Monday, January 31, 2011
Midwinter Altarpiece
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Back in Chicago
It's the city I was born in and spent the first months of my life. It's the city my grandparents moved to and where we stayed during Covenant Annual Meetings during my childhood. It's the city where I lived for 8 years of college and seminary. It's the city where I took my new bride for our first years together. It's the city where our eldest son was born with the attending hands of my uncle. It's the city where my son Luke went to college and seminary and is now living with our daughter-in-law Kelly. It's the city I visit regularly over the years for Covenant committee meetings and Midwinter Conferences.
And in late January/February it's a city wrapped in grey and streaked with salt. People are stern-faced against the wind and layered with coats and sweatshirts, making everyone look like the Pillsbury Doughboy.
Without a worship service nearby, we took the train/bus in to the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art. There I watched Martha wander through rooms, making her quiet comments about artists she knows and ones who are new. It's fun to finish a room and have her ask me what stands out and then we talk about what art is and isn't. We had soup and salad and wandered home on busy streets to the subway.
This is not a new place for me, but is at the same time. The churches I have served until now were all in the midwest and driveable to Chicago. We shared the same weather and the same look. Now I am surrounded by green all the time (or draught-induced brown). I don't wear heavy coats and the wind does not make my eyes water and my face flushed. I guess it reinforces that truth I keep bumping back into that I am a resident alien wherever I live.
Friday, January 28, 2011
It's Never Enough

Thursday, January 27, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
The One Who Stops for People In Pain

Saturday, January 22, 2011
Called
“Are you available?” is a phrase Sandi used several times this week after she knocked on my office door. Ideally, I would like to ask her, “Available for what?” But that’s really not an option. As a pastor I need to be available to members and friends who need some time to talk and process where and how God is working in their lives.
How does that work for you? How do you make yourself available to others? What are the ways you let others know you are there for them, to listen to them and to walk through situations together?
One of the things I teach to couples planning on marriage is a session on communication and listening. I try to get them to identify what things prevent them from listening to the other person. What gets in the way of your ability to listen?
It’s amazing all the things that get listed: exhaustion, stress, distractions, work, TV, computers, smart phones, being in a hurry and many others.
As you prepare for Sunday, are you expecting God to talk to you? Are you expecting God himself to say something new and important into your life? The text for Sunday, Matthew 4: 18-25, is the one where Jesus calls the first four disciples. He spoke and they heard.
How does God speak to you? How do you get ready to listen to God? What gets in your way to hearing his voice? What can you do, even now, to turn down the volume of other voices and noises to be ready to hear his voice?
Grace & Peace,
Don
Pruned & Fruitful


Thursday, January 20, 2011
Rocket-Church

I live in a very cool place that regularly schedules rocket launches over our heads from Vandenberg Air Force Base. Today they launched a very large Delta IV rocket. So I went down to the beach to watch the 1:08 pm launch. At about 1:00 pm cars began to stop and park and people began to gather with me at the beach. We all faced in the same direction and talked about the same thing: the rocket, what time? where would we see it? what was it carrying? and how cool it was that we could all take some time off to watch this.
Monday, January 17, 2011
A Great Walk
There are days off and then there are DAYS OFF. Today was the latter. Martha and I had a nice walk in the town of Carpinteria, lunch at a Japanese restaurant and then a long, long walk on the beach during low tide. The wet sands reflected the sky and the hills as children dug in the sand and sea birds screeched. We walked a mile or two, talking and being silent. It was heart restoring.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Tempted?

“It’s tempting, but…” is a phrase we often use when confronted with some delight we know we should not have, like a big hot fudge sundae or a second helping of delicious tri-tip. I think of it when I walk by the candy jar on the counter in the office, especially when it is filled with wrapped caramels. We employ that phrase when we consider a new purchase or a trip somewhere fun.
Temptation has been inoculated into the realm of delicacies and delightful indulgences and empty of any serious spiritual danger. That’s not the way Jesus understood temptation, nor the Bible. This coming Sunday we will be moving from the waters of baptism into the wilderness of temptation. My hope is for us to discover Jesus’ successful approach to facing temptations.
As you prepare for worship, I invite you to read the three passages of scripture we will use in worship: Matthew 4: 1-11, Genesis 2:15-17 and I Corinthians 10:1-13. Reflect on your unique temptations. If that is an odd thought, identify those things that bend you away from God. What have you discovered that works to keep you close to God? I am both sobered by the seriousness of temptation today and also excited about the resource and power we have available to us in God’s word.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Friday, January 07, 2011
Owning Our Baptisms

The trees (home and church) are un-decorated, taken down and dragged to the recycling pile. Martha has carefully put away the Christmas decorations and crèche. All the Christmas foods and candies are long-since gone. Most of the thank-you notes have been written (Martha is great at that) and sent. Wonderful guests are gone and bedding has been washed and changed. Life is returning to “normal.”
In the church year we mark that as Epiphany, January 6 when churches around the world celebrate the wise men bringing their gifts at the guidance of the star. Epiphany (meaning to shine-out) also speaks about the shining out of the life and ministry of Jesus. Epiphany is about the “normal” life of Jesus, what it looks like day-in and day-out.
Starting Sunday, worship and sermons will focus on what it means to live out our baptismal vows like Jesus did? What should we expect in our discipleship? What should Jesus expect from us? What does a modern-day disciple, following Jesus, look like.
The texts I have chosen from the Gospel of Matthew are pretty powerful. They address baptism, temptation, being called, how to be salt & light and more. I encourage you (if you are attending MCC) to read the text before coming to worship and bring your own Bible with you.
The text for this Sunday is Matthew 3: 13-17, the story of Jesus’ baptism. What do you recall about your baptism? What does it mean to you now? What has baptism done to you and for you? What are the questions you still have about baptism? What is the lingering effect of your baptism on you? As the criminal said to George Cluny in “O Brother Where Art Thou”: Come on in boys, the water’s fine!”
Grace & Peace,
Don
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Compassion Funds at Work

On the first Sunday of each month, we take a door offering after worship that goes into MCC's Compassion Fund. This is a special fund accessed by the pastoral staff for emergency needs outside of the budget. Usually they are very confidential and personal (e.g. marital counseling or medical help). So we are not able to share the good news of how MCC Compassion Fund dollars are spent....until yesterday.
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Thought Beginning 2011
1. Worship is the center
2. Love is the rule
3. Honesty and transparency work
4. Avoid all triangles
5. Anger is over-rated
6. A good idea will always be a target for skeptics…stick with good ideas
7. Quiet moments need protection
8. When in doubt, go out and visit
9. Jesus is always right
10. The local church is the plan