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"A Church You Can Call Home"
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A Message from our Pastor......
Last week, I watched a
television special on the Kingston Trio, one of my favorite singing
groups in the 60s. The next day, I saw an
advertisement in the paper for the Kingston Trio in concert here in
Buffalo. Only of the Trio's singers is still alive, and he
hasn't performed in years. Who exactly is going to sing?
Well, clearly the attraction is not who is singing, but
what they
are singing -- old favorites. It's all about nostalgia, a
chance to return to the "good old days." We may long for the "good old
days," but we don't always remember what they were really about.
In 1675, Philip Jakob Spencer published a little book entitled Pious Desires.
In it, he bemoaned the current state of the church, it's lack
of vitality and spiritual force. He made a series of
proposals to reinvigorate the church and return it to its true glory.
These included radical (at the time) suggestions such as
mid-week services, home Bible study, ministry by the laity, and small
groups. Spencer was well aware of his critics, and at one
point took them on directly. After another new proposal, he
wrote: "Lest anyone regard this, too, as impossible, let me cite the
early Christian church as an example. What was then possible
cannot be absolutely impossible."
We need "old" faith. What the early church did was done by
real human beings, many of them seriously flawed, who trusted God to do
what they could not and followed where his Spirit led them.
Of all the changes that have some in the last two thousand
years, none prevents us from doing the same. It's not
nostalgia, but wisdom. They turned the world upside down.
We can do the same.
Blessings
on the Journey!
Jim
Thoughts on Stewardship
I have a
wonderful book that a friend gave me years ago. Printed in
the 19th century, it's a biography of the great preacher George
Whitfield. The book's binding is frail, the pages are
delicate and it requires very careful handling. As a result,
it is not a book I use regularly. I invest time and energy
preserving it from further damage.
I have a car that I drive most days. The reason I bought the
car was to drive it. Sometimes I can't drive it because it is
in the garage for maintenance. I spend time, energy and money
keeping the oil changed, the gas tank filled, the tires inflated and
the exterior as clean as Buffalo winters allow. Those efforts
are not simply to keep it preserved, but to allow me to use the car.
What do a book I
rarely touch and a car I drive every day have in common? I am
the steward of both. It is my responsibility to care for them
both. An essential task of stewardship is to understand their
purpose so I can care for them properly. One can be best
cared for by not using it; the other's sole purpose is to be used all
the time.
You and I are stewards of Christ's church. That includes the
people, the programs, the mission, the facilities--everything.
None of those are self-sustaining. They require
investments of time and energy to maximize their survival and
functionality. Our first task as stewards is to understand
that God has not called us to preserve the church as a relic, keeping
it in a protected environment so it will never change. No.
Our calling is to keep the church strong and healthy so it
can grow, adapt and change to be the most effective means of
proclaiming Jesus in our ever-changing world.
It is our privilege to be partners with God in the work of his Kingdom.
Not silent, passive partners, but active participants.
Stewards. As we enter our second century, KBC is
poised to extend the good news of Jesus into our community in new
directions and new ways. That can only happen is we commit
ourselves to be stewards of this gift God has given us. The
old hymn, "Give of Your Best to the Master," says it well.
Give,
and to you will be given;
God His beloved Son gave;
Gratefully seeking to serve Him;
Give Him the best that you have.
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