Time for need-meeting?

I work as a chaplain, which in the hospice setting, means I am to assess and address the spiritual needs of patients. On the surface it sounds like a tremendous opportunity to do the Lord's work (and it really is). However, I often find that I lag way behind many of the nurses and social workers in getting to that private space where serious spiritual discussions occur. Why? It has a lot to do with building rapport, sometimes referred to as joining. The nurses and social workers are meeting very practical and concrete needs of the patients. Patients appreciate that. It so happens that many of the nurses and social workers I work with are deeply committed Christians. Therefore, they take any opportunity available to address the spiritual concerns patients share with them. And quite often, patients do share concerns with them.

As a chaplain, I am, in a way, handicapped! I am free from the responsibility to meet medical or legal needs so to devote myself fully to patient's spiritual concerns. However, patients are more interested in sharing their spiritual concerns with one they have learned to trust in the process of having practical needs met.

I cannot change the structure of the role of chaplain versus nurse or social worker in the hospice setting, but I can allow this to impact how I reach out privately. I have been giving much thought to how to better reach out to our community. Rather than think first of what a person needs to know about Jesus, or to which service I might invite them, a better thought is what need can I meet.

As a community of faith striving to reach our larger community for Christ, I believe there is great utility in working with this concept of need-meeting. I realize that this is not a new idea, yet, there is a definite need to further our thinking along these lines. Our benevolence ministry is handled by a few folks and it is fundamentally an impersonal, financial-assistance type ministry. Nurses and social workers (at least in a hospice setting) spend much time with patients in a colloborative effort, addressing patient-centered needs. It is out of this context that they come upon rare spiritual opportunities long before this chaplain ever gets there.

Time is the great sacrifice. Time is our greatest commodity. Time is often the last thing we are willing to surrender to the Lord.

I have no great answers or insights here. I, too, am too busy. I suppose that it is progress when at least we can see our problem for what it is.

Praise the Lord

Last fall, the church and the elders prayed for Stacey Lyles - daughter of the secretary for my department here at Univ. Rio Grande. She had been diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive form of cancer - neuroendocrine carcinoma. She had a tumor that was nearly completely blocking her colon, lesions on kidneys, liver, and cancerous cells throughout her body and blood stream. Initially, doctors gave her about 9 months to live. She has a 13 year old daughter and a 3 year old son. She became part of a test group at M.D. Anderson research hospital in Houston, TX. As of Christmas, she was the only one left out of that group of appx. 18 people. After testing earlier this month, she was found to be cancer free! Praise God for what he has done in this family. They all know that God has saved their daughter, sister, wife, and mother. Thanks Sunshine for being a congregation that prays!

Nothing Broken, Nothing Missing

by Jeanne Rogers

“This thing I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

The young woman made it through the most difficult part of her story then paused and took a breath as she looked at the sad expression on their faces. Her smile, in contrast, was radiant and her demeanor communicated the genuine joy and peace she had learned to receive.

Minutes before, she shared that her father had molested her over a period of ten years during her childhood. At the age of thirteen, she bravely told her mother what he had done to her. The mother’s immediate legal action and her father’s arrest, trial and imprisonment made their family crisis the big news of the small rural town where they lived.

As a result, her entire family—even the youngest siblings—suffered rejection and public shame for many years. Her own deep pain and humiliation developed patterns of destructive behavior. By the time she was 16, she got pregnant and aborted her baby.

She voiced what they were all wondering. “You probably wonder how I can smile after hearing my story. It is a miracle. You see what happened to me no longer defines who I am,” she stated confidently. “I am a new creation in Christ Jesus. I am forgiven and healed of my hurts. My past no longer has power over me. Honestly, I’m still dealing with fallout from the ordeal, but I have learned to process through the pain and emotions with God’s strength. He gives me His peace that passes all understanding.”

Her transformation happened four years before when she accepted Jesus as her Savior. She forgave her father, and she prays that God will use her to help her family heal. “That is my greatest challenge,” she said, “Because my brothers and sisters blamed me for the rejection and shame they suffered.” She lives in peace and confidence that God will bring good from all the terrible things that happened to her.

How do people like this young woman keep going in the face of such adversity? By believing and claiming what Jesus said that He would provide after his death on the cross.

The disciples heard many promises from Jesus in the days prior to his crucifixion. Jesus wanted to prepare them for what they would have to endure. He told them, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).

The Apostle Paul once called himself an ambassador in chains because he knew that God’s purpose for his life was bigger than the adverse circumstances he faced. Many people get “chained up” and look for an escape or attempt to make their situation go away. When Paul suffered, he faithfully represented Christ in the midst of his trial.

Standing strong and trusting God amidst tribulation gets our eyes off of self and earthly comforts. It also helps us maintain a more eternal perspective, as Christ did on His way to the cross. He knew the fullness of God’s power being released through His obedience.

The same power of God can flow through us if we are willing to surrender to God during times of pressure and personal crisis. We can have the heart of God molded in us and nothing can steal our peace.

“‘For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,’ says the Lord, who has mercy on you” (Isaiah 54:10). The Hebrew word for peace is in this verse translates as Shalom, the literal interpretation meaning nothing broken and nothing missing.

Like the young woman who shared her story, you can stop satan’s attempts to trap you in a victim mentality. If you recognize your identity in Christ and receive His complete work on the cross, you can dwell in a peace that has nothing missing and nothing broken.

Paul described it this way. “I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

This Week
You can forget what is behind and live in His peace—in God’s covenant “shalom.” Whatever trial you are facing, ask the Holy Spirit to empower you to live Christ’s resurrected life as you process through the challenges.

Prayer
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).

A prayer for today

Father God, Thank you for loving us and for coming for us in your Son. Thank you for your Holy Spirit that stirs up faith in us. Please keep sending Him to help our hearts believe with a simple, yet strong, child-like faith. Thank you Lord, for the Church at Sunshine - for Elders that lead us in love. Please bless them Father and keep them from the evil one. Please bless them in every way. Thank you for their guidance and dedication to teaching Your entire word. Thank you for a family that believes your entire word. Help us to grow. Thank you for our ministers. For Steve and his heart. For His passion for you and his dedication to your word. Thank you for Jamie and his heart. For his incredible vision of who you are and his encouraging attitude. Please bless both of them and their families with all that you know they need. Please bless all of our leaders in their work and in their families.

Father, you are a consuming fire. Please consume us and give us great passion for Jesus. Make us prisoners of your grace and of the Gospel. Above all, let Your will be done in each of us. Because, somehow, happiness for us comes when your will is done. Help us and keep us faithful to complete this life in you. And, help us take many with us to our home with You. Lord, we long for the day when Jesus will own us before you, and we bow before your throne. Please keep us humble before you and fill us with awe. Thank you again Father for Sunshine and her leaders, and for the blessing they are in my life and in this community. In Jesus name, Amen.

World Bible School on the World-Wide-Web

Many of you have probably noticed the segment in the bulletin over the past few weeks, asking for participation in the World Bible School (WBS) ministry.

My initial impression of WBS came by way of my great-aunt Fern Thompson. I remember seeing her letters from students in Africa. They were often difficult to read due to either poor penmanship, faulty English or both. Fern was dedicated to the work and she made a tremendous impact in the lives of many people.

Well...times have changed! Now, WBS is on the www. Teachers and students can communicate much more easily. Feedback is much quicker.

Check it out here -> wbschool.net

At the above site, you can learn about becoming a WBS teacher. Check it out.

The point of entry site, for potential students is here -> wbschool.org

This ministry is far more than I had imagined. I hope you will check it out and consider participation.

Max Lucado Update

"America's pastor" to leave pulpit, citing health concerns "Your quarterback's tired," San Antonio's Oak Hills Church senior minister Max Lucado told his elder board. After 20 years at the church, and seven months after being diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, Lucado has announced that he's leaving his position. "My health concerns are not so severe that I feel I'm in any danger, just severe enough that I think a change needs to be made," he told television station WOAI.

He says he'll still regularly preach at the church, which has dropped its affiliation with the Church of Christ, and will continue his prodigious writing (he has two more books out this year). "I compare what is happening to going from being president of a college to joining the faculty," he told the San Antonio Express-News. "It was a painful decision, a hard decision, but I feel very peaceful about it now. I've been thinking about it since September."



LETTER

March 5, 2007


Dear Oak Hills Family,

I pray this letter finds you in the midst of the greatest day and sweetest season of your life! Our God is indeed faithful. I’d like to update you on some recent health developments and a resulting decision from the Oak Hills elders. While my spiritual heart is in a wonderful state, my physical heart has developed some irregularities. We have high hopes for complete healing; yet, I need to make some lifestyle adjustments. I have already begun reducing my leadership responsibilities. I still plan to bring the weekend messages, but will opt out of some of the weekly meetings.

My health concerns have also prompted a decision to inaugurate a succession plan. Though I have always known that, at some point my responsibilities would change, I had envisioned this happening years from now. However, these health concerns have moved up the timetable. I wholeheartedly (excuse the pun) feel it is time to identify and invite the next Senior Minister. Oak Hills needs a healthy, full-time servant in this position. Upon his selection, I will turn my attention to doing more what I love to do the most: writing and preaching.

I have no intention of leaving this great church, but simply altering my role in it. Yes, this is a major step, but one that will benefit the health of us all. Would you pray for God’s guidance in this process? I know you will. Of course, we will keep you apprised of any developments. Thank you for being a lighthouse to San Antonio. May God bless you richly.

Your brother,

Max Lucado

Purpose-Driven debate

I have mentioned a few times about being a part of a study group looking at The Purpose Driven Church. Today, I noticed a news link at KLOVE.com regarding a debate about the value of Rick Warren's model.

Here is a quote from Warren, from the article:

"When you're preaching and teaching the good news, you walk a very fine line where you're taking the world of the Bible and the world of today, and you're building a bridge between those [worlds]," he explained on Nightline. "Now, it's easy to be biblical if you don't care about being relevant … And it's easy to be relevant if you don't care about being biblical. I happen to want to be both."

The entire article can be found here.

Changes for the tweens

This picture is from September 28, 2006. Aren't they cute?

Our Junior Youth Group is having troubles....not with any of the kids involved but with schedules. The kids are a group of truly delightful young people. Our devotional times are usually every other Thursday evening from 6:30pm until 8pm. We have been rotating host homes, so as not to put too much on one person or family. The problem comes down to being too busy. I, too, am guilty of this (so I am NOT pointing any fingers). I am having a meeting for all parents with children this age and parents of kids that will be old enough in the fall (in the third grade now - will be in fourth next school year). I have some ideas about a few things that I want some input on. The meeting will be no more than 10 - 15 minutes long AFTER church services this Wednesday evening, that is March 14th.

I am still seeking someone to host THIS Thursday, March 15th. Email me and let me know of you can help out.

Thank you all so much for your continued support and involvement in this ministry.

Online Sermons

As mentioned in today's bulletin, I'm experimenting with putting videos of our Sunday morning sermons on the church website.

One of the problems that's hard to get around is that the sermons run approximately 45 minutes each. Converting a video that long to a web compatible format results in a file that is several hundred megabytes in size, definately too big for most folks to consider downloading. To get around this, I've compressed the file as much as possible. The result is a file of around 15 megabytes. While this is a reasonable size for broadband users (it took me about 2 minutes to download it at home), it's still pretty large if you have dialup. Also, the compression causes the image to be pixelated and the audio doesn't always match up with the video. In other words, the quality suffers a significant amount. I can improve the quality, but file sizes will increase proportionately.

I'd appreciate it if a few folks could check out the first one I've put online and give me a little feedback. Would larger file sizes be acceptable if quality improved? How long should each file remain online? Any other comments?

Here's a link to the menu: sunshine-church.org/video/index.htm

Was my name already there at birth?

A question has been raised within my online bible study group.

Are our names written in "the Lamb's book of life" when we are born and then when we decide to refuse God, our names are erased?

Is there scripture for this or is this one of those things that just goes unanswered until we get to heaven and ask? ; )

Jennifer

Daisy Girl Scout Project @ Sunshine

Daisy Girl Scout Troop 1097 is collecting canned food items to donate to the student food pantry at Scioto County JVS. The student council there operates a food pantry for students who would otherwise be hungry on the weekends.

Sunshine's Daisy troop consists of kindergarten age girls from Minford and meets at the church building. We are collecting canned goods as our community service project. The week of March 11-18 we will be celebrating the 95th anniversary of Girl Scouting and will kick off the week on March 11th with Girl Scout Sunday.

Some of our girls will be here to greet you and hand out bulletins. We will also have tubs to collect canned food items. Please help support our service project by bringing a canned food item. If you forget on Sunday, March 11, you will have until Sunday evening, March 18. All donations are appreciated.

For more information, contact Melissa Gampp Lauder

"Let Us Pray"

I have a friend who preaches at a church in Ashland, Kentucky. His name is Chris Keeton and he also has a blog that I find interesting to read. Yesterday, he posted something that I thought was especially interesting about prayer and what his congregation is doing. I think it's a wonderful idea and decided to pass it along to you all. If you stop over to his blog and like what you read, give him a holler and tell him what you think. I'm the only one who ever comments on his blog and I'm sure he'd appreciate hearing from someone other than me all the time....haha! It's a really great idea he's presented to everyone and it's worth it to take a look.

The post that I'm talking about is called "Let us pray..."

http://soulscapenet.blogspot.com/


Jennifer

A link for consideration

The other day, I was listening to 1 Corinthians on CD while I was driving. It struck me afresh, what a complicated response Paul gave to the issue of eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols. Paul treatment of marriage in 1 Corinthians is similarly complex.

Since that time, I have wanted to write a post about this matter. My intent would be to call attention to Paul's inability to give a simple black-white answer. Instead, his response is more like, "Well my fellow Corinthians, it depends."

I just don't think we do ourselves any favors when we try to over-simplify the complex matters of the Christian walk. This is not a "how many angels can dance on a needle point" effort. Rather it is more like, to use the old Kasey Kasem sign-off, "Keep your feet on the ground while you're reaching for the stars."

Lucky me, Richard Beck has taken up this very matter on his blog, Experimental Theology. He explores this matter far better than could I. Here's the link. I hope you'll find time to read his post--> The "Yes... But" Church.

Contrasting Baptisms

In the Gospel of John, John the Baptist prepares his listeners for Jesus by drawing dramatic contrasts between himself and, the soon to come, Jesus. John the Baptist was highly regarded by many folks. They had gone out of their way to hear his preaching. John used that high regard to exalt Jesus. Basically, he was saying, “If you think I’m something, Well…I’m nothing in comparison to Jesus.” John the Baptist’s most striking contrast is between their baptisms.

John says of himself, “I baptize with water.” Regarding Jesus, he says, “[He] is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.”

John’s baptism is described as a baptism of repentance. John says, “…the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.” John’s preaching was a personal call for individual Israelites to get their act together, to better personify the heart of their covenant teachings. John was very effective. Many people were convicted by his preaching and were led to respond in a quite unusual way. Israelites were taking personal responsibility for their state of affairs and were submitting to a demonstrative act of repentance. This was not corporate repentance like we see in various O.T. narratives, this is personal. John’s preaching was stimulating a change of heart, one Israelite at a time. This heart change was publicly acknowledged in submission to water baptism at the hands of John and/or his disciples.
And this is how we find the fulfillment of the great prophecy of Isaiah, “The voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”

By contrast, Jesus’ baptism is not characterized by water, but by the Holy Spirit. Now, it is important to acknowledge that Jesus did, for a while, preach a message like John’s and Jesus’ disciples did baptize respondents with water. But, John’s point is that Jesus is bringing something entirely greater to the table, the power of the Holy Spirit.

Maybe, a better viewpoint from which to appreciate this contrast of baptisms is the one of the respondent. The initial response involves a change from within. I hear the preaching and am convicted because I now see myself as completely devoid of true faithfulness. I am resolved to change. I repent. But then comes that which only Jesus can bring, the change from without, the power of the Holy Spirit at work upon me.

Nicodemus comes along and exclaims to Jesus, “…we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” Jesus brings it together, “…no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. …the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”

The defining characteristic of this newly formed community of God’s people is the power of the Holy Spirit. The person of God with the persons of this faith community. A new wine for a new wineskin!

a Nouwen quote...

When the disciples followed Jesus, they were frequently challenged. Being near Jesus was not a comfortable experience, at least not at first. Jesus' call, taken seriously, challenges us deeply. No one is except from this spiritual process. To find deep and abiding peace in Christ, we must come to terms with some bad stuff, especially stuff about our inmost self.

Henri Nouwen wrote in Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life (New York: Image Books, 1975):

In the midst of a turbulent, often chaotic, life we are called to reach out with courageous honesty to our innermost self, with restless care to our fellow human beings, and with increasing prayer to our God. To do that, however, we must face and explore our inner restlessness, our mixed feelings toward others, and our deep-seated suspicions about the absence of God. (Nouwen, p.15)