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Meeting God

Rob Merola — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 06:00:00 GMT

Meeting God

The Rev. Rob Merola

In this morning's Gospel, Luke 4:16, we are told that every week, as was his custom, Jesus went to the synagogue. I'd like to suggest that the reason Jesus did that was because he knew that the synagogue was a place where he could reliably encounter God. This morning, I'd like to talk a little bit about my dream that St. Matthew's would also be the kind of place where people can come and reliably expect to find God powerfully present.

And let me sayat the very outset a word about the God I hope you will meet. Let me be very clear that my goal for all of us is that we would come to know God through Jesus Christ and live in the power of the Holy Spirit.

But having said this, I also fully recognize that God is far greater than our mind's ability to conceive him. Our thoughts never quite capture God as he truly is. That means that at least some of the ways we think of God are likely to prove false. So part of how we encounter God is let those false concepts fall away in order to more clearly see and experience the One True God who is in all, through all, and above all. That's Paul's description of God in the Biblical of Ephesians, by the way.

Here's one example of what that might look like. I was recently forwarded an article that gives seven reasons why the author will raise her children without a belief in God. Reason One is that God is a bad parent and role model because he condones abuse and violence.

Here's news for her: I don't believe in that God either. Critiques such as hers can actually be viewed as great gifts, driving us back to who Jesus teaches us God really is. And that's my dream for St. Matthew's; that this would be a church that helps people grow in their knowledge of God so that we all increasingly see him as he really is.

So how,exactly, does this happen? How do people encounter God at church?

For some, it happens in communion. Over the years, I have heard story after story of how when people have knelt at the altar rail, taken the bread in their hands, tasted the wine, they have felt God's presence wash over them in ways that have brought hope, encouragement, and even healing. For others, it is the communion which this sacrament embodies which is so powerful; people from ever walk and station of life gathered together as one, surrounded by love and support. Where else in our fragmented, polarized, and often hostile society do you find that today, friends?

For others, it happens in the sermon. Somewhere along the line the preacher's words cease being his words and become God's words to you. I hear this over and over again. "It's like you were talking just to me." "That was just what I needed." Did I know that? No. But God did. Friends, every week you need that kind of injection of inspiration, insight, encouragement, or even correction, if you are going to keep your life on track and be true your deepest values and highest priorities. I know I do, at least.

Another way God touches people is through music. And we are so fortunate to enjoy the level of music we do.

Speaking of a very personal level, it is often in the music that I have my most profound encounters God. Sometimes life is so good, and the music lets us celebrate that together. At other times life is so hard, and I just have to bow my head, with tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat, because in the music I so deeply sense God's presence. I need that, friends. I need that infusion of energy at the deepest level of my being. I can't always describe it adequately or put it into words, but what happens in those moments is precisely what I need to recharge my batteries, to refill my heart so that I know in the very deep, deep inside me that God is with me and will be with me and somehow, in some way I'll make it through.

Yet another way God touches people is through other people. It can happen in knowing that we have a place where we belong, knowing that no matter what storms are raging out there, here we are loved and valued. It can happen in a hug shared in a tough time, or a hand laid on a shoulder. It can happen in a conversation before or after the service. It can happen when people kneel together in prayer.

When people have this kind of encounter with God, people get inspired. They receive profound insights that help them solve problems or get "unstuck". They experience life-changing grace, forgiveness, and love. They find peace.

And this leads me to two concluding observations. First, there are people all around us who need what God offers them here.

It could be freedom from the shame that causes them so much pain.
It could be a clear path through confusion.
It could be the moral courage to do the right thing and leave an entirely different legacy than they are leaving now.
It could be encouragement when they are consumed with despair and are ready to give up.
It could be the freedom the lets them lay their anger, their fears, their worries down.
It could be love and acceptance in a world where they are no longer sure they have a place.

Will you invite them, friends? Will you make 2013 the year you ask your friends to come to church?

And then secondly. I know it doesn't always look like it, but what happens here takes so much work. And frankly, we need your help.

Think about it, friends. If you're feeling all alone, discouraged, broken hearted, or weighed down by guilt and shame, isn't church a natural place to go? Maybe it's the first place you go, maybe it's the last when you've tried everything else and you don't really believe in God but you just hope against hope that maybe here in this place where people say love matter that finally, finally you'll find someone who will care. who will listen. who will give you the time of day.

Do you want to know what bothers me most? What keeps me awake late at night, turning in my bed? The single thing that concerns me most is how do we keep a person who comes here broken hearted, lonely, in despair, looking for answers . how do we keep them from walking out of here in the same state they came in?

That's why we want everyone to be in a small group, to be in a community where they are there for others when we're doing well, and letting others be there for us when we're not. Believe me, when we ask you to sign up for a small group, it's not that we want something from you, it's that we want something for you.

But let's face it. Not everyone makes it to a small group. For some, maybe most, this is the only shot we get.

What if in 2013 we adopted a "no one leaves here with a broken heart" policy? A "no one leaves with the burdens or fears they brought in" policy? What if we committed ourselves to being a place where, because people encounter God, nobody has to grieve alone, ache alone, or to walk out of those doors alone? What would that look like?

It would take all of us, friends, taking the time, offering our gifts and abilities, making the extra effort to care. It would take people to help with parking, ushers, Sunday school teachers, people willing to hang around before and after services, people who are willing to pray, to staff coffee hours and welcome tables, to make sure every aspect of our service is everything it could be so that when people come here they know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they matter.. That somebody cares. that God himself is waiting and willing for the chance to give them what they need.

Some of you have the gift of leadership. You lead well and do great work in your companies, and that's a beautiful thing. I'm inspired by watching the way you lead. But God didn't give you the gift of leadership just to build your company-he gave you that gift so you can also put together teams of people who do his work in the world. If that's you, man we need you use your leadership gifts to move something forward here at St. Matts. We need you to help us become the radically loving, warmly welcoming family that God calls us to be.

Some of don't have leadership gifts, but you are some of the most relationally intelligent emotionally aware people on the plant-and that is such a beautiful thing! You have gifts of helping where help is needed, of showing mercy to people who feel beat up, of encouraging folks, or showing gracious hospitality. God made you in such a way that your radar is always on; you tune right in to what is going in the faces and hearts of people in need.

We need you be fully engaged here, to offer your gifts, so that not one more broken-hearted person walks out these doors. So that deeply burdened people find someone who is not in a hurry, who is willing to stay after any service, to give someone their business card and say "I'm here for you if you ever want to talk," to pray away their fears or worries or concerns. So that lonely people will feel like they are treasured here, and not just tolerated. So that all people who come through these doors will know how deeply they are loved.

My dear and beloved friends, the presence of God-the touch of God-is such an amazing and precious thing. I pray that every time we gather, people will know that God is present here. Certainly part of that is God's part. But part of that is up to you.

Will you join me in renewing your commitment to be here every Sunday unless good cause prevents? For those of us who call ourselves Christians, this is simply a matter of faithfully following the one we call Lord and Master.

Will you invite people to join us? Think of what it would be like to hear someone say to you, "You know, when you invited me to church, you had no idea what a mess my life was in. But man, since then everything has turned around. I can never thank you enough." I've heard people say that, friends. I'd rather have that than a million dollars-I really would. Hearing people say things like that, knowing you've made that kind of difference. well, I think that's the very best life has to offer. Will you invite people to join us?

Will you offer your gifts, your talents, your time? You've heard me say it before, friends-I'm all in. I need you to be all in too. I need you to help us move this church forward, not for our own sake, but for the sake of all the people around us. I need you to help me make this a place where no one leaves with a broken heart, a heavy burden, crushing fear or worry.

That's my dream, friends. It's my dream because I believe it's God's dream for humanity. Will you make it your dream as well?

Amen.

Last Updated on 1/28/2013 7:56:23 PM

It Makes Me Wonder

Rob Merola — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 06:00:00 GMT

It Makes Me Wonder

The Rev. Rob Merola

Just out of idle curiosity, how many of you have heard that song before? As I expected, virtually all of us. I don't think it's too much to say that at this time in history, more people are more familiar with the words of this song than they are with the words of the Bible. And that makes the religious imagery it uses all the more interesting.

The dominant image is, of course, a "stairway to heaven". And my guess is that most people in our culture generally do think of God as "up there", and that somehow we need to climb "up there" to get to him. Even if we don't believe in God, even if our image of heaven is a secular one roughly synonymous with success, most of us still think we have to climb to get there. We climb the career ladder, the social ladder, the academic ladder, that athletic ladder. So my guess is that for most people, the image of a "stairway to heaven" fits our thinking pretty well, because so much of our life is spent. climbing.

It would probably come as a surprise to many people, therefore, that Jesus did not teach this at all. The picture of God that Jesus brings to us not of some distant deity who expects us to climb up to him. To the contrary, he is the God who comes down to us, who descends to meet us where we are. Certainly that is true in today's Gospel where Jesus invites people to see God's presence in wine at a wedding!

This same downward movement can be seen throughout Jesus life and teachings. Think only of the Lord's prayer. "Thy kingdom come," we pray. And how does God's kingdom, also called the Kingdom of Heaven, come? We are told in the very next phrase. It comes by doing God's will "on earth as it's done in heaven." It's done when we provide for the needs of all people, such as daily bread. It's done when we forgive debts of all kinds, even as God has so freely forgiven us. It comes when we stand firm against evil. This, dear friends, is a very different image than a "stairway to heaven."

NT Wright, widely recognized across a broad theological spectrum as one of the brightest and best Biblical scholars of our day , puts it like this: Western Christians have imagined that, at the end of the day, God is going to throw the present space-time universe into a trashcan and we'll be sitting on clouds playing harps. The ultimate future that we're promised is much more interesting than that. It's . a new earth with new bodies to live in. The last passage in the Bible is about the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven to earth, not about souls going up from earth to heaven.

Now let me be perfectly clear: this is not to say heaven does not exist; it does. It is to say that the Kingdom of heaven, which as we've said is also known as the Kingdom of God, is something we help build. And the place we help build it is not in a galaxy far far away but right here on earth.

Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, expresses it like this. As Christians, our task is to ensure a habitation for God, a God who does not guarantee for himself a place in the created world, a place alongside other agents, and so is visible only when a human life gives place, offers hospitality to God. In other words, we can leave God out of things, and because our climbing is often about our personal success or status, we do.

The emphasis, then, is not on getting "up there". It's on loving people "down here." Jesus himself further develops this thought by teaching that the way show hospitality to God, they way we make a place for him in this world, is by loving one another, showing each other kindness, being gracious in all our ways, and by working for justice and peace for all.

Consider how we see this very thing in this morning's Gospel. There is so much great stuff going on here, but let me just point out three quick things:

First, Jesus is helping good, ordinary every day people. There is nothing to indicate that they are anything but outstanding members of the community. Why is this important?

Ever hear the old saying, "The squeaky wheel gets the grease?" What does that mean?

In families, it is often the child who is struggling or misbehaving who gets the most attention.

In classrooms, it is the kids who are disruptive are the ones who get the most attention.

In society, it is the ones who have the biggest problems who get the most attention.

And while sometimes that is necessary, the problem is that the good kids, the good people, the ones who soldier on doing their duty and so doing what they should, often feel neglected. And the reason they feel that way is that at least sometimes, they are.

They young couple in today's Gospel have not done any dastardly deed. They have not committed any terrible sin. They are just good people, doing the best they can. There were surely greater and more pressing needs, but Jesus helps them.

And it makes me wonder. are we so busy solving Big Problems that sometimes the really good people in our life get neglected? In our home, our work, our friendships, our church. is there someone who has quietly been doing the right thing all along, someone who has always been in our corner, someone who is . easily taken for granted.

Maybe what we need to do today is make a point of giving that person the love and attention they are silently missing? Is there a child or a spouse or friend who you need to take to dinner, or walk with in the woods, or lay on the warm hood of your car with as you count the clouds? Is there a child in the classroom, a coworker at the office, a person at church, who you need to sit down and spend some with, or write them a note? And when you do any of these things, say something like this?

"I know I don't always say it. I know I don't always give you the time you deserve. But I want you to know that a day of my life never goes by where I am not just so thankful for you, where I don't stop and say, 'O God, I am so thankful for this person. I don't know what I'd do without them.'"

Is there someone who needs that kind of time, who needs to hear those kinds of words from you today, friends? Because here's the thing. We don't have to climb a stairway to heaven; we can help build God's kingdom here, now. By God's grace, with His help, we can join Jesus in his great work of redeeming the world so that heaven can have its home here in our friendships, our families, our offices, our schools, our communities, our world.

Second, by providing additional wine when what they had had run out-- and very good wine at that-- Jesus saves this young couple from a major social embarrassment. This is not a miracle of healing or an exorcism of some dark force. It is, quite simply, a basic act of human kindness.

And it makes me wonder, friends. It really makes me wonder. Is Jesus telling us that far more important than climbing a stairway to heaven, a career ladder, or social ladder, or any climbing at all, is basic human kindness?

Basic acts of human kindness are some of the most powerful things we can ever do. They are the building blocks of God's Kingdom, of bringing the Kingdom of Heaven into our world so that God's will really is done on earth as it is heaven.

Who do you need to be kind to? Who do I? The weird kid at school? The difficult person at work? Your spouse? A stranger? And what does kindness look like on the internet? In traffic? At the store? In our neighborhood? This morning at church?

Will you, dear friends, make it a point to be kind?

Finally, it is perhaps worth noting the plain and simple truth that Jesus helped where help was needed. Plain and simple, he served.

Some of you may know we left on Sunday afternoon to go to VA beach for a fishing trip last Monday. On the way out of town on the Fairfax County Parkway, a car was stalled. Dave Diegtel suggested we stop, and Darrel Breed immediately pulled over, no hesitation at all. We pushed the car to safely, where the driver's daughter could pull up behind her and pick her up.

And I found myself thinking that it is so easy for us who have so much, so much, so much, to forget how so many people live on the slimmest of margins. They don't even have the resources to do something as fundamental as keeping their car running. It doesn't take much for them to no longer be able to keep their heads above water, and sometimes, friends. sometimes for them to go down for what may be the last time.

And it makes me wonder. Oh, it really makes me wonder. Are we really willing to follow Jesus' example, and instead of trying to climb our way into a better life for ourselves, to make the space and time to help others? Are we willing to build service into the very fabric of our lives so that not a week goes by that we haven't somehow put ourselves out for the sake of others?

It really does make me wonder, dear friends, if by God's grace and with his help, a new day really can dawn long. And that..

As we wind on down the road
Our shadows smaller than our souls.
There walks a savior we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
The downward path's for us to go.
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last.
When all are loved and Love is all
Our final end and greatest goal.
And he's coming down a stairway fromheaven.

Will we join him, friends?

Amen.

Williams, Rowan (2012-09-13). Faith inthe Public Square (Kindle Locations 6096-6098). Bloomsbury UK. Kindle Edition.

Last Updated on 1/24/2013 8:37:04 PM

How to Build a Better World

Rob Merola — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 05:00:00 GMT

How to Build a Better World

The Rev. Rob Merola

As you may know, since weekends are a very busy time for me, Friday is my day off. And this past Friday I had a blast. Starting at about 8:30 that morning with a visit from Heidi, and ending at about 8PM thatnight with a visit from Linda's friend Tammy, there was a steady stream of people coming by to cut dahlias before the "Big Freeze". When Linda and Isat down for a late dinner afterwards, I found myself feeling particularly happy and energized; I felt blessed beyond all reason and expectation.

And all of a sudden I realized why: it was because I had spent the day giving.

I'm well aware that I'm not telling you anything you don't already know when I say that giving will do that to a person. One of the great things about St. Matthew's is that you recognize the importance of giving. You fully appreciate the fact that giving is not some separate and isolated part of life-it is life itself! It's how we turn our beliefs and values into action and impact.

This morning, then, I'm not going to spend our time together trying to convince you how great it is to give-you already get that. But what I do want to do is build on this fundamental value that we all share and ask, "How do we give well?" As long as we are going give, how do we give as well as we can? In particular, how do we give our money in such a way as to make the biggest positive difference in the world, to make the Maximum Impact?

And here's where we want to pick up where we left off last week, further considering the principle that preventing a problem from ever occurring is a better strategy than trying to fix something that may or may not be fixable after it's already broken. As a sort of refresher course, to get our minds in tune with that principle once again, I have a question for you: Which is better: to try and put a water bottle back together after it has been, uh, blown up, or the never blow up a bottle the first place?

[bottle is blown up]

At this point, we can try and fix the bottle. I may be able to put the bottle back together again, using lots of duct tape. But it's never going to be the same, is it? Cleary, it's far better to prevent a bottle from blowing up in the first place than it is to try and fix it after the fact.

I'd like to suggest that this same principle holds true in terms of giving. It was a teacher by the name of Andy Stanley who first got me thinking about the distinction between intervention and prevention giving, and I found it very helpful. He said that "intervention giving" is emotional and measurable. If I tell you a tearful story about someone who suffered a tragic loss, man, we'll all pull out our wallets and do whatever we can to help. And that's a beautiful thing.

If I say, "if you give this amount, we can feed 100 hungry people", who of us wouldn't be motivated to give to make that happen? That too is beautiful, and I appreciate the way you respond so generously to such appeals.

But prevention giving is neither. It's not emotional-there's nothing sexy about paying the utility bill, for instance. Purchasing office supplies doesn't warm or wrench the heart in the way a picture of a smiling or malnourished child does. But both of these things are necessary in order to keep an organization running so it can execute the programs necessary to have the impact desired.

And it's not measurable, because you can't measure what you prevent because it never happens in the first place.

We can't measure how many people don't slip below the poverty line because we taught them how to speak English or how to read through tutoring children at Rolling Ridge. We can't measure how much we've been able to help them by just changing the way they perceive and relate to rich white folks. Like it or not, that by and large is us-and we are often perceived as hostile and dangerous unless we do something to change that.

We can't measure how many kids won't have to grow up with a father whose anger threatens to poison everything because in church he found guidance, power, and the support to change.

We can't measure how many people will never become alcoholics or addicts because they were part of a small group that helped them hold up under life's pressures.

We can't measure how many teenagers won't get pregnant (or get someone pregnant)-and believe me, that happens far more frequently in this area than you might think. We can't measure how many teenagers won't try to commit suicide, or make other destructive decisions, because they've found a place where they know they belong.

You see, what happens here is so powerful because it is preventive. That's the power of the local church -what we together, following the vision of Jesus of a world filled with love, are able to prevent. And so often we have no idea just how powerful that is because we prevented the heart wrenching stories from ever happening in first place. The stories of the huge difference you've made will never get told precisely because of that difference kept them from ever being written in the first place.

That's preventative giving. It's not sexy. It's not glamorous. It's not cool. But man oh man-is it powerful. Man oh man-does it ever make a difference.

The second thing that helps us make a Maximum Impact in our giving is tithing. Now hear me out on this, because as it turns out that once again there is good secular research that backs up Biblical teaching. You probably know that tithing is simply the practice of giving away a fixed portion of one's income, and in the Bible that is generally ten percent. It's taking one out of every ten dollars and investing it in how your church prevents lives from being destroyed.

For Christians, this isn't something I need to convince you of. You understand, as I do, that this is part of what it means to follow Jesus, and so it is either something you already practice or aspire to practice. And frankly, this church would not exist without you. Those of you who call this church home, who don't wait for emotional pleas or sermon strong-arming, but who simply give ten percent-and some of us considerably more-week in and week out without even being asked-you keep our doors open. You keep the lights on. You just give one of every ten dollars God gives you and your faithfulness helps us build health and healing into the world in ways that we could never do without you.

You make it happen, plain and simple.

And for those of you who do not tithe, here's why I'd ask you to consider the practice. Quite simply, if you want to give well, research conclusively shows that tithing will help you do that. Most people give randomly; that is, they give a little bit here and little bit there in response to all the requests they getfor help. In this scenario, most people give what they have available in the moment, or what's left over after all their other expenses. And that's usually not very much, frankly-about 1.5 percent for the average American.

But for the people who want to move from incremental to instrumental giving, tithing is much more effective. This is what some of the highest level secular givers in our country have found-that they can afford to give more away when they budget for it properly. They may choose to tithe for nonreligious reasons, such as gratitude for blessings or appreciation for organizations that have helped them, but they have still found that tithing-giving a percentage of their income away in standard amounts on a monthly basis-helps them give at the level they want to give, the same level they approach everything else.[i]

Tithing is a great way to give, friends. Will you consider tithing next year? If you've never given a full ten percent before, that's probably too high a percentage to start out with right off the bat. To simply become a regular percentage giver instead of a random giver is a huge step in and of itself. Ask God, "What would you have me do?" Listen for the answer, and then give that percent.

For those of you who already are percentage givers, I'd ask you to say the same prayer and consider if God is inviting you to increase that by a percent or two. Maybe this the year you give a full ten percent. Maybe this is the year you say, "God has given so generously to me, I want to do even more than that." Maybe this is the year you give even more than ten percent.

In ending this sermon, I want to follow Andy Stanley's lead one more time.

I could end the sermon by saying way so many other preachers have said: "If you give God one dollar he'll give you ten, if you give him ten dollars he'll give you 100, and so on." Only one problem: God's already given us 10. What's more, no one really believes that. If I did, I'd put everything I have in the offering plate so I could get back enough to finish paying for Mary's college.

I could say that if you invest in God, He'll invest in you. I could tell you that the invitation for God to get involved with our personal finances is to trust God with our finances. And that's true, but it's not what we are saying here.

I could say, "Friends, you know how tough things are. Giving's down, expenses up, if you don't give we'll have to lay off staff." But actually, you are giving very generously, the Vestry is doing a great job of keeping expenses down, and God continues to provide. So that would just be a lie, and I just can't do that.

So here's what today is about. I believe that investing in a local church that is following Jesus and making his vision of building a world filled with love a reality is the single best investment you can make in a local community and the world. So even if no one else chooses to do this, I will.

Here's why.

If it wasn't for Jesus Christ, I'd probably be a bitter old alcoholic who wrecked his most important relationships with his rage.

I doubt I'd still be married. Who knows if my kids would still be talking to me-heck, I wouldn't want to be talking to me either. Truth be told, I doubt I'd still be alive.

If you took away what I learned in church, I can't imagine where I'd be today. I wouldn't want to. But you see, there's no way to measure what local church prevented me from doing or becoming.

So I'm all in. I've always been in, and always will be in.

I just want you to join me, because there is nothing more rewarding than knowing that because of your gifts a woman has escaped abuse, a child is no longer hungry, a family is emerging from poverty, a lost and lonely man has found hope in Jesus-and our world has become just a little bit better.

We're all in this together, friends. So I'm asking you this morning: imagine a better world, the kind of world that Jesus described, a world filled with love.

And then.

Help us build it.

Amen.

[i] See Arrillaga-Andreessen, Laura (2011-09-23). Giving 2.0: Transform Your Giving and Our World (p. 70). John Wiley and Sons. Kindle Edition.

Last Updated on 10/15/2012 8:50:29 PM

Preventing Permanent Hurts

Rob Merola — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Preventing Permanent Hurts

The Rev. Rob Merola

You've no doubt heard the old saying, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." And we all understand the truth behind it: while sometimes intervening in a crisis can fix the problem, it would be far better to address the problem before a crisis ever takes place. In other words, while sometimes intervention is necessary, prevention is a far, far better choice.

In today's sermon, we're going to take this maxim and apply it to our relationships. Following Jesus' lead in the passage we just read from Mark, let's start with marriage. Jesus makes it very clear that God does not want people to get divorced.

Though at first that may sound harsh, I think the reality is that our hearts line up pretty well with the heart of God on this. Virtually no one wants a divorce. He may come to feel like it is a necessity, she may feel like there is no other way, but it's not something they want. There's just too much pain involved in it for that.

And that's my point-while in my experience there is nothing in a broken marriage that can't be fixed if both partners are willing to ask God's help, forgive each other, and do the hard, life-long work to change, it would be far, far better if a marriage never came to that point in the first place. It would be far, far better to create a marriage so good that the D-word never came up in the first place.

So. how do we build that kind of marriage? Obviously, we cannot fully answer that question here. But the truth is, we can make a pretty good start, because there is a single issue around which pretty much everything else revolves. It's the issue of trust and betrayal.

When Jesus takes a little child and says whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it, one of the things he is talking about is the importance of trust. Wholeheartedly trusting God and one another is the only way to have the kind of relationships that comprise life in His Kingdom.

Writing some 2000 years later, John Gottman also speaks of the importance of trust. Widely regarded as the nation's top marriage expert, Gottman found that "trust and betrayal" is "the number one most important issue" for couples. Gottman further "found that trust is essential to all healthy relationships and healthy communities."

OK, so the way we build strong marriages and strong relationships in general is by building trust. So how do we do that?

Through extensive research over 40 years with thousands of couples from across the nation, Gottman has an answer. Interestingly, it too follows the teachings of Jesus when he said whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much. Trust, my friends, begins with the little things, with the things that at first seem so small and unimportant. The reality is, nothing could be further from the truth.

What Gottman has found is "that trust is built in very small moments." It is built in those ordinary, everyday, seemingly insignificant and trivial interactions in which "there is the possibility of connecting with your partner or turning away."

Here's an example he gives from his own life:

One night, I really wanted to finish a mystery novel. I thought I knew who the killer was, but I was anxious to find out. At one point in the night, I put the novel on my bedside and walked into the bathroom.

As I passed the mirror, I saw my wife's face in the reflection, and she looked sad, brushing her hair.

[In that moment] I had a choice. I could sneak out of the bathroom and think, "I don't want to deal with her sadness tonight, I want to read my novel." But instead. I decided to go into the bathroom. I took the brush from her hair and asked, "What's the matter, baby?" And she told me why she was sad.

Now, at that moment, I was building trust; I was there for her. I was connecting with her rather than choosing to think only about what I wanted. These are the moments, we've discovered, that build trust.

One such moment is not that important, but if you're always choosing to turn away, then trust erodes in a relationship-very gradually, very slowly.

Is it really possible that marriages, friendships, relationships with our kids, and maybe even other relationships, like relationships with our boss or our employees, rise and fall on moments like those?

I think it is. What is more, I think that when we attend to those tiny, seemingly trivial moments, we are preventing heartache, pain and suffering down the road. But when we blow them off. well, we are creating a crisis waiting to happen.

Of course, the opposite of trust is betrayal-- and this is where it gets really hard. This is where we've got be really brave to listen if we're going to take this truth to heart. Because study after study shows that some of the biggest hurts, some of the most painful damage, and some of the most traumatic experiences actually come not from the big things we usually think of, but from small moments of simple but sustained neglect .

"The atom of betrayal," Gottman writes, "is not just turning away-not just turning away from my wife's sadness in that moment. but thinking to myself, "I can do better. Who needs this crap? I'm always dealing with her negativity. I can do better."

He goes on,

"Once you start thinking that you can do better, then you begin a cascade of not committing to the relationship; of neglecting your partner instead of cherishing your partner; of building resentment rather than gratitude; of lowering your investment in the relationship; of not sacrificing for the relationship; and of escalating conflicts."

Now when we talk about thinking we can do better, we're not necessarily talking about looking to find a better relationship with another person. We might be talking about picking up a bottle of beer and choosing the buzz it brings. Better might be longer hours at the office where we get more direct rewards. It might be checking out on the internet or in a romance novel or doing a book of sodokus. Better is anything that takes of out of the present moment as we choose to connect with something other than the real person right in front of us.

How about us, friends? How are we doing with this? How many of us have these small moments--moments at night, let's say--when we are busy on the internet, or finishing up some work, or doing a chore, or watching TV, or playing a game, and we know our spouse, or friend, or child, needs even just the tiniest moment of real connection with us. will we choose to pay attention to them or turn away? Will we be there for them or will choose something "better" instead of them?

We face this same kind of choice in our relationship with our children and with other young people who are important to us. We've heard Jesus talk about how important children are in each of the last three week's Gospel readings. And when young people are important to us also, we will make the most of these small moments to connect with them as well. But far too often the adults who are important in kid's lives-parents, teachers, aunts and uncles, youth workers, coaches, and so on-miss those moments. When we do, our kids experience that as the most painful kind of betrayal. We've chosen something else over them, and that is one of the deepest hurts life has to offer.

When do our kids feel this way?

They feel this way when they feel like we are more interested in their performance and achievements-how smart they are, how well they do in sports, and so on--than we are in them. When it seems like no matter how well they do, it's never quite good enough, they begin to wonder why we don't like them as they are.

They feel this way when they think they are not as popular as we wish they were. When we push them to have more friends, to be more outgoing, to get involved in the things all the other kids are involved, they begin to wonder what's wrong with them as they are.

But most of all, they feel this way when they know we're not really paying attention, when we don't know what's going on in their lives, what they really care about, what's difficult for them, what they really love and are passionate about, and so on. When adults are so caught up in what matters to them rather than what is really matters to our kids, our kids wonder why they are so unimportant to us.

Here's what I know, friends. After over 30 years of working with young people, I can tell you this: Kids can put up with almost anything as long as they have loving parents to come home too. Painful as it is, they can deal with not fitting in at school as long as they like they fit somewhere else, as long as they know there is an adult somewhere who sees them for who they are and is squarely in their corner. But when a kid feels out of place even in their home, man, that's painful. When they don't feel like there is anywhere they belong-even at church-the pain can be absolutely devastating.

So to help us assess how we are doing with this, I want to finish by asking you a series of questions. These are questions I ask myself every day, and I'll admit right up front I don't always like the answers.

Can the important people in your life trust you?

Can you be trusted to be there and listen to them when they are upset? Can they trust you to even notice?

Can you be trusted to choose them? To choose your spouse over your mom-and I am not even joking? To choose the friend you are with over getting an in with the "cool" kids? To choose the people who are important to you over the demands of a "successful" career?

Can you be trusted to work hard for your relationships?

Can you be trusted to say no to drugs, to one more beer or overdoing alcohol in general, or to anything that distracts, allows you to escape, or renders you anything less than being fully present to the people who need you?

Can you be trusted to be sexually and emotionally faithful?

But most of all, can you be trusted to tune in to what's going on inside of me rather than turning away for something "better"?

In answering questions like these, we realize once again that if we are going to prevent crises in our relationships, and in the lives of the people who are important to us, we must tend to those moments in life on which trust is built.

And believe it or not, this was our first stewardship sermon. Stewardship is not primarily about getting money for church. Rather, it's about aligning our vision with the vision of Jesus Christ so that we use the resources given us to prevent the kind of situations and problems that require us to intervene with even more exhaustive resources as we try and correct them-and which despite all that, may still never be fixed. It is to follow his example in building such strong relationships, churches, communities, and world that they never get broken in the first place.

It's about tending to those small moments on which everything else rises and falls...

And that's where we'll pick up next week. Believe me, you don't want to miss it.

Amen.

Last Updated on 10/8/2012 7:44:56 PM

No More Mr. Nice Guy

Rob Merola — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 05:00:00 GMT

No More Mr. Nice Guy

The Rev. Rob Merola

Today we continue our sermon series "The Separation of Church and Hate." We're going to begin this morning with a rather startling claim: It is far harder to be nice than to have a warm universal love for all people.

Why? Because study after study shows that good will towards everyone in general doesn't necessary translate into a helpful action for anyone in particular. "All of humanity" is a mental construct, a generalized idea, and so the only place we come into contact with it is in here-in our minds. And that means it is very different thing than coming into contact with the actual person next to us. Too often, we are tempted to respond to the people around us more like this.

[No more Nice Guy]

The Reverend Smith may well have felt warm feelings toward the whole of humanity and preached accordingly. But when it came to Alice Cooper actually sitting out in his congregation, well that was too much. And even though this if obviously a fictionalized scenario, we all understand the truth behind it.

It's one thing to say I'm committed to loving God and my neighbors. It's another thing altogether to invite the Muslim living next to you for dinner, or to complement a person with a different sexual ethic than yours who is lobbying for their position. It's a very different thing to smile and offer a friendly greeting to a jock if you are a geek, or a geek if you are a jock, or a capitalist pig if you are socialist, or to a socialist who is destroying everything we hold sacred if you are a capitalist. It asks a lot more of us to try and strike up a civil conversation with rebellious and ill-mannered youth who may well ignore us if we are an adult, or with a condescending adult who may well frown upon us if we are a kid.

Yet that's exactly what James calls us to do: "Real wisdom," James says, "God's wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others." It's gentle, he says, overflowing with mercy and blessings. And then there is this interesting phrase: Real wisdom, God's wisdom, is willing to yield.

I think we can make a liturgy out of that. I'll say a line, and then you'll respond, "I'm willing to yield". Ready?

Rob: When someone speeds by us and then wants to cut into the lane right in front of us.

People: I'm willing to yield.

Rob: When I'm in a crowded parking lot and another car wants the last convenient parking space.

People: I'm willing to yield.

Rob: When I'm in the express lane at a grocery store and someone slips in line just in front of me with a whole cart of food and I'm tempted to say something nasty.

People: I'm willing to yield.

Rob: When I'm in an argument where I'm clearly right but which is also clearly damaging a relationship.
People: I'm willing to yield.

Rob: Next month when its stewardship season and Anne asks us all to tithe.

People: I'm willing to yield.

OK, maybe that last one is a little different. Just thought I'd throw that one in there. but I trust you get the point. According to James, we need to move away from the position that dominates so much of cultural interchange these days, "no more Mr. Nice Guy". We need to be willing to yield, and move toward this position instead.

[We Can Work it Out]

That's James' point, I think. The really spiritual person, the person who really does put his faith into practice, is the one who does works out his differences with others so they can get along. One of the clearest messages of the Bible is that love is why we are here; we are made to be in relationship with others. Those relationships are what give our lives purpose and meaning to our lives. Without such relationships, people feel pain and sorrow.

James tells us that it is "bitter envy" and "selfish ambition" that keep us from these relationships. He says that our relationships break because of our cravings for what we feel like we don't have. In other words, we never feel like we are good, smart, thin, successful, perfect, powerful, rich, or-you fill in the blank-enough.

In one of those observations that just drops me dead in my tracks because the truth of it is so powerful, Lynne Twist puts it like this:

For me, and for many of us, our first waking thought of the day is "I didn't get enough sleep." The next one is "I don't have enough time." Whether true or not, that thought of not enough occurs to us automatically before we even think to question or examine it. We spend most of the hours and the days of our lives hearing, explaining, complaining, or worrying about what we don't have enough of..We don't have enough exercise. We don't have enough work. We don't have enough profits. We don't have enough power. We don't have enough wilderness. We don't have enough weekends. Of course, we don't have enough money-ever.

We're not thin enough, we're not smart enough, we're not pretty enough or fit enough or educated or successful enough, or rich enough-ever. Before we even sit up in bed, before our feet touch the floor, we're already inadequate, already behind, already losing, already lacking something."

In other words, when we compare our lives with media fueled ideals of perfection that have no counterpart in reality, or when we put our lives up against our perceptions of how good with think others have, we are driven back to the book of James. We feel like we are too ordinary, lacking what we need, envying those we think have it, and determined to somehow get it for ourselves.

So what do we do? Here I want to switch to the Gospel. It actually follows along much the same lines as our reading from James; the disciples are suffering from "selfish ambition" as they argue about who is the greatest. To correct this, Jesus takes a little child in his arms and says "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me."

Jesus asks the disciple to take an action. And here I borrow an acrostic from AA, with ACTION standing for

Any

Change

That

Improves

Our

Nature

For the disciples, kids were useless. They weren't going to help them make it to the top. But Jesus' loves children, and he asks the disciples to do the same. He asks them to make A Change That Improves Our Nature. He asks them to love children too.

Who do you need to do a better job of loving this week? What specific action do you need to take to do so? In what ways can you go that extra mile to simply be. nice.

What we need in the world is "More Mr. Nice Guy", people who believe that we can indeed work it out and get along. But perhaps what we need most of all is people who really will take action in making Any Change That Improves Our Nature so we can separate hate from our lives not just in church, but at home, at work, in our neighborhoods, at school, and wherever we may be. In short, we need people who will do a better job of loving each other as Jesus loves us. And that leads us to our final song. Please take the hand of the person next to you and sing along.

[We Are One in the Spirit]

Amen.

Last Updated on 10/8/2012 7:36:22 PM

Loose Lips

Rob Merola — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Loose Lips

View on YouTube

Grey Maggiano, Semanarian & Youth Minister

Who Do People Say that I am?

Who do people say that you are?

During World War II, the U.S. Government entered into a fierce public information campaign to make sure that U.S. Citizens didn't inadvertently open up the possibility of attacks on U.S. troops in transit or while on the front lines.

"Loose lips sink ships"

"somebody blabbed. button your lip!"

"If you tell where he is going, he might not get there"

Or my favorite - "Free Speech doesn't mean careless talk"

In James we are reminded that it is our tongues that often define who we are. Our tongues are like ships, guiding the whole body.

~~~

In my 6^th Grade year book, we all had to put in a line about "what we want to be when we grow up" - I wrote something to the effect of "I want to be a baseball player and an astronaut and make a million dollars." My grandmother, in her infinite wisdom interrogated me about this later-why did I need a million dollars? She then told me that "if I was going to measure my happiness by money, I was never going to be happy."

At the age of 12, my words were shaping who I was to the world around me. And nothing has changed.

Even this Sermon - will shape what you, and through the magic of the internet, many others think of me. And because I am a Christian, and a Christian up here on the Altar - authorized to interpret God's word for you, this sermon will also shape what others think of Episcopalians, and Christians in General. There is a high probability that if I misspeak, someone, perhaps one of you, may never come back to Church again. So I take seriously the warning from James today: "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness."

In the Gospel Jesus expresses concern with his own identity - with who people think he is, and who the disciples say he is.

Now in the Gospel - Jesus teaches without fear. He knows who he is, the Messiah, and what is going to happen, death, resurrection, salvation, and so he can teach without fear. To borrow language from James - Jesus is perfect, so he has no reason to fear his own tongue.

The problem for us is. we aren't.

Because we aren't perfect we have to be a little more careful with our tongues, lest we come to find people say we are something we aren't. Or even worse, we actually BECOME that.

Jesus was concerned with his identity because the powers that be in his time were busy trying to redefine who he was. Believe it or not, 1^st Century Israel did not look very different from our political landscape today.

The Pharisees were people of faith from a humble background who felt that by aligning themselves with the powers that be they could protect their traditions and their old ways of living without sacrificing very much.

The Saducees were people of means who felt that the best way for them to maintain power and prestige was to maintain a link to the divine that the people would respect and a link to the powers that be, and that their support for the Roman authorities, while it may cost them something was better than the alternative.

The Zealots were people of faith who felt the best outcome was to amass enough force to overthrow the powers that be, take what the wealthy had and start their own Government because they could do it better.

In today's Gospel Jesus is preoccupied with the question "Who do people say that I am" in large part because all these varied forces are at work trying to redefine who he is.

In 1^st century Jerusalem the Roman Imperial power is facing a full scale rebellion from the Zealots, who were gradually amassing power in the rural areas outside of Jerusalem and other major cities in Israel. They are also facing internal pressures from the Pharisees, whose focus was maintain the religious traditions of Jewish Temple Culture, and the Saduccees who were more intent on maintaining economic and political control. The last thing anybody needed was a full-fledged "Messiah" on their hands to make things even more complicated. The disciples answers to his questions point to this: better that Jesus be a prophet, even a reincarnated one, some kind of flash in the pan, rather than someone who is going to upset the whole social order.

Instead it was easier to try and redefine Jesus as whatever best suited the needs of each group. And when Jesus stubbornly refused to cooperate with any of these characterizations, they killed him. Jesus knew, that as faithful as any of these various political groups may have appeared - their primary interest and motivation was politics, not God. Not faith.

In this politically charged season it is awfully tempting to use our faith as a political tool. After all so many of the issues being discussed during this election cycle are relevant to our faith: poverty, marriage, abortion, immigration, "values" and war are just a sampling of the issues that relate one way or another to what we believe as Christians. But we should be careful not to too much like the Pharisees, saducees, Romans and zealots of Jesus time.

It is tempting then to want to speak out and say "because I am Christian I can only vote this way" or "Because of my faith I feel that (blank)" Or worst of all "Only a true Christian can vote for candidate Y"

And the negative also starts to come into play "if you support X you must not believe in God" "God Hates X". That's right, our tongues can lead us into some pretty terrible places.

Now there is a lot of talk in scripture about dividing the world in sheep and goats - but as I recall it is Jesus, not us, that does the dividing.

Let me remind you, quite humbly, that there is no candidate, not in this election or any election to come, who you can vote for with confidence as the "Christian Candidate."

There is no candidate who is going to take a Christian approach to all of the issues at play either during the election or during their term in office. Politics is not about Faith, and it is not about God. It is about Politics. It is about winning and losing. It is about power and authority. Who has it, and who wants it. Politicians do no vote on moral, or theological lines, they vote along lines of political expediency - what is going to keep them elected and in power.

Christianity during election season becomes a political tool of convenience to be used when necessary and set aside when required. When we talk, either person-to-person, on facebook, in letters to the editor or anywhere else about how our faith demand we vote for candidate X or Candidate Y - we become part of that tool. Don't let yourselves be similarly used and set aside.

For us, the question of who do people say that I am is really a trick question.

If we believe James -that indeed the tongue is capable of evil, can set the whole world on fire, full of deadly poison, able to guide the whole body and yet more or less untame-able - what people say about us, and what we say about ourselves - is pretty unreliable. As they say Talk is cheap.

We, unlike Jesus, aren't perfect. We can't just tell people who we are. We can't expect that taking a particular stand and speaking out in support of an issue, or a cause, or a candidate, is going to change who people say we are.

We should instead ask the question "who do we want people to say we are?"

Do we want people to say we are first and foremost Republican? Democrat? Pro-life? Pro-gay marriage? Anti-death penalty? Are these really the first things we want to come out of people's mouths?

What about other words. Loving? Caring? Committed? Kind? Christian, maybe?

There is very little you can say to convince someone you are any of those things - but there is an awful lot you can do.

Now I am not suggesting that we should all disassociate ourselves from politics, or from civic engagement in General. But pointing out, with help from James, that there is a big difference between saying you believe in something and actually living that out.

Using a ridiculous example, let's say you are pro-squirrel. Now if you spend all your time writing letters, and facebook posts and tweets about the plight of the squirrel. And attacking anyone who isn't pro-squirrel, or who isn't as pro-squirrel as you as being anti-squirrel, anti-God and doomed to damnation.But never actually take care of any squirrels. Do you really love squirrels? Or just the attention that being anti-squirrel provides? Is your spring pouring forth fresh or brackish water?

Now on the other hand if you go out and set up a squirrel rescue, if you teach classes in parks about how to protect the squirrels, if you pray over dead squirrels when you find them, and teach others the devastating impact of the loss of that squirrel and ways to prevent future squirrel deaths. Who will people say that you are? Well they will probably say that you really love squirrels. But they will also say you are kind, compassionate, thoughtful, authentic, willing to work for what you believe in.

There is nothing wrong with feeling passionately about something, about wanting to work tirelessly to right a wrong you see in the world. That is indeed what we as Christians are called to do. But no one's life was ever saved by a facebook post. I've never heard anyone talk about the tweet that changed the world. An angry poster, or letter to the editor rarely changes hearts and minds. It is only by daily living out what we believe, passionately laboring for the causes that we find most dear, that people will change. Because people will see you as an authentic person, sacrificing their lives to actually change the world. Not just to talk about it, but to do it.

Last Updated on 9/17/2012 9:31:44 PM

Grey Day

Rob Merola — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Seminarian Grey Maggiano

We Have A Problem. For the past 40-50 years, the Christian Church has been killing Youth Ministry: failing multiple generations of potential Christians with a failed business model that just needs to stop. Don't believe me? We are living proof of this phenomenon. If you are under the age of 60, raise your hand if you stopped going to Church between the ages of 17 and say 25 or later, depending on when you had children? Raise your hand if most of your memories around "youth" activities involved either a) singing? B) games or C) Morality lessons? Keep your hand up if the youth minister hired by your Church was trying to be cool but was maybe a few years too late?

This is THE model for youth ministry - across churches, denominations what have you. You may have a bigger church and do a few more or grander activities - you may have a smaller church and have to cut a few things out, but this is the model. Bring kids in with fun and exciting activities, provide them some counseling and moral guidance on the "important matters of the day" (almost always Drugs, Sex and Rock and Roll), introduce them to scripture, and make sure you have enough kids in the pipeline because you know you are going to start losing your 17 and 18 year olds sometime between their junior and senior years as they have "more important" things to do.

In the 70's, youth directors tended to have long hair, sing songs that sounded vaguely like Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie, or anyone who played Woodstock. They'd tell you Jesus was totally cool and just wanted everyone to love each other. In the 80's we decided every youth director should either be like The Fonz or Ferris Bueller, have some kind of cool catch phrase and help kids get into lots of fun, safe, G rated trouble. After 20 years or so of women rising in popular culture, the workplace and politics, the Church finally got on board in the 1990's and decided that a young, attractive, youth minister was the ideal person to put in charge because, the theory went, the Girls would come to be with someone they admired and the guys would come to be with the girls. From the late 90s to the 2000s, youth ministry went alternative and suddenly you couldn't be a youth director without having a goatee and an earring. In 2005 I went to a youth minister's conference where I was the ONLY male attendee who did not fit that profile. Then late in the last decade the Church found the internet and decided every youth minister had to be a tech savvy web-geek, with a blog and an active Facebook profile, and now we are transitioning in to the Hipster generation of Youth Ministers - Where everyone wears Ironic t-shirts, funny hats, and skinny jeans.

If you haven't noticed the Church is always five to ten years late on their pop-culture awareness. but more importantly they are always "chasing" the dominant culture, trying to replicate in a Church-y way something that has already been done better.

The Result? Church became inauthentic for generations of youth. They were getting nothing different from Church than they got from the outside world, just a watered down, sanitized version. Instead of teaching orthodox Christian theology we likened God to Mr. C, Steve Douglas, Bill Cosby, or Danny Tanner - TV Dads who would just be SO disappointed if we were to smoke, drink, or get involved in any other kind of negative behavior.

Now all of this was predicated on a belief that the Church was "losing" the youth. The rise of youth ministry was largely a response to the perceived "rebellion" of the 1960s - and based on the notion that Youth naturally wanted to rebel against their parents, the Church and society at large, that our Christian nation was suffering from a morality crisis and we needed to update our message to reach these new generations. These kids had lost interest in faith, God or the Church and something had to be done - because they just don't know any better.

This same attitude has informed youth ministry activities since the 1960s. Let's make Church fun, hip and comfortable for teens - let's make it easy to understand so they don't have to work too hard, and let's focus inwardly on fellowship and faith development because these kids aren't ready for much else.

Old Model: Easy, Focused on behavior, Insular, Mimics established culture.

At this point I'd like to take a look at today's scripture. First. In the Gospel, Jesus is questioned by his disciples who think that this particular teaching, "the one who eats THIS bread will live forever" is too difficult. Jesus' answer is this is supposed to be difficult! Being a Christian isn't easy! If we try and "dumb down" Christianity or simplify Jesus' message we are actively working against Christ's teachings!

Second. Jesus concern in this passage is not with the disciples' behavior, it is with their lack of faith. " But among you are some who do not believe" Most modern biblical commentators believe that this particular passage from John is a corrective to teachings in the early Church that all people had to do to go to heaven were to take communion - Jesus statement that "it is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is useless" that "eating this bread" -eating the body of Christ is not a solitary act that we do on Sunday Mornings, but it is a covenantal relationship between God and Man - by taking communion we acknowledge our continued desire to live a life in Christ's image and to try and be his light in the world. If all we focus on is behavior, we are turning ourselves away from Christ, just like the disciples who left Jesus in today's Gospel. We have to teach belief. We have to teach Faith.

Third. In the reading from Ephesians today we are warned against the evils and dangers out there in the world. Except these evils aren't "enemies of blood and flesh" that we need to protect ourselves from - the evils are the rulers, the authorities, the cosmic powers of this present darkness. In other words, the dominant culture, the people in power are the Evil! The exact thing the Church has continually tried imitate is the thing we are supposed to be wary of!

Fourth. Paul's solution to these outside threats is to put on the armor of God and "put whatever on your feet that will make you ready to proclaim the Gospel of Peace." We have to prepare ourselves to go out into the world and preach the Gospel. We have to work to change the world - not make the world look like us.

So our Easy, Behavior-based, Insular model of ministry that tries to mimic the world around us doesn't look so good, does it?

But what about all those rebellious teenagers? I grew up as a pretty typical Christian, spending most of my time in two different churches that were fairly liturgically and theologically similar. I was active in the youth group, I served as an acolyte, I went to Sunday School, and I legitimately liked going to Church. Believe it or not, this makes me a pretty typical kid in America. In Christian Smith's book "Soul Searching" he provides the first in depth analysis of survey data of teenagers' spiritual lives. 57% of American youth attend Church at least once a month, 67% would attend at least once a month if it were totally up to them, 51% say that religion is very important to their daily life, and 84% of youth believe in God. Youth are not, by and large, particularly rebellious. They may have differences of opinion, or questions about what the Church or their parents stand for, or want to sleep in on an occasional Sunday but Youth generally are very interested and excited about their faith.

This is where the Church really falls apart. According to a nationwide, scientific, externally and internally valid study with statistically significant data points - Only 15% of teens think Church is usually boring, 62% think Church makes them think about important things, 69% had attended youth programs at some point and 75% find church to be a warm and welcoming place. BUT, and this is a big, big BUT - Only 45% think the Church is a good place to discuss important issues, only 27% think the Church has done a good job teaching what youth need to learn about their religion, and (and this was shocking to me) 80% of teenagers interviewed said they had never talked with the youth minister at their Church.

Never!

For generations, youth have been showing up to our doors, interested in what the Church has to offer, excited to be here and wishing they could be here more often. And for generations we have treated them as rebels who don't know what is good for them, curtailed their responsibilities, authority and role in the Church, and instead plied them with candy, water balloon fights and morality tales.

Of course these efforts are not without their own impact - a focus on fellowship, moral codes, and bite-sized bible study has had some unintended consequences. America's youth know very little about what they believe. Only 8% of the youth surveyed in the whole country could be described as devoted to any faith. Only 12% are totally disengaged from Religion, which means the vast majority of youth in the U.S. (80%) are connected in some way to a faith tradition (and most of those are Christian) but they really don't know what they believe.

When asked more pointed questions about their faith: what they believe, why it is important, and what has influenced their faith - youth give answers "I haven't thought about that" or "you know, what they taught me" or "I don't think I'd like to talk about that" (Christian, 131)

Because we never bother to teach youth what we believe, what it means to have faith, it shouldn't surprise us that they don't have much attachment to Church. In fact, most youth think that Church is not really necessary - they go, but they are perfectly willing to allow that people can practice multiple faiths, that there is not one true faith, and that is okay to pick and choose religious beliefs and practices from a variety of religions - sort of a "choose your own religion" practice.

~~~~~~

So how do we change this? Well we invert the equation. Instead of mimicking pop culture, remaining insular, focusing on behavior and making Christianity "Easy" Why Not?

Go At Pop Culture, Authority and Power structure and ASK Why the world is allowed to be the way it is?
Why not turn ourselves outward, put on shoes, skis, skates, or pedals to go out and spread the Gospel of Peace?
Why not stop dumbing down Christianity and ask AND ANSWER the tough questions?
Why not stop focusing on behaviors and start teaching faith and belief?

Let me give you an example. When I was in HS, I was a pretty average church going kid. I went to Church most Sundays, I went to Sunday School, I was active in youth group. I acolyted regularly, and even got involved in some short term mission trips and service projects. But Church was, realistically, probably not even in my top five priorities.

And then I went to live with a Missionary family in Honduras for a summer.

Suddenly I started seeing all these things that didn't make sense: Sincere Christians who knew the bible better than me yet were dirt poor. Corrupt politicians and cops taking advantage of people who had so little, people who had sold their homes and everything they owned to come to this country to serve God and God's people, and people who welcomed me with open arms and no questions - taught me Spanish, taught me to read the bible, and invited me into their homes and into their lives even though most everyone around them was trying to take from them.

And read the bible I did. Because suddenly I needed answers! I needed to understand this world around me that didn't make sense. That didn't follow the logical order of things! And I found those answers in the bible. Readings like today's reading from Ephesians, that tells us our struggles are against " the rulers, the authorities, the cosmic powers of this present darkness" and that as Christians we are called to be Strong in the Lord against these evils.

I didn't understand scripture, I didn't dwell on my faith, because in my sheltered suburban life I quite honestly didn't need to. But suddenly here I was in a world where nothing made sense. I was outside of my comfort zone. I needed Jesus and strangely enough, Jesus needed me too. He needed me to mess up, to say the wrong word in Spanish. To hammer in a nail poorly so I could be corrected by someone with a hundredth of my resources and 10 times my faith. To show fear, discomfort and embarrassment and demonstrate that in God's kingdom the winners aren't necessarily the rich and powerful. That there was no cosmic reason why I was wealthy and secure - it was just dumb luck. To be present and to forge relationships with a community and to serve as a link between my very wealthy, very white Suburban parish and this very, very different place.

I believe we can grow a youth program here at St. Matthew's that will have that kind of impact on our youth's lives. I believe we can transform the lives of our youth by introducing them to the awesome power of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. I believe that this will be so impactful that kids will want to come, want to bring their friends and lament having to miss practice, or rush through their homework, or not going to the big party because they needed to be with us.

But first we have to be honest, and say yes, being a Christian is hard. There are lots of hard questions that need answering and some of them WE may not have the answers too. But we are committed to helping you find those answers. More importantly we are committed to building up our youth, so that they are wearing the whole armor of God - so that they feel part of something big, something significant, something that - when times get tough, they can rely on.

This is what we plan to do, and I sincerely hope you will all help us accomplish it.

Last Updated on 8/28/2012 10:03:38 PM

Trusting the Word

Rob Merola — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 05:00:00 GMT

The Rev. Anne MacNabb

Far away in a lonely desert stands a water pump in the sand. You are a solitary traveler, and your canteen is empty and you come upon that pump. Tied to it is a hand written sign put there by some pilgrim. The sign reads "I have buried a bottle of water to prime the pump. don't drink any of it."

"Pour in half of it to wet the leather. Wait, and then pour in the rest. Then pump. The well has never gone dry, but the pump must be primed to bring the water up. Have faith, believe. When you are through drawing water, fill the bottle and bury it in the sand for the next traveler.

Having come upon this pump in the desert with this sign and being out of water, what would you do???Will you dig the water bottle from the sand and drink from it??Or will you believe and believing dare to pour that water, trust to put water into pump every drop of it down into the old trusty pump?? Because you trust, you take a risk, both for yourself and for the next person who will pass that way.

What will you do???

That story poses an interesting question for all of us. Do we believe and trust in that written message by the water pump, or do we only worry about our own thirst and drink from the water bottle knowing that the water will give us enough strength to go on? What would you do???

Now in the same way think about the words in the Bible. They are our words of salvation in the desert of life. They are our source of life, life for eternity. Do you believe in them, or will you try your own way?

Think about Jesus in the same way as the note in the desert and the words of the Bible, He is our salvation in the desert of life, our source of life, life for eternity. Do you believe what Jesus says is true for Your life, or do you go your own way???

I have to admit my tendency in all things it to trust but verify.� Truth be known, that really isn't trusting at all, is it?� If we trust, we don't have to verify.�

When it comes to faith and we are asked the question do we believe in God.� We may come back with Yes.� But do our lives really reflect that?� What does it mean to believe in God?� Are we living a life of faith that reflects our wholehearted trust in the God who has saved us?� Or� are we doing our own thing. just in case?� What if we're wrong?� How do we trust but verify when it comes to faith when everything is really unseen?

Our lesson this morning concerns faith. Someone in the crowd asked Jesus, "What must we do to be doing the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God that you believe in him who he has sent." Then Jesus goes on and says, "I am the bread of life; he who come to me shall not hunger, he who believes in me shall never thirst.

There's this debate almost in the gospel.� Jesus and people in the crowd going back and forth."What must we do to perform the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." Then they ask for a sign recalling Moses in the wilderness. after everything they've seen - healings, miracles, demons being cast out, after having been fed from 5 loaves and 2 fish, these people want more.� They are still asking for a sign!

How much do we need from God in order to believe?� What is it we are looking for.� God does so much in our lives that we don't even realize.� This week, while on the Cedar point trip, one of our vans was sideswiped in a tunnel.� A car came up on the right hand side of the van, going very fast, came behind a slow truck, and changed lanes without looking, the front right panel of the van was side swiped and the driver of the van described feeling sure that the left side of the van was dragged against the side of the tunnel.� And yet, no damage on the left side of that van and only small dents on the front right panel.� Friends, I realize Joe Sharp is an excellent driver.� That is why I loaned him my van for this trip.� However it is only by God's grace that accident was as minimal as it was.� If you listen to Joe tell the story, it was harrowing.� And yet all are fine.� By all rights, all should at least be in the hospital.� Yet not a scratch.� That is God.

For some, it's easier not to believe in God.� And I really believe it is.� It's easier if you don't think how God might ask me to live.� It's easier if I do what I consider to be the right thing rather than learn from others.� It's easier to explain away miracles and just say, well, I haven't seen a sign from God so he must not exist.� It's easier to believe that God doesn't exist because there is war and famine in the world than to believe that God has called us to do something about those things.� It's easier to believe in science for the sake of science rather than to realize that God was in the science all along.�

Living a life of faith and trust in the living God is hard.� It's hard to realize that our salvation is a free gift - at absolutely no cost to us with no strings attached.� When life is hard, it's hard to believe that God loves us, because if he loves us, why is it hard?� Faith in the living God sometimes isn't easy.� But if you trust God and build a relationship with God, you will start to see God at work in your life.� You'll see the little miracles that happen every day.� You'll feel a sense of peace that only comes from knowing God.� If you need direction, if you need inspiration, that's what the bible is for.� If you need help, if you need support, that's what St. Matthew's is for.� We are all in this together.�

Faith and trust in God's salvation is like this pencil I am holding in my hand.. God places it in our hearts. We can do several things with it. We can let it sit there, and ignore God's gift for us, we can close our heart around it a little bit, or we can grab a hold of it for our salvation. Or we can deny it's very existence.� But it is there regardless.� It's free.� It doesn't require anything of us..

We may reject it, we may ignore it, we may only slightly embrace it, but God's gift remain true for us.

You are a traveler upon the planet earth. You come across a book, a book with 66 other books in it, as you read it you see that it can give you the assurance, the strength and the conviction to live life to the fullest. But it asks you to surrender yourself to someone else, to trust in the gifts this person is willing to give to you. What will you do?? Surrender, or rely on yourself.???

What will you do?????

Reference: http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/the-work-of-faith-tim-zingale-sermon-on-jesus-teachings-60462.asp?Page=3

Last Updated on 8/10/2012 8:53:24 PM

Turning a Little Into a Lot

Rob Merola — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Turning a Little Into a Lot

The Rev. Rob Merola

How do you start with a little and get a lot?

It seems to me that's a question well worth asking. If you are a parent, for instance, and you notice in your child a behavior that you'd like to see more of, how do you go about increasing the prevalence of that behavior in your child's life? Or if in business you are a manager or part of a team, and you see in someone an attitude that you would like to see throughout your company or endeavor, how do you go about multiplying it? Or if you are a teacher, how do you go about starting with a little bit of knowledge in your students and then multiply it?

In the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand, this is precisely what Jesus does: he starts with a little, and he ends up with a lot. He seems to have a very deliberate strategy for doing so, and it's one that you and I can emulate.

First, it seems to me that Jesus was clear about what it was he wanted to increase. More important to him than increasing the amount of bread and the fish was multiplying things like sharing, helping, and having faith.

Being clear about we want to see increase is where we need to start as well. We also need to be clear about what values, attitudes, and behaviors we want to see multiplied. So, in a company I'll want to determine what really is most important . Is it maximizing profit or customer service? And while an argument can be made that in the long run the two are the same thing, I can pretty much guarantee you that in the short term the two will be in direct conflict and that hard choices will have to be made. Which is the behavior that you'd really like to see multiplied throughout your organization?

As a teacher, do you teach to the SoLs (Standards of Learning), or to broader principles, or towards a love of learning itself? How you answer that question will determine what will be multiplied in and out of your classroom, and it will lead to very different approaches to teaching itself.

Or as a parent, what are the three to five values that you want to see increase in your children so that they become their character? In fact, if you are a parent, one of the things I hope you'll do is sit down with your spouse, and with great clarity and intentionality, answer that question. What will those values be? Faith? Kindness? Respect? Compassion? Hard work? Because if we are not clear about this, then the world around us will by default select the behaviors, attitudes, and values it wants to increase -and we may not be very happy at all with the result.

The second thing that Jesus does is that he realizes that turning a little into a lot does not rest on him.�� In other words, if Jesus is the only one who has faith, or is helping others,� then there's never going to be a lot of these things in the world.� For these things to be multiplied, he will have to pass them on.� If Jesus can get his disciple to help others, and they� in turn can get still more people to help others, there's going to be a whole lot of helping others going on!

What is more, Jesus knows he won't be around forever.� �So it can't just be a matter of his holding a certain value or behaving in a certain fashion and then somehow making others do likewise.� They have to come to have that value themselves, so that they automatically behave like Jesus would behave in any given situation.� It has to be like second nature to them.� This why although Jesus knows what he is going to do in this situation, more important to him is that he teaches his disciples to make the same kind of choices.

And, of course, it is equally vital that we realize that enterprises like parenting, leading, and teaching don't ultimately rest on us either.�� It is not about our exerting control to achieve the desired outcomes.� The real question is� not if a student can add 2 +2 in the classroom, but whether they can correctly calculate change in a store or a tip in a restaurant.� The real question is not if our child is respectful when we are watching, but if they are respectful when we aren't.

If we want to turn a little of a certain attitude, value, or behavior into a lot, then we've got to get beyond thinking it all rests on us.�� It doesn't.� It rests on coming to share our values, attitudes, or behaviors so that they automatically choose the right thing.� We need to realize the creating more of these things is not a matter of our ability to control others; it's a matter of their adopting them so they are like second nature to them.� But that, of course, raises the really big question:� How do we do this?

And the answer to that is culture.� When people talk about creating a culture in a church, a family, a business, or a classroom, they are talking about a way of working together that has been repeated so often, and with such great results,� that people don't even think about doing things another way.� When a culture is formed, people will autonomously do those things that were determined to be most important back in step one.� What started as a little of something turns into a lot.

More specifically, a culture is created when people are consistently placed in situations where they can do what is desired and thereby learn the value of it.�� This is what Jesus does with his disciples, and what he does specifically in the feeding of the five thousand.�� He gives them an opportunity to choose to have big faith and act upon it.� He gives them an occasion to think about the needs of others, what they can do to help, and then to� actually offer that help.� And in so doing, he gives them a chance to experience firsthand how good these choices are!

In creating this culture, Jesus is ensuring that even when he is not bodily present, those who follow him will make the same kind of decisions he would if he was in their place.� That's why here today, over 2000 years later, we have people going to Haiti.� They look at the world like Jesus would look at the world, seeing a need, and saying "I can help."� And they do.� That's the power of culture, friends.� Two thousand years later, Jesus is still shaping our choices and decisions.�

One of the people who created a culture that most profoundly shaped my life was a man named Steve Statnick.� As the coach of South Jr. High Tigers, he made it very clear that if you wanted to play ball-and is southwestern PA, what young man didn't?-you needed to abide by the culture of his team.� And I still remember the lessons he taught us.

He taught us, for instance, the importance of respect.� To this day I still say "yes sir" and "no ma'am" because he taught us that was an important part of how we honor authority.�� He taught us the value of hard work.� "There will be no dead wood on this team," he said.� And again, to this day the phrase runs through my head as I think, "I will not be dead wood in my life as a priest.� I will not be dead wood as a husband and a father.� I'll work hard to do my best in these important callings."

Interesting, I also remember him addressing sexual behavior.� He did not want a team known �for the promiscuous behavior of its players.�� As much as he cared about how well we played on the field, he cared even more about our character off the field.� He understood that his responsibility was not just to make good football players out of us, but also good men.

The key in creating such powerful cultures as these is consistency.� Let's say a parent wants to teach a child� the value of respect, and expects the child to do what they are told.� The problem is, no child wants to do what they are told.�� They resist.� Mom and dad have likely worked hard all day.� They are tired and stressed so they give in.� And pretty soon the culture created where a child feels like they can do whatever they please instead.

Or a parent wants to teach a child the value of hard work, and so they give their children chores.� The problem is, no kid wants to do chores.� They resist.� Mom and dad likely have worked hard all day.� They are tired and stressed and it is just easier to do the job themselves.� And pretty soon the culture created is one of laziness instead.��

Inconsistency in reinforcing a value or behavior not only keeps a little from becoming a lot.� But worse still, it can eradicate even the little bit of the desired behavior or value we started with.� It can replace it with something else, something that is usually the very opposite of what we hoped for.

Why is all this so important?� Well, first and foremost, because we love people.� Identifying and then multiplying� the values, attitudes, and behaviors needed for success also multiplies the odds that they will have a happy and fulfilling life.�

But secondly, the culture of our families shapes the culture of our nation.� Because so many families are broken, the culture of our churches, classrooms, and business also play an important role in shaping individuals who then shape a nation.�� And frankly, at least some of what I see in the culture of our nation scares me.

I say this in light of the shooting that occurred in Colorado a couple weeks ago.� It's not the guns that scare me, although I understand that guns can be scary things.� No, I'm not afraid because as a white male living in America, I have virtually no chance of being shot.� And if you add to that my income level and the average income of the area in which we live, the chances of my being shot are infinitesimally small.�� There's more chance I'll die of a bee sting than a gun shot.

But change my income level. and suddenly that changes.� Change my race, and it changes even more.� Now that does scare me.� That kind of systemic� prejudice scares me a lot.� That kind of structural inequality built right into the heart of our culture is what frightens me.

Even more, the saturation of our culture in sex and violence frightens me, particularly the sex and violence in media like movies, tv, and video games.�� But would guns have ever been a problem if the Colorado shooter hadn't come to think of himself as a cruel and sadistic Joker in the first place?�� It is hard for any thinking person to ignore the fact that study after study after study conclusively� shows that viewing violence on the screen increases aggression in those who watch it.�

I do not know of any thinking people who would argue that advertising has no effect on us.� Obviously, it does.� Everyone recognizes the power of commercials to shape and motivate us, which is why billions and billions of dollars are poured into it.�� And if marketing through the screen can such a powerful impact on us, surely it is the same when one sees acts of sex and violence repeated over and over and over again for years and years and years.

Frankly, I don't know what the solution is.� I saw The Dark Knight Rises twice and loved it. �I am also a gamer through and through, who plays and thoroughly enjoys video games.� �But here are a couple initial thoughts.

First, the people who are most profoundly impacted by what they see, and are most strongly inclined to emulate it, are those who do not have strong moral standards and deep ties to the community around them.�� This is why our family culture is so, so important.� This is why going to church is so, so important.� It builds healthy ethical� boundaries into the framework of our lives and establishes deep bonds of affection between us.� ��I simply cannot overemphasize the importance of this.�

It is also why part of the culture Jesus left us is not to just look after ourselves, but to reach out the lost and lonely ,the disenfranchised and disturbed, and welcome them into our common life marked by love and high moral standards.�� We are to actively look for such folks, notice them, and then seek to build relationships with them so they too will know that they are loved, and that what they do with their lives is vitally important.

And second, although sometimes it seems like our we can't turn back the clock and that there is no changing the culture we have, we can change it.� Last week Anne preached a sermon encouraging us to keep the Sabbath.� �She talked about the value of rest.� And again, if you want to know something that is dangerous, that is destructive to people's health and the well being of our society,� it's what happens when people don't get enough rest.�

How important is it, for instance, for our kids to have one down day a week?� Might that go a long way to solving many of the problems they are facing?� If we don't know how stressed our kids are, and how much they long for such a day, we don't know our kids very well.� And if we don't realize that all too often we are the ones who are driving our kids the hardest ,then we don't know ourselves very well either.�

But as important as a day of rest might be, it seems like an impossible ask.� Who will do it?� As valuable as a day of rest is, �it sure seems like the cultural sheep has sailed on this one.�

But then� I think of the story I told a couple weeks ago about� Clay Christensen.� He is a man who is clearly successful in every way imaginable.� You may remember he was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, has been a successful businessman who continues to enjoy sizeable wealth, and that he currently teaches at Oxford.

You may also remember that while at Oxford, he played on a championship basketball team.� Unfortunately, the championship itself was on a Sunday.� He told his coach and his friends he would play, and he didn't.� And you will remember that he said this was one of the most important decisions of his life, because in it he realize that life is just one series of extenuating circumstances not to do what is right.

So he kept the Sabbath.� Let me say that again.� A man who in many ways represents the pinnacle of success in Western culture keeps the Sabbath.� It can be done.

My point?� The culture we have is not the culture that has to be.�� We can change it.

But to do so, that change starts with you and with me.

And with the culture we are all creating.

Amen.

Last Updated on 8/1/2012 10:00:55 PM

Keep the Sabbath Holy

Rob Merola — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 05:00:00 GMT

The Rev. Anne MacNabb

What would you say if I invited you to a place where there was no TV, no cell phone coverage, and no internet?� Would you go?� What if you had the chance to relax and not look at a schedule of any kind, sleep as long as you want, go for long walks and have great conversations with old friends?� What would you say?

I think a lot of us would welcome the chance to have some time like that. for others, the idea might make us a little nervous.� We've become so accustomed to our connectedness to the rest of the world that we can't really imagine what it would be like to unplug.� Literally.

That, my friends, is what God would have us do each week.� For an entire day.� It is called Sabbath.� We all know this commandment of keep the Sabbath day holy but really, very few of us do it.� We don't really even know what that is.� Doesn't it just mean going to church on Sunday?� Actually, no.� It doesn't.� It means having a time set aside for rest.�

Originally, the Sabbath was from sundown on Friday night to sundown on Saturday.� Most people believe that the church changed that to Sunday.� I disagree.� I actually think the Sabbath is still that same timeframe and it is a time for us to rest.� To take a break from the world and our work and our service to others and just spend time.. With God in prayer, with each other in relationship and conversation and really just rest.� No work.� If the word "liturgy" which is what we do every Sunday morning really means "work of the people" than coming to church is not restful.� Yes, it is worship.� Yes, it is holy.� But it is not rest.� That's why Sunday is not the Sabbath.� That is why coming to church does not fulfill that commandment.� Sunday is the beginning of the work - started appropriately with the work of worshipping God.� Then going into the world to serve the world. until Friday at sundown, when we rest again.

And don't we need it?� How many of us are overscheduled, overcommitted, overworked?� How many of us are operating on so few hours of sleep that we are tired all the time?� How many of our kids are so busy with all of their activities that they are grouchy and throwing temper tantrums and just seem out of control?� They are acting out, because they are tired.� They need a rest.� They need sleep - every night.� And, the younger they are the more they need.� They can't handle our schedules although we expect them too and, frankly, we can't handle the pace either.�

When was the last time everyone in your house had a meal together?� When was the last time you were able to sit down with your spouse and really talk about how your day was?� When was the last time you read a good book?� When was the last time you took a long walk in the woods?

In today's Gospel lesson there is a sense of frenzy.� Jesus is very busy because throngs of people are coming to him needing something.. Healing, deliverance, something to make them whole.� The section of the Gospel that is left out is the feeding of the 5000.� Notice that Jesus meets the needs of the people.� He is there.� He is in ministry feeding the people both in body and spirit.� And then. he rests.� He takes his disciples to "a place apart" for rest.� Jesus knows that rest is critical to life.�

The truth is, if we want to be highly effective, productive people and give the most we can to the world. we MUST rest.� We must take our Sabbath.� All the time.� Every week.� We have to plan it in our overly packed schedules and block out the time and defend it vigorously.� We must rest, in order to be the best we can be in our work, for our families and friends.�

Summertime was once a time of leisure.. the lazy hazy days of summer.� But even now they are so packed with various commitments, even now we are running from activity to activity.� Even when we go on vacation, we spend so much time going and seeing that we miss out on the rest. and we need a vacation from our vacation.�

We need to take the time to rest.� To unplug.� Even when we vacation, plan downtime into the schedule. not just packing in every last thing possible.� When we are here, plan downtime.� Schedule family dinners. make sure that happens - it is more important than any football or soccer practice.� Maybe your dinner has to be early or late to accommodate, but it so important to being a family to have time to actually talk with each other and listen to each other and care about one another.�

The only way to make Sabbath happen is to make it a priority.� When Sheri Brown was here this spring talking about Judaism, she said that the highest holy day in the Jewish tradition is the Sabbath - and the celebration of the Sabbath happens every week.�� What a blessing.� Most of us can't imagine it.� And yet we have this commandment that we so often overlook to keep the Sabbath day holy.�

Try it.� Now in the summer when your schedule may be lighter than normal, try it.� Create a place and time when you can unplug.� Rest from your labor.� And then you might just find that when you do return to work, you are more productive, more excited about what you are doing because you aren't tired all the time.

What would you say if you were invited to a place with no TV, no internet and no cell phone coverage?� You are.� God is not only inviting you, but commanding you to find it.� Each week.� All the time.� It is in our own best interest that we do it.

Last Updated on 8/10/2012 8:47:57 PM