Seminary ramblings....

For this week's post I simply share the conclusion of my paper on how we deal with the evil in our present reality.  Hope you enjoy!  

         We are not oblivious, naïve, or ignorant of evil. As the Church we cannot afford to be unaware of Powers and Principalities, of darkness, of evil in our midst.  In Christ we are victorious over the Powers through the resurrection, but faith in Christ also brings knowledge and responsibility.  The origin of evil come from the inversion of what knowledge of good and evil would bring: separation from God.  In Christ we have once again been given that knowledge, but this time as a means for reconciliation, restoration, redemption and hope.  We engage with evil knowing that its forces are all an illusion; we care for people knowing that their pain is real and their experiences of evil are paramount for how they understand God.  We care for the hurt, battle with the forces opposed to God, and fight the fight knowing that victory is ours in the present as well as the Eschaton.  We preach good news because the truth of Christ equips humanity to resist evil.  We put on the full armor of God[1] because in the tension of the “now” and the “not yet” there is a battle with Powers and Principalities.  For so long I have wrestled with my understanding of evil and of the Powers and Principalities.  I struggle because I failed to grasp the hope in the present when imminent threat appears unstoppable.  Evil experienced in humans, in forces, even within myself stood in opposition of how I understood freedom in Christ and the victory of the Cross.  The good news is this: the war against the Powers is finished, but God has not left us alone in the immediate where the battle wages on.  He has given us His word, His truth, His love, and His Holy Spirit to fight the battles that must be fought and bring hope to the lost and the broken.  Evil may not be explained away, but it is put in its place, under the feet of Christ.

In the end, I whole-heartily agree with Stringfellow’s assessment of our reality in the tension of the coming Eschaton.  This is truth, reality, but ultimately: HOPE.

“This is an awful freedom into which the Church is born and into which the Christian is baptized.  It is a freedom to live in this present age, during the remaining time of death’s apparent reign, without escaping or hiding or withdrawing from the full reality of death’s presence, bearing the brunt of its powers, yet jubilantly confident at the same time of Christ’s victory over death and all the powers of death.  It is the freedom to live anywhere, any day, in such a way as to expose and confound the works of death and at the same time to declare and honor the work of Christ.  It is the extraordinary freedom ‘to be in but not of this world.’ As the language of tradition puts it: it is the freedom to be in a world which appears to belong to death and which death claims but in fact to belong to Christ.”[2]

           

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[1] Ephesians 6:13-17

[2] Stringfellow, 76.

Creative Juices

It has been forever since I have blogged and I apologize.  Life in ministry is wonderful and busy.  As of Tuesday, I am officially a solo pastor for the next 10 weeks while the other pastor is on maternity leave.  I am excited for Advent, Christmas, and whatever God has in store in this coming season.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to stay over with some friends in northern Nebraska and see a college short story slam.  In honor of them and through the inspiration of aspiring writers I wrote those friends a 55 word story this morning before heading back to Ceresco.  I hope you enjoy:

Buzz.  SLAM!  Agghh, snooze…Buzz.  “GOSH!”  SLAM!  Trudge.  Aggh.  Morning.  The percolating promise of hope wafted through the house like a warm embrace.  Lights.  Water.  Toothpaste.  Mirror.  Reality.  AAGGHH!  Yet, breaking through monotony came the aroma of a savior.  Dark, rich grounds, seeped to perfection, equipping for the day.  One perfect cup.  It begins…

The ECC rocks!

These past few weeks have been crazy busy.  As I live out this life in full time ministry I am blown away by how quickly time flies by and just how much God is doing in this place.  This past week I spent in Minnesota with about 30 other church leaders.  It was a conference on church health.  The purpose of the conference was to teach, encourage, and equip leaders.  And I have to say I was overwhelmed with blessing as I got just a glimpse of the hope and passion God has put in these leaders’ lives.

What does it mean for a church to be “healthy” and “missional”?  I just spent the past week at a conference with lay leaders and pastors asking that very question.  The answer?  According to the Evangelical Covenant Church, (ECC), “healthy” means pursuing Christ and “missional” means pursuing Christ’s priorities in the world.  The ECC is committed to walking beside churches as they seek to pursue Christ and pursue Christ’s priorities in the world. 

Here is the truth: God is already present and at work.  A church does not need to invite ministry opportunities, but seek Christ and seek His priorities in the world.  Seek to serve where God is already moving.  There are times in the journey of seeking God and being about God’s priorities that we can be discouraged, but we are not in this alone.  That is what blew me away about this past week.  The ECC is committed to walking the pathway towards health with churches.  There is HOPE!  But it comes with intentionality and living into the opportunities that surround us.

As I left Minnesota and came back to Nebraska I was more than encouraged.  I have been empowered and again, given a sense of hope.  I do not know what my future ministry holds.  I do not know where I will be a year from now as seminary and my internship come to an end.  But I do know that I will pursue Christ and pursue Christ’s priorities in the world and before me will be a live and ministry that is healthy and missional.

Life at a Funeral

This past Sunday our church ended a ten week Christian Formation, (also known as Sunday school), series on death and dying.  I know, what better way to ring in the start of the Fall season then with DEATH and DYING!?  But it struck me as early as the first Sunday class…this is not something that many people talk about.  We started out kind of heady discussing theology of the resurrection, new body, second earth (meaning heaven is HERE not some far away cloud kingdom), and the connection between the body and the soul and not the separation of the two.

With the theology as the foundation we moved into the practical: have you ever planned your funeral?  Have you discussed your wishes with a loved one?  Have you thought about what it means to die well?  We discussed suicide, long term illness, sudden death, and the impact for the people left behind.  As a twenty-eight year old single female, I have never discussed my hope for my funeral with a loved one or even given it much thought. 

But why not?  Death is a reality that all of us will face one day and the stigma of it comes from a place of lack of hope.  But I do have HOPE!  And I am SURE of what I hope for and CERTAIN of what I do not see, (Hebrews 11:1 à Definition of faith).  Death does not have to be scary and planning for my funereal, near or far does not have to be abysmal.  In fact, I can make my funeral a celebration.  I can take the opportunity to in planning my funeral to tell my family and friends just how much I love them and appreciate them.  I can make decisions now, so that my family will not be faced with struggle and heart ache in the chance that death comes suddenly and they do not know what I would want.

This might all sound morbid, but here is the truth.  I can face my fear of this life ending, and look forward to the hope I have in the final resurrection, where all creation, human and non-human, will be redeemed and have new life.

Compelling Christian Community

The other Sunday I preached on what it means to be a compelling Christian community.  Looking at the community in Acts 2 we see a picture of the early church and we see the importance of living a life of faith together.  The way the early church loved one another spoke to their faith and witnessed to God’s transforming salvation.  During this sermon I used the story of my friends Emily and Kari as an illustration of how community changes our lives of faith.

In my first Chicago marathon, I knew I did not want to run alone.  I convinced some friends to meet me at different points in the race.  The idea was that my friends would meet me at mile markers 15, 17, and 19 and run a portion of the race with me.  My plan was perfect…or so I thought.  As it turns out, I was on a faster pace than anticipated.  What that meant was that as I passed mile markers 15, 17, and 19, my friends were no where in sight.  As mile after mile dragged on I didn’t know if I would make it to the finish line.  Then with one mile left a miracle happened.  Amidst the 45,000 runners, my friends Emily and Kari, that were supposed to meet me at mile 19, found me!  That last mile was like running my very first.  Having my friends alongside me changed my race.  

Again, in a life of faith we get to run the race together and that makes all the difference.  This past weekend I had the opportunity to go on a retreat with some dear friends from seminary.  I was so blessed to be with friends and loved ones that make my heart rejoice.  I love my life of ministry, but times of transition are always an adjustment.  What makes it so hard?  We all need community to thrive and be healthy.  We all need community.  

So here is a bit of a tribute to the wonderful people in my life that I love so much.  Thank you for the reminder of why we need community and what it means to be a part of community.