’m part of the church and here’s the deal…” I would’ve watched the children if that was the problem, but you know what, I’d bet you a serious money I’d find someone in the church who would be happy to serve and to watch the children. There is an effort to raise money for her, don’t know if it’s for her defense or provision. Either way, the barn door’s getting closed late. The church is always for the gospel of Jesus, but it’s also there for the mutual support of the saints, and those who the Holy Spirit brings to His church. There would be a lot more in terms of community if we would rely on and support the church so that we can collectively support each other and build a community for the saints, present and future. This woman wouldn’t be in jail and in jeopardy of losing her children. I ask you, what would have been better for her and you, being part of a group that is there to support each other, or picking up the pieces afterward. Furthermore, what organization in today’s society, other than the church, that’s really available to provide such support? You can start tomorrow, 140 W King St, downtown York, worship at 10:30am

+++ In seminary, in the church that I was called to, in fact just seemed to be the general wisdom, that “contemporary” worship was the way to go to really reach people in worship.

The first difficulty that I encountered in this respect was, what do we mean by contemporary worship? Many who are in the National Church, and the local church, have their own idea of what “contemporary” is, and it is just not “contemporary”. I have my own idea of “contemporary” and frankly my idea is dated, not entirely out of the arena, but definitely on the edges. What is “contemporary” now is good, there is plenty of good stuff there, but this is not what is generally accepted in the church, and it seems the more I read, the more it seems as if people in general don’t think this is “worship”, it’s great and appreciated, but not for worship.

This is counter-intuitive to me, but the more research I read, the more anecdotal evidence I hear and see, the more it indicates that the younger generations are looking for more traditional, liturgical, what I’ve come to call “classic Christian worship”.

The latest is from the Barna Research Group. Barna is on the cutting edge of research on the Christian community. The latest findings are related to the perceptions of the new pope, Pope Francis. The following describes Roman Catholic worship attendance. Roman Catholic worship continues to be highly liturgical, still in the tradition of centuries old worship. More and more I am convinced that is what people are looking for today. Society today is so unstable, starting with the family unit and cutting through society to the biggest institutions. While the church is certainly fits into that cross-section, it seems that there is a resurgence and it is in more “classical” worship. This trend seems to be in the younger generations who see that there is at least some stability, something much more substantial in classical worship. It seems as if “Boomers” and older are still tied to “contemporary” worship, that is what is contemporary to them. But the younger generations more traditional. The Barna report says: “Looking at reported weekly church attendance numbers from January 2013 to January 2014, attendance among all U.S. adults declined from 37% to 36%, and from 48% to 46% among self-identified Catholics. Interestingly, Catholic Boomers and Elders (those ages 49 and older) are less likely to report church attendance in a typical week, while Catholic Millennials and Gen-Xers show significant increases in church attendance over the last year. Among Millennial Catholics, church attendance is at 47% compared to 34% just one year ago—an increase of 13 percentage points. Among Gen-X Catholics, 42% attended church in the past week, compared with 32% a year ago.
In an open-response question, the survey asked those who reported changes under Pope Francis’s influence to describe what, specifically, they are doing differently. Among the most common answers were returning to more regular church attendance, more frequent or fervent prayer and stronger belief or trust in God. Other common responses highlighted one of Francis’s trademarks: under his influence, at least a few Catholics and Protestants—young and old alike—say they are trying to be more humble.”. (Barna Group Mar 18, 2014) These are certainly indicative of “classical” worship, versus “contemporary” worship which is much more focused on passivity, being entertained.
No, I’m not saying this is conclusive, but frankly if there’s a trend at all, what Barna reports seems to be consistent with the rest of what I’ve seen and heard. I’m not saying that worship should be driven by public opinion (yes I can hear the gasps even in cyber-space). I am saying that is what is going on around us, is driving many back to actual worship. That is worship that is tangibly understood as worship, we are realizing that we cannot depend on the things around us and many are seeing the church and genuine worship as something to depend on and bring us back into the presence of the Lord, He who we can trust in and rely on.

+++  One of my most discussed posts has been on the Lord’s Supper. The Lutheran Church teaches that in the Lord’s Supper we receive the true Body and Blood of Jesus. It is not just a memorial or some kind of remembrance, but that Jesus is truly giving us His Body and Blood to give us spiritual nourishment, to give us forgiveness of our sins. Because this is His true Body and Blood, we are, obviously expected to treat the Lord’s Supper with great reverence, that it is only for those who are truly in Christ and who the Lord has brought to a true understanding of what they are doing in the communion. This is done through the teaching of the church.

Paul teaches in 2 Corinthians 11:27-30: “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.”

Clearly it is not in the interests of one who does not properly discern the Body and Blood and the pastor who is responsible for the proper instruction and guidance. Dr Martin Luther refers to pastors as “soul doctors”, a responsibility, at least I don’t take lightly. To be unworthy is not meant to be a pejorative statement, it’s simply meant to say, if you do not understand what this is all about, it’s not going to do you any good. Further more for those who actively abuse it, Paul is saying that many have become sick and even died. If we take Paul seriously, why would we even play around with this?

I’ve been watching the “Bible” series and I saw a really great illustration about this concept. At the Last Supper Jesus gives Judas the “sop”, piece of bread and then Judas rushes out of the upper room. As soon as he gets outside he starts choking and it shows Judas spitting out what I would think of as the Host. Judas would not be forgiven, or saved, He could not tolerate the Host. The pastor serving the Host, the communicant receiving the Host is what the Holy Spirit blesses and turns into the Body. If that is not done, then it is taken in vain, that is, taken in an unworthy manner. It’s not about what is nice, hospitable, or some how impugns, it is simply the formula that Scripture directs us. This should be respected and not made into some kind of popular vote. If you really don’t understand what it is, and respect the teachings of Scripture, why would you want it to begin with? It doesn’t give forgiveness, or salvation and it may even be to your harm. Why another pastor would teach otherwise baffles me.

It is a sign of respect, have the proper understanding of this most holy gift and honor our Lord who gave His Body and Blood so that we would be saved in Him.

+++10 Symptoms that Your Christianity is too Comfortable (Gene Brooks)

1. You are not attending church with a high level of expectancy

2. You no longer seem to be concerned about the spiritual condition of neighbors, family members or co-workers.

3. You haven’t had a spiritual conversation with a non-Christian in a long time. you can’t even think how you’d manage one.

4. The Bible seems lifeless to you. It’s like a history book with so many unpronounceable words.

5. Your happiness on Sunday mornings is more important to you than what it takes to reach the unreached nations. As long as you get your parking spot, your seat, and hear the music you like, everything’s fine.

6. The plight of the poor doesn’t concern you. Images of overseas suffering do not move you to action.

7. The idea of worship seems a boring waste of time. You don’t ‘get anything out of it.’

8. You do  not give your financial resources sacrificially. You kind of resent it, actually.

9. Your prayers don’t seem to make it past the ceiling. There’s this faint frustration when you try to pray.

10. It doesn’t even dawn on you that God could do something incredibly radical in your life at any moment today. It’s not even on your radar.

It is not about your comfort and entertainment. It is about the Glory of the Holy One of Israel. So what do yo do about it? Do the things you know to do. Confess to the Lord and repent of your dead and wooden Christianity. Open the Word of God and ask the Lord to renew your spirit through the ministry of His Spirit. Psalm 51 is a good place to start. Read and pray through that one.

+++ When He [Jesus] speaks the Law I feel naked, I feel undressed, vulnerable. When He speaks Gospel I feel loved in a way I can never express. Something happens when Jesus speaks. [Dr Michael Horton  White Horse Inn podcast talking about what people might have felt like who heard Jesus speak to them in His life on earth.]   Dec 19, 2009

+++ Jesus healed mostly just the blind, the deaf. He also heals outcasts. What is harder to tell a man to walk or to forgive sins.? Jesus might say to us: “It’s easy for me to say walk. But I have to suffer and die in order for sins to be forgiven,

+++ Try this the next time you pray, meditate on God not as a way for you to go up, but to understand how He has come down to us.

+++ You might want to reinforce with children, grandchildren, right out of the gate, that the people of the Bible are real, the things the Bible talks about is actual history. These things really happened. Too often we try to make the Bible to be simply stories, thinking that is the easiest way for children to understand them. But what usually happens, is we keep doing that, even when they are older and they end up being adults who think that the Bible is just a bunch of stories. Help even the youngest children know that these stories are about real people, that the Bible is about how God has come to real people and affected their lives and moved them to do difficult things to His glory.

+++ One aspect of the Trinity that we really don’t consider is that no person [Father, Son, Holy Spirit] of the Trinity would thwart the will of another. All the persons of the Trinity are in accord with each person of the Godhead. So it’s not 3 gods, it’s three persons/one God. [Issues Etc May 28, 2010]

“Christian service is not about creating a better world. Nor is it about a message that has no trust of compassion during its delivery. The gospel is both practiced and spoke. This means the biblical world view is about having a heart for our fellow humans created in the image of God with the satisfying and of pointing them to or only real hope of eternal deliverance; repentance and faith in Jesus Christ our Redeemer and King.”

Steve Horn “Delivering both help and hope”  Answers Magazine  Jan-Mar 2014 p 38

[Ex 23:31-33] …Luther: “Man was especially created for the knowledge and worship of God; for the Sabbath was not ordained for sheep and cows, but for men, that in them the knowledge of God might be developed and might increase. Therefore, although man lost his knowledge of God, nevertheless, God wanted this command about sanctifying the Sabbath to remain in force. On the seventh day He wanted me to busy themselves both with His word and with the other forms of worship established by Him so that we might give first thought to the fact that this nature was created chiefly for acknowledging and glorifying God (AE 1:80)

Hi I’m Jim and I’m a sinner II

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[Continuing Gordon MacDonald’s article in Leadership Mag Winter 2014 pp 29-32]
…”‘I woke up at four this morning and couldn’t wait until it was time to get here. I need you people so much. I’m a much stronger person after the meeting is over. I can go without a drink for another 24 hours.’ I imagined church people saying this about Sunday worship.” Yea, amen brother Gordon! So the issue is how to get people stoked to want to be at worship all the time. I do a Matins worship on Thursday 9am, if I had the interest [because so far attendance is, me], I’d do it every day, I’d love to start every day at Matins. No one in the church has ever given it an honest chance [I do it on Sundays at 8:30 too]. I like to get there and worship like that every morning. How do you translate that to people so they “couldn’t wait until it was time to get here”?
“In all the months I attended AA. I never learned a last name, or what anyone did for a living, or even what anyone’s socio-economic position was. These things made no difference. The primary issue was recovery, nothing else.”
Yea, Hi I’m Jim and I’m a sinner. That’s all that matters. Clearly that is not the understanding of most people in the church, they want to be part of the museum of saints. Unfortunately, in reality, the church is a hospital for sinners. Until such time as you treat it as such, you will never be healed, you will never know new life, you will be stuck where you are at, a museum display.
“‘You don’t get it,’ he responded. ‘In an AA meeting, there are no homeless men and there are no prostitutes. We’re just a bunch of drunks helping each other stay sober for one more day. Where we sleep or how we make our living has little to do with our addictions.'”
Again, what would it be like if we worshiped together and were never the least bit concerned if we were worshiping with a gay prostitute, or the most successful, handsome man or woman you can imagine. You’re not there to sweat the other person, you’re there to worship God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. You are also there to support and be supported by those who are brothers and sisters. Yea, maybe you’d never have anything to do with that person on the street, but in that church, before the altar of Christ you are brothers and sisters in Jesus and I mean that in the best sense.
“Alcoholism is as illustrative of what the Bible calls sin as anything I know. It is a spiritual disease that warps the brain, destroys common sense, generates selfishness and twists the truth. A classic alcoholic is a habitual liar, sure he’s never wrong, convinced that everyone else is to blame for his problems.”
I’m not going to say that most people are these extremes, but like Jesus did, sometimes using hyperbole makes us think a little. We all have our sin problems, church is to help us to grow in holiness and away from our sin problems, but they will always be there. Do yourself a huge favor, acknowledge it in yourself and give yourself a break and even more so acknowledge it in everyone else with you in worship and give them an even bigger break.
“Transparency. The alcoholic’s price of admission to an AA meeting is acknowledged brokenness.” That’s the way we should all go to worship, and as I said cut ourselves and each other some slack. And please, give me a break, I’m not looking to have a whole group of contrite sinners in front of me while I show everyone how holy I am. If you think I’m getting a little too full of myself and holier than thou, then you just trot up to me and let me know. Better know what you’re talking about, but I’m as accountable (probably more so in reality) to the congregation as the congregation is to me. When either one of us loses sight of that, then we are just playing church and going through the motions, we no longer know true worship or being in Christ.
“Acceptance” You have to accept others, even the unlovely and they have to accept you. Our Savior embraced lepers, sorry, but you don’t know anyone even close to leprosy, there isn’t anyone you can’t at least shake hands with.
MacDonald described a woman really up against it, just completely unlovely and without hope. “[Marilyn] sober for more than a dozen years. She reached with both arms toward Kathy and pulled her close …’Honey, you’re gong to be OK. You’re with us now. We can deal with this together. All you have to do is keep coming. Hear me? Keep coming.'”
I’ve said that to people in as many words, but under much less dramatic conditions.
If we had that heart of Christ and hey, I’m as lacking as anyone. We all have to be more empathetic and accepting, let’s help each other do that.
Having said all that, I do have one criticism of AA/NA. Yea, it’s worked, and I understand the rationale with the “higher power”. But hey guys maybe it’s time to get real, get off your high horse (cause I have gotten that kind of attitude from people in AA, when I was talking to someone who really wanted to know about Christ). I have to wonder, how many people got left behind because the focus wasn’t on the one true higher power, Jesus Christ? No more then in the rest of the world, AA is not a place to get all up in how you can change, and should be all about how God the Father, brings new life, how God the Son died so you could be saved from your old life and God the Holy Spirit works that transformation in you. Anything else? Sorry! Just doesn’t work. Having said that, there is a lot in AA that we in the church could learn from. I really do like being with my brothers and sisters in Christ, I like being their pastor and I hope they like being a part of the congregation I have been led by God to pastor. So let’s show that compassion, empathy and willingness to help and sacrifice for those around us.

Yes I can, In Christ I can do all things…

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There was a great article in Triathlete Magazine (Aug 2013, Jesse Thomas pp 38-39) about ways to positive talk yourself through a race. The longest I’ve done is International Distance. But after swimming up to a mile, 20 plus miles on a bike and halfway through a 10K run, yea you did need to do some self-talk. It doesn’t have to be athletic, believe me I’ve had to push through some grueling days at a desk, traveling, I’m sure you’ve had plenty of days wherever your work day happens when you feel like you’re literally hanging on by your finger nails.

Jesse Thomas defines a sports mantra as: “…a positive word, phrase or image that an athlete repeats to himself to combat fear, doubt and pain during training or competition. A simple mantra example might be, ‘I can do this!’ or ‘I look amazing in these aviators.’ … They can be used before (‘I am superbly prepared’) or during ((‘I am the pain king’) training and racing to calm your nerves, balance the inevitable negative thoughts that creep into your brain and ultimately, make you go faster and stay positive.” Now Thomas has done many triathlons and is a three-time Wildflower (one of the premier events in triathlon) Long Course champion. So I’m sure he knows from whence he speaks.

I think the applications of this are obvious in probably any areas of our lives. Hey let’s face it, it’s not just the workplace, moms at home with kids, I know I’ve been home with kids and thought I was going bite through my lower lip.

“…I think whatever creates a repetitive, believable, positive image for you works, but here are a couple of general qualities I’ve found in my mantra experience:

1) Keep it short and simple…

2) Relate it to your successes. Mantras are  most effective if they help you recall other successes you’re had. That could be a great workout, a strong race…whatever recalls a time you got through pain and doubt.

3) Stay positive and realistic …I think my best mantras are ones that acknowledge my doubts balanced with positive reinforcement to overcome it: ‘This is hard, but I own hard…”

“…If I remember that all I have to do is get through this moment and keep myself from projecting an outcome (staying in the now) it doesn’t seem so bad and relieves the anticipation of potential failure… if I tell myself I’m tearing through this while I’m in the pain cave, for some reason it makes it easier. Yes, it hurts, but I’m asking for it and kicking it… I’ve found it’s best if I say these out loud as well, which has the extra benefit of psyching out your competition!”

Yes, there are times when we just have to tell ourselves, “I own this”, “I’ve done this before and I’m stronger now”, “wow, what great scenery and I get to run through it”. Triathlons do have some great venues, I would love to do “Escape to Bermuda”, just watching it on TV you can tell the course is really striking. Point is, there is much you can hang on and push through but as Christians we have so much more and much more than a mantra. We are talking to our omnipotent Lord, this week I am preaching on 1 Corinthians 6:19: “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,…” I am not telling you that the Holy Spirit is going to power you through your next Iron Man, He could if He chose to, but God is not in the business of overturning the natural laws that He created, although He certainly can. But I am saying that no matter what you are dealing with, you are a temple of the Holy Spirit, you are a child of God the Father and you should remember that. Hey I’m always going to be a “back of the packer”, but I’m still out there doing it, I’m still striving and I hope in some way God will use it to His glory. Or He will help you to push through a bad day with the kids, or at your desk, or on the work site, where ever/whenever.
We’ve been talking about “hesychasms” in some of our groups at church. This is where you recite something like; “Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy” so often that it just becomes that background program running on your heart, it comes to the surface whenever you need it, it’s constantly on your heart, you are constantly talking to the Holy Spirit whose temple you are. As Christians we can reach out during a race to our Father in heaven and I’ve done it, “This is the day that the Lord has made”, appreciating everything He’s doing in me. How much more can you be encouraged? But I’d sure like to see a day that the Lord has made in the “Escape to Bermuda” Triathlon. Anyone out there want to sponsor a back of the packer? God bless, and remember, sure, keep those positive ideas in your head through your “races”, but always remember as children of the Father, we should always be looking to Him and trusting in Him, quoting Paul: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13) That’s not just happy self-talk, that’s inspired talk from God Himself.

Hi, my name is Jim and I’m a sinner

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Gordon MacDonald in Leadership Journal (winter 2014 p 29) writes about his experience attending an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, I haven’t finished the article, but immediately I see so many parallels to what church should be:

“I was no sooner seated than the people on either side of me introduced themselves … and expressed gladness that I was there.” Shouldn’t that be what happens at church, a new person sits down and those around him/her make him feel welcome? “In fact, before the hour ended, four men, one after another handed me cards and said, ”I’m John, here’s my cell number. Call me anytime, and I’ll come and meet you if you need a friend.” What can I add to that? I also like that the meetings get right to it, no messing around, no one more quick word with your buddy. We are here for a reason, let’s get to it and do it.

MacDonald takes his turn to speak and tells them (since he’s not an alcoholic he doesn’t say “I’m an alcoholic”) but just says it’s my first time here. The response is “keep on coming, keep on coming”, he says that is said in the same way in church we might say “‘Praise the Lord”. He also notes as the others speak “change does not come easily, but it does come.” This is the same as church, as being a Christian, you do not automatically become right up to snuff, but God takes you, using the Body of Christ, the people there who make up Christ’s Body and begins to change you, begins the process of being more Christ-like. That is so great, everyone there encouraging the person “to keep coming, keep coming.” My take away is that we are all glad to be here, we are glad you are here, we look forward to knowing you better, and being good disciples. So don’t stop now, you’ve only begun!

No one feels they should somehow “chose”, AA , like the church, it is what it is and has stood the test of time. It’s not catering to the new generation or some secular fad, both have proven that when people become serious, about a serious form of worship (read liturgical) the church has been leading people to Christ and feeding them in this form of worship for centuries. Trying to make it into entertainment or buddy-buddy doesn’t move you closer to Christ doesn’t leave you in awe of a great, all knowing, all powerful God who can make real changes in your life, really can lead you into new life in Christ and will ultimately lead you into an eternal resurrection. When you have brothers and sisters in Christ they sometimes become closer to you then family. They are there to help you and guide you. They know that they are just beggars who know where the bread is and help others . They are excited to see you there and want to help you as much as possible. AA, like the church, isn’t there for your convenience or your comfort, it’s there to actually make you feel challenged, a little outside yourself, a feeling that there is so much more and I’m missing it and I’m also messing myself up more by not taking it in and growing in it. (After all the only alternative is the sinfulness, a lost, dead world)And it’s also there to make you very aware of what everyone else needs, for the Church everyone needs Jesus and we in the church have to understand that and look for what our individual role is in helping others to know Him as Savior and Lord.

When there’s someone new, go over and meet them, no pretense, no stuffiness, just simply an attitude of: “this is someone who the Holy Spirit has brought here to worship and since the Holy Spirit has put that person near me, then I have to greet that person as a brother or sister. Excited, enthusiastic (but not obnoxious), looking forward to what God has in store for us, and letting them know that just like any good brother or sister, I am there for them, that I look for what the Holy Spirit has for me to do in that person’s life. Isn’t that great? What an adventure!

Fake it ’til you make it, or turn it over to God?

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I’m trying hard to not make this condescending. I’m not trying to be condescending, I feel grief, I feel as if I’m too blame in some way. I ask “how does such tragedy happy?” But there’s no doubt, it is our sinful condition. Even people who should be at the top of their game in the corporate world, conquering new heights, or tilting at windmills, but still sinful, lost. How are they sinful, these are people who were so caught up in their work, in success, in wealth, fame, being first, who can say, but just not handling it according to God’s will and being so consumed with what they were doing.
You can deny it, but we can become so enamored with what we do for work, our entire life consumed by what we do for a living and becoming so consumed, it becomes our idol. That is sin, placing something, anything above God in our lives. Idolatry is not limited to some pagan worshiper bowing down before some statue, or carving or other representation, it’s simply making something in our life our God. We always think we have control over it, we don’t, just like any idol; drugs, sex, money, power, spouse, children, it controls us.
It’s certainly a forgivable sin, Jesus died for idolaters. It’s not “Blaspheming the Holy Spirit”,
The article in “Inc Magazine” describes Bradley Smith whose business grew 1,400 percent in three years and then hit the downside, using all his financial resources, business and personal, his world spiraling out of control.
I worked for a guy in the Coast Guard who used to say “fake it ’til you make it”, he usually said it sardonically, with a grin. The article uses the same expression. We understood what our senior meant, you just aren’t going to learn everything you need to know to go out and deal with weather, seas, people, wildlife, weapons, aggression who knows what and save lives and property, enforce laws, all the Coast Guard missions. You have to go out, project confidence, show ability, rely on your training and yes, God’s grace, and learn while you are doing it.
The big difference is that a Coast Guard coxswain completes the mission, fills out the paperwork, perhaps suffers through any subsequent inquiry, but then moves on. Entrepreneurs can’t move on, a coxswain at some point may have to let the fire burn, may have to let the boat sink. The entrepreneur? Probably thinks he/she doesn’t have that luxury, every waking moment has to be invested in their company.
The article describes two who recently committed suicide and others who dealt with severe mental disorders, all linked to stress, way too many hours, severe depression. The article describes how many coped with their situations: exercise, working out agreements, visualization, not taking it personally. Fine, all good suggestions, and of course, counseling, medication and don’t get me wrong, there are times when these are necessary. We can certainly put our body through such a grinding that we can distort our chemical composition. But have you noticed how temporary, how fleeting?
We were not made to work 12 – 18 hours a day, 7 days a week. Sure there are times when you have to step up and make extraordinary efforts, but no one can do that and maintain it and I defy anyone to prove to me that is what it takes on an extended basis. You can’t! God simply did not compose us to be able to do it. We end up making an idol to our efforts, all we have is sacrificed to the idol, our life is devoted to this idol and it and any idol other then God will relentlessly grind us down and take everything.
God created us to work six days, go ahead do it. But He required that we have a Sabbath, no it doesn’t have to be on Sunday, there were many times when I had to work on Sunday, but there has to be a Sabbath, a time of rest and to come before God to be strengthened in Him, to be refreshed in Him.
I know, you are thinking, “just another obligation, something else to do.” That’s not the way worship should be. Throughout this entire article I’m thinking “if only they would let God help them, if they would only stop putting themselves over God”. For some of them they lost, for many they ended up on the other side, but I have no doubt even they would say that they have to wonder if it was worth the price.
The article talks about people who become “hypomanic”, they have to run, they have to stay in motion. OK, fine, how about using some of that in service to God, Him using them to serve others? Would that give them some perspective, felt they were serving? After I have served someone else, I have often felt that I received more ministering than that person did. Or how about just spending some time basking in the presence of God who truly does love, you can be as rich as Bill Gates or Warren Buffet or as poor as a church mouse. Fabulously successful or miserable and wretched. He loves you just the same and He longs to touch you with that, to give you hope, to help you know that He wants what is truly best for you. If He wants you to be Warren Buffet and you follow His leading He will do things in life that will astound you. If it wasn’t in His plan for you to be Michael Zuckerberg, you may actually push hard enough to get there, but at a price that will eventually take you down and cost you everything.
Over and over again I heard myself while I was reading this article “what if they’d known Christ, what if they’d taken just a little time to be in the presence of God, to be with brothers and sisters in Jesus, how much would their life had changed?” Your Father in heaven wants what is best for you, grinding yourself to destruction is not His will and will only cost you.
What if some of these guys had a pastor who they could spend some time with, to unload some of their burden, maybe include spouse and children, just a little time, but a little time to be reminded of a loving God, a God that wants to restore and refresh. Working towards God’s glory, who knows maybe you will be the next Jack Welch, or maybe you will be quite content to be less than what you envisioned, but entirely in God’s will and His everlasting arms.
I know this is late, but join us. Feb 12, 10am, the GreenBean Coffee Co, corner of W King St and Beaver St in downtown York, Pa. It would be great to discuss this, or any issues you might be dealing with.