http://www.fbcottawa.org/index.cfm?i=14772&mid=25&blogid=7555 Check out our new blog! Come back daily to see new posts and subscribe to our RSS feed. AdvancedMinistry      Webster’s definition of a threshold is this: “the place or point of entering or beginning”; also “the point at which a physiological or psychological effect begins to be produced.” One of my dear friends, who is an ‘expert’ in the area of worship, has studied and photographed architecture of holy places, including thresholds. What does the threshold of a home tell us about the people who live there? What does the threshold of a business communicate about that particular establishment? Much of what we perceive about a place or a group of people comes to us at an unconscious level. It’s there, but we’re not fully cognizant of it.      We at First Baptist are on a threshold. In roughly seven weeks, we will begin a Sabbatical experience. I say we, because JeanneAnne and I will be leaving to go on Sabbatical and you will be staying, but still having your own Sabbatical experience. A new person is coming to be your pastor for this time. How will you, as the Church called First Baptist, respond to Susan Gillies and this Sabbatical time?      There are lots of options as for as responses go. Some of you will most likely stay as involved and engaged as you currently are. Some of you will probably dis-engage to some extent and bide your time ‘until the pastor comes back’. Some of you will step up and take a more active and engaged role. And some of you may just totally check-out until ‘the pastor returns’.     It is my fervent hope and prayer that all of you will crossover this threshold and enter into Church life in a whole new way. This opportunity is most likely not going to happen again for another seven to ten years and even then, it will be totally different. What a marvelous opportunity God is giving us all to see Him ‘do a new thing’ in our midst. I have said all along that this is brand new for all of us. How it goes and where it goes depends very much on all of you.      Yesterday in worship we read Ephesians 4:13—16. That seems to be a very timely portion of scripture for all of us—especially as it relates to this Sabbatical time. I would encourage us all to read that passage again, to dwell on it, to meditate on it and then all of us should ask ourselves ‘What can I do to make this the best experience possible’? We’re on a threshold. Let’s enter into this prayerfully and expectantly. God is going to do some marvelous things during this time.      And I’ll look forward to seeing you in Church on Sunday.                                                                        In Christ’s love, http://www.fbcottawa.org/index.cfm?i=14772&mid=25&blogid=7555&comments=33733 33733 Mon, 23 Apr 2012 23:04:00 +0000      In these recent weeks, Jeanneanne and I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of pledges and contributions toward this Sabbatical experience. Thank you and bless you for that.      Last fall when the Lilly people declined our proposal, which the Committee had worked extremely hard on, we sort of thought “well maybe next year” or “maybe this just isn’t meant to be”. But then a few intrepid explorers began to say “No, we think we should figure out a way to help make this happen.” I have to admit, I was somewhat skeptical; it seemed pretty unrealistic. But, there were some who were quite insistent on figuring out a way. That was last fall.      Now here we are, in late March, with a little over $19,000 pledged toward this venture, coming from over 60 giving units. It’s hard to put into words the affirmation and gratitude we feel for your love and support in this “new adventure”.      Please note elsewhere in the newsletter the four gatherings scheduled for you to attend to obtain more information and discuss questions you may have. There are still a number of details we’re working on and we will continue to try and keep you as informed as possible.      We ask that you keep all of the preparations and details in your prayers as this is the most important part. If questions do arise, please feel free to call me or one of the faithful committee members. Their support and encouragement and hard work have been an incredible blessing throughout this entire process. My heartfelt thanks goes out to each of them: Marilyn Seymour, Warren Smith, Miriam Lemp, Rachel Smith, Wynndee Lee, Jody Lancaster, Marylin Eichner Ramon Schmidt, as well as members of the First Baptist Foundation.      It is exciting to think about the amazing things God will do in all of our lives during this experience. And, since this is a “first run through” for all of us, we have been and will continue to learn a lot along the way. God bless you all.      And I’ll look forward to seeing you in Church on Sunday.                     In Christ’s love, http://www.fbcottawa.org/index.cfm?i=14772&mid=25&blogid=7555&comments=32809 32809 Wed, 21 Mar 2012 13:43:00 +0000 We are entering into that time on the Church calendar known as Lent. Lent is a 40 day season of spiritual preparation before the observance of our Lord’s passion and resurrection; much like Advent is four weeks of preparation prior to celebrating our Lord’s birth in December.             So how do we get ready? How do we prepare? How do we focus our minds, hearts and spirits to more fully participate in preparation? Historically, Lent has been a time of sacrifice, a time of repentance, a time once again of returning to the Lord and deepening our relationship with Him. Most often, pilgrims on this Lenten journey gave something up—chocolate, desserts, swearing, gossip, pleasurable things—in order to more fully focus on Christ.             In observing Lent we may choose to follow the path of sacrifice by “giving up” something. Or we could take something on; reading scripture more regularly, spending a bit more time in prayer, getting involved in some service activity, helping an older person out, volunteering at Hope House, becoming an advocate for a kid who is “at risk”, helping with Habitat; there are a myriad of possibilities.             The point is to engage in something that will help all of us be engaged more fully by Christ’s Spirit as an act of preparation. And how we prepare definitely affects how we experience things. When we go out for an evening activity we prepare. When we get ready for school or work we prepare. When we get ready to celebrate an occasion we prepare. Can we do any less than that in our walk of faith?             Lent offers us a great opportunity to engage more intentionally with the Christ Spirit in all of us. And when we are better prepared, the week of Jesus’ Passion (Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday) take on new meaning, depth and power in our lives. May the Lord bless all of you as we each, in our own way, walk through this Lenten Season.             I’ll look forward to seeing you in Church on Sunday.                                                 In Christ’s love, http://www.fbcottawa.org/index.cfm?i=14772&mid=25&blogid=7555&comments=32003 32003 Fri, 24 Feb 2012 17:06:00 +0000 ?               Several years ago, we came up with a church T-shirt. It’s a great design and one of the phrases on it is “a place for you”. The scripture passage quotes Jesus saying, “I will never turn away anyone who comes to me.” John 6:37.             Our aim is to be a congregation where everyone feels, not only welcomed, but also included. It takes time and intention to “assimilate” newer people into the Church family. We all develop patterns; we come to church to see “our friends” and we gravitate towards those we feel “most comfortable” with. It can be uncomfortable for many of us to engage someone who’s “newer”.             There are some things we do from time to time to try and help engage and assimilate people. One is a New/Prospective Members class. We’re doing a class Sunday, February 5th right after worship. We’ll have a light lunch and then engage in sharing and learning for one and a half to two hours. There is no cost for the meal and child care will be provided. Please let us know if you plan on attending and if you’ll need childcare.             Another thing we do is occasionally have a get acquainted gathering in someone’s home and bring together “newer” people with folks who have been around for a while. Recently one of our “newer” people called me and offered their home for just such a gathering.             These opportunities help connect people and may bring them closer into our church community. However, both of these events are program events. They can be of great benefit, but they can only do so much. We, as a body, are ultimately responsible to help people know First Baptist Church truly is a “place for you”. Most of us can think of situations where someone made it a point to include us. They reached out and helped us feel welcomed and wanted. Some of us can remember situations where this didn’t happen and how alone we felt.             Whose job is it to help create a place for others? It’s all of our jobs. It happens before worship and after worship. It happens before Chuppers and after Chuppers. It happens whenever we come together and it may happen when we take the time to give someone a call or drop someone a note or send an email. We can’t convince ourselves that creating a place for others is the responsibility of the staff or some program or a specific committee. The responsibility is all of ours.             When we come to understand “God’s place for us” we also come to understand how vital it is that we help create that “place” for others. We’re in this together.             “Everyone whom my Father gives me will come to me. I will never turn away anyone who comes to me.” John 6:37             I’ll look forward to seeing you in Church on Sunday.                                                 In Christ’s love, http://www.fbcottawa.org/index.cfm?i=14772&mid=25&blogid=7555&comments=31167 31167 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:53:00 +0000             The Ottawa High School Cytones just left the building. They came today for the Sr. Adults luncheon to do a music program. They, and their director (Laura Underwood), were wonderful. The last song they sang was entitled “We All Need A Silent Night”. The song was new to me, but it spoke of how hectic life becomes around Christmas; how busy we all get; how frazzled our spirits may grow to be.             And I thought again about how “noisy” our lives become-it’s hard to truly listen and even more difficult to hear. Is it possible for us to carve out any silence into our day-to create space where we can be still and listen. Scripture speaks of “the still small voice” which speaks to us when all other distraction has been diminished.             We all need some quiet in our days. We need some moments to pull away to a quiet place and simply be with “the Lord”. That’s hard to do when we’re not intentional about creating that opportunity. Years ago I heard a speaker say “One good way to kill a friendship is to say to each other, ‘let’s get together sometime’, because sometime never gets here.” We need to be able to say “let’s get together next Tuesday at 10:30 for a visit” or “let’s visit right here, right now.” The same could be said of a time for silence; time to be alone and still with God. It will not happen unless I make it happen.             Sometimes, even in the midst of a busy “schedule” or a “hectic day”, Jesus simply disappeared; went off into the hills to be alone; to be still, to center down, to listen, to restore and renew himself, to re-connect with Yahweh. If Jesus, the Lord of the Universe, needed to do that; how can we think we can function in life without that? We sing of it every Christmas. “Silent night! Holy night! All is calm, all is bright” or “How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given” or “let all mortal flesh keep silence, and with fear and trembling stand”. So, I pray for all of us some silence in our days; not just in this Christmas season, but some silence as a part of each day; to “be still” and know that God is God. And I’ll look forward to seeing you in Church on Sunday.                         In Christ’s love, http://www.fbcottawa.org/index.cfm?i=14772&mid=25&blogid=7555&comments=30269 30269 Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:14:00 +0000 Yesterday (Sunday, Nov. 20th) was a wonderful experience of God’s people in Ottawa worshipping together. We were graciously hosted by Rev. Dr. J.C. Kelley and the Sisters and Brothers of First United Methodist Church. We heard marvelous musical offerings from four different congregations. We received an offering to go to Hope House; a wonderful ministry that the Churches in Ottawa support and help voluntarily staff. Years ago, when I first visited with the Search Committee, I was floored when I heard how many churches there were in Ottawa. There are stories that help explain how we got to this place. For me, the bottom line is that there is One Church in Ottawa with lots of different expressions. A short while ago, I walked into one of the churches in town. There were a few people I know casually standing in the office and one of them said, “Look out, here comes the competition.” I know it was said in jest, but there is always that element present among us. The evil One thrives on division, competition, pride, animosity, grudges, and unforgiveness. Christ’s Body thrives where there is unity, cooperation, humility, love and forgiveness. When it comes to the Church, we really are all in this together. One of the things I have tried to do in the time I’ve been here is to get to know my ministerial colleagues. We are, after all, co-laborers in this vineyard call Ottawa. The better we know one another the more likely we are to respond to each other as sisters and brothers in Christ. From time to time in worship, we pray for other churches and their pastors. We don’t do that just because it’s a “nice thing to do”. We do that because we are called to be the Body of Christ. He is the one who replaces division with unity. He is the one who teaches us how to love one another, even with our differences. And He is the one who will ultimately engage us in ministries that transform people’s lives. These things can only happen when God’s people pray for and with one another. So, I invite you to pray with me for the other congregations in Ottawa. Pray for these other pastors (and their families). Share good news stories with your friends from other churches about the good things God is doing in their church and your church (Christ’s Church). Remember, they’re not the competition. When the church grows, the Church grows. And I’ll look forward to seeing you in Church on Sunday. In Christ’s Love, Joel http://www.fbcottawa.org/index.cfm?i=14772&mid=25&blogid=7555&comments=29519 29519 Wed, 23 Nov 2011 10:51:00 +0000 “We’re Still Going on Sabbatical” By now most of you are aware that we did not receive the grant from the Lilly Foundation that we had applied for. (When I say we, I mean all of us-First Baptist Church). I was disappointed and I know some of you were as well. The emerging consensus since that letter came seems to be “let’s proceed with this anyway”, with the understanding that it will very possibly be different from our original proposal. I am very grateful that last January the Church approved this venture and additionally for the folks who have been working to try and help this become a reality. What some of you may not realize is that when we go on sabbatical, we all go on sabbatical. So while the pastor is away, the Church isn’t sitting around waiting for “the pastor to get back”. The Church is benefiting from the leadership of another pastor for that period of time. Someone comes to preach, plan and lead worship, and continues to work with the Church in areas where the Church determines they want to work-maybe its outreach, perhaps stewardship, or training in caring for one another, it could be more creative worship; the possibilities really are endless. We have been in conversation both with our Region Staff in Topeka as well as our National Staff in Valley Forge, PA so they will be of great help in assisting us in getting the right person. As the work on this process continues, we will keep you informed. We appreciate all your prayers and encouragement and hopefully your questions as they may arise. It was a Joy yesterday in worship to once again welcome some new members. And it underlines the reality of Christ’s Spirit moving among us. People are led to join a church for lots of reasons but they will not join unless they sense love in a place. People are drawn into communities where they sense God’s Spirit doing something among God’s people. The birth of faith occurs so often where there is love and laughter; where people come to see that this group really likes to be together. It is a blessing to serve a Congregation that cares about one another and cares about the people who aren’t here as well. It is a blessing to be a part of a Church Family that gets along with itself-because that’s not always the case. It is a blessing to serve a group that is trying to be faithful to the gospel and truly be the Church. I’m having a great time. I hope you are too. And I look forward to seeing you in Church on Sunday.         In Christ’s Love………. http://www.fbcottawa.org/index.cfm?i=14772&mid=25&blogid=7555&comments=28314 28314 Wed, 19 Oct 2011 17:37:00 +0000 The continuing education experience in Chicago was a powerful time. Thank you for allowing me the time and space to participate. The thrust of the class was transitions in Church life which really intersects with personal life as well. Transformation really is at the heart of who we are as people of faith. Abraham journeyed from his homeland to a place that God said “I will show you”; he took off on the trip without even knowing where he would end up. Moses led the captives out of Egypt toward the Promised Land, but they “wandered in the wilderness” for forty years. Jesus invites people to “follow” without a real clear explanation of where he will take us. Even though transformation is at the core of our faith journey, it still makes all of us uncomfortable to varying degrees. The struggle becomes our willingness/ability to move from where we are to a “new place”, and navigating that trip can be very unsettling for a high percentage of us. And sometimes people, both individually and collectively, dig their heels in and say “enough is enough”. Why are transitions problematic for us? Is it the fear of the unknown? Is it the risk involved-what if I/we fail? Is it not wanting to “rock the boat”? At what point does stability cross over into being stuck? Think about a change (large or small) you’ve experienced recently. Who was involved? How did it feel for you? Did you resist or go along? Did is end up making things worse or better? If you had to go through it again, would you do anything differently? As a Church, we’re made up of people with lots of different “changing” experiences. And obviously these changing experiences from the past influence how we handle changes now. The question that always comes into play is “what is God’s will in all of this”? Often that is difficult to answer.             In the prophecy of Isaiah, God tells the prophet, “I am doing a new thing.” This same refrain comes through again in the Book of Revelation – the “new thing” that God does and will do in the lives of His people.             We don’t do “new things” just for the purpose of doing new things or being different. We do them because the Spirit of the Lord is moving in our lives and we are “led” to move to a new place. I thank the Lord for your openness and receptivity to some of the “new things” we have attempted over these last months and years. That’s a clear sign of congregational health. And as we continue on the journey of ministering to all God’s people, may we prayerfully, lovingly and openly continue to share in this adventure together.             And I will look forward to seeing you in Church on Sunday.   In Christ’s Love……….   Thank You, Thank You My thanks and gratitude goes to all the people who “stepped up” and took on extra responsibilities in my absence last week. Special gratitude to David Glavin, Bud McCluney, Natalie Roberts, Warren Smith and many others who went “the extra mile”. God bless you all.    Joel http://www.fbcottawa.org/index.cfm?i=14772&mid=25&blogid=7555&comments=27416 27416 Wed, 21 Sep 2011 13:42:00 +0000 As you may well know, Jeanne Anne and I have just returned from two weeks away. We had some wonderful days alone together at Lobster Lake (my dad’s cabin near Alexandria, MN). We helped Dianne (Jeanne Anne’s sister) celebrate her 60th birthday. I officiated at the wedding of a dear family friend at Carlos Creek Winery (near Alexandria). We spent time in the Twin Cities seeing family on both sides and we came home to our church family here in Ottawa. As we get older, Family comes to mean more and more-especially when they live a distance away and face to face contact is minimal (once or twice a year). As we converse, share meals, take walks together, whatever we do, we recognize more and more one another’s talents, gifts, abilities and contributions to life. We also become aware of one another’s foibles and idiosyncrasies that are part of what makes us who we are. Because it is Family, we choose to love one another even when we all do things or exhibit traits that create some friction or tension. When we return from these visits and experiences, we have a little clearer understanding of who we are because of the relationships we have with Family. And hopefully, that is the church as well. We are drawn together not because of biology. We are drawn together because we are all “sinners saved by grace”. We need the love of Christ at work in us and we need one another, just like in the Family. We all bring differing talents, abilities, sensitivities and gifts into the mix that we call the Church. In Paul’s towering epistle to the church at Ephesus, he says, “With his own body (Jesus) he broke down the wall that separated them and kept them enemies.” (Paul is speaking here of course, of the enmity between Jews and Gentiles). And even though we may not have enemies, we all live with walls of judgment, misconceptions, old “stuff”, fear or resentment that keeps us distant from one another. Just like in the Family, we can allow our differences, our prejudices or our limited vision/understanding to keep us apart from one another in the Church as well. Since Christ has already, by his sacrifice, “broken down the wall” it’s up to us to step toward one another with love and openness to connect with each other in whatever ways we can.  I love my Family – all of you – biological, Family by marriage (in-laws as we call them) and the Family of God’s people that we call Church. I look forward to continuing getting to know all of you as we worship, serve and grow closer to Christ day by day. I look forward to seeing you in Church on Sunday. In Christ’s Love………. http://www.fbcottawa.org/index.cfm?i=14772&mid=25&blogid=7555&comments=26272 26272 Sun, 28 Aug 2011 19:47:00 +0000      Years ago one of the churches I served was “Federated” – two denominations in one; American Baptist and Congregational (the United Church of Christ).  We had some younger couples that came into the church and didn’t really know much about these 2 denominations, didn’t really care to ask about the visionary spirit that enabled 2 churches to become one back in the 1930’s (when such a thing was nearly unheard of) and didn’t work too hard to get to know some of the folks who had been around 20, 30, 40 or more      These younger folks had check lists of what comprised a Godly church and what didn’t.  We went through quite a bit of discussion as a church and meetings together about denominational identity --  who are American Baptist and what do they believe, and who is the United Church of Christ and what do they believe.  It was helpful and informative for lots of our folks – a review for some and brand new information for others.      The younger couples ended up going off to another church in a nearby town.  Our doctrine or theology wasn’t quite up to their standards or some such thing.      It’s always been interesting to me when people are looking for a church, some of the items that are on their lists as to what is important for them in their search.  I hear things like “Where does your church stand on scriptural authority?” or “What is your church’s stance on abortion, homosexuality, stem cell research, the World Council of Churches, etc.??” – just plug in your own “issue” or “cause”, whatever it may be.  I say it’s interesting because people seldom ask me what our church is doing about homelessness in our community.  Or what kind of programs we’re involved in to feed hungry people here.  Or how many people have “come to Christ” in the last 6 months or a year as a result of our church’s ministries in the community. People seldom ask about those things.       I’m glad we are continuing in a fine tradition of ministering to this community.  Lisa Rivers is inviting any persons interested to join with her on Sunday, September 19th during Sunday School in the Small Dining Room to talk about new ministries our passions may lead us into.  Glenda Schmidt and some other folks are in conversations with community agencies to see if there are ways the churches of Ottawa can address and help with the issues of Domestic Violence.  Our Outreach Committee continues to explore various avenues by which we can reach out to our community.  David Glavin and our Youth are planning a trip to Kansas City sometime in the next few months to serve at a “soup kitchen” and/or do some “street ministry”.  All these people and others are “doing the gospel”.       Both during those discussions in that Federated Church I mentioned, one of the denominational leaders who came to help us said “in church life generally speaking, doctrine divides, mission unites”.  When we’re doing mission, we don’t really have the time to sit around and debate theology.  “When did we see you poor, or sick, or thirsty, or in prison?”.... “As often as you’ve done it to the least of these….”      Mission.  What’s yours?  What’s ours?      And I'll look forward to seeing you in worship on Sunday.      In Christ's Love,      Joel http://www.fbcottawa.org/index.cfm?i=14772&mid=25&blogid=7555&comments=26056 26056 Wed, 20 Jul 2011 19:44:00 +0000                In our day to day living, there are a few "constants" that we can count on. One of those constants is change. Children start Kindergarten-it's a change; elementary schoolers become middle schoolers; middle schoolers become high schoolers; kids go off to college or trade school or move away for a new job; people retire from a long and faithful career; people move from their home of 50 years into a care facility; a loved one passes away and we no longer see them or pick up the phone and call them-- you get the idea.              Some changes we accept and embrace and even encourage-- other changes tend to threaten us to a certain degree or even shake us to our very foundations at times.              Some of us have lived life with continual change and can become accustomed to it-- even comfortable with it. Others of us have lived with a great deal of stability and consistency and are unaccustomed to change.             Our church is changing. When we look around there are faces that were not her 2 years ago or even 6 months ago.  And some of those "old familiar faces" that we were so used to seeing are gone. We have a remodeled sanctuary, and newer hymnals, and different types of music. We have an associate pastor, and new programs, and ministries that are unfolding. I could go on and on.             I want to bless you and thank you for the ways in which you have 'handled' the changes- which is the sign of a 'health' church. Some congregations can be torn asunder by even small changes. You have not only weathered the changes but I would venture to guess that we've grown in the process.              There will always be things that some of us just don't like, or we're uncomfortable with or they rub us the wrong way. What it usually comes down to is "who’s church is this anyway?" If your answer continues to be - "it is the Lord's Church" then we will continue to ask what His will is rather than what is my will. You are doing that. I see it in so many ways. And bless you for that and thank God for your faithfulness.               We worship a God who says over and over again both explicitly an implicitly, "Behold, I am making all things new" (change!) God Takes what is and breathes new life into it. And again sometimes God does something brand new-- never before seen by us. That's who God is and that's how God works.              Thank you for being willing to "change" and bless you. You are an amazing group of people.               And I'll look forward to seeing you in worship on Sunday.                                                                                                      In Christ's Love,                                                                                                      Joel http://www.fbcottawa.org/index.cfm?i=14772&mid=25&blogid=7555&comments=26058 26058 Mon, 20 Jun 2011 19:44:00 +0000