Happy New Year!

As I see the year 2011 disappear in the rearview mirror I like to imagine the coming year like a newly blacktopped highway stretching out straight and smooth clear through the coming year. I use the word “imagine” because I have traveled enough “New Year” highways (as well as literal highways) to know that it would be unrealistic to expect to travel the entire trip without encountering some “variations” in the road along the way. Variations may be as unobtrusive as a few cracks in the pavement or minor road construction delays; however, if one travels long and far enough it is also likely that one may encounter more serious delays, such as dangerous weather conditions or perhaps even a serious crash. The reality of the future is that while we do our best to plan the trip, we do not know what really lies ahead, and while looking back at the road behind can at times be helpful in avoiding repeating mistakes, it also distracts our attention from focusing on what lies ahead.

It is with much gratitude to the faithfulness of the Lord that I glance back on the road we have traveled together as the RRCC family in 2011. The road was not without some delays and diversions and as I look ahead to 2012 I can only see to the next curve in the road, and until we navigate around that bend in the road we will not know what lies beyond it.

There are several ways to respond to this. The first is to refill the tank, check the tires and forge ahead as fast as possible; paying no heed to the caution signs or flagmen that may alert us to impending danger until we find ourselves upside down beside the road.  The opposite of that option is to allow the fear of what might lie around the next curve to cause us to stop all forward progress resulting in never reaching our desired destination.  Obviously the best option is to proceed forward at a safe speed, paying attention to the signs that have been posted to help us find the way safely. Even proceeding this way involves a certain amount of “faith” to continue forward until we see the next sign, or landmark that confirms that we are not only still moving, but that we are moving in the right direction.

As I contemplate the coming year I am reminded of the words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3:13-14; “forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”  We are called to “follow Jesus” – interestingly I don’t believe Jesus ever intended for Christianity to become a “religion”. He called people to follow Him to lead them out of what had become merely a religion. In the coming year I would challenge us to re-read the gospels and consider what Jesus really taught, and then compare that to how we are living, and how we “do church”. This might be a little unnerving for some of us, myself included, for whom the “religion” of Christianity as we understand it has become quite comfortable. My guess is that we will find that though following Jesus is rarely comfortable, and sometimes dangerous, it is the safest, most rewarding and fulfilling place we could ever be. So fill up the tank, check the tires, and fasten the seatbelt because only God knows what we are going to find around the next turn in 2012!

Blessings,

Pastor Peter

A Christmas Conspiracy (How the Grinch will steal your Christmas – if you let him)

In the Dr. Seuss story of the Grinch that stole Christmas, the Grinch eventually realizes that what he has done is a bad thing and he repents and returns the stolen goods and everyone lives “happily ever after”.  In real life this is not often the case.  In real life the Grinch that attempts to steal our Christmas is our spiritual enemy Satan, and he does not repent, and he does not play fair.  His obsession is our destruction and his tactics are relentless.

One of his most effectively deceptive ploys has been the way in which he has derailed the celebration Jesus during the Christmas season.  It may come as something of a surprise to some (as it did to me) to discover that many of the best loved traditions that we have adopted in connection with the birth of Jesus (and this is also true of Easter), really have their origins in the worship of pagan deities.

For instance, how did December 25^th come to be recognized as the day of Jesus birth?  There are a few clues in the Bible about the date of Jesus birth that may help to place it in an approximate season of the year; however, there is no evidence that leads to a specific date.  In fact, what scripture, combined with historical, cultural and geographical evidence does seem to indicate is that December 25^th would very likely NOT have been the date.

Most serious scholars who have researched this tend to place Jesus birth sometime in February based on primarily two clues that the Bible gives us.  First, it is highly unlikely that Caesar would have called a census in December, the coldest time of the year, unless it was his intent to make life unnecessarily difficult for the people of the empire.  Second, and probably more compelling, is that the shepherds to whom the angels appear, who in that area of the country would have been watching the temple flock, were in the fields “at night”.  While not conclusive, this leads us to believe that it would have been lambing season for the temple flock, which is the most compelling evidence pointing to a time in February which is known to be the time Passover lambs were born.

Seems to me it would be just like God as well, to have Jesus, who became our “Passover lamb” to be born during the time when the temple Passover lambs were being born.  Incidentally, there is also some significant evidence that Jesus death on the cross occurred in conjunction with the slaughter of the Passover lambs in the temple.

So, how then, did December 25^th become the day we celebrate Jesus birth?  For this we need to jump ahead in history to around 300 AD.  Until this time the followers of Jesus did not celebrate Jesus birth at all, rather, they celebrated His resurrection – EVERY SUNDAY!  It was at about this time that Emperor Constantine became converted to Christianity and declared that the Roman Empire would from here on be a “Christian” empire.  Prior to that declaration the pagan priests of the Roman pantheon of gods would celebrate several significant Roman festivals which now appeared to be unnecessary.  Many people in the empire, however, still wanted their festivals.  What to do?  One of the more significant ones was the celebration of the winter solstice on December 25^th.  In some places in the empire this was celebrated as the “festival of lights” which involved lighting up trees with lamps or candles… hmmm does that sound familiar?  And yes, you guessed it… that is where we get our Christmas tree tradition from… sorry, nothing really all that “Christian” about it, unless you choose to make it so.

Now, does that mean I think we all ought to ban Christmas trees from our homes?  I think that might be a bit of an over-reaction and actually play right into the plan of the real “Grinch” who would like nothing better than for us to abandon the whole idea of celebrating Christmas altogether.  I think a better response might be to attempt to make certain that whatever we do to celebrate the birth of Jesus in some way points our thoughts and hearts toward Him.  Much too often Jesus gets lost among all the ribbons and bows and wrapping paper traditions that we attempt to wrap Him up with. As a result our celebration becomes more of a celebration of “our traditions” instead of a celebration of Jesus.

So don’t let the Grinch steal the joy out of your Christmas this year by filling your schedule with activities and traditions that distract you from what Christmas is really about.  Praying you all have a truly blessed Christmas and may you and your family experience the true joy of knowing Jesus!

Blessings,

Pastor Peter

Where Faith meets Politics

Have you ever wondered why it is that the unofficial rule of polite conversation is to “never discuss religion or politics”?  Based upon my own very limited research and somewhat extensive experience (and the occasional blunder) it is my humble opinion that while this rule may have come into being essentially to protect us from ourselves it is not working!  Faith and politics are possibly two of the most emotionally charged topics known to our western culture.  For some reason most of us tend to have very strong and deeply rooted opinions in regard to these matters, often running several generations deep.  Unfortunately, most of us would also have to admit that given the amount of information available in these two fields, few of us could claim to be experts or even serious students of either one.  So you see the problem then… we have these very strong opinions about what we believe faith to be about, but rarely read the Bible.  Similarly, some of the strongest opinions about politics come from those of us who have very little accurate knowledge about things political.  As a result, there would appear to be some wisdom in steering away from discussion of these topics in an effort to avoid stressing relationships with such highly opinionated, emotionally charged and at times simply inaccurate verbiage.

While avoidance may be effective and possibly necessary in saving some relationships, one may want to consider the ramifications of applying this rule too broadly.  If we actually were to consistently avoid talking about faith and politics at all times, what would we end up talking about?  The weather?  Sports?  The neighbors?  And how vigilantly should these topics be defined?  For example, if I mention that I was duly impressed by the hat Aunt Gussy wore to church last Sunday, is that discussing matters of faith because it took place in church?  How about if I elaborate that the reason I was impressed is that although it blocked my view of the preacher, the variety of plastic fruit perched upon it reminded me of the Fruit of the Spirit?   Surely that would push it over the line into matters of faith?  By now you may well be wondering why one would attempt to make such an issue out of this, and the answer is that I believe there is something much more sinister and dangerous going on here than what appears on the surface.

Faith and politics are both issues that have long reaching effects in our lives.  Politics affects our physical lives in the time that we walk this earth, and faith affects us not only in how we live this life, but has ramifications in how we will spend eternity after we leave this life behind.  If these issues are so important, who would be interested in shutting down discussion of them and what would be the motivation behind it?  Think about this for a moment…who would have the most to gain by us being ignorant of matters of faith and politics?  The Bible tells us that we have an enemy of our souls often called “Satan” or “the devil”.  In John 10:10 Jesus calls him a “thief” who seeks to “steal, kill and destroy” us along with all that God has created.  Satan then would seem to be the prime suspect, in that keeping us as ignorant as possible of what is in the Bible and in all matters of faith would serve his agenda quite well.  The question that remains is why would Satan be interested in keeping us from discussing matters of politics?  With how active he already seems to be in the political arena it would seem counter-productive on his part to attempt to restrict our discussion of this field especially when these discussions so often tend to have devastating effects on our relationships.  This is exactly where faith meets politics or, as currently appears to be the case in our nation, where faith has FAILED to meet politics. Perhaps one of the reasons the devil seems to have such a death grip on the political arena in this nation is because we for too long have believed the lie that faith does not belong in matters of politics.  How else could it come about that a nation once founded upon biblical principles of government and leadership by men who at times risked their lives to stand on their faith in God now seeks to forbid that same faith in that same God from having any influence on government whatsoever.

As I consider the how Jesus life is described in the gospel record, it appears He found a way to influence politics without allowing politics to influence Him.  He eluded the crowds when they sought to make Him king by force, yet he often challenged the “politicians” of His culture openly and effectively in public debate.  As followers of Jesus we have the unique opportunity, and responsibility, to follow His example in this.  To speak God’s truth into the politics of our culture is not easy, but I believe it is essential if this nation is to survive.  I would remind us also that, as was the case with Jesus, speaking faith into politics may result in the one speaking being crucified by an angry mob.  This should not surprise us nor discourage us, at least not if we truly call ourselves “followers of Jesus”.

God Bless,

Pastor Peter

The Best Defense Is No Offense

Have you ever been offended?  I have.  And I find that when this happens it has a tendency to ruin the whole day, perhaps even several days.   Proverbs 18:19 says “A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city, And contentions are like the bars of a citadel.”(NASB)  I find it disturbing how the enemy uses our tendency to take offense to ruin our relationships.  The resulting carnage seems to wreak just as much havoc within the church as it does among those who make no claim to follow Jesus, although I would acknowledge that the rules are different within the church in how that offense is expressed.  It almost makes it worse in some regard when we attempt to somehow spiritualize and justify it with our own self righteousness.  Isn’t it interesting that while nearly all of us would agree how unfortunate and unnecessary it is for these often trivial offenses to divide families and friends, when we are the ones who have been offended it doesn’t seem trivial at all.

How then should we as followers of Jesus respond when we are offended?  The verse mentioned earlier correctly makes the observation that once a person has taken offense it is difficult to win him or her back but gives no instruction regarding how to avoid offense nor how to resolve it.  In the gospel of Luke Jesus is recorded as saying “Blessed is the person who does not take offense at Me.” (Luke 7:23)  It would seem that Jesus is there making the assumption that some would be offended by His words and actions.  This is verified in Matthew 15:12 where the disciples express their concern to Jesus that His teaching is offending some of the Pharisees.  Interestingly Jesus does not seem to be concerned or surprised that the Pharisees are offended, but simply responds “let them alone”. (Matt 15:14)   Jesus is also careful to point out to His followers toward the end of John 15 that if they choose to follow Him that there will be people who will not only find this offensive, but who will persecute them as they did Jesus. (John 15:20)   So then we “should not be surprised when the world hates us” writes John in his first letter. (1 John 3:13)  What we should perhaps be more concerned about is when we offend or are offended by our brothers and sisters in Christ.

There are many references which speak to this in the Bible.  One of the most direct and concise is Ephesians 4:32 where Paul writes “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”  This becomes even more imperative when we connect it with the truth of Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith n the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”   In other words, when we become a follower of Jesus, we give up the right to be offended because a dead person can’t be offended, and Jesus who now lives in me is the one who should be taking offense and He has already paid for the offense in full, so our only option then as a Jesus follower is to forgive as He has forgiven us.

So next time you are tempted to feel offended by something someone has said or done to you remember it is not “you” that lives in this body but Christ, and you really have no “right” to be offended.  Our best recourse is to allow Him to respond to the offensive word or deed as He sees fit.

God Bless,

Pastor Peter

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)

It would seem that God has been in the business of transformation from the very beginning.  In the first few verses of Genesis He takes a void and formless mass of nothing and transforms it into a universe so big and awesome and beautiful that we have been unable to find the end of it.  A little later on in Genesis he takes a man named Abram and transforms him into Abraham, the father of several nations of peoples.  He takes a motley herd of Hebrew slaves out of Egypt, and transforms them into the nation of Israel as they journey across the desert.  In the New Testament we read of Jesus calling a ragtag band of fishermen and social misfits which He transforms into the twelve apostles, eleven of whom go on to transform the then known world with the good news that Jesus has made it possible through His death and resurrection for our broken relationship with God to be restored for all eternity.

There is no question in my mind that God is in the business of transformation.  I have seen it in people around me, and I have experienced it in my own life.  I believe that God is very interested in transforming not only each of us, and our church body, but our extended families, our neighbors, our community, our state and even this country.  I believe He will do this by starting with a transformation in MY heart; in YOUR heart… this is where revival begins.  When we study God’s word and BELIVE IT, we begin to see the world through God’s eyes our hearts are transformed by the renewing of our MIND.  When this happens the WILL of God becomes clear to us and the church becomes an unstoppable force that transforms entire communities.

Through this past summer the Lord has impressed upon me anew His desire and His ABILITY to transform this community using us.  I am not certain just HOW He will go about this but I have a strong sense that it will begin with repentance IN the church.   In 2 Chronicles 7 The Lord speaks to Solomon in regard to His indwelling of the temple and His blessing on His people and he makes an astounding statement.  He says “If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:13-14)

We all desire and pray for the Lord to heal our land, and one does not have to look far to see how badly this land needs healing.  But I do not believe it will happen until the “we the people” in the churches of this land begin to repent of our wicked ways.  Let me bring that a little closer to home… until we the people of RRCC repent of our wicked ways… or how about one step closer yet.  Until I begin to repent of MY wicked ways.  Repentance and humility is rarely an enjoyable experience, but I sure do like the potential effect… “then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and heal their land”.  I would consider that a small price for us to pay considering the potential reward.

God Bless,

Pastor Peter

Once again I am amazed at how fast summer seems to pass – now that it has finally arrived. Though it is still July now, by the time you read this it will be August – the corn is already as “high as an elephant’s eye”, Rushford Days has come and gone, RUSHfest and the RRCC church picnic will be here before we know it and the start of school, and all the activity it brings with it, is just around the corner. There is a part of me that greets this news of impending winter with an incredulous groan that says “you must be kidding – didn’t we just put the snow shovels and mittens away a week or two ago?” And the answer of course is “Yeah! – Hello? This is Minnesota! – Where, if we don’t like the weather, we just wait a day or two… unless it happens to be winter and we are waiting for summer – then, it takes much longer.
So, as we watch the summer sprint past us and begin to look forward to what the Lord has in store for us in the coming fall and winter, I once again find it necessary to remind myself of what life is all about… and as usual, I remember that it is not about “me” rather, it is about Jesus and His glory. How easy it is to get caught up in the business of everyday life, going to work, taking care of the family, and preparing for the next most urgent demand on our time, and to forget that while these things may be necessary, many of them are not “the main thing”. As difficult as it may be to break loose of this tyranny of the urgent, if we allow it to continue, we may suddenly come to the end of our life and realize that we have missed much of what is really important. One of the grim realities of life is that if we do not take control of our time and manage it according to Godly stewardship principles, someone else will control our time, and then to that “someone” we become a slave. This is why we need to carve out time to seek the face of God… to spend time with Him and to allow Him to set our priorities right. This will not only help us accomplish that which is truly important, but also, let us rest in the assurance that we are doing that which is most important with the time we have been entrusted with.
This “time stewardship” is something that begins with each of us in our own private world as we allow the Lord to reorder our priorities, and then extends to the body of Christ as we strive together as His body to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the world around us. It is similarly important for us, corporately as His church, to manage our time in a way that reflects good stewardship of the resources and gifts that God has poured into our local fellowship. This fall you will continue to hear more from the leadership about the results of the Natural Church Development survey that we did earlier this year. The results of the survey suggested that we could become a healthier church if we re-evaluate and focus a little more of our energy on the effectiveness of our internal structures. Through the summer the NCD church health team has prepared and presented a proposal by which to address some of these structural issues. This proposal has now been approved by the Elder Care Team, and I believe that if we all do our part in following through, we will find that it will help us to communicate more effectively, lead more efficiently, and make better use of the spiritual gifts that God has blessed this church with.
This fall, as we enter into another year of ministry together, I would encourage you to continue to seek that place in the body of Christ that God has created you for. Some of us may already have found that place, others may find that the Lord moves us from one role to another as He sees fit, He may even call us to some things we are not entirely “comfortable” with at first, and I am quite certain we will make some mistakes along the way. I am confident, however, that if we enter into all this in the spirit of Philippians 2 (perhaps it would be good for all of us to revisit this chapter before the end of the summer), we will find that not only will our ministry grow more effective, but we will find the joy and fulfillment that comes from serving in the capacity for which we have been created.
God Bless,
Pastor Peter

  Periodically I have heard the question from folks involved at RRCC “I’m just not sure what direction our church is going”.  The shortest answer to that question is “toward completing the mission Jesus has called us to fulfill”.  Now, I understand that this is a somewhat broad answer, and while it may be “correct” it is not really the answer that is being sought.   Typically when this question is asked it is not that the person asking the question does not understand what the greater mission of the church is, the real question is “what should I expect that to look like here?”  It may also be that the person asking the question has a sense the church is moving in a direction that he or she is not comfortable with or that the church appears to be stuck and not moving at all.  It can also be confusing if it appears that the church is moving in multiple directions, or even conflicting directions.  Ultimately it means that either the church leadership has not established a clear vision of how the church will fulfill her mission, or if this vision has been established, it is not being effectively communicated to the church body.

As our church continues through the Natural Church Development process, one of the things the Church Health Team is discovering is that our communication of our mission and vision here at RRCC apparently has not been as effective as it needs to be for us to move together toward completing the tasks the Lord has called us to with confidence.  The Elder Care Team has also been highly involved in this process seeking the Lord specifically to give us unity, clarity and discernment in defining and communicating the Lord’s direction for RRCC.  Our church health team will be looking specifically at matters concerning the effectiveness of our structures; how we in our various ministries communicate and work together, considering ways in which these structures could be revised to remove obstacles and increase the effectiveness of our ministry as a whole.

A deeper and probably more passionate aspect of this question of “direction” is in reference to matters of how the Holy Spirit manifests Himself among us as He gives us the power to minister.   It seems ironic to me that the gifts of the Holy Spirit which God gives to empower and unite His church so often become the powder keg that upon ignition blows a church into numerous fragments.   We must understand that when this happens it is not the Holy Spirit that causes the damage, rather it is our unwillingness to trust the Holy Spirit to operate as He pleases and our insistence that He must operate in certain ways that causes division and harm to the body.  This selfishness and unwillingness to trust can be found equally on both sides of the “charismatic” argument.  I believe that much of this discord and frustration could be significantly reduced if we would remember why God placed 1 Corinthians 13 in between chapters 12 and 14. (If you don’t know what that means I would invite you to read all three chapters)  While we love to use 1 Corinthians 13 to describe the importance of love in marriage at weddings, we fail to notice that it is placed in the context of the usage and manifestation of spiritual gifts.  I believe that all the gifts of the Holy Spirit are still active and given for the edification of the church today, and they are given to followers of Jesus “at the discretion and will of the Holy Spirit”.  I also believe that it is the Lord’s intention and desire for His followers as diverse and different as we are to walk together in the unity of the Holy Spirit as we learn to not only “tolerate” our differences, but genuinely “appreciate” how much we need these diverse expressions as the Spirit manifests Himself in us.  “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affliction and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.  Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own interests, but also for the interests of others.” (Phil 2:1-4)

                                         Blessings! 

                                        Pastor Peter

Seeking His Presence

As we come to the end of our 40 days of fasting, I look forward to hearing more testimonies of what God has been revealing to us. His word reminds us that “as we draw near to God, He will draw near to us.” As we have come through this time I have also personally noticed an increase in the schemes of the enemy who I’m certain is very interested in keeping us preoccupied with a variety of diversions and enticements in an effort to distract us from pursuing more of God. Therefore, knowing that we have this enemy, let us encourage one another all the more to press forward with due diligence as we seek the Lord together.

I look forward with anticipation to a wonderful time of worship, praise and testimony at the conclusion of the fast and the 24 hour prayer vigil on Saturday March 12th. I am trusting that the Lord will carry some of that excitement over into our worship service the following Sunday morning as we celebrate communion together with Him and one another. The potluck lunch following will also be a fitting way to celebrate the end of the 40 days by eating together.

For those who have not yet participated in any way in the fast, it is not too late join in. Whether you fast from food, or in some other fashion, remember the heart of the matter is getting our hearts in tune with God so that we can hear from Him more clearly.

Perhaps you are at a loss as to what you should be seeking to find as we fast together. While I hesitate to give specific direction in terms of exactly what to expect from the Lord as we seek Him, I would recommend that we seek more of “His Presence” first and foremost. It is as we encounter the living presence of the our Savior that we are transformed into His image.

I like to take photos of all sorts of things with my camera. One principle that I have found to be true is that I have to focus the camera on whatever it is that I want to capture a picture of. If I point the camera at my dog in my snow covered yard and click the shutter, it would be foolish of me to expect a picture of a myself beside a palm tree to appear. The same is true of our relationship with the Lord. If I spend the majority of my time focusing my attention on making money, or pleasing my own desires, that is where I am focusing “the camera” of my life… therefore, that is logically the picture that will result. It is as we gaze on Jesus and take Him with us into ALL the experiences of our life that He can begin to transform us into the image of Himself, which ultimately is what He created us to be.

I pray that in this time of seeking, the Lord will increase our passion to pursue His presence. As we do this, I have no doubt it will increase both our desire, and the reward we find in serving Him with all our being. Will you join me in expecting a significant spiritual break through as we come to the end of this time of seeking?

Blessings!
Pastor Peter