A Busy Sunday

Yesterday after worship, both the Oakfield and Tabor churches had meetings to think about and to plan for the future. Immediately after Oakfield's worship service, a small group of planners got together to put the final touches on the Pork Chop Supper. Mark your calendars! The Oakfield UMC Pork Chop Supper will be September 25 from 4:00-8:00PM. Tickets for adults are only $9.00, children (5-12) are $5.00. You can buy them at the door, but if you'd like advance tickets, please let me know.

The Discovery Team met for lunch and fellowship to plan for the next few months. There is a lot on the horizon at Oakfield. We have special services planned, several programs put on by community agencies and members of the congregation. We will also be having a get together to discuss a possible mission trip in 2011.

The Tabor Ministry Initiative Team (MIT) met in the afternoon to also look toward the fall, and even the spring. We brainstormed some fundraisers to help raise funds to pay back loans for our building project. We also laid the groundwork for a few mission and service activities for the church!

In the evening, I had a final meeting with a couple getting married in early October. I am honored to be a part of their special day and am looking forward to it! :-)

Overall, it was a very busy and tiring day. But, it was also an exciting day because the Spirit is moving in our churches!

Take Me to Your Leader

“Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” – Hebrews 13:7

Our reading from Hebrews provides a wonderful blueprint for right living. We should live in a community of love. We should show hospitality to the stranger. We should minister to prisoners. We should honor marriage. We should not allow money to control us. A pastor could come up with a whole bunch of sermons about these topics.

But, my focus on Sunday will be on verse 7. The writer of Hebrews says that if we want to live this way, we need to look to our religious leaders, the ones who taught us about faith. When need to look to them, see what they've done and imitate them.

This could be pastors, Sunday School teachers, Confirmation mentors, fellow church members. We know those who have influenced us. Now we need to think about how we are influencing future Christians. Everyone has a role to play...everyone can be in a leadership role when it comes to those around us growing in the faith.

What are we doing to be Christians worth imitating?

This Sunday we will be taking a special offering for United Methodist Student Sunday. It is an opportunity to support scholarship opportunities for United Methodist students worldwide.

The scripture readings for this Sunday are:

• Jeremiah 2:4-13
• Psalm 81:1, 10-16
• Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
• Luke 14:1, 7-14

I look forward to seeing you in church!

Don't Put This on the Poster

Yesterday morning, I was reading my devotion from the One Year Mini. There was a section of the devotion that stuck with me throughout the day. It centered around the issue of faithfulness and address the question: Is God's rescue of us dependent on our faithfulness to him? Part of their response read:

"If God always rescued those who were true to him, Christians would not need faith. Their religion would be a great insurance policy, and there would be be lines of selfish people ready to sign up.

We should be faithful to God whether her intervenes on our behalf or not. Our eternal reward and rescue from God's judgment are worth any suffering we may have to endure first."

I read this, and I see the wisdom and truth in this statement. I realize that our needs are not always what God has in store for us. I realize that life is going to have its ups and downs, and we will make our way through regardless. It is our faith in God that sustains us through life.

With so many churches struggling to find new members and struggling to keep their current members, I can't help but focus on this image of lines of people being ready to sign up. Aren't folks looking for a sure thing? If God provided everything they needed, I suppose everyone would want to be Christian.

I also suppose many atheists would argue that if God exists, and he is a good and just God, he would provide everything that we need. Why would he want to see us suffer?

The writer tells us that what waits for us after this life will be way better than anything bad that might happen to us. I certainly believe it. I know many others that do...but many that don't. How do we help non-believers to understand the "eternal reward" waiting for them in Christ?

Upcoming Event

After Death, There Was No Darkness...Only Light!

September 11, 2010

6:30 PM

Oakfield United Methodist Church

(220 South Main St.)

A resident of the Fond du Lac area, Duwayne Loecher will be sharing with the community his near death experience. The following comes from the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association website:

"While working as a nurse in a small town clinic, it was a usual day when at 3:00 pm I collapsed at the nurse's station and had a sudden cardiac arrest at the age of 47. Three of my coworkers started performing CPR and used the defibrillator nine times before I had a pulse or began to breathe. The rescue squad and paramedics, along with the cardiologist, told me I was not breathing and did not have a pulse for 20 to 30 minutes.

I cannot recall the first three days, but do remember waking up in a large city hospital in ICU. I now have a pacemaker and defibrillator."

We hope you will be able to join us for this inspiring and uplifting event. There is no admission for the event, but donations to the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association are welcomed.

A Day of Baptism

I'm not sure if I've admitted it on this blog before, but I do get nervous for baptisms. It has nothing to do with the ceremony itself. It has to do with the child. In the United Methodist denomination, we believe in infant baptism.

Pastor Jim has a fear of infants. Don't ask me where it came from, but babies make me uncomfortable. Some of it has to do with my paranoia that something will happen to the child while it is in my care. It might hurt itself or I might drop the child while I am holding it. Irrational? Perhaps.

I can mentally prepare for one baptism on a Sunday, but two?!? In fact, we had one baby being baptized in the Tabor church and one baby and young child baptized in the Oakfield church! My main goal was just not to screw up.

During the Tabor worship service, the baby to be baptized was doing some crying and needed to be taken out of the service for a little while. After that episode, he spent the majority of the baptism asleep. When the water hit the head he barely opened his eyes to see what was going on and then he went back to sleep. It could not have gone smoother.

During the Oakfield worship service, the baby was a little antsy to start, but once she was in my arms she seemed to relax. Of course, when I wasn't looking, she managed to steal my cordless lapel microphone :-D. It made for a cute moment.

So...both services went well, and my overall fear of babies continues to go down...but, it's still there.

I could definitely feel the presence of the Holy Spirit during both worship services. All gathered hopefully remembered their baptism!

August 22nd - Celebration of Baptism!

"Do not be afraid of them, for I will be with you to protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!" - Jeremiah 1:8

This Sunday will be celebrating the Sacrament of Holy Baptism at both churches. At the Tabor Church, we will be welcoming Jackson Alvin Straub into the Christian family. At the Oakfield Church, we will be bringing Morgan Budler-Ronzoni and Amaya Budler-Ronzoni into the fold. This is a time to celebrate!

In our reading from Jeremiah, he questions his abilities and doesn't think he is ready to do that which God calls him to do. God reassures him that God has known him from before he was formed in the womb. God knew what he was capable of; he knew his abilities. God would continue to be with him, no matter what befell him.

Our Baptism is our being welcomed into the brotherhood and sisterhood of Christians. Our parents, sponsors and church community continue to watch over us as we continue to grow in faith. God continues to watch over us, confident in us, even if we are not confident in ourselves.

The Scripture lessons for this Sunday are:

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Psalm 71:1-6

Luke 13:10-17

Hebrews 12:18-29

I certainly hope that you will be able to join us in worship as we renew our vows to watch over one another in love in the joy of Holy Baptism. Praise God!

Unfortunate Marathon News

I am sad to report today that I will be unable to participate in this year's Fox Cities Marathon on September 19th, 2010. While playing softball this past Thursday, I fell awkwardly while trying to beat out a throw to first base. The scrapes and bruises are healing fine, but ended up with a muscle tear in my chest. Among other daily tasks, running is painful. I tried a few times this week, but it was labored and painful. I have stopped training.

Even if I do heal up and I am able to run in a week or so, I was already on the edge of being ready by the 19th. This delay makes it impossible for me to be ready. I have contemplated trying the half marathon if I feel better, or perhaps I will run the 5K on Saturday with Christa.

I was really excited to run the marathon, and I know I will do one in the future. I appreciate everyone's support and encouragement as I was getting ready.

Save the Date: Speaker on September 11

I was forwarded an E-mail from a member of the Oakfield church about DuWayne who had a near death experience. He has shared his message to several churches in the community, and we are excited to have him present for the community of Oakfield, Eden and the surrounding area. Please see the information below:

Sermons Available on Website

I have set aside a few minutes on Mondays to do some updating on the church website. I have added a new page to the website. From now on, I will be posting the sermon from the previous Sunday's service. You can find it at this link.

Through my first year in ministry, I almost entirely preached from an outline. I felt like it gave me the freedom to speak extemporaneously if I'd like, but also gave me notes to come back to when needed. While it felt natural in some ways, I had a tendency to ramble. I also tended to try to pack in an much information as I could without realizing how long my sermons might turn out to be.

Over the last three weeks, I have written a manuscript...I have written out my entire sermon. There is the advantage of being able to post them and have them be readable. It also allows me to move around to some degree, but I also can use my music stand...the portable pulpit ;).

Christian Complacency?

"Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!" - Luke 12:51

It was Jesus that said these words. They are unsettling. He later speaks of families being divided. There will be division over the mission and message of Jesus Christ. Not everyone will except what Jesus has to say.

Being a Christian leader for the first three hundred years after Christ's ascension often involved being in hiding, meeting in secret, and may have resulted in death. Yet, the Jesus' message of love, forgiveness and relationship with God carried on. They met with success; they met with failure.

Do we speak and spread the word with the same intensity? Are we willing to risk our lives for the sake of the Gospel? How willing are we to spread the word in the community? Let us ponder these questions as we gather on Sunday to give thanks to God for all that he has given us.

The Scripture readings for this Sunday are:

• Isaiah 5:1-7
• Hebrews 11:29-12:2
• Psalm 80:1-3,8-19
• Luke 12:49-56

See you in church!

Caught Up!

As of taking a break for lunch today, I feel as though I have finally managed to "catch up" from my three week absence from Course of Study, along with my four-day odyssey in two Vacation Bible Schools.

I have gotten into the regular routine of my weekly task list. I have even managed to create some time this afternoon to work on a few new projects.

It is a good feeling. I am excited to see the new opportunities in store for Oakfield and Tabor as we look to November. We have a new curriculum for Confirmation. Sunday School will be starting again at both churches September 12. We will be working on Mission and Vision statements for both churches. We will experiment with a new alternative worship service on Sunday evenings. We will have a Wednesday evening Bible study.

Things wind down in the summer. I am looking forward to "winding up" in September! :-D

Course of Study Grades

I got my grades for Course of Study in the mail today. I didn't think we would get them that quick. I managed to get three A-'s and one A. I figured that is what I would get, but now it is confirmed. In the end, the most important is that you pass. As far as I know, there is no pay increase for A's.

Do you think Family Video will give free rentals for Report Card A's? Probably not...

Some Fitness Updates

I wanted to share a few fitness-related items with everyone today:

• I got my replacement pedometer in the mail today. I am now able to log steps and earn rewards again. While doing the laundry two weeks ago, I heard a strange clunking in the dryer. Try as I might, I was unable to figure out what the clunking was. I found my pedometer when I was taking out the clothes. It "worked", but I could not download steps. So, I ordered a new one.
• I ran 12 miles last week on Friday. I am still behind on my training for the marathon. I don't want to push my body too much, but my long runs will need to get longer a little quicker than I would like. If anything, I need to see if it's reasonable to still think I can do this. Being in Naperville for school for three weeks made running difficult.
• Tonight is the second week of playoffs for our church softball team. We have a game at 7:00PM against the one team that beat us during the regular season. If we beat them, we play in the championship at 9:00PM!

According to some, the Mayan calendar tells us that the end of the world is coming on December 21, 2012. I recently heard on the radio that some believe that the world will end on May 21, 2011. The Left Behind series of books provided a detailed account of an interpretation of the Rapture, tribulation and end times. Thinking about what it will be like when Christ returns to us is both exciting and scary, and it is certainly filled with a lot of uncertainty. We want answers!

We know that Christ will return. He has promised this to us! What we don't know is when it will be. In this Sunday's gospel lesson, Jesus doesn't provide us all the answers, but he does teach how to be ready for the day when he does return.

The scripture readings for this Sunday are: Isaiah 1:1, 10-20, Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16, Psalm 50 (verses 1-8, 22-23) and Luke 12:32-40. I encourage you to read these in advance of our worship service this Sunday. If while reading, you have any questions, I would certainly be willing to talk to you about it.

I really do hope to see you in church this Sunday!

Tabor Vacation Bible School Experience

Tonight there will be a performance and reception for all of the students that participated in Vacation Bible School at Tabor United Methodist Church. We managed to take five days of materials and put it into three days :). We had about 30 kids participate this year. They will be performing a variety of songs that they learned this week!

During these three days, I was in charge of Rocket Rec, which was their recreation time. I had every intention of using the activities provided so that we could build upon the things that they were learning in the other areas. That worked with moderate success. It didn't take me long to realize that with the little ones, simple was best. We had more fun playing Duck, Duck, Goose and tag. At least I made them tired for their future rotations. Otherwise...they were constantly in motion.

With the older kids, I had a little bit more success. We managed to work in activities in three of our meetings that related to the topic of the day. One day involved a game of kickball (morale was low) and today was a review. Hopefully they learned something!

I am not all that good with kids, so this was a good opportunity for me :).

The Art or the Artist

The United Methodist News Service has an interesting article that raises some excellent questions. Given all of the celebrity scandals out there, what are we supposed to do as Christians? What expectations are we to have of celebrities? I encourage you to check it out. It is a pretty interesting article.

Settling Back In...

What a week to come back from Course of Study!

Today, Tuesday and Wednesday I will be participating in Galactic Blast Vacation Bible School at Tabor United Methodist Church. I will in charge of the recreation portion of the day. I wish I had more time to prepare, but I think everything will turn out OK. I had every intention of preparing while at school, but I left the packet at home. Thursday is Galactic Blast Vacation Bible School at Oakfield United Methodist Church. I am not completely sure how I will be helping out, but I will find out soon.

This weekend is the Village-wide rummage sale for Oakfield. The church will be having a brat fry and bake sale as well. It is also the Oakfield Corn Roast this weekend.

Among all of the schools and upcoming events, I am attempting to get back into a regular work schedule. Please be patient as I make my way back into pastoral ministry.