Philippi Christian Church. We are disciples of Christ at Philippi Christian Church

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1 We are disciples of Christ at Philippi Christian Church In the ancient story from In the Beginning, to Jesus, to now we take our place to the end that through discipleship all people should receive the bountiful rewards of God s favor Philippi Christian Church March 2017 JANUARY, 2017 ATTENDANCE 1st th th nd th - 54 TOTAL ATTENDANCE AVERAGE ATTENDANCE - 45 Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul And sings the tune without the words And never stops at all And sweetest in the gale is heard And sore must be the storm That could abash the little bird That kept so many warm. Dear Philippians, Ever since I viewed the movie G.I. Jane with Demi Moore and Viggo Mortensen, I have loved these verses by Emily Dickinson. It is spoken by Mortensens character Master Chief Urgayle to Navy SEAL trainee Lt. Jordyn O Neil in a rare moment of connection and understanding between them. Hope is a powerful thing. In his beautiful treatise on love, the apostle proclaims And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. (I Corinthians 13:13) This chapter is the favorite of many who sit in the pews, and few would dispute the apostle. Few. Not none. In the foreword to a recent book by Carol Howard Merrit, Diana Butler Bass does just that. Dr. Bass is an author, speaker and scholar who specializes in the analysis of and commentary on American religion and culture. I have long been a fan of hers, but have not read any of Ms. Merrit s work. It came recommended to me by a colleague in another region. I have not completed the first chapter of the work, but the preface was well worth the purchase price. Dr. Bass, in a brief essay, extols the power of hope. Indeed! Who among us could dispute the power of hope? It makes fools of many of us, connecting us relentlessly to the present by dreams of desired changes in the future. At the recent meeting of the Board, our Moderator encouraged us to consider endorsing a statement by our General Minister and President Sharon Watkins, regarding refugees. The statement is printed below. "We therefore remain deeply committed to fulfilling God s call in scripture to welcome the stranger and treat the alien who resides with you as the citizen among you (Leviticus 19:34). We have upheld this

2 commitment to offer hospitality to well over 40,000 refugees since the time of WWII, and have done so by providing housing, employment, mentoring, contributions, prayer and friendship. In this critical era when one in every one hundred thirteen individuals around the globe is a refugee, asylee, or displaced person, we remain strongly supportive of the U.S. refugee program, which vigorously vets refugees through multiple federal and international agency interviews, screenings, and lengthy checks." A brief, respectful discussion followed his presentation, with a decision to defer action, allowing Board members to reflect upon the issue. I commend our Moderator for encouraging us to consider this timely issue, and to consider it through the lens of scripture and our discipleship. If our sense of discipleship does not influence our day to day behavior and belief, it lacks vitality, and is little more than opinion. Our authority is the will of our Creator, made known through scripture, especially the words of Jesus Christ. I understand that we live in uncertain, even dangerous times and our fear for safety must color our day to day decisions. 2 The Flight to Egypt children from suffering or dying. But what does this have to do with hope? First, I believe that it is hope (as well as mortal fear) that brings refugees to our shores. Many set out on perilous journeys in order to seek safety for their children. Many leave their homes because they must. The choice is to leave or to die. They hope that the choice they make will keep their Aside from the hope of strangers who seek safety here, I, too, hope. I face no life-threatening risks, but I do hope for new life for the Church of Jesus Christ. I believe that, in considering these issues together, we can find new vitality in the practice of our faith, and new strength in our community. I have often proclaimed that the strength of community is to be found in the interaction of small groups where we can get to know one another more deeply. My hope is that we as a congregation will experience growth not in numbers but in depth and authenticity as we reflect upon God s will for us. If this expression of the Church of Jesus Christ can reflect respectfully together on this issue, then my hope will be renewed for the future of our deeply divided country. I have printed a document which gives insight into the Biblical commentary on refugees and strangers. I hope that you will take a copy home and study and reflect prayerfully. I believe in the power of hope, and I am grateful to be your partner in ministry. June

3 3 NINETEEN THINGS YOU MIGHT GIVE UP FOR LENT (and beyond) Here are 19 things you might consider giving up this Lent and beyond: 1. Fear: God is on my side. In Him I am more than a conqueror. (See Romans 98) 2. The need to please everyone: I can t please everyone anyway. There is only one I need to strive to please. 3. Envy: I am blessed. My value is not found in my possessions, but in my relationship with my Heavenly Father. 4. Impatience: God s timing is the perfect timing. 5. Sense of entitlement: The world does not owe me anything. God does not owe me anything. I live in humility and grace. 6. Bitterness and Resentment: The only person I am hurting by holding onto these is myself. 7. Blame: I am not going to pass the buck. I will take responsibility for my actions. 8. Gossip and Negativity: I will put the best construction on everything when it comes to other people. I will also minimize my contact with people who are negative and toxic and bring other people down. 9. Comparison: I have my own unique contribution to make and there is no one else like me. 10. Fear of failure: You don t succeed without experiencing failure. Just make sure you fall forward. 11. A spirit of poverty: Believe with God that there is always more than enough and never a lack. 12. Feelings of unworthiness: You are fearfully and wonderfully made by your creator. (see Psalm 139) 13. Doubt: Believe God has a plan for you that is beyond anything you could imagine. The future is brighter than you could ever realize. 14. Self-pity: God comforts us in our sorrow so that we can comfort others with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 15. Retirement: As long as you are still breathing, you are here for a reason. You have a purpose to influence others for Christ. That does not come to an end until the day we die. CONGRATULATIONS FROM PHILIIPPI to William Headley and Brittany Hudgins who were married on December 26 in Arizona. Further congratulations to William who also recently received his high school diploma.

4 4 FAITH AND POLITICS The connection between faith and politics is sometimes complicated, but it is hard to avoid and dangerous to ignore. The problem of refugees, for example, heavily overlaps faith on one side and politics on the other. Jesus says to help the downtrodden, but our government now wants to keep the refugees out. Religion and politics are entangled, and it is the place of all thoughtful people, especially Christians, to look at the particular case and weigh the facts and the ethics involved. For Christians, the Church meaning the body of Christ on earth will have considerable authority over moral issues, such as treatment of suffering people. On the other hand, the government takes priority on questions of security and public safety. It is not the purpose of the U.S. Constitution to confer moral authority on the government, and it does not claim to do so. A government may maintain high moral standards, or it may not. I have been recalling, lately, the situation of Germany and the Jews in the 1930s. The Church got a lot of bad press after the war for not doing more to save the Jews from the Nazis. I expect the churches wanted to do more. I expect that when the Nazis took over the government and began persecuting the Jews, the people of the churches argued about helping the Jews and how to respond to the government, but finally the Church told itself that Jews were the government s business and besides, this persecution was what many people wanted. So the Church kept quiet. Then when things really got bad for the Jews it was too late if Christians spoke up then, they could be killed. Maybe if they had spoken out, the light of Christ would have helped to guide the German people and things would have turned out differently. But they didn t speak up. They put the light under the bushel basket, and then well for the Jews and a hundred million other people, we got the greatest catastrophe the world has ever known. Our situation, hopefully, is not that dire. But we have a president who is probably the most audacious (for lack of a better word) that we have ever known, and it is vitally important

5 5 that we not cede the moral authority of Christianity to him. The president oversees Americans security, but he must not be allowed to intrude on Christianity s moral authority with no more than a pretense of danger. It is a terrible mistake for the Church to give away its moral authority. If it does so, it is not the church at all. Without its moral authority, the Church is like the salt that has lost its savor. And so it is with Philippi. Our church must speak up on moral issues for as long as it is able. Earl Simpson, Moderator

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7 Executive Committee meeting, 3:30p Fellowship Hall