We live in a tough time for denominations don't we? While the climate in my current ministry setting is clearly open to traditional religious beliefs, the church continues to struggle. There are many "programs" out there trying to help focus people on characteristics of what a church should be. While the standards are high, i am convinced that there are two standards which we have to start with: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind body and soul and love your neighbor as yourself.
Yesterday I was a part of a meeting in which we were talking about doing ministry in our local community. That went well but the initial conversation centered around a local church which was struggling. Maybe that is a mild word to say the least. The local newspaper wrote about the many people leaving and upset at the new pastoral team placed at the church. After reading the article it referenced a YouTube video of a recent service where as the pastor challenged the people, people got up and left. It did not end there, some started to leave but began to challenge the pastor one on one in the middle of worship. Then it became more than one. I was saddened that the wish to hold tight to what we have has gotten so prevalent. Believe me I may have not been challenged in the way this pastor was, but I am familiar with the pain we as Christians tend to inflict on each other and our leaders within our denomination.
I have written in this blog before, that as a pastor I am called to be pastor, priest and prophet. The first two are easy. The third has a tendency to afflict the comfortable and cause a great deal of pinching, frustration and yes even anger. Change is never easy. But I do believe that there is a way that pastors and lay leaders within a church can take a step into the waters of change and still bring people along. Reality is that there will be people who do not want to come. Which brings me to the story of the Exodus.
I truly see the story of the Exodus and the journey to the promised land to be ours today. We are being called to step out of our comfort zones and travel into our communities and do the work Jesus gave us an example of. We must be intentional as pastor and people to be in tune with God's Word, the Holy Spirit and understand the community in which our church is located. People get tired of hearing me says this but a church does not have an intrinsic right to exist on the corner. A church cannot exist on the corner if it does not engage and become a part of the community around it. I don't mean being a good neighbor. Although we need to be that as well. I mean we need to meet the needs of the people in our community.
I often recall the image of Moses preparing to do as God suggested in order that the sea parted for the people to cross. In order to for it to happen Moses had to step into the water. He had to get wet. He also had to trust, as he had done for so long, that God would take care of the people.
As leaders and lay people in the church, with the continued decline of denominations and the constant arguments about doctrinal issues, unless we refocus on Christ and the mission we are called to, unless we step into the water, trusting fully in the grace and love of God for all of God's children, we will be overrun by what ever enemy is pursuing us.

I am not talking about us doing cannon balls into the pool to do hit or miss ministry. I am talking about taking steps into the waters of our community little by little, learning the lay of the land before we even set foot in the deep end of ministry. There may be a time where we can identify a ministry need in the deep end and must dive deep together into our community, but more often than not, we take those small steps to build up the body of Christ. The people Jesus touched richly in faith were those whose names and conditions we do not know. While Jesus perform miracles and healed many, we must remember they were done to identify who Jesus was and to show God's glory. Sadly many people wanted to see these miracles rather than hear about the good news. Remember the story of the ten lepers healed? How many came back? One.
Where God is leading us as followers of Christ is not going to be comfortable but a place of pinching. If you are someone in the pew each week feeling the pinch, don't shoot the messenger. If you are someone who is offering those prophetic words to the people, please try not to take it personally. I know how how that can be.
All that just to say this as we follow our calling and use our spiritual gifts: In Essentials Unity, InNon-Essentials, Liberty and in all Things LOVE!

I spent time in my new office at my new church on Tuesday. I managed to get some things accomplished and saved others for the following work day. After a couple of phone calls, I decided to go home and have lunch. I did some minor things around the house and then decided to lay down for a quick power nap. Before I hit the couch, my cell phone twitter notification starting beeping like crazy. I saw that a verdict had come in for the Casey Anthony trial. I turned on the tv and soon heard the outrage of many about the outcome. I heard cries that justice was not served. I heard comments that justice was served. I heard how people were taking sides. Interesting how a child’s death can cause such deep seeded anger as people look for answers and revenge/retribution for the one(s) who may or may not have had a hand in the death. As a criminal justice major, I have to say the system worked. Yet because of the human factors in defending and prosecuting the case, mistakes are made. 
As a pastor I know that God is taking care of Caylee and that when the time comes, God will have something to say to Casey and her family. Justice belongs to the Lord does it not? What kind of God do we believe in? The God I believe in loves each and every one us and wants us back in relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. For me, knowing and believing that, I see God loving Caylee. I also see God loving Casey and her family but with tears in His eyes. God will have the final word on them not us. The justice system while based on God’s law, is still administered by us imperfect human beings. I struggle with the comments about those of the jury who made their decision. Twelve imperfect people in an imperfect system trying to seek human justice for the death of this little girl. When police do not do their job well, when prosecutors and defense attorneys do not do their jobs well, justice, human justice does not always come out as we would like it. After all the anger and finger pointing die down, what are we left with? A lot of questions without answers. I cannot think of anything more important for us as humans and as people of faith to pray not just for this family, for this little girl, for all involved one way or another, but for all missing and exploited, and abused children everywhere that someone might be able to find them, rescue them, and protect them. There are many, many more children out there who are lost, alone and of different color and ethnicity who have not even had their day in court. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children quoted a study that said, 797,500 children (younger than 18) were reported missing in a one-year period of time studied resulting in an average of 2,185 children being reported missing each day. Based on that Caley Anthony was just one that day how many years ago. Our task to protect our children is a daunting one but one which we need to do a much better job of. God offers us forgiveness for not only those things we did do but for those things we didn’t do or left undone. Just because human justice was not found for Caylee, does not mean we stop seeking justice for other children who are still out there, missing or dead. If we stop, then the justice of God will come down on us. 
Children are a precious gift from God. Jesus was clear about how we were to love and care for them. A society is judged by how it treats its children….Certainly seems like we have a lot of work to do. The choice is ours. Keep screaming at the jury, prosecutors etc or work to make an impact in the life of children around you. I have a picture given to me some time ago which says, “A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove. But the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.” Maybe we should get started with just one child at a time.