Tag: Springfield

Fall Is Here

It’s officially Autumn. It’s the time when our Lord shows another facet of His amazing creativity, as the greens of Summer give way to the reds and oranges and yellows and browns creating some of the most amazing vistas imaginable. We are blessed to live in a truly beautiful world.

Of course, Fall is a busy time here at Springfield. Our Trunk or Treat event is coming up on October 27. This is a time when we can bless the children of our community with a safer alternative to trick or treating, as we open our doors (and our trunks) to them with plenty of treats as well as games and other ways to let the community know we are a church who cares. But it gets better, after Trunk or Treat, people can stay and be a part of our Chili Cook-off and Pie Contest, with more games, and lots of delicious food. It’s a chance for us to get to know our community and share in some good old fashioned Fall fun and fellowship.

Then just a few weeks later we will be joining with our brothers and sisters from Springfield Mennonite Church to prepare thanksgiving meals to share with people living in the hotels in our community. This will occur on Saturday, November 17 in our fellowship hall and we will take all the help we can get.

Finally, we’re moving toward Thanksgiving and our Thanksgiving Eve service, which we will be sharing with First Church of the Brethren, Quakertown. This should be a wonderful service with people from both churches bringing their gifts and talents to the Worship of our Lord. It will be held on Wednesday November 21, at 7:00 p.m. This will be a great way to prepare our hearts for the holidays. Yes there is a lot going on at Springfield this Fall. Why not come and be a part of it? Our regular services are at 10:00 a.m. every Sunday morning, preceded by Sunday School at 9:00 a.m.

Love Feast

You might see that term and wonder, “What on earth is that?” Well it’s sort of like a communion service, but it’s a little more involved. You see way back in our history someone went back to John 13, a passage on the last supper, and saw there was more than just bread and cup. As the evening starts, Jesus is celebrating the Passover with His disciples. Now in those days it was customary to wash ones feet as they entered a home. This may have had something to do with the fact that most walked everywhere they went on dirt and stone streets in sandals. They shared these streets with animals, so, as you an imagine, feet were often covered with filth by the end of the day. Further, if the home owner was in a position to have servants, the responsibility of foot washing generally went to the servants, and if there were multiple servants, the washing of feet fell to the servant of lowest rank.

Well in the upper room there were no servants, and so Jesus began to prepare to be the washer of feet. Now this was way out of order, at least in the minds of the people in the room that night. Jesus at the very least was the rabbi, the highest ranking person in the room and beside this, the disciples were beginning to realize he was more than a rabbi, but rather the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus was the last person who should have been washing feet in the room.

Finally Peter objected. He understood that their roles should be reversed and it is then that Jesus tipped his cards, so to speak, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Ah, there’s a lesson here, and there was. Jesus was trying to show these followers of His that no one is too important to serve others. This would be a vital lesson for them, because they would soon be the leaders of the church. And so Jesus washed their feet, all of them, including Judas who would soon betray Jesus to death. Yes, knowing that this would happen, Jesus still served Judas.

Jesus sums up His lesson this way:

“13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master,nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

It is for this reason that foot washing is a part of our love feast service. Is it uncomfortable? Yes to some degree, but it is so meaningful. It teaches us two vital lessons for life in this world. That we need to humble ourselves and serve and that we also sometimes need to humble ourselves and allow ourselves to be served.

In addition, we share a simple meal, as we contemplate what Jesus has done for us, before the evening culminates with Holy Communion. This service shows us both our part in Jesus’ death as He died for OUR sins, but then it also reminds us that we also share in His resurrection. This is a beautiful and powerful service that serves to unites us as the body of Christ in the blessed hope Jesus bought for us with His blood. We do the service twice a year, and if you get the chance, you really should check it out.

Trying New Things

There’s an old saying, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got.” It’s true of most of life and it’s true of churches, at least to some degree. Now before I go any further, this is not a complaint. We have a love of great things going for us at Springfield. This is an amazing group of people who I love with all my heart. I am extremely pleased with this congregation and I’m proud (can I say that) to be their pastor. They are open and loving and there’s one more thing…

They’re open to trying new things. Now there’s nothing wrong with tradition and there are some traditions that are worth their weight in gold, but we are also tasked with taking the unchanging message of the Gospel to an ever changing world, and in order to do that, sometimes we have to try new things.

Last night we sponsored a comedy show by Brad Stine and people were blessed. We’re little short on children to do a vacation Bible school, so rather than just saying we don’t have enough children to do a traditional VBS, we looked at who we do have and rethought what VBS could be. Now we offer a one day Art Day VBS for our community. We make art, teach the Bible, and all the other great things people associate with VBS and it works.

We also started doing paint parties at our church as a way of welcoming the community, and in September we will be offering a unique art/storytelling program called Pictures of Jesus. In my heart, I know we’re just scratching the surface, but we’re trying to create an environment of empowerment where people can use their gifts to try new things to the glory of God. If you have a skill or a talent that you want to use for a greater purpose, this might be the right church for you. Come on in and check us out.

Empowerment

This year, I have selected a word to represent what I think the Lord is leading us to this year. That word is “empowerment.” In truth, this has long been my philosophy of ministry because, in essence, this is what happened to me. You see when I first walked into the church, at least in my adult life, I was pretty far from God.  As I began seeing my need for God, I started looking for my place to fit. The thing is, I didn’t have any of the gifts that we usually associate with the church. I was terrified to speak in public, I didn’t have enough knowledge to teach and my lack of musical ability is nearly legendary. I figured I was destined to be a consumer, and that is not a good place to stay in the church. What I did have was some artistic talent.

Long story short, my pastor found that gift and tapped into it. It was a small assignment. A backdrop for the VBS skits, but it opened the door and changed my life. The Lord through my pastor had empowered me to serve. The end result, today I am a church pastor with a speaking ministry that takes me all over the U.S. Empowerment is a wonderful, powerful, miraculous force that can change the entire direction of a person’s life.

Today the church I pastor is a blessing. Great people who love the Lord and His Word. When I hear my unbelieving friends speaking negatively about the church, I wish they’d come and check out mine and when I hear my ministry friends speak of the troubles they have in their churches, I become increasingly aware of how blessed I truly am. We’re not perfect, but Springfield Church of he Brethren is a pretty good place to be. There is only one major thing we lack and that is simply that a lot of the people who really need what we have, don’t know we’re there.

How can we fix this? I think it has something to do with empowerment. It’s not that my people don’t serve. They do. I just wonder what else lays on their hearts. We in the church tend to only see certain gifts and talents as usable for the church, but what if we saw that differently? What if we realized that ever good gift comes from God and that all of them are useful to the Kingdom?

What if we gave people the ability to ry new things? This is the sole of empowerment, and so we extend an invitation for people to try the new things God lays on their hearts. Sometimes this will be a one time thing. Sometimes it will be continual.

What do you need to have to do this? You need a dream. You need to be faithful. You need to finish what you start and you have to be trying to honor God. You need to accept humble beginnings, starting with available resources and working toward growth.

One last thing, your calling is your calling. In other words, if you have an idea you want me to do, the answer is probably going to be no, unless it’s a really phenomenal idea that’s right in the middle of my wheelhouse and clearly God’s call. Empowerment is about helping you to do what God is calling you to do and helping you to be what God has created you to be. Empowerment can change your life.

What can we help you to do and be?

May God bless you as you seek to do His will.
Happy New Year,
Pastor Dave

Church Signs

Hi my name is Dave and I’m a pastor. I say that because of something I am about to confess. While I live my life to honor God, there is something that could drive me to a life of crime. It’s bad church signs. Every time I see “God answers knee-mail” on one of those signs with the changeable letters, I dream of breaking in to the church’s office and stealing the book they got it from. The reason is really simple. People already think the church is behind the times and irrelevant–no sense adding fuel to the fire. We are the children of the Creator, and it’s time we got creative.

I love my church sign and I can say that in humility because I am not responsible for its content. One of the members of my congregation, Lucy Cascioli, does our sign. She has since before I got here and she does a great job. The church sign was pretty much the forerunner of the Tweet. Say something of value, to a media bombarded culture passing by quickly, in probably 50 characters or less. It’s a very specialized form of communication, and Lucy handles it masterfully.

Our sign currently says “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” I love that message. It’s the essence of ministry. If we are a people that trust God, then we trust in His faithfulness, and if we trust in His faithfulness then we can trust in His provision. We don’t have to worry about whether we have enough of whatever. We don’t have to wish we had what we don’t have or lament how successful we could be if we just had X, Y, or Z. Instead we look at what God has provided with great gratitude and put it to work to His glory, trusting He will make provision in any area where we have need.

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

I an’t wait to see what comes next on our sign.