A blessed October day to you all
In the culture of the church, as with any culture or subculture, certain words or phrases carry a specific meaning. Sometimes these words are used to further define a church polity or philosophy of ministry.  Sometimes, some words are used without truly reflecting how they may be casting negative aspersions on another church.  For instance, I was once asked by a Chilean pastor, who on a trip to Argentina had met with some missionaries from the Disciples of Christ church, "what is the difference between that church and the church you pastor? I understand you all started off together."  I said to him, the simple answer would be that the Disciples church lean toward being more liberal while we tend to be more conservative". He then smiled and said, "I had heard they were progressive."  I thought to myself, "what does that make us, antiquated? knuckle draggers? close minded?"  Those could be terms used of a group who are not progressive.    Some churches today stress they are "open and affirming" which seems to imply that some churches are not affirming.  This of course is said without clarifying what it is they are affirming.
A church strategy and polity that is often debated is in the focus of the worship service.  Some churches use the term "seeker sensitive" which is a term designed to indicate their primary audience on Sunday morning is non believers or new believers. The strategy is (again a simplified explanation) to keep Sunday's message light in content and easy to understand for nonbelievers and focus on meatier subjects during weekly studies for those interested in a deeper search of the Scriptures.  The goal is a noble one, to reach people for Christ. The focus on Sunday is thus those in the pew, or rather it is a horizontal focus.  
A different strategy is a vertical one where the primary audience during worship is Christ, during the message it is Christ and how to live as a disciple of Christ, as well as a call to come to Christ.  
In John 12:32 Jesus says, "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself".  This calls not for being a seeker sensitive church but rather a Christ sensitive church.   We lift Him up and count Him to do the calling. Of course this doesn't give us license to be idle but it does remind us of our primary focus, which is Christ.  
Being Christ sensitive also means we strive to be sensitive to the ethic He teaches those that choose to be called His disciples. This ethic means being sensitive to how our words, our actions, and our thoughts reflect His name, His message, and His will for HIs church.  
Blessings to all.

Different marriages arrive at certain milestones at different points in their marriage.  For many couples, such a milestone is purchasing their first home.  Pam and I hit that milestone in July of 2014. We reached our 36th wedding anniversary the following December.  Since purchasing our home, we have been involved in one renovation project after another. I recently shared with a friend, who has lived similar experiences, that when I see my bride looking around with her hands on her hips and her head tilted just so, I know that she is coming up with a new house renovation project for me to tackle.  In all fairness to her, she has rolled up her sleeves and been in the thick of the work with me as much as she is able.  In addition, there is the hill that makes up the majority of the area behind our home.  When someone said, “buy a house on a hill”, I heard, “buy a house with a hill”. That hill is wonderful to look at and makes a great barrier between us and others but it can be a bear-load of work.  Often, I have joked with my son in the middle of a project, or yard work, with the words, “buy a house they said….it will be fun they said”. Those level of sarcasm in those words vary depending on the project at the moment. When I said them as we were replacing the subfloor in our bathroom, the words were laced with heavy sarcasm.  Such things are part of chasing the American dream.
Chasing the American dream is a cultural phrase that alludes to things such as purchasing a home, having a rewarding job, and securing a sound financial retirement.  There are other things that are added depending on different value factors.  I have always thought of chasing the American dream as being synonymous with being an American citizen. I saw it as something in conjunction with striving to be a good disciple of Christ.  I then read a question in a book I am reading that made me take stock. The author asked, “Are you chasing the American dream or God’s dream?”  The question itself can be understood differently depending on our experience living in this country.  For me it forced me to look in the mirror and ask myself if I have sought to have the church reflect what I understood to be our American Christian culture or has my desire been to have the church reflect the design of the church that I read in the New Testament?  I assure you that those two are not always aligned. At this point, I am pondering, asking, reflecting, and challenging thoughts I have had to date.   I invite you to ponder, ask, and challenge along with me.

Have a blessed week, Vic

​A blessed day to all
There are times when we are going about our day in a routine fashion when something we come across impacts us in a meaningful way.  This occurred to me this week during my reading.  I am blessed with the opportunity to spend more time among my books that your average bear.  The preparation of sermons, lessons, trying to stay informed, and always seeking to find books that will enable me to improve in ministry, allows me to read quite a bit.  I am always finding treasure nuggets in what I read as I go through my day but every now and then, something seems to stand out a bit more. 
I came across a phrase: “You are a trophy of God’s grace”.  As the words sank in, I could do nothing but stop what I was doing and begin to thank God for His love and marvel at the awesome reminder of His grace that was driven home by that sentence.
Many of our generation often joke, or complain, about the ease with which trophies are given out to kids today.  With the noble intention of enhancing children’s self-esteem and promote a sense of inclusiveness, we have eliminated the significance of what trophies stood for in our time.  A trophy represented a significant accomplishment. It was a recognition that the one whose name was on the trophy had worked hard and had demonstrated discipline and talent. 
Those who have trophies that were earned, rather than simply given, can look at those trophies and recall what those trophies cost. They remember the hours of practice, the sacrifices made, and the effort required to win those trophies.  It is along those lines that the significance of the words, “You are a trophy of God’s grace” penetrated my heart.
I imagined Christ looking at us as His trophies lined up one after the other and saying to the host of heaven, “That trophy cost me a flogging”; “That trophy costs required me to wear a crown of thorns”; “That trophy was won by having nails driven into my hands and feet”; “That trophy was won when a lance was driven into my side”.
We are not “participation trophies”. Christ worked hard, demonstrated discipline through obedience, and gave all to win us.  Let us never forget the cost of us being trophies of His grace.
Have a blessed week, Vic

When we examine the Pauline letters, we see that Paul often wrote to address a problem in the local church that was reported to him. Some problems were unique to one local church, other problems seem to be evident in one form or another in every congregation. Such similarity in issues is noted in how Paul used different words to say the same thing to different churches.
Among the problems that plagued the early church was division.  Division in methodology, division in the role of men and women, division in whom to follow, division on matters of food, drink, and attire. Some of the more serious issues were divisions on how to handle sinful behavior and the proper attitude to have when celebrating the Lord’s supper. These divisions had a negative impact on the church’s purpose, testimony, and proclamation of the gospel.
When writing to the Corinthian church, Paul wrote in 1Corinthians 1:10, [No I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the name of Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.]  His call for unity addressed one of the issues in the chapter three of 1Corinthians. After basically telling them they were not acting in a mature fashion (defined as acting in a fleshly manner rather than a spiritual one) he went on to say in 1Corinthians 3:3-4, [for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like ordinary people? For when one person says, “I am with Paul,” and another, “I am with Apollos”, are you not ordinary people?]  Paul’s use of the word “ordinary” was not complimentary.  Other of his writings, in harmony with other New Testament authors, stipulate that children of God, disciples of Christ, and proclaimers of the gospel, are anything but ordinary. I say this not in a personal prideful manner, but being a follower of Christ means we are called to be extraordinary people.  We are called to be extraordinary in purpose, in our testimony, and in how we treat each other.
Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 1:9 [What has been, it is what will be, and what has been done, it is what will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.] One of the principles put forth in that text is that we will repeat many of our mistakes thinking they are somehow new ones.  Today, in the church we are practicing the division that Paul spoke against with the words, “I am for masks”, and “I am against masks”; “I am pro-vaccine”, “I am anti-vaccine”.  Each view is supported by things that have been written, medical experts that support one view or another, and, to be honest, by people (on both sides) that should just be quiet.  We seem to be blind to the fact that in our zeal to champion our particular view, we are in disharmony, provide a picture of division to non-Christians, and hamper the proclamation of the gospel by polluting it with issues that have nothing to do with the message of Christ as savior.   We need to remember our calling, our purpose and that we are not to behave as ordinary people. 
All my blessings, Vic

​A good day to all
Those that know me have likely either engaged with me in a conversation on baseball or suffered while I spoke on baseball.  For those of us who struggle to remain faithful to our Seattle team, there is little question that we deal with disappointment on a regular basis. There are few things as disappointing as seeing one’s team lose the game in the bottom of the 9th inning or in extra innings.  Recently I suffered a similar disappointment when in one Sunday I am joyfully announcing that we were free to gather for worship without masks, which was followed within a short span of time that we needed to suspend worship due to COVID infections. I will confess that it can be a challenge to deal with such setbacks.  In the last few weeks, I have been part of the decision to suspend worship services, seen a dear friend hospitalized, had another friend tell me they were choosing to leave our congregation. All this had forced to re-evaluate all the plans that seemed on the verge of coming to fruition after a long COVID imposed moratorium.  I pondered such questions as “How do we regain a forward momentum?”  “How can we gain ground when our Sunday numbers are down because a number of members still watch from home?”  I look around and see COVID fatigue; a few folks scrambling to keep the wheels turning, and some plans again placed on the back burner.  If I were to choose to focus on only that, I would likely curl into a fetal position and asked not to be bothered until we are past this point in history. 
However, that is not what I choose to focus on.  I think of Paul’s words in Colossians 3:2-3 [Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.]  I think of Paul’s words in Philippians 4:8 [Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything is worthy of Praise, think about these things.]  When I contemplate Paul’s words, I am reminded of who I am in Christ and the things that should demand my focus. These things are not the things that cause disappointment.  “Whatever is true”: Among the things that are true is that God called twelve disciples just as messed up and imperfect as us and said, “Go change the world.”  The challenges and disappointments I mentioned pale in comparison to what they faced.  And yet, through their obedience and faith, the world was never the same.  We can choose to focus on our disappointments and challenges, or we can choose to remember who we are in Christ, what He has told us to do, and what is possible through faith and obedience. 
Have a blessed week, Vic