South Lakeshore Christian Church

July 2019

7/17/2019

Wow! The year is half over. Can you believe it. It seems like, at least to me, that the year has flown by quicker than normal. I say this because things that I felt we had lots of time to prepare for are suddenly upon us. I reluctantly recognize that there are those who are good at managing their time and things don’t seem to come at them faster than expected. However, I am somewhat, in a dysfunctional way, comforted by the fact that I have heard others make a similar complaint, as I, about how time goes by faster than expected.

   Because I have been blessed to have training made available to me about time management as well as other organizational skills, I can present a somewhat educated view as to why this happens to me. It doesn’t change things coming up on me much, but I can explain why it happens. The answer is simpler than I would like to admit. I get so busy that I sometimes lose sight of what the original plan was. As someone once said “when you find yourself waist deep in alligators, it is easy to forget that your original plan was to drain the swamp.” We make a plan, we have every intention of implementing that plan in an orderly fashion and suddenly, life gets in the way. Something similar can happen in our church life and our life as individual sons and daughters of the Lord. We make a plan for our spiritual walk; we perhaps commit to ourselves to read certain books or to get plugged into certain ministries and before we know it, we find ourselves saying things like “that was this weekend? I forgot!”

   The other scenario that can occur is that we make every deadline, fulfill every commitment, reach every goal we set; and yet we lost sight of basic Christian priorities. Many years ago, I read somewhere (after a while, books we have read start to blend), “Satan loves a busy Christian.” We get neck deep in ministry and “doing” that we sometimes lose sight of some basics that were part of our original plan. To help us remember the original plan, I thought we could muse over two texts during July. Both are from Paul written to two different churches. The first is the church at Ephesus and is found in Ephesians 4:1 [I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.] (ESV) The second is to the church at Philippi, found in Philippians 1:27 [Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you, that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.] (ESV) The basics are rather simple. One is to walk or live in a manner that is worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The word translated as worthy can be understood in this context as “constant” or “consistent” with the gospel. In other words, the lesson found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ establishes the path for us to walk. The other basic is that we do this together. We are to strive side by side for the faith. In one Spirit and with one mind does not mean we all think exactly the same but it does convey that we all have the same goals and objectives which is living in a manner that is consistent with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Sharing the same objective helps us help each other stay on the path that His gospel laid out. In those moments when I have allowed life to get in the way and have forgotten what my original objective was, I have been helped to get back on track by a loving brother and sister in Christ.
   As we plunge ahead for the second half of the year; let us not lose focus of our original intent, to live for the gospel of Jesus Christ; and let us help each other stay on that path.

Have a blessed July,
Vic

December 2018

12/1/2018

One of the complaints that have echoed across the halls of our church this year has been how early the Christmas season was promoted. Some families were still working on selecting candy for the little trick-or-treaters they were expecting to charge their porches and found themselves plodding through Christmas promotions on the way to the candy aisles. It seemed to many of us, myself included, that the Thanksgiving weekend was getting squeezed out. Some of us saw cartoons that depicted an angry turkey telling Santa to wait his turn. I have the tendency to examine an issue from different angles to see if I can understand alternate points of view. As I pondered retailer’s rush into Christmas promotion and an almost eerie silence regarding the Thanksgiving holiday, I tried to look at it from a business point of view. As a retailer with strictly “show me the money” attitude, I would focus my attention on what boosts sales and pleases my investors (if I answer to any). That means I am going to cultivate a mindset that turns to “what I want to get” instead of “let me be grateful for what I have been given”. Advertising strategy is designed to use language that generates a particular opinion that will affect how we shop. For instance,“Good mothers buy Jiff”. If I am a mother who is concerned with doing the best for my children, such language would encourage me to buy that particular brand of peanut butter because it fits with my desire to be a good mother.
Why do I bring this up? I’m glad you asked. Much of what we are bombarded during this month is designed to nurture the idea that what we give others is an extension of our love. The better the gift, the greater our love. Inversely, that means that what we get demonstrates how much others love us. Just in case you are wondering, “is Vic anti-gift?” let me assure you that is not the case. Just like the guy in the movie, Idiocracy, who said “I like money”, I can say without a doubt “I like presents”. I like getting them and I love giving them. Therefore, this is not an anti-gift rant where I tell anyone not to buy gifts for their loved ones. The point I am trying to make is
that this season is about celebrating the greatest gift any of us could ever get which is a demonstration of the greatest love possible.
John 3:16 tells us: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”
If we apply the “the better the gift, the greater the love” measurement, we are reminded of the colossal magnitude of our God’s love for each of us. When we do that, any gift we give or any gift we may be given pales in comparison. This month, if you are able to give gifts to your loved ones and friends, be thankful you are so able to. If you are blessed with a gift from a friend or loved one, be thankful that you have such people in your life. However, we should not overly stress finding the perfect gift because that gift has already been given. His name is Jesus Christ. To all who reach out and receive that gift, the gift expands to include salvation, forgiveness of sin, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the promise of eternity with the Father. On top of all that, we are given a new life, participation in His plan, and a celestial purpose which is to share the message of His love.
This month, as we spend time with our loved ones and share in the season’s celebration. Share that what we are really celebrating is a gift that cannot be surpassed, a gift that proclaims the depth of God’s love for each one of us.

Have a wonderful December,
Vic

November 2018

11/1/2018

In the course of getting to know each other, I have confessed to you that I am a movieholic. This habit provides a mixed bag of results or consequences. On the negative side, I will admit that there have been movies that due to my movie addiction, I persevered till the end of the movie only to end up thinking, “well, that’s two hours of my life I will never get back”. These negative experiences have been counterbalanced by fond memories.
One of those memories is of piling onto a futon with Pam and the boys surrounded by junk food, taking the phone off the hook and dedicating a day to watching movies, eating junk food and soak in each other’s company. I recall on those occasions all of us turning the volume down and keeping quiet while stifling a giggle until whoever was ringing the doorbell left because we did not want to answer the door and interrupt our special time.
Other times, movies have been a source of sermon and lesson illustrations. For instance, in the movie Arthur on the Rocks 2, Arthur’s wife serves meatloaf she brought home from work and asks Arthur to give the blessing. He asked “blessings?” and she told him “say something you are thankful for” and so he closes his eyes and says “Thank you that I got the smallest piece of the meatloaf”. That shows there is always something we can give thanks for.
Thankfulness is something that comes to the forefront in the month of November when we celebrate Thanksgiving. For many of us it is a time where we gather with family and friends and enjoy a festive spread and give thanks for all we have been blessed with. For me it is a fantastic bride of almost forty years, two sons who grew up to be men I am proud of, the tremendous privilege of being in ministry and a wonderful church God has allowed me to pastor. Each day I give thanks for all of you and the way you have enriched my life. I would be remiss, however, if I did not recognize that being thankful can be a challenge when someone feels lonely; has suffered a recent loss; is going through financial difficulties; or has a loved one going through a rough time. It is in those times we need to recall that Psalm 23 teaches us that God walks with us in the valleys of our lives as well as the mountain peaks of abundance and blessings. Thus, even in difficult times we are to give thanks to the Lord.
Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:4 [For everything created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.] The immediate context of that text is foods, which would include bad meatloaf. However, the idea of giving God thanks for what we have also means that we focus on what we do have and not lament the things we don’t. This is emphasized by Paul’s words to the Thessalonian church in 1Thessalonians 5:18[Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.]
As our minds gravitate towards Thanksgiving weekend, let us take time to recall that giving thanks to our Lord is a daily endeavor. Another daily endeavor I would encourage us to practice is to give thanks for the blessings we find in our church family. In case I have not said it enough, I thank you all for your support, for your trust, and for the tremendous privilege of being the pastor of SLCC. Each of you have enriched my life in ways that words fail to adequately convey.

Have a blessed November,
Vic

October 2018

10/1/2018

As we enter into October, we will find ourselves at the end of the sermon series on the book of Romans. It has been a long journey that we began in mid April of this year. I have been encouraged by the positive feedback I have gotten from several church members and thankful that those who thought “Are we ever going to get done?” demonstrated grace and kept such thoughts to themselves. It has provided me with the opportunity to go back and dig into areas of belief that sometimes we don’t take time to visit enough. This sermon series also provided a challenge in presenting balanced differing views on some doctrinal issues in as objective fashion as I could muster. By the time this Newsletter is printed and distributed, we will have covered the fourteenth chapter of Romans. That chapter covers a sharp debate among the members of the Roman churches in regards to either partaking or abstaining from certain foods. The difference in how those foods or drink were regarded by church members was fodder for some strong debate and Paul’s primary goal seemed to be to maintain peace and communicate the need to practice Christian love by not passing harsh judgment on each other or causing those who were not in agreement to stumble. As I pondered what to write about for the month of October, I could not but help likening the debate in the Roman churches on this issue with something more contemporary in our life in twenty first century church life in Tacoma Washington. I am referring of course to the Christian debate on having our kids go out for candy on Halloween.

At the risk of being repetitious, I will repeat a quick summation that I noted two years ago. One view is
that Halloween is linked to the Celtic pagan holiday “Samhain” which marked the end of the harvest season and
the beginning of winter or “the darker half” of the year. It was believed to be a time when the transition between
seasons also provided a bridge to the world of the dead and the other world (fairies, etc). Some believed the dead would revisit families and often a place was set for them. The other view is that Halloween is linked to All Hallows’ Eve which is the day before “All Saints Day.” All Saints Day is a day in which all the Saints of the church are commemorated. Pope Gregory III dedicated a chapel in Saint Peter’s Basilica on November 1st in the mid eighth century to commemorate all the saints. The faithful would prepare for All Saints Day celebrations with prayer and fasting the day before.

The debate continues as to whether All Saints Day and All Hallows’ Eve were an effort to “Christianize” a pagan ritual or not. An argument persists that the Christian observances have no connection to Samahain other
than falling on the same days. The argument is that Halloween (as Hallows’ Eve) originated and developed independently than the pagan ritual. However, history shows us that during the Samhain celebrations included games, disguises, going door to door and reciting verses in exchange for food. Does this mean that one included something appealing of the other or is there a more direct connection? The debate goes on.

I mentioned that this was a summation. There is a lot more detail in the arguments for one side of the debate or the other. In our early years as a nation, the Anglican and Catholic church had no issue with celebrating All Hallows’ Eve while the Puritans strongly opposed it. Centuries have passed and the debate continues. What has not changed are Paul’s words to demonstrate some grace and not be judgmental of those who practice something we feel is inappropriate. While we may argue that such practice weakens our Christian witness, we should be graceful to those brothers and sisters who do not feel they are violating their Christian faith by allowing their children to go in search of free candy. In like manner, if we are of a mind that there is no contradiction in allowing our children to participate in the ritual of such sugar treasure hunting, we should not insist that those who oppose such practice, have their children participate. Paul said in Romans 14:29, ”Do not, for the
sake of food, destroy the work of God”. Let us not hinder that work either for the sake of a few candy bars.

Knowing how strongly some feel about this subject, it is highly likely that one side
or the other of this debate may disagree with me. Perhaps both sides will. It’s ok, I love you anyway and still call you my brother and sister in Christ. I pray that you will think the same of me and of each other.

Have a blessed October,
Vic

September 2018

9/1/2018

A habit of mine when preparing my comments for the monthly newsletter is to investigate what special days or weeks are observed in the relevant month. Sometimes it is to find some humor, a pertinent illustration or to see if something will trigger a thought. However, because of our background as missionaries in Chile, September always brings back feelings of nostalgia from our years there.

September is the month that Chilean independence is celebrated and thus my memory banks are loaded with many fond memories of fun, fellowship and foods
that are part of the celebrations. As much as I love our fourth of July celebrations and the rich history those celebrations remind us of, I have to say that our national celebrations are short in comparison to what we experienced in Chile.

After Chile, we served in Mexico where again national independence is celebrated in September. More fond memories. As I sat at my desk reminiscing those times with friends I thought back to my world history lessons and remembered how many countries in the western hemisphere celebrate their independence in September.
There are nine. This made me look up how many countries worldwide celebrate their national independence in September and counted twenty. Twenty countries around the globe celebrating the same thing, their liberation. And yet, although each was liberated, we will find a difference in how they used that freedom. Some used their
freedom to develop into something that did not exist before they were freed from the powers that governed them. Others became a small mirror image of the country that had ruled them before they won their freedom. Some became fiercely independent while others maintained a culture of dependence on outside powers. Some flourished, others wilted. In short, they used their freedom differently.

The Bible tells us that in Christ we are freed from the shackles of sin that once ruled us. We have been liberated from the fear of death because we are told that in Christ we find life and life in abundance.
Romans 8:2
For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ from the law of sin and death
(ESV)
We know that the Scriptures tell us that in our new life, we are to grow spiritually, produce fruit for His kingdom, and also reflect Christ with our words, actions with our very lives. Yet, we are forced to sadly recognize that just as there are
countries that have misspent their freedom, there are persons who have misspent the freedom they have in Christ. Freedom given with the intent that we would flourish spiritually and be beacons of light is used for self indulgence and reflected by spiritual atrophy. Just as national independence celebrations are enhanced by others who remind each other what is being celebrated, our freedom in Christ is enhanced by the fellowship we find in our local church family. A family that reminds us of what we have been set free from; what we have been set free for; and
how to be good stewards of that freedom. Let us help each other remember the beauty of the freedom we found in Christ and encourage; empower; and excite each other to reflect who we are in Christ.

Have a wonderful September celebrating our freedom,

Vic

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