Pastor John’s Blog

Courage to Follow

Wed, 6 Aug 2008 15:02:06 -0700

Gary Haugen writes in his latest book, Just Courage, about the struggles we sometimes have in our journey of faith. He reminds us that following Jesus demands surrender and vulnerability. He states, “In different times and in different ways, our heavenly Father offers us a simple proposition: follow me beyond what you can control, beyond where your own strength and competencies can take you, and beyond what is affirmed or risked by the crowd – and you will experience me and my power and my wisdom and my love. Jesus beckons me to follow him to that place of weakness where I risk the vulnerability of a child so that I might know how strong my father is and how much he loves me.” An important reminder for us all as we continue in our journey with courage.

Messages

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:22:54 -0700

The number of messages we process on a daily basis can cause the noodle to spin. It is incredible. The statistics on the content and the speed of the stuff hurled in our direction would cause any Major League baseball player to tighten his grip. What is generating all this activity? One example is the growth of computer hardware. As of August 2005, there were over 70 million web servers. As of September 2007, there were over 135 million web servers. The number will continue to grow. Hey, this is nothing new we all know we are bombarded with messages from every direction. We value our message sending and receiving systems; radio, ipod, cell phone, text messages, websites, email, catalogs, online-news feeds. These systems provide our connection points to others and to the world. Through these channels we find out what is happening and we can inform others of our status, (facebook). On a positive note we have control over these… or we think we do… that’s the negative. There is a delicate balance. In time we are shaped by the messages we surround ourselves with. We have to be intentional as to where we point and tune these receivers of messages. It’s a new world, we can collect and transmit messages and information from anywhere at anytime. The tension we all feel is that our message sending and receiving gadgets become a disturbance when not tuned well. The format of the messages needs to be adjusted correctly. If we are constantly downloading the un-constructive, sarcastic, drippy gossip-like postings then these will shape our perspective. We are challenged as a people to be shaped by the message of Jesus. His life and teachings provide a foundation and perspective. How we enter into conflict, disagreements, celebrations, surprises, hardships, is formed by the messages we have downloaded and absorbed into our hearts. The message of Jesus, His forgiveness, grace and truth are what we need to tune into.

General Assembly

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 07:24:43 -0700

Last week the 218th General Assembly voted to send out a proposed amendment to presbyteries to delete the “fidelity and chastity” ordination standard and replace it with a new version. The proposed amendment would delete the current paragraph G-6.0106b in the Book of Order — which requires church officers to live in “fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness.” The LA Times Headline, “Presbyterian leaders OK gay clergy,” is not accurate. The ordination standards have not been overturned. What the the GA’s action does is send the proposal to the denomination’s 173 presbyteries for a vote. Similar proposals to delete G-6.0106b were sent to presbyteries in 1997 and 2000; each time the proposals were rejected. I encourage you to read more about the GA’s actions on the PCUSA website, www.pcusa.org. Be in prayer for our denomination as this debate now goes to the presbytery level.

wave

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:03:30 -0700

I went down to Old Man’s (San Onofre) to catch a few waves with the family. The surf conditions were perfect. Warm water, 4-6 foot swell, not too crowded, and nice weather, translation - I didn’t have to wear the “seal suit.” I like Old Man’s (not because I am old, I suppose that depends on who you are talking to), but because the waves role in nice and slow, a great long board wave. The shape of the wave was interesting on this particular day. Some times a large set of waves would break outside, I would watch and think to myself, “dang it, I’ve got to paddle out farther if I am going to catch any part of that set.” While I was paddling something happened to that large wave that broke outside – it started to reform and re-build. “Sweet!” I turned my board around and caught the white water, foam and all. Sure enough the wave filled in, lifted up and I started surfing a generous clean wave for a long old man ride. Yes my friends this is not only the good life, it is life. There are times you and I are out paddling around trying to position ourselves in line for that big wave and then before you know it, it is breaking outside, lost opportunity, a relationship goes sideways, disappointment, our destination changes, or the landscape transforms. But then as life goes there are times the energy and force of that same wave, reforms and rebuilds into another wave completely different yet strangely familiar. I suppose one option we have in these situations is to paddle in and ride what comes our way.

Hospitality

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:50:46 -0700

What does hospitality mean? Sometimes it means someone who can throw a great party, I’ve got a friend like that. Other times it is connected to tourism and the hotel business, “hospitality suite.” Other ideas include proper etiquette for entertaining guests; Martha Stewart is an authority on that. If you have been on the receiving end of someone's generous hospitality you may have another image. Authentic hospitality is powerful, it transforms, and heals. True hospitality revives the soul, builds faith, strengthens relationships, and welcomes the stranger. Hospitality serves the weary traveler who has pulled off to the side of the road, overcome by the journey, exhausted and depleted from the trip. True hospitality is salve to a soul weary from worries, burdens, hurts and the ambiguities of life. Hospitality does not always have the answers to life's complexities, but rather it opens doors to common life reflective in sharing. Henri Nouwen suggests that hospitality “is the ability to pay attention to the guest. He argues that, “this is very difficult, since we are preoccupied with our own needs, worries and tensions, which prevent us from taking distance from ourselves in order to pay attention to others.” When we are anxious, fearful, and restless the last thing we want to do is be hospitable toward others. That's why we gather together in worship around a common table celebrating in community. We need to practice hospitality with one another. Jesus set an example for us in his practice of hospitality reflected in his welcome during the many examples of eating with others. Jesus' table fellowship often included welcoming strangers, sinners, tax collectors, and those marginalized by cultural stigma. The weary travelers in our lives may have different titles, names and or labels but all the same they are welcome to our house to break bread with us.

BIG BLUE

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:15:15 -0700

On Sunday May 25th at PCOM we launched our all church food drive with South County Outreach (SCO). The blue barrels are out in the patio on Sunday Mornings and during the week BIG BLUE can be found in the lobby of the office building and preschool building. To date we have sent over 3050 lbs of food which I am told by the SCO staff amounts for enough food to feed 115 families for five days. Awesome! The food drive continues through the month of June. As Megan Smith from South County Outreach reminded us a few Sunday’s ago, these are difficult times for many families in the OC and often SCO’s food pantry is empty by mid afternoon. We are making an impact in our local community with Christ’s love through the sharing of food. We have an even greater opportunity for the next two weeks, can we hit 10,000 lbs? “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’” Matthew 25:40.