"As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said [to Philip], ‘Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?’" ~Acts 8:36

We recently celebrated the anniversary of the Reformation. The Reformation was a point in the Christian church’s history just over 500 years ago when Martin Luther questioned the mainstream church over things he believed it was doing wrong. He presented 95 arguments and waited for the church to reform.

Instead -- they threw him out. That started the reform movement.

Throughout the history of the Christian church, we see splits like this occurring from time to time. The late Phyllis Tickle – an author and religion professor - talks about these changes in her book The Great Emergence. Tickle says that historically, the church “cleans house” every 500 years or so, essentially holding a “giant rummage sale;” deciding what to keep and what to throw out in order to move ahead.

Like any rummage sale there’s that bunch of stuff you didn’t even remember you had and is really easy to get rid of, another pile of stuff you knew you had and can live without --  and then there’s the “don’t you dare touch that” pile.

As churches look to the future, and are having rummage sales of their own, I put Baptism in that “don’t you dare touch that” pile.

As far as I can determine, all Christian churches perform baptisms and for many it’s a “sacrament.”

Emphasizing the unending power and authority of God we recognize that baptism is not nearly so much about what we do because it’s really so much more about what Jesus does.

And turning to the above-noted passage from Acts, we start by remembering this event came from a time when the Christian church was still in its infancy. Using the “rummage sale” scenario, it was leaving behind the clutter of its previous heritage and had yet to collect a lot of the clutter that sometimes sadly is part of the Christian church today.

 Phillip was one of Jesus’ 12 disciples, and the first one to reach out beyond the boundaries of the traditional religion as he’s led to this Ethiopian eunuch who was headed home after worshiping in Jerusalem and reading the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.

 Yet knew he was not fully welcome in God’s court. Partly because he was living in Ethiopia; apart from the land of Israel meaning he was a Gentile. As such he would be allowed into the court of the Gentiles - which was kind of holy - but no further into the inner Temple area that was considered much more holy.

Also, he would not be welcome in God’s court because of his physical condition. The law made that very clear.

However Phillip, a first-hand witness to the good news of Jesus Christ got rid of the clutter that stood in the way of the Ethiopian’s full relationship with God. Phillip simply taught him that the love, grace, and compassion he read about in Isaiah had been revealed and fulfilled in Jesus.

I believe Phillip had the first of these rummage sales the church has every 500 years or so.

And we see how it made this Ethiopian gentleman feel:

“Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?”

And another person who thought they were beyond the reach of God was claimed by God. Just as we’re restored in the wideness of God’s grace in Jesus Christ today.

Together We Serve, 

Pastor Mike

During our Sunday worship time recently, we talked about what evangelism really is; it’s the good news that Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection brings us back to a right relationship with God even though we put ourselves on the wrong side of God’s laws.

It’s much more than just a ‘Christian guilt trip’ as many people would define evangelism. Regrettably these same thoughts spill over into people perceptions of church too.

Yet, there are similarities when it comes to pushing back against these perceptions.

In his book Learning to Speak God from Scratch: Why Sacred Words are Vanishing—and How We can Revive Them author Jonathan Merrit says the key is to take common religious language and “break it down…” From there we can rebuild these words in ways that that are “more helpful, richer, and beautiful.”

This is also the key to inviting people to church. Alex Tran, a self-described introvert, says it’s all in the approach:

·         Keep the language simple, casual, and friendly. Never assume they’re looking for a church and be sure to leave the decision up to them.

·         If they don’t ask a follow-up question or engage further, then you’ll want to leave the conversation at that. If they ask a question or share a bit of their faith journey, then it’s a good sign they’re open to hearing more.

·         Do take the opportunity to share more about your church: why you love it, how God’s used it in your life, etc.

·         Always invite with kindness. How you end the conversation will be how they remember your invite.

With the approaching holidays, you may find yourself more open to the “more helpful, richer, and beautiful” themes that come in speaking “God from scratch.”

Consider this a gentle invitation to come as you are, and listen to God’s love language for the ages.

Together We Serve,

Pastor Mike

“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.” ~Frederick Buechner

9 years ago I began my Masters of Divinity program; it’s one of the requirements to becoming a pastor. The above phrase helped clarify for me (and Kathleen) our decisions to retire, leave the community we knew, and embrace this “vocation.”

With the background of this month's Labor Day weekend; too often we think about “vocation” as we learned about it in high school or college: employment that generates paychecks. And ideally treasure chests full of it.

However, Buechner writes the word vocation comes from the Latin “vocare,” to call, and means the work a person is called to by God.

There’s a phrase in the Bible that speaks to this: “For we are what God has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Ephesians 2:10).

Although that was written 2,000 years ago, when looking at the world around us today it’s easy to find lots of places where even a little good work will go a long way.

Join us Sundays at 10AM as we stand at the crossroads of our deep gladness and the world's deep hunger.

Together We Serve,
Pastor Mike

 

“The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.” (Mark 6:30-31)

 

Too busy to eat…a theme during Jesus’ ministry that continues today.

 In 1970, restaurant food and drink sales were 43 billion dollars. Since then that figure has gone up nearly 1800% to just under 800 billion dollars. And on top of that is Uber Eats.

 Uber Eats will go to whichever restaurant someone has ordered food from and bring it to them. People are so pressed for time that not only do they not have the time to make a meal - they don’t have the time to go get it.

 People are overrun by so many activities and responsibilities that it has reshaped even the most basic of our life’s functions. While eating is one example, lots of other things can demand so much from us that we wind up feeling that we’ve lost all control.

 …when this is left unchecked…we get dragged into the culture of scarcity.

 A Harvard economics professor and a Princeton psychology professor have written a book called “Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much” that explores how people's minds are less efficient when they feel they lack something — including time, money, and companionship.

 This new psychological trend of scarcity shows that people living in scarcity actually experience changes in how their brains work and that makes it difficult to solve the pressing problems that face humanity. 

 Many studies also point to the recession 10 years ago in also shaping this culture of scarcity.

 If we don’t have enough time or money or companionship for ourselves; will we have enough for somebody else?

 Will we have enough willingness to even try to love all -- as Jesus commands?

 …and what about compassion…mercy…forgiveness…

 Join us Sundays at 10AM as we turn to the fullness of Jesus Christ; a fullness that leaves no room for scarcity as it allows us to love abundantly…to offer great compassion…to lavish mercy…to be quick to forgive.

Together We Serve,

Pastor Mike

‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?’ ~ John 6:9 [from the Feeding of the 5,000]

As a machinist friend of mine Eugene often said (while chuckling): “Slow work takes time.” His quote came to mind as I opened a large envelope that arrived at the church recently.

 Inside the envelope was my Certificate of Ordination as Minister of Word and Sacrament – dated February 9, 2014! Apparently it was waiting for a needed signature, wound up being put into a drawer…and…well…hey, I understand how these things happen.

 While I’m proud to display the fact that I’ve been fully and formally recognized as the Reverend Michael Gregory Wilson; through sermons and presiding over communion and leading celebration of life ceremonies and stopping by people’s homes and hospital visits…I wasn’t any less of a pastor without the certificate.

 I’d been doing all of those things a pastor does long before that envelope arrived.               

More than that, I’d been doing lots of those things a pastor does long before I went to seminary to become a pastor.                                                                                              


It’s just that I had neither the title nor the certificate.                                                         


Beth Brooke writes: “Success is fine, but success is fleeting. Significance is lasting.”


Throughout the Bible we come across lots of people who have nothing in the way of formal recognition, let alone even name recognition; and yet, like in the case of the above noted and unnamed “boy” who we never hear about again, these people played a significant role in furthering God’s Kingdom through the ministry of Jesus Christ.


I even go far as to wonder what our understandings about Jesus Christ would be like without this boy, and the countless others like him.


Regardless of wherever we think we are in the scheme of things; everything we do as Christians has significance for now and forever.


May we draw always draw encouragement from this.


Together We Serve, 
Pastor Mike                                                                                                    

Unless you’re a big fan of church liturgy, our recent change to using the color green for the next 3 months probably didn’t get much attention.  Green is used for what is called “Ordinary Time” in the church year. We use 3 other colors; white for Christmas and Easter seasons, red on Pentecost, and purple during Advent and Lent.

I tried to find a good explanation for why we call this ordinary time and about the best I came up with is that it’s “ordinary” because it’s not any of the earlier mentioned “special” days or seasons.

Ordinary as defined by what it’s not?

Every Sunday we gather to worship and praise and talk about our always creating God; God who was before the beginning, is more than the present, will be beyond the end of time, and loves each of us as much as all of that.

We gather before this God and call it Ordinary Time?

I believe we need to call this Profound Time!

One of Jesus’ healings included healing a man with a withered hand. There was nothing ordinary about this, and being done on the Sabbath ticked off the religious leaders so they began conspiring to destroy Him…

…however the man with the restored hand would raise it in praise of the profound rather than say “let’s just stick with the ordinary.”

Jesus could have waited until sundown when Sabbath was over and then healed the man’s hand and steered clear of the whole confrontation.

Instead he opened hearts to God’s profound presence, power, compassion and joy.

Thanks be to God that God sees there’s nothing ordinary about any of that.

Join us Sundays at 10AM in praise of the profound.

Together We Serve,

Pastor Mike

 

 

During our time for the Young and Young at Heart as part of yesterday’s Easter Service, we took a quick and very unscientific survey about people’s favorite Easter candy.  It began with lots of the chocolate varieties being mentioned, and then 4 year old Dillon suggested jelly beans.

Pretty quickly Jelly Belly jelly beans came up (this pastor’s favorite), and from there we went to Belly Flops; the ‘irregular’ Jelly Belly jelly beans that are sold in 2lb. bags.

They’re every bit as good as the ‘regular’ beans, just sometimes 2 or 3 connected, or a bean is shaped differently, or too big. When I can get a mega jelly bean…that’s better than ‘regular’ good.

When I think of Jesus’ resurrection, His offer of new life is because God sees goodness in all – the ‘regular’ folks we are quick to notice – and those that society sadly believes are ‘irregular’ yet are every bit as good – and maybe have even more to offer.

Join us Sundays at 10AM with whatever goodness you have to bring; we’re glad to have it.

Together We Serve,

Pastor Mike

 



We welcomed another guest onto our church grounds recently. The health department reached out to us on behalf of local law enforcement regarding a gentleman in a tough spot.

He arrived, and we had a quick easy introduction. I told him what hours the building is open, and offered the use of the kitchen and shower. He took us up on the shower; and his smile and words reflected his deep ...thanks for this little bit of sanctuary.

A commonly used Bible story this time of year has Jesus driving the animal sellers and money changers out of the Temple. Their practices were nothing less than price gouging in the name of God.

The Temple goers - people who often had little to begin with - were getting ripped off which has a chilling effect when it comes to encountering the Divine.

John talks about Jesus “cleansing the Temple” as part of his account of Jesus Christ. John begins his account with: “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.”

Our guest asked to join us next Sunday as we all come together as followers of Jesus Christ. I wonder if He’s ever felt shortchanged by God’s people before?

…regardless…

I hope our little bit of sanctuary is a warm welcoming first step for him to know the fullness of God’s grace and truth in Jesus.

Join us Sundays at 10AM, there’s fullness for all.

Together We Serve,
Pastor Mike

Prineville Presbyterian welcomed new leaders into their roles yesterday. We also talked about the excitement we all feel for the year ahead. We’re enjoying steady membership growth, and, we’re continually open to expanding our ministry as followers of Jesus Christ.

There are new things for us to focus on, some things for us to “tune up a bit,” and perhaps things that we’ll want to let go of. Quite frankly we’re having lots of conversations now that we’ve never ever had to have before.

All of this is a reflection of our Christian faith that comes through the grace that Jesus offers; making everything all right between God and us simply by us acknowledging Him as God’s Chosen One for us.

While we’re quick to accept His grace and share that grace with others as we pay God’s love forward, as we move into this new season we also want to remember to be graceful to ourselves.

Because some things are going to work out much better than planned - others will turnout about as well as expected - and then there will be “those times” when grace is all we got.

Anne Lamott is one of my favorite writers and says: “I do not at all understand the mystery of grace - only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us.”

Join us Sundays at 10AM. Let's see where this mystery might take us.
Together We Serve,
Pastor Mike