From Donn's Desk

October 2009

Some of you may be familiar with a saying attributed to Mother Theresa, “I know that God will not give me more than I can handle, but sometimes I worry that God trusts me too much!” I am sure that many of us can relate to Mother Theresa’s sentiment. Because we are people of faith, when we are feeling overwhelmed, we remember the basic truth affirmed with both the birth of Jesus and his resurrection: God is with us and nothing can separate us from God’s love. Such a perspective frees us from panic. Where others may see a crisis, as people of faith we see challenges and opportunities to express our faith, our trust and our hope in God. Still, there are times when we may be tempted to look up at the heavens and wonder… At such times I am reminded of Paul’s encouragement to the church at Rome, ‘For we know that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.’ (Rom 5:3-5) There is an old story told about 2 children: One child is put in a room filled with every toy imaginable while the other child is put in a barn filled with manure. When the first child is visited, he is in the middle of the room, crying because he cannot make up his mind which toy he wants. When the second child is visited, he is seen laughing as he runs and jumps and slides and digs through all of the manure. When he is asked why he is so happy the child responds, “with all of this manure, there must be a pony in here someplace!’ The child’s focus is not on what everyone else sees, the child’s focus is on his hope. As Christians, we are called to live as people of hope, who are able to point beyond suffering or challenges that seem unfair and overwhelming and instead point to the faithfulness of God who loves us and who has promised to always be with us. Paul reminds us that even if we start with trouble, as people of faith we end with hope. Our troubles do not define us. Our sorrows do not define us. Even our pain does not define us. We are defined by our faith, not by our circumstances, by our hope and trust, not by our situation. We remember that with God all things are possible, and when we do, we too rejoice. Donn

September 2009

Some of you may have seen the movie, “A Beautiful Mind” based on the life of John Nash. John Nash was hailed as one of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century. To say he was a genius would be an understatement. His thesis on the dynamics of human conflict revolutionized economic theory and eventually earned him a Nobel Prize. He was a distinguished professor at MIT before he was out of his 20’s. But at the height of his career, he suffered a breakdown. He interrupted a lecture to say he was on the cover of Life magazine disguised as the Pope. He claimed foreign governments were communicating to him through the media. He turned down a prestigious post at the University of Chicago because he said he was going to be named the Emperor of Antarctica. In his head John Nash saw people and heard voices that made him feel important, as if he was the center of the universe. They played on his darkest fears. When he listened to the voices it distorted his perceptions, made him obsessive, irrational, terrified, it destroyed his relationships, they led to death. In a scene towards the end of the movie, John Nash comes out of a classroom and encounters a man waiting to speak to him, a man he has never seen before. The man tells Nash that he has come to talk with him about being awarded the Nobel Prize. Nash is silent for a moment. He has suffered too much from listening to voices of grandiosity. He is not going to listen to the voice on his own. He stops one of his students and asks if the student sees the man standing there. When the student says, “Yes.” Nash turns to the visitor and says, “OK. I’ll listen to you now.” A humbling thing for a man with a brilliant mind to have to do, but Nash learned that community could help him discern which voices were worth listening to and which were delusional. Part of the gift of a Christian community is knowing there are people who love us and care for us and can help us separate what we need to hear from what we want to hear. But we have to be willing to listen. This past Sunday I spoke some truths about our lives that needed to be said and hopefully were heard. As a spiritual leader of our congregation I am concerned that too many of us are listening to fanciful voices that are far removed from the reality of what it means to live a life of grace. There is a cost to discipleship, it cost Jesus his life. Therefore, it would be foolish for us to think it won’t cost us anything. A life of faith means a willingness to put God first, which means we are not. A life of discipleship means we recognize the difference between trying and training, between want and need, between voices of delusion and the voice of truth that sets us free. Donn

August 2009

Here are some summer time thoughts about buzzards, bats and bees. The Buzzard: If you put a buzzard in a pen that is 6 feet by 8 feet and is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of 10 to 12 feet. Without space to run, as is its habit, it will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top. The Bat: The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. The Bumblebee: A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom. It will seek a way where none exists. People: In many ways, people can be like the buzzard, the bat, and the bumblebee. As Christians we’ve been blessed with the Good News, the Gospel of Salvation. We know how to escape the prison of sin, we have been blessed with wings to fly. As Christians we are given a hope that elevates us, lifts us out of the flatness of our lives. And finally, we can tell others who seem bent on trying to find a way where there is no way, we can tell others that the way out is not at the bottom, but at the top, we can tell them to look up. Many of you may remember the story I’ve told about the Eagle and the Chicken. The eagle flies and sees an eaglet scratching on the ground with chickens. The eagle is shocked and dismayed to see this and asks the eaglet what it is doing. Come to find out, the eaglet thinks it is a chicken. The eagle has to convince the eaglet that it is not a chicken, and finally does, helping the eaglet discover its true identity. I would change the story now to reflect the responsibility we have, who once thought we were chickens and discovered we are eagles. Our mission is to save the others, who think they are chickens, to save others who think they are hopelessly trapped. We are called to share the good news with others that they too may stretch their wings and fly as God intended and discover their true identity as children of God. Donn

July 2009

Summer has officially arrived. A time when many have an opportunity to take a vacation, take some time off work, change their routine, at least for a few days. A time when children are free from school and parents receive the mixed blessings of more time with their children in an unstructured environment, away from homework hassles, but into cries of ‘I’m bored.’ It’s not that summer is a slow time (for many it is a busy time), but summer is a different kind of time. There are trips to the beach, the pool, the zoo, the museum, even the backyard. There are cook-outs, ball games, Frisbee tossing, bicycle rides, and maybe a movie matinee. There is staying up late, getting up late, and not worried about being late for appointments or schedules. Of course not everyone embraces summer this way. For some it is too hot, the kids are too much underfoot, and there is too much chaos. For some, summer is not a time to be enjoyed, but endured, and some parents begin to anticipate the start of the school year the way some children count the days to Christmas. But for all of us, summer offers opportunities that are too often neglected. The chance to be a counselor at one of our summer camps, the opportunity to help with Vacation Bible School, to take a shortened Bible Study course, to become involved in a new ministry like Celebrate Recovery. God created and designed the world and our lives around the seasons for a reason. God helps us to recognize that there is a rhythm and rhyme to our lives. I pray that we will make the most of this opportunity God gives us, to rejoice with God and the loved ones who share our lives. I pray that we will also take time to give God thanks, and to reflect on the ways we can trust God in all the seasons of our lives. May you have a blessed summer. Donn

June Newsletter

Nancy used to work at a home health agency in Los Angeles. She would drive to the homes of her patients to make sure that the agency’s nurses and aides were giving proper care and service. Her district covered a wide area, from multimillion-dollar homes to run down one bedroom apartments. One Tuesday afternoon, she was in a lower economic neighborhood, most of the houses were pretty ramshackle, so she was surprised when she pulled up to the address to find a modest, well-kept home, with a small but lovely garden out front. The family she was visiting had just recently emigrated from Mexico, so Nancy knew they probably had little support in terms of extended family or long-time friends. Nancy checked the file, there was a husband, a wife, and 2 little boys, 7 and 3 years old. Unfortunately the 7 yr old had been diagnosed with adrenoleukodystrophy, (the topic of the movie, Lorenzo’s Oil) two years earlier. This disease is genetic and fatal. The mother answered the door and invited Nancy into the living room where the 7 yr old lay on the couch. He was very thin, wore a diaper, and had a feeding tube in his nose. His body was skeletal, contracted in the fetal position. He was unable to communicate except for a soft groan. In broken English the mother told Nancy that the Dr believed he was most likely blind and deaf at this point. Touch was the last form of communication she had with her first-born son. The mother offered Nancy a cup of tea while the 3 yr old played on the floor. In her limited Spanish, Nancy asked about the boy’s treatment and care. The mother showed her the cabinet where the boy’s medications were kept. Nancy noticed that the rest of the cupboards were practically bare. It was a pretty bleak situation, very little furniture, very little food. The insurance only provided 8 hours of care a week. The few friends that the mother knew really were not able to help with her son’s complicated care. Nancy asked about the husband’s availability to help. The mother grew very quiet. Nancy asked again and the mother said the husband had left her 3 weeks ago. That was the day they had visited the Dr who told them that their 7 yr old probably only had 6 weeks left to live. At the most. Then the Dr told them that their 3 yr old had also tested positive for the disease. He would likely come down with the first symptoms in a couple of years. The mother wept, the father left. And Nancy, who was used to hard-core cases, left the home and cried. Then she got busy making a list of things she could do to help, people she could contact, resources she could line up, from food to babysitting, she had a list of people and agencies to call. Nothing can take the place of losing 2 sons and a husband, but no one should go through such terrible pain alone. No one. Unfortunately that was as far as Nancy got. She made a good list, but she never made a single call. Ever. As far as sins go, that one is pretty bad. Nancy had a great opportunity and great ideas. She could have made a difference, but she didn’t. Fortunately most of us will never be in the mother’s position or even Nancy’s position. But each of us are in a position to make a difference. I pray that we will do so. Donn

From Donn's Desk - May, 2009

From Donn’s Desk: Baseball season has started, and as most of you know I’m not really a baseball guy, but I am familiar with some of the legendary names of baseball: Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and Kirk Gibson. Jackie Robinson is credited with breaking the ‘color’ barrier in baseball. Babe Ruth was the home-run king, Ty Cobb’s lifetime batting average (.366) still stands as a record. So here’s the pitch (it’s a pun, get it?). Just like Jackie Robinson, we are called to break down barriers all the time, to show the inclusive nature of God’s love, and grace, and kingdom. Babe Ruth not only led the league in home-runs, he also led the league in strike-outs, no matter how good we are, sometimes we are going to miss (Greek word for sin = to miss the mark). Same with Ty Cobb has the best lifetime batting average, he still struck out more than he hit. Understand, these baseball players are legendary for their achievements, but they still missed. I’m sure you can make the point with our Christian life, no matter how good we are, we are still going to need God’s grace because we are still going to miss the mark, we are still going to sin. Imagine now that it’s the World Series, the ninth inning, your team is one run behind, one man on base and two outs. The world’s greatest relief pitcher is on the mound and Kirk Gibson is up to bat. Kirk Gibson, badly injured, gimpy knee, five-o’clock shadow who hits .250. That means that he strikes out ¾ of the time. What happens? Then there is Kenny. Kenny was a professional baseball player, a pitcher, who could throw a baseball as if it were coming out of a cannon, until he got injured, and never recovered. Life goes on, and Kenny gets married. He has a relative by marriage who was extremely ill and facing death unless someone donated a kidney. None of the biological relatives were a good match, but Kenny was. Kenny stepped up to the plate and donated his kidney. And maybe right now you’re thinking, what happened to the game? How did we jump from Kirk to Kenny, from the World Series to kidneys? Tell us what happened! What happened was the relative lived. See, ultimately our lives are about giving life to others, not necessarily by donating a kidney, but by sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ, when we do that, everyone gets to home. Donn PS, 1988 World Series, L.A. Dodgers vs Oakland A’s, one of the great moments of baseball, and the reason why Dodger fans believe in God and A fans doubt.

April 2009

For those of us who may not remember American Economics 101, America’s first stock exchange collapse happened in the spring of 1792 as a result of a financier named William Duer, who was a former assistant secretary of the treasury, land speculator, and army contractor. Duer tried to corner the market on government-sold securities by reselling them to others (many wealthy Europeans), promising that they would double their money in six months. When the collapse came, Thomas Jefferson estimated that the loss in the economy was equal to the value of all the buildings in New York City. Wanting to get rich quick and easy is not something new. The obvious connection is to the current economic crisis, from Madoff to AIG, there are numerous examples of how greed has run amok and ruined many innocent people’s lives and wrecked a world economy. So many people who wanted to get rich quick and easy tried to exploit the system and as a result, many people who were simply working hard and saving and investing their money were hurt terribly. The religious truth is this: Greed is a sin, and sin has painful and sad consequences. Some of us may still be able to recite the 7 deadly sins (greed, anger, lust, gluttony, envy, sloth, and pride), but all sin has consequences which impacts the lives of others and separates us from God. Sin is fatal to our spiritual growth, maturity, and progress. As we begin the month of April and celebrate Holy Week and the season of Easter, as we remember the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we remember that God has chosen to forgive us our sins that we might be reconciled to God. It is easy to point to the harmful effects the greed of some have caused, but we are not doing ourselves any favors by judging them in anger, or priding ourselves that we are not like that. (Get it, anger, pride in the list above?). While we know that it is impossible to lead a sin-free life, we also know that it is possible to lead a grace-filled life. The ultimate effect of sin is death the ultimate effect of grace is eternal life. This is God’s stock exchange, he takes our toxic sins upon himself, washes us clean, that we may live with Him, here and now, and for all eternity. I invite us to become members of God’s stock exchange, investing, trusting and sharing God’s grace. Donn

March 2009

When you read this we will have started the season of Lent, a period of 40 days (not counting Sundays) a time of repentance, reflection and remembering the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf. The season of Lent starts with Ash Wednesday, a day we mark as the beginning of Lent, and also receive a mark of ashes on our foreheads reminding us that not only have we been marked for destruction (ashes to ashes, dust to dust) but that we have also been marked for forgiveness and new life. We are marked to remind ourselves that to enter into new life we must put to death the old habits, old ways, the old life of sin. Lent gives us time to remember the old adage that if the devil can not make us bad he will make us busy. We are not terrible sinners doing the dreadful acts we read about in the newspaper or hear about on the radio or see on TV. Our sins are more respectable. Maybe we work hard to provide for our families, but then we work so hard that we neglect to spend time with our families, or we come home too tired or too cranky to do our family any good. Lent is a time for us to stop and reflect, maybe re-evaluate our commitments, how we spend our time, what we think is important. Lent is also a time for us to remember that there is a difference between having a full life and having a fulfilling life. God has created and designed each one of us according to His purpose and Lent gives us time to reflect on the purpose, the plan, the mission God has given us. Some of you may remember when we studied the book, “The Purpose Driven Life” as part of our Lenten study. There is a reason why you were not born a chair. So as we reflect during this season of Lent I want us to remember four things about our mission. 1. We all have a mission, every single one of us (age and health issues do not excuse us from our mission). 2. Our mission starts where we are, not where we think we should be. 3. Our mission is not about us 4. Our mission is not to tell other people their mission. As we begin Lent I want to invite us on a journey of discovery, hope and mission knowing that at the end of our life’s journey, just as at the end of Lent, lies Easter. Donn

February 2009

In a world where far too often we hear about people who do the wrong thing where we see liars and cheats on every corner, I want to remind us that there are still people out there who do the right thing. One such story happened last year, on May 23 in Pasco, Washington (geographically about as far as West Palm Beach and still be in the continental US). It was the state’s 4A High School track and field championship and Nicole Cochran, a senior at Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma thought she had won the girls’ 3,200 meter title by over 3 seconds. But a judge disqualified her saying she had stepped outside her lane on one of the turns. Almost everyone disagreed with the judge, including Cochran’s competitors. (Later a video would show that it was another runner, not Cochran who stepped out of the lane). Still, the title was awarded to the runner up, Andrea Nelson, a sophomore at Spokane’s Shadie Park High. Nelson was almost as upset at the injustice as Cochran. She said it wasn’t fair, that she didn’t want to win the title that way, that Cochran deserved it, that Cochran had totally ‘crushed’ her competition. So after the top 8 finishers took the podium, Nelson decided to do what she could to make things right. She stepped off the platform, walked over to Cochran, and placed the first-place medal around Cochran’s neck, saying, “It’s your medal.” But the story doesn’t end there. After the other competitors saw what Andrea did, they each then took off their medals and gave it to the girl that was ahead of her. This meant that the 8th place girl Lyndy Davis, was without a medal, until Cochran, who had finished 8th in the 800 meter race, gave it to Lyndy Davis saying she didn’t want Lyndy to go home from the meet her senior year without a medal. Sometimes, if we look in the right place we can still see acts of kindness and grace. May God give us eyes to see and more importantly give us the grace to be gracious. Donn

January 2009

My car needs maintenance. In fact it is past due. Lights are on, warnings have been given and yet I’ve not yet taken it in for service. In order to service the car properly they need to keep it a few hours, and I haven’t felt like I’ve had the time. In my defense, December is a busy month and it is hard for me to get to hospitals and jails and courts and other places where I’m needed if I don’t have a car. So I’ve been putting it off because there are urgent needs that I must attend to. Our lives need maintenance. In fact some of us are past due, way past due. Lights are on, warning signs are flashing, but we continue to ignore them and neglect the maintenance we need. After all, we are busy people with many urgent needs pressed upon us. You can see where I’m going with this can’t you? I’ve got an appointment tomorrow at 9:00 to get my car serviced. Hopefully it won’t take too long. I am fortunate because I generally take good care of the car. I’m not anticipating any major problems and I feel fairly confident that in just a few hours I’ll be back in the car going to hospitals and other places where I am needed. I have taken the liberty to schedule an appointment for you this Sunday at 10:15, ‘to keep your heart in tune’ as the old campfire song used to go. And because study and scripture are essential to keeping your spirit fed and your mind on Christ, we have an opening for you on Sunday morning at 9:00 and Wednesdays at 6:15 (in fact if you come at 5:45 we’ll feed your stomach as well as your soul). And because a daily walk with the Lord is important for all of us, we have daily devotions available for you so that you can start each day with Scripture, meditation, and prayer. Some of you may need major service and I want to remind you that we believe in a God who specializes in complete overhauls and transformation. Like the logger who was too busy to sharpen his saw and found himself working harder and harder yet falling further and further behind, I hope we will take time to practice the spiritual disciplines that feed our souls and strengthen our relationship with God. Donn