Central Christian Church(Disciples of Christ)

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An open letter to fathers (from one father to many): Dear Fathers, I was wondering if you have any idea what an impact you have on the lives of your children? Their eyes are on you all the time. They watch as you talk to your wife and to your parents. They watch as you work and play and worship. They listen to your opinions and beliefs. Whether you realize it or not, your sons and daughters are taking it all in. They are saying to themselves – even if subconsciously, “So, that is how a father/husband/man is supposed to be.”

Years ago, when my own kids were little, I taught a class on parenting. One of the chief lessons of that study has stayed with me over the years. The lesson was that new parenting techniques and philosophies are rarely the answer to raising healthier, happier children. The best way to achieve those results is by becoming healthier and happier ourselves.

In the Old Testament, God made a covenant with Abraham. He promised Abraham that if Abraham would be faithful, God would bless him and all the generations that would follow. I believe that principle is still at work today. The power of God at work in the life of one man is enough to change a family and thereby change the world.

So, fathers, recognize how important you are! You don’t have to be rich or powerful or all-knowing in order to be a blessing to your children. The things that count are most often the most simple. It’s like the story of the father who went to visit his son’s preschool. It was a day when dads were invited to come and be introduced by their kids. When he got there, however, he was shocked to discover only a handful of fathers had shown up. Later, all the children were sitting on the floor in a circle. The teacher asked the children to tell the group something special about their fathers. One little boy said, “May father is very smart. He teaches at the college.” A little girl said, “Well, my daddy is a doctor and he takes care of lots and lots of people.” Finally, it was time for the boy to same something special about his dad. The boy looked up at his father, looked around the circle, smiled and proudly said, “My dad… my dad is here!”

On this Father’s day, remember your children (and grandchildren!) are paying attention – not nearly so much to what you say as to what you do. Therefore, bring your family to worship that together we might remember the God who blesses and redeems us all. And have a Happy Father’s day – you deserve it!

The church bylaws, which are reviewed every four years for relevancy, have been reviewed by the Executive Board with modifications accepted. Now the bylaws must be presented to our congregation for approval. This congregational meeting has been scheduled for Sunday, July 12th immediately following the Traditional service. Included with your Messenger is a copy of the Proposed Modifications to the Bylaw. Please review for our meeting. If you have any questions, please contact the church office.

The adult Sunday school class is near the conclusion of its brief study based on Adam Hamilton’s World Religions and Christianity materials. Beginning on Sunday, June 28th, we will begin a more in-depth look at Islam. All are welcome. We will be using Islam: A Mosaic, Not a Monolith by Vartan Gregorian as the primary reference for our study. It is our hope and prayer that by better understanding the beliefs and practices of our Muslim brothers and sisters we will be better prepared to engage them in meaningful dialog, and that we will gain a deeper understanding of our own faith as well as current events. Books for the class are available at Amazon or you can pick them up at a local bookstore. Otherwise a few books will be available at the first class.

Central Christian Church is hosting a Photo Exhibit and Reception on June 20, 2009 from 4:30 to 8 o’clock pm at 1200 Forrer Blvd, Kettering, OH. Hosted by Pat and Glen Buell, this exhibit of over 100 photos will feature images of landscapes, architecture, animals, birds, and flowers, some of which have received ribbons in competition and honorable mention in a National Geographic contest.

The public is invited to attend and a donation of a non-perishable food item for the food pantry is welcome.

For additional information, please call the church office at 254-2649.

I love this time of the year. I love the smell of freshly cut grass, the sound of the birds in the morning, and the excitement of thunderstorms after a long, hot, humid day. I’m also back to taking walks in my neighborhood and can’t get enough of the sights and smells of life all around me. The squirrels, rabbits and birds where I live seem to be so accustomed to having people around they don’t even bother running away as I pass – they just look up from whatever they’re doing and continue about their business. Even our hummingbird has come back to the feeder we placed outside our kitchen window last summer.

Last Sunday was Pentecost Sunday and the beginning of what is called “Ordinary Time” on the calendar of the church year. Nothing “out of the ordinary” happens again until Advent. However, the summer season represents a real opportunity for the church. Even though certain programs take a break during the summer months (Youth groups, choirs, etc.), the ministry of the church continues. It is important we continue to make worship of God and study of scripture a priority in our lives no matter what time of year it is. This is true, not only because it meets our own needs, but also because the summer months are often a time when new residents of Dayton (and others) search for a new church home. Summer, therefore, is an opportunity for us to express our devotion to Christ and our love of neighbor in real and concrete ways through our hospitality and friendliness.

I recently heard a story about a church that was planning to begin a time of greeting during their worship. The minister announced that the following Sunday they were going to initiate the new custom. At the close of worship, a man turned around to the woman behind him and said, “Good morning!” She looked at him with shock at his boldness and said, “I beg your pardon! That friendliness business doesn’t start until next Sunday!”

I hope we don’t have to wait until someone asks us to be friendly to reach out in love to friends and visitors. After all, we are in the hospitality business. I look forward to a wonderful summer of worship and learning (and friendly, smiling faces!).

You are invited to a photography exhibit by photographer Eleanor Hilton, Glen and Pat Buell at Central Christian on Saturday, June 20th at 4:30 pm in the Fellowship Hall followed by a reception. Our three members will share some of their work including images that have earned ribbons and awards in competition and some of their favorites. You are asked to bring a non-perishable food item for Central Christian’s Food Pantry. For more information please contact one of our photographers or the church office.

There are two pillars in my life that have been constant from my earliest memories: my family and my church. In fact, in most of my memories the two are inseparable. My parents met in CYF (Christian Youth Fellowship) in the church I grew up in – and church has been central to their lives ever since. While they may have moved a few times (and attended different Disciple’s churches), their commitment never changed. A number of years ago, they moved back to the neighborhood where I grew up. My mother is now the part-time organist and my father is once again involved in leadership in the very same church where they met as children.

The family and the church are the two primary touch points of my life – and I know they are for many others as well. That is why changes in either can be so difficult. We remember how things were in the past and we want that to continue. How wonderful it would be if we could take a moment in time and just stay there for awhile – changeless, secure and comfortable. Loved ones would never die or move away. Children would never grow up and leave the nest. Nothing would ever change. But, of course, that is not only impossible, it would also be the opposite of the kind of life God desires for us.

Circumstances do change. People do die and move away. But children are also born. New friends come into our lives. People are redeemed and God’s church is infused with new spirit and love.

This coming week, we will be celebrating Pentecost, the birthday of the Church. On Pentecost Sunday, we remember and celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. One of the primary purposes of the Holy Spirit was (and is) to lead God’s church in new directions. The presence of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life or in a church’s life will automatically mean change and growth. That doesn’t mean fundamental values are abandoned. It only means God has never stopped working.

With God there is no such thing as retirement. God continues to work in our lives as long as we are able to draw breath. And, of course, even in death that relationship doesn’t change – it just draws us closer to him.

God is at work in your life right now. God is calling you to new ways of living, thinking, worshiping and relating – whether you are nine or ninety. God has never stopped working your family or your church. The question is: have you?

Last summer I picked up a t-shirt with one enigmatic word printed across the chest: “WITNESS”. I found it in a consignment shop along with t-shirts advertising beer, sports teams and summer camps. I thought, “I want to be a “witness” – so I picked it up and still wear it every now and then. I found out a few weeks later the original shirt was worn by Cleveland Cavalier fans that were present at the first game LaBron James played in Cleveland. It turns out they WERE witnesses to a special event – and this year’s winning streak proves it. LaBron is something special, and I’m sure those who were there now wear their “WITNESS” tshirts with pride.

Being a witness – which involves not only experiencing something first-hand but telling others about it, is important in a lot of areas, as well. For instance, no one respects or believes a celebrity who promotes a product he or she has never used. Likewise, no one believes a Christian who claims to be a witness for Christ – but whose life would seem to indicate they’ve never met the man.

Just as the first disciples were witnesses to the goodness and power of Christ, there is still need for authentic witnesses in the world today. And the qualifications are still pretty much the same. First of all, we need to be people  f
honesty and integrity. If no one can trust anything else we say why should they believe us when we talk about God? Secondly, we need to cultivate a servant heart. We need to love and forgive others as Jesus has loved and forgiven  us.

To paraphrase the apostle Paul, “we may be the greatest preachers and pray-ers in the whole world, but without love, we are nothing.” Finally, and most importantly, we must have a first-hand relationship with Jesus Christ.

Many of us have felt the power the Risen Christ working in our lives — renewing and transforming us. It is from this base of experience God calls us to live. We are to live as if everything we do and say is a witness to Jesus Christ – because it is. As someone once said, “you are the only Bible some people will ever read.” In other words, if you are a Christian, and people know it, they will watch you to find out what Christ is like – and what the church is all about.

That may seem like a big responsibility – and it is! But fortunately, we are not alone in this witness. Jesus knew his disciples, even with their enthusiasm and good intentions, were still only ordinary human beings. He knew that before they could accomplish the task set before them they would need help from God. Immediately following Easter, the disciples were like fugitives, frightened and cowering behind locked doors. But with the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, they became the very people who witnessed to their faith boldly and spread the Good News of Jesus Christ throughout the world.

Like the first disciples, we are also called to be witnesses. Let us then live with courage and faith, embracing truth, expressing love, and trusting the Spirit to guide and empower us in our work. And always remember, you could very well be called up to be the star witness.

I was talking to a friend today who is the pastor of a church in Indiana. The subject of “growing older” came up and he told me about a conversation he had with some of the kids in his Chi Rho (Jr. High) youth group. At some point he told them he was in his mid-forties. They said, “No you’re not, you are in you LATE forties.” My friend, who is 47, went on to explain that “mid-forties” actually encompasses the ages 44 through 49. They weren’t buying it. In the end, he had to confess that he was, indeed, getting older.

Being that my friend and I are approximately the same age, I suppose I fall into the same category. Watching your kids grow up is one good reminder of that fact (my mom likes to remind me I had already made her a grandmother when she was 46). The passage of time never slows down. The older we get the faster it seems to go! The babies for whom I had dedications when I first came to Central are now teenagers. The babies I knew in my first years out of seminary are now considered “old” by their own children (there is justice in this world!).

For the past week, I have been following the threads of my family’s genealogy. Technology allows for the “real” genealogists to share the hard work they have done with the rest of us. Even so, it is time consuming. Nearly every thread I follow takes me back through what seems like countless generations. I’m beginning to appreciate God’s promise to Abraham to make his children as numerous as “the grains of sand on the beach or the stars in the sky.

Every now and then I will run across an ancestor who has made a significant mark in the world. Oftentimes, there will be pictures and documents attached to this person. I’m proud to have some famous DNA in my gene pool. However, most of my ancestors – like most of yours – were very ordinary. Even Oliver Cromwell – who I discovered in my genealogy last night – wasn’t anything special. Despite the fact he lived hundreds of years ago, he only happened to share a name with someone who was famous. Other than the year of his birth and death – I doubt if anyone remembers anything about him.

When I think about all the time people waste worrying about what others think – I realize spending a little time with your genealogy might not be such a bad idea. As someone once told me when I was stewing about a bad grade I received on some test or paper – “Do you really think anyone, including you, will even remember this 10 or 20 years from now?” Whoever said that was right.

So, should we be concerned about the way we live our lives? Absolutely. Like the Apostle Paul, we don’t live our lives
to please or impress others or to leave a legacy. We seek to live our lives faithfully and righteously because we are children of a holy God and disciples of the One who showed us who and what God is like. As Paul wrote to his friends in Philippi, “Not that I have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me… Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 3:12-15)

That is something worth living (and dying) for – in this and every generation.