More “PENNY THOUGHTS”…
On my bike ride this morning, I saw three pennies lying on the road as I stopped at an intersection. The light changed and I didn’t have time to pick them up. That made me think of the Good Samaritan who took the time to pick up the man who had been robbed and beaten. Sometime it feels like “the lights change too fast” to be able to stop and help someone who needs a “pick-me-up.” In church this weekend we’re talking about the day Jesus told his disciples to “come away and rest for awhile,” but then turned right around and started teaching and feeding a crowd of people who “were like sheep without a shepherd.” The Bible says his heart was filled with COMPASSION.
Here’s my PENNY THOUGHTS Challenge-of-the-week: Take a moment sometime this week to ACT compassionately when the Lord stirs your heart.
DEACONESS MINISTRY CELEBRATION
Anyone who knows Deaconess Liz Borth realizes that she’s one of those marvelous people who can’t help but act compassionately – she’s got a big heart. She’s been doing it at Trinity for nine years…one year of internship, and eight years since her installation. But she’s not one to stand in the spotlight, so she asked if we would celebrate the work of the Concordia Deaconess Conference, and the many dedicated deaconesses all over the LC-MS. (However, you might find an article elsewhere describing Liz’s work.) Watch for the opportunity to thank Liz and offer support to Lutheran deaconess ministry in worship this weekend.
GROWING EXCITEMENT…
Last week I wrote: I don’t believe in “change just for the sake of change.” As we continue to experiment with ways to make our 9:30 service communicate the Gospel as effectively as possible, we’ll be seeking feedback of two kinds: 1) Personal preference, and 2) Effective Gospel communication. Guess which one is more important? Gospel communication. What drives me is finding the best way to communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the hearts of God’s people…and, specifically, through different worship styles. Paul said it this way in 1 Corinthians 9:22-23, “I become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel.”
This week I was talking to our FL/GA District Mission Executive, Doug Kallesen. He told me a story about Laotian LC-MS Pastor Khamphuey Munnicha, the same young man who translated God’s Word into Lao for me 35 years ago. He said, “Khamphuey put together a Lao translation of the catechism, which brought Jesus to someone who didn’t speak English.” Well, all these years later, there is still a desperate need to translate the love of Jesus into the heart language of the people in our community.
That’s why, at the same time as keep doing our 6, 8, and 11am services in the “worship language” many of us grew up with, we need to discover the “heart language” of the people in our community whose musical heritage is different from our own. Personal preferences of those of us who are already at Trinity are important, but the bigger issue is what speaks to the hearts of the people around us who don’t know Jesus.
So, in couple of weeks, after we’ve had a chance to try some things together, we’ll be asking for feedback. You don’t have to wait until then…it’s an ongoing process…but part of the process is seeking feedback from a broad cross-section of our worshipers. We’ll learn as we go. Let’s enjoy the journey together!
GETTING ACQUAINTED
I love getting to know people. I know it won’t be possible to spend time personally with everyone at Trinity during the interim before we call our next Senior Pastor. However, I need to connect personally with some of you for one of two reasons: 1) You’ll help me understand Trinity better – I need that to serve more effectively. 2) You need to talk with a pastor – let’s find a time to get together. A phone call to the office, an email, a note on the attendance card…or just tell me at church. So, for either or both of those reasons, LET’S CONNECT!