Many thanks, Chris, for your perceptive application within the CRC context of the Pope's exhortation. The Holy Spirit infusing our congregations with joy-filled community, an evangelistically sensitive liturgy, and stories of God's grace transforming us and our neighbors from 'dead to alive in Christ' will profoundly impact the future of the CRC. It is sad that the two brothers previously posting choose to condemn rather than respectfully listening and learning from the church out of which we were born.
The only response I would make, John, to your passionate defense of 'poor Joe' is, I've served 25 years as an Air force chaplain and during that time I've served directly under and/or with numerous Catholic Priests. I've gotten to know several of them well as friends and colleagues. I am certain the priests I know do not believe in a different gospel. Secondly, I would ask if you would demand to rebaptize someone who requested membership in the CRC knowing that their baptism was done by a priest in a Catholic Church? Or, should their baptism be recognized as lawful in the eyes of Christ and the church? And finally, are you familiar with the Vatican II documents? They can serve to update your views of what you mention as the official teachings of the Catholic Church.
Thanks, Jim. Some wise words on the challenges of ministry in the church today.
Couple of things, I wholeheartedly agree with the article in the GR Press re getting a good friend(s) outside of your congregation. It makes for a more balanced relational life, and if possible include your spouse in this circle as well. The spouse of the pastor is mostly the forgotten one who suffers silently, and often alone, the demands of the ministry. Looking back over 38 years of pastoral ministry in four CRCs I thank God for friendships that truly nurtured my being, while I was being attentive to the needs and demands of the congregation I was serving.
And a rule of thumb I followed was, I am my own best (and often only) advocate. No one else will tell me, 'take a day off', spend quality time with your wife and kids, golf with a buddy instead of adding 4 more hours to a sermon that you've already spent enough quality time preparing'. May I also add, plan for some regular continuing education, and volunteer for a community board, school, or agency-to discover what God is doing in the rest of the world. You say, 'I don't have time to volunteer, and I can't fit in that 3 day conference.' Sure you do, and yes you can.
And feed your own soul with regular retreats into God's good word and times, even short times, of prayer. It's God's call we are answering. Which means it's his work before it is ours, so give him plenty of room in which to work. This, I've found, always leads to a better night's sleep.
All the best, James, in your kingdom service to your family, your community, and your church.
Thanks, Steve, for this subject. I believe that all disciples of Jesus Christ are called by Christ ala the Great Commission to "go and make disciples of all nations..." And as many others have said so eloquently in the past, today the nations have come to us-to our cities, workplaces, and neighborhoods. My old hometown of Holland, Michigan, while never as homogeneous as one might think, is now a quite diverse and increasingly multi-cultural community. These changes challenge me to update my thinking about what I will experience whenever I go back home.
You rightly remind us that any outreach to our neighbors, next door, in the next office, or in some other local setting means extending friendship and hospitality to persons with quite different religious, social, and ethnic backgrounds and life experiences. And training in cross-cultural communication could be very helpful. I've found over the years that as we break out of our own little social cells in order to listen to and grow in appreciation for our neighbors, the bonds of friendship and mutual hospitality unite us more than our differences divide us. Often we have to do this even within our own families. Who doesn't have an in-law who we'd rather avoid than learn to know and embrace? Or a next door neighbor. Or someone in the workplace.
So, where does God's call to the church and all its members to make disciples come in? Well, as we learn over time what's going on in the lives of others, and as our prayers lift up to God those for whom we have a deepening concern, we will find numerous little ways to express the care and concern of Christ for our newly made friends. It may take months, sometimes years, but our care for another will one day earn us an invitation from them to share the hope that is within us, and to recommend to them the real Evangel, the Good News of the saving love of God in Jesus Christ. Sounds simple? No it's not. It will require each of us to change our priorities and alter our old habits and ways of seeing others. It's anything but simple.
But the motivation for each one of us to become 'missionaries of Christ to the neighbors who surround us' is simple. Our hope and our call from God to engage in mission rests upon the solid biblical foundation of the Gospel as given in John 3:16.
May God bless us each one as we learn to listen and respond to what his Spirit is saying to the churches.
Carl Kammeraad, pastor, on sabbatical in the post-Christian city of Cambridge, England
Posted in: Sarah's Death Four Years and Two Months Later
A profound testimony, Karl. We are grateful for your sharing it with us. Carl K
Posted in: An Evangelizing Joy
Many thanks, Chris, for your perceptive application within the CRC context of the Pope's exhortation. The Holy Spirit infusing our congregations with joy-filled community, an evangelistically sensitive liturgy, and stories of God's grace transforming us and our neighbors from 'dead to alive in Christ' will profoundly impact the future of the CRC. It is sad that the two brothers previously posting choose to condemn rather than respectfully listening and learning from the church out of which we were born.
Posted in: An Evangelizing Joy
The only response I would make, John, to your passionate defense of 'poor Joe' is, I've served 25 years as an Air force chaplain and during that time I've served directly under and/or with numerous Catholic Priests. I've gotten to know several of them well as friends and colleagues. I am certain the priests I know do not believe in a different gospel. Secondly, I would ask if you would demand to rebaptize someone who requested membership in the CRC knowing that their baptism was done by a priest in a Catholic Church? Or, should their baptism be recognized as lawful in the eyes of Christ and the church? And finally, are you familiar with the Vatican II documents? They can serve to update your views of what you mention as the official teachings of the Catholic Church.
Posted in: Work, Overwork, Stress: When Does a Vocation become a Job?
Thanks, Jim. Some wise words on the challenges of ministry in the church today.
Couple of things, I wholeheartedly agree with the article in the GR Press re getting a good friend(s) outside of your congregation. It makes for a more balanced relational life, and if possible include your spouse in this circle as well. The spouse of the pastor is mostly the forgotten one who suffers silently, and often alone, the demands of the ministry. Looking back over 38 years of pastoral ministry in four CRCs I thank God for friendships that truly nurtured my being, while I was being attentive to the needs and demands of the congregation I was serving.
And a rule of thumb I followed was, I am my own best (and often only) advocate. No one else will tell me, 'take a day off', spend quality time with your wife and kids, golf with a buddy instead of adding 4 more hours to a sermon that you've already spent enough quality time preparing'. May I also add, plan for some regular continuing education, and volunteer for a community board, school, or agency-to discover what God is doing in the rest of the world. You say, 'I don't have time to volunteer, and I can't fit in that 3 day conference.' Sure you do, and yes you can.
And feed your own soul with regular retreats into God's good word and times, even short times, of prayer. It's God's call we are answering. Which means it's his work before it is ours, so give him plenty of room in which to work. This, I've found, always leads to a better night's sleep.
All the best, James, in your kingdom service to your family, your community, and your church.
Posted in: Everyone a Missionary?
Thanks, Steve, for this subject. I believe that all disciples of Jesus Christ are called by Christ ala the Great Commission to "go and make disciples of all nations..." And as many others have said so eloquently in the past, today the nations have come to us-to our cities, workplaces, and neighborhoods. My old hometown of Holland, Michigan, while never as homogeneous as one might think, is now a quite diverse and increasingly multi-cultural community. These changes challenge me to update my thinking about what I will experience whenever I go back home.
You rightly remind us that any outreach to our neighbors, next door, in the next office, or in some other local setting means extending friendship and hospitality to persons with quite different religious, social, and ethnic backgrounds and life experiences. And training in cross-cultural communication could be very helpful. I've found over the years that as we break out of our own little social cells in order to listen to and grow in appreciation for our neighbors, the bonds of friendship and mutual hospitality unite us more than our differences divide us. Often we have to do this even within our own families. Who doesn't have an in-law who we'd rather avoid than learn to know and embrace? Or a next door neighbor. Or someone in the workplace.
So, where does God's call to the church and all its members to make disciples come in? Well, as we learn over time what's going on in the lives of others, and as our prayers lift up to God those for whom we have a deepening concern, we will find numerous little ways to express the care and concern of Christ for our newly made friends. It may take months, sometimes years, but our care for another will one day earn us an invitation from them to share the hope that is within us, and to recommend to them the real Evangel, the Good News of the saving love of God in Jesus Christ. Sounds simple? No it's not. It will require each of us to change our priorities and alter our old habits and ways of seeing others. It's anything but simple.
But the motivation for each one of us to become 'missionaries of Christ to the neighbors who surround us' is simple. Our hope and our call from God to engage in mission rests upon the solid biblical foundation of the Gospel as given in John 3:16.
May God bless us each one as we learn to listen and respond to what his Spirit is saying to the churches.
Carl Kammeraad, pastor, on sabbatical in the post-Christian city of Cambridge, England