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The Question: 

Who Cares about Children at the Supper Table,

Mexican Immigrants and an African Confession?

The Answer: We do.    May 2010

     One of the great gifts of being part of a larger community of Christians (in our case, for example, the Christian Reformed Church, the CRC) is that we talk, study and pray together about some extremely important issues that affect us today.  Diverse, Christ-formed people—farmers from Iowa and Ontario, Greek and Hebrew scholars from Midwest seminaries and universities, business professionals from Toronto and New Jersey, and many others, help the church discern what God’s Word says and how God’s people are called to think and live.  

     That is the case today with important issues that we, the CRC—about one thousand churches from across the United States and Canada—are now paying careful attention to.  I’ll briefly introduce three of them to you and encourage you to pay attention to them too. 

 1.  Who cares about children at the Lord’s Supper?  We do. 

     The churches of the CRC are asking many important questions related to our own ministry to children here.  The general issue concerns the question, “How do we help form a Christ-centered, living faith in our children?”  But the more specific, challenging question related to that is, “Should children baptized as members of the covenant community be  welcomed at the Lord’s Supper, or should they wait until they make an informed, public profession of faith?”

     These are issues crucial to our own ministry!  How do we inspire kids from early on to love Jesus and his church, and participate in the church’s ministry?  How do we encourage them to profess their faith and make that step in their lives deeply meaningful?  And, if little children are members of God’s covenant, should they receive the covenant meal—the Lord’s Supper?  Or shouldn’t they?

     I encourage you to read the latest report on the topic which will be discussed this June at the meeting of Synod, the gathering of two pastors and two elders from each “classis”— geographical regions into which the CRC is divided across North America.  You’ll find the report at the CRC’s web site in the downloadable “2010 Agenda for Synod” at http://crcna.org/pages/synodical.cfm.

 2.  Who cares about Mexican immigrants?  We do. 

     The issue got the attention of the larger church several years ago when a classis said that member churches should not welcome “non-status immigrants” to the Lord’s Supper.  The church said, “Well, wait!  We should study this carefully.  They did, and their report will be discussed at Synod this summer as well.  You can find it in the same 2010 Agenda.

     Personally, since this topic is very close to home for us, I hope we’ll be able to have some discussion about this here at Crossroads.  The report to Synod, and a fine book about the subject, Christians at the Border: Immigration, the Church, and the Bible, would be stimulating discussion starters.  Because we have the whole range of perspectives here in the church (which should be the case in a healthy, diverse people of God), it could be a rousingly good conversation!  Consider it!

 3.  Who cares about an African confession?  We do.

     In addition to these important issues, some Reformed denominations and churches in South Africa asked Reformed Churches around the world to adopt a confession that for the CRC would join the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession and the Canons of Dort as a fourth confession of the church.  The Belhar Confession, as it is called, calls the church to repent of racism and classism and to work for justice and reconciliation in church and society.  In that sense, it’s less a confession about “what we believe” and more a confession about “how we live.”

     The CRC is now encouraging all churches to discuss this document.  Hopefully in the next year we’ll also have opportunity to do just that.  You’ll find it, as well, on the CRC website at http://www.crcna.org/pages/belhar.cfm .

     These are very important issues that will affect Crossroads and every other CRC in North American.  Who cares about them?!  We do.  I hope you do to, and encourage you to take an interest in exploring these yourself, and, hopefully, with the rest of this congregation in the coming year.

                                            - Pastor Mark Vermaire 

"Guest Preachers" and Blessed Congregations                                                                         April  2010

            I remember well the fun we had when “guest teachers” came to high school.  Rule of law was gone!  It was time to “ditch class,” or at the least have some FUN!, usually at the guest teacher’s expense.  Ah, that was the life! J 

            I wonder whether something of that same, youthful (OK, juvenile) spirit comes upon us when there are guest preachers!  Due to both my vacation time and denominational responsibilities, there will be many Sundays over the next few months others will preach.  Given that, how do you receive “guest preachers”? 

            Honestly, this congregation’s answer to that seems quite diverse.  There are those who are able to hear a helpful word from any voice, but others just can’t find it in them.  Some love a good storyteller, even if (to others here) the biblical text seems just a platform from which the guest preacher can dive off into the chosen topic.  Others deeply appreciate the preacher who faithfully explains the biblical text, even if (to others here) the guest preacher doesn’t seem to connect the sermon in any way to daily life.  Still others are just present. 

            I want to encourage us all to receive these preachers—imperfect, diverse human beings like you and me, but called by God to this task—with your presence, grace and even anticipation.  Here are a few reasons:

• Church is not just the preacher, and worship is not just the sermon.  The church (you and the others) is present to welcome guests, sing praises, pray together, hear God speak, celebrate sacraments, and encourage each other in fellowship.  If you are missing, it may not feel like your loss, but it is certainly the church’s loss.  For example, some people long to be greeted by you as much as they long (or not) to hear a sermon preached.  When you see it that way, God’s Spirit is working through far more than just a sermon.   

• God desires to speak to you, sometimes from different voices or angles.  A church gets used to a certain “voice” and “person.”  But God has other “voices.”  It may take more work to pay attention (because we’re used to a style, for example) or it may take more care to hear what God is saying (because we’ve gotten used to a perspective), but if you attend to God in your life, you will hear a word.  God may actually want you to think carefully about how this message applies to your life, or God may want to grow your servant character as you consider that there may be some whose lives were changed by that very word in that very way on that very day.       

• The church is called to be hospitable, and the guest preacher ought to experience that along with everyone.  The ancient “Rule of St. Benedict,” the guide for monks in the Benedictine tradition, says, “All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ.”  This seems an important charge for God’s church at all times.  And certainly we ought to receive the guest preacher, who seeks to bring to you the Word of Christ, in just that spirit.  He/she ought to be able to experience it by your presence, see it in your eyes, and hear it from your mouth.  

• The elders recognize the diverse members in the church and work hard at providing the congregation with a range of preachers whom God will use to bless the church.  They try to enlist people whose “voice” you will appreciate.  But they also must care for those here who seem to hear best from a different voice.  Give thanks for that sensitive task, and pray for them in it.  And give them your helpful feedback.

            Blessed congregation are filled with people who don’t come to church but realize they are the church.  They seek to live Christ’s life out in both usual and unusual times.  And they actively seek to receive Christ through all his servants, guest preachers include. 

        —Pastor Mark Vermaire 

A Bookshelf of Mentors and Friends                                                                                          March  2010

A Bookshelf of Mentors and Friends

  A friend of mine asks an intriguing question when trying to get to know someone: “What movie can I watch in order to understand you?”  (How about it?!  What movie could I watch to understand you?!  I’d love to hear.  And then I’ll tell you what my own answer is.)

  The same type of thing might be done with books.  As I’ve mentioned to a few of you recently, I’ve been collecting 3 sets of the most important 20 books in my life.  I plan to pass them down to our three sons.  And with them, I’ll say, “These books will let you know your dad better, and so you’ll know yourself better.  And they’ll probably bless you in brand new ways.”

  All of them have been important to me, but for different reasons.  God has used some of them to transform my life.  Others capture a sense of a community that formed me, like the rural, Dutch community of my youth, or the inner-city, African-American community of my first fifteen years of ministry.  Still others have done for me what all books worth reading do: they helped me see the truth about life more clearly, or they opened up my affections or imagination so that I could live more truly.  And some were great books at just the right time of life.   

  The list actually started at 10, but it grew.  Now and again a newly read book replaces another, as will probably happen again.  Of the 20, I have 3 copies of some, 1 or 2 of others; hard cover copies are a good stimulus package for used bookstores but not the family budget.  Of course I wish I could make the list 40 or 50, but, alas, even 20 may be too many.  Two books aren’t on the list but are so basic as to be assumed: the Bible (I’ll have a well-worn edition for each) and the Psalter Hymnal (the songs and confessions which have shaped my faith and life).

  A couple people asked if they could see a copy of the list.  So, I offer it, not so much to say that my list is important, but to stimulate your own reflection on what good reading you do, and what books you might offer to bless others around you.  Take a look.  I’ve included a brief hint as to why each is there. 

  Sietze Buning, Purpaleanie and Other Permutations (life in rural Zutphen, MI, the 1950’s CRC)

  Phillip Gulley, Front Porch Tales (stories of small town, Midwest values of my youth)

  David James Duncan, The Brothers K (the 1960’s world I grew up in; full of joy and sadness)

  J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit (me in my late teens and early twenties, hobbit style) 

  C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (the book God used to lead me to Christ as if for the first time) 

  C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (the good news of God, Narnia style)

  John Calvin, The Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life (a short summary of the Christian life )

  Cornelius Plantenga, Jr., Beyond Doubt (a mentor’s devotional on basic Christian truths)

  Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (the book Jesus used to make me a disciple) 

  Frederick Buechner, Godric (I saw my life in this, albeit from a pirate-become-hermit’s view)

  Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird (as a youth, this impassioned me about injustice)

  Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” (a prophet to America; urban ministry)

  Gary Schmidt, Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy (race issues, bucking church tradition)

  John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath (what writing!; the issues of the ‘20’s remain in CA today)

  Henry Nouwen, With Open Hands (prayer and life)

  Lewis Smedes, Love within Limits (a mentor’s thoughts on “the greatest of these: love”)

  Walter Wangerin, As For Me and My House (one of two books that helped our marriage)

  M. Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled (psychology and spirituality blessing life)

  Geoffrey Chaucer, Canterbury Tales (on a desert island, if I could take only two books…!)

  Eugene Peterson, Reversed Thunder (my pastoral mentor from books; “the last word” on life) 

              There’s my list.  How about yours?! And then, with me, keep reading and growing!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              —Pastor Mark Vermaire 

 WOW! Only God!                                                                 February  2010

Recently I heard someone  respond to a stunningly beautiful and unexpected event in their life with the exclamation, “Wow!  Only God!”  And I’ve had some of those responses to things around Crossroads lately.  I’d like to share them with you.  If you haven’t noticed them, thank God with me for some wonderful things in the life of the church here:

 1.  For 100 people signing up for Life Groups, and for all the joyful anticipation that these groups bring.  Few saw the hard work that Kim Bakker and the team did in planning them.  But what began as a question mark has become an exclamation point!

 2.  For the life-changing work of God among us—most obvious in Corey Hammond’s sincere and beautiful profession of faith and baptism, but also heard by others in more private testimonies of what God is doing to make our lives brand new.

 3.  For new members and friends among us—from the Geerdes family joining and their four children being baptized as part of God’s covenant community, to new friends coming to explore where God is leading them, and so helping us all grow in new ways.

 4.  For people’s delight in new things that God is leading us in—like walking outside together during worship to witness Corey’s immersion with all of us singing “Amazing Grace” around the baptismal “grape bin.”  A vacationing guest that morning came up to me and said, “I thank God that I could see such a sign of life in God’s church today!”

 5.  For the Elders and Deacons and Staff—most recently Mark Vander Werf’s willingness to join the staff to lead the High School group through the rest of the school year—who together are serious about wanting the Spirit of Jesus to transform this church community to God’s glory.

6.  For so many people who offer their gifts to teach and lead children. As I write this I heard praise for Sylvia Bons and Kathie Turner’s care for kids during the Mom’s Group, “They do a great job!” That could be said of so many here who care for and teach and lead our children, pay attention to the needs of the building and property, minister to members who are sufferings, and open their homes and lives to new friends and families.

 7.  For people who know that God’s calling sends us out to minister in his name—from those who take others in, like the Jasa’s rich hospitality for Elvis and his dad--to those who go out—whether fulltime like Laura TeVelde and Josh Vermaire working at Interfaith to many among us who give food and drink to the homeless, who sacrificially support ministries near and far, or take an active role in shaping political realities in our                   communities and world.

The list could be so much longer.  Take a look around.  See people and notice what God is doing through his church and her people.  Thank God for what God is calling you to and equipping you for.

Seeing all this, I respond, “Wow! Only God!”  Join me in heartfelt thanks and praise!                                                     

                                                                      —Pastor Mark Vermaire

Christmas Letter 2009

December 2009

Dear Congregation at Crossroads,

            This Christmas, as with those now past, we find ourselves reflecting on all God’s wonderful gifts.  God’s Great and Matchless Gift, God’s Son Jesus Christ, captures our attention and fills our lives with joy and hope and wonder. All other gifts are mere tiny expressions of the love of God which shines so brightly in Jesus. 

            But all other gifts are great joys, too.  And our life with you at Crossroads is one that we thank God for every day.  In this wonderful, imperfect, growing, saintly community of God we find Jesus at work and our lives challenged and blessed. 

            We give God thanks for each of you.  We wish we could write a note of thanks, and spell out the gifts this community receives from each person here.  Unfortunately, that won’t happen.  But as these notes were put in the boxes, we gave thanks for each person, and with gratitude for the past year, look forward to what God will do among and through us in the next.

            This Christmas season, and throughout the new year, may the joy of Christ, the comfort from his presence, and the adventure of following him in new and stretching ways fill your life with glory!  A blessed Christmas and a Christ-filled New Year be to you all!

                                                            Love in Christ,

                                                           Pastor Mark Vermaire

P.S.  You’ll, of course, see in our family picture the double joy we receive this month: Asher Caiden was born to Josh and Heidi, and in his own quiet way he points us to the gift of the Christ child.  Jonathan and Lucas became uncles, Lori and I became grandparents.  And we once again are in awe of the love and beauty of God’s works.  Rejoice!

Get a LIFE (Group)!                                      December 2009

  The memory of the Assessment Team judging that we were one step away from “decent toward death” is still fresh in most of our minds.  Not, of course, that their judgment wasn’t--to adapt a Mark Twain quote-- “a bit premature”.  But still, it caught our attention with a large dose of truth.

 One characteristic of people that are near death is that they no longer have any interest in making new relationships; they have no energy nor desire for it.  The same could be said of people in churches that are descending in that direction.  We are content to be with “people like us.” We like to be safe and comfortable.

 The good news of Jesus, and his directions to his people shatter that ideal. Thank God!  New life revives us! The adventure of breaking out of our shell, the gift of new acquaintances with enlarging our  experiences and perspectives the opportunities to grow ourvirtues—love, patience, joy  hope—in new directions, and the joy of   helping others grow in faith and beauty, these transform and renew us in wonderful ways.

 We want to shape our community in ways that best allow God to restore us from death to life.  So we are beginning “Life Groups” in February, 2010.

 Perhaps you heard our Life Groups staff leader Kim Bakker introduce Life Groups during worship a few weeks ago.  Kim, who took up the task of helping  co-ordinate these groups’ beginnings, spoke of our three-fold purpose for them.  Taking a line from the Vision statement, you might say that, “Empowered by God’s grace and truth,” Life Groups help us Grow to be like Jesus, Connect with each other, and Serve others.

  Those words (GCS) and statements are gifts and callings to us from the God who saves us. You’ll learn more about how these groups will help in each of these areas in the time ahead.

 But you’re probably wondering the specifics. “What will I be encouraged to participate in?!”  Here is a brief  summary, and it’s probably a bit different than other “small groups” that you’ve been a part of in the past.  In fact, these “groups” aren’t even that “small.”

 Rather than asking us to commit for a year or two, Life Groups will ask you to commit for a period of twelve weeks.  They’ll be held at a variety of times on a variety of days of the week, with    meetings lasting up to 1 ½ hours.  And if you can’t make it one week, that’s OK; ideally the groups will be 15-20 people, allowing the groups to meet every week, even if everyone can’t be there.  There will be three terms: Spring (Feb. – April), Summer (June – Aug.), and Fall (Oct. –Dec.)—with an average of six week breaks between terms.

 In each group meeting, there will be a time of Bible reflection, prayer, and food/fellowship—this will nurture our life in Christ and among his people. And then, for two of the three terms, each group will study or experience its own unique theme (the Fall term each year will find us studying the same theme in all the groups).  Some groups will be Bible studies; others will involve diverse interests of the   Crossroads community.  The goal is to shape groups in ways that cause us to say, “That’s something I want to clear my schedule for! I hope I can go!” And to add to the gift, each group will arrange for times of fun activity together, and also serve together in a way that blesses others.

 So anticipate learning more about these in the future.  The whole month of January will be a month of sermons on God’s design for Christian community, of testimonies from people who have grown wonderfully in the groups that  already exist, and of opportunities to learn about and sign up for the groups.

     —Pastor Mark Vermaire

On Church Life Cycles and Various Other Subjects

Two months ago the Assessment began.  Many speak with good appreciation for the process.  It got people reflecting on the life and ministry of Crossroads.  And it got us talking together about these things. 

 Almost everyone who I talked to since Sunday also found the final report helpful.  Sure, it told us a lot that we already knew.  But it also helped point out some things that are very important as we move forward in our life in Christ together. 

People have been discussing all sorts of things.  I found myself reminding people of the many positive aspects of congregation that were affirmed by the Assessment Team; several of the team members said they were jealous of many things here, including the wonderful facility for worship, the great staff, the dedicated volunteers, and the strong vision.  Others of us reflected on the observations important to our future, like the importance of small groups not just “for us” but rather “for us to integrate new members into the life of the church,” the need for staff to help lead us in ministry, and our stated desire to “seek and save the lost” but our lack of passion for actually doing this.  And then there were the objective (well, relatively so) observations about the wonderful, youthful membership here, and about our financial support for this ministry with thought-provoking statistics and reflections on the tithe.

 But it has been the “Church Life Cycle” that has created the most conversation.  An organized church is like a person, they said; it has a life cycle of, let’s say, 75-80 years.  There are stages: Entrepreneurial (brand new, creatively excited about God’s work in and through us), Organizational (getting larger and so organizing), Peak Efficiency (a great blend of the first two), Institutional (settled in, content, comfortable), and Descent toward Death (tired, no interest in changing, no unified, active ministry beyond itself).  From answers we all gave the Assessment, we presented ourselves—surprisingly?!—as an “Institutional” organization.  It was like an eleven year old child being told they were looking and acting like she was a 65 year old.  This, at the least, is worth some humble, honest reflection. 

  One of the assessors was right when she said that this is understandable.  When the church began eleven years ago, the new members came from an “Institutional” church with a U-Haul full of church assumptions and plans and unpacked it in a new location.  The immediate goal of the church wasn’t to spend six months in prayer asking God’s Spirit to guide us in a “new work” in this new era; the goal was to plant a “CRC on a different site.”  The first work of the church wasn’t a result of it’s passion for the mission of God to “lost and suffering people” (“Entrepreneurial”) but rather to make sure we had the right committees to help a church be like it should be.  This isn’t to be critical of this, because that was how God had shaped this group of people for that time.  But the call of God, not only from the Assessment, but from the work of God among many church members and leaders today, seems now very clearly to call us to a new way of life and ministry for the sake of God’s goals for His church.    

So what can we do as we discern God’s next steps for us.  First—and I don’t say this as a religious cliché—it’s time to pray humbly, earnestly, and openly.  The elders have set important times together just for this.  Every person here can commit to the same, for “unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1).  Secondly, talk together, and talk, too, to elders and deacons about your responses to the report.  What important elements did the assessment raise in your mind?  What is next for us?!  Thirdly, ask the question, “What can I do to help in the process ahead?  If you can’t figure that out, call an elder and set up a time to sit down and talk about that.  We are a “priesthood of believers” and all of us will need to dream, encourage, and use the gifts God gives us for the building up of His church (not, I think in the “institutional” sense, but in a wonderfully entrepreneurial and organized sense!). 

If we listen to God well through this, and if we join with each other in responding to it, we’ll grow wonderfully younger.  Pray for such a miracle, and be a part of that work of God!  

“I Thank My God Every Time I Remember You…”      October 2009
 

In the classic Greek stories the Iliad and the Odyssey, the warrior Odysseus was called to leave his home of Ithaca to fight against the Trojans.  In his absence, he left his dearly loved son Telemachus in the care of a man named Mentor.  While Odysseus was gone – 20 years! – Mentor “fathered” Telemachus as if he were his own son.  Ever since, Mentor’s name has been associated with anyone who “mentors” or guides someone through life.

  The Bible is full of “mentoring relationships.  Moses mentored Joshua in the faith and taught him how to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.  Paul instructed and modeled the Christian faith for young Timothy.  Paul even went so far as to write to the church in Corinth, “I urge you to imitate me. … Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.”  And of course, the Mentor above all others, the True Shepherd, is Jesus Christ himself who says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”  

The Christian life is one of relationships.  We are constantly being mentored or shepherded by someone – for better or for worse.  We are either being shaped more into the image of Christ or more into the image of the world.  Howard Baker writes, “Neither rugged individualism, a lone ranger spirituality, nor a ‘me and Jesus’ approach to life is an option for the Christian who seeks to be guided by God and to live biblically.”  We need mentors.  We need guides.  We need shepherds. We need each other.

So who are the people who have helped shape your life in Christ?  Can you name some people?  Here’s a short list of some of the folks who have mentored me over the years: my parents, Dan Landstra (high school Bible teacher), Chris Theule-VanDam (Young Life leader), and Tom Schwanda and Doug Felch (professors at RBC).  Then there are those Christians whom I’ve never met, but whose books have been surrogate mentors:  J.I. Packer, Eugene Peterson, Henri Nouwen, John Calvin, and Augustine. These are a few of mine, who are some of yours?  What if we talked more openly about the people who have been significant faith-shapers— —good or bad—in our lives?  That itself might be a faith-shaping conversation to have around the dinner table or with your small group!

These people are spiritual shepherds, keeping us on the path to a Christ-shaped life.  All of us here at Crossroads have been blessed with one such shepherd – Pastor Mark.  For twenty-five years, Pastor Mark has been mentoring, shepherding, and pointing people to Jesus Christ.  For the ten years that he has ministered in and to this congregation, he continues to guide us and challenge us to “live in the goodness of God and the life-changing way of Jesus.”  Whether through his sermons or a conversation over a cup of coffee, he challenges each of us to become “bold Jesus—proclaimers, generous gift—givers, and active world—changers.” 

So during this month of Pastor Appreciation let’s try to find creative ways (a phone call, email, card, etc.) to give thanks for Pastor Mark and others like him who have mentored us in the faith.  Together, let’s give God thanks for these mentors and let’s continue to spur one another on by telling the stories of the people who have shaped our faith in Christ.  

-- Elder Mark Vander Werf

It's Time for a Checkup!                                                September 2009

  Children need regular physical exams with a pediatrician.  Very mature people (I say it that way because it might include me) need the same.  But even middle age folks do well to get an occasional routine checkup. 

   Churches are blessed by checkups, too.  Of course we could evaluate ourselves, as we often do informally.  But it’s sometimes important to get a “view from the outside” to take a careful look at how we’re doing (What’s the saying? “The physician who treats himself has a fool for a doctor.”).

  So the CRC Home Mission team on the west coast is recommending that all CRC churches go through a thorough “Assessment.”  And our local group of San Diego/Orange/Riverside County churches—called Classis California South—is paying for half of the costs in order to help churches go through this.  So last year the Council said, “Yes, please come and help us take a look at ourselves.”  And now the Assessment has started.

  And here’s where you come in.  All of us will be asked for our reflections on the life and ministry of Crossroads.  And it will come in two ways.

   1.  The Assessment Team from Home Missions, and the trained group that designed some of the Assessment process, has received information from the history and records of the church, and from the reflections of the council.  They are now preparing a questionnaire for as many people as possible to complete.  It is expected to be available September 1-18. 

  There will be two ways to complete the questionnaire.  There will be an online (PDF) version, the ideal way for people to take it.  Or, if you’re not able to do the computer version, there will be a “hard copy” that you can get from the office, fill out, and then give to the office for someone to input the answers on a computer copy (the inputting will be done anonymously).

  The questionnaire will take approximately 20-30 minutes to complete.  All our answers together will give the assessors a good sense of how the church sees itself.

   2.  The Assessment team also hopes to meet with as many people as possible in different groups or in private meetings.  Take a look at the calendar at the bottom of this page and see what group best fits you (you’ll be informed again about this in the weeks ahead).  You might want to put the date and time down on your calendar to reserve it.

  If you can’t find a group that fits you, or if you would like to meet with a member of the team alone, they will schedule half hour interviews for different times on Friday afternoon and evening (If more time is needed to accommodate people, a Saturday afternoon time may be set up.).  They’ll also meet with any interested former members during these times, too.

  Then, the next Sunday, October 18, we will have a light lunch after worship, followed by as many of us as possible joining to hear a 2-3 hour report.  There, the Assessment “doctors” will tell us what they see.  They’ll point out our strengths, note some diagnoses of concern, and offer some prescriptions.  And, we trust, the church here will be blessed and challenged in important ways.

  So, Crossroads!  Open wide!  Take a deep breath and let it all out!  Look over there and tell me what you see!  It’s check-up time! 

        —Pastor Mark

 The October-Weekends Assessment Schedule

 Friday (October 9):

10:00 – 11:30 am:   Seniors/Long-timers

Been here ten years or so?  Or over 60 and able to join in?  Come for coffee and give the team your insights.

1:00 – 2:30 pm:  Staff/Ministry Leaders

  For the paid staff of the church (except for the pastor)

2:30 – 5:30 pm:  Mark & Lori Vermaire

  Three HOURS?!!  (Yes. There’s plenty of time for   snacking.)

7:00 – 8:30 pm:  Newcomers

Have you been attending recently?  Or joined in the last three years?  Come and help us look at ourselves.

 Saturday (October 10):

9:00 – 10:30 am:  Open Group (1 focus group) and Ministry   Workers (1 focus group)

If you can’t find another group that fits you, come join with others in the “Open Group.”

If you’re a Church School Teacher, Small Group Leader, Cadets or Gems Leader, Worship Team Member, or the like, join this group.

 10:30 am – 12:00 pm:  Church Council

 Members of the Council (without the pastor) 

 Sunday (October 11)

The Assessment Team will join us for worship and fellowship in order to participate in our life together on a Sunday morning. 

 Sunday (October 18)

9:30 – 10:45 a.m.: Worship

10:45 – 11:45 a.m.:  Light Lunch

11:45 – 2 pm…: The Assessment Report

Happy Birthday John Calvin!                                                                     July 2009

This month we celebrate the 500th birthday (July 10, 1509) of one of our denomination’s great-great-great-grandfathers (I probably missed a few “greats” in there!), the 16th century reformer John Calvin.  Unfortunately, a lot of people have a bad taste in their mouth about John Calvin.  Most people, if they have any image of Calvin at all, imagine a stiff-lipped, mean-spirited, ivory-tower theologian who dreamed up the pernicious teaching of predestination and randomly burned people at the stake if he didn’t like them. “What’s to celebrate about a guy like that?” they think.

The truth is, however, that Calvin had a deep, impassioned love for Jesus Christ, His church, and His kingdom. Born into a devout Roman Catholic family (Calvin’s father worked for the local church and one of Calvin’s first memories was that of visiting and reverencing a “sacred” relic.), Calvin was destined to become a Roman Catholic priest.  Calvin studied theology and law in Paris (He never was ordained!).  Sometime in his early twenties, Calvin experienced a “sudden conversion” that changed his life forever.  For a number of years, for fear of losing his life because of his conversion, he lived in hiding using pseudonyms like Martinus Lucianus – strangely similar to his reforming contemporary, Martin Luther!

While fleeing persecution, Calvin stopped for an evening in the Swiss city of Geneva.  Calvin expected to stay only a night but God had different plans.  Calvin, who was only 27 years old at the time, was “persuaded” to stay in Geneva (He was told that if he left Geneva he would face the wrath of God!) and help establish the Reformation in Geneva.  Besides the three years that Calvin was fired and forced out of the city, he spent his entire life working to reform Geneva.

Calvin’s passion for Christ and his Kingdom can be seen by two mottos that guided his ministry during his time in Geneva.

Motto #1 — Unto you, Lord, I offer my heart, promptly and sincerely.

Calvin was one of the sharpest thinkers in the history of the church.  His Institutes of the Christian Religion, which began as a simple instruction manual for the Christian faith but turned into 1,700 page, two-volume tome, is still considered to be one of the best summaries of the faith even after 500 years.  But behind his careful thinking and writing lay a deep love of God and a desire to be shaped by Him.  For Calvin, the Christian life was never just knowing the right stuff, instead it was what he would have called “piety” (what today we would probably call spiritual formation).  Calvin defined piety, or true religion, as “reverence joined with love of God.”  Elsewhere, Calvin wrote that the Christian’s most important goal was to “seek God, to aspire to him with all the affection of our heart, and to [rest] nowhere else but in him alone.” 

Motto #2 — Improve the world, start with Geneva.

Although for Calvin true religion was ultimately a matter of the heart, it was never intended to stop there.  One’s faith, argued Calvin, ought to lead to actions like caring for the needy, reform of morality, and societal improvements.  Some of the changes that Calvin oversaw during his ministry in Geneva were the establishment of compulsory elementary education, better laws to improve women’s standing in the city, and the introduction of safety standards and building codes.  Calvin thought, for instance, that one committed murder if someone died by falling off his deck that lacked proper safety railings. 

Calvin’s “one night” in Geneva turned into a lifetime of reforming work that still lives on today.  You might not have a birthday party for Calvin (although the VanderWerf family might!), but you might want to give God thanks for faithful servants like Calvin who sought to faithfully follow God’s call.

 —Mark VanderWerf

The Perfect Time to Play                                                               June 2009

There are few things more delightful than people at play.  And summer is as good a time as any to see and experience it: toddlers squealing joyfully as they run freely together, youth laughing contagiously in a wild-n-crazy game, adults free of work and responsibilities having a fabulous time together.  The things that we enjoy for play are about as different as we each are—from surfing at the beach to table games with friends, from creating a beautiful garden to reading another person’s novel in the shade of a tree.   But whatever it is, play gives us great joy.

 A few of us have been talking about the need to play more—well, perhaps I’ve thought about my own need to play more and I’ve encouraged other people to help me with the idea.

 I grew up among a people who understood the value of work—not only in terms of what work produces but also of how our work glorifies God.  So we learned to be hard workers, long-houred workers, and dedicated workers. 

But the adults I learned from didn’t know as well about the value of play—about the way it blesses us and the way our play glorifies God.  So we didn’t play much, didn’t laugh much, didn’t “let loose” much.  Instead, we either worked or we rested.  Six hard days of work, one good day of rest.  Eight to twelve hour days of good work, an evening of quiet rest.  But not much play. 

Now Old Testament Israel, there was a group of people who knew how to play!  Celebrations a week long were common, and they included tables full of food, rooms full of music, floors full of dancing, and people full of laughter.  God’s goal for his people wasn’t that they work in order to support an occasional time of play; it was rather that they play because it was a sign of God’s love and care for them, which would in turn affect the way they thought about their work.  Play was a sign of God’s blessings—of trust in God’s providing for their lives (not their providing for themselves), and of God’s miraculous saving work in their history (not of their own working for their salvation). 

Similarly today, the “Christian Sabbath,” Sunday—or what the New Testament calls, “The Lord’s Day”—is a sign for us that the point of life isn’t our work.  The day that begins every week is the day where we are reminded not to work for our salvation; instead, we rejoice in God’s work for us—in the death and resurrection of Jesus, in the pouring out of his gift-giving Spirit, and in the promised “eternal, joyful rest” of heaven.  The “Lord’s Day” doesn’t end the week (as if we have to recover from our exhausting work); it begins the week, as if our work is shaped by God’s work for us so that we are free to delight in all his gifts. 

So Christians, above all people, ought to be people who know how to play!—to delight in God’s creation, to laugh and dance together, to have fun in the freedom of God’s world.  As I’ve said before, I’m committed to learning this more and more. 

Some here at Crossroads already have a good handle on work, play and rest; I love to watch and learn from them.  I also try to learn from God’s Word which keeps reminding me that work is not the goal of life; rather, life’s goals are the “rest” God gives, and the “play” we enjoy because of it. 

Summer is the perfect time to play.  Let’s help each other do that wonderfully. 

So I’m going to keep practicing what I preach.  Summer is the perfect time to play.  And I’m going to work at it.  Well, play at it.  Join me as you’re able!

Troubling Questions for Troubled Times                                         April 2009

For months now the news has not been good.  Financial markets are in turmoil, jobs are threatened, families are struggling.  Even those who do not feel at risk bear the weight of the daily news reports with a sense of sadness or concern; a non-descript depression of spirit hovers around, threatening to envelop us.

 The church—that mixture of very human people gathered around the good news of Jesus—experiences the whole range of responses.  Some, on the verge of tragedy, do their best to keep a faith-filled spirit in a daily struggle for financial survival.  Others, the truth be told, don’t feel any burden; they aren’t affected in any significant way and don’t particularly care to be concerned for anyone else.  Still others are actively doing what they are able to do to help people around them weather the storm or endure an especially difficult period. 

Most of us in God’s church—from those with a rich and growing faith to those with little or no actual faith—are asking important questions raised by the new situation:  Are we going to get through this in the months or years ahead?  How long will this last, and if it lasts long, how can we adjust so that we last with it?  Do we have enough savings to be able to live basically and independently in retirement?  How much do we try to save now?  Where is our savings safe?  How can we help others who are struggling?  When should we sacrifice far more of our plenty in order to help others in their need? 

Then there are the bigger questions:  How has this fundamentally changed the world we live in?  What does this reveal about our society?  What might God want to teach us?  What might God want to teach me, and will I not only listen but change?  How will this affect “the family” today—will families become interdependent again, or struggle alone?  Is the family of God’s people being called to learn to live life in a fundamentally new way for our corporate witness to others?  How have God’s people in other places or times suffered far more than we, and how was their faith affected, and what can we learn from them?  What does our fear about losing our lifestyles say about our faith or our actual gods? 

But here’s the problem:  We’ve been so influenced by our culture of individualism that we don’t ask these questions together.  We might ask questions about “theology” together—questions about our communal God.  But when it comes to our family or personal gods—things that take charge of our lives, like money, work, entertainment, sports, [fill in yours and I’ll fill in mine]—we don’t want anyone to help us deal with them. 

But shouldn’t we be asking these questions together?!  For example, if, as the ordination “charge” to deacons says, our deacons are called to “be prophetic critics of waste, injustice, and selfishness in this society,” are you and I willing to hear them actually do this among us; are we willing to respond?  Should we help each other ask questions about savings, giving, living?  Should we be reflecting together on how our time (as individuals, as families, as a community) can best be used to bear witness to God’s Kingdom in these times when the kingdoms of this world are tottering?  Can we ask how we might live uniquely as a community of God’s people such that others would see something very different among us? 

These are some of the questions I ask.  Can we ask them together?  Do you have relationships in the church where people talk about such essential issues of life and Kingdom?  Let’s pray for such honest, thoughtful, holy relationships.  And let’s work for them, because these questions are too important for any one of us to decide alone.

March 2009

In Gratitude for the People Who Make Us Look Good

I have a pastor friend who once worked with a church secretary who seemed to sabotage a lot of what he did.  If he was out on hospital calls and someone telephoned the church office for him, she would say, “I have no idea where he is.  He’s probably out golfing as far as I know.”  And when he gave her hand-written letters to type up, she did so with countless mistakes, signing his name on the bottom.  On top of that, she was an unrelenting grouch.  The only reason she was kept in the position was that no one on the church council dared to have her be told that her time was up.

She finally did retire, albeit with a bit of gentle encouragement (“Gladys, at this stage in life, wouldn’t your husband love to have you home all day?!).  And as a new secretary would need to be found, the council rewrote the job description.  And, at the end of that list of duties was this requirement:  “Make the pastor look good.”

I will tell you that the office staff of this church regularly make me—and all of us—look good.  I want to use this front page to tell you how much I appreciate them and to encourage you to thank them.

One of the great joys lately has been to see how well Crissy Verner and Dawn Gomolka work together.  Dawn has been working here for several years now, assisting the worship teams by organizing and providing their music, inputting songs and materials into Power Point, and gladly doing all sorts of other office work.  Crissy joined us since Rachael’s maternity leave, learning countless tasks and programs with patience and grace.  Both of them are wonderful gifts to us—hard-working and selfless, and giving the office a sense of warmth and goodness.   

 While Rachael has been on leave, Sylvia Wilgenburg has offered her considerable skills, handling flawlessly and readily the financial demands of the office—paying bills, keeping records up to date, and the like.  In the weeks ahead, Rachael Vander Werf will return on a part-time basis.  Her skills and gifts are well known around here, too, and we’ll all give thanks for parts of the ministry she can pick up once again.   

All these staff members are dedicated, hard-working, and gifted, each in their unique ways. I know that they often make me look good.  But even more, they make the church look good, for which we should all be grateful.

But they would point you to others, too, who bless us all.  Sylvia Bons is our almost-daily co-worker whose work no one notices because it’s done so well.  She cares for and cleans the facility here in faithful, pleasant, and wonderful ways.  And on top of that, Sylvia blesses us with fine and caring leadership of Church School.

You also might not see much of Danae Lapka’s work, though you all benefit from it richly every week.  Danae joyfully and thoughtfully puts in many hours each week as Worship Coordinator, helping shape and direct our Sunday gatherings.  In addition to that, she (along with husband Paul) blesses our Junior High/Middle School kids with almost as much life and energy as they have.  Brad and Jayne Jansen are wonderfully gifted and bless us all by their leadership of the High School group, giving up almost every Sunday night to be with some great teenagers here.  Mike Vander Pol cares for the Discipleship ministries, encouraging small groups and pastoring members in ways that Mike (along with Lois) is so remarkably gifted for.  And Duane Arendse has just recently picked up the task of caring for the grounds every week; his fine work relieves many members here of the task and enriches the property.

And all of them would also point you to so many other volunteers who work inside and outside the church doing countless gifts.  How can we begin to recount all of the people who throughout the week are serving, organizing, teaching, leading, supporting, encouraging, guiding, working, befriending, and all the rest—using their gifts to serve others in this church and beyond.

All these people make us look good.  Please join me in giving thanks for every one of them.  And, as you’re able, join anew or continue to bless us all with your care for the ministry Jesus Christ has called and blessed us to do.

February 2009

Mission & Vision

The old King James Version said, “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). That verse is sometimes quoted by church leaders wanting to argue that a church should have a “vision” or “mission statement” to lead the congregation’s ministry. Unfortunately, how we understand that verse today is different than how people understood it 500 years ago (which is why we use a contemporary translation like the NIV, rather than the KJV Bible). So you can’t use that text to defend church vision and mission statements.

But the popular wisdom of having a “vision” is still important. For example, if young adults don’t have a captivating vision of what God is calling them to do in life, or where they want to be in five or ten years, they’ll flounder. Older adults, too; rather than wasting their life away in front of a TV, some larger ideas of God’s calling, or goals for the next stage of life, may send them back to school or volunteering their gifts for others. A business that doesn’t reflect on where it’s going or how it’s adjusting to the new economy will stagnate or die. And a church that doesn’t identify where God is leading it will often simply stagnate and eventually die.

A year or more ago the staff of the church put down on paper some phrases that described what God was teaching us. These became helpful reminders for the ministries to keep a focus. Then the council took those statements, adapted them, and affirmed them for the congregation as a whole.

It said, in effect, “These are some basic themes God is leading us in. Let’s write them down to help remind us of a direction and to help members reflect on their own lives as Christians.”

I encourage you to sit down with these and reflect for a time. Line by line, ask, “Does this describe me? How so? What might God be calling me to grow in these over the next year or two? What help—from others, books, experiences, etc.—do I need in order to grow in them? How could my growing change the lives of people around me and in the broader world? How can my growth in these bless God’s church at Crossroads? How would this give glory to God in new ways?”

The statements we’ve established aren’t set in stone; they are our understanding of what God’s leading us in for this present time. They may not even be complete; we still can ask what God’s mission in this community and/or world is. But they are a very good start. And they reflect a wonderful work that God has been doing among us all these years.

Do you own and work toward a vision for your personal life and/or family? Do you have goals in your vocational life, whether at home, school or work? God has visions for us, too, as his people at Crossroads. As we each grow in living it, life will continue to be full of adventure and goodness in the years ahead. For, I suppose you could say, “With a Christ-formed vision, the people and church thrive.” Watch what God can do through you and among us together!

January 2009

Wow! What a Year!

By many assessments, 2008 is a year unlike anything most of us have seen in our lifetime—at least as far as this nation is concerned.

At the center has been the financial meltdown, which continues to wreak havoc in lives and markets from New York to Beijing, but also in some of our own homes and families.

An African-American was elected president of the U.S., something nearly unimaginable for the last two centuries.

We continue to be caught by—and actively engaged in—a global war of religious and political ideologies which has almost no regard for innocent victims, national boundaries and moral rules.

And the future of our once idyllic life, too often oblivious to the suffering of others, is increasingly threatened by unimaginable violence or horrific devastation nearby and far away, whether in local communities (like Tijuana), across nations (like Myanmar), or across borders (like throughout so much of Africa).
But I wonder how often God’s people wouldn’t have said the same type of thing—or even more so—throughout world history. What would the children of Israel have said about their 400+ years of brutal slavery in Egypt (first chapters of Exodus), or exile in Babylon (read Psalm 137 for a taste). What would the Christians to whom the New Testament books of Romans or Hebrews or I Peter were written have said, having been violently forced out of their homes and communities and having had their fellow church members thrown in prison or killed in the Roman persecution? More recently, what would faithful Christian witnesses in Nazi Germany have said about those years, with faithful witnesses among them sent to death camps and with violence all around? Or what would Christians today in Zimbabwe or India say about the torturous violence and lawlessness they live with?
Followers of Christ—of him who was homeless, who continually had threats against him, who suffered beatings and a violent death, but who was raised to eternal and glorious life—trust (or learn more and more to trust) Christ the King whatever this world sends us. Who, after all, knows what this year will bring for any of us? And who knows what will develop among the nations of the world. Our anchor (in the ancient biblical image) is in Christ, not in the circumstances this world that may well “rock our little boat.” “I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ” (Heidelberg Catechism, Q/A 1).
The truth is that learning to follow Christ is adventuresome and challenging in blessing as well as in suffering. And when we understand and live in that truth—when we follow Christ the King who calls the blessed to live sacrificially, the suffering to live hopefully, and all of us to live as a family—then we may well find ourselves saying in any year, “Wow, what a year!”
May our anchor this year be in Christ alone. And may the storms be light and passing. And may we rejoice in our life together in the midst of whatever comes.

—Pastor Mark Vermaire

December 2008

Happy New Year, Church!

—Pastor Mark Vermaire

November 2008

Let Me Tell You How to Vote

It’s been a long time since we’ve had such a fascinating (and, albeit, interminably long) presidential election.  I don’t want to tell you how or whom to vote for; each of us is responsible to discern that ourselves.  But I do want to encourage us as Christians to consider some attitudes to bring into the voting booth.

1.  Vote Gratefully.  In spite of all the negative campaigning and gross manipulation of facts from both sides, it is a profound gift to be able to participate in choosing the leader (and leaders) of a country.  Recently, at the traditional Alfred E. Smith Dinner, the presidential candidates—who were increasingly hostile towards each other in their campaign speeches—joined together and laughed at each other’s wonderful, self-deprecating humor.  At that moment one realized what a unique and wonderful political system we are given. 

As you vote, give thanks to God for his calling and blessing to us here.  And pray for and support our brothers and sisters who suffer under military dictatorships and hostile regimes.  We are given an incredible gift.

2.  Vote Thought-fully.  This election is increasingly polarized, even within the church.  I have talked to people over the last months, some who say, “I can’t believe a Christian can vote Democratic,” and others who say, “I can’t believe a Christian can vote Republican.”  National polls have indicated that evangelical Christians over 40 years old vote predominately Republican, and evangelical Christians under 40 years old vote predominately Democrat.  Who is right?

Perhaps (and this will be difficult for some people to grasp) there is truth and righteousness on both sides, just as there is falsehood and wrong on both sides.  Some brothers and sisters in Christ argue that Republicans hold up Christian values with respect to private morality (abortion and marriage, for example), while other brothers and sisters in Christ argue that Democrats hold up Christian values with respect to public morality (concern for the poor and suffering, and the environment, for example).  Christians on both sides argue that the other is blind to huge aspects of Christian thought and values.

This requires us to vote thought-fully, realizing that neither party is the “Christian” party.  For us, the values and visions of the Kingdom of God are far larger and more beautiful than we have heard any party promote in this election.  We, then, must discern humbly and carefully our decisions.

3.  Vote Prophetically.  As Christians, we go into the voting booth not just to touch screens or punch chads; we go in to make prophetic statements about what we believe is truly good according to the vision of God’s kingdom for us in this nation.  The biblical prophets took the will of God and cried it out to the people or directly addressed it to the king.  In a small but significant way, we do that in voting: we say to the city, state and nation: “This is right and beautiful. Let us go in this way and goodness will follow.”

Perhaps the clearest opportunity to do this is in voting for Proposition 8 which proposes a state constitutional amendment providing “that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”  For the Christian to vote “Yes” on this proposal is to prophetically offer the historic position of God’s people about the meaning of marriage.  (For some fine materials to reflect on here visit www.TheTruthAboutMarriage.org.)  At the same time, consider how we as a congregation can extend the grace and love of Christ to those who oppose this measure and its vision, for we are people of Christ’s truth and grace.

4.  Vote Comedically. Finally, while the political system takes all this with profound seriousness—some  people declaring the end of the American way of life if Obama gets in, and others proclaiming the escalation of war after war if McCain is elected—the Christian laughs a little at the hubris of the American political system.  As much as we like to exalt ourselves, we are not in charge of this world.

In Psalm 2, as the nations exalt themselves as the lords of the world’s destiny, the psalmist professes, “The One enthroned in heaven laughs.”  I suspect God does this a lot these days about all of us.  So, as you rightly take great care to participate in this election, also join God in laughing a bit at the system which is in God’s hands, not its own. 

God bless and lead you as you vote.  And God bless and lead us, his unique people, to be faithful in this particular nation where God has placed us.  Whoever is elected, whatever party rules, we are under the good and true rule of Christ the King.  We, of all people, must know and live this well.                                               

—Pastor Mark Vermaire

October 2008

Songs for Such a Time as This

These are disturbing times in the world in which we live.  National and global events shake the quiet security of days gone by.  Things are changing radically before our eyes.

• The bailouts of FannieMae and FreddieMac, and the massive loan considered for GIA, have sent economists stumbling from their easy chairs and running to talk about what was coming next.  Considering the buyouts, one commentator went so far as to say, “We’re all socialists now”; perhaps not yet, but the profound consequences of the last weeks will not be settled for a very long time.

• The mudslinging of the presidential campaigns continues to reflect the unraveling of our moral fabric as a nation.  Half-truths and twisted attacks are basic elements of a process in which money, power and manipulation reign over wisdom and justice.

• The uncertain future of the war in Iraq, and the redeveloping battle in Afghanistan have taken a back seat in the news for now, but when the front seat dies down, we’ll pay more attention again to an increasingly disturbing global reality.  Not nations, but ideologies are at war, and there are no national boundaries to define the “enemies.”

• On top of this all, the new and unsettled “global economy” will affect us and all the nations of the world in ways we can’t predict.  The worldwide internet continues to show profound effects upon commerce, and the stunning development of the working billions in China and India promises to change the world order in stunning ways.

In the midst of all this, one could find oneself unnerved.  But remember, God’s people have often found themselves in such realities.  From the exodus from Egypt to captivity in Babylon, from the Holy Spirit’s scattering the new church into the Roman world to the uncertainties of God’s people leaving homes and lands to establish new nations—God’s people have found themselves in terribly difficult or uncertain times.

In the midst of this, God has blessed us with songs for times such as this.  God’s people have taken these songs—the Psalms—and sung and prayed and memorized them as sources of faith in our almighty God.  For far beyond the small or large disturbances on earth, the God of all creation keeps us and leads us by his ever-present care and power.

Psalm 46 has been a continual creed for the people of God: “God is our refuge and strength, our ever-present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea…”  And Psalm 37 assures us wonderfully: “Do not fret because of evil men…for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.”

The Psalms, the “prayer book of the Bible,” are a gift of God to us.  You might want to take another look at them.  Whether you memorize one or two and use them as a personal statement of faith, or whether you read a page or so of Psalms a day, you’ll find, as God’s people always have, that things aren’t nearly as fearful as they seem.  God is our refuge and strength. Jesus Christ has defeated sin and death and is Lord over all.  And we are God’s ambassadors to bear witness to that in a world of people who need to see and hear just that.

September 2008

"A Labor Day National Anthem?"

Complete the words of this well-known American work song from a classic Disney movie: “Hi ho! Hi Ho! ….”  And whistle with it, too!  (It will get people around you wondering what you’re doing, and you can encourage them to read the “Connections”!)

Now here’s an interesting observation.  In some casual conversations, a few of us immediately recounted the words as, “Hi ho! Hi ho! It’s off to work we go!”  But when Rachael did some research on the computer, she kept finding another version: “Hi ho! Hi ho! It’s home from work we go!”  Which, if you work in a diamond mine like the seven dwarves who had to “dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig from early morn to night” would make a whole lot of sense!

So which way would you sing this ditty?  Going to, or from, work?  Or, as the cartoon may well have it, both ways.  (Children, can you help me here?  Is it sung both ways?!).

The good news is that a majority of Americans are able to sing that joyful song on the way to work.  A couple of surveys over the last year indicate that two-thirds or more of Americans like their jobs.  They find them fulfilling, creative, affirming, and more.

But it also seems that up to one-third of Americans—millions and millions of people—find their work un-enjoyable at best.  Many find their jobs tedious or demeaning, exhausting or stress-producing.  Studs Terkel, the great interviewer and social commentator, began his best-selling 1972 book Working with this paragraph: “This book, being about work, is, by its very nature, about violence—to the spirit as well as to the body.  It is about ulcers as well as accidents, about shouting matches as well as fistfights, about nervous breakdowns as well as kicking the dog around.  It is, above all (or beneath all) about daily humiliations.  To survive the day is triumph enough for the walking wounded among the great many of us.”  That’s a sober introduction to the lives that many of our neighbors and fellow citizens endure every day.

So on this Labor Day weekend, reflect not only on your own work—whether it’s at home or in a school, at the office or outdoors, paid or volunteer—but upon the work of many others, too.  (After all, Labor Day began in 1882 from union workers who called their communities to “celebrate the social and economic achievements of American workers.”  Search for the history of the holiday at www.dol.gov/dol/aboutdol/main.htm).

And then reflect upon some of the biblical themes of labor.  Here are some basics: 

As people created in the image of God—the Creator God who works on our behalf--we, too, are people made by God to find joy, purpose, and meaning in our work (Genesis 1:26-31).  What joys do you get in, or from, your daily   labor?

Because we live in a world fundamentally affected by evil and sin, our daily work—and sometimes entire jobs—can be terribly difficult and un-enjoyable (Genesis 3:17-19).  What aspects of your work cause you to be less than happy, or even to suffer?

One day out of seven God says, “Shabbat!,” (Hebrew, transliterated “Sabbath,” meaning “Stop!”) You’re not slaves to work!  You’re people made in my image!  So  rest a day in seven, get perspective on life through worship with my people, and enjoy a day of re-creation that helps you look forward to the eternal “Stop” of heaven (Deut. 5:12-15).  Do you do this?

But there are more biblical themes.  Can you think of any?  How do they fit your “work”?

And if your own days are blessed with meaningful and rewarding work, love others by helping them see God’s gifts of work and the image of God in them.  Engage the bored parking attendant in a moment of appreciative talk, tip the waitress well and write a note of appreciation, tell the custodian or cashier that you’re thankful for their good work, smile at the groundskeeper and say of his work, “Beautiful!”

And try this: tomorrow morning, whether you’re heading out to work or preparing breakfast for others at home, smile and start singing, “Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work we go…(whistle).”  See if anyone joins you!  Or perhaps—with your joy in God’s work—it will lead to an interesting conversation because they think you’re just plain Dopey.                  

June 2008

"Forgive Me, Lord, for I Have Synod"

I don’t know whether this article is one of information, rationalization, or confession, but this church deserves it.  I’m called to be your pastor, but several weeks a year I’m called away from here to do the work of the church elsewhere.  This year this is especially true.

For those who don’t know, I serve as a member of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the Christian Reformed Church (more on that below).  This takes me away from Crossroads at least three weeks a year as I go to Grand Rapids, Michigan for meetings.  On top of that, this year I was also chosen by Classis California South (servant leaders from the S. Cal. CRC churches) to be a delegate to the Synod of the CRC (two pastors and two elders delegated from every classis in the U.S. and Canada) meeting this June; that will take me away for two more weeks.

I have a friend who argues, jokingly, that such meetings are “Satan’s ways of getting God’s people off the streets.”  That’s one way to look at it, but it’s not the only way.  So here I give my defense (without defensiveness) for my work—and so your work—in the larger church.

1.  The church is bigger than just “our church,” for which I am very thankful.  Crossroads is part of a larger denomination—the  CRC—over 1,000 churches across the U.S. and Canada that covenant together to support missions, develop educational institutions and materials, hold each other faithful to God’s calling, and seek to understand Scripture’s teachings together (so that no one pastor or church can decide alone what God’s Word says about important matters of life and truth).  Such a covenant requires people to work to maintain and support it.

2.  The church of God has always had gatherings that have taken leaders away from a community for a time for the sake of the larger people of God.  In the Old Testament, leaders went away for battle (rarely does the BOT seem like a battle :).  In the New Testament councils occasionally took pastors away from congregations to make decisions for the larger body (see, for example, Acts 15).  In fact, in the history of the church some councils which resolved fundamental truths lasted not weeks but years!  In that light, a week at a time isn’t bad.

3.  For whatever reason, I’ve been gifted and called by God to not only be a pastor of a congregation, but also to serve as a leader in the denomination.  Actually, I believe that God alone could have placed me in my position in the denomination.  Here’s why.  Three years ago, out of approximately twelve nominated pastors from all of California, I was elected the “alternate” to the elected trustee on the BOT.  After his first meeting, he was forced to resign and I became the trustee.  At the next meeting, I was elected to the Executive Board.  And the meeting after that I was elected President of the U.S. side of the BOT and Vice-President of the binational board.  I have taken this as God’s ordaining, and serve out of this conviction.

4. Though you may not see it, and though there is a “down side” to your pastor being away for such meetings, Crossroads also blesses and is blessed by the larger church.  For one, because of my role in the BOT, and because you help shape my understanding of church and ministry, you help shape the entire CRC.  Also, the good news of God’s blessings at Crossroads is told to the broader church (through me, who loves to tell what God is doing here), so that you encourage a much larger part of God’s church (cf. I Thess. 1:8-10).  On top of that, I get a “free trip” to visit my mom and son in Grand Rapids a few times a year, making me a more contented California pastor (not unlike the contented California cows who give better milk!).

5.  This is a wonderful opportunity to learn some very important truths.  First, the church is not dependent upon the pastor; the church is dependent on Christ who by God’s Spirit nourishes his church communities with all the gifts of his people.  Secondly, the church is not the pastor; the church is the whole community which, when every part is doing its work, “grows and builds itself up in love” (Ephesians 4:16).  For that, we all thank each other for faithfully taking up our parts in the life of the church, which is the way we grow to God’s glory.

All this being said, I miss you all when I’m gone.  I hold you in my heart, pray for you, and eagerly look forward to being back when I’m away.  Meaning the title above is a fun play on words; the truth is that I’ll serve God as he calls me, and especially delight when I can do so right here!

May 2008

"How to Grow Big & Tall"

When I was young, the argument for eating cooked spinach was that popular parental line, “This will help you grow big and strong.”  I must admit, I never found that argument as compelling as the one we used on our kids after that one: “You can’t leave your chair until you’ve eaten at least __ bites.”  But still, the truth of the matter is, we grow best with a healthy, diverse diet (and a bit of ice cream can sometimes help, too).

In the community of God’s people, there is a basic motivation for “growing big and strong,” too, although instead of growing “big and strong” we grow “humble, joyful, and obedient.”  The basic motivation?  To honor God, our Creator and Redeemer, and to present others with the grace and beauty of Jesus Christ.

Last month I mentioned the study done by one of the largest, most influential churches in North America.[1]  It had their pastors reeling because it showed that the church members weren’t growing as “big and strong” as Christians as they thought.  That was the bad news, but the good news was that they also saw many Christians growing well.  And the theme that seemed consistent in strong growth was a theme that the historic church has promoted since the beginning: the practice of spiritual disciplines.

The shocking thing to the pastors of that study was that they found that certain things were not good indicators of whether Christians were growing well.  Things like attending worship regularly, being active in church activities and ministries, listening to a lot of Christian radio during the week, etc., proved not to be the key.  These important practices needed something to give them direction: the presence of God known through personal spiritual disciplines.

Now, God has spoken to us over the past weeks about “personal spiritual disciplines” not being enough.  We also need to grow as communal Christians who listen to the whole community grow in God together.  The preaching of the word helps give direction and shape to our personal spiritual disciplines, quality spiritual reading helps us understand the breadth and depth of faith, and being in dialogue with and accountable to each other helps us not go off on our own personal bandwagons of what the Christian faith might be like.

But still, in a society where the voices and noises of culture shout to us continually, to stop and hear and respond to God speaking in the silence of our lives is critical for learning the “other way”—the “good news way”—of living.  And in a society where we do our best to present ourselves as in control and doing well, to stop and pray, humbly and honestly, to the Father is a gift that will transform us as people full of God’s grace and security.

There are other important disciplines, too: regular corporate worship, generous giving to God’s church as God enables us, serving others in ministry, practicing simplicity, and more.  But these, too, grow well in the soil built up by disciplines of listening to and praying before our God.  And what they grow well are “humble, joyful and obedient” followers of Jesus.

None of these disciplines are practiced to show God how good we are.  They aren’t performed to feel like we are “good Christians.”  Instead, they are ways that help us grow in hearing the grace of God, in learning God’s way for us, and in becoming “big and strong” (well, humble and dependent) Christians.

For the glory of God, let’s grow “big and strong,” not in our way, but in God’s way.  And don’t only do it yourself.  Encourage each other.  For then not only individuals, but the whole community will grow “big and strong” to the glory of God. 

[1] See the study of Willow Creek Community Church in

Reveal: Where Are You by Greg L. Hawkins and Cally Parkinson.

April 2008

"A Church's Stunning Revelations"

One of the largest, most influential churches in North American recently did a study, the results of which had their pastors reeling.[1] By most objective standards, the church was doing exceptionally well:  the number of people attending (well over 10,000) was growing, involvement in small groups was strong, and high-quality ministries were continuing to develop both within and outside the church.  All seemed well.

But then a group of three people studied—not how many heads were in worship or how active the church was mid-week, but whether people judged that they were growing more deeply in their love for Christ and their Christ-like love for others. The answers revealed something that stunned the lead pastors: many of the members—and especially the longer-term members of the church—were either stagnant in their faith or frustrated that the church wasn’t helping them grow more. This “healthy” church was remarkably un-healthy in this area that is central to the purpose of the church—growth in the loves God desires to form in us.   

If you read the study, there is actually a lot that is rightly criticized—including their assumptions (their theology) about “church” and the priority they give to a market-driven, pragmatic view of how the church grows (e.g., a large enough parking lot, a happy worship service, and other practical factors that will build a large, healthy church).  But what is honorable is that the church was bold enough to do such a self-evaluation, and that they recognize that “activity” and “numbers” don’t equate to a church that is honoring God.     

The study raised question for me about how we at Crossroads would do on a similar inventory.  How are we doing at helping people grow in love for Christ and in remarkable attitudes of Christ-like love for others beyond family and friends?  So let me offer a version of some of the questions that were asked in the study above.  Reflect on them yourself and see how you, and we, are doing:

- How would you describe your relationship with God?

- Is your relationship with God growing? stagnant? slipping? 

- What ministries or aspects of Crossroads are making a difference in your life right now?  How?

- What are some of the ways you would like to grow in your life in Christ (or, as a Christian) over the next year or two? 

- What could the church do differently that would help you grow more?

If you are willing to think about these questions for a while, realize that the way you put yourself and the church in a place of potential change and growth is by talking honestly with another brother or sister in Christ about them and then taking steps to help yourself and all of us grow together.  You might dedicate some small group time to this, or take a brother or sister in Christ from Crossroads out to coffee and explore these together.  Or shock your elder by saying you’d like to talk about your life as a Christian together!  Then, if there are ways that you can help us as a church grow in nurturing faith (yours or others), please don’t be silent!  Let us know!

Growth in Christ is not only something every child of God desires; it’s also something the people of God are called to help each other with.  For this we’re all responsible.  What revelations do you have that will help us all? 

[1] See the study of Willow Creek Community Church in

Reveal: Where Are You by Greg L. Hawkins and Cally Parkinson.

February 2008

“Remember Your Prayers!"

Were they my mother’s words to me at bedtime? Or mine to my sons? Or are they a distant memory from an old time movie? “Remember your prayers!”

A diverse group of us (from 2 to 6) remember them for the church every Monday morning at 9:30am (with 10am coffee to follow!). A prayer group also meets at church on Sunday morning from 9:00-9:15am.  The Sunday evening worship service also includes an extended time of prayer.  Others dedicate time at home—individually and together.

So many of us are so busy that prayer gets squeezed out or simply forgotten. (Have you continued with the growth in prayer from the 40 Days of Prayer just a couple months ago?!) Even if you have a pattern of prayer, prayers can become routine and small.

I thought you might like to know some of the diverse things prayer groups have prayed for over the past half year.  In part, it will let you know that these are prayed for, and in part it might encourage your own prayer life to grow in depth and breadth.  I’ll divide them in seven categories in case you want to take one each day and offer your own prayers in those directions.  As you pray, try to expand on the idea by specifically naming people or things.

Praising and thanking God—

  According to God’s acts in Bible stories

  Naming God’s perfect/beautiful attributes

  Aspects of God’s beauty reflected in creation

  For Jesus Christ and ways life is new in him

 For the Spirit of Jesus transforming the church—

  Fill us with your holiness, convicting us of sin

  Inspire strong faith and bold obedience

  Provide all the gifts for ministry

  Dispel any evil that binds us or dulls our life in you

  Help us grow well the faith life of new Christians

  Inspire lethargic Christians with your fullness

  Bless new guests and members among us

 For the ministries of the church, inspire and lead—

  The staff in their work

  The elders and deacons in their calling

  All who bless us here with their gifts

  Those who care for and teach young children

  Those who teach and lead teenagers

  Adult small group and Bible study leaders

  Small groups, that they may grow in Christ

For God’s mission beyond the walls of the church—

  For neighbors and co-workers not yet in Christ

  Our missionaries and the churches they lead

  Local churches around us, in our neighborhoods

  Guide the short-term mission trips of members

  Green Oak Ranch staff, volunteers, residents

  Ministries to the suffering in N. County/SD

  The ministries of the CRC and God’s Church

For the sick and suffering—

  Those who have had surgeries or illness

  Those with doubts of faith or emotional struggles

  Those without jobs, or the underemployed

  Marriages and families that are struggling

  Carol and Trena as they lead the Stephen Ministry

For the world—

  Establish peace in the nations of the Middle East

  Uplift your church in hostile nations

  Bless all who seek peace in warring nations

  Inspire the Christians Ending Poverty group

  Encourage other ministries of justice and peace

Confession and Thanksgiving (a Sunday reflection?!)—

  Confess sins to God and turn from them

  Confess sins of the church and pray for us

  Confess sins of the nation and work against them

  Rejoice (Sing a song!) in God’s grace and new life

  Thank God for specific blessings, small and great

I am continually reminded how important a life of prayer is for the Christian, and for our congregation.  If you’re able, join the Sunday or Monday morning prayer groups, or set aside time to grow in prayer through the week. Or groups of two or three could gather to pray for the church, God’s people, and the world.

In the prayer of Andrew Murray, “May God open our eyes to see what the holy ministry of intercession is, to which, as his royal priesthood, we have been set apart.”

“Remember your prayers!”  Or even better: “Continue to grow in the life of prayer to which God has called us together!”

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