Hats Off to you Pastors!! May Jesus Christ be Praised!

 

Hats Off to you Pastors!! May Jesus Christ be Praised!

Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times and the strength of salvation Isaiah 33:6

I want to write an article that encourages pastors who are out there doing the hard work of the church. All we have to read about are the articles that warn about burnout. The articles that let pastors know they have all been living in a war zone are so depressing. They perpetuate discouragement saying there are so few of them left. My question is-Has anyone acknowledged the courage of those who have chosen to be in it for the long haul? Has anyone written about old fashioned commitment because that is what we do when we make our oath at ordination? Has anyone written about the call to duty and the strength of living with honor?

Even the current cultural climate has taken away the importance of living a sacrificial life. We have forgotten the ethics of Jesus. (But, that’s a soapbox for another time.)

These two years of ministry have been hell on earth. There’s no denying that. Pastors have had the closest confidents turn on them because of the difficult decisions of when to shut down and when to open the church for in person worship.

Choirs and music have suffered at the hand of these decisions too. Perhaps large congregations with multiple staff and as many more opinions have suffered more than the smaller and more rural congregations. Small congregations are used to conflict and struggle. Just staying open and viable is a concern every year. Small congregations who have withstood the test of times are the ones who have lived out adaptive leadership.

Hats off to you pastors who are still in your post. Hats off to you pastors who have planted your feet firm with your congregations. Hats off to you pastors who have not been swayed by the loudest voices but discovered what has been best for your little group in your unique place. Hats off to you pastors who have worked hand in hand with both the contrary and the compliance members of your leadership. Hats off to you pastors who have sought to find a way to make worship feasible and safe and fulfilling for all your people. May Jesus Christ be praised!

In 22 months more congregations have launched unimaginable forms of ministry. Creativity soared beyond anything any pastor or church leader could have planned for in advance. Hats off to the quick thinkers that kept church alive in the most unusual ways. Take your under-pressure leadership skills and dust off the rejections and pat the affirmations and move forward into this new year with gusto. You now have a skill set that’s sellable. You now have knowledge that’s shareable. You now have faith that’s unshakeable. You have done remarkable work for the sake of Jesus Christ. It’s not about you or me or even the members. It’s about the church of Jesus Christ and you have been faithful to keeping her going against all odds.

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,… the things that God has for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9

Many of you, perhaps without knowing it, put disaster management and Heifetz leadership into effect immediately. The three core responsibilities of leadership are to provide-direction, protection, and vision. During the discomfort and fear of the upheaval of this crisis it was your responsibility to help people find a way to tolerate and live through the storm. It was important to recognize the context of the values and belief systems of the people you were guiding and leading. You were helping your people move from status quo and being stuck to moving safely into the risk of new ways of maneuvering while maintaining connections of faith and community. The greatest risk was doing something new, and something not done before. The hardest things you did with them was to determine the things that were essential, and the things that were allowed to be left behind or undone. You were able to break through the ‘right or wrong’ of things and help people to see a vision of what ‘will or should be’. You were amazing! You also did the challenging thing of making a few executive decisions of no and yes.

When your feelings got hurt, you withstood that. You went back to scripture and listened to the story of Jesus being chased toward the cliff. You turned around and realized it wasn’t really the people sending you there it was their fears, their anxieties, their inability to adjust to the unknowns and uncertainties of the world. You brought them hope Sunday after Sunday and day after day. You kept the vision of a brighter day before them

And when you really got low and discouraged; when you really thought you could throw in the towel you were reminded that this call to ministry is not about power or control, or about feeling good and getting affirmation; this call isn’t even about being popular and liked. Those were the dark days. They were days that challenged. They were days that screamed-“Give up!” But, you didn’t!

You remembered your vows were to Jesus to uphold his church and you stood the test knowing how much he loves you. You have a toolbelt filled with tested equipment for the storms that will come again. Trust yourself and your dedication to the work of the Lord. It has not gone unnoticed.

You have given your people a great gift. You have shown them a path that can be followed even during the most turbulent times. You have given them vision and hope, sustenance, and sustainability. You have enriched their faith and strengthened their resolve to stick with Jesus always. You have shown them and yourself to set your course by the promises of God. “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2

Hold fast friends! Amen!!

 Monica Gould copyright January 18, 2022

Resources: The Practice of Adaptive Leadership Heifetz, Grashow, Linsky. NRSV Bible

A Story to Tell-the Road Home

Sermon Luke 2:15-20; Mathew 2:1-2, 9-12; Acts 26:13-23 January 2, 2022 

An Epiphany Moment 

 A Story to Tell-the Road Home 

 We celebrate Epiphany today. It happens officially on the sixth of January. 

But we are here at the crossroads of time once again; 

the end of Christmas of 2021

 and the beginning of Epiphany of 2022. 

At these crossroads we are faced with the moments of experience and anticipation. All through Advent we anticipated the birth of Jesus to come. On Christmas Eve he came and on Christmas Day we rejoiced at his presence with us. Throughout all of it we were witnesses to the light. The light of hope, of joy, of peace, and of love. We were witnesses to the light of the angels, the light of the star, the light of God shining from heaven through Jesus his son. 

There has been brightness all around us. 

 Our scripture readings today reveal the presence of light in the life of people. 

The shepherds encountered the light of God through the angels. 

They went straight to Bethlehem to meet the Savior. They were so changed by the experience that when they returned home they had a story to tell. The road home led them back to their lives of shepherding sheep but it was through the lens of a new and changed life. 

They went home but on new terms. 

They went home with renewed hope. 

They went home but with eyes wide open to the joy that brought them back to where they could tell the story of wonder, the story of miracle, the story of promise! 

photo credit Megan Ames

 The magi saw the great light in the sky and followed it until it shone upon where the baby lay. They came and bowed down before the tiny king and paid him homage. 

They were changed forever by the light of the star. 

They went home and down the road with a story to tell. 

Their ability to risk everything to chase after a light brought them into the presence of the Promise. 

The did not stay at the manger or linger hoping for more. 

The encounter with the baby Lord filled them with the abundance of new life. 

It gave them hope and strength, resilience to get back on the road with this newfound love to share and tell those from which they came. 

 It’s the most wonderful news to know that we encounter Jesus at Bethlehem every year and he smiles upon us and refreshes us and sends us on the road home with another story to tell. 

 

The loss of Desmond Tutu and the loss of Betty White broke my heart this past week. 

These were two remarkable world changing people. 

In very different ways of course. 

But, all I could think about was these two people were so important to the world because of who they were. 

And we expected, hoped, prayed that they would never leave us. 

Imagine having so much of an impact on others that dying at 90 or 99 is too soon. 

Who are the people we expect to never leave us, to always stay with us, to be an icon around us, because if they dared to leave at anytime it would be too soon? 

We’ve ended 2021 with much the same way we ended 2020. 

We lost people too soon. 

We were challenged at times beyond our capacities. 

We were in situations of turmoil, grief, and struggle that God never intended us to be in. 

And yet, there we were. 

And this year couldn’t end soon enough for us. 

 The question for us as we enter into this year of 2022, ‘has the encounter with Jesus in Bethlehem of 2021 impacted us in a way that we don’t want Jesus to ever leave us?’ 

Somewhere along the way we experience Emmanuel. 

We meet the incarnation of God through his Son Jesus on our road of life. 

We experience the epiphany, the aha moment of Jesus alive within us, at Christmas or through the story of the wisemen, or the shepherds as they witnessed the promise of God come alive. 

Perhaps, our epiphany, our awakening to God happened at our confirmation, 

or at church camp, 

or through choral singing, 

or at a retreat, 

or in quietness of our own room. 

**We all meet Jesus face to face in our life in a moment so necessary to our life that it alters our life forever.**

It’s at those moments we recognize the God who promised to always be with us has been holding us in the palm of his hand through all the times we thought were too much for us to handle. 

 The amazing story of encounters with the light of Jesus continues beyond his birth and after his resurrection. 

Paul was blinded by the light of Jesus so boldly it took three days for his vision to return. 

Jesus turned Paul’s life upside down. 

Jesus came face to face with Paul and in that moment he was changed forever. 

 We are changed by face to face encounters. 

Paul had a story to tell and took the road home and faced all the people he had persecuted before and all the people who had taught him and he told them about Jesus no matter the cost it had on his reputation.

Because Jesus had given him a new identity and a new call in life. 

That’s what he does, 

he radically changes us to want to live only for him. 

He changes us so that all that matters 

is to bring hope, joy, peace, and love to the world through him. 

 As humans we are social creatures with a social culture. 

We need encounters. 

We need face to face experiences to learn, to grow, to be nourished, to be alive. 

Whales are also social creatures requiring a social pod to experience and live life. 

As we watch them in nature we discover that they value families and sharing most. 

They serve each other and work together for food. 

They adore their children and protect each other’s children. 

They experience joy, they mourn, the play. 

An Orca whale lost her young and swam around for days with the body of her child and made weeping noises. The other Orcas of the pod swam with her to provide comfort and support. 

 As humans we must have these physical social cultural interactions. 

They are necessary for our survival. 

They are necessary for our faith. 

They are necessary for our encounters with Jesus in worship. 

As we pack up our journey to Bethlehem and get on the road home, 

remember we have a story to tell. 

Let’s not forget to go home with changed hearts 

and refreshed souls to sing 

and dance and share. 

 And we pray the prayer of Howard Thurman 

 A Prayer For The New Year 

 God, Grant that I may pass through the coming year with a faithful heart. 

There will be much to test me and make weak my strength before the year ends.

 In my confusion I shall often say the word that is not true 

and do the thing of which I am ashamed. 

There will be errors in the mind 

and great inaccuracies of judgment. 

In seeking the light, 

I shall again and again find myself walking in the darkness. 

I shall mistake my light for Your light 

and I shall drink from the responsibility of the choice I make... 

Though my days be marked with failures, 

stumblings, fallings, 

let my spirit be free so that You may take it 

and redeem my moments 

in all the ways my needs reveal. 

 Give me the quiet assurance 

of Your Love and Presence. 

Grant that I may pass through the coming year 

with a faithful heart. 

Amen 

Meditations Of The Heart

Resources: NIB Acts. Online news source-ABC

Original quotes and sayings of Monica Gould