Winning Words 10/1/10
“Until lions have their historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunter.” (African Proverb) This month Holy Spirit Church in West Bloomfield, MI, will be celebrating it’s 40th birthday. Stories will be told of what has been accomplished during those four decades. But the real story is in the mind of God. Whether it’s with a church or with an individual, the true tale is to be told by God. ;-) Jack

FROM PO IN MICHIGAN: A different 'slant' indeed! FROM JACK: Life becomes more interesting when you begin to look at things from a different perspective.

FROM LG IN MICHIGAN: How true, Jack! Our window into the world is limited to tiny holes permitting a little light to enter into our eyes, to the length of our arms and hands to touch, to tiny little bones that can detect and dance to the tune of nearby sound, to 2 little holes and 1 larger one that enable scents and tastes to enter us--and every single bit of input is filtered through our own perceptual sieves. So very, very little do we know of THE story! I take great comfort in knowing that I don't have the whole picture, and don't need to see all of it... I only need to know the One who does... FROM JACK: We need to keep that thought in mind when we look at each person who comes before us. It's so easy fpr us to make superficial judgments.

FROM CH IN MASSACHUSETTS: This is really cool - a neat perspective. I will say AMEN to your commentary. Case in point: Someone had written a history of St. Peter's Lutheran Church, and it basically went like this "Pastor #1 was here x number of years, and did this building addition; pastor #2 was here x number of years and did this building addition; pastor #3 etc. We had been there 3 or 4 years (are now beginning our 5th) and the history had never been updated to mention that we had arrived. I joked and
said, "We're not on the radar screen because we haven't done a building addition!) Seriously, I challenged people, why is this the lens through which we define our history; what would it look like if we defined it through benevolence giving? Or through attendance in Bible study? Or through vicars, or through members sent off to seminary, OR, OR, OR... people fed through the food pantry - or maybe God's perspective doesn't involve numbers at all... thought provoking... FROM JACK: Until we begin to see the Church (not a necessarily a congregation) for what it is supposed to be and what is it's mission, the picture will out of focus. There are plenty of examples in the writings of the prophets and in the words of Jesus to help us understand this and to be about the business of doing something.

FROM SH IN MICHIGAN: Thinking about people in the Bible, the widow with two mites, the woman at the well, the eunuch, I always wonder if these people in our churches now are being fully respected for their stories. Or are many people feeling overlooked for their contributions and more or less resigned to just waiting for God Who knows everything. FROM JACK: Jesus emphasized that even "the least" has an important place in the Kingdom...the little child...the lost sheep...the Prodigal Son...the thief on the cross. The Last Judgment will not necessarily be what we expect it to be.

FROM ML IN ILLINOIS: have you read "the cowardly lion" from the "wicked"? it's an interesting, sometimes dark tale of the plight of the hunted. FROM JACK: I haven't read it, but it sounds like it fits with what today's WWs are trying to say.

FROM CL IN MICHIGAN: Amen and Amen FROM JACK: I suppose that means that you agree twice. And, I'll add another AMEN!

FROM PRPH IN MINNESOTA: a great quote. when we were in Tanzania last time, a Masai man told he how he hunted lions in the old days (the animals are more protected now) he simply ran after it ALL day long until the lion was too tired to run any more. i am not making this up. the man was chasing the lion and not the other way around. amazing... FROM JACK: The lion probably wonders, "Why is that strange looking animal chasing me? Why doesn't he leave me alone? What does he want?

FROM JM IN VIRGINIA: Christ Lutheran (in Federal Way, WA, where my dad was the founding pastor) is also celebrating its 40th in October. If I lived a little closer I'd probably make the trip. FROM JACK: I was there at the time of his retirement. He was a good and faithful servant.