Labels

I really don’t like labels.

Not the kind that identify the ingredients in a product, which I should read more carefully, but the kind that attempt to polarize who is “right” and who is “wrong” measured by an agenda. It reminds me of what President Abraham Lincoln said when asked if he thought God was on the side of the North, “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.” And everybody wants to be right, so we label, if not to identify who’s right, at least so we can point out who’s wrong. Not good.

“As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.” – Galatians 6:14-16 New Living Translation

You gotta love Paul and his way of bringing everything back down to earth.

What he’s writing to them about is labels. These are groups who want you to identify with them: Join us because it’s us against them, you know.

In particular, the people of Galatia were being forced to be circumcised under the Jewish tradition as a condition of their salvation in Christ. Paul warns them that this was nothing but an attempt by religious teachers who wanted to look good in front of the Jewish leaders, and not be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save. He also warned of those who wanted them to join with them just so they could boast about gaining more followers than the other groups (6:12-13). Labels.

We see it today, too. We’re calling them: Conservative, Moderate, Liberal, Atheist, Agnostic, Fundamentalist, Anti-This, Pro-That, Right-Wing, Left Wing. Polarizing-- makes my skin crawl.

Paul takes us to our own heart condition and motivations, “May I never boast about anything except the cross…” In the King James Version the word glory is used instead of boast, “May I never glory…”  Both use the same Greek root: kauchaomai, meaning to vaunt or a vain display of self-worth, to brag based on a wish.

If he were writing to us in our churches today I imagine he would probably use the same root. He would probably approach the subject with the same look into our heart and motivations. If we’re going to boast, glory, make a vain display of anything, let’s keep it limited to the cross of Christ that has done all the work of our salvation. Let us not bring in our own religious efforts by attempting to label who’s more right, and who’s more wrong. It’s wishful thinking, and it’s vain.

He’s saying that boasting in this kind of manner leads to these labels and the measurements and standards of man. Looking for and trying to identify with a label creates division, factions, isolation, pride, anger, envy, malice, and all sorts of evil things that can come up from inside our heart and dictate our actions. But Paul says that all who live by the principle of not following a label for a label’s sake should be at peace, having recognized their experience of the mercy of God.

He’s saying that because of his experience with God’s mercy at the cross of Christ his interest in being labeled has been crucified with Christ on that cross. Instead of joining up with a group that leans this way or that way on religious topics, he says that draw or that pull should have died to us. He says having a label doesn’t matter, what matters is that we have been transformed from what we were by the sinful world’s standard to a new creation by Christ’s standard.

These are the new people of God. God was doing a new thing in the hearts of men and women through the cross of Christ!

When I read what Paul is trying to teach us I read it like this:

“As for me, may I never brag in a vain attempt to justify or prove my faith, righteousness, or self worth about anything I have done or value except having gone to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of the work accomplished in me from that cross, my interest in being labeled as a ____________ has been crucified. Their interest in me has also died because I no longer measure my righteousness or worth by their standards, so I will be no good to their agenda. It doesn’t matter what our personal perspective is or where it comes from. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation and no longer have those agendas. May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.” – Galatians 6:14-16 (through Mike’s eyes).

Love Spread Around

I’m so excited for the Sock Hop at Branches Church this Saturday! Sometimes you just have to pull out the stops and have some fun and this is one of those times. It’s Valentine’s Day Week – turn up the music and let’s dance!

Growing up in the Midwest, Valentine’s Day at school was a big deal. We decorated the classroom with hearts and streamers and brought shoe boxes to decorate with slits cut in the top for everyone to put their valentine card in. We would put them on the top of our desks and make a parade out of it. Everyone brought cards for everyone – nobody was to be left out. It was a good life lesson. Oh, and candy…don’t forget the candy!

Of course, there were kids that you picked very carefully what was said on that card; you didn’t want to give the wrong impression! Then there were the cards that you would scrutinize for the girl you wanted to get a particular message to. It was all in good fun. It was affirming to get a card that had a particular sporting skill or talent that was yours written on it and was recognized by your classmates. Looking back I’m amazed at how the teachers combined art, social studies, current events, and twenty-some elementary students into an organized event that created so much excitement that lasted for days. Good memories for me.

In February at Branches we are asking ourselves, “What does love require of me?”

Much of those early life lessons around Valentine’s Day in school are applicable to this question for sure; respect, inclusion, affirmation, participation, thinking of others, etc. but these are actually out of a social or moral obligation, they do not necessarily have to come from a love that is within me; just follow the rules and everyone gets along.

When Jesus said, “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:34-35) he was talking about more than getting along. He wasn’t adding an eleventh commandment to God’s top ten. He wasn’t being redundant by repeating what he had already taught them about loving God with all their heart, soul, and mind and their neighbor as themselves. He was taking them to a new level of definition and understanding that love comes from God – like he did – and it goes beyond (or should I say comes from beyond) our moral fiber and our social convictions and our intrinsic ability to be nice and follow the rules.

Jesus gave us this much: that we were able to obey loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind and our neighbor as ourselves. This is good, he said, being obedient, to get along, to acknowledge God, to take care of your neighbor, it’s what you are capable of so it is good that you do it. But this new commandment to love each other is commanding a love that is not obligatory, nor is it obedience alone, nor is it for anything that I may get out of it because of my moral or social obligations toward justice and fairness. In the Greek, it is Agape, or abundant love that comes from God for the benefit of others.

For the benefit of others; Hmmm. Jesus said, “Just as I have loved you” meaning, I gave up my rights to come love on you. I left what was mine and came to include you. I don’t have to pay for your sin but I am willing to. So, love each other just as I have loved you. THEN, you will be known as my disciples.

If I had a dollar for every time I heard a church or someone in the church say, “What do we get out of it?” to excuse not doing something, I could buy a lot of gas with said dollars. Agape love, love that is for the benefit of others, love that will identify the disciples of Jesus doesn’t ask that question! We have a long way to go just to lay aside our own rights and convictions and personal agendas in order to love like Jesus loved. 

Where can we start?

If I could go back and redo my childhood years I would change this: I would not bring a Valentine for everyone because I was told to. I would change my heart. I would choose one and bring it to the awkward girl with the dirty clothes who had no friends just because it would make her feel so special. I would choose to not worry about what people thought of me or if they accused me of liking her like kids do. I would do it for her – not because I was told to.

Now, in honor of Valentine’s Day, we’re going to get together this Saturday and open up the gym, turn up the 50’s music, put out the cookies and punch, pass out prizes, and dance the night away just to be able to love on the community of Menomonie. No obligation, no law forcing us, no agenda to justify it, just to let people know we are glad for what God has done for us and we are glad to be a part of this community!

Come join us at the hop Saturday, February 9^th, 6-8:30pm at the Wakanda School gym for some good old fashioned fun and games. You might even leave a little nostalgic remembering that love is supposed to be spread around!

Behind the Scenes

“Love the snow, hate the cold” has been a common phrase at our house.

Having lived in Minnesota and Wisconsin all our lives we know it will be cold for a little while this same time each year but we still have to say it. Maybe you have a similar line you’ve used or a ritual you go through on the coldest of days – like starting the car to let it warm up before you take it anywhere, or being the first one on your block with the snow blower out in the storm. Maybe you just look forward to the beauty of a fresh snowfall that cleans up everything with a fresh look, so you wait inside with a hot chocolate or coffee and sit by the fire.

We bought snowmobiles a few years back so we could get out and do something in the cold. Maybe, like us, you’ve been involved in a hockey program with a commitment to many games and tournaments to attend regardless of the weather.  We have pro football games, ice fishing, sledding, ice skating, slippery roads, four wheel drive vehicles, and ATV’s. It seems we are a hardy bunch up here in the frozen north who have found some pretty fun and productive things to do during the cold and snow!

One thing I don’t think that was invented in the frozen north, though, was doing a portable church.

At Branches, we rent our meeting space. We store everything we need for our group gathering during the week, set it up for three hours, then take it down and pack it away again until next week. Everything from sound equipment to communion trays, chairs for kids to coffee makers goes back in the trailer. Every week everything has to be set up, plugged in, cleaned, fixed, adjusted, arranged, filled, replaced, warmed up, and then taken back down and packed away for next Sunday.

Most things, that is. In the cold, you can’t forget the baby wipes and put them in the trailer or next week you’ll be trying to wipe a child’s nose (or other parts) with the equivalent of a popsicle. Someone has to take the cleaners and disinfectants with them to keep them inside all week or they will freeze. The sound board does not do well in the cold all week then brought back to room temperature for a sound check within thirty minutes – diodes and circuits just don’t respond to condensation well!

But behind the scenes, making all this happen week in and week out, are the unsung heroes that deal with setting up and taking down all we need to do portable church. Yes, it’s nice to come to a church where the coffee is on and the snacks are out and the sound is rockin’ and the kids room is set up and the video is working properly and the chairs are laid out in theater fashion, and with trustees who monitor and count and deposit what has been given in the offering boxes. But, it takes people who are willing to get up earlier than most on a Sunday morning – even in the frozen winter of Wisconsin – and start the truck to get the trailer,  unload the drums, warm up the sound system, fill the coffee pots and communion cups, and run wires under the seats, so that the space that begins as a lunch room can be transformed into a church for three hours each week.

These folks are my heroes! These folks are among the greatest in the kingdom of God according to Jesus’ teaching. They are willing to serve others, get down to the basics of it all and get up on a cold and snowy day, get the portable stuff to the school, and start building the place we call church. They do it for you, they do it for the kingdom, they do it because they believe in what we are doing in building a place where people can come as they are and find a place to grow in their faith.

But it is a LOT of work and I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who is involved in this part of our worship at Branches!

And I would ask that if you aren’t involved in the set up and taking down of Branches Church each week that you look into it. This is a great time with a small group of people who create a lot of energy in the room before church and have a great time working together.

If you are loving this portable church thing in these frozen days of winter in Wisconsin, I encourage you to jump in and put your hand to the task of what it takes to do this for real!

God on Our Terms

Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.

For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.

But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you. – 2 Timothy 4:2-5

I have often committed to our congregation that I would not preach Christianity but I would preach Christ. I believe that Christ is our Good News and Christianity has become our expression of it. But no more than a painting of a person can introduce you to the person in the portrait can the expression of Christ introduce anyone to him. They can see him, but not know him. You have to meet the person in the painting face to face to say you’ve actually met them, to get to know them.

This is the basis of the ministry God has given me. Working at telling others, to the best of my ability, the difference between the Good News of Christ himself and the personal expressions of it we have come to know as religion.

I have found that people in general have a real struggle with trying to understand the boundaries between faith and personal convictions of religious behavior. As I talk with people I try and listen where they are coming from. Everyone has had a journey of experiences and what has happened along that journey is a pretty good indicator of why we filter what we do, or react the way we do, or value what we do. More often than not, I’m afraid, these experiences come from peoples' expressions of religion rather than from actual experience with Christ.

We have to remember: God did not send a religion into the world to save it, he sent a person – his Son!

I have heard this phrase recently: The age of irrationality. It was in reference to the world we live in today where the facts have become secondary to what we want to believe. We do it with who is, or is not, in the White House. We do it with who is, or is not, elected to congress. We do it with who is giving the news. We do it with who we choose as friends and who we associate with. And we do it with the bible, our church, and our faith. When I say we, I don’t mean just Christians, but all of us who are looking to hope for and believe in God on our terms. We tend to want to vilify what we don’t want.

The apostle Paul addressed this critical and judgmental attitude in Romans 2:1 “You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things.”

In this age where we have more access to global technology, social media, and more information at our fingertips than at any time in history, we still tend to lean to what we want to believe rather than look at the facts. Let’s face it, it’s easy to believe something bad about somebody when it affirms what we want to believe about them. It’s easy to believe a rant on Facebook by someone who we think holds the same convictions as we do without checking it out factually because it confirms what we want to be confirmed in – that we’re right about that person or law or situation, whatever it might be.

This mindset was seen in the history of Israel, too. Isaiah 5:19 says that the people were challenging God to hurry up and do something to prove that he really existed and was in control of the world. What they didn't see coming was that when God did as they asked, it was they who were on the receiving end of his judgment because of their critical and judgmental attitudes. Verse 20 states that they had missed what it was that God wanted to do among them because they had turned evil to good and good to evil.

I know we want to say that is what the godless world has done, it’s the world that has gone backwards, it’s people who don’t follow Christ who have turned evil into good and good into evil. True. It has. They will. But in Isaiah’s day, it was God’s people who were doing that. And now, we have Paul addressing Timothy about the same characteristics among the followers of Christ; “They will reject the truth and follow after myths.”

Don’t believe everything you read! (says the guy writing the blog…)

Why? Because it’s easier to follow after that which affirms what we want to believe is right rather than suffer for what is right, be patient for what is right, lay out the cost for what is right, spend the time for what is right, think about what is right, be kind in doing what is right, listen to the Holy Spirit for what is right because ultimately it is he who will lead us into all truth! (John 16:12)

If Jesus is truly the Word from God for us, if he truly is the Good News from God for us, we have to preach and teach Christ, not our personal take on Christ, but Christ. Not the religion of Christ, but the person of Christ. Whether the times are difficult to understand or not, whether the circumstances of our country or the world economy or global weather are favorable or not; I am committed to fully carry out the ministry God has given me and “Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.”

The Reset Button

I like the line in the movie from A Muppet Christmas Carol when Scrooge asks the identity and origin of the spirit of Christmas past; “…there have been more than 1800 before me…” comes the reply. Christmas is a birthday celebration. Once a year, every year, the date set aside to remember the birth of Jesus comes around.

But whether you celebrate Christmas for that reason and with that focus or not, an annual celebration can be considered a time to hit the reset button. We need it from time to time anyway. A time to regroup and rest because life gets busy, difficult, we lose sleep, we fight for policies and politics, we wrestle with our relationships with family and friends, we suffer losses and health issues, we don’t know what to do sometimes, we get tired. Even in the best of environments like we have here in the United States for opportunity and advancement in our pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness we still do life one day at a time and each day brings only so much we can actually control.

So, as Christmas is here, the annual birthday celebration of God becoming like us and paving the way to what a good and abundant life is intended to be, let’s take the day to use it as a reset button. Let’s evaluate our relationships, our time, our health, our passions and priorities, and most of all our heart and soul. Solomon wrote that out of the heart come all the other issues of life. So if my heart isn't doing well; if it’s stuck in a rut, or overwhelmed with grief and sadness, or fearful or angry, or even selfish, this could be the time of year to hit that reset button and re-evaluate how it’s doing.

Even with the humble and lowly circumstances at that first ‘Christmas’ with the Son of God born as a human baby lying in a bed made from a manger, the angels still partied in the skies saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace and good will toward men,” so, we too, can let the peace of God which passes all human understanding fill our heart and mind with the knowledge of God’s favor because He is for us!

Merry Christmas!

Sad Christmas Songs

“Merry Christmas,” “Happy New Year,” and “Happy Holidays” are common greetings of joy and gladness at this time of year. They are expressions of good will and hope for love in action to spread; for justice and mercy to be shown here and abroad and so much more. A pretty good thing considering the hope that Christmas represents. We are a broken world in need and we recognize it more at Christmas than any other time of year.

In regard to this merry, happy, and well-wishing season, some song writers have opted to go against the grain of the traditional feeling of joy and happiness with songs that tug on our heartstrings.

I was listening to a radio station the other day when they played a song I had never heard before. It was done by Nat King Cole, a wonderful vocalist for sure, but as the song progressed I heard the lyrics attempting to pull at my emotions to get me to feel something for this little boy it was talking about.

Maybe I wasn’t in the “Christmas spirit” or maybe I was being a “Grinch” or a “Scrooge” but my emotions turned to skepticism instead of empathy. As I listened to the beautiful arrangement of the orchestra and Nat’s smooth jazz vocal, the words just didn’t seem to sync with the rest.

It was Christmas morning; the little boy was out in the street looking for someone to play with. All the other little boys were out with their new toys and too busy to notice him. So he went back into his house to play with last year’s broken toys because Santa had forgotten this little boy. As the song continued it told me that this little “Laddie didn’t even have a daddy.”  Each verse seemed to make the situation more tragic and disappointing. I was skeptical. Is there a verse about his health next? Will there be another chorus with his momma not having any food in the house? I felt sort of sad for myself instead. Do I not have any empathy? Am I comfortable with my life and that’s good enough? Maybe that was what the songwriter was after – reflection.

I am not really sure but there are just some songs that I do not like. I’m sure you have your list too.

But this reflection is something to be considered. At Christmastime, we hope, we wish, we dream, we long for, we share, we bless, but most of all we reflect. Reflect on what? The classic words, “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas just like the ones I used to know” give us a model. There is something in the human heart that longs for purpose, justice, to love and be loved, to make life better for not only ourselves but for someone else. Solomon wrote that he wondered what people got for all their hard work in life and concluded with these words: “God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

Christmas is a season of good-will, joy, happiness, hope, love in action, dreaming, all the things that Jesus said He came to bring us because of God’s love and favor for us. It is available. And now we celebrate Christmas each year as a reflection of the longing, or eternity, that God has placed in our hearts. That eternity is more simply put as hope, joy, love, justice, righteousness, gladness, healing, grace and mercy and more than that they represent the character of God, actually, all the things our Christmas songs point to; even if they are trying to pull at our emotions.

The words to this traditional Christmas song say so much about that eternity in our hearts, that which we are reflecting on even if we don’t realize it, it’s what we hope for and really want for Christmas!

Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee

God of glory, Lord of love

Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee

Opening to the sun above

Melt the clouds of sin and sadness

Drive the dark of doubt away

Giver of immortal gladness,

Fill us with the light of day

All Thy works with joy surround Thee

Earth and heaven reflect Thy rays

Stars and angels sing around Thee

Center of unbroken praise

Field and forest, vale and mountain

Flowery meadow, flashing sea

Chanting bird and flowing fountain

Call us to rejoice in Thee

Thou art giving and forgiving

Ever blessing, ever blest

Well-spring of the joy of living

Ocean depth of happy rest!

Thou our Father, Christ our Brother

All who live in love are Thine

Teach us how to love each other

Lift us to the joy divine

Mortals, join the happy chorus

Which the morning stars began

Father love is reigning o’re us

Brother love binds man to man

Ever singing, march we onward

Victors in the midst of strife

Joyful music leads us sun-ward

In the triumph song of life

The Season of Joy

"It’s the most wonderful time of the year"… "Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la, la la la la"…"Have a holly, jolly, Christmas it’s the best time of the year"…"A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Let’s hope it’s a good one without any fear" even the songs of the season that are not about the actual birth and celebration of Jesus contain lyrics of hope and joy and gladness. It’s inherent. Mankind longs to be free, to be whole; to wake up in the mornings feeling complete, like it is going to be a good day without fear and full of hope and joy.

But we look around at the real world in which we live and what we see with our eyes, what we experience with our relationships, what we are going through with our health, what we hear with our ears on the evening news doesn’t seem very capable of providing that place of hope, joy, and completeness. So we look forward to Christmastime with the anticipation reflected in the children singing the opening song from A Charlie Brown Christmas, “Christmas time is here. Happiness and cheer.” We hope. But even with hope being a good thing, I believe as a whole, our hope has been placed into what has become as the “season” of Christmas.

When the angel of the Lord appeared in front of the shepherds in the hills around Bethlehem two thousand years ago this was the message they heard: “Don’t be afraid. I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior – yes, the Messiah, the Lord – has been born today in Bethlehem.” (Luke 2:10-11) No fear? Good news? Great joy to all people? This is the stuff our Christmas songs long for!

But even more is the actual news, the event to which the announcement of and the anticipated hope for couldn’t compare, was that the Savior, the Messiah was here – born on earth! The Greek word here for Messiah is Christos which means “anointed one” referring to the coming of the Savior from the line of David as God had promised centuries earlier.

Luke, who was not Jewish, wrote the account of Jesus standing in the synagogue and proclaiming his purpose: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” (Luke 4:18-19) As the “Good News” spread beyond the culture of the Jews and into the cities of the Gentile’s  the name Messiah was used less and less and the Greek word Christos began to be used more; Christ – Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Lord, the Savior, the promised one who would bring great joy to all people. This, this is the real stuff of the season of Christmas lore! The event. The person. The Son of God come to be among us as one of us to show that a right relationship with God (peace between us who were disobedient and God’s wrath against that disobedience) can be accomplished.

 “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God” and “God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ.” (Colossians 1:15, 19) Christ, Jesus, the baby in the manger, the Savior born in Bethlehem as the prophets wrote about, God loved us so much that he sent him to be born a human just like the rest of us and God, according to his faithfulness and promise to fix our broken relationship with him, chose to live in Christ while he was here as a man with flesh and blood.  It wasn’t because Jesus is the Son of God that God chose to live in him; it was because he chose not to sin and walk with God that God chose to live in him. It pleased God to do this. Jesus was modeling it for us in the flesh! God, in all his fullness, God, omnipotent, omnipresent, all encompassing and all consuming God chose to show us that it can be done! All of him can live in me! I need nothing else! There is nothing else I can find to fill the emptiness or calm the fear or fill with joy other than the fullness of God living in me! This, this, brings the season of joy for all people! This is what we long for!

So the next Christmas season song you hear, whether it says anything about the birth and event of Christ or not, let it remind you that the shepherds that heard the angels’ message that night near Bethlehem could have skipped with real joy all the way to town to see this amazing thing singing, Fa la la la la, la la la La!!!! Because it really is the season of joy!