Ministry Moment of October 8, 2017

The idea I want to offer you today is service in the church.  As we think about this, I call to your attention what we just sang to you a few minutes ago from ‘Jacob’s Ladder’, if you love Jesus why not serve him?

My guess is that everybody here has some capacity to serve the church in some way. Just as those skill sets that I brought in from the military have allowed me to lead within the church, I believe there's things that you have, you can do, and you're called to do and that you can bring those skill sets to service on behalf of God.

I want to focus today on time and talent. We so often within the stewardship campaign talk about treasure.

To be clear, we need the treasure to turn to lights on. 

     We need the treasure to pay for various salaries of your staff. 

       I could go on, but It's really a three column test:  time, talent, and treasure. It's not pick one. It's pick something off all three.

Paul was dealing with the same issue in Romans when he would say to the church that he hadn't gotten to yet in Rome, (Romans 12: 1) "I appeal to you therefore brothers and sisters by the mercy of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." He didn't say present your bodies to be burned up on some kind of sacrificial level, it was to be a living sacrifice on behalf of the church.

There are many things that we need help with here at the church. Many of them are relatively mundane and relatively easy to do. Some of them can be absolutely terrorizing.  For example, running the sound booth. It can be 99% boredom and 1% sheer terror when something goes wrong, but it needs qualified people to help us with that.

There are all kinds of things that you can do within this church.

I would hope that we would see that we have the capacity within us to answer God’s call. I'm going to talk in a few minutes about Gideon and how it is that he answers God's call, but 300 others answered his call as well, not only to lead, but to serve. 

To paraphrase Malachi 3:18, we make the distinction between those who serve God and one who does not serve him. I want you to respond because your heart is a glow; your heart is on fire. Your heart is on fire for God. That's the invitation for you today is to stop and pause and say, "Yes, my treasure is important, but I also want to contribute time and talent to this wonderful church."

I'm mindful of people here that think they don't have a lot of talent. They're like Moses, like Gideon that we're going to get to. My invitation for you is to know that God is calling you in some kind of way. What is that way? How is it that you can offer your time and talent to this church as well?

God bless you. Thank you very much.

Pastor's Musings for November

Ecclesiastes 3: 1, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”

Our newsletter theme for November is “Growing in Faith Together” and as I roll the idea around in my head, I hear echoes of the idea found in “Hilltop: a place to belong, believe and become.” The Ecclesiastes 3 with the sounds of Pete Seeger and the Byrds echoing in my brain, fingers, and ruminations. 

On November 30 at 9:00 AM, we are going to return to being a church with multiple worship opportunities. Prior to my arrival, Hilltop took an extremely bold and courageous step to move from three different worship opportunities to one. At least part of the motivation centered on bringing unity to the Body of Christ. Sadly, in our journeys to unity there is always the possibility we might have to pass through a little disunity. For example, we lost a few long time members. There was no one constant reason but in our unity quest, we got to a season where we belonged, believed, and became. But seasons are rarely, if ever, static. A church is a living organism and in our belonging, there are Ecclesiastes 3 seasons of contrasts for “every matter under heaven.” 

We are about to embark on a new season in the Hilltop story. 

We intentionally chose to return to multiple services as the start of a new season in the church year: Advent. Laurence Hull Stookey in his seminal look at the church year, Calendar: Christ’s Time for the Church writes: “the primary focus of Advent is on what is popularly called ‘the second coming’ … Advent is the celebration of the promise that Christ will bring an end to all that is contrary to the ways of God.” So, in this new season of the church year, we look forward, in hopeful anticipation to a time when the ideas of seasons disappear into the mist. But until that ‘second coming’ becomes, we have to focus, or perhaps, refocus, on our beliefs and our belonging. A new season emerges, and we get a chance to reexamine God’s divine purpose for us, and perhaps more importantly, our role in God’s divine purpose. 

We exist, at least in part, in order to make God’s reign, just a little more obvious, a little more visible, a little more real. Our purpose in going to a new service, at least in part, is to reach a group of people who might not be with us at the present time. One group is those who might want to celebrate their praise of God a little earlier in the day, and then “beat the Baptist to the Buffet” or to the trailhead or ski slope or … you get the idea. We know there are people who want to use the Sabbath as a time for family and reconnecting in various ways and the solitary 10:30 AM option sends them elsewhere, or maybe even, nowhere. A second group is those who want to have their children receive Christian Education while they are in worship. We know they exist. We are mindful that a few believe that we should be developing children who understand worship with more intentionality than this model presents, but we have elected to accept that a parent will know when their child can be better informed and grow spiritually through worship. They know their child’s season. 

I do not know how long the season of getting this service to fruitfulness will be. The Greek of the New Testament has at least two words that both mean time and one is about what we might think of as “clock” time but the other one means “the fullness of time.” It is, I think, about the idea of seasons. I don’t know the precise day that good skiing will occur in the Wasatch Mountains, but sometime this season, skiing will be an option and an opportunity. I believe that the 9:00 service will organically take on its own unique characteristic, style, charm, and approach. I just don’t know what they all are right now. I think cherishing elements of what we have done at 10:30 which is a style that encourages a certain amount of congregational work is where we will be, but at the end of the day, I no more know precisely what this service will be anymore than I knew precisely what the 10:30 service would precisely look like on July 1st, 2012, my first Sunday at Hilltop. I am prepared to allow the season to unfold in the fullness of God’s time. 

A key element of my personal ethos is that the church is the means by which God’s mission of transformation is deployed in the world. It follows that we are the church in order to meet God’s needs in the world, rather than our own needs. We are not alone: we stand in continuity with generations of women and men who found the Good News of God’s Grace through Jesus Christ to be transformative. Grace truly experienced moves them from a season of self loathing to a season of humble appreciation. I believe there are people who will know the peace we know through the threefold fullness of Grace we represent that will not find spiritual wholeness elsewhere. Through Wesley, we offer unconditional grace to all of God’s broken children. 

I do see this new season as a chance for us to ‘grow, in faith, together.’ We are setting out on a new adventure wrapping up one season of unity, and starting a new one of opportunity. I am excited. I pray you are as well. I invite everyone who calls Hilltop their spiritual home to plan to be at one of the two services on November 30th. In particular, I pray that those who plan to make the new service their spiritual connection to Hilltop plan to be here. I am going to be there. Join us. 

Selah, Pastor Dennis

Fellowship -- A Component of "The New Hilltop"

[This was written for the October, 2012 Newsletter.  I post it to my blog so I can reference it easily in other articles I may write/create.]

In March, key Hilltop leaders made several bold decisions aimed at recreating Hilltop. The belief was that unity would be realized by moving to a single worship service and using elements of the national church’s Vital Congregation elements to focus on Christian education and fellowship. When we talk about it, key leaders use the image of a three-legged stool to remind us that the elements—worship, Christian education, and fellowship—are to be understood in unity. If any leg of a stool is too long, or too short, the stool is improperly balanced and is less than it can and should be.

I was not here to witness the three different worship services that existed before the current unified service. Reports I hear are that bold moves by your leaders are proving fruitful in bringing a new energy to Hilltop worship. The New Hilltop will continue to seek avenues for us to experience in community through worship all that God plans for us.

In last month’s newsletter, I invited you to explore a deeper relationship with God through intentional growth as disciples. Some accepted that invitation, and I hope and pray that from those seeds we will experience a thirty, sixty and hundredfold harvest. This will continue to be a regular and focused priority with your leaders.  We will now turn our focus to fellowship which has received the least attention in our three-legged stool paradigm.

I believe fellowship and small groups go together.

Through the end of August, nearly four hundred different Hilltop people had participated in a small group of some kind this year. That is nothing short of fantastic!  That is about half of all who call Hilltop their spiritual home. Even with that success, I still want to invite those not part of that number to find a small group of some kind and participate on a regular basis.

We have consciously increased the small group opportunities that focus on our development as disciples. But small groups also include our music ministers, the men at Britton’s on Wednesday, the women in their regular meetings, the card crafting, and our ministry opportunities at Crossroads and with Family Promise. That list is illustrative and not intended to be exhaustive. We get to know each other by taking part with others in Hilltop activities. Jesus brought together twelve men from disparate backgrounds, and they transformed their world and ours. I strongly endorse our gathering together to fellowship across age and gender, for example, fellowship at 10 or 11:30 on Sunday morning or during pot-lucks.

 

I re-invite all to find and connect with a small group at Hilltop. That group might be one that is growing in discipleship, but it might be one that is in service, provides music, or gathers by age or gender.

I have recently challenged key leaders to ask themselves who is not a regular participant in the life of Hilltop and to discern what they might do to invite those not at the table to be part of the oneness of Hilltop. Jesus did not stand in the synagogue and invite the broken of his time to find their way to him, he rather went out looking for them. Those we invite to join us on our spiritual journey will be blessed and enriched through our three-legged paradigm of worship, discipleship through Christian education, and fellowship of fellow sojourning Christians.  That’s our prayer, our call, and part of our mission and vision.

Pastor’s Musings – October 2012

Are We There Yet?

I used to drive my parents crazy when we’d start out on a long trip by asking the question:  “are we there yet?” At some point, I figured out that driving from Atlanta to Tampa was going to take about twelve hours and as interstates were developed, the time kept dropping.

At the beginning of our own Lenten journeys we have some idea of what lies in wait for us at the end. We will have the smell of Easter Lilies and we will hear the choir and bells singing and playing Christ the Lord is Risen Today. Lent will be over and Easter beckons.

I took my first intentional Lenten Journey in 1995 and when we got to Easter, I was ready to explode in joy. My emotional response to the empty tomb and Mary being called by name was almost more than I could take.

Why?

I think it was because for the first time in my adult life, I had actually used the church season designed for contemplation and reflection for reflection and contemplation. I didn’t intentionally wear, like a leper might have, sackcloth and spread ashes in front of myself and utter “unclean, unclean” but I let the meaning of the Lenten experience create in me a wide-ranging set of spiritual responses.

First, the weekly reflection on key themes penetrated like never before. Words like “sacrifice” and “change” were given newer and richer meanings. “My journey” took ideas that I thought were previously understood and gave them new meaning. The cross took on a whole new meaning. Grace was a gift and more than a word to indicate a prayer or a kind remark.

Second, I wonder if I didn’t start to ask myself questions about who I was and what God was calling me to do? I used the Kirbyjon Caldwell observation a few weeks ago about the two most important moments in our life: ‘the moment we were born and the moment we discover why we were born.’  Slowly, in the mirror, dimly, I began to start to comprehend elements of God’s plan for the rest of my life. It most certainly didn’t evolve as a precise plan of do this for five years, apprentice in a Colorado Springs church for three years, get your own leadership experience for nine and then head to Utah. But it did include elements of making my journey deep and profound rather than quick and superficial.

What is God saying to you as you start your Lenten Journey?

    How might you make your own journey deep and profound?

       How might you get to the empty tomb bathed in the scent of lilies and have your heart explode in joy over the Easter tunes that take on deeper, richer meaning.

I suggest the answer to the question of “are we there yet” is probably no. But we can get “there” by simply getting started on that journey, and making it with Jesus. He is looking forward to being our guide.

Pastor’s Musings – Feb 2013

Pastor's Corner -- August 2, 2011

Good things are happening at Stratmoor Hills.

I have often said that I vision us being “light and leaven” to our community.  We are lighting spiritual candles and kneading yeast into the dough that is our community at the Community Center on B Street and the after school tutoring.  This past Sunday, we returned to God during our offertory, food that will be used both here at Stratmoor for internal needs as well as at the Community Center cooperative venture with Westside Cares, Broadmoor Community Church and Meadows Park Community Center. 

Good things are happening at Stratmoor Hills.

I expect us to continue to be in relationship with Fox Meadow Middle School continuing our fruitful relationship with them through our weekly tutoring. 

Good things are happening at Stratmoor Hills.

I pray that these initiatives can be sustained and new initiatives that are light and leaven in their own ways can be started.

Towards the idea of starting new ministries, I have invited the Reverend Paul Howard, formerly ofRedemption Fellowship and now at Montclair UMC in Denver to come and speak to the men on September 11th.  This will be a simple meal starting at 6:30 PM at the church, and Paul will speak to us from his heart about the life changing ministry that is Redemption Fellowship in Denver, a ministry of Denver Trinity UMC.  I pray every man who participates in the life of this church can be there that night to hear Paul and ask how we might create a Redemption Fellowship-like ministry here at Stratmoor.  Save the date. 

Good things are happening at Stratmoor Hills.

Our United Methodist Women continue to produce prayer shawls and bears that are being used in a ministry of compassion.  These are being gathered on Tuesday mornings and if that time is not convenient, speak to any member of the UMW about how you might help here.  This entire ministry is not being done only on Tuesday in the morning, it is happening throughout the week. 

Good things are happening at Stratmoor Hills.

Our annual budget assumes an income of $9,000 a month.  We averaged for the first 7 months over $10,000 a month.  Most, if not all, of the extra $1,000 a month were resources earmarked specifically for items that were not budgeted i.e. the new clavinova and mortgage assistance for a family.  That said, while we do need to celebrate the sustained accomplishment of our $9,000/month goal, and also realize and be aware that our monthly needs are closer to $13,000/month to accomplish church goals.  We are making good progress here, and our belief is that as our membership and attendance continue to increase, this will follow along. 

Good things are happening at Stratmoor Hills.

Our membership is now at 123 with the seven who joined on July 31st.  This is the highest our membership has been in more than a decade.  Our attendance is holding at 100.  We have had sixteen Sundays so far in 2011 where our attendance was at or over 100.  I expect us to exceed 2010’s achievement of 25 Sundays in this area with a solid final third of the year. 

Good things are happening at Stratmoor Hills. 

I am proud to be the Pastor of a church that sees itself in such hopeful, caring, and growing ways.  

Pastor Dennis

Time of Talents, Treasures and Time

Our stewardship focuses on three things: Talents, Treasures and Time.

For me personally, of those three, I lose focus on my time the easiest.

I let my time get away by reading too much stuff on the internet. Political magazines also help get in my way with my time management. I confess: I am a political junkie.

But besides being a political reading junkie, I also have this enormous problem with the word no: I don't like to say it. Pastors aren't supposed to ever utter no, no?

The reality is that I need to learn how to say it a lot more frequently.

Look at where I am now: two days away from needing a sermon and the day of a long scheduled class, and nothing on the printed page for either. Why? A near total inability to say no.

The issue is of course about knowing how to erect appropriate boundaries. We don't want inappropriate boundaries which cause people to see you as unapproachable. On the other hand, we don't want inappropriate -- and here is the real rub -- ineffective -- boundaries that simply don't work.

I do respect others who seem capable of setting boundaries and keeping them up when needed and allowing them down when that is needed as well.

My guess is a goal for life.