Who are You?

Three times during this past week I made purchases. As I finished the transaction I was asked to participate in an evaluation of the one assisting me. Each said the evaluation would come in a few days. Two pointed out that the evaluation would be a reflection on them personally. These two salespersons asked me outright to give them "10's." Anything less would be a reflection on them personally.

The evaluations have not yet arrived. So I have some more time to think about it. I certainly don't want to cause any problems as both really were helpful. Eagerly and genuinely helpful. However, I am stubborn enough that I don't really care for persons suggesting how I should respond. I wanted to ask them to please rate themselves - my own version of "Who do you say you are?" (See John passage to the right of this entry.)

I wonder if our governor might attempt the same approach - "please give me all "10's." Apparently his approval rating has slipped to 4%. Trust is broken. As more information comes out, many citizen's of the state are likely asking, "Who are you?" or with more attitude "Who, in the world, do you think you are?"

John the Baptist might well have taken advantage of the opportunity to answer differently when questioned by the priests and Levites. "Are you the Messiah?" "No." "Are you Elijah?" "No." "Are you the prophet?" "No." John knew who he was and who he was not - he was the one preparing a way in the wilderness. His life pointed to Jesus, the Light of the World. In a land of deep darkness, a light has shined.

The ministry we share is one of pointing to Christ. We may be evaluated by others, but what may be most important, is that we know who we are and whose we are. The Messiah? No. But we are "God-bearers" in the world.

On Sunday, in worship, I commented on the disconnect between seasonal/ Christmas" music and what is going on around us. It isn't a new discovery, just an observation this year. My comments drew a variety of responses from "get over it Ed" to "tune it out" to "I couldn't agree more."

Walking in a Winter Wonderland seemed misplaced while Nancy and I were having lunch on November 19th as it was clear and nearly 50 degrees outside. And, O Holy Night arrived just after the sun came up on Thanksgiving morning. Both seemed to ignore where and when they were.

Songs that can evoke pleasant memories will likely be worn out and tattered at the edges by the time Christmas Day arrives. The day after, they can almost be an embarrassment as we hurry to put them away. I'm not advocating an end to Christmas music. I rather enjoy it most of the time.

However, the words of Lillian Daniel have jostled my thinking again about a season I have walked through 55 times now. She said, "But let us be clear that while the world's busy-ness may seem to be pointed toward Christmas, it is seldom pointed toward the coming Christ child."

With so many, I desire to find my voice to sing a song that takes a long look at the world's brokenness and its wonder and still find reason for hope in the Christ who is already present.

For Creation Waits...

For creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God;...

These are the words of the apostle Paul in a letter to the Christians, to the many house churches, in Rome. Over the last six weeks I have found myself continully drawn to visit and revisit these words for comfort, encouragement, purpose, and even celebration. They are hope-full words.

It has been and is a joyous wonder to see the children of God revealed in so many places and in so many ways. This week, the incredible outpouring of kindness and love for the families of Shanna and Madisyn is evidence of God's presence in and through a community. It is a wonderful thing to be able to walk through this community and indeed see the faces of the revealed children of God - in the faces of police and firefighters; doctors, nurses and hospital staff; school administrators, teachers and staff; clergy and congregations; businesses and organizations; neighbors and strangers.

On Sunday, at First Christian Church, it was wonderful to see so many of our children and youth gather at the front to greet worshippers as we went out to "love and serve the Lord." They have been much on our minds and in our hearts.

God's healing continues. "Hope grows where love flows." We give thanks to God for the love that flows through this community as hope grows in the faces of the revealed children of God.

Fellowship in an Unfinished House

Two weeks ago the Hustler's Class met at our home. As each car arrived and pulled up the drive, it was a little like getting much anticipated visitors all over again. There was something joyful about it.

Marti Wiebers offered a devotion that invited each person present to recall events in their own lives. Many gave illustrations of being cared for.

Margaret and Nancy Gambill, Dennis Higgins and I narrated a series of pictures taken during the mission trip to Iowa. There were illustrations of caring.

As over twenty persons were gathered in the small area of living and dining room, I was very conscious of our house being unfinished. It has been and will continue to be "a work in progress." But that is where we met - where we rejoiced in gathering, in caring, and in being cared for.

That seems to be one description of the church - a place of rejoicing, caring and being cared for in an unfinished house. God has much more in store for us - being the unfinished houses we are.

Jesus used the images of mercy to express how it is that we receive him or how it is that we reject him in daily life.

I was hungry and you gave me food,

I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,

I was a stranger and you welcomed me,

I was naked and you gave me clothing,

I was sick and you took care of me,

I was in prison and you visited me.

Matthew 25

Last Sunday four members David Hagan, Katie Ricks, Glenn Branson and Nancy Taylor told of their personal experience with a least one of these mercies. They could each have spoken longer for there is much to tell. I can imagine that those members and friends sitting in the pews were also thinking of those moments in life where they offered, received, or witnessed one of these mercies.

"I was hungry and you fed me." Where have you experienced this act of mercy? Feeding? Being fed? Witnessing one feeding another? Click Comment below and tell your story.

PS

This week I have been in correspondence with artist, Jeremiah Patterson, who created watercolors of each of these mercies. One (I was naked and you clothed me...) appeared on our bulletin cover. It also appears here. You can see all seven of these on his web site at: http://www.jeremiahpatterson.com/sevenacts.html

A Gift from Lindsey

It was a joy to welcome Lindsey Elder into worship on October 12th and to receive her gifts of faith, insight, and passion. As many of you know Lindsey, a sophmore at Southern Illinois University, participated as an intern with Uncharted Waters sports ministry this summer.

With other young adults, Lindsey helped lead Vacation Church Schools and youth meetings in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, North Carolina, California and Mexico. She spoke eloquently of the hospitality she experienced in the homes of hosts along the way. It was particularly moving to hear her speak of a host in Mexico whose generous hospitality seemed to far outreach her means.

Lindsey looks forward to her studies and new opportunities for ministry. Thank you Lindsey! And, thank you all for the wonderful ways your faith leads you to encourage, uplift and sustain youth and adults as they explore their discipleship.

Iowa Mission Team

For three days, Margaret Gambill, Nancy Gambill, Dennis Higgins and I worked along side homeowners, a mission team from Des Moines and former First Christian youth minister Tom Felts in reclaiming two homes in Iowa.

Floods in June of this year have still unsettled many residents. Water levels in the two homes ranmged from 3 feet to 7.5 feet. While neighborhoods look fairly normal (save piles of debris), many home interiors are still stripped to bare studs. Many residents wait for funds and labor to secure homes before winter.

Here are a few photos. Thank you for your continued support of First Christian Church mission teams.

Gone Horse Sale-ing

My "Holy Day" for nearly 20 years has been a visit to the Waverly Sale Barn in Waverly, Iowa. The event is billed as "The World's Largest Draft Horse Sale." Over 700 head of draft horses are sold one at a time. Magnificent animals. A relaxing community of farmers and ranchers, Amish and English, Canadian and Mexican and German. See you after the Holy Day. This Belgian sold for $35,000.

Global Positioning System Faith

On our recent Mission Team trip to Iowa, Dennis Higgins entered our destination address into his new GPS (Global Positioning System). After that, a rather kind voice guided us highway by highway, road by road and street by street to the Disciple’s mission station waiting for us. If we took a path different than the one suggested, we would hear the voice tell us they were reconfiguring a new route based on where we actually were.

Recently I have thought a lot about how we navigate and negotiate the path we take as individuals. A wheel-chair mobile person negotiates a way through life differently than another. Someone who is blind, or has cancer, or cannot speak English, or who is young, or one who is married, or who is older, or… Well, you get the picture. We each make our way through life with our particular set of abilities, insights and circumstances.

As pastor, I am given to thought to how we make our way in the world as the church, specifically as First Christian Church. And, I know you think about it also. We make our way as protestants, as a “mainline” congregation, as Disciples of Christ, as a small congregation, as…

It is a joy to be your pastor, to be a minister and missionary with you, as we make our way into the world. We remember the one who said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” May we navigate the Way with joy, hope, and love.

What gifts, abilities, insights, challenges and circumstances influence the way you navigate in daily life - the way you navigate as a child of God on a path of faith?

Mission Team

Do you have family or friends displaced and unsettled by recent hurricanes and flooding?

Television cameras have moved on, but there is much cleanup and rebuilding still to be done. I'm not referring to the floods in Illinois and Indiana, nor Hurricane Ike, nor Hurricane Gustave, nor an Alabama tornado, nor a typhoon in Myanmar, nor an earthquake in China, nor floods in Iowa, nor Hurricane Rita, nor Hurricane Katrina, but the Tsunami of December 2004. And there are likely areas preceding these that still beg attanetion.

Our congregation cannot send mission teams to each area, but we can send one to Iowa. Why go there when there are so many areas closer to home that have since been hits with floods? Simply, because we said we would. Margaret Gambill, Nancy Gambill, Dennis Higgins and I will be heading the Cedar Rapids, IA on Sunday, September 21.

And, as a congregation, we are reaching hurting persons in areas overwhelmed with loss of life, health, homes, businesses, pets, and more. Each gift we give to Week of Compassion, is joined to other gifts from our sisters and brothers in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). But these acts of generosity also connect us to partners across denominational and cultural lines to act decisively with compassion as a sign of hope. Thank you!

What suggestions do you have for our next mission trip?

How Many Times?

This Sunday the sermon topic will be forgiveness. Not a unique topic for a gathering of disciples, of followers of Jesus Christ. However, it is one of those topics that catches the attention of nearly everyone.

Most everyone who gathers for worship will have, at some point in their life, experienced the need for forgiveness or be in need of extending forgiveness. We know forgiveness leads to healing, sometimes it may be the only way. The disciple asked Jesus, "How often should I forgive? Seven times? Jesus responded, "Seventy times seven." Don't do the math. That isn't the point. Miroslav Volf wrote, "No line can be drawn between those who should be forgiven and because they sin only rarely and those who shouldn't because they sin repeatedly. There are no unforgiveable people...The scandalousness of God's indiscriminate forgiveness hits us even harder when we are called to imitate it."

It is too easy to simply say you should forgive those who have sinned against you. To live into it together will require a community of persons seeking God's holy face in the world.

Radical Hospitality

The Kids are Coming
I don't know who said it, or even if I remember it correctly, but it is firmly fixed in my memory. Our church facility was built when I was a junior in high school. What I remember is that leaders of the church said, "We want a building that will wear out before it rusts out." In short we want this building to be used actively to honor God, engage Christ, and serve the community.
The Kids are Coming
What wonderful job various property committees, women's fellowships, and the whole congregation has done to mainatain and improve our facilities. It is not a preservation effort, but rather a mission effort to provide hospitality to the Spirit that gives us life and purpose in Christ.
The Kids are Coming
For several months we have lifted up the five practices of a fruitful congregation by Robert Schnase. One of those practices is "Radical Hospitality." While the word radical has been associated with "extreme," radical primarily refers to "root." Hospitality refers to being "readily receptive," or "offering a pleasant or sustaining environment."
The Kids are Coming
Each school day this church is far more likely to wear out than rust out. Each school day at First Christian Church we are privileged to offer hospitality to three pre-schools. Early Childhood has beem here for many years (anyone remember just when it came to FCC?) and now a second related pre-school will begin to serve Ford County students.
The Kids are Coming
The third is our very own Busy Hands Pre-School with Director Deb Kirkpatrick. This year she is joined by new assistant teacher Tara Minion. It is exciting to see and hear these halls fill with the presence of children. It is exciting to know your encouragement of this mission to serve the children and families of the wider Gibson City area. With four pre-school now in Gibson City, we look for ways to preserve and strengthen the Busy Hands future. Please pray for the continued mission of Busy Hands. Please consider a special Busy Hands gift in support of the growing number of parents in need in our community.
The Kids are Coming
Share your memories and insights regarding Busy Hands past, present and future.
The Kids are Coming - Thanks be to God!

Practicing Church - Too!

In an effort to be persistent and consistent, I have been inserting the five practices of a fruitful congregation into as many notes, meetings and conversations as possible. These practices rise out the work of Robert Schnase. Let me ask, what comes to mind when you think of "hospitality?" Now, what comes to mind when you hear "radical hospitality?" Is it a different image? The word radical changes things. How about these...

• Radical hospitality
• Passionate worship
• Intentional faith development
• Risk-taking mission and service
• Extravagant generosity

Let's go back to the first one. Where have you experienced "radical hospitality?" Was it in the actions of an individual? a group? Was it unexpected? Was it at school? church? grocery store? classroom? community event? church activity? Share your story.

Practicing Church

One more thing about the table I mentioned earlier, the round table that had come from my mother's house. The large round oak table was in the house when our family moved into it in 1960. The family of the previous owner had no need of the table and it fit well in the dining room where it had already served for several decades. My parents bought the table with the house. That previous resident was Mrs. Hattie Richards. It was her table. She was also one of the 1891 charter members of what was then called the Church of Christ, now known to us as First Christian Church in Gibson City. Gathering at that table now, I am thrice blessed -by present company and fellowship, by family memories and by the heritage of a wonderful congregation. What is there in your home, or among your possessions, that connects past and present?

Yesterday was the final day of our family owning my mother's home here in Gibson City. After several weeks of siblings removing contents and cleaning the house sat empty for the first time in nearly 100 years. Brothers and sisters each went through the empty house at different times those last few days. On the last afternoon I walked through the empty rooms - starkly empty rooms. And all I could think as I walked from room to room was "thank you, thank you, thank you." Each room held recollections of the family, friends, events, sounds, laughter and tears that had filled the rooms. What a wonderful gift from an empty house.

The last few weeks we have been worshipping with friends at the First Presbyterian Church. During that time our sanctuary has been uncharacteristically empty. Each Sunday morning I would walk through the sanctuary before going over to the Presbyterian Church. Each time I would walk through, or sit for a moment in the quiet, my response was the same - "thank you, thank you, thank you" - gratitude to God for the wonderful sights and sounds of people gathered, lives shared, events celebrated.

It will be good to welcome everyone home tomorrow morning. It will be good to receive friends from First Presbyterian and the community.

"I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord."

Pastor Ed

Round Table

This is the first post on the new First Christian Church blog. Welcome.

Today, we inherited the large round dining room table that had been the center of our parent's home for nearly fifty years. The table was at the center of household life - meals and meetings, ingatherings and leavings, tears and laughter. Everyone was welcomed.

At First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Gibson City, the center of our worship is the celebration of the Lord's Supper. It shapes our welcome, hospitality, and sending forth as disciples of Jesus Christ.