Interactive Sermon

A Christmas Gift

It came upon a mid-day clear.

The it was a telephone call from Reverend Glen Bachelder. I was still settling in as the newly-called pastor at Christ's Church. The man on the telephone introduced himself as the Interim Pastor of First Baptist Church of Amherst. I knew enough (barely enough) to know that Christ's Church had begun a dozen or so years earlier through a painful split within the congregation there. Pastor Glen filled in some of the gaps for me. There was still much lingering hurt and anger. He shared a conviction: "Within the body of Christ it is important that we make things right." Left alone, he feared this was the sort of foothold evil would continue to exploit. He suggested that he and the board of deacons from Amherst First Baptist would like to come visit with our board of elders--to discuss reconciliation; burying the hatchet.

The meeting took place. It was a prayerful meeting. It had its tearful moments. A handful of men gathered to look back--but also to commit to looking forward. We covenanted to walk forward in a new light. We weren't at all sure what that would look like, but we were committed to a loving course as opposed to a broken one. Pastor Bachelder suggested, "Wouldn't it be great if, one day, we could gather both congregations to worship together?" We all agreed, but we also recognized it wouldn't happen in the near future. Healing, after all, takes time.

Over the last decade we've seen the Lord bless friendships and fellowship between members of the two congregations. We've had occasions to share in ministry in our community. We've had occasions to gather the leaders, to pray and encourage one another. Pastor Mike and I have enjoyed gathering together weekly with other pastors in our community, and we've worked together to change the climate among the many different expressions of the body of Christ in our area, from competitiveness to cooperation. We're seeing God move in our midst.

On Christmas Day we will experience a tremendous gift. The congregations of First Baptist Church and Christ's Church will gather for worship together. A choir and worship team made of members of both congregations will lead us in song; leaders from both congregations will take part; and we will worship as one for the first time in more than twenty-six years.

Pastor Bachelder went to be with the Lord two months ago. He had spent forty years in the ministry serving a handful of congregations, leading people to know and love the Lord--he left a long legacy. But it was a simple telephone call a dozen years ago, and a heart for getting it right within the body of Christ, that serves as the catalyst for a very special gift we'll open on December 25th this year.

Online Office Hours

Kicking off today at 1PM!

So many of us spend so much time each week on the internet--for work, life and/or recreation. Why not put an office where people routinely pass?

I'm debuting my ONLINE OFFICE HOURS today. From 1pm to 2:30pm on Fridays my office will be a URL where you can drop in and chat with me. Where will I be physically? I haven't decided yet. That's the cool thing about this--I can literally be anywhere there is an internet connection available to me. 

Got a question for me? Something at Christ's Church you want to chat about? Talk about last week's sermon? Talk about this coming Sunday? Perhaps you want to talk about something truly important: Wonder how it is that the Red Sox are off to this terrible start? Want to know why I'm on the owners' side in the NFL Labor DIspute?

Seriously--is there something you'd like to chat with me about, or to have me pray with you or for you?

If you've got a moment between 1 and 2:30 drop by. I'll be "in the office".

 

Resurrection Sunday at Christ's Church?

It is true, I am sworn to secrecy. I cannot tell you what is planned for this year's resurrection celebration at Christ's Church. But I didn't promise that I wouldn't tell people what will not be included.

This, for instance, will NOT be a part of the service on April 24th:

 

Aren't you relieved?

Invite family, friends, neighbors, people you pass on the way to church... everyone! Come Monday there will be two kinds of people in Southern New Hampshire: those who experienced Easter 2011 at Christ's Church and those who hear about it everywhere they go!

Looking Forward To The Weekend

It's Monday. The whole world is looking forward to the weekend. But in Christ's Church world, I've got some pretty terrific reasons to look ahead with greater-than-normal anticipation.

InteractivePastor.com Launch ~ Friday April 8th will mark the beginning of my online office hours. Instead of a physical address, my office location between 1pm and 2:30pm on Fridays will be the URL www.interactivepastor.com. I hope you'll plan on stopping by. Testing of the site has been underway. I'm praying for few glitches and lots of adventure. I'm also praying that it will be a convenient manner for some people will connect with me. Time will tell. 

Worship Workshops 2011 ~ The third offering on the worship workshop schedule is Worship Band, and the session is scheduled to run Saturday morning from 9am to 12noon. I've been thrilled with the turn out and participation for the first two sessions. I can't wait to see who comes together for this one! Here's the description of this session: A class designed for worship band instrumentalists and worship leaders. This workshop will tackle timing, dynamics, transitions, and developing parts for your instrument – learning what to play, when to play and when not to play. We will also discuss how to translate the recorded version of a song into an arrangement that fits your team. This session will include clips from Paul Baloche's Modern Worship Series.

Community-Wide Pulpit Swap ~ The pastors who are a part of the Souhegan Valley Pastor's Association are stirring things up this Sunday in a demonstration of unity. You'll have to go to church on Sunday to see for yourself. Suffice to say, nothing like this has ever happened before! And I am thrilled to be a part of it.

Worship Workshops 2011

Looking forward to hosting the church across our community.

The Offering: A New Verse

This past weekend I was asked to pen a new verse for a song by Paul Baloche called The Offering for us to sing at Christ's Church.  The wonderful song, as Paul composed it, begins with am Advent season sounding verse--the story of the wise men coming to bow before Jesus and present their offerings to him. I was asked to pen a verse that would allow us to leave the Advent verse out.  We moved Baloche's second verse--a verse about our being able to approach the throne of God with our offerings because of the finished work of Jesus--into the position of a first verse, and I spent some time considering the scene of heaven's worship, our worship here added in, and even creation crying out in praise. The new second verse sings like this:

And even now in heaven, gathered ‘round Your throne; a heavn’ly host declares your glory

The bride of Christ, the church, lends her voice in song; proclaims to all redemption’s story

Transcending harmony, all creatures, all creation; bow to You

And then back to the wonderful chorus of Paul Baloche's song--I really enjoyed singing it with you all on Sunday, and even more, considering the transcending nature of our praise and worship.

Are You Ready To G.O.?

Plans are underway for a 2011 G.O. Team to Namibia in July.  What do you think?  Are you ready to G.O.?  Teams will partner with our friends Dieter and Joan in Okahandja, ministering in pre-schools across some of Namibia's poorest communities; our friends Nan and Brenda in Arandis, assisting in the Talitha Kumi primary school; our friends Tresford and Fabiola, partnering in ministry with the congregation of Arandis Eagle Christian Church; and our friends Boniface and Saarah in ministering to their bible college and life skills students in Ondangwa.  Where do you fit?  We'll have an informational meeting at Christ's Church on Sunday January 16th at 7pm.  Come and see!

Challenging The Status Quo

You know that I meet every week with my peers, the pastors in our local community. We call ourselves the Souhegan Valley Pastor's Association. Those guys have become friends over the years, and I know them all to be authentic followers of Christ and desiring to pastor and shepherd their congregations in a way that blesses our community and honors God. 

They all know--as many of you do--that I am passionate about changing our vocabulary where the church is concerned. I strive never to use the word 'church' when referring to a congregation, for there is truly ONE CHURCH made up of many local expressions.  So it's not this church and that church, my church and your church, his church and her church, but rather this congregation or that expression of the body of Christ that we should be referring to, for they're all parts of the ONE CHURCH.

But still, the reality is that we live in a consumerist culture that views these many expressions of the body as competitors. And if we're not intentional about being otherwise, we'll slide right into that trap. 

This week I've added a section to the front page of the Christ's Church website listing and linking to the local congregations whose pastors I know and believe in.  If someone is looking for a church home in our community--keeping in mind that I think everyone should come to Christ's Church--I want them to know that there are a number of great local expressions of the body of Christ in our area. 

I'm thrilled also that several of the congregations in our community regularly pray for one another during Sunday morning services.  How cool is that?  You're visiting The Bridge in Milford on a Sunday morning and they mention Christ's Church during their congregation's prayer time.  You're in Merrimack at Grace Baptist and they mention Colonial Hills Baptist in their prayer time.  And just this evening I've heard from two other congregations who saw the links we've added to our site, and they're planning to do something similar.

So I ask: Different local congregations embracing the idea that we're all ONE CHURCH! How many congregations and communities do you think this can be said of?

Maturing Our Prayers & Conversations

Many of us were invited along— On Sunday morning (10/17), Kari Lynn Knight asked us to pray for her during an upcoming weekend get-away (10/22-23) with a few of her girlfriends, some of whom are not believers in Christ. She asked us to specifically pray for her and her girlfriends who are believers, that they would have opportunities to share their faith with their friends and that the Lord would bless their time together.

That prayer request made its way onto the Christ’s Church prayer list. Another day or so later several of us received an email from Kari Lynn and her friend Feather, reminding us all to pray and providing some more specific prayer requests.

It was my privilege to remember to pray for these ladies and their get-away on several occasions. I had added the request to my regular prayer routine. There were even a couple of occasions where their request came to my mind out of the blue—once while driving back from Boston, for instance—upon which I seized the opportunity to pray.

The weekend of their trip passed. I wondered a couple of times how things went. I looked forward to bumping into Kari Lynn to ask. The Monday after (10/25), I received a follow-up email from Kari Lynn and Feather. They reported back that the weekend included some very fertile times of conversing—that God very much showed up and continues to work. The note even included a plea that we continue to pray. I have and I will.

Kari Lynn and Feather don’t know that I’ve used their pleas and emails as an example. I hope they’ll forgive me! I do want to point out, however, that these are ways in which we can be the body, minister together, and share the journey. This is maturing our conversations and our prayers!

Church Visiting

During the ten Sundays of my sabbatical, I had the privilege of visiting and worshiping with eight different congregations.  My experiences were varied.  Here are some highlights... and lowlights.

A few of the congregations I visited were very friendly to me as a visitor.  I felt welcomed, I recognized that people made an effort to greet me and were genuinely interested in me.  These warm greetings, by the way, came from people who didn't recognize me, and before I was identified (I know the pastors of almost all the services I visited) by others as "Pastor Darin from Christ's Church."

In a couple of the churches, however, no one went out of their way to greet me.  During one service there was even a "take a moment and say good morning to those seated around you" opportunity provided as the service began.  Still nothing.  No one sought me out.  After an awkward moment or three I approached a few people--they looked stunned.  Not exactly an inviting exchange.

In one church (where the pastor didn't recognize me), I was asked to stand up and introduce myself as a visitor.  I never mind speaking up, but shuddered to think what that might have felt like to any other visitor who happened in.  Here's the saddest part--after they had me publicly introduce myself, no one sought to greet me after the service except the pastor.  Epic fail in my book.

I enjoyed some good teaching.  A few of my pastor-buddies here in the area really get it right.  But I endured some less than good teaching, too.  Surprisingly, three of the Sundays out of ten the preacher/teacher didn't read from or quote the bible during the sermon.  To be fair, one was a special worship service, as in what I experienced wasn't their norm.  Another of the wordless sermons was a guest speaker, speaking on the ministry of the Gideons--so he was presenting testimonies of God's word rather than sharing from the word, and I suppose there is a place for that.  The third occasion was a topical sermon where biblical support was lacking. Badly lacking.  Everyone has an opinion, I know, but I head to church on Sunday desiring to be fed from the scriptures.  I was disappointed a few times.

In a few of the services I was tremendously blessed during seasons of congregational prayer.  In a few I was astounded how little prayer there was.  Again, everyone has an opinion, right?  But it was Jesus who said that God's house should be a house of prayer.  One congregation in particular had a manner of praying specifically for the ministry opportunities they had that I hope to incorporate more.  God honoring worship in corporate prayer!

The music I experienced was also a varied experience.  I'm surprised to say that a few of the congregations with seemingly less in the way of musicians and musicianship actually were more of a blessing to me as I endeavored to praise and worship.  Less can be more.  And more can be less--as in more likely to be a distraction affording a less-worshipful experience.

If you call Christ's Church home, you may have seen me sneak into the back row on a Sunday morning midway through my sabbatical.  Truth is, I was craving CCA.  I needed to hear the World Famous Christ's Church Worship Band leading in song.  I needed to hear the word, rightly divided and capably taught.  That was the best Sunday of my summer long break!

All of this to say--it was nice to go visiting, but there's no place like home!