God showing up in 2016

Mindy and I didn't go to a new church this past Sunday. Instead, we went back to Healdsburg Community Church, which we attended from 2001 to 2013, and where I served as a part time staff member. (We wrote about the church in September, during Old Home Month.) In lieu of a church post this week, here's a summary of the sermon I preached Sunday -- which doubles in the program as a mission statement for our travels to a church in every state in 2016. (I've changed the sermon a bit to include it as a post; the original, complete with Mindy's coughing fit, is posted on the church website.)

Have you ever been stood up? I'm not just thinking of romantic situations, though that has certainly happened to me. I'm  thinking of those times when you think you have a set time and place to meet someone, and they don't come. You start questioning: Were we were supposed to meet today? Is this the right place? Did I say or do something that hurt the other person's feelings?

I believe a lot of people go to church and think God has stood them up. They hear He was supposed to be at the 11:00 am service at the First Whatever Church of Someplaceorother, and they go, and He isn't anywhere to be seen. It can be discouraging.

And yet, Mindy and I expect God to show up at churches in 2016. We find encouragement for that expectation in Luke 2: 22 - 39. In the passage, Mary and Joseph go to church (okay, they go to the Temple), and see God show up in surprising ways -- particularly through two individuals.

All of the people in this passage model practices that make seeing God more likely. First, Mary and Joseph set a model of spiritual discipline by following commands given in Leviticus chapter 12 that acknowledge God's authority over their lives (and the life of their Child) through circumcision, purification and sacrifice. Taking these steps required time and devotion. Following these practices also allowed the couple to encounter two amazing people who spoke to them with blessings from God.

As Christians, we no longer need to practice Law of Moses, with its ritual cleansings and sacrifices, but there are other spiritual disciplines we should practice, like prayer, fasting, studying Scripture, and meeting with God's people. Hebrews 10:25 teaches us that we must not neglect the gathering together of believers (i.e., going to church).  Some people say, "I don't need to go to church, I see God in the forest." Of course you can see God in the forest, but you can see God in the garden as well, so why go to the forest? God speaks to us in unique ways in different places and times, and church should be one of the places we go to find Him.

In the Temple, Mary and Joseph meet a man named Simeon, who is described as righteous and devout. Luke notes that God had revealed to Simeon that he wouldn't die until he had seen the Messiah. We modern people are pretty skeptical of people who claim a revelation from God, which I think is fair. There are a lot of people who claimed to speak for God when they were speaking for themselves, or repeating what the voices in their heads (that were not at all divine) said. The time when Jesus was first brought to the temple was during what church history calls the "Silent Era" because it had been nearly half a millennia since the last prophet, Malachi, spoke for God.

And yet, God did speak through Simeon. God is free to speak when and through whom He chooses, and we should be ready to listen, just as the Holy Spirit spoke to Simeon and then Simeon spoke to Mary and Joseph.

Finally, we come to Anna. She was an old widow without children in a time and place when such a condition was considered a curse from God. Her life was difficult, full of suffering, but such suffering can draw a person close to God.  She too speaks for God to Mary and Joseph, assuring them that their Jesus is indeed God's anointed.

We need to recognize that God can speak through pain. We shouldn't try to cover over our own spiritual pain or ignore others who suffer, since God may speak through our pain as we bring it to Him or speak to us as we minister to others.

So that's what we hope to do in 2016. We want to be faithful like Mary and Joseph, which for Mindy and me means going to church every week. We want to listen for God like Simeon did. And we want to be willing to reach out to those who are hurting, knowing that that's just one more way God may choose to show Himself.

We trust God will show up in 2016. In our journey and in yours.

-- Dean

Statistics:

Service Length: 58 minutes

Sermon Length: about 20 minutes (Mindy can't find her notes in the confusion of moving)

Snacks: leftover Christmas goodies including lots of different cookies, tangerine wedges, pears, coffee, decaf, tea, water

Songs: Angels We Have Heard on High

            Joy to the World

            He Shall Reign Forevermore

            We Three Kings of Orient Are

Miles to place: 47 (it's only 12 from our house, but we had to make several trips to get everybody)

Total California Miles: 17,735 

Church website: www.healdsburgcommunitychurch.com

Healdsburg Community Church

When you leave a place where you worked, there are obviously mixed feelings. If you liked the place, you want to see it prospering. If you did a good job setting up systems and training people, then you can take pride in seeing good work continue.

On the other hand, sin nature may wish to hear, "Things have never been the same without you." I'm happy to report that our visit Sunday to Healdsburg Community Church gave no satisfaction to any such nasty sentiments that might reside in my soul.

I clearly remember the first time we visited HCC -- which was, at the time, called Healdsburg Federated Church. (The former name came about when early in the 20th century the local Presbyterian congregation joined the local Methodist congregation. The congregation decided several years ago that they no longer wanted to sound like a government agency and changed the name to Healdsburg Community Church.) It was the Sunday after 9/11/2001, and there was an open prayer time that was powerful and comforting.

We visited a few other places but by Christmas had decided to make HCC our church home. After participating for a number of years, I was asked to join the staff of the church on a part- time basis. A little over two years ago, we decided to leave the church when Dean and Andrea Kladder were called to pastor the church.

We didn't leave because we didn't like the Kladders. They seemed to be a clear answer to our prayers for the church. We simply believed the transition would be easier if we left, and so we began our current adventure of a church visiting pilgrimage.

A standard element of these reports on church visits is on visitor treatment. I'm happy to report we were greeted quite warmly. Many people shook our hands and hugged us as if we were longtime friends; which made sense because, you know, we are longtime friends. During the announcements, Andrea not only greeted us but let people know where they could sign-up for our blog posts. I wish that would happen in more churches.

Our son Bret came along for worship. After the service we asked him what he thought. He said he appreciated that the service was well designed and everything had a clear purpose. He also liked the sermon (Bret is quite particular about sermons.)

I agreed with his assessment. In the past, the services often had a bit of a shaggy dog nature. Many times the mike was opened for announcements, and anyone could come forward. Rambling was not uncommon (admittedly, on my part as well). Sermons (on occasion) had the dreaded feel of a late Saturday rush -- like those school papers that are written last minute and aren't very well organized. One never knew how long the service would last; it might go an hour and a half, it might go two. One awful Super Bowl Sunday, a guest speaker preached over an hour on the one day people are most antsy to leave.

I talked to Dean after the service, and he said that he and Andrea plan sermon series in advance and craft the sermon well ahead of Sunday (actually, they start working on sermons on Monday morning). On this Sunday, Andrea began a series on the adverbs of Jesus with the word, "Graciously." The text was John 8, the story of the women caught in adultery. I appreciated the point that Jesus not only showed grace to the woman but also to her accusers when he turned his back on them and allowed them to exit quietly.

We had lunch with friends from the church after the service. We asked what changes they'd noticed in the last two years. The first word that was spoken was "energy." Everyone seemed to agree that the place was much more vibrant than it had been for quite some time. Everyone agreed that there were many new people, though the exact percentage of the congregation that was new (25%, 40%, 50%) was a subject of debate. Everyone appreciated the young families with children in tow. (Dean and Andrea are rather young themselves, in their early 30's with a young daughter and a second child to come in just a few weeks.)

The church just adopted a new mission statement, "We are seeking to live like Jesus so others can experience God's love." The missions and outreach committees are looking for ways to fulfill that statement. The goal is to show God's love to people even if they never enter the church walls. One program begun recently is Free Coffee Fridays. The church property is catty corner from Healdsburg High School, so they decided to make coffee available to students in the morning. But the school is also across the street from an elementary school. They soon found themselves serving coffee to the parents of younger students... and serving hot chocolate to those younger students.

Another outreach in the church is to the people of the small nation of Guinea-Bissau in western Africa. One of the church members, Rich Kagel, felt a burden for the people of this poor country. A chemist, he began to research ways to provide clean water, a great need. The church has adopted the nation as well and is looking to do a missions trip there in the spring of 2016.

Somehow, Healdsburg Community Church is not only carrying on without us, but seems to be thriving. And I'm okay with that.

-- Dean

Statistics:

Service Length:  1 hour 10 minutes

Sermon Length:  20 minutes

Visitor Treatment: We were warmly welcomed (see above). Several people in the congregation (as well as the pastors) make it a priority to greet first time visitors soon after they come in. There is a brief greeting time early in the worship service, and "friendship pads" are passed down each aisle so that regulars and visitors can register their attendance and, when desired, request follow-up from the church

Followup by Tuesday Morning: we had lunch with one of the pastors on Sunday

Our Rough Count: 110

Probable Ushers' Count:  125

Snacks: coffee, tea, hot chocolate, water, lemonade, various cookies and breads, fruit, and a garden produce sharing table (surprisingly, no zucchini) on the patio just outside the main entrance 

Musicians: keyboard (male for songs, female as accompanist for the flute solo), acoustic guitar (male), 

bass (male)

 electric guitar (male), female vocalist, flute solo (female)

Songs: Come to Me (prelude by worship band)

            Blessed be Your Name

            Your Grace is Enough

            Alleluia (The Lord God Almighty Reigns)

            In the Garden (flute solo)

            Communion Hymn

Miles to place:  12  

Total California Miles:  12,093 

Visits with old youth group students -- Shaina and Stefan

Shaina Meier happens to be my archnemesis. A few years ago we both decided we were lacking an archnemesis in our lives. My problem, though, is that she is a perfectly delightful person. I enjoyed her presence at youth group and events when I was doing youth ministry at Healdsburg Community Church, and she also did wonderful work in the church nursery and on the worship team. A reasonable assessment of Shaina's character would more likely rank her as a hero, perhaps a Super Hero; which would make me a Super Villain. But I try not to think about it.

Stefan Masselink also attended Healdsburg Community Church. For the last couple of his high school years, Stefan and I got together on an irregular basis for Bible study or just to talk. Mindy taught both Shaina and Stefan for awhile, during their younger years, in Sunday School.

 

Both Stefan and Shaina are attending U. C. Berkeley, and both were willing to get together with us for lunch to discuss their church experiences. Afterwards, we went to church together at Livingwater Church in Berkeley.

Shaina's first church memories were from attending services with her father and brother at a Seventh Day Adventist Church. She remembers potlucks and being rather disappointed with vegetarian hot dogs. But she appreciated the people, and many of the folks from that church are still family friends.

Shaina and her family moved to Healdsburg Community Church when she was eight or nine, and at the new church she also appreciated the people. There were plenty of older people who took grandparent duty, and since she had no grandparents living close by this was appreciated.

Stefan also said he appreciated the older folks who loved the kids in the church and remembered him week to week. His other memory of a church from childhood was the house church his family attended in Italy when they would go for long summer visits. The sermons there, he said, were a little long and dry for a kid, but he appreciated and continues to appreciate the people.

Shaina was quite enthusiastic when she discussed her love of Vacation Bible School at Healdsburg Community Church, both as an attendee and a leader. As a kid she thought the VBS decorations were magical, and as she grew older she felt no reason to change her opinion. She attributes those VBS experiences to contributing to her continuing love for working with children.

Shaina just began at Berkeley in January and hasn't yet found a church home there.

Stefan has been attending Livingwater, the church we attended together, for four months. Prior to that, in his freshman year and the first half of his sophomore year, he had a rather challenging church experience. At that church, he initially found the teaching spoke to his heart. It was a new experience worshiping with students his age, many already his friends. People in the church were divided into small groups who met several times a week for several hours for Bible study, worship and social times. After awhile, though, he began to feel at odds with teaching in the church. They told him it wasn't Biblical to be a romantic relationship. Their teaching about selfishness was that you shouldn't have fancy possessions like a smart phone or a vehicle that couldn't be used for ministry (like a van that could be used to take people to church).

The most challenging teaching about ministry, for Stefan, was that it was selfish to use time studying for classes that could be used for, say, evangelism. Perhaps it would even be best to quit school to concentrate on ministry for the church. This was at odds with Stefan's desire to excel in his school work in pre-med.* Though Stefan still respects many people in that church, he knew it wasn't God's place for him.

Students who have grown up going to their family's church face a challenge when they move off to college. It's easy to neglect church altogether. There are some unhealthy churches that will take in students that are looking for the comfort of a caring church home. But I'm confident that God will continue to work in the already impressive lives of Shaina and Stefan and will continue to use them in His Church.

-- Dean

*Not part of our conversation, but what Stefan said about the church encouraging neglect of studies reminded me of a story Billy Graham used to tell. A seminarian asked him if he should be wasting time in studies when he could be out serving people. Graham told him that if there were many trees to chop down in the forest, it was worth taking time to sharpen an axe.