I admit I still have hope

I admit I have been fairly silent on #BlackLivesMatter. I have been watching from afar. Maybe it is because I do not know all the facts. Maybe it is because I am one of the pastiest white guys I know with blonde hair and blue eyes. I admit I have no idea what it is like to walk around with dark skin, to be profiled by someone else just because the color of my skin. But I do know I cannot be silent any longer. Black lives matter and when us “white folks”   respond with all lives matter we are missing the point. In our country we have enslaved people because of the color of skin. We have devalued people not allowing specific rights because we feel supreme. We have had segregated schools because we thought that was best. Even today because of the systemic problems a black man is sentenced more harshly for the same crime as a white man. With all these things I admit I still have hope.

I admit that I have never met a poor policemen. Every cop I know has lived with integrity and when they put the badge on they really mean they are here to “Serve and Protect.” I admit I have no idea what it is like to wear the uniform to observe and watch over a community always having to respond to what the worst of humanity has to offer. Our church honored first responders on September 11 and I am proud of each one of them. They sacrifice their time and safety to protect our community. For them I am thankful. Their hard work is being overshadowed by some police that do not serve with the best integrity or intentions. Even though there are some problem cops I would guess that 99.9999% of policemen put on the uniform each day and use the best judgement they know how. With all these things I admit I still have hope.

I admit I am a Christian who may look at the world a little differently than most. I am a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven before I am a citizen of the United States. Jesus is my King and I follow his truth before I apply any of the Bill of Rights or the Constitution to my life. While I love my country and consider myself to be a Patriot I worship Jesus and not a flag. While I stand to the Star Spangled Banner putting my hand over my heart during it is difficult because my heart belongs to no one other than Jesus. While I recognize we are the leader in the world on freedom we may not have the best ideas on everything we do. With all these things I admit I still have hope.

I admit I am a Pastor who loves the people I have a chance to lead and serve. I err on the side of grace and love.  I share truth but do not condemn. I try to live out the Great Commandment of Loving God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and love my neighbor as myself. I have been called to live out the Great Commission of going to all nations to make disciples. I have seen the best and the worst of people. I have met with people who have had affairs, going through a divorce, suicidal. I have had a chance to marry and bury. Rejoice with them in babies birth and celebrate with salvation and baptism. I have seen fights tear friendships and churches apart. Through the twelve years in ministry I have heard racist comments at most and ignorant comments at least about minorities, refugees and other religions. All I can do is pray for God to have mercy for they know not what they are doing. Our church in the last few years has become more diverse. I would now consider it to be a multi-cultural church. I love what God is doing within our church community. With all these things I admit I still have hope.

I admit I am or at least used to consider myself a traveler. I have been to four continents and hope to be in the other two at some point. I am ok not experiencing Antarctica. It has helped me to see the world and people differently. We may look different, speak in different languages and come from a different background.  But we have a lot more in common than the things that are different. We truly live in a beautiful world with beautiful people created by a wonderful creator. In the world a terror is sweeping through and killing people who do not side with them. Our first response to fear is to stay away. Some brave soul might choose to go and rescue. The world can be a dangerous place. With all these things I admit I still have hope.

I admit that I am not a republican or a democrat and I will vote for… Well I am not going to admit everything today.

I admit that a blog like this probably will not have a dramatic change in the world. But I hope that the three or four people that might read it might ask how they might be able to bring good to the world. People are looking for hope and I hope that I am one that can bring that to them.

Returning from Vacation

July 4th we started vacation. We left the world behind and I shut my electronics off until July 12th. I really like the ability to get away, focus on family. I almost forget that the rest of the world is not on vacation too. A lot happened during those days and I feel like I have spent some of my day today catching up on world events.

1. It seems like there are shootings every day. People are dying. Lives were lost. Cops. Black people. White people. This is never good. There are some some great thoughts that friends and others have written so I want to share those blogs here.

Wayne Schmidt- General Superintendent (Pope) of the Wesleyan Church
Kyle Ray- Pastor at Kentwood Community Church in Grand Rapids, MI (for context he is also black)
Kory Kleinsasser- Pastor at Waite Park Church in Minneapolis

There are many others. These are three people I highly respect. But I think we can all agree we must be in prayer for all involved. We need to learn to listen to people. Hear why, what, who. There is always more to the story and until we have lived in someones shoes we have no idea what someone goes through on a regular basis. This is bigger than me, I don't have the answers but I will continue to look to Jesus. #blacklivesmatter

2. Perry Noble was fired from his position at NewSpring. NewSpring has a weekly attendance of over 32,000. He was fired over his over use of alcohol. This is a big deal and affects a lot of people. I have followed NewSpring for a while as I used to live close to the church. I pray for Perry Noble, his family, his future, his recovery, and all those who have been impacted by his ministry Ed Stetzer wrote on it here. Noble released a video today on Facebook. In it he claims "he ran to it instead of Jesus and because of it I am sorry."

3. Pokemon Go- I understand very little here. All I know is Nintendo's stock went up 25% and in a weeks time there are 65 million users. There seems to be pros and cons for this new app. If you have Pokemon Go and like it please let me know, I would like to understand it. Check out an info video.

4. Personal- Vacation was good. Some of the highlights were.
- Family time- This is alway nice. From Aunts and Uncles, cousins, niece to siblings and parents. It is nice to always see them. I was also able to spend the whole week with my grandmother. She is 90 and not sure how many moments like that I will be able to have.
- East Grand Lake- One of my favorite places on Earth
- Beulah- First time at family camp. I can see why it is a big deal. Here I was able to catch up with friends I haven't seen in over a decade, to former ministry partners.
- Caleb's Ordination- He is my brother and I am very proud of all he has done.
 Some lowlights
- I was sick... on vacation... again. I think I need to learn how to slow down and relax.
- Weather. For the majority of the trip it was cool 50-60s and rainy. This hurt our ability to be outside and enjoy one of the most beautiful places (Grand Manan) I have been in my life.

5. Overall Vacation was good. I was glad to get away from Presidential election ads/news. I was glad to not have to think about Church or meetings or people. I was glad to eat Houlton Farms, Mrs Dunster's Donuts, and Brenda's Cinnamon Rolls. But, I am ready to get back to life. I flourish on the routine. I like exercising regular and controlling my diet. I like my own bed and pillow. I like sitting in my recliner at night. I like my life. I like my job and am blessed to be able to do what I do. I love Heartland Community Church in La Porte City and look forward to worshipping with them on Sunday.

Soul Care

In a small group, John Wesley would always ask the question, "How is it with your soul?" I think this is a question that we need to ask of ourselves and others. But there is only one person who can answer it, you. You are the only one that has the ability to know the answer. You are the only one who has the responsibility to feed you soul.

About a month ago I was talking with a mentor and asked him about soul care. He encouraged me in this simple way. Daily devotions, Weekly Sabbath, Monthly day alone, and Yearly Retreat. I have heard this before but had had only practiced the first two. My mentor encouraged me to take the next Monday as my first Monthly Day alone. I was planning to but it never happened. A pillar of our church passed away that Sunday and I put it aside because I had to prep for the funeral. I didnt have time to get away.

 

Sure I am a Pastor and I know I need to read the Bible, to pray. So many days it can become routine or even dry. This is why over the years I try to change up my methods so it wont become stale. I have gone through periods where I would read a passage from the OT, Psalms, Proverbs, and NT. I have gone through other periods where I would read from only one book at a time. I would pray at one specific time a day, I would listen to sermons when I run. I would continually mix it up so I could keep my faith fresh.

 

I find as a Pastor it is even more important to fill myself up by taking care of my soul. I spend a lot of time pouring out myself on others so I like my car needs to be regularly filled up and needs routine maintenance to keep myself going strong. 

 

A full month later and what was a really draining month personally and ministry wise later I finally took the much needed Day Alone. I am realizing more and more that in order to fully serve Heartland and La Porte City I need to take care of my soul. Some people may take what is called a sick day or a mental health day to get back to where they want to be. But I would encourage you to take care of your soul. 

 

Take a morning just to walk and pray. Lock yourself in a room just to read scripture. If you are a musician take your guitar and sing out to the Lord. Find a way to connect with your Savior. What did I do? I went to Chick-Fil-A, I read Scripture with no time limit. I started to read the book All In by Mark Batterson. I was there for about 5 hours. It was an awesome time. 

 

Today I am full. I should not have waited a month. You should not put it off either. If you need help to find a way to connect with Jesus I am more than willing to help. 

 

 

Stages of Discipleship

Thankful for the platform from The Progress Review they give Pastor's in La Porte City.

Check out my latest article here.

I will be writing during the month of March. Come back to the blog each week to have the next article.