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Pastor's Blog

Pastor's Blog

Pastor Scott and Rhonda with friends in front of cruise ship

In celebration of our 60th birthdays, my wife, Rhonda, and I recently had the unexpected pleasure of going on a Mediterranean cruise, visiting ports in Italy and Turkiye and several Greek islands. It was truly the trip of a lifetime, and we will cherish the experience for years to come. If you have never been on a cruise, I highly recommend it. Instead of packing and unpacking as you travel from place to place, your hotel simply goes with you, with all the amenities included – food, lodging and entertainment – as you visit some of the most beautiful and interesting places on the planet.

As we were on the elegant Holland America ship the Nieuw Statendam for fourteen days, the last Saturday of the trip, sometimes referred to as Sadurday, came as something of a shock. As we left the ship, and especially when we returned home, we faced the reality of once again preparing our own meals, making our own beds and cleaning up after ourselves, and longing to return to the onship BB King Blues Lounge for a fancy drink and great music.

While we needed and greatly appreciated the rest and time away, we all know that cruise life is not real life. However, in the context of the daily demands life and the current moment's mayhem, many of us may find ourselves longing for the next cruise or vacation, or at least working primarily for the weekend, as the band Loverboy intoned in 1982. As a remedy to spending our days pining for the weekend or the next vacation the words of Jesus recorded in Luke 19:13 may challenge and comfort us.

Abstract image of two people facing one another

In his first letter to the Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul encouraged them with these words:

As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. (1 Thessalonians 4:1 (NIV)). 

And the Apostle Peter, in his second letter, had this to say to his readers: 

So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory…, (2 Peter 1:12–14 (NIV)). 

In this same spirit, and in light of the current political and social climate, it seems to be an excellent time to remind ourselves of our mission and core values as followers of Jesus walking together with this expression of the body of Christ we call Central Congregational Church. Keeping ourselves focused on the values of the kingdom of God taught by Jesus will keep us from allowing ourselves to be coopted by any party, politician or platform. 

Open Bible with someone hands to turn pages and shadows of protesting people over it all

Recently, I preached a message from John chapter 14 focusing on verse six, where John quotes Jesus' familiar and provocative words, "I am the way, the truth and the life." As a part of the message, I emphasized that we cannot know the truth of Jesus and certainly cannot enter into the life of Jesus without understanding and walking in the way of Jesus. This observation seems especially relevant at a time when many people are claiming to speak for Jesus and attempting to justify divisive, self-serving and sometimes violent actions in his name.

Online pontification, peaceful protest and civil disobedience are increasingly regular occurrences as people all across the globe seek to champion their socio-political agendas, stand up for the disenfranchised, or address abuse and violence from war to human trafficking. There is undoubtedly a time and a place to speak our minds, take a stand for what we believe, or do so for those who cannot stand or speak for themselves. However, those who claim to follow Jesus have the opportunity and the obligation to speak and act according to his words and ways as we are led and empowered by his Spirit. When we are faithful to the words (the truth) and the way of Jesus, we enter into the eternal life of God here and now, and we become a channel of that life for others. Conversely, when we speak and act from a self-serving or self-righteous place, even for a noble, Christ-honoring cause, we often become agents of division, deception and sometimes a party to violence and death (think Crusades, The Inquisition, or the bombing of abortion clinics).

Dried cracked earth with pink heart on it

As we head into the warm, lazy days of summer, planning or at least dreaming of a vacation or looking forward to a little slower pace for a few weeks, there is a grief – sharp for some, lingering for many – at what we have lost. Whether our loss is personal or just a nagging sense of foreboding at the state of things, most would agree that we live in troubling times and are experiencing some level of grief at the loss of a perceived time of greater peace, stability and community.

To this point, our CCC family seems to have encountered more than our share of grief lately, as many in our congregation are battling serious illnesses, relational challenges, loss of jobs and, most devastatingly, the death of several of our brothers in the Lord. While the days are longer and the sun is high and hot, more than a few of us are struggling to keep our heavy hearts from growing cold with grief.

Whether we are actively grieving or simply battling a general sense of malaise, we shouldn't be surprised. Not only should we not be surprised by the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” as Shakespeare referred to life's persistent heartaches and shocks, but a moments reflection will remind us that most of us in the modern West are significantly shielded from the wretchedness of daily life experienced by countless millions in the world today and what the majority of people have experienced throughout history. Nonetheless, we still suffer.

Surfer in wave

When I was eleven, after brief stints in several southern California towns, my family finally landed in the small beach town of Ventura, California, about thirty minutes south of Santa Barbara. In addition to traditional youth sports and other adolescent activities, as you can imagine in a beach town, surfing was very popular and cool!
 
I love the ocean! And during my days in Ventura, I was at the beach often, at least in the summer. And like any self-respecting Venturan, I tried my hand at surfing. I remember driving with my friends from high school on the northbound 101 freeway many summers, looking for the best waves between Ventura and Santa Barbara. And my bedroom walls were covered with pictures I’d cut out from my subscription to Surfer Magazine.
 
I loved the beach, and I loved surfing. But the fact is, I never got very good at it, unlike my brother, Mark, who moved to Maui after graduation and spent six months surfing amazing waves. Though I was a decent athlete and could hold my own in most of the sports I tried, I never really gained any proficiency in surfing, even though I played water polo and was on the swim team. 

  1. Solid Ground in Turbulent Times
  2. The End Is Near...Or, Is It?
  3. I will Build My Church
  4. Beyond Summer Reading

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