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Helping Each Other

April 14, 2020 /
In the next week, many of us are going to be receiving stimulus checks from the government. For some of us, this money could not come soon enough. For others of us, we, quite honestly, don’t need these extra resources. I want to talk with both groups and, I know, whenever a preacher starts talking about money, most of us check out and head for the hills. I wouldn’t blame you but stay with me for a bit.
 
First, if you part of the large group of people in our country that could really use this help at this time. Be grateful and use this money to support your family, meet your needs, and feel no guilt about doing so. Dave Ramsey frequently speaks of the need for all of us to maintain the four walls in our life: food, shelter, clothing, and transportation. I would add a fifth: your health. If right now because of reduction in hours, loss of work, or increased financial insecurity, these foundations in your life are threatened then please manage these extra resources well and keep your family safe. This is true both now and in the future. Maybe right now, your financial situation is looking okay, but you don’t know if this will still be true come May or even into the summer, then I would encourage you to take this money, put it into a bank account and hold it as an emergency fund. If come fall, the crisis never comes, then you can move onto the challenge I have below.
 
If you are part of another group in our country that doesn’t need this extra financial stimulus, then I want to challenge you to consider how you might bless your neighbor and our community at this time. I know it is tempting to want to use the money to buy a new flat screen T.V. or upgrade the lawnmower. Consider the possibility that you might have been blessed to bless others and think about how you might do that. Here are just a few ideas for you to consider:
 
  • There are many organizations in our community on the front lines helping. In Galesburg, the F.I.S.H. Food Pantry is not able to accept physical donations but are in need of financial gifts so they can buy food for those in need. The Salvation Army is still offering its food pantry. Safe Harbor is still serving families in the midst of domestic violence. The YMCA is serving in many ways. And I am sure you can probably think of many others.
  • What about your neighbor? Have they lost hours or lost their job entirely? Maybe you could help them out.
  • Do you know someone who is a first-responder or working in health care? Maybe you could buy them some gift cards to local restaurants, so they don’t have to cook a meal on top of the stress they are already feeling. Or call up a lawn care company and pay to have their yard mowed for them.
  • Are you still going to eat out? Consider giving that waitress or waiter an extra-large tip.
 
There are many different ways we can help. These are just a few. If you have other ideas, I would love to hear them.
 
Blessings,
Stephen

Three Questions to Help

April 9, 2020 /

Hello Friends,

I want to share with you three questions you may use in your own personal reflection as well as to discuss as a family to help process the experience we are all having at this time. 

(1) What has the coronavirus taken away from me today? 

This question acknowledges and gives us permission to grieve. The virus has taken some things away from all of us that we will not get back.

(2) What has the coronavirus not taken from me today? 

When it feels like the whole earth is shaking underneath us it is good to see and grab onto that which is not moving. This question raises our awareness of the things that remain. Much has changed. Much remains the same.

(3) What has the coronavirus given to me today?

This question reminds to live as persons of gratitude. Even in the midst of suffering, there is hope. 

I have found these helpful to recenter and refocus on that which is important. I hope you find them helpful too.

Blessings,
Stephen

SOURCE: These questions were originally part of a webinar hosted by Fresh Expressions, "Light in Dark Times: Healing Souls During the Pandemic and Beyond" and came from from Jared Mackey, senior pastor of The Sacred Grace (Denver, CO)

Can we re-imagine church?

April 7, 2020 /

This afternoon I stood alone in our church sanctuary. I looked around me at the musical instruments that have gone silent, the screens that are dark, and the empty chairs. I saw our communion table and anointing oil sitting, waiting, for our return to celebrate and feast together. I wondered what it will be like to come back. Then as I sat in our dark space set aside for worship I began to wonder.

What if we re-imagined church in light of COVID-19?

This virus which is currently raging around the globe is shaking and changing our paradigms for ministry. It is not the first pandemic to ravage our globe, however, it is the first to strike the U.S. with such intensity in our lifetimes. This is causing many of us to question and ponder our sense of what is normal.

What if this is our new reality for the church? Some have postulated the questions and theories that this could be the beginning of seasonal pandemics. What if long periods each year or every few years of being “closed” or unable to meet in our buildings becomes our new reality?

What would be different about the way we do and think about church?

I will go on the record to say that I think the predictions are a little draconian. I believe, however, the questions that come out of them are essential to our future.

What would the church do differently if we met face-to-face nine months out of the year and virtually for three?

What is it that keeps us from doing these things now?

Finally, even as we think about these things, I want to leave you with a message of hope. This comes from the pen of a friend whose wisdom I value greatly:

Corona Virus: Finding a Realistic Hope Amid Hopelessness

“…all of us can find a realistic hope amid hopelessness.”

Stephen

Praying Together

April 5, 2020 /

Dear Friends,

As we journey through Holy Week at Hope we are meeting online via Facebook Live on Hope’s Facebook page. To pray together for our day, community, nation, and world. All are welcome to join as we:

Pray Together on the Sevens

7:00 AM CDT
7:00 PM CDT

The recordings of these prayer times will also be posted for those who are not able to join us in person. If you have any specific prayer requests or celebrations please send them to me at stephen@galesburghope.org

Additionally, please download the daily prayer guides to participate together in this time of prayer.

Return to this page each day to download and use them in our times of morning and evening prayer.

Looking for the latest prayer guides?

They have been moved here.

Praying on the Sevens

April 3, 2020 /

Dear Friends,

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:3-6, NIV)

In his workbook, Intercessory Life, Maxie Dunham says there are two overarching principles to our understanding of prayer. First, God is good. Second, communication with God is possible. I would add, not only is communication with God possible, he desires and invites us to pray and commune with him.

As we prepare to enter into the week we call Holy Week in the church. At Hope, we will be gathering together each day of the week to pray together. We will be praying together each morning at 7:00 am CDT and 7:00 pm CDT. 

I invite you to join us in prayer.

These prayer times will be broadcast live via Facebook live on our church’s page as well as the recordings made available for those who might have missed the prayer times.

Guides to these daily prayer times will be coming out so that we may participate together. You may also, in this time of prayer, submit your own prayer needs. Information on how to do that will be with the guides as well.

Let us come together to pray.

Stephen

Changing the Paradigm

March 26, 2020 /

love

Dear Friends,

As I practice my social distancing I have been reading and thinking a great deal about what is next for the church. In my reading I came across this quote I want to share with you:

For years, the mission of the church in the United States was largely defined in terms of offering attractive programs to retain its members, building appealing structures and services to draw new members, and participating in some type of benevolent pursuit to appease the conscience of the few individuals looking to make a difference in the world . . . recent developments have contributed to a rediscovery that the mission and purpose of the church do not stem from charting institutional health through traditional quantifiable metrics. Rather, the Church ought to understand its role primarily as a partner and co-participant in the mission of God, whose desire is to redeem humanity, restore creation, heal brokenness, and invite Christians everywhere to embrace their true identity in Christ. (Twibell 82)

Years ago I was at a church event where the host church was celebrating their opening of a children’s play area. They proudly announced how many kids in the community had come onto their turf in the last year. I commend the church for its desire to do something for the community. As I drove around the community I could not help but wonder, “Is this really what the community needed? Did they need it most on the church’s turf? What could the impact have been if they had built in another part of town and resisted the temptation to brand it with the church’s brand? What if it had been about the community rather than the church?”

I know these are hard questions, and some might even say unfair, but as a pastor, I see regularly that people are tired of our efforts to attract them to come to our events. We have lost people’s trust. They are onto our games.

And now we, the Church, have been given a great gift. We have nothing to invite them to. Our buildings are closed, our programs suspended. All we have to offer is ourselves, our love, our compassion, our concern, our generosity. We have nothing to offer but Jesus who, when saying why he came, quoted from the prophet Isaiah and said:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
(Luke 4:18-19, NIV)

I am concerned whether we are learning from the lessons this time is teaching us. What if, when we are finally released to “life as normal” we don’t go back to our old ways? What if, instead of expecting people to come to us on our terms, we went to them on theirs? What if we continued to live outside our walls seeking to find new and ever more ways to love and serve our community joining in the mission of God to “redeem humanity, restore creation, heal brokenness, and invite Christians everywhere to embrace their true identity in Christ?”

What if?

Blessings,
Stephen

SOURCE:
Twibell, Simone Mulieri. “Missional Act in Spiritual Formation: Moving Beyond Mission Trips into the Realm of Missional Living.” Missional Disciple-Making, edited by Michael J. Breen and David M. Gustafson, 3DM Publishing, 2019, pp. 82–104.

What can you do?

March 25, 2020 /

Dear Friends,

One of the challenges many of us are feeling is the sense of helplessness that there is nothing we can do. It is easy to feel like we are at the whim of our government officials and the daily whiplash of recommendations and advice.

I want to say to you that you are not helpless. There are things you can do. Here are just a few ideas:

Show your Heart
Put paper hearts in your window. It has gone national, but Heart Hunters started right here in Galesburg.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/326431341651785/
https://www.kwqc.com/content/news/Galesburg-woman-at-the-heart-of-worldwide-virtual-scavenger-hunt-569049201.html

Get Connected
The United Way of Knox County has set up the GetCONNECTED site to help organize those interested in volunteering.
https://myforefront.galaxydigital.com/

Go to Work
Are you part of the essential workforce? You can help the community and your family by going to work and doing what you do.

Stay Home
The Governor of Illinois has advised all persons to “shelter-in-place” and avoid going out unless necessary to get food, medical care, or to go to work. You can help your community by staying home and reducing the potential for the spread of the virus.

Check on Your Neighbor
If you know people in high-risk categories: elderly, those with health challenges like cancer, diabetes, immune-suppressed or respiratory issues, etc. Check-in on them to see if they should not going out and offer to pick up groceries or medicine for them.

Connect
Call/FaceTime with people you love to stay connected, but don’t insist on in-person visits. Be creative in how you can connect differently than your normal routine with people. Who can you add to your circle of connection? If you are not personally affected in your health with COVID-19, choose to continue to stay connected with people. Don’t isolate for the sake of isolation, your mental health will thank you for this decision.

Make a Plan
It is easy to feel like one day is the same as the next. Make a plan for what you are going to do today. Then work your plan. 

Learn Something New
Many online learning companies are making their courses available for free or significantly reduced. Here is one from N.T. Wright: Faith Working Through Love
But there are many more.

Show Gratitude
As you are out getting groceries, filling your gas tank, going to the doctor, etc. Be gracious to those who are serving you. They have families too. They feel the same anxieties. They are working so you get what you need or stay healthy. They are working to provide for their families like you are.

Do you know a police officer, paramedic, firefighter, doctor, nurse, or cashier? Send them a message: THANK YOU!

Disconnect and Breathe
Disconnect: Take a break from the continuous pandemic news. Turn off the T.V., put your phone down, and get off the computer.

Breathe: Sit in a comfortable chair. Close your eyes and breathe in slowly and deeply through your nose. Hold it and then exhale slowly out of your mouth. Do this for one minute. Have an Apple Watch? You can set it to remind you to stop and breathe throughout the day.

Go Outside: The weather today is sunny and warm in Galesburg. Go outside. Walk around the block or just sit in a chair outside your door. Breath in the fresh air.

Dream
We can be so tempted to want to get life back to normal that we miss the great things we have learned in this time. We have learned to connect with each other in greater and more meaningful ways. We have seen the beauty of creation healed as some industries have paused. If you have not already, look up the videos of the canals in Venice. Here is one. We have learned that “doing church” does not require a building. Dream about how life could be better because of what we have learned through this experience. It will not always be like this.

Do you have other ideas? Please share them.

Pastor Stephen

Giving Credit: The seed of many of these suggestions came from a message Beth Cossin, Pastor at Heritage Church, sent to the congregation in a letter.

Faith Over Fear

March 24, 2020 /

A note to those who receive The Milk Can but are not part of Hope:
As we seek to understand and find the best platforms to support the people of Hope, the church Laura and I pastor, through this very unique time in our country, I have made the decision to make use of The Milk Can as a place to share and post our regular updates to our congregation. With that said, please know you will start to receive more “in house” messages than in the past, and more frequent ones. If you feel like your inbox is getting clogged please know it is okay to unsubscribe. At the bottom of every message are the instructions. Stay safe, stay well, never lose hope in the Kingdom of God. – Stephen

===

Dear Friends,

In Joshua 3 and 4 the people of Israel, after forty years of wandering in the desert, walk across the Jordan River on dry ground into the Promised Land for the first time as a nation. Before the waters returned to their flow Joshua chose twelve men to each go into the center of the river and carry out a large rock. These stones were set up as a memorial to future generations of God’s faithfulness to his people. Faith is not an abstract wish or unfounded hope that things will become better. Faith is founded in experience. When future generations were tempted to question if God really cared about his people they could always look back to the twelve stones to remind them that their faith in God had a solid foundation. At least that was the plan. We know that in a short while the people lost their memory of God and turned to their own ways. They doubt the God who delivered them and placed their dependence in other nations, other gods, and themselves.

Daily we hear the message that these are unprecedented times for our nation. I do believe these are unprecedented times for these generations, but they are not unprecedented times for our nation and for humanity. We have faced times of scarcity in the past. We have felt the weariness and tension of extended anxiety. We have felt helpless before. We have faced sickness and death. We have known darkness, fear, and doubt. And we have experienced hope and light on the other side. We have known that God is good and loving. 

I believe, part of the challenge we are facing today, as a nation, is that we have lost the collective memory of the faithfulness of God. The twelve stones have become worn with time and their story forgotten that God is faithful in the days, weeks, months, and years of waiting. I know we all want to get back to normal. I believe we are only just beginning this journey through darkness. There are those, though, who can teach us how to walk it. Some around us have stories to tell us. To give us hope. Many refugees know what it is like to suffer long and experience the provision of God. Families who have sent their sons and daughters off to war know the unrelenting anxiety and worry waiting for that which they dread the most. They can teach us the experience of joy in the morning and God’s mercy in loss. And there are others who can teach us. Perhaps even you have a story you would be willing to share with others of faith in the darkest of times?

Before I close this message I want to suggest one book to you to read. The book is The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. It is a story of hard faith in the long dark days of WWII.

Blessings,
Stephen

Keeping Our Balance

March 17, 2020 /

 

Have you noticed we live in a world of outrage? Each one of us is tempted by the pull to say we are right and that the other person is wrong. I can easily let my mind fill with frustration. Particularly when it involves things of the church.

Over the past few weeks, I have been making use of a practice the church has used since the 5th century. Praying a simple prayer of centering and meditation. When I am frustrated, when I do not have the answer, when I feel like my rights are being ignored, when I feel wronged and when I feel stressed I pray this prayer over and over:

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.”

It is called “The Jesus Prayer,” and it reminds me that Jesus is my source and my presence in his kingdom is not because of my wisdom or self-righteousness but because of his mercy. And because he has been merciful to me maybe I can be merciful towards others.

Right now, many of us are feeling overwhelmed and without answers. I invite to you pray this prayer with me:

That’s what I have been doing…praying for you

March 10, 2020 /
blue door

“Lord, teach us to pray . . .”

Something about the way Jesus prayed was different. His disciples had ever heard anyone pray as he prayed. They wanted to pray like that.

Jesus answers his disciples’ question by teaching them the prayer we today call The Lord’s Prayer. At the end of the prayer, his teaching continues:

“So I say to you:
     Ask and it will be given to you;
     Seek and you will find;
     Knock and the door will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” (Luke 11:9-10).

I am tempted to want to read these three statements as a “how-to to get what you want from God strategy” and miss that Jesus is telling me about how to be in relationship with the father. Jesus prays like no one else because he is in relationship with the father like no one else and he invites us to join him. He tells us when we pray to ask, to seek, to knock.

Ask. Why don’t we ask? We are worried that we might ask for the wrong thing or ask in the wrong way. When I put my request before God I do so knowing he is a good father. He will not turn my request for bread into a scorpion nor will he give me that which I do not need or is harmful to me, even if I ask for it. Allow me to illustrate what I mean. Your young child may ask for a drink of the hot tea you just brewed for yourself. The request itself is a good request, but as the parent, you know the scalding water will burn their mouth. So what do you do? You pour a little into a glass and add an ice cube, or you give them something else to drink entirely. Jesus says, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him” (Luke 11:13). I am tempted to point out that the Holy Spirit is not what I asked for but then I see that He may not be what I asked for but he is what I need.

Seek. When I want something I can spend hundreds of hours searching the crevices of the world to find just the right item. But when it comes to God I cannot be bothered to read my bible, to pray, and to look for his work in my life and the lives of those around me. I often do not see God because I am not seeking him. Seek, he is to be found.

Knock. In his autobiography, Seven Storey Mountain, Thomas Merton describes the night he came to the Gethsemane Monastery in Kentucky to stay:

Then I saw that high familiar spire. I rang the bell at the gate. It let fall a dull, unresonant note inside the empty court . . . Nobody came. I could hear somebody moving around inside the Gatehouse. I did not ring again. Presently, the window opened, and Brother Matthew looked out between the bars, with his clear eyes and greying beard. “Hullo, Brother,” I said. He recognized me, glanced at the suitcase and said: “This time have you come to stay?” “Yes, Brother, if you’ll pray for me,” I said. Brother nodded, and raised his hand to close the window.

“That’s what I’ve been doing,” he said, “praying for you.”

We are surprised to hear that our good father is waiting on the other side of the door. He is not like the neighbor who would be angry with us for waking him at 3 am, rather he is waiting with bread baked and the table set eagerly anticipating our knock and to welcome us in.

When I come to the table of communion each week, I am reminded that he is a good father who desires for us to come and stay in his house, in his kingdom. So I ask, I seek, I knock, and I experience his welcome.

Blessings,
Stephen.

NOTES:

  • Merton, Thomas. The Seven Storey Mountain (pp. 407-408). HMH Books. Kindle Edition.
  • Giving Credit: The basic concept for this post is inspired by the “Listen to Him” Lenton resources from Seedbed Publishing.
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