Me, show favoritism?

"My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism."

James 2:1 (New International Version)

 

Last Saturday night, I signed up to help with the high school band's Chuck Wagon, where we serve dinner to our band members before a performance.  When I arrived, I encountered a woman who I'd met in a class I'd been taking recently.  She didn't seem as delighted to see me as I thought she should (I admit to my shame), so I began to ignore her.  It was subtle, but I began to give attention to the other people I knew and leave this woman to her own resources, even though she was new to the group.  I wish I could tell you that I quickly caught myself and corrected my attitude of showing "favoritism" to those who paid me the kind of attention I wanted to receive.  But, I didn't really come under conviction until after the fact.

 

It was a very subtle form of "showing favoitism".  It didn't involve any special favors granted to anyone.  It just involved not being very friendly or welcoming to someone. 

 

Thank goodness, James, himself, our teacher in this course on Christian conduct, says, "We all stumble in many ways" (James 3:2 New International Version). That means I'm in good company.  But, I'm also sorry that I didn't show a friendlier, kinder spirit on Saturday night.  I know I'll have another opportunity to show a good attitude, if not to that particular woman, to someone else.  And I pray that I'll learn a lesson, to not show favoritism based on how I think I should be treated.  If you think about it, pray for me!  I could use it!

--Posted by Mama O.

 



How to save $6 a week

Travis Herb shared some immensely practical ideas a few months ago during an offering message.  He suggested a number of ways for saving $5 a week to free up funds for sharing with God's work as it happens through our church.  He suggested we inspect our telephone and television charges, seeing if we are really using everything we are paying for. 

That was all the impetus I needed.  I had already been asking, ever since Kyle and Judy Mason cancelled their land line, why we still needed a home phone with its service charges, when all our business was conducted by cell phone.  That week, I cancelled our home phone service and signed up for a bundle that included faster wireless service, DirecTV and a family cell phone plan, plus a few promotional freebies thrown in there for good measure.

And then, I made a personal commitment (this is just me, not my whole family) to give $5 a week to our church.  Ever since then, I have been writing out a monthly check for $20 and putting it in the offering plate once a month.  This is not my only contribution, this is the one that comes from following Travis' suggestion.

I wanted to thank Travis for his great, practical ideas.  I thought of sending him a bouquet of flowers, but realized that could be perceived as quite impractical in light of his suggestion (not that there's anything wrong with flowers!).  So, instead, I sent him a $5 bill and asked him to put my first weekly contribution into the offering plate, as a way of "sharing the wealth"!

Now this is just one of so many stories that could be told of saving $5 a week, personally. Skipping one Starbuck's stop per week.  Packing a lunch instead of buying lunch once a week. Walking or riding your bike to the store instead of driving. Discerning between needs and wants. Renting a movie instead of going to the movies in person.

We are a family at College church of Christ, and we love each other.  Sometimes, that means we sacrifice a personal pleasure or comfort so that everyone can benefit. Instead of viewing it as a burden, how about "re-purposing" that weekly sacrifice and making it into a game--seeing how many ways you can save $5 and how God still provides for all your needs!

This Sunday, November 18, 2012, we will be taking up a special offering to close our year-end budget gap for 2012 of $46,000.  Steve told me this morning that, if 120 people give $400 apiece on Sunday, it will close that hole.  Then, going into 2013, we need that same number of people (doesn't have to be the SAME people) to give an extra $6 a week (maybe that's one and a half trips to Starbuck's) on a regular basis to keep our lights on, our heat and air conditioner running, our sound system sounding (you get the idea, the ordinary stuff it takes to run a church household).

Thanks for starting me thinking and acting, Travis!  Join me, let's swap stories.  It will be fun!

--Posted by Mama O.

Sticky Faith

 

STICKY FAITH

 

What were some of the challenges you faced in junior high and
high school?

How was your faith expressed as a teen?

Did you have an adult who made an impact on your life?

What is "Sticky Faith"? It is a conversation between junior high and high school students and adults in our congregation. It is sharing life and stories and faith, building relationships, praying with and for one another. It is encountering one another mid-week with hugs and relevant questions about  well-being. It is being a family and sharing our love with one another, so each of us is better equipped to go out and share God's love in the world! Here are some pictures from the Ocheltree Shepherding Group on Sunday morning, November 11, 2012.

What were some of the things that were shared? Some of our high schoo girls shared what a tremendous encourager Sarah Scott is.  She invests a lot of time and energy into our girls' lives outside of class time. Sarah spent the day with Paige Kirkley at the hospital when Paige's grandmother died.

 

A difficulty our young people face is when friends don't want to have anything to do with God. Sometimes it can break up a friendship. But, the advice from loving adults is: keep praying for your unbelieving friend! You never know how and when God is working in his life!

Social media makes growing up a lot different than it used to be. People are more "artificially open" on social networking sites, saying things they would not say to someone's face. But, when it comes to sharing Christian faith, it's harder to be open on social media.

Thanks, high school group for sharing your class time with us on Sunday! And thanks, junior high students for sharing your time with the Dale Drury Shepherding Group! We had a wonderful conversation!

--Posted by Mama O.

Jacob's Double Wedding

Here is the link to the skit, Jacob's Double Wedding, performed on Sunday, November 11, 2012, by our high school troupe. Thank you, high school students, for bringing this story to life for us!  You did a great job!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31Pjgss7uZs&feature=em-share_video_user

CAST

 



Narrator: Jacob Locke

Jacob: Marquois Ellis

Rebekah: Teagan Frame

Shepherd: Jacob Locke

Rachel: Paige Kirkley

Laban: Jamison Spencer

Leah: Kelly Gresham

Rabbi: Jacob Locke

 

Jacob (Marquois Ellis), The Narrator (Jacob Locke), Uncle Laban
(Jamison Spencer) and Rachel (Paige Kirkley) meet at The Well

Jacob (Marquois Ellis) and his mother Rebekah (Teagan Frame)
encounter a misunderstanding about provisions for his trek across the desert:
Camel pack or Camelback?

Jacob (Marquois Ellis) is given the wrong wife, Leah (Kelly Gresham)
by his deceptive Uncle Laban



High School Group Visits Tomorrow

We will host our high school group tomorrow in the Ocheltree Shepherding Group.  First, a troupe of talented students will perform a skit, "Jacob's Double Wedding", giving us a new spin on an old story.

Then, our entire high school group will stay in class with us and talk.  Youth minister Aaron Scott has prepared some thought-provoking questions that will get us sharing stories.  The youth group has visited other shepherding groups with great results.  There are adults and high school students who have never met each other, even though they attend the same church each week.  This gives us the opportunity to meet one another, talk, and begin relationships that can last for years. 

We need one another within the body of Christ.  The high school students need to hear our stories, and we need to hear their stories.  We need to know how we can pray for each other, encourage each other, and be in each other's lives, without necessarily being in each other's business--although sometimes that's called for within a church family, as well!  This will be a great experience and I hope many of us can be there to experience it.

Come early!  We have lots to talk about!

--Posted by Mama O.

What's so special about Uptown?

Louise Stuckert and I were talking to a couple of young mothers Wednesday night whose children are in our Uptown children's ministry.  Both of them wee commenting on how much their children enjoy Uptown.  One of the moms asked, "What so special about Uptown?"  Of all the Bible teaching programs her children have been involved with, this seems to be tops.

When I told Doug Baker this, he suggested it was due to his magnetic personality!

Having had the privilege of working in Uptown, I have a few theories about what makes it so special.  I believe it's the same thing that makes all of College church of Christ so special: it's the love we have for one another as a family.  There is an indefinable quality about this love, but you know when you've experienced it.  It crosses generational lines, racial lines, economic lines and educational lines.  I am not surprised that children pick up on it because they tend to be more spiritually sensitive than adults.  We do well to listen to children when they "feel" good or bad about a certain place or group of people.

Combine that family love with a really solid Bible curriculum that allows kids to learn while playing games, while making crafts and foods, while acting out skits or while learning about ancient customs and peoples, and you're living inside a really great Nat Geo channel special at Grandma's house with her homebaked cookies and all the cousins and aunts and uncles there.  That's about the best way I can describe what makes Uptown so special.

Oh, and by the way, if you haven't volunteered to help in there yet, do yourself a favor and volunteer!  Talk to Louise Stuckert, tell her Carolyn sent you--she'll give me a commission on her reward in heaven! You'll be glad you did!
--Posted by Mama O.

Loving the gays and lesbians

I met a fellow traveler the other night, out in front of a store where we both had been shopping.  This is a strong Christian parent whose adult child has recently married a same-sex partner and is now having a child with that partner.  These are not marginal "Sunday Christians".  These are strong, long-time, dedicated Christian parents.  There was clearly pain and confusion about how to approach the situation. 

"We don't want to show approval for the sin," the parent said.

Point well taken.

I remember clearly a conversation Steve and I had at Burger King with another strong Christian couple a few years ago, who were facing the same situation.  The Christian father felt ambilvalence about grandchildren who were conceived and parented in a same-sex marriage.

This is the message I felt impressed to share several years ago, and it is the same message I shared this week:

Many children have been born through the centuries as a result of sinful beginnings: unwed parents, rape, incest, just to name a few.  The children conceived in these circumstances had absolutely no control over their beginning or the home they were born into.  As Christians, we need to look to a loving God to know how to love ALL people created in His image, those conceived in a legitimate marriage and those conceived in sinful situations.

How do we show love to a same-sex couple and their children without showing approval of the sin?

I shared the story of watching a baptism this summer at Yosemite Bible Camp.  Kenny Cowger baptized his two neighbor boys.  Kenny has coached one of the boys in youth football out in Madera Ranchos for years and it was a real joy for him to baptize these boys.  The boys' parents came up for the baptism.  They are divorced and both are remarried, so there were two sets of parents there.  After the baptism, Terry Cowger arranged all of the kids and parents for a family photo.  This was an exciting time!

There is no way that our church was showing its approval of divorce by sharing in the joy of this family's sons being baptized.  But we were not shunning these parents or refusing to allow them to participate in a spiritual highlight for their children because they had suffered divorce.

These are complicated issues and they call for God's love and grace and wisdom.  May we lift up in prayer those who have to make difficult decisions and offer them our unconditional love and support as they struggle to find God's will in the midst of imperfect circumstances within the families who they raised in the nurture and admonition of the Lord!
--Posted by Mama O