. . . harvesting for God . . .

On Sunday night as I was scrolling through my Facebook timeline, I noticed a lot of pictures of people on beaches, short road trips to St. Louis, and ski trips in Colorado. I was curious about what was going on and wondered if this may have contributed to lower numbers in church.  I asked the question across my social media platforms, and low and behold - President's Day! A 3-day weekend for most and a 5-day weekend in Raytown. 

It made total sense. 

As a pastor sometimes it is discouraging to see more empty chairs than normal on a Sunday morning.  And as I lamented over the attendance numbers, my Scripture reading from Galatians 6 caught me off guard:

A person will harvest what they plant. Those who plant only for their own benefit will harvest devastation from their selfishness, but those who plant for the benefit of the Spirit will harvest eternal life from the Spirit. Let’s not get tired of doing good, because in time we’ll have a harvest if we don’t give up. 

~Galatians 6:7a-9

Like the church in Galatia, it is so easy to get discouraged when we don't see immediate results from our efforts. When we strive for immediate results it indicates the state of our hearts. While we definitely want more people in our church on Sunday mornings, solely striving after "numbers" becomes a selfish act - the harvest will never be a good one if that's all we focus on. It will turn into a congregation of people looking out only for their own benefit and immediate soul gratification. We know that a relationship with God through Jesus Christ is a life-long endeavor and takes time to cultivate. We want to grow, but our goal is not a large church just for the sake of having a large church! 

As we invite more people into our worshipping community, my prayer is that we remember we are grounded in God. Our goal is to help others become more grounded in God as well. 

This weekend in worship, we don't officially begin the season of Lent, but we will begin praying with intentionality for those who are desperately seeking a loving relationship with the Almighty to find their home at Raytown Chapel Church. This week each chair will have a slip of paper representing one person. We will ask God to send whoever God is nudging us to invite or pray for whoever God needs to send to our space. At the end of worship, we will take the slips of paper with us and pray for those people throughout the week. 

We don't need to know their names yet, but God already does. 

. . . taken out of context . . .

This week in worship we began our newest sermon series, "Job: Restoration is Possible." We talked about a theology of suffering and where God is in the midst of it. When we are in despair, grieving over our losses, it is incredibly easy to lose sight of where God might be. Job's wisdom teaches us that God is always there and we will see over the next few weeks that even though Job does become angry, and ultimately lashes out at God, he never denies that God exists. He is willing to wade through the anger and grief with God.

On Monday, my Scripture reading came from Romans 5:3-4

...we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope...

While I appreciate the Apostle Paul's use of poetic language here, (and subsequently I think Yoda learned to talk by reading Paul's letters) it is important to recognize when suffering is okay and when it is not. Paul isn't talking about any old suffering here. He's talking about how the early church in Rome was being persecuted. He spoke about the endurance in the knowledge of the abundant life given to us in Jesus Christ. It is that endurance that helps us see the hope.

He was not talking about suffering that is found in emotional, physical or verbal abuse.

Not all suffering is meant to be endured. And Scripture should never be used to justify oppressive suffering done at the hands of another. In the Methodist tradition, we are encouraged to look at the context of when these passages were written and to ask questions when things don't add up. To read a portion of Scripture and simply transplant it into modern times does not do justice to the passage nor to who we are as God's people.

So as we navigate these three weeks, Abby and I will try to take great care to help place the story of Job in its historical context as we try to make sense of suffering. We won't have all the answers of course because a theology of suffering is complex. We all experience the world from different points of view and in turn experience God differently.

This is why it's so important to come together as a church on Sunday mornings and then again in smaller groups during the week. Understanding our different perspectives help us grow more fully in our individual spiritual journeys. If you are struggling, we don't want you to suffer alone.  If you are struggling with a difficult life issue, we have Congregational Care Ministers, Life Groups or congregation members who would like to walk alongside you and share your journey so you know you are not alone.

. . . praying in the spirit . . .

This past week in worship was incredibly exciting. While I'm not a professional sports fan (after the frenzy dies down, I'll be writing about the reasons I have... so stay tuned), I cannot deny how incredibly important rallying around a common goal is for humans. There is no denying it that God is at work when we gather for a common purpose. It is more evident that God is at work when the atmosphere is joyful and brings people together. I read on the Kansas City Star website that only one person had died because of the festivities and it wasn't because of gunfire. I am grateful for the joyful celebrations that occurred. It could have been the violent eruption we saw after the 2011 Stanley Cup. Don't remember it? Click here. Of course, Vancouver was upset about their lost to the Boston Bruins, but still!

The Chiefs were victorious, but a Super Bowl victory is temporary. The Good News is that we have a lasting victory in Jesus Christ. It is a victory that changes lives, that promises abundant life - not just when we complete this earthly journey, but one that starts now! 
This kind of life-altering, death-defying, peace-ensuring victory is possible. Jesus makes it possible for all of us. 

“So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? . . . I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:31 & 39‬ ‭MSG

As we enter into this post-season, we will continue to think and pray for God to equip us to invite others to church. We will pray for God to send those who desperately need to know this victory, who need to know the deep and abiding love given to us by God in Jesus Christ. 

As we approach this weekend, think of your ONE person. It could be a Friend, Relative, Associate (co-worker), Neighbor or Kid. If your person needs to open their heart to God, pray for that. If you need to build up the courage to invite your person, pray for that.  On Sundays, pray for the empty chair next to you. Join a prayer group. Walk around your church worship space, touch each chair, ask God to send the one who needs to know how deeply we all are by our God. 

Find ways for God to equip you to take steps toward invitation.