Love One Another

Building One Another - Vol. 11, No. 5
Dear Friend, Is not the essence of Valentine’s Day to affirm your love to the people in your life? When it came to the love of the Thessalonian Christians, the apostle Paul wrote, “Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other.” I Thess. 4:9*  Indeed we have been.  Take a moment and read all the ways: A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  John 13:34 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.  John 13:35 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another... Romans 13:8 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.  1 Peter 1:22 Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love one another… 1 Peter 3:8 This is the message you heard from the beginning:  We should love one another.  1 John 3:11 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.  1 John 3:23 Friends, let us love one another… 1 John 4:7 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  1 John 4:11 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another...  1 John 4:12 It’s difficult to miss the point!  May what Paul asks of the Thessalonians be true of us, “And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more.” I Thessalonians 4:10
With joy- E. Stanley Ott Copyright 2012 E. Stanley Ott *Scripture from the NIV
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Our Lives

Building One Another - Vol. 11, No. 3
Dear Friend, One of the loveliest comments in the writings of the Apostle Paul is his word to the Christians in the town of Thessalonica:                                          “So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.”  I Thessalonians 2:8 You immediately see these people were people to Paul and not merely objects, students, customers, patients, or parishioners to whom he had something to offer but with whom he had no relationship. Indeed he had a very deep and personal friendship with them and makes it clear they were so dear that he and his team not only shared the good news about Jesus but entered into the complexities that come of shared personal lives. It’s a joy and a calling for each of us to teach and share the truth and wonders of God’s Word to people. Never forget, however, that they are people who long to be known personally.  Enter into their complex lives as you come alongside and share your own personal life with them. One joyful way to read what the apostle wrote is to re-read it and ask yourself if Jesus would say the same words, “So deeply do I care for you that I am determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also my own self, because you have become very dear to me.” You see immediately that is exactly what Jesus would say, exactly what he did do, and precisely what you and I are invited to do as well.
With joy- E. Stanley Ott Copyright 2012 E. Stanley Ott *Scripture from the NRSV
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The Voice

Building One Another - Vol. 10, No. 21
Dear Friend, Every voice is unique. You are the only person in all of time and eternity who sounds just like you. When I remember the voice of my parents and grandparents and many others I have known and loved, I can hear them speak in my head and every one of their voices is distinct and precious. When you close your eyes for the last time, when you breathe your last breath it would be a grace that the last words you hear are the words of one who loves you. My question is what sound do you want to hear next? What do you look forward to? What do you want to happen at the moment of physical death? Jesus speaks directly to this unique moment:     “Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here,     when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and     those who hear will live.” John 5:25*     “Do not be astonished at this; for the hour is coming when     all who are in their graves will hear his voice.” John 5:28 The refrain of Chris Tomlin’s song, “I Will Rise” begins with these words, “And I will rise when He calls my name.” I know what I look forward to and that is hearing the voice of Jesus call my name. That moment you hear his voice is the happiest moment of your life! My prayer is that you will hear his voice even now – through his Word (the Bible) and as the Spirit of God speaks to your heart.  “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27
With joy - E. Stanley Ott Copyright 2011 E. Stanley Ott  *Scripture from the NRSV
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Fire!

Building One Another - Vol. 10, No. 13
Dear Friend, During the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, the Bishop of London quoted Catherine of Siena as saying, “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” It is a wonderful word for not only the royal couple, but for every one of us. God has made you as the unique and one and only you. At the same time our Lord never intended you to function solely in your own power. Setting the world on fire will only happen as we rely on the God who made us and who loves us to provide the flame! As John the Baptist said, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Luke 3:16* So we know God intends you and me to be God’s vessels, open to and filled with God’s Spirit. Sometimes the vessels of our lives get pretty messed up. We are fragile and easily damaged. Yet in the midst of the reality of our frailty is this huge word, “But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7 A clay and fragile jar you may be, but you are the Lord’s jar, made to be God’s vessel. As the great words of the song “Spirit of the Living God,” say, “Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me. Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me.”
With joy - E. Stanley Ott Copyright 2011 E. Stanley Ott  *Scripture from the NRSV.
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Salt and Light

As I write this blog post I find myself a bit tired; not by long and arduous work but rather tired by the little things demanding attention that I feel rob me of greater focus on those tasks which to my mind seem more significant.  In every redeemed heart God places, as a part of his redemptive work, a desire for significance.  Indeed, it was Christ who looked at those following him faithfully and said, “You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world.”  Salt and light make a difference whenever they are found.  Salt and light are significant, noticeable, impacting.  

Today is a day in which I don’t feel salty or bright.  Perhaps today is a day in which you don’t feel particularly significant in the role God is calling you to play in the consummation of his kingdom.  But it is on the days that feel dim and saltless that we need to allow our theology to convince us of that which our feelings cannot.  Our feelings of spiritual insignificance are rooted in guilt and shame that come not from God but from his enemy the devil. 

How many times have you thought that you weren’t a “good Christian” or that you needed to do more for God?  Most of us are familiar with those ideas.  Those ideas of a “good Christian” and “doing more for God” are rooted in the false thinking that our significance, our saltiness and light are somehow things that we are ultimately responsible for.  And yet scripture teaches us that our spiritual condition is not based on some kind of external activity but rather on the internal reality of our redemption.  The wandering and wasteful son thought he was no longer his father’s because of his actions.  But it was the father who puts a robe on his back, sandals on his feet, and the family signet on his finger that lets him know he never stopped being his son.

So it is with us.  You don’t feel salty and bright.  How you “feel” about that does not change the fact that Jesus has called you both.  You ARE the salt of the earth and the light of the world.  So you “feel” like you have wandered and squandered away your status as God’s child.  It is not so!  You have been adopted and you are God’s own.  You cannot undo that.

It is in our striving to be significant that we lose sight of the fact that we already are- not because of what we have done or will do but because of what Jesus has done for us.  The key to living in the reality of our significance is in the irony of being still and simply knowing that God is God and that we are his.  So I sit bleary eyed and tired behind a keyboard desiring to do more.  But the truth is I am salty and bright, I am God’s son.  And no amount of activity or inactivity can change that.  Praise the Lord!

Grace and Truth - Scott Castleman  

         

The Rock That is Higher

Building One Another- Vol. 10, No. 12
Dear Friend, What do you do when you feel overwhelmed by something going on in your life, in the life of someone you care about, or in the wider world? Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto you, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. - Psalm 61:1-2 You and I know what it means to have an overwhelmed heart.  I love David’s expression, “The rock that is higher than I.”  This is not just any old rock upon which we lean. This is the rock that is above you and me.     This is the rock whose size, stability, and strength exceed all         others.             This is the Rock of Ages! There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside you: neither is there any rock like our God. - I Samuel 2:2 When your heart is overwhelmed, cry out to the Lord who loves you, and seek his face and his loving embrace. King David explained why he cried out to his God, “For you have been a refuge, a strong tower from the enemy.” Psalm 61:3 Our Lord is your refuge.  Cry out to him.  Lean on the Rock that is higher than you!
With joy - E. Stanley Ott Copyright 2011 E. Stanley Ott  *Scripture from the KJV.
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Seeing New Possibilities

While in South Africa, my wife and I spent a week visiting the JLZwane Presbyterian Church in Guguletu.  The pastor there, Rev. Spiwo Xapile, had begun a ministry that, in hindsight, doesn’t seem all that trendy, or fresh, or whatever new things are called in the Church today.  And yet, it is incredibly effective.

Here it is:

• Gather pastors together for several days,

• Ask them to articulate their faith journey -  including their struggles and joys, both personally and as a pastor

• Then, in a time of mutual discernment, and in the midst of much discussion; ask them to pray to the Holy Spirit to reveal the next “Chapter” in their lives.

What Rev. Xapile had realized was that pastors in South Africa were defined by their past to the point of being hostage to it.  The issues they faced  -  Apartheid, HIV/AIDS, poverty, and the frustration, anger, and pain these things engendered, blinded them to the new life the Lord was calling them into as both a brother of Christ and leader of His Church. 

Rev. Xapile's work has proved fruitful in helping pastors create a space in which the Lord can help them write the next chapter in their personal life and ministry.  Instead of the next chapter being almost entirely determined by haunts from the past, new possibilities are revealed.  

 

It has become clear to me, that for pastors and elders in our churches, the Acts 16:5 Initiative can be an effective “space” for helping to hear the Lord and to recognize the next chapter in our personal lives and ministries.   It is a process that puts meat on the bone for so many pastors, who contemplate their lives and ministries and really have no idea what to do next. 

I recently visited a Presbyterian Church that was thriving at levels I honestly had no idea were possible within the PCUSA.  I mean, this place is going bonkers.  People’s lives are being transformed by the grace of Jesus.  Being there, opened my eyes to the possibilities for the next chapter in my own ministry. 

Likewise, Acts 16:5 can be the process that begins to open our eyes to new possibilities.

With Grace - Chris Bullock

A Trumpet

Building One Another Vol. 10 No. 9

Dear Friend, The Apostle Paul said these amazing words about those in the town of Thessalonica:  “The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it.” I Thessalonians 1:8* This is quite remarkable for a couple of reasons.  First, when Paul says, “The Lord’s message rang out from you,” he uses a very special word for “rang out,” a word that means to sound forth like a trumpet blast or a thunderclap.  The vibrant faith of the Thessalonian Christians spread like a thunderclap, whoomp, throughout Greece. The impact of their Christian lives was so great, the wonderful way they lived like Jesus and spoke about Jesus did not turn people off, it turned them on to the reality of Jesus.  Their encounter with Jesus was so alive that others took notice and were very interested. Ask yourself, “Is my Christian life a trumpet blast or a whisper?” Remember, trumpet blast didn’t mean pushy, overbearing, and religiously offensive.  It meant wonderful, noticeable, attractive.  It was the fulfillment of the words of Jesus, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 Second, Paul said, “Your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it.”  The Thessalonians were so effective in sharing their encounter with Jesus with their families, friends and co-workers that Paul had no need to come and do it. That would be like Billy Graham saying, “I have no need to come where you live. It would be a waste of my time because the Christians where you live have been so winsome, so verbal, so attractive in the living of their faith in Jesus, in their talking about their Lord in Jesus that I have no need to say anything.” May that trumpet sound out through you!

With joy - E. Stanley Ott Copyright 2011 E. Stanley Ott *Scripture from the NIV

Transformation Fueled by the Acts 16:5 Initiative

Reflections from an Acts 16:5 Pastor                                         Part Three

Thomas Presbyterian Church is celebrating a renewed passion for "Glorifying God and Serving Others".   It took fourteen years to transform a "social" congregation based on friendships to a Christ centered congregation united to serve Christ by making disciples, loving each other and serving the greater community around us.

This transformation has been shaped and fueled by our participation in the Acts 16:5 Initiative training four years ago. Furthermore, the principles taught in Stan Ott's materials continue to mold and direct our leadership and 300 member congregation.

Because of the energy from new emerging leaders, we launched  a new outreach event - The Thomas Day of Caring.  We set a goal of engaging 50-75 volunteers in a one day effort to make significant changes in people's lives and homes.  God blessed the vision with a volunteer planning team of eight and 78 volunteers working on eight community projects.  The planning team held to the vision of reaching homeowners that were not members of Thomas Church.  To layer evangelism with meeting human need, we added the following aspects to the day:

1.     At the kick off breakfast, participants were given simple tools for sharing their love of Jesus Christ with the homeowners they helped.

2.     Each participant wore a tee shirt with not only the PCUSA symbol but also our mission statement… "Glorifying God and Serving Others."

3.     Signs were placed in the homeowners' lawns with our vision statement.

4.     Homeowners were invited back to our facility for dinner with the whole team, and one homeowner is now attending worship regularly

There was so much energy and enthusiasm during and after the day, we are making plans for the 2012 Thomas Day of Caring.

v There are Acts 16:5 Principles Just Beginning to be Utilized.

1.     Leaders beginning to  "layer"  REACH aspects of all present programs.

2.     I am launching a new emphasis on faith sharing ... "saying your faith story in 2 minutes."

3.     Hosts with "people-eyes" are now recruited for major outreach events.

By the way, we emerged  from our leadership conflict with renewed strength and faith in God's healing power.  Yes, we lost some members and leaders in the process, but God's renewal has touched every aspect of congregational life.  In 2010-2011 we-

·       Added 27 new members

·       Launched another round of Lenten small groups

·       Increased giving to all time new levels

·       Added new leaders to planning teams

·       Started a parish nurse ministry

·       Renewed Stephen Ministry

·       Started our own Christian preschool

·       Expanded the use of our facilities by the community at large

Jesus Christ has used the Acts 16:5 Initiative to bless his work in and through Thomas Presbyterian Church!  

In Christ - Reverend Linda Jaberg

Wait - Building One Another - Vol. 10, No. 8

Dear Friend,


There are many immense things to ponder that are dominating today’s world stage from the tremendous unrest in the Middle East to the ongoing devastation and trauma of Japan.
 


I found myself remembering the scene in the movie, Chariots of Fire, in which Eric Liddell reads selected verses from Isaiah 40 in the King James Version.  As Eric reads, the movie shows the athletes’ greatest efforts coming to nothing.
 


Daily, we are reminded of our finitude and our need to wait upon the LORD.
 


15 Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance…*
 


23 That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.


28 Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary?
 


29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
 


31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. 
       

                       

With joy - E. Stanley Ott


Copyright 2011 E. Stanley Ott
*Scripture from the KJV, Isaiah 40