"Cancelling Worship."

"Cancelling Worship."

By:  Pastor Jack Scneider

“Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song.”  [Ps.95:1-2,NIV]

“Seven days with no worship makes one weak!” That was a favorite saying of an early mentor from our Nebraska pastoral circuit, Rev. Henry Nierman. Any farmer not in church on Sunday could count on a mid-week visit from Henry; there was nothing subtle about his shepherding. I thought of Henry last Sunday morning…

Cancelling worship last weekend with the ice storm was weird for me. I know it was the wise thing to do, and we made that decision [pres, vp and elders] only with prayerful consideration. Still, it has been rare over these 40 years that “my church” has felt God gave us reason to keep the doors closed on Sunday morning. We know any prolonged time away from one another in fellowship and worship does, indeed, make us weak.

So what is one to do when travel, illness, weather or work unavoidably calls?

Once upon a time, there were reasonably sound alternatives available on tv or radio. Not anymore. The only source I will unhesitatingly recommend each week is The Lutheran Hour, broadcast locally out of Irving on 100.7, KWRD at 9:30 each Sunday morning. If you’re traveling you can search your iPhone for a local station to listen to either Pastor Greg Seltz or Pastor Ken Klaus, both of whom are outstanding speakers from the Word. Additionally, Lutheran Hour Ministries website has a great lineup of other resources for you and your family, especially coming up here at Christmas. Check it out -- it’s a lot deeper than “the island of cast away toys,” trust me!

Something else that we tend to forget is the resource spelled Y-O-U. That’s right. Take the time to sit down with one another, the members of your family/marriage, and look up/read the appointed Scripture lessons for the day.  Where do you find those? Right on our Synod website: www.lcms.org. On that home page see the tab marked “resources”? Click it, and then move down and to the left column to “lectionary readings.” This year you’ll see we’re in Series A, and you can download the entire series -- or if you wish, you can always grab one of the old blue LW hymnals from here at church [it will have the readings in the front of it].

Finally, take advantage of your social media skills to connect with other families and host a worship/study time together. What better excuse to sit around in ‘jammies and sweats when the snow is blowing, or while you’re propped up at the end of a business day and there’s just enough time for family devotions before bedtime. FaceTime is a great way to end the day, and even better when it’s in Christ.

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it! [Ps.118:24]

- Jack

"Have You Been Listening?"

"Have You Been Listening?"

By: Pastor Jack Schneider

“Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”  [Matt.6:33,NIV]

Next week we will make important choices in a Call meeting as we look ahead to the next shepherd God has in mind for us.  My final words of counsel for you are to remember that goals are where we’re heading, but values determine why we want to get there. 

In the Church, where we have limited time, personnel and resources, it’s critical we have our Apostolic values in Biblical order and learn to prioritize to higher levels.  In short, we grow up spiritually and back off at a lower level because of the benefit to a higher level.

In practice, this means Level One [personal preference] values are driven simply by our likes and dislikes. You like organ accompaniment; your spouse prefers guitars. You wear a sweater because it’s snuggly. He buys only Fords. I like the way you wear your hair.  Though these values are the most shallow, they often control the everyday decisions of our lives and churches.

Level Two [institutional] values affect decisions we make to live or work more effectively, do things decently and in order, and often deal with organization or structure. They also usually include power or control issues. In the Church this is where we hear “because we’ve always done it this way” or “it will wear out the carpet,” or even “real Lutherans use a hymnal!”

Level Three [identity] values frame us within the larger picture. “Lutheran” Christians stand on the doctrine of justification by faith. Real Presence in communion is more than a statement of what we do, it’s a confession of who we are. Right-to-strike is an identity value for organized labor. What we decide on this level must always be for the sake of Christ’s mission, otherwise our “identity” collapses down to level two with its politics and control games, or even lower to level one and “but I just want…”

And that leaves us with Level Four [Lordship] values, which define and measure who and what we are in Christ’s Great Commission [Mt.28]. What are we willing to die for? If God needs to change us to touch others with his grace, will we let Him? Will we back off on our personal preferences if this will benefit the body of Christ or, better, the unsaved in our neighborhood and community?  This is where we think, say and do everything for Christ’s sake -- and for the sake of the Church [1 Cor.10:31].

For 13 years I’ve taught you these Apostolic Values. Frankly, it would be a pity to discover it went in one ear and out the other.  Have you been listening?  I believe so.  Prove me right, brothers and sisters, and God will bless our search!

- Jack

"Key Things That Block the Church."

"Key Things That Block the Church."

By:  Pastor Jack Schneider

“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”  [Prov.27:17,NIV]

At this critical time when we call a new Senior Pastor, it’s so very important to remember the elements that affect our walks in faith, as well as those that block our effectiveness with family, friends and our growth in Christ. That’s right -- there are key things that block the Church, the Body of Christ, from its full impact on an unbelieving world, and they’re not uncommon among us.  Here are three of them:

First is a spiritual self-centeredness where our energies are so inward-driven that we become isolated and concerned only about our own preferences.  The things we do and ministries we support are for our benefit and personal pleasure rather than the Kingdom; it becomes all about us.  The result? Our vision becomes “small, shrunken and ineffectual.”  Scary language to describe ourselves and the Church at large.  Remember, our purpose is to glorify God.

Second, our impact as Christ’s disciples is blocked by the fear of man.  Maybe we’re afraid of change or, being people-pleasers, we’re fear offending others so we struggle to stay vanilla, politically correct and neutral.  Some are afraid of ridicule; better to be quiet and invisible.  Others are afraid of being exposed as hypocrites because talk is cheap and it costs to play the game.  In contrast, Jesus was pointed in His call:  “The time has come.  Come, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  [Mk.1:15,18] 

Third, and most importantly, we’ll never cut it when we stray from Scripture’s clear teaching.  There is plenty in a Biblical context oriented to culture, ethics and justice [think of sexuality, entitlement, elitism, immigration, citizenship, life issues for both in-utero and geriatric]. You can legislate behavior but not character development.  That development is discipleship, and it happens only when a faithful use of Jesus’ Gospel transforms our hearts and lives.  The question is what the Word says, not whether I think it has changed over the last 2,000 years.

I don’t question there is a presence of holiness, spiritual fruit, loving service and active witness inside many churches today.  But you don’t see it out in the world at large, and this is a concern, for we’ve been called to be salt and light [Mt.5:13] to affect and infect others in Jesus’ name -- “out there.”  Jesus made it clear: when He returns He will be looking not for a holy huddle but for an incredible community – His Church, individually and collectively – actively engaged in embracing others in His name.

That’s the kind of pastor we must be calling. One who will sharpen us in the Word, and who challenges us to sharpen one another in the Spirit.

- Jack

"Solomon Missed the Point."

"Solomon Missed the Point."

By: Pastor Jack Schneider

“All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, or the ear its fill of hearing. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”  [Eccl.1:8,9, NIV]

Wednesday night’s “Digging Deeper” class is now in Ecclesiastes, having a blast working with Solomon’s struggles. How could one man spend that much time, energy and resources blowing away life and yet come away so empty?!  Solomon unabashedly tells us he denied himself nothing his eyes desired and refused his heart no pleasure, yet still claims “In all this my wisdom stayed with me.” 

Oh, really? Hmm. That’s not the picture we get when reading 1 Kings 11, the windup of Solomon’s life, is it?. What I see there is a man overrun by pagan wives and concubines, hurriedly building idol altars to satisfy whoever is his favorite of the week. Somewhere along the line testosterone [or desperation] replaced wisdom, and God snatched the kingdom away from this son of David. The wisest man who lived forgot his own counsel from Eccl.2: “I see this from the hand of God -- without Him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the person who pleases Him, God gives wisdom knowledge and happiness.”

One of our class members reflected that even today our culture echoes Solomon’s attitude of excess -- I want more, and I want it now! We’re unwilling to deny ourselves ungodly pleasures of life even though Jesus said discipleship requires denying things that pull us from Him, instead taking up our cross and following Him. What sort of fun is that?

The truth is, God is already pleased with you and the fun has already begun.

Forget chasing the wine, wo[men], and songs, worrying that death may be just around the corner. You’ve already died, in Christ through your Baptism and been raised to new life here and now. And that cross? It’s not so heavy, after all. The love of Christ makes it lighter as we serve others in His name. Solomon missed the point: he was placed as king to serve in God’s name, not to be served.

We simply cannot change how people will act in the marketplace or government, nor do we know what the future holds. We can, however, live in the present, firm in the assurance that Christ Jesus has given us life, abundant life both now and into eternity. The forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation -- these are the things Solomon needed to treasure more than all the riches and diversity of his kingdom, and they are ours to treasure now.

- Jack

            

"Hacked."

"Hacked."

By:  Pastor Jack Schneider

“”The Lord will keep you from all evil; He will watch over your soul; the Lord will watch over your going out and your coming in, both now and forevermore.”  [Ps.121:7, Heb. literal]

This last week a number of you were shocked to receive an e-mail, purportedly from Pastor Andy in Manila, the Philippines, claiming to have been waylaid and robbed while there on a trip. According to this tale of woe, he needed your financial help; could you come to his rescue via wire and send him money? Thankfully, you were suspicious of such a claim and checked it out with me or called Andy personally, and discovered that, indeed, this was a hoax. In the meantime, I’d had Laura send a blanket e-mail from the church office via “Member Connect” notifying most of you of the same thing: Pastor Andy was fine, and someone had hacked his e-mail account.

Several lessons from this include: 1] don’t EVER wire money to someone claiming to be a relative, friend or such without first verifying through unimpeachable sources that their story is true. In this day and age vast amounts of personal information can be gleaned from public pages and Facebook, so be very careful. 2] Set up trigger/pass words known only to you and your loved ones in the event of emergencies. If someone claiming to be close to you asks for help and does not know this contact info, he/she is a scoundrel looking to rip you off. 3] Don’t ever let someone intimidate you or “heart-string” you into cooperation. Maintain your composure; get contact numbers and take time to get your facts together for a well-thought decision.

Finally, do not forget the promise of God above. Yes, He expects and calls us to be responsible stewards -- harmless as doves but wiser than serpents when it comes to the ways of the world -- and yet He reminds us in the words of the Psalmist that He will never leave our side.  Some translations say He will protect us from “harm” and preserve our life; the Hebrew literally says He will guard our hearts from “evil” and watch over our “soul.” The difference? We will surely have to deal with the scoundrels of this world on a daily basis, but the deeper, eternal dangers can never shake us from the hand of God.

Yes, He will watch over us as we go out and come back each day, whether it’s to Manila…or the grocery store…wherever the Spirit leads us on the Way.

- Jack