This changes nothing

Whether you're waking up this morning celebrating or moaning the results of yesterday's election it doesn't matter.  That we live in a land where patriots and a merciful God have given us the right to vote certainly matters, but who won or lost this recent election doesn't matter nearly as much as you think.
Why is that?
Today, I still have two Bible studies to lead and prayer group to participate in;  I still need to get over to the Y today and get some exercise; I still have a sermon to work on for Sunday, and a fledgling outreach group (Mustard Seed Mission) to work for.  I am still responsible for this local flock of believers in Jesus Christ, and I am still charged with reaching the Lost with the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  None of this has changed since yesterday.
In America the government has nothing to do, for good or ill, with my church.  We can worship how we choose, and I can preach what the Word of God has laid upon my heart.  There is no government censor sitting in the pews taking notes.  In fact, I can and do broadcast my sermon each week on YouTube without fear of reprisal.
  The efforts of Mustard Seed Mission, to spread the love of Christ through helping those in need and building relationships with them is not affected in any way by the election.  The government officials we're cooperating with are local, there responsibility and heart is local.  We dont' depend upon any government funding (nor would we take any), and nobody can tell us that we cannot share the Gospel when we lend a helping hand.
My ministry, my calling from God to be salt and light in this world is not, nor can it be, changed by an election.  Even if I lived in a land where government officials would seek to take away my liberty for speaking the name of Jesus, my mission would be unchanged.  That I live in America, is a blessing from God; that OUR effort to share the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ continues this day is our responsibility.

A day in the life of a church pastor

I know that some people wonder what a pastor does during the week.  Well, it took me 30 minutes to write this next sentence because I was helping one family in need of assistance on the phone and then answering a couple of e-mails about a work project for another family.  In between that sort of thing, there is preparation for tomorrow's Bible study, thoughts about the week's sermon (and hopefully writing some of it), and general things around the church like prayer requests, hospital visitations, and planning of future events.  At the end of each day, it's a question of wondering what things can keep until tomorrow and what things need to be finished today.  I know that plenty of people out there have jobs busier than this, I'm not looking for sympathy (I love my job, it's what God put me here to do), just a reminder that when I get up to preach on Sunday morning, the hours that I spent getting this message ready were only the tip of the iceberg.

Sermon Video - "Love your enemies" Luke 6:27-30

As Jesus continues to confound the wisdom of man with the mercy of God, he offers one of the most difficult commands to those who would follow him.  "Love your enemies" isn't simply a slogan meant to be tossed aside, but rather a transformation of thinking that tells us to see the Lost the way God sees them; as wayward children who need to come home.  When we begin to act in love, God can work on our hearts and minds to transform them.  The first step is realizing that God did the same thing for you that he is asking of us, "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  God isn't asking you to do something that he hasn't already done, and he isn't asking you to do it without the grace that he will give you.  In the end, we must imitate Christ and love those who show no prospect of loving us back; when we do, we'll sow the seed of the Gospel in fertile soil.  If we don't, we've failed to live up to the grace which God has given to us.

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video

Sermon Video - "You are blessed" - Luke 6:20-23

In his customary unexpected wisdom, Jesus explains the reality that those who are poor, hungry, or sorrowful will be blessed in the Kingdom of God, and that those who follow him will be hated, mocked, and persecuted yet likewise receive the blessing of God. How can any such misfortune be considered a blessing? The answer lies in the tendency of those who have a "good" life in this world to feel no need to seek God in faith while those who have a "bad" life in this world cling to God as their only hope. In the end, it is living by faith that matters; if being poor, or being mocked as a Christian, helps us to live that life of faith we are better off than if we were rich and honored in this world, but lost in the next.


Jesus also offers the promise of a heavenly reward and the comfort that those who are treated poorly because they belong to God are not the first to suffer for this reason, nor must they suffer alone.   To watch the video, click on the link below: Sermon Video

A seed is planted...Mustard Seed Missions of Venango County

There have been several pleasant surprises here in Franklin in my first ten months: the ease of making the transition due to the overly friendly people, the amazing ecumenical cooperation among our churches, and now the fulfillment of a vision that began before I arrived but which I have become a part of.

Mustard Seed Missions of Venango County: a cooperative effort where Faith Works

This group is the official name of the Venango County Children's Roundtable's effort to come to an understanding with local churches in order to help (primarily) the children who are on the CYS caseload.  Of course, when you help the children, you help their families; and when you help families, you help the community.  This effort represents cooperation between more government agencies than I can possibly keep track of (amazing in and of itself) and more churches and denominations (a God thing if anything is) than I can list. 

My involvement began this past spring as a substitute pastoral representative at a meeting of about 20 people where we heard about the work of Seeds of Hope in Tioga County, an organization that has been doing something similar for the past ten years.  Other meetings followed, and the numbers began to grow; 30, then 40, and finally over 75 in September.  By then, there were representatives from about 50 churches throughout the county that had attended or expressed interest.  There was a critical mass of enthusiasm and hope, but a beginning still needed to be made.

And now, in the last 2 weeks, we have chosen representatives to be on a committee that will begin to move this vision into reality.  Our first priority: get out into the real world and help one of the families that we've been talking about all year.  That is now a reality that will soon be coming true; a local mom with a teenage daughter living in a home that is not safe will be receiving new windows, probably a roof repair, likely some new plumbing, and new doors (more or less).  All this with the generous donation of people's time and money, and especially the help of people with training and expertise in the building trades.

Soon, the project will be regularly helping with unsafe housing, rides to doctors appointments (using county vehicles, expanding an already existing system), and mentoring and counseling of families.  Each time a church offers real help to real people the potential exists to turn that moment into the beginning of a relationship.  Our goal, even beyond the very big task of helping in these situations, is to help construct the support structure that every person and family needs.  Where does that structure exist already?  Within our churches, as those of us who have been blessed with a church family know.  Where is the answer to drug abuse, alcoholism, neglect, anger, hopelessness, insecurity, grief, and every other such trouble that is common to man?  In the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We, Mustard Seed Missions, are not a social service organization; those already exist.  We're not an evangelism arm of our churches, they exist too.  What we are is a mixture of both.  By offering real and meaningful help to people, by showing the love of Jesus Christ through deeds not just words, we show to those in need that they have value; that God loves them.  If those who receive our physical help decline our spiritual help, we offer them God's blessing and leave the door open; if those who receive our physical help wish to know why followers of Jesus Christ would be willing to help them, we have an answer ready to share, "we love because he first loved us." (I John 4:19)

Will it be easy?  No.  Will it be without bumps along the way?  No.
But then again, what worth doing really ever is, and can you think of anything else our churches should be doing more than this?

The website: mustardseedmissionsofvc.org is up and running; it will soon become the hub for upcoming projects and will alow us to see what materials/volunteers are needed and also allow those who wish to help see what is needed and when.