The Power of Water 06.28.2024

This past week we have seen what the power of water can do.  Social Media has been full of images that are absolutely amazing, breathtaking, and even horrifying.  We’ve seen pictures of the Sioux Falls falls, in which there is so much water going over the falls that you can’t really see them. It just looks like wild rushing water.  There were pictures of culverts sticking out of roadways, forced up and out by all the water.  We’ve seen pictures of roads that have been washed away, leaving large gaps or trenches where pavement used to be.

We’ve seen pictures of dam structures coming to a point of near collapse or that water has simply made its own path around the dam.  We’ve seen pictures of cars swept off the road when someone ventured too far into the rising flood waters.

Probably the most horrendous images I’ve seen are from a video on Facebook that showed the devastation in North Sioux City.  Dan and Juanita Grewing used to live in that area and traveled many of those roads daily.  The video shows homes swept away, the landscape totally changed, even a railroad bridge has been damaged and moved by the force of the water.  Roads and streets are totally gone.  20–30-foot ravines have replaced the roads, yards, and homes in some areas of that community.  Watching that video made me think of my own involvement in the Minot, North Dakota Flood about 15 years ago.  It is truly heartbreaking to witness such devastation.  Seeing those pictures is a reminder of the incredible power of water.

Yet, I also have another image of the power of water in my mind today.  Yesterday, Thursday, I attended the funeral of Rev. Rodney Gist, a fellow United Methodist pastor and colleague.  Rod was such a joy filled, love filled human being who faithfully served churches across the Dakotas, he championed the UM Camping Ministry, and he was also a voice for justice and healing in a broken world.  In fact, at the funeral there were several people who spoke about how Rev. Rod had touched and changed their lives because of his love and radiant smile.  

The reason Rod would say he was filled with joy and hope was because of the love of God and the power of the waters of his baptism, which regularly reminded him that he was a child of God and that he was baptized into a life of love and service.  

Mother Teresa would be another person who would likely say that it was the power of the waters of her baptism that caused her to do what she did – living a life of selflessness caring for those who no one else wanted to care for on the streets of Calcutta.  And there are so many others…  People of faith who would say that, in part, it is the waters of their baptism that has influenced and shaped their lives. I would be one of them and maybe so would you.  You see, as United Methodists we believe that our baptism isn’t just about saving us “from” something, rather it is about realizing we are saved “for” something…a life of service, a life of ministry, a life of seeing the world as our parish.

We often focus on the destructive power of water, and there is good reason for that.  Today, I’m going to focus on the positive impact water can have in a person’s life, mainly the waters of baptism that calls us to a life lived beyond ourselves.  Thank you, Rev. Gist, Uncle Walter, Mom, Dad, Alan Olson, and so many others for bearing witness to God’s love and the power of the baptismal waters in each of your lives.  All of you have had a powerful impact on my life…and on so many others.  May we all live out the power of the baptismal waters in our life and in our faith!!  Our world really needs to experience that kind of power and love!!

Pastor Keith

Rain...06.21.2024

WOW!!! Was that a gully washer or what??!!  You can use whatever term or phrase you are familiar with, but yesterday’s rainstorm was definitely one for the books…and it was certainly more than just a sprinkle that settles the dust, so to speak.  As many of you know Nancy and I have been gone for about a week.  We got home yesterday mid afternoon and drove in rain pretty much the entire way home from the Badlands.  There was already 2.8 inches of rain in our rain gauge yesterday afternoon.  (Yep, I have one of those fancy KELO-Land rain gauges.)  Then, this morning there was another 5.3 inches in the gauge.  So, that totals up to just over 8 inches of rain.  We had street flooding in front of our house and had standing water about 2/3 of the way up our driveway.  However, I am fortunate in that we only have a couple spots in our basement where the carpet got a little wet.  I’m glad we got home when we did.  

But thinking about all this rain has me thinking about a passage in the Bible that speaks of another type of rain that our world needs…the rain of righteousness.  Isaiah 45:8 speaks of the heavens raining down righteousness.  Righteousness is about being holy or living according to the values of God’s Presence and Kingdom.  Certainly, that is something our world desperately needs, for more people…in fact, for all of creation to be living according to God’s Kingdom Values.  

Isaiah 45 is written by the prophet Isaiah.  He is giving hope to Jerusalem and the people of Israel who are living in exile.  God is communicating with the people saying that even though times are difficult, God is still God.  God is still in control and good days are coming.  

In fact, Isaiah 45 tells of how God is going to use King Cyrus, a gentile king, to do God’s work.  So, it isn’t just people of faith that God can work through.  God is able to use whoever and whatever God wants to to accomplish God’s work.  Part of what God see’s happening through King Cyrus’ rule in the region is that it will have a direct impact on God’s presence in the land.  That is what will cause the presence of God to rain down on the land once again, and because of that, God’s Kingdom values, or righteousness, will water or nourish the earth…and therefore the desire is that God’s righteousness will spring up and grow because of God’s influence raining down on the people.  

Today, as we deal with the rain that has come…and prepare for more rain in our forecast, may we find ways to allow God’s rain (physical) and God’s reign (spiritual and eternal), to become more and more of a reality in our lives and in our world.

Pastor Keith

We Are Not Alone 06.14.2024

As I write this article, I am aware that in just a matter of hours a family will gather, along with many others from the community, to celebrate their young daughter’s much-too-short life and then bury her body.  There is much grieving taking place in the community because of a tragic car crash that took place just over a week ago.  

In another part of our community there is a family grieving because their 10-year-old son will never be at their table again.  His life, too, was cut short by a tragic accident.  They, too, are grieving and hurting because of their loss and a life that ended too soon.

These are the two “big” incidents that have captured our community’s attention and hearts here in recent weeks.  But I also know there are other families that are grieving and/or hurting for other reasons.  In fact, I know that these two incidents have impacted other families in our community because these events have been a reminder of the families own tragic events that have taken their own child away from them too soon and they understand all too well the pain the families I’ve mentioned above are living with.  

My heart hurts for all these families.  All our hearts break for these and all the families involved in these tragic situations.  If there is anything good that comes out of such horrible situations, it is seeing people come together to weep, hurt, support, and care for one another.  In moments like those described above, suddenly our petty political, religious, opinion differences fall away, and we are simply able to be together as a community caring for one another.  This is as it should be.  

There is a story in the Bible that came to mind just the other day, after the news of the most recent death began to spread around the community.  The outpouring of love, care, and emotion on social media, for the family involved, was large and beautiful. It made me think of the story in John 11 of the death of Lazarus.  

Jesus had received word that his good friend, Lazarus was very sick and in fact dying.  Jesus didn’t make it to Bethany in time and Lazarus had already died and been buried by the time Jesus arrived.  Mary and Martha, Lazarus’s sisters, were heartbroken and grieving.  Jesus asks to be taken to the tomb where Lazarus has been buried.  Once there, Jesus is filled with emotion and the story simply says, “Jesus wept.” John 11:35. Jesus’ raw emotion came out. 

But then there is an interesting sentence.  I’ve read it many times but didn’t really notice it until now.  It says, “But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” John 11:37.   That is a very honest question.  In fact, that’s what I like about the Bible, it is filled with honest statements like that.  I’m sure there are many people today who quietly in their hearts are asking that very question.  “Couldn’t Jesus, who healed so many, have kept this young girl, this young boy, from dying?” As Christians we believe the answer to that question is “Yes!”  But Jesus did not intervene here, as he did in the Lazarus story, and bring healing and restore life.  And this is why we ask the “Why?” questions.  Why did these tragic accidents happen?  Why did these beautiful young people have to die?  There is no good answer.  

I appreciate and greatly understand the raw honesty of those very honest and real questions people ask at times like this.  I ask them myself!  I have been asked those questions throughout the course of my ministry and I still don’t have an answer.  The only words that bring me comfort in times like this are the two words that come in John 11:35, “Jesus wept.”  Those words don’t give any sort of magical answer, but they do tell us that Jesus understands the pain and hurt and grief, and even anger that we feel in moments like this.  

To all who are hurting and grieving in our community, the best words I can give you in moments like this are the two words that describe Jesus as he stood at a grave grieving… “Jesus wept.”  Jesus understands the pain we feel in our darkest moments.  Jesus understands and weeps with us.  In some ways, that is what any of us want in the moments of tragedy and loss in our lives.  Somewhere in the back corners of our minds, we know, or at least recognize, that at times, tragedy does happen.  We don’t like it, we don’t want it to touch our families, but we know it happens.  But what we all want to know is that in those deepest moments of pain in our lives, we want to know that we aren’t standing alone in our grief and weeping…that someone who loves and cares for us is there with us.  This story answers that question.  We aren’t alone.  There are always friends and family that grieve with us in those moments of pain, but this story also tells us that in the midst of our searching questions and in the midst of our brokenness, and even anger, we are never alone.  Jesus is with us.  Jesus weeps with us.  Jesus understands!

Pastor Keith

Heritage Tour 05.31.2024

Yesterday I did a little bit of a heritage tour.  I traveled to three different places in the region and each place held special reasons and memories for why I was there.  Those memories have helped to shape me into the person that I am today.

Actually, this heritage tour started a week ago by my mom and I carrying on an annual tradition.  For the past 4-5 years on the Thursday or Friday before Memorial Day, mom and I load up flowers in one of our cars and head out to visit area cemeteries to place flowers on the graves of various family members.  We usually start out at the Underwood Cemetery, north of White Lake.  That’s where my dad is buried.  Then we go to the Ebenezer Cemetery out in the country northwest of Corsica.  That is the site of the church that mom grew up in and was married in. The original building burned, and the second church structure was moved away years ago.  But the cemetery remains and that’s where Grandpa and Grandma Isakson (mom’s parents) and other relatives from her side of the family are buried.  And finally, there is a stop at the Corsica Cemetery on the east side of Corsica, where mom’s sister is buried along with several other close family members.  

Some cemeteries have a time limit of how long flowers can be on graves, so usually about a week after the flowers are placed, someone picks them up.  This year I had the honor of doing so.  I kind of went in the reverse order of what we usually do.  I headed to the Corsica Cemetery first.  There I thought of Aunt Reva, Mom’s sister, who died just months after I was born.  Mom tells of how Aunt Reva got to hold infant me, and then several weeks later she died from what was then called Juvenile Diabetes, which had plagued Aunt Reva most of her life.  

I also took the flowers from Uncle Ed and Aunt Joyce’s grave, remembering how last August I helped carry Aunt Joyce’s casket to its final resting place.  She and Uncle Ed were such faith-filled people.  When they said they were praying for you…you knew they were praying for you.  I also took the flowers we had placed on Cousin Darwin’s grave.  Darwin was Uncle Ed and Aunt Joyce’s son, who was a couple years older than me.  Darwin was severely injured in a car accident in the early 80’s and was a quadriplegic for the rest of his life until his death in 2005.  I was asked to officiate at the funeral.  Darwin taught me about how even in tragedy God is present and it also taught me about how fragile life can be.

The stop at the Ebenezer Cemetery brought me to Grandpa and Grandma Isakson.  Grandma Isakson I never knew.  She also died when I was an infant.  But Grandpa Isakson I remember quite well.  He too was a man of strong faith.  I got Grandpa’s grey felt hat after he died.  There was a time or two when I wore that hat that Mom said she could see her dad in me.  Lots of other relatives are buried there.  They too left a legacy of faith.

The final stop at the Underwood Cemetery took me to the church I grew up in.  That’s where various Sunday School teachers poured into me.  That’s where I was baptized, confirmed, received communion for the first time, lit the candles, collected the offering, shared with them about my giving my life to Christ, the people of that church voted to approve me as a candidate for ministry, and that is even where I did my very first children’s sermon (I hyperventilated – seriously!).  The Underwood Church building still stands, though the church closed long ago.  The building is slowly deteriorating but the memories are rock solid.  

After looking at the building I entered the cemetery and removed the flowers from my dad’s grave, thanking him for life, the values he taught me, the fun, and some not so fun memories I look back on, all which helped shape me.  I thanked him for the quiet and gentle man of faith that he was and how he supported my decision to go into ministry and not come back to the farm.  I took the flowers from Grandpa and Grandma Nelson’s grave, giving thanks for their faithful witness and their loving presence.  I stood there at Uncle Walter and Aunt Janet’s graves, thinking of their presence and influence on my life.  There was Cousin David’s grave, as well as other family and neighbors’ graves.  I had the sense of being surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.  

It was a Holy Moment…it was a Holy trip.  There have been so many stops along my journey of faith and many people that have influenced me in my faith along the way, but that journey on Thursday afternoon helped me reconnect with my heritage.  It helped me recognize that faith is not an individual journey…there truly is a great cloud of faithful witnesses that nurture, support, encourage, teach, and that bring faith to life.  Maybe someday my kids or grandchildren will take their own heritage tour and stand at my grave and recognize that in God’s love we are still (and always will be) connected!

Pastor Keith

Life Lessons 05.24.2024

Quite often we hear about the dangers of technology and the ills of everyone (an exaggeration) carrying a smartphone.  However, yesterday I experienced technology at its best and how a smartphone actually was able to build a bridge and be beneficial.  

This is Memorial Day weekend, which used to be called Decoration Day, a time when families would “decorate” the graves of family members.  Mom and I have the tradition of going out to the area cemeteries in the Corsica and White Lake areas, and putting flowers on various family members' graves.  Yesterday was the day to make our annual trek.  

We needed to pick up some new flowers, so on the way out of town we stopped at Walmart to make a couple purchases.  Usually, such seasonal items are right out front, but not this time.  So, mom and I are walking aisles looking for flowers and not having much luck.  I saw a gentleman with the tell-tale blue vest, and I approached him to ask for assistance.  “Do you know where I can find flowers for decorating graves?” I asked the man.  He turned toward me and said, “Ahhhh….no English.”  Then he motioned for me to wait a moment.  

I thought maybe he was going to look for someone else to help me, but instead he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.  He made a few swipes looking for the app that he wanted.  Then he poked the appropriate icon and held it up to me.  I noticed it said “translator” on the phone.  I understood what he was doing.  So, I said “Flowers.”  The app did its magic and the staff person looked at his phone and said, “Ah yes.”  And looked very confident.  He motioned for me to follow him.

About that same time another blue vested individual came along.  I thought, why not ask this individual.  I’ll be honest, I wasn’t completely convinced the first gentleman knew what I was looking for.  Which, that first gentleman was already making his way down the aisle in a very confident manner.  The second employee I asked just looked at me for a moment and said, “I have no idea, man.”  And that was that!

So, I turned and started following the first man I talked to.  He was now standing at the head of another aisle and was pointing.  As I got closer, a big smile crossed his face, as he continued pointing down the secondary aisle.  I looked, and sure enough, there were the flowers we were looking for.  I gave him a thumbs up, indicating that was exactly what we were looking for.  He looked pleased to have helped.  And I said one of the few Spanish words that I know.  “Gracias!”  The employee’s smile got a little bit bigger, he nodded his head, and then headed back to where he had been working, before I had asked for his assistance.  

And there it was…the power of connection through the use of technology.  A smartphone was able to build a bridge between the two of us and though our conversation was very limited and not particularly deep, still I believe there was more that was communicated between the two of us than the simple understanding of the word “flowers.”  

The lesson for me in that moment, or my hope and prayer, as I left Walmart yesterday, “May I be as creative, thoughtful, and helpful the next time I am having trouble communicating with someone who asks something of me, as this Walmart employee was in helping me.”  There are lots of loud voices in our world today making demands and forceful statements.  Most often, I believe it is the softer voices and the smiles, and a little creative ingenuity, that are the most helpful, and in the long run, get the most done.  

Pastor Keith

Day of Pentecost 05.17.2024

This is a very special weekend, one that many have been looking forward to for quite some time.  It’s graduation weekend for the Mitchell High School Seniors.  Our seniors have been dreaming of and planning for this weekend for months…maybe even years, because the big event of this weekend, graduation, is seen as a stepping out of what has been and stepping into something new.  So, yes, this weekend is a big deal!!

Graduations are an important moment in life.  Sometimes they help the participant recognize that something new is about to begin…or at the very least graduation events give the message that something is changing.  This is why we see Eighth Grade Graduations, Kindergarten Graduations, Preschool Graduations.  And sometimes the graduations that we experience don’t involve a cap and a gown…but they are still significant moments where those involved recognize that something is changing and that a new beginning is happening.

Such as, this weekend is the recognition of another graduation of sorts, that really isn’t recognized as a graduation, but I believe it is.  You see, this is Pentecost Sunday.  Yes, Pentecost Sunday is seen, in a sense, as the birthday of the church.  It is the moment that Jesus told the disciples to wait for in Jerusalem. (Acts 1:4) Pentecost is when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and empowered them and changed the direction of their ministry…forever!  

You see, up to this point, the disciples were the students of Rabbi Jesus.  But once the Advocate, the Counselor, the Holy Spirit was given to them at Pentecost, they became more than just students.  As Acts 1:8 says, they became “witnesses.”  Matthew 28:18-20 tells us they also became baptizers, disciple makers, and teachers.  All of this is a part of the new beginning, the new role that the disciples have as Jesus’ representatives in the world.

Pentecost was and is a powerful day to celebrate because it truly became the graduation day for the disciples.  Through their Pentecost experience, they knew things were different…things were changing and moving in a new direction.  You see, graduations often have a way of pushing a student out of what is known and comfortable into something that is new and, in many ways, unfamiliar, such as college, or graduate school, or even full-time employment.  Pentecost, all those years ago, empowered the disciples to stop laying low in Jerusalem, and instead it pushed them out into the community, and ultimately, the world, to be Jesus’ witnesses of God’s Good News.  

So, on this graduation weekend, it is fitting that we also celebrate Pentecost.  And maybe we need to take a moment to consider where and how the Holy Spirit, which is still active and present in our world, is impacting each of our lives.  How might the Holy Spirit be seeking to press us into a moment of change and maybe even new direction, all for the sake of God’s Kingdom becoming more real here on earth.  

It’s true, Pentecost usually doesn’t involve a cap and gown.  However, Pentecost does involve tongues of fire resting upon all those who were gathered with the disciples.  That fire or presence of the Holy Spirit pushed the disciples and believers out of that room and into the community, living out the message and the love of Jesus to all who would listen.  

It is my hope that Pentecost Sunday can be a Graduation Sunday for our church and for all in the Christian Faith.  May we all experience the movement of God in our midst…and especially within us.  And may God’s Holy Spirit move us out of what is comfortable into the unknown of living out the message and power of Jesus.

Pastor Keith

New Beginnings 05.10.2024

What does it mean to “commence?”  According to the online dictionaries I consulted, the word commence means to begin, as in to begin an action or an activity.  OK, that makes sense.   So then why do I always think of commencement as an ending not a beginning?  

This weekend MTC and DWU will have their commencement ceremonies and next weekend is Mitchell HS commencement.  Plus, all the communities in the area are having their commencement ceremonies over the next couple of weekends too.  I’ve been through three commencement ceremonies in my life, high school, college, and seminary and each time it was the final official event I had with each of those communities of learning. The classes were finished, the testing and evaluating completed.  So, why does “commencement” seem to mark endings but “commence” is about beginnings?

So, I dug deeper into the word commencement and discovered that the intended focus of the commencement ceremony is on the conferring or giving of a degree to an individual.  What that means is that the ceremony is about starting a new reality about the individual receiving the degree.  In a sense it is saying, “You are a different person now.” “You have new knowledge and skills to use as you live your life.” In that sense, commencement is a beginning.  One crosses the stage, receives their diploma and degree, and then steps into the world with the skills, training, and education for a new beginning in life.  

Yes, commencement can mark endings, the end of attending classes at a certain institution.  It’s the end of certain professor/student relationships.  It’s the end of certain friendships as people head off in their different directions for their next chapter in life’s ongoing journey.  

However, the real intention of commencement, I now realize, is that of beginnings.  It is the beginning of a new direction or phase in life.  It is the beginning of using one’s education and skills in a new way.  It is a beginning with certain doors being opened or at least available to the person because of the training and education that has been received.  But there is one other way that I believe the commencement ceremonies mark a “beginning” point in life.  It marks the beginning of a time of continued learning and growth. 

There are two moments that have been a part of “commencements” in my life that have shaped me.  The first was at my high school graduation. There was a specific award given out to one male and one female student in the graduating class.  It was called the “I Dare You…” award.  It was an award that recognized the potential in a student to make a difference in the world.  I received that award.  I was shocked.  I never saw myself as a world changer…but could I??!!  Someone seemed to think I had the potential.  

The second moment that has shaped me was a part of an unofficial commencement ceremony.  I had just completed my Private Pilot check ride with an official FAA examiner.  Once back on the ground the instructor took my logbook and signed it, he also gave me a piece of paper that said I had passed and that I was now a certified private pilot.  That was a special moment.  But what really struck me was as he handed me all those documents he said, “This is your license to keep on learning.”  He was saying, you’ve accomplished something great, but don’t think you know everything you need to know.   There is so much more to learn.  Keep on learning!  Keep on growing!

So, to all you seniors and others who are experiencing commencements, I know you’re thinking it’s time to put the books and learning behind you.  You’re done with that!!  OK…maybe set the books aside for a week or two.  But realize, this isn’t an ending…it’s a beginning.  Yes, you have accomplished something great…but there is so much more to learn.  Keep on learning!  Keep on growing!  Good words for all of us no matter our age.    

Pastor Keith

Change 05.03.2024

Change is hard!  Change is hard work!

We are living with this reality in the office here at our church facility.  If you haven’t been by the offices in a week or so, you won’t recognize it when you do stop by.  Right now everything is torn out from the main office area.  Tonya is literally working from a 6-foot table we brought in.  The wallpaper and carpeting is gone.  The desk, countertop, and cabinets are gone.  It is truly a bare wall, bare floor, bare room except for a few tools that Dan is using in his deconstruction and prep work for the remodeling that will soon be taking place.  

This change is even affecting Short and me.  Short has already cleared off the shelves in her office, awaiting the same demolition process to begin in her space.  If you look in my office you’ll see boxes, mostly empty but some full, taking up floor space in my area.  Yes, all the ministry mementos, all the books, and all the other odds and ends that have a place in my office are about to be put in boxes and stored elsewhere until the remodeling process is complete.

The hard work of change in the remodeling process is more than just removing old items that has served this church well for many years.  The hard work is also about finding new ways of doing things until the new furniture arrives and the office equipment is back in its place.  The hard work also comes into play as we sort through all the “stuff” before we put it into a box, to determine if this is something that needs to be kept or is this something to throw away.  Is this item something that is no longer useful or is this something to hang on to.  As many of you know, these are not always easy questions to answer…especially since so many of us in our culture are ones that hang on to stuff.  

Change is hard because we are all creatures of habit.  We tend to get comfortable with our surroundings and often we expect things to stay the same.  I once read a report that talked about how a person gets so used to the clutter or things in their space that often they fail to notice what is really there or what things are really like.  This is why some people will look in my office and see a mess.  Yet when I walk into my office I don’t see the mess, I see all my stuff and the work that I do that involves or includes the things on my desk and floor.  We’ll have to have a grand reopening when the remodeling work is done, then you can see my office when it is neat and tidy.  ☺

Change is hard because sometimes it involves the ways of thinking that have made sense previously, yet maybe aren’t working so well in a new day.  An example for me personally is that there are certain things that I have thought and practiced in my ministry all these years.  But what I’m finding is that in the last few years those same practices are no longer effective, useful, or even beneficial to me and our church.  

Because of this, I have applied to participate in the next Practical Church Leadership program offered through a partnership with DWU and the Dakotas Conference.  It’s a year long certificate program that allows me the opportunity to meet with other pastors from across the Conference and the nation, and together we learn new ways of thinking, communicating, and being in ministry in today’s world that will allow me and our church to be more effective in sharing the Good News of Jesus with the world.  

Change is hard!  Change is hard work!!  But hopefully the outcome of all the hard work is something useful, beautiful, and helpful for each of us to continue on in our walk of faith and being a follower of Jesus Christ.  Here’s to the hard work!  Let’s all press on for God’s greater glory!

 Pastor Keith

Who Are You? 4.26.2024

Mourning Doves…with the nicer weather returning, so are the Mourning Doves.  Every summer I’ve lived here in Mitchell it seems that a lot of the birds congregate here in the northern part of town where I live.  I hear their haunting call every morning.  I’m guessing many of you hear them too.  So, my question is, what do you hear them saying?  I’m serious!  When you hear their call, what do you hear?  What does it sound like to you?

To me the cadence of their call has a specific pattern and sound that reminds me of a question I heard an individual ask a while back.  The cadence of the question asked by the speaker is the same as what I hear from the mourning doves.  In the words of my dad, who when he was in the Army, was a company clerk and communications person, so he knew and used Morse Code…(and knew it still until the day he died).  He would have described the cadence as “short…loooong…short” or “dit…daaaaaa…dit.”  So, the question I hear being asked in those bird calls??  “Who are you?”  Emphasis on the “are.”  “Who are you?”  

So, how would you like to be greeted by that question every morning as you head out for the day??  Actually, it’s a great question to start your day with?  Who are you??  It is a very powerful question if you really stop and truly consider it.    

My Mourning Dove experience reminds me of a story I heard a while back about a Rabbi from many years ago who was running an errand.  He took a wrong turn in his village and ended up at a military garrison.  As he approached the Post, the guard on duty hollered out, “Who are you?  What are you doing here?”

The Rabbi stopped and considered the questions.  Then he responded to the soldier, “Young man, how much are you paid in a week?  When the guard answered, sounding a bit bewildered, the Rabbi said, “I’ll pay you twice that amount if you’ll come to my home every morning and ask me those same two questions.  “Who are you?  What are you doing here?” 

These are two important questions.  Important for individuals and important for the Church as well.  So much so, that our church leadership is taking this year (2024) to ask those questions in our own way.  We are focusing more on “Why are we here?”…as in, in this community.  Or another way to put it is, “What is our purpose?”  Why does God have us in this community at this particular time?”  I’d invite each of you to pray for our church’s leadership as we ask these questions and listen carefully and wait patiently (or not so patiently) for the response we hear from God.

But, back to us as individuals, how would it change your life or the direction of each day if you had someone asking you those questions?  Actually, maybe you can have that experience.  Listen for the mourning doves in the morning.  They’ll start you out with, “Who are you?”  Then you can fill in the rest.  “What are you doing here?”  Part of the answer, I believe, is remembering each day that we are children of God…and that what we are doing here is trying to touch this world…or touch another person with the Love of Christ.  That’s Kingdom Living made simple.   

Pastor Keith

"Stay Alert" 04.19.2024

For those of you who watch or listen to my Tuesday morning Faith Break video on Facebook, I always end with the same words; Stay Alert!  Stay Connected!  Stay Grounded in God!  On occasion I’ve had someone ask what that means, the “Stay Alert” part.  Or they’ll ask why I say that, why should we remain alert?  Well, I guess the main reason is that Jesus tells his disciples to remain alert. 

There are four times in Mark and Luke, in our New Testament, that Jesus tells his disciples to remain alert.  The first time in Mark 13:23, Jesus is talking about how there will always be people pointing to false messiah’s and someone will always be repeating what the false messiah’s say.  But Jesus’s word is.  “Stay alert.”  The word means to be watchful, to not sleep, to be ready, to keep awake.  And then, right after telling the disciples to “Be Alert,” Jesus goes on to say, “I have told you everything.”  In other words, if the message of a would-be messiah doesn’t line up with what Jesus has said, that’s a sure sign of a false messiah.  Be alert, Jesus says!!

Just a few verses later, in Mark 13:33, Jesus once again tells his disciples to “be alert.”  This time the message is given in a story about an owner or boss who goes on a journey and doesn’t really know when the return date will be. The servants are left in charge.  But the wise servants don’t goof off because the owner is gone.  They stay vigilant at their tasks because they don’t know when the head person will be back.  So, they are to keep doing what the owner has told them to do.  

In Luke 12:35 and following, Jesus again tells the disciples to be alert, like the servants of the person who goes off to a wedding celebration.  Weddings were a multi-day celebration in that time period.  But again, the admonition is given to stay alert, waiting and watching for the homeowner to return so that the servants can open the door and welcome the owner into the home.  When those servants are found faithfully doing their work and faithfully accomplishing their duties, they will be blessed.  

Luke 21:36 is the final time Jesus says, “Be alert.” He’s reminding the disciples that there will be difficult or dark days, and that they should “be alert” to be watching out for those moments so they won’t be tripped up or caught off guard.  Hang on to your faith and trust in God, is the message.  Be Alert!!

So, what does being alert look like?  To me, a great example of alertness is our dog, Sophie.  The other evening Nancy was gone (and FYI, Sophie really is Nancy’s dog).  I was doing some office work for a bit.  Sophie came and lay on the floor by me.  Then I went to the living room to read for a while.  Faithfully, Sophie followed me into the Living Room and again laid down close by.  Even though Sophie appeared to be sleeping and totally disconnected with the world, she truly was not.  All the sudden she sat up, her ears cocked toward the garage, then I heard it too.  The garage door was going up.  Sophie ran to the side door and stood there waiting for her master to open the door and greet her, which Nancy did.  That is an example of alertness.  In the ordinary moments of a dog’s day of wanting to be loved by her human, she was very much alert and waiting.  

In our lives of following Jesus, we too are called to be alert.  Alert for moments when we can live out God’s Kingdom and Jesus’ love in our world. Alert for the moments to see Jesus in the people that we meet in our day-to-day lives.  Alert to moments when Jesus is being falsely represented in the world and we have the chance to not necessarily correct the false messenger, but to live and act as true representatives for Jesus in the world.  Yes, there is much for us to be watchful for.  So, I’m going to try to be more like Sophie.  I’ll go through my day doing my human things…but I always want to be ready for the Jesus moments that might come my way so I, too, might be ready.  How about you??  Yes, a good word for us all…Be Alert!!! 

Pastor Keith