a radical proposal

There hasn’t been a lot of commentary on the blog. I can’t tell if that is because no one is reading it or because you are reading it and you are shy. So, I thought I would shake things up a bit, see if anyone is paying attention.

Pastor John is going to be giving a sermon on "What Makes the Church the Church?" How do I know, can I read his mind? I know because I’m supposed to come up with images to complement the message for this weekend. As I was at the gym today, I started thinking about images. Is a great church the building, the facilities, the technology, the landscaping? No, of course, it is the people. So that’s easy, I can contrast images of beautiful church buildings with images of people. Then I started thinking about the other question Pastor John alludes to, what is God calling our church to become? My mind was blank. I know there are plans for redesigning the sanctuary, upgrading the sound system, enhancing technology, but is that what God is calling us to do? While riding the cycle, I prayed to God for guidance and this surprising idea filled my head. What if we shouldn’t be spending more money on our current location? What if we need to expand, but not here? While there are rational reasons for upgrading the facilities, what if doing so will only increase our desire to stay put, to stay in our comfort zone? Then we would not be fulfilling the Go in Christ mission. How do we move beyond these walls to help those in need, spiritually and financially? Instead of trying to retrofit the current facility, maybe we could rent a storefront in town? Wouldn’t that get us closer to those we should serve? Couldn’t this get us out of our comfort zone and be a light that shines before others?

week 13 - Jesus and God's Will

What is - and is not - God's will is categorically revealed with one look at the life of Jesus. Jesus models for us God's will in his prayers, relationships, speech, schedule, money and mission, just to name a few. A life successfully living God's will today is one lived essentially as Jesus would live today. Romans 8:29 plainly states God "chose us to become like his Son." It is encouraging to know even the disciples of Jesus were able to comprehend and follow God's will, and we all know the struggles they had! Understanding and following God's will is meant to be simple, not something complicated requiring a doctorate in Theology. from the Transformation Journal, week 13

Check out the transformation journal for this week.

week 12 - Jesus and Purity

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. - 1 Timothy 4:12

Check out the transformation journal for this week.

Stations of the Cross

In researching images to go with the Passion story this weekend, I saw these websites about "the stations of the cross". I had heard a little about this while working at the Catholic school, but was not exposed to it in my Lutheran upbringing. Now that I've looked at the websites, I think this could be a powerful way to "walk with" Jesus.

• children and their families walk with Jesus


• the way of the cross


• stations of the cross exhibit

week 11 - Jesus and Contentment

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" Matthew 6:25-27

Check out the transformation journal this week.

week 10 - Jesus and Women

But Jesus said: Leave her alone! Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing for me. You will always have the poor with you. And whenever you want to, you can give to them. But you won't always have me here with you. She has done all she could by pouring perfume on my body to prepare it for burial. You may be sure that wherever the good news is told all over the world, people will remember what she has done. And they will tell others. - Mark 14:3-9

Check out the transformation journal this week.