Pastor Erik--Jan 2009

As you may or may not know, I've been participating in a leadership program since September called “Leadership Spokane.” This organization describes their program as “an intensive, 10-month long training for 50 emerging and established leaders from business, government and community organizations.” Each month I gather with the rest of my “class” (which consists of leaders from throughout Spokane) for a day long session about a particular topic such as governance, media, community health, the arts, etc. Additional opportunities happen between sessions as well. I've taken tours of manufacturing plants in Spokane and learned about their operations from their CEO's, toured a new affordable housing complex downtown, and participated in a ride along with a police office. One person described the experience to me as a crash-course in the Spokane community—the sort of thing it would take 10 or more years of active involvement to gain experience in. The purpose of this program is to develop a network of what they call “trustee leaders,” people connected to the various business, non-profit, and volunteer organizations in our community who can participate in building better and stronger community—developing citizen-leaders to make our community a better place together. I thought I'd write a bit this month about why I'm excited to participate in this experience, and also share some of what I've learned in the first few months.

Part of our commitment to the Transformation process is to seek ways to re-connect and to more deeply connect our congregation to the neighborhood and community in which God has planted us. This has been a bit of a challenge for us because, although we once we a largely neighborhood church, our folks are now from all over the Spokane area. On any given Sunday at Bethlehem, people have come from Cheney and Otis Orchards, from the south side of Spokane Valley and Newport, from Greenacres and just north of the Y on Division—and everywhere in between. And yet, God has drawn all of us to gather week after week in a little church building on Ray St in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood. For two years I (along with the Transformation team) have pondered how to wrap our minds around which community God is calling us to engage—and how. While deep in prayerful discernment of this last spring, I received an invitation to apply for “Leadership Spokane,” which I had never heard of before. As I looked into this organization and what they were about, I realized that this could be an excellent opportunity to learn more about the Spokane community, its needs and gifts, and what sort of role Bethlehem might be called to play in God's dream for our area.

While I'm just getting my feet wet in this experience and just beginning to build the relationship with other participants—one common theme has jumped out at me that connects to our Transformation work. In the book “Living Lutheran” that we have used various times in the past few years (and that helped us in forming our guiding principles) the author, Dave Daubert, describes how the church finds itself faced with “discontinuous change.” It used to be that we could get our minds around how the world around us was going to change—it happened slowly and predictably and we could guess that in the future things would look pretty much like they do now, only better. But now, the world changes so often and so rapidly that it seems nearly chaotic—and we no longer can predict what will happen next and so the change is dis-continuous. The Christian church has realized that we have pretty much stayed put, resisting most change—but that the world has changed around us. Where the church once was the center of culture, family, and neighborhood life, we now (quite surprisingly) find ourselves on the edges of society—not quite sure how we got here or how to get back to where we were. How do we engage with a world that changes so quickly and so unpredictably? That is what our Transformation process is meant to help us figure out.

What I have realized in my experiences with Leadership Spokane, is that the church is not alone in this strange and precarious position in the midst of a rapidly changing world. Manufacturers in Spokane (and around the world) are seeking ways to make their production processes “lean” so that they can respond to constantly changing markets and conditions in the volatile marketplace. Media outlets are questioning how to reinvent themselves in the face of 24-7 news coverage on cable and the abundance of (free) news on the Internet. Non-profits are struggling with sagging donations and a dwindling volunteer force. “The way we've always done things” just isn't working anymore in any sector of our society—and everyone is struggling to figure out what is coming next—and how to make our community and our world a better place in the midst of all this chaos.

While its comforting to know that we aren't the only ones experiencing this, I'm starting to wonder if the Christian church might really be a resourse for the rest of society in navigating these difficult times. The Bible is full of stories of God's people struggling, wandering, feeling abandoned and confused—and of God's continued presence and guidance in the midst of all this chaos. The foundational story is the wandering of the people of Israel in the desert. Through no fault of their own, God's people were ejected from a bad but at least predictable situation in Egypt to wander for 40 years in search of the promised land. It got so bad that the people longed to be re-enslaved in Egypt—at least they knew what was coming next! But God was with them through their difficult wandering—through the trials, dangers, and chaos of the wilderness—and kept his promise to deliver them and fulfill his promises to them. And again and again this theme reoccurs in the Bible: with the people of Israel, with individuals, families, and communities, with the followers of Jesus, and with the church. God remains with us through our wilderness experiences and keeps his promises to us—even when all signs point to doom and disaster. The trick is to listen and respond to God's call for us—and to be ready for God to do something new with us and through us.

I would venture to guess that nearly every one of us lives within walking distance of a Christian church—and that this would be true in nearly every community in the United States. And I would also venture to guess that a majority of these Christian churches are struggling to make their way in a world that is very different from the one in which they were founded. And I think in our success oriented society we've come to take that struggle as a sign of divine judgment—that we must have done something wrong to fail to attract people to church like we once did. If only we'd get better at what we used to do so well, everything would be back to normal. But what if our struggle isn't a judgment, but an opportunity that God is giving us to make a difference in the lives of people and in our community? Because unlike the businesses, media, and secular non-profits—the Christian church has the resources, the strength, and the faith to weather the sort of chaos that we are in.

In the wilderness God's people learned that they could trust in God when everything else had failed them. They learned that they needed one another and the importance of community. They learned that though they may struggle, God will provide what they truly need. And they learned that even when it seems like God has abandoned them, that God is with them and that God keeps his promises. So valuable were these lessons that we've told them again and again, teaching them to our children and grandchildren, for thousands of years. What if our struggles as a church were to remind us of these important truths, and what if God intends for us to remind the world of these things as well? What a gift is our struggle! What a gift is our time in the wilderness! What a gift it is that God is giving us to share! What if the little struggling churches God has planted in every neighborhood are meant to witness to God's continuing presence in the midst of the wilderness? Our task then is figuring out how to take this gift (and all the others God has given us) and make this message of hope and faith ever more present in our families, neighborhood, and community. How will you do it? How will we do it together? Isn't Transformation fun?

Pastor Erik--Dec 2008

It's that time of year again when we start thinking about giving thanks and giving gifts. In a time of economic hardship we can get discouraged about how little it seems like we have, wondering how to pay our rising heat bills and stretch our Christmas dollar. Its so easy to let our bank accounts, our shrinking 401k portfolios, and the daily bad economic news distract us and keep us from remembering that God gives abundantly and generously, and calls us to do the same. When we are called by God to a mission, God gives us what we need to make that mission happen—and sometimes that means being creative and trusting that God will use what we have to offer for amazing purposes (read 1 Kings 17 for a great example of this). Whatever gifts we have, when offered wholly to God, can have incredible, unexpected results—and even can result in miracles.

The week I arrived in Spokane in 2006 and began this call at Bethlehem was the week of the Synod Assembly. At that assembly one of the speakers was talking about gifts, how we all have them, how we have more than we realize, and how God can use even what seems like the most insignificant gift for his purposes. He had all of us make a list of the gifts we have, talents, passions, money, time, etc. Then he had everyone list a gift that they had that they thought couldn't be used by God. So I wrote down “drinking coffee.” Now, most of you know that drinking coffee—the stronger the better—is one of my great joys (in fact, I just poured a fresh cup). But I had no idea how God could possibly use such a silly gift to his purposes, but I wrote it down and offered it up to him none the less.

When I came back to Spokane and began to explore the neighborhood around our congregation, I wandered into a place called “Black Tie Coffee Co.” I immediately noticed lots of information about Fair Trade Coffee and when I ordered a cup and was brought out a strong, dark, steaming brew I knew I was right at home. About once a week after that I have found my way up to Black Tie, often for prayer or to study for my sermon, or to meet with someone—always with this “drinking coffee” gift in the back of my mind. I came to find out that Tom, the owner of the shop, is a Christian and not only are talk about God and faith allowed there, he actually encourages it. I began to wonder if maybe God was going to use this silly gift after all.

Over the past two years (and many cups of coffee) Tom and I have dreamed about what God is up to in our neighborhood, I've talked about faith with the employees and customers at Black Tie, we passed along a gift of Bibles that we didn't need that were an answer to a youth group's prayer, we've had the folks at Black Tie at our Fair Trade events, and we've shared our building a few times with Tom's church for their Bible study group and worship. God is clearly at work.

So when I got a crazy idea near the end of summer that involved coffee, it was only natural that I take it to Tom at Black Tie. I'd been thinking about ways to connect to our neighbors, and the school a few blocks down seemed like a natural choice. “Hey Tom,” I said one day while he was making my coffee, “I've got this crazy idea to bring free coffee to all the teachers at Lincoln Heights Elementary on the first day of school. Could you cut me a deal on a couple of thermos pots of coffee?” Instead of a discount, Tom said that if I'd take the orders and handle the delivery, he'd make free espresso drinks to order for every teacher in the school. I was blown away with his generosity.

And so, early on the first day of school I headed out notebook in hand to every teacher in the school. They were blown away too. “Free?” they'd insist, “Whatever I want?” “Yep,” I'd say “from your friends at Bethlehem Lutheran and Black Tie Coffee. Have a great first day of school.” I have to tell you, taking free coffee to stressed out teachers was a whole lot of fun. And thanks to the help of the Bethlehem Quilters, everybody got their lattes and mochas piping hot. I left the school that morning giving thanks to God for such a fun and creative way to connect to our neighbors—and what a way to use this silly gift I'd offered.

Later that day I got the following email from one of the teachers: “When you came into my classroom this morning, I was just praying silently for God to help me. If everything could go wrong, it did this morning, yet by His grace and your kindness, my mind calmed down and the Holy Spirit was able to do its job! I got out of the way and enjoyed the delicious cup of coffee. Now mind you, the day was still hectic, but yet filled with joy and and a sense of love of kindness. Thank you Pastor and please thank the sweet ladies who helped you. What a wonderful gift you brought to our room.”

If you've ever experienced God using you (quite without your knowledge or intention) to work a miracle in somebody else's life you know its an amazing feeling. Who knew God could work such miracles in a simple cup of coffee? But it didn't stop there. Later that week I got a call from Tom saying he wants to do it again somewhere else—and my coffee ministry continues, who knows where it will lead. All this from being willing to offer up a silly, seemingly insignificant gift to God's purposes and paying attention to when the call came to put it to use.

What silly, seemingly insignificant gift do you have that you could offer up to God? Give it a shot and let me know what miracles God works in and through you.

Pastor Erik--November 2008

Last August, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America met in Churchwide Assembly in Chicago. Among the various items for discussion was something called the “Book of Faith Initiative.” Its intent, in a nutshell, is to put before the church these questions: “We Lutherans take the Bible seriously, right? Well than don’t you think we all ought to read it more? And shouldn’t we all do this together?” The answer, as you might guess, was a resounding “Yes we should!” And our church went to work figuring out how we were going to encourage every synod, every congregation, every disciple of Jesus to dig in once again to the Bible, our Book of Faith.

One of the ways our wider church is helping us do this is through the publications of resources for Bible study, the first of which we have been using for our Adult Education class here at Bethlehem this fall. It’s called “Opening the Book of Faith” and its purpose is to get us started on this renewed journey into God’s Word for us. This is only the beginning of this journey, we will continue to use the Book of Faith resources as they come out (next is “Rediscovering the Book of Faith”) and very likely will have other places and groups using the series so that more and more of us can get on board. One of the taglines of the Book of Faith initiative is “Open Scripture. Join the Conversation.” I hope that all of us will.

There is another tagline that some folks at Bethlehem have asked questions about: “The language of scripture is our first language of faith.” This is not a call for all of us to suddenly become Hebrew and Greek scholars, but to deeply learn the “language” of the stories of the Bible, how God has acted in the lives of God’s people throughout time and history, and to learn to “hear” and “speak” this language in our daily lives. As the leaders’ material puts it “The language of the Bible becomes our language. It shapes how we think and speak about God, about the world, and about ourselves. We become renewed, enlivened, and empowered as the language of Scripture forms our hearts, our minds, our community conversation, and our commitments.”

If this is all a bit confusing, how about a story. My mom wears a silver bracelet with a Native American image of a whale on it. If you ask her about it, she will tell you the story of Jonah and the whale (well, in the Bible it says “big fish” but that ruins this story, so lets stick with whale). Jonah, if you recall, was told by God to go to the town of Nineveh and preach to the people there. Jonah didn’t listen, and embarked on a wild journey to avoid God’s call for him. He ended up on a ship in a storm, was thrown overboard and swallowed by a whale. Finally Jonah did what God asked him to do (though he was grumpy about it) and the city of Nineveh was saved.

But why, you would likely ask her, do you have a whale bracelet? Then she’ll tell you about how she was sitting in church one Sunday feeling overwhelmed with all of the demands on her time, longing for a sense of balance, and she heard again the story of Jonah. But as she listened, the call from God became not just a call for Jonah, but also for her. And the call from God was not to go to Nineveh, but to simplify and find some balance in her life. However, the final message she heard from God was the same: “Do what I say or I’ll send a whale to swallow you up!”

Fast forward a few months, and she and my dad are in London at the British Natural History Museum. When she walked into the room with a full size whale (bones and skin) hanging from the ceiling she involuntarily jumped back. Her heart started to beat fast and she thought. "Yikes, God, so you really mean it!" Thankfully, the whale did not come crashing to the ground as she feared. From that moment of awakening, however, my mom started making some changes in her life. She now wears her whale bracelet every day and thinks of it as a tangible reminder to focus on balance and try to listen to what God is calling her to do and not what she has put on her own to-do list.

So can you see how the “language” of the story of Jonah from the Bible became the “language of faith” for my mom? She knew this story deep down, from when she was a child—but that Sunday heard it in a new way for her. And then, months later, the story gives the occasion for a flash of insight, and she sees her life through the lens of Jonah and the whale. Because that story, in the “first language” of the scriptures, was part of my mom’s story, God was able to use it to work a miracle in her life. And now she (quite literally) keeps that story with her every day and it shapes the decisions she makes moment to moment. This is how the Bible is supposed to work in our lives. God breathes new life into stories written thousands of years ago so they can become alive again in our hearing, and shape our lives to be part of the one great story, God’s story. That’s what our “Book of Faith” is for. I do hope you’ll join in the fun.

Pastor Erik--October 2008

A few weeks ago I was forwarded an email with some outrageous claims about one of the candidates for President of the United States. Now I get these sorts of emails all the time, about both candidates as well as other political figures, and usually I just delete them. But this one was supposedly from a Christian source that was using the Book of Revelation from the Bible as the backup for its claim—and it got me thinking about our role as Christians in the political realm.

According to this email, Chapter 13 of the Book of Revelation outlines the reign of the Anti-Christ as 42 months, which is nearly a presidential term. It then goes on to claim that one of the candidates for president fits the Book of Revelation's description of the Anti-Christ perfectly—his age, his background, his demeanor all are clearly laid out in Revelation. The implication is that if someone votes for this candidate, that they will be electing the Anti-Christ and therefore a good Christian would never be foolish enough to do this. And so, following the logic of the email, the only possible vote a “Christian” could make would be for this man's opponent.

Go ahead and grab a Bible and flip to Revelation 13. See if you can figure out which candidate was described in the email. Unless one of the candidates has sprouted six more heads, a bunch of horns, and all sorts of animal parts since his last television appearance, it's not entirely apparent to me who this might be so “clearly” referring to. You might have a hard time finding the term “Anti-Christ” as well, since this term doesn't actually appear in the Book of Revelation at all. (It is in 1 and 2 John, but never with a description except that the Anti-Christ will deny the divinity of Jesus. This is something neither candidate has ever done to my knowledge.) The Book of Revelation is not one of those books that lays anything out clearly anyway—its language is figurative and symbolic. And throughout history people have been convinced that what is going on in their day and age (or in the past or future) is what the author of Revelation was warning us about. Though, unlike this email, people usually try to make this claim by connecting a person or situation to some sort details that could actually be found in Revelation.

So the email is baloney, so what? We all get a hundred emails a week with all sorts of garbage in them, why should we care? There are many problems I have with this email: it plays fast and loose with the Bible, it uses fear and deception to try to bully people into thinking a particular way, and it's just downright mean spirited. But what troubles me the most about this email is that it implies that there is only one “Christian” way to vote—and that there is no need for Christians to engage in the political process and no need to debate or exchange ideas. One only has to find the right “Christian” candidate and the discussion is over before it begins—and of course Christians are all of one mind and so the decision is clear.

I do agree that as Christians it is essential that we take our faith, our values, and our morals into the voting booth with us (OK, to our kitchen tables or wherever we now do our voting). We pray continually that “God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven” and part of that means electing leaders and supporting positions that we believe bring us closer to God's dream for us and creation, rather than farther from. But to assume that Christians are all of one mind and so debate and discussion isn't needed is simply false. I know for a fact that in our congregations are Republicans and Democrats (and at least one Libertarian). There are people who think abortion should be legal and those who think it should be outlawed, there are people for and against gay marriage, prayer in schools, the death penalty, offshore drilling, tax stimulus checks, bailouts for financial firms, and a whole host of other issues. And these folks support these candidates and positions not simply because of partisan politics or because they have been duped by the media, but because of honest attempts to apply their faith and the teachings of Jesus to the real world—a world where the answer to “how can God's will best be done?” is not always so clear.

I happen to be for one particular candidate (as I assume you are as well), but I don't think that makes me (or him) more Christian—and I certainly don't think that anyone who disagrees with me is any less Christian. Whatever our politics, it is essential that we are able to live together in community—and that doesn't simply mean ignoring our differences. I would like to see those of us who are Christian be an example of Christ's teachings to the world and approach our political life with the same sort of Christian values that we live by in the rest of our life. This means at the very least speaking the truth in love (and not spreading falsehoods and rumors), giving our neighbor the benefit of the doubt, and still being able to live in community (and share a table) with those we profoundly disagree with.

And so as this political season begins to really heat up, and the fear based politics and baloney continue to increase, I hope that we as Christian people and as a Christian community are able to engage with one another (and with the political process) without giving in to fear and the spreading of falsehoods. In the end, our unity comes not from all agreeing with a particular candidate or position—or even from agreeing with one another—but because we have been claimed by God and made one in baptism. Our unity is in Christ and this trumps all divisions that we can come up with—political or otherwise. So roll up your sleeves and be a part of the political process, but do so with humility and compassion for your brothers and sisters who disagree with you—remembering that your will is not the same as God's will, and that you may be sharing a pew with your so-called opponent on Sunday morning. And when the time comes to pass the peace we put aside all those differences so we—Democrats, Republicans, and Libertarians alike—can come to Christ's table as one people, who share one meal, for the sake of God's world. Doesn't that sound like God's will?

Pastor Erik

PS. If you ever want to know the baloney factor of emails you get, check out www.snopes.com, the recognized online authority for such things.

Pastor Erik--September 2008

All this summer we have been focusing on mission in our neighborhood. We hosted a neighborhood BBQ, delivered lots of fliers, watched movies out on our lawn with our neighbors, attended the Lincoln Heights Neighborhood Association meeting, and have even started digging up our property in order to make it more welcoming and accessible to our neighbors. We’ve learned that we don’t really know our neighbors very well at all, and that our neighbors don’t really know each other either. But we’ve also learned that God is up to something in our neighborhood, and is calling us to be a part of it—getting to know our neighbors is just the first step in figuring out just what this is, and this will be a process that continues throughout the year and beyond. The word is out, Bethlehem Lutheran wants to be an active part of this neighborhood again. It will be fun to see what God does with this desire.

As we move into fall, we’re shifting our mission focus just a bit. We kick off September with a number of events that draw us into thinking about what God is up to not only near us, but all over the world. Our Global Mission team has put together a huge slate of events this year. On Sunday, September 7^th we’ll be joined by Rev. Mark Nelson, assistant to the bishop, who will fill us in on our companion Synod in Tanzania. He’s recently back from a trip there and the installation of their new bishop so he’s chock full of stories about what God is doing through our partnership with this other Synod.

Then on Saturday, September 13^th we’re having a Fair Trade Fair featuring food and crafts from around the world that have been made without harming people, the environment, or local communities. But don’t think this is just a shopping day (though it is a great time to pick up Christmas gifts for loved ones). It’s going to be an emersion experience designed to give us a taste of life in Tanzania.

The high point of all of this will be our Global Mission Festival Worship on Sunday, September 14^th. From our summer worship space downstairs we’ll be journeying back up to the sanctuary. And with drums and music from around the world we will worship God with joy and energy. We’ll hear several “mission homilies” throughout the service, including a live video feed from Africa with missionaries Arden and Susan Strasser. This is one Sunday you won’t want to miss!

With all this talk of global mission, I hope you don’t think I intend us to ignore the local missions we participate in as well. It is my sincere prayer that through local and neighborhood missions we will be stirred to wonder about what God is up to around the world and how we can be a part of it. And in the same way, I pray that through global missions we will be stirred to wonder about what God is up to closer to home and how we can be a part of it. God is loose in the world, both here and far away. Its time to celebrate what God is up to and get on board!

Pastor Erik--August 2008

We’ve shortened our service and moved downstairs for the hot days of July and August—and we’re encouraging our community to feel free to dress comfortably (yes, shorts in church!). Since our regular worship service is shorter this summer, we are offering several other worshipful activity options that people can do before the service, after the service, and during the week. We are calling this “Open Space”—a time to open some space in your life and your heart to experience God and to remember that we don’t just worship God an hour on Sunday mornings, but in many ways and with our whole lives. You are free to choose any of the options, try several, or spend the time in whatever way is most meaningful and helpful for you. The weeks options are available on our website, follow the “Open Space” link at www.BethlehemSpokane.org.

I know that many of you are asking, where on earth does Pastor Erik come up with these crazy ideas that he keeps trying out on us? Most of them (particularly the ones that seem to flop) come out of my own warped imagination. This idea, however, has some interesting roots that I thought I’d share.

Over the past couple of years I’ve been reading and keeping up on a movement in Christianity that has various names, most typically it is referred to as some variation on the “emerging church” or “emergent church” (I happen to like “emerging missional church”). While its hard to pin down exactly what this movement looks like or what it is all about (it’s very postmodern that way) these experimental worshiping communities are finding that the things that they are up to are really resonating with people in their 20s and 30s—the group that is largely absent from churches world wide. And the appeal is not what you might think—gone are rock bands, big screens, and stadium style worship entertainment events. The emerging missional movement is all about authenticity—in worship, in community, in discipleship and it goes about renewing the life of the church by going deeper into our roots. Small groups of Christians throughout the world are reclaiming some of the traditions and rituals of the Christian faith and re-appropriating them to speak in new ways in our context. They are finding small groups with which to gather and pray, to experience God in worship and service, to grow disciples of Jesus and make a difference in the world—and they are doing this more often in places like coffee shops and bars than in sanctuaries. The Community of Taizé is one such example of this, and there are communities cropping up around the world that are seeking to “be church” in new (and yet ancient) ways. The idea for “open space” worship I stole from one of these communities, The Church of the Apostles in Seattle, of which my brother is a member.

The reason I’m encouraging this experiment with us is not to be “hip and trendy” and figure out if we can “attract” more people (in their 20s and 30s or otherwise). In fact, one of the main tenets of the “emerging missional church” is getting away from the “attractional” model of outreach—authentic community is the model instead. As I’ve been reading about and experiencing the worship of these “emergent missional communities,” I’ve seen some real parallels to the sorts of things we have been talking about in Transformation, as well as some deep connections to our Lutheran roots and theology—and things we already do as Lutheran Christians.

Every worship at Bethlehem is meant to help those who are a part of it to encounter God and their neighbor. The entire service is shaped around the Bible lessons of the day and the sacraments of Baptism and Communion—the sermon, hymns, prayers, and the entire liturgy itself is planned and shaped to help all of us experience God through these “means of grace,” that is to say these ways that God communicates to us. Worship in “emerging missional communities” is reclaiming this element of worship that has often been neglected in many Christian communities—both in its “traditional” and “contemporary” forms. The “emerging missional communities” are rediscovering something that we have known all along—that worship is more than just going through the motions of liturgy and it’s more than just a few praise songs and a long sermon. Instead it’s about encountering and being transformed by God revealed to us in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.

I hope in the next few weeks that you will try out some of these “unusual” worship elements that are part of this “Open Space” experiment. They are designed to stretch us into thinking about and experiencing worship in new ways and to help bridge the artificial gap between church and “real life.” I’m also really hoping for some feedback—both positive and negative. One of the challenges of many “emerging missional communities” is that they struggle with being intergenerational, the sorts of things that really connect with the younger folks don’t always with the older folks. But my theory is that these experiments are tapping into something deeper than just what’s “hot” at the moment—and I think there’s that multi-generation churches like ours could add something important to this movement. Let me know what you think and if you have any ideas on new elements to try. And thanks for being such gracious guinea pigs!

Pastor Erik

Pastor Erik--July 2008

Loving our Neighbors

One day, Jesus was being questioned by some religious folks who wanted to know what the most important commandment of God was. Perhaps they thought they were so religious, so holy, so good at keeping laws that they would surely be found to be keeping whatever this most important commandment was. Jesus’ response was: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39) That particular answer didn’t go over so well.

The problem for us when we are confronted by God’s commandments, is that we pretty much never measure up. I love the Lord my God, but do I really do it with ALL my heart, and ALL my soul, and ALL my mind? ALL the time? No way. And is it even possible for me to care as much for my neighbors as I do for myself? Would I really sacrifice my own money, or food, or shelter for the guy living next door to me? Or would I expect him to face life on his own? If these are really the greatest commandments of God, I for one am in big trouble.

We expect this as Lutheran Christians, I think. We know that we are saved by God’s grace through trusting faith—and know that when we fail to live up to God’s expectations, that God will love us anyway. But we also know, as Lutheran Christians, that because we are loved by God and don’t HAVE to do anything, that we become free to fulfill those dreams that God has for us. Imagine, for a moment, if all of us could actually love God with all our hearts, souls, and minds and love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves—wouldn’t life on earth be pretty amazing? No more poverty, war, violence, self-centeredness. Even though we know that the world is more complicated than that and that we’ll never make that happen, doesn’t that sound a lot like what God wants for us and for all humanity?

But hold on for a second if you think I’m suggesting we set up some sort of religious-hippy commune where we are all happy and high on God—because I’m not. But what is our life together if not living together in a community shaped by Christ, in which we worship, pray, eat, serve and seek to live more fully into God dream (even if it never quite appears in it’s fullest form)? And, according to Jesus, this dream that God has is never just about us and God, but always includes our neighbors near and far—in fact, the whole of creation.

So, how are we doing on this “love your neighbor” stuff? Our Guiding Principles might help us here. I’ve been impressed, again and again, at how well we live into our principle “Everyone is welcome.” The way in which the people of Bethlehem reach out to and interact with visitors and new folks is inspiring—and I keep hearing talk of how we can make this place more welcoming to visitors and make clear that the hospitality we offer comes from God’s hospitality. This hospitality and welcoming presence is an amazing gift that God has given to us, and we use it to share the love of God and bring people into the community we share with one another in Jesus Christ. It’s a powerful witness of God to all who worship with us.

We’ve got another Guiding Principle, however, that we don’t live out as fully as we might: “We are called to work in God’s world.” We do, however, recognize this call, even when we aren’t fully living out what that call is. And it’s not as if we don’t try—but so often it’s hard to know just what our calling in the world is meant to be. As a community, we’ve recognized this as one of our growing edges—the place in which God is calling us to grow into that dream God has for us. And it’s strongly connected to this whole idea of “love your neighbor as yourself.”

But how, exactly, do we get there? As I’ve been thinking about this particular Guiding Principle, and this command to love our neighbors, I was struck with a question: “How am I supposed to LOVE my neighbor, if I don’t even KNOW my neighbor?” How many of us know the people who live in the houses immediately around ours? How many of us have shared a meal with those folks? And how about our church neighbors? Do you know the names of the folks we can see from our windows on Sunday morning? I don’t. And we certainly haven’t eaten with them.

But God has given us some great opportunities to get to know our neighbors. This summer, there are several events in which there is a good chance that our neighbors will be around and we will get the chance to get to know them: the neighborhood BBQ we are hosting on July 12^th and the Outdoor Movie Nights in July and August (see the schedule elsewhere in this newsletter). While these events are fun, what if we were to see them as more than a fun way to spend the evening (or stay away because it’s not what we think is a good time)? What if instead we saw these events (and the people who come) as gifts that God is giving us so that we can get to know our neighbors and neighborhood better? We’ve got lots of practice on Sunday morning during coffee hour getting to know and sharing stories with the new people who come our way. What if we were to do the same with the folks who might wander into our BBQ and movie nights? Surely through our neighbors we will get a fuller picture of what God is up to in our neighborhood, and might just get clued into the ways in which we might be “called to work in God’s world.” I hope you will come this summer to get to know our neighbors.

Pastor Erik