The Heart of a Pastor

CHRIST HAS RISEN!!!

CHRIST HAS RISEN!

HE HAS RISEN INDEED!!

ALLELUIA!!!

Tired and excited

Greetings and salutations (or "hallucinations" as my custodian likes to joke).

I had a very fun and very busy weekend this past weekend.  Because of that I did not get my normal "Sunday Morning Prayer" posted.  I will be resuming that this Sunday.

This past weekend, my wife and I along with two other couples (plus a baby) packed a van and traveled down to Iowa to the Amana Colonies (follow the link to see for yourself...it was really neat).  We had some great German food (and of course some great German beer).  We walked through some really neat stores and had breakfast at an old stone hearth bakery.  Needless to say I took a "tiny" step back in my marathon training.  Oh well...I will get back on track this week.

In any case, the weekend was a great little break for me.  This Lenten season has been an extremely busy and tiring one for me...on so many levels.  Please don't get me wrong here though...I don't mean to wine with a sob story, but I am tired...and excited.  You see...Holy Week and Easter is what keeps me going.  This is the time of the year that gives me so much energy.  I am going to prepare hard for this joyous time of the year.  I am going to give all I have (and then some).  We are going to praise God for the gift of life we have in Jesus Christ like there is no tomorrow. 

In a way...I am running a marathon and am sprinting to the finish line.  The adrenaline is pumping and I am ready to "finish" hard...but...

...after I finish this "marathon"...after Easter is done I will be crashing hard for a couple weeks to recover and re-fuel.  Frankly...I will need a break.  So please excuse me if I don't post as much as I normally do until after Easter.  With my energy reserves running low, I need to focus on what I need to do here.  I love leading worship during Holy Week and Easter and love preaching during this time even more.  It is such a powerful time for me (and my wife).  I know I will have the strength I need (thanks be to God), but I need to focus on my church family here.  I will be stopping by to visit the blogs I normally read, but I need to take a break from writing for a little bit, but with a periodic post from time to time as energy and time allow.

So in the mean time, God bless you as you prepare (however that may look for you) for Holy Week and Easter.  And may we all basket in the glow of God's awesome glory.

Praise be to God...always and forever!
-edh-

Post vacation reality

I am back!  I have been on vacation these past few days -- hence the low activity on my blog.  Thursday and Friday were lazy days for me.  The weather is finally becoming bearable for shorts so my wife and I went for our first bike ride of the year.  It was nice when we left, but half way through our ride the sun went behind the clouds and it turned cold in a hurry (I guess we jumped the gun a little bit).  It still was nice to get out for some exercise, though.  Today I am looking forward to running during my noon hour.  It is suppose to hit 70 degrees today and you just have to take advantage of that when you can.

I am also hoping with spring finally here I will get more motivated to do some more running and exercise.  I still want to lose about 20 more pounds.  So far I am doing O.K.  Pants that were once too tight for me to wear are comfortable for me now.  That is indeed a good sign, but with diabetes in my family I want to make sure I keep my weight down and maintain a healthy lifestyle.  So far everything is fine, but we are still keeping an eye on things.

Text study

Last week I did not post any thoughts on the up coming texts like I have been lately.  Since I was not preaching I did not go through my normal sermon prep routine -- I missed that.  This weekend I am off to synod assembly and therefore not preaching again, but I am still going to study the texts for Sunday.  Whether I am preaching or not, I need to continue my routine of text study -- we all need to do that.  So later today or tomorrow I will post some text study thoughts on the scripture for Sunday.

Post vacation (Easter) reality

I was cleaning out my landscaping around my house yesterday.  As I was raking out the leaves I saw tiny, green shoots coming out of the ground.  My plants are rising from the depths of the dark cold ground.  And it was not a far stretch for me to immediately go back a week and think about our Easter celebration.  I was instantly reminded that the reality of the resurrection is always with me.  God's love for us through Jesus Christ is always present with us.  The reality of the resurrection is not just a once a year thing.  It is a daily promise we have through our baptism.  So take joy in the fact that you are a beloved child of God. 

So rejoice and be glad:  Christ has risen!  He has risen indeed! Alleluia and Amen! -edh-

P.S. Now it's time for some coffee.

A Masters faith statement

I am a huge golf fan, but I don't sit and watch too many golf tournaments, except for the Masters.  This year the Masters happen to fall on Easter weekend.  Saturday afternoon consisted of me watching about 3 1/2 hours of golf.  And Sunday afternoon (after our dinner guests left) consisted of me watching another couple hours of golf.  Both days had exciting action (as exciting as golf can get).  On the final day (Sunday) Tiger Woods was in the final group so you had to give him the edge.  But it was a no name guy from Iowa, Zach Johnson, that held off Tiger to win his first Masters.  It was only his 2nd PGA Tour win...an amazing story.  But here is the part that made me proud -- as they were talking to Zach afterward he starting thanking various people.  Zach thanked his coaches and trainers and his wife and family.  Then Zach said, "But most importantly I have to give all the credit to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Jesus was with me the whole time out there." He said this with tears in his eyes.  You could just feel his faith radiating through the T.V. screen and into your heart.  What an incredible witness. 

I have heard other people say similar things after receiving an award or some other accomplishment, but with Zach, I truly believed him.  His statement of faith came directly from his heart and was not said in passing as a nice thing to say.  I wish more people were that authentic with their faith.

What made me sad was when T.V. stations were replaying Zach's interviews from that day, nobody replayed Zach's faith statement (at least not that I saw or heard of).  Why were they so afraid to do that?  That interview was the best one he gave because he did not think about it.  It was a natural response to something that he achieved with God's help (not that his other interviews were artificial).  Zach spoke from his heart (and faith) in that first interview.

Thank you, Zach, for sharing your faith like that.  It meant a lot to me and I know to many others.

My prayer for all of us is to remember God in not only the bad times but in the good times as well.  Don't just cry out to God for help, but give God credit in your victories.  Jesus is the reason we can even begin to celebrate in the first place; for Jesus gave us the ultimate victory through the empty tomb.  Praise God ALWAYS and Amen! -edh-

Easter recap

I love Easter sermons.  It is one of the few times during the year when I get to preach to a group of people who would not normally come to worship (Christmas and funerals are the other times).  So the question that I asked people this year was the same one that the angels asked the women who were weeping at the tomb (from Luke's account of the resurrection), "Why do you search for the living among the dead" (See my sermons blog for the full sermon text).  I challenged people to stop looking for meaning and life and purpose elsewhere -- Jesus is all you need.  I don't know if I got through to people, I will TRY to leave that up to the Holy Spirit. 

But sometimes I feel like shaking people and asking them where they have been all year.  I mean, do they honestly think they can find a better savior than Jesus Christ?  "Come on...really...stop your searching and let Jesus give your life meaning."  Then again, maybe I should grab them and shake them up a little bit.  Maybe I should smack them across the head with a 2 x 4 and not just the Gospel.  Maybe that will get their attention (or get me thrown in jail).  Either way, I hope I don't stop being feisty.  I hope I never stop caring for people's souls.  I hope and pray those CEOs (Christmas, Easter Only people) finally figure out (through the Holy Spirit) that their search for a "savior" is a feeble one.  Jesus is the only Savior that can bring us life.  Nobody else died on a cross for us. 

Anyway, I hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Easter weekend.  May the joy of the resurrection stick with you all year long.  Praise be to God. -edh-

Saturday Christians

Today is Saturday...between Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday.  And this is exactly where we live as Christians.  But why do we like to jump straight to Easter morning?

I recently read a couple blogs that talked about this very issue.  Check out "Good Friday" at HERE I STAND and "Post 5: Isaiah 53:10-12" at curious notions.  I was intrigued by this question and want to ponder this with you for a couple moments.

This year, the combined Maundy Thursday and Good Friday worship attendance was the lowest I have seen since I began serving at Salem in 2004 (and this was the second year with Salem AND Belmont worshipping together).  Good Friday attendance was the highest I have seen, but Maundy Thursday took a big hit.  Last year our Easter services (Salem Lutheran Church) saw the largest attendance in about 7 seven years (Belmont was about average).  So I am curious what tomorrow will bring. 

My point is this:  Are more and more people ignoring the "dark" side of life; ignoring the cross and focusing on the resurrection alone?  For me Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are very powerful.  It makes me think about the person I am and the great passion our of Lord.  I don't think I could blow off Holy Week and jump straight to Easter (outside the fact that I am a Lutheran pastor and cannot blow off Holy Week).  I need to be reminded of my sinfulness and the darkness of our Christian walk.  I need to be reminded of what Jesus went through for me.  It is through this dark journey that the love of Jesus Christ truly shines forth.

Last night (Good Friday) I led a worship service of contemplation.  We took a journey that started in the Garden of Gethsemane and ended at the tomb.  Along the way we took some "pit stops" to contemplate and listen.  I allowed for long moments of silence to think about the scripture that was read and to listen to God speaking to us.  I had never done anything like this in worship before and personally it was a powerful experience for me.  I saw Good Friday in a whole new light.  I think Easter will be different for me this year.

If you skipped over Holy Week or any parts of it, I urge you to go to scripture and read the Passion story.  I urge you to not forget about the darkness of our lives and sinfulness that encompasses it.  We have to go through the cross to get to Easter. 

Today is Saturday...and this is where we live.  But we live here in the hope of the resurrection.  That is the Good News so there is no reason to be in despair.  Have a joyous and blessed Easter.  AMEN! -edh-

Holy Week ponderings

Greetings everyone!  God bless you this Holy Week and beyond.

It has been a couple days since I have posted something so I wanted to write and update you on how my life is going and talk about the thoughts running through my head right now. 

Today is Maundy Thursday so I am in the midst of finishing that message up.  I am planning on talking about this "New Commandment" that Jesus gives to love one another.  After all, the word "Maundy" means commandment.  Tomorrow is Good Friday and I still have some finishing touches to put on that service.  Basically the service is one of contemplation.  I will be reading the Passion story, offering up a short reflection after certain selections and then allowing a couple minutes of silence for prayer and contemplation.  I have never done this before so I am curious how it will be received.

Then there is Easter.  The text I am using is the Resurrection account from Luke.  The question that the angels ask the women is one I find myself pondering, "Why do you look for the dead among the living?"  Isn't that exactly what we have a tendency to do?  I am planning on getting a little "feisty" (did you catch that Kara?) on Sunday.  I am planning on asking people, especially the CEOs (Christmas Easter Only people) why they are searching for the living among the dead?  Why are you searching for meaning where there is no meaning?  Why are you searching for life where there is no life.  If you were searching for a child who ran away from home, you would not look in the cemetery.  You would search for them among the living.  People who don't come to worship or who do not know Christ need to know that our only true source of life is in Jesus Christ.

Outside of Holy Week preparations life is good as well.  Connie's sister came for a visit last night with our one year old nephew, Micheal.  We had a great time watching Micheal run around and explore the house.  Tomorrow is my "day off" but I got a feeling that won't happen.  Oh well, I am on vacation next week so I will get caught up on resting then.

Anyway, I need to return to the task at hand.  God Bless and take care.  May the joy of our Lord resonant loudly in your heart.  -edh-

Un-Feisty Christians

A friend of mine commented on a blog entry I wrote recently called Bipolar Christians.  She made an interesting point that I want to highlight this morning.  Kara basically talked about people not being "bipolar" enough.  There are too many people who are lukewarm about their faith.  They walk around apathetic about Jesus.  As Kara said, "Most people today aren't disturbed by Jesus".  And Jesus should disturb you.  If Jesus does not then you might not be listening hard enough. 

There is a cool blog entry you need to check out at Unlikely Conversation: A Lectionary Blog called Easter and Evangelism.  This author talks about Christians having the best story in the world to tell; and I couldn't agree more.  Actually I would say we have an AWESOME story to tell.  But my question is this:  Why don't more people get more excited about this story?  We share good news with each other about our kids, promotions or about losing 20lbs but why not THE Good News?  Well...I think the simple answer is that people are not disturbed by Jesus (as Kara boldly puts it).  We take more joy in our kid's accomplishments or in our "success" at work or in our body image than in the radical Good News of the cross.  We worry more about our position on the social ladder or how much influence we have or how much money we have saved than in the wild forgiveness God shows us in Jesus Christ.

Maybe the problem is that too many churches don't get feisty enough about their faith (if you knew my friend Kara, you would know the "feisty" I am talking about).  Maybe there is too much "Minnesota Nice" coming out in our proclamation (a problem my internship supervisor pointed out in me).  Maybe we, as the church, are not taking a definitive enough of a stand against injustices and issues in the world.  I mean think about...we have the best story in the world to tell and there is still a large number of unchurched people in our communities.  There are too many churches satisfied with maintenance (status quo) than in evangelism.  Secular attacks on the Christian faith go widely unchallenged by Christians ("The Di Vinci Code" & "The Lost Tomb of Jesus"). We need to be more feisty.

"Kill the 'old Adam'", "Sell all you have and follow me", "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you".  If those statements by Jesus do not disturb you, then read them again...He is talk to you. 

Let's get more feisty about our faith and A LOT MORE bold about sharing the best story in the world.  We cannot afford to be "lukewarm Christians". Thank you, Kara, for making me think more and thank you for being "feisty".  If only more people followed your example. -edh-