Weekend Highlights

I wanted to take a few minutes of your time so that I might be able to share my excitement about some recent events at the Oakfield and Tabor churches.

Our first Bible study was hosted at Tabor UMC this past Wednesday. Nine of us talked about two scripture lessons that were to be a part of that Sunday's service. It was wonderful to hear different people's interpretations of God's Word. I hope that energy continues as we host the next study at the Oakfield UMC at 7:00PM this Wednesday.

DuWayne Loecher spoke at the Oakfield church on Saturday evening. He shared his experience of having a sudden cardiac arrest incident, one that left him clinically dead for 20-30 minutes. He described his trip to heaven. It was a moving experience! We took an offering and donated almost $100 to the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association. We had 34 folks that joined for this event.

Last night, we held our first evening worship service at Oakfield UMC. To be honest, I had no idea how many people might show up. The word is slowly getting out there that we are taking on this endeavor. By a few minutes after 7:00PM we had 10 adults and three children at our worship service. What a blessing! We sang together, prayer together, studied scripture together...and we gave each other Communion. I hope those in attendance had a meaningful experience. We had three youth in attendance, which was also very exciting. I hope this service grows. This Sunday, evening worship will be at Tabor UMC. The plan for these services is to have them at Tabor on the 1st and 3rd Sundays and at Oakfield on the 2nd and 4th Sundays.

New Beginnings

Members of the Tabor UMC & Oakfield UMC Family,

"Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." - Luke 15:10

Jesus tells two parables, both of which focus on seeking out something lost. He focuses on the joy and excitement that takes place when what was lost was found. Jesus is seeking a relationship with everyone. He wants to build a relationship with folks inside and outside of our churches.

This Sunday marks a time of new beginnings. Bible studies, new worship services, Confirmation, mission projects...among many other events and activities!!! Everything that we do is to help people form and build a strong relationship with Christ. It is my hope that we will all learn more about what it means to seek the lost in our world during our worship service.

This Sunday, we celebrate Rally Day at both churches. This means that Sunday School is starting.

At Tabor UMC, we will be presenting Bibles to all 6th-8th graders; we will have a brief ceremony to celebrate this occasion. We will be introduced to the first children's mission project. We will also prayer for all of the children and teachers that participate in Sunday School.

At Oakfield UMC, we are excited for some changes in our Sunday School program. Our Sunday School rooms have been redecorated for this year. We have a new curriculum for this year! We also will be having a prayer for the teachers and children that participate in our Sunday School program. We will also be taking the Noisy Can collection to help support church ministry projects.

The Scripture lessons for this Sunday are:

• Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
• Psalm 14:1-7
• 1 Timothy 1:12-17
• Luke 15:1-10

I hope you will be able to join us in worship of God and in celebration of the beginning of our Sunday school programs. God bless!

Quran Burning

I realize that this has been a news story for awhile now, but this morning I saw a serious of articles that outline one pastor and one church's desire to host International Burn-a-Quran Day on September 11, 2010. Rev. Terry Jones plans on burning copies of the Muslim holy book.

Thankfully, the near unanimous response to this proposed event has been negative. I cannot see any good coming out of this event. It will only result in increased anger, increased violence and increased frustration between Muslims and Christians.

Nine years later, there is still a deep level of pain after the September 11, 2001 attacks. People are still angry and still frustrated. They are looking for someone to put the blame. Sadly, the blame gets placed on the entire religion of Islam or on people of a certain ethnicity. Burning the Quran, a book considered holy by Muslims, will do nothing to heal the wounds of September 11.

There are a lot of religions that are attempting to live together in a world with a great deal of tension. When I think about this, I can't help but think about the "Coexist" bumper stickers that I see on many cars. I wonder about what it means to coexist as a Christian.

As a Christian, and as a pastor, I strongly believe that it is only through Jesus Christ that we find our salvation. Through no action would I ever force someone to convert to Christianity, but I do pray for those who are of other religions. Only God knows what happens to those who are Jewish, Muslims, Buddhists and other religions. I would minister the same to anyone regardless of their religion or lack of religion.

Responding with violence rarely solves anything. We should respond with love. We should act in love for neighbor. "They will know we are Christians by our love."

The Present Future

After contemplating it for some time, I finally begun the process of going through the paperwork and materials that I have found in both my Tabor and Oakfield offices. I happened to find a book in my Tabor office that seemed very intriguing to me. It is called The Present Future.

I have a lot of books on my reading list, but I decided to read this one because it intrigued me so much. Reggie McNeal asks some tough questions about the state of the church. It was written back in 2003 and I suppose it is a little out of date, but its message still rings loud and clear to me.

He offered a fresh perspective, for me, in the area of evangelism. Churches put on programs and activities, new this and new that and then expect people to come to them. We expect that people, many of whom have never stepped into a church, to just come right in and see what we are about. When no one comes to something, we wonder why people won't show up. We're looking at it wrong!

McNeal writes, "If they aren't going to come to us, then we've got to go to them." Amen! We can't give up if people don't come to our carefully crafted programs. Perhaps we need to take our mission and our ministry out into the community. Let's take the Gospel to people. Let's commit to activities in the community that demonstrate to the community that we are living Christ-like lives.

But talking to people about our faith can be uncomfortable. He understands this. "I think we have some different fears. I think we are afraid of not knowing how to engage people in genuine conversation. I think we fear rejection. I think we don't know what to say. I think we are unsure of what we have to offer to people." That's no reason for us to shy away. It may be difficult, but it is what we are called to do. We will get better with practice :-)!

McNeal writes about Pastor Cho in South Korea. When a member of his congregation is asked why they do kind acts in the community, he tells them to say, "I am a disciple of Jesus. I am serving him by serving you, because that's what he came to do."

That's the way to do it!

A Call for Prayers

I received word this morning that Dave Gremminger, a part of our extended church family at Oakfield United Methodist Church, passed away on Wednesday. I would ask that you pray for his family and friends through this difficult time. Thank you. More additional information, this is the obituary that was published this morning in the Fond du Lac Newspaper:

David P. Gremminger, 77, of Campbellsport, passed away of natural causes on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010, at his home.

He was born on the family farm southeast of Campbellsport on Jan. 8, 1933, the son of Paul K. and Frances Fox Gremminger.

Dave graduated from Campbellsport High School and served in the U.S. Army.

He worked at B & H Lumber in Campbellsport and owned his own business called "The Woodshed" in Fond du Lac until he retired.

Dave served his community through the Campbellsport Fire Department. He was well known for his efforts and involvement with the fire department and made memories there that he cherished.

Dave loved the community of Campbellsport and fishing the area lakes. He is now reunited with his fishing buddies Syl Wenzlaff and Roderick Reese.

Dave was the beloved father of Kristin, Allen and Mike; father-in-law of Jeanie and Carey; grandfather of Jared Jerue, Cody, Lucas, Tanner, Evan and Erica; and brother of Sister Elaine, SSSF, Bob (Bonnie), Carol Jones, Ruth, Roger (Kasem) and Sue (Jim) Hohl. He was a special friend of Beulah Oppermann.

Dave was previously married to Eleanora Gremminger (nee Waldschmidt).

He was preceded in death by his mother, Frances; his father, Paul; his brothers, Donald and Eugene "Bud"; and his brother-in-law, Ernie Jones.

Visitation: Visitation will be Monday, Sept. 6, from 5 p.m. until time of Mass at the St. Matthew's Catholic Church, Campbellsport.

Services: A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, Sept 6, 2010, at 7 p.m. at St. Mattthew's Catholic Church in Campbellsport. Rev. Neil Zinthefer will celebrate and burial services will be Tuesday at the Veteran Memorial Gardens at Ledgeview Memorial Park, Fond du Lac.

The Cost of Discipleship!

"Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." - Luke 14:27

Can one be a follower just by following? Those that were following Jesus were taught a tough lesson: to be Disciple, one must be ready to turn his or her back on family. To be a disciple, one had to ready to bear the cross, to face crucifixion.

Jesus wanted those seeking to be his disciples to have time to prepare. Were they willing to make the necessary sacrifice? It wasn't going to be easy.

What does being a Disciple of Christ mean today? Are we Disciples? Do we think we are Disciples? Come to worship as we learn more about what it takes to be a Christ follower and a Disciple of Christ.

The Scripture lessons for this Sunday are:

• Jeremiah 18:1-11
• Psalm 139:1-6,13-18
• Philemon 1-21
• Luke 14:25-33

There are some exciting opportunities coming up in September that I wanted to remind you of:

• September 8 at 7:00PM - We will be having a Bible study taking place at Tabor UMC. We will be looking at Luke 15:1-10 & 1 Timothy 1:12-17. Members of both churches are welcome to these weekly studies, no matter the location!
• Next Sunday, September 12 at 7:00PM - We will be having an evening worship service. This service will not be the same as the morning worship services. These services will be topical and will focus on issues and concerns that you would like to tackle. It will definitely have a more contemporary feel in comparison to morning worship. This service will be Oakfield but is open to anyone from either congregation.

I look forward to seeing you in church!

Revolution!?

I am currently reading the book Revolution by George Barna. It is an interesting book that reflects on a Christian movement in which people are coming to Christ and living as Disciples through routes other than the local church. He writes about churches that come out of family groups, home school circles and other groups. His critics claim that the book spends a lot of time bashing established local churches. I don't think Barna is slamming local churches, but he does question the role that local churches play in one's faithfulness to living a life of Christ.

For example he talks about "people who are growing as Christians and passionate about their faith have come to recognize that the local church is not--and need not be--the epicenter of their spiritual journey." (p. 58) Really?!?

Their are many mainline Christian denominations that are struggling for membership. Since the 1968 merger that created the United Methodist Church, our overall membership has gone down every year. Why?

This book raises a lot of questions, and does not necessarily provide the answers. Barna points out that there is a movement of revolutionaries who are growing in faith and living Christ-like lives that do not see the need of a local church to do so.

His book raises a lot of questions:

• Is the local church relevant anymore?
• Is there something that we should be doing that we are not doing?
• Does change require some sacrifice as to what we hold as tradition?
• Just because someone is a member of the local church, does that make them a true disciple of Jesus Christ?
• Are we willing to look at what is working in some of these small group environments and implement them in our churches?

If any of this interests you, I recommend you check the book out. Otherwise, I'll be using a few quotes from the book in my sermon on Sunday. It's definitely gets you thinking about the role of the church in being a disciple of Christ.