Friends in Christ,
This past Fourth of July, our “Community Cares” suicide awareness and prevention coalition put on our second annual “Splash Dash” 5k walk/run, which began and ended here at the church. A good time was had by all, and we were pleasantly surprised as 80+ participants came out that beautiful morning and traversed a 3.1 mile course covering many of the lovely neighborhoods that dot the area in this part of town.
One of the most surprising things about the morning was a conversation I had with a thoughtful, inquisitive woman from our community, whose family had come to participate. Kindly, but pointedly, she asked what at first seemed a confrontational question of me: “So, what is the point of all of this?”
I was jolted out of my happy little pre-dash reverie right then and taken aback a bit by the question; I even felt a bit defensive and mystified. So I responded first by stating what I felt like was a given: in a culture that sometimes buries its head in the sand in terms of mental health issues like suicide, a little event like this is just one example of how we are working to bring a deeper awareness of the particular mental health challenges we face here in the Harvey area, particularly in the area of suicide, since this area has been hit hard by that in the past.
I thought I did a pretty good job explaining myself and the work that our group purports to do. Yay, me! But, apparently, she wasn’t overly convinced. She continued with her queries: “O.K., but is it actually making a difference?” I scrambled a bit at this one, not wanting to come across as defensive or frustrated (especially since I believe that just the fact that we have a group that meets monthly and isn’t afraid to used the word “suicide” in a sentence is making a difference) and went on to describe some of the practical things we are currently doing—especially with our work in the schools in the area and our partnership with Wells County District Health—to further suicide awareness and prevention.
“Plus, on a practical note,” I said, “this is our only fundraiser during the year, and it will help us with our various ongoing projects, as well as enable us to finance new things that pop up.” “O.K,” she continued, “but do you know if you actually are making a difference? Are there less suicides now than in the past?” Again, I scrambled some more, spitting out some responses that seemed—at least in my mind—to make sense, but she still seemed less than convinced; it was as if she were looking for something specific that I hadn’t hit on yet. But what was she looking for?
Unfortunately, our conversation got cut off before we were able to bring it to some sort of satisfying closure (I had to go “kick-off” the event), and she and I have not visited since. And, being the sort of self-critical person I can be at times, I have continued to think about how I could maybe have been better prepared to share our Community Cares story that morning! That little encounter in our church parking lot the morning of the Fourth has stuck with me and has continued to challenge me—not just in terms of how I will continue to tell the story of our CC Coalition, but how I will continue to tell the other story that I am called to tell (and you, too), that of Jesus Christ.
In the 21st Chapter of the Gospel of Luke, Jesus unloads a harrowing harbinger of the sufferings that the disciples are going to encounter down the road, especially after his death (short version: they will be persecuted). As he is detailing how they all will be brought before “kings and governors because of my [Jesus’] name,” he reveals that that will give them “an opportunity to testify” in his name. Then he shares this curious, yet hopeful line: “So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.”
I’ve always liked that line, mostly because it reminds me that there is a power at work in me, and often in spite of me as I seek to share the good news of Jesus in my work as a pastor. I’ve often been in situations where I had no clue what to say, and somehow out theological reflection and proclamation (what Douglas John Hall calls in one of his books, “Thinking the Faith”). Maybe a good example of this is our inherited Lutheran tradition that values and honors intellect and education and expects our seminary-trained clergy to preach sermons that have been worked on, prayed-about, fussed-over, and well-prepared! 😊
But thinking the faith isn’t just a clergy thing, of course; we all have been entrusted with that holy “calling” in baptism: How will I tell the story? What will I tell about that story? Where will I focus? What will be the heart of the matter as I seek to share the good news? So, while I don’t necessarily disagree with Jesus about “preparing our defense [of faith] ahead of time,” I would also add that our faith does actually call us to think through this stuff ahead of time, so that we can better cooperate with God and allow the Holy Spirit to speak through us!
So, think the faith, people of God! Cooperate with the Holy Spirit! And, be prepared at any time to give an account of what you believe—not just about your faith, but also about our faith community here at First Lutheran. Who knows? You just may encounter a question like one or more of the following someday: Why do you believe in Jesus? Does it make any difference in the world? What does your church stand for? What does your church believe? Tell me what distinguishes your church from any of the other 12 churches in town? Aren’t you all the same? Don’t you all believe in the same God? Why would I want to come to your church?
While we work on getting out of the way of the Holy Spirit, let’s you and I also have some robust conversations with one another about preparing our defense ahead of time, shall we? I look forward to that. Is there a more important, urgent, and exciting conversation we need to be having with one another these days than conversation about the “old old story of Jesus and his love?”
Thoughtfully,
Pastor Phil
(As posted in September 2018 Newsletter)
This past Fourth of July, our “Community Cares” suicide awareness and prevention coalition put on our second annual “Splash Dash” 5k walk/run, which began and ended here at the church. A good time was had by all, and we were pleasantly surprised as 80+ participants came out that beautiful morning and traversed a 3.1 mile course covering many of the lovely neighborhoods that dot the area in this part of town.
One of the most surprising things about the morning was a conversation I had with a thoughtful, inquisitive woman from our community, whose family had come to participate. Kindly, but pointedly, she asked what at first seemed a confrontational question of me: “So, what is the point of all of this?”
I was jolted out of my happy little pre-dash reverie right then and taken aback a bit by the question; I even felt a bit defensive and mystified. So I responded first by stating what I felt like was a given: in a culture that sometimes buries its head in the sand in terms of mental health issues like suicide, a little event like this is just one example of how we are working to bring a deeper awareness of the particular mental health challenges we face here in the Harvey area, particularly in the area of suicide, since this area has been hit hard by that in the past.
I thought I did a pretty good job explaining myself and the work that our group purports to do. Yay, me! But, apparently, she wasn’t overly convinced. She continued with her queries: “O.K., but is it actually making a difference?” I scrambled a bit at this one, not wanting to come across as defensive or frustrated (especially since I believe that just the fact that we have a group that meets monthly and isn’t afraid to used the word “suicide” in a sentence is making a difference) and went on to describe some of the practical things we are currently doing—especially with our work in the schools in the area and our partnership with Wells County District Health—to further suicide awareness and prevention.
“Plus, on a practical note,” I said, “this is our only fundraiser during the year, and it will help us with our various ongoing projects, as well as enable us to finance new things that pop up.” “O.K,” she continued, “but do you know if you actually are making a difference? Are there less suicides now than in the past?” Again, I scrambled some more, spitting out some responses that seemed—at least in my mind—to make sense, but she still seemed less than convinced; it was as if she were looking for something specific that I hadn’t hit on yet. But what was she looking for?
Unfortunately, our conversation got cut off before we were able to bring it to some sort of satisfying closure (I had to go “kick-off” the event), and she and I have not visited since. And, being the sort of self-critical person I can be at times, I have continued to think about how I could maybe have been better prepared to share our Community Cares story that morning! That little encounter in our church parking lot the morning of the Fourth has stuck with me and has continued to challenge me—not just in terms of how I will continue to tell the story of our CC Coalition, but how I will continue to tell the other story that I am called to tell (and you, too), that of Jesus Christ.
In the 21st Chapter of the Gospel of Luke, Jesus unloads a harrowing harbinger of the sufferings that the disciples are going to encounter down the road, especially after his death (short version: they will be persecuted). As he is detailing how they all will be brought before “kings and governors because of my [Jesus’] name,” he reveals that that will give them “an opportunity to testify” in his name. Then he shares this curious, yet hopeful line: “So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.”
I’ve always liked that line, mostly because it reminds me that there is a power at work in me, and often in spite of me as I seek to share the good news of Jesus in my work as a pastor. I’ve often been in situations where I had no clue what to say, and somehow out theological reflection and proclamation (what Douglas John Hall calls in one of his books, “Thinking the Faith”). Maybe a good example of this is our inherited Lutheran tradition that values and honors intellect and education and expects our seminary-trained clergy to preach sermons that have been worked on, prayed-about, fussed-over, and well-prepared! 😊
But thinking the faith isn’t just a clergy thing, of course; we all have been entrusted with that holy “calling” in baptism: How will I tell the story? What will I tell about that story? Where will I focus? What will be the heart of the matter as I seek to share the good news? So, while I don’t necessarily disagree with Jesus about “preparing our defense [of faith] ahead of time,” I would also add that our faith does actually call us to think through this stuff ahead of time, so that we can better cooperate with God and allow the Holy Spirit to speak through us!
So, think the faith, people of God! Cooperate with the Holy Spirit! And, be prepared at any time to give an account of what you believe—not just about your faith, but also about our faith community here at First Lutheran. Who knows? You just may encounter a question like one or more of the following someday: Why do you believe in Jesus? Does it make any difference in the world? What does your church stand for? What does your church believe? Tell me what distinguishes your church from any of the other 12 churches in town? Aren’t you all the same? Don’t you all believe in the same God? Why would I want to come to your church?
While we work on getting out of the way of the Holy Spirit, let’s you and I also have some robust conversations with one another about preparing our defense ahead of time, shall we? I look forward to that. Is there a more important, urgent, and exciting conversation we need to be having with one another these days than conversation about the “old old story of Jesus and his love?”
Thoughtfully,
Pastor Phil
(As posted in September 2018 Newsletter)