Step One: The Two W's

Yes, two W's - Wichita and Washington D.C. My last Sunday of Palm West responsibilities was the 6:00 p.m."modern" worship gathering on May 28. The next afternoon we boarded the Allegiant Airlines direct flight to Wichita, Kansas for four days of fun and frolic with our daughter and her family. The weather was gorgeous, our son-in-law's gourmet cooking was delicious, and the two granddaughters, ages 8 and 6, were an absolute delight.

They are growing and maturing so quickly, so we try to visit as often as we can. Fortunately, Allegiant's no-frills fares makes it easier to fly out to the "Air Capitol of the World."

Our return flight to the "Valley of the Sun" departed Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport a little before 10:00 p.m. CDT on Friday. The flight took a little over two hours which put us back on the ground at a little after 10:00 p.m. Arizona time - there's a two-hour difference so on the return flight we land at almost the same time we take off. [Side note:I use "Arizona Time" rather than Mountain Time because in our part of the state we do not observe Daylight Saving Time. I think of our time zone as being on California Time during daylight saving or Colorado time the rest of the year.] Then we had an hour's drive home. All this to say that we finally got to bed at the equivalent of about 1:00 a.m. Wichita time. We were beat.

Saturday was spent washing clothes and repacking for Monday's flight to Washington D.C. Christine practiced the organ for her Sunday responsibilities and we just chilled the rest of the day.

On Sunday - Pentecost Sunday, Christine played at the Congregational Church and I attended a small Methodist congregation where our long-time friends the Vogts were leading the music for their last time before moving to Alabama. They did a wonderful job leading us in singing and directing a small but disciplined choir. The congregation was warm and welcoming. It is a multi-generational congregation so there was a children's message. A man from the congregation gave a moving testimony about the Holy Spirit giving him courage to be a witness for Christ. The pastor delivered a biblically solid message in a clear and approachable style. I was refreshed to merely be a worshiper and not a lead worshiper.

Monday began the great adventure of visiting the first of our "bucket-list" cities: Washington D.C. Here is a picture to prove that we were there. My next post will give the details about our trip to our nation's Capitol and the impression it made on me.

Rest, Refresh, Regroup

Greetings All!

It's been too long since I last wrote. I am so happy to be back.

The occasion that initiates my return to Searching for Sanctuary is a two-month sabbatical leave so generously provided by my congregation, Palm West Community Church of Sun City West, Arizona. The congregation and its leaders place a high value on keeping their pastors spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically healthy. So at the conclusion of each five-year period of full-time pastoral service, a sabbatical leave is granted and encouraged. My senior pastor and colleague, Bruce Schipul, gave me persistent encouragement to "go for it." Thank you, Bruce. 

I was actually supposed to take this leave last year, but was not ready to take advantage of this rich opportunity. In the summer of 2016 (when I was supposed to have been on sabbatical, Christine and I went to Poland for a week with the Arizona Sacred Chorale, led by Dr. Tom Bookhout and hosted by Next Generation Mission. The 26 singers and Christine as piano and organ accompanist performed sacred choral works in mostly medieval churches and cathedrals in the southwest region of Poland. It was a wonderful experience and also our first time traveling to Europe. But enough of that for now. Maybe I'll post a report of that experience later.

So now I am beginning my seventh year at Palm West - I started in May of 2011. Christine and I have been planning for the past six months to make two "bucket list" journeys together and for me to formalize, edit, and create new calls to worship - of the type included in my previous blogs.

Our two "bucket list" destinations? Washington D.C. and Italy, specifically Florence and Rome. Why D.C. (or "the District" I've read the locals prefer)? First, to view firsthand the seat of American political power; Second, to enjoy the many museums scattered throughout the city; Third, to experience the various war memorials; Finally, to capture a sense of American history resident in this grand showcase of these United States.

And then on to Italy! Four days in Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance, and three days in Rome, the birthplace of Western civilization! And the city of great art and architecture, and ancient ruins, and the frescoes of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel - and the seedbed of the Protestant Reformation. 

I know, I know, Martin Luther, the great reformer was from Germany not Italy. You are correct. But had it not been for the excesses and abuses of the late medieval Latin church which he sought to bring under obedience to the word of God, we would not have the American Protestantism we know today.

OK, so this is our grand adventure for the summer. My desire is to write a weekly report for you here at Searching for Sanctuary. Who knows, some picture might even be included.

Ciao! for now.

A Confession of Grace

I believe in God –
the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - who bestows on all His creation that which is good and loving.

I believe in God’s grace:
His unmerited favor
showered upon all
who call on the name of Jesus.

I confess the hurt I have caused and the harm of my neglect.
I have turned a deaf ear to Your word and have hardened my heart to my neighbor.
I believe that only by Your grace have I received forgiveness
in Christ.

By Your grace I am redeemed
By Your grace I am restored
By Your grace I am revived.

A Call to Worship - Because of the Nails

To this gathering for worship
All are welcome

To the saint and sinner – welcome
To the confident and confused – welcome
To the bruised and the broken - welcome
To the believer and the doubter – welcome
To the sweet and, yes even, the sour – welcome

You are not here today by accident
God wanted you present in this place and at this time
so here you are

This is a gathering of God’s family
Birthed not because of age or economic status or skin color or politics
but formed by the hammering of nails on a wooden cross.

Come let us worship and bow down
Let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker

Below the Surface

A welcome statement to help worship be real in their time with God.

Welcome to worship

Come into His courts with thanksgiving

Come into His presence with praise

Come to worship; and be assured

You can come just as you are

You look good this morning

You showered and shaved

You did your hair and your makeup

You put on your “goin’ to Sunday meetin' clothes”

But how about below the surface?

Are you weary or fearful,

Anxious or angry?

Have you disappointed someone this week?

Have you disappointed yourself?

Do you feel like you disappointed God?

Come just as you are

Hear the Spirit’s call

Take off the mask

Lower the barriers

Open your ears to hear

Open your eyes to see

Open your heart to Jesus

Come, let us worship the Lord.

For a Service of Healing

A Call to Worship for a morning service teaching from James 5:13-20 with reference to God's healing.

Welcome to worship …

all fellow sufferers of the ravages

of our first parents’ sin.

All are welcome, who in this time and place

seek the healing of emotions and spirit,

of thinking and responding.

Who plead for health of bodies.

You are welcome

who groan with all creation

while eagerly awaiting the redemption of your bodies

through your adoption as daughters and sons of God.

All are welcome in this place

The Father wants you to seek His face

We are all broken in this place

So rest in His amazing grace.

Welcome to worship.

Appropriate Worship in Public

One of the characteristics of the Contemporary Christian Music worship movement has been writing songs that express a deep personal intimacy with God. This intimacy is expressed in lyrics that read like love letters to the Creator and Redeemer. This is appropriate for private worship but I question whether this type of song is best for the public worship gathering.

The psalms of the Hebrew Bible are no strangers to expressing desire and longing for God. Psalm 42 “As the deer pants for water, so my soul longs for you, O God” is a beautiful picture of the desire for intimacy with God. David’s direct address of the Divine shows his closeness with God: “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.” (Ps 139:17-18) David was intimate with God.

There is something exhilarating about being in the midst of a group of worshipers so caught up in their private communion with God that all else disappears from their consciousness. For them, it must be a lot like that first teenage kiss: the feelings of wonder and joy are overwhelming; you feel like you’re going to melt.

But I propose that the most intimate expressions of our love for God should be reserved for the private “prayer closet” (Matthew 6:5-8) and not be put on public display. It’s like a lovey-dovey married couple. Between a husband and wife there are appropriate expressions of affection behind closed doors that are completely inappropriate in public. I think that principle holds true for public worship as well.

Public worship is just that – public. It is the gathering of the body, the community. The corporate expression of adoration, praise, lament, surrender requires an outlet different from personal intimacy. The actions for corporate worship need to be actions that the group can do together. Therefore I strive to choose singable songs and to get us comfortable with new songs; we do all we can to provide good sight and sound and temperature – so what we do together we can do with a minimum of distraction.

Well, those are my thoughts on the subject. We all have different personalities with varied emotional and expressive capacities. Whatever we do in our gatherings for worship, let us do it to the honor and glory of Christ. (1 Cor. 10:31-33)  AMEN