Our Labor Day Prayer

We wrote a Labor Day prayer that was used for Sunday’s worship gathering.  Some have asked for a copy of it and have even shared the idea of keeping it with them at work to lead them in prayer during especially tough days.  I thought I’d post it online, so here it is:

 

“GOD OUR HEAVENLY FATHER, we stand before You the Lord of both labor and rest and the Giver of all provisions and daily needs.

“WE THANK YOU, today, for the jobs You’ve blessed us with: those glamorous and those common, those physically challenging and those mentally depleting, those in high-demand and those who attract few.

“WE THANK YOU that by these vocations you have fed us, clothed us, housed us, educated us and provided so many daily luxuries that go far beyond.

WE THANK YOU for the employment You have provided for so many of us, and yet we seek Your face asking that you provide critically-needed work to those of us without.  We pray for your daily provisions in each of our lives.

“AND YET WE CONFESS our temptation to approach our jobs half-heartedly.  We confess how easy it is to think that by them we serve only human employers, forgetting that we are likewise serving You as our true Master and Lord.

“WE PRAY for a renewed sense of worship in all of life, even in our work—especially in our work.

“MAY WE SEE each workday and the dollar it provides as graciously coming from Your hand.  And may we find in our labor the joy and delight You created to be found in a hard day’s work.

“WE PRAY that we would take our jobs more seriously, receiving them more humbly, going about them more thankfully.

“WORK IN US, O GOD, a spirit of dignity and joy that affects all our labor as we serve You this day and in the days to come.  Amen.”

 

Praying for the Nations

Please allow me, if I may, to share one more extended excerpt from Foster’s book (see previous post). If find it so profound in how we may pray for and confess on behalf of the nations of the world. May God use our prayers to bind all peoples together in the power of his grace…

“So we throw caution to the wind and pray not just for individuals but also for nations, not just for the renewal of the Church but also for the transformation of the world. We pray for and work for the kingdom to come on earth–on all the earth–as it is in heaven.

“Here is how a wonderfully wise woman of prayer taught me to pray for the nations. We are to begin, she said, by focusing on one nation and prayerfully discerning what kind of nation it should be. If it is an aggressor nation, for example, we may sense that it should retreat from its self-aggrandizement and begin ‘sending out into the world little golden arrows of trade and commerce and financial cooperation.’ At times we may narrow our prayers to those who make the decisions that can change the course of a nation toward rightness. We bless the broken bits of virtue these leaders already display and ask that they, like the loaves and the fishes, will be multiplied and used for good.

“Then, most importantly, we repent for the sins of the world. In this we will do well to begin with our own country–whichever country that may be. Since no nation is blameless before God, we stand as a representative of our own nation and repent for her sins.

“This is no small task, as any who have tried it can testify. We must pass beyond all propaganda jargon and national self-interest and kneel in sorrow and sadness for the arrogance and selfishness and greed that cause national injustice. Having done this, we can also repent on behalf of other nations as well. We open even greater spiritual resources when we are given the grace and forgiving power to repent in the name of our enemies.

“In addition, we hear the voice of the true Shepherd calling us to go to all peoples with the liberating message of life in Christ. We do so with boldness of faith but also with humility of heart, for we know that Jesus, the true light, has already been shining his truth into the hearts of people (John 1:9). Our task, therefore, is to see where God has been working and into that context proclaim the everlasting Gospel of Jesus Christ. George Fox writes, ‘Let all nations hear the word by sound or writing. Spare no place, spare not tongue nor pen; but be obedient to the Lord God… and be valiant for the Truth upon earth … walk cheerfully over the world.’

“When we do these things, we have come to the place where we love others for God’s sake and not our own. We are therefore given a boundless compassion for all peoples.”

Social Holiness

Allow me to share an extended excerpt from Richard J. Foster’s book Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home (Harper San Francisco, 1992). I pray that you find it to stir your heart as it did mine…

“The true prophetic message always calls us to ‘social holiness,’ to use the phrase of John Wesley. By our praying and by our living we sabotage all class and rank and status distinctions.

“Jesus was, and is a social revolutionary. When he healed the sick, he did more than cure diseases: he healed the sickness in a society that would cast these people aside. When he pronounced his beatitudes upon the people, he was taking up those classes and categories that society deemed to be unblessed and unblessable. He told these ‘sat upon, spat upon, rattled on’ people that they were precious in the kingdom of God. He blessed the children; he talked with an outcast woman; he hobnobbed with a wealthy crook (Mark 10:13-16; Jon 4:1-26; Luke 19:1-10).

“We are to do likewise. In our praying and in our living we value all, breaking down every barrier. The class barriers have shifted somewhat in our day. The slender people we value; the fat we don’t. The successful people we value; the failures we don’t. The powerful people we value; the helpless we don’t . The intelligent people we value; the ignorant we don’t. And on it goes, ad nauseam. But for the children of the kingdom it is not important who a person is, on that a person is.

“Jesus’ social revolution went all the way to the corridors of religious power. In the Sermon on the Mount he told the people, in essence, that the entire temple ritual system could dry up and blow away, and their blessedness would still remain. Jesus, you see, set people free rather than put them in bondage.

“And so do we. By our prayers and by our words we liberate people, not bind them to us. When we pray for others, we are leading them to Jesus, their present Teacher, so they have not need of us any more. Any faith that makes the blessedness of people dependent upon anyone or anything other than God himself is, to that extent, a false faith.

“Social holiness takes us beyond our comfort zones and our geographical borders. When Jesus defined neighbor with his parable of the good Samaritan, he was flying in the face of the popular view of neighbor, namely, that he is someone like us. Under the tutelage of the Spirit Peter too came to the insight that ‘God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him’ (Acts 10:34b-35).”

A Moment on the Shore

Are we following Jesus?  Do we use the term “Christian” (or “Christ-One”) to describe ourselves?  Do we consider ourselves his disciples—his followers?

I’m struck by the picture of discipleship that I find in Matthew 8:18-22.  If a disciple is one who has set her or his life toward following the way of a teacher or leader, the story here really shapes my perspective on the large-scale nature of what it looks like to follow Jesus.  I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that someone may jump up to follow Jesus without realizing what exactly it is they’re getting themselves into…

Here’s what we find in Matthew 8:  Just as Jesus is about to set sail from Capernaum, two “disciples” come up to him.  The first one is a scribe, one learned in Jewish law.  He comes up boldly proclaiming, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go!”  I wonder if he really meant, “Oh, this looks like a fun adventure!  Can I jump in the boat too?”  Jesus doesn’t mince any words.  He doesn’t talk about God’s wonderful plan for his life or offer to lead him in a prayer.  No, instead Jesus plainly explains the ramifications of his self-professed desire for discipleship: “You want to go with me?  Following anywhere I take you?  Really???  Well, foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head…  Discipleship may require your homelessness…”  Apparently the discussion ends there.

But as Jesus turns back and takes a step into the boat, “another disciple” taps our Rabbi on the shoulder.  Apparently he was eavesdropping on the discussion with the scribe.  He’s maybe a bit more ambitious than the other guy and is willing to sleep standing up if need be.  However, this new disciple just needs to take care of something quick.  He needs Jesus to hold on a minute and stand there with one foot in the boat while he frees up his schedule.  Our new friend asks, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”  Apparently if you take a good hard look at the culture of the day, it seems to many people that this man’s father might not even be dead yet and that he’s relaying to Jesus his responsibilities to not stray too far until after he’s taken care of things, which may take years.  But here’s the thing, whether that’s true or not (and it may very well be his true implication), the thing is:  Jesus has a foot in the boat and is ready to set sail for the Gadarenes where he has one or two demon-possessed guys waiting to have their demons exercised.  Even if this new disciple has his father’s funeral this afternoon, Jesus really can’t stand around waiting.  See, when we’re following Jesus, Jesus is the one who sets the agenda and the schedule.  So back in the story, Jesus finally cuts in and says, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”  In other words, “Are you really going to follow me or not?  Do you just want to call yourself one of “Jesus’ disciples” because it sounds hip or cool or adventurous?  Cutting-edge maybe?  Or do you actually want to jump in this boat and give up your life to help release life in others???”  We never see anything else of this guy for all we can tell, and as the boat pushes out to sea this “other disciple” stands on the seashore with his eyebrows squished together.

So what does this tell me about discipleship?  Well, it says whole bunches about how following Jesus requires E V E R Y T H I N G of me as a disciple.  It tells me I need to at least be willing to be homeless.  It tells me I maybe need to consider myself truly homeless.  It tells me I need to be willing to drop my agenda or schedule at a moment’s notice in order to receive and enact the instructions he gives me.  This brings imagery to my mind of the assistant’s job in The Devil Wears Prada.  That did not look very fun.  But I’m thinking Jesus probably smiles a bit more than Meryl Streep and sends out for wine rather than coffee…

But it also tells me that being a disciple isn’t necessarily all black-&-white.  After all it does say that these two half-hearted individuals were actually “disciples”.  They just realized part way through the journey (or two seconds in, but we’ll give em the benefit of a doubt) that it meant a lot more than they originally realized.  They had some thinkin to do…  It was time to re-evaluate…  It seems they did some of that, and though we don’t see them anymore in the story, this doesn’t mean their story ended poorly…

I guess we all come to the point where we realize the call of discipleship is more than we anticipated…  the day we realized this isn’t a cruise ship of comfort having everyone fan us like Greek gods while we soak in the sun…  when we realized it was more about rowing the boat so we can go toe-to-toe with demonic maniacs in fields of swine…  the day we realized this Jesus-thing is more than just checking “Christian” on a census-box…

May we jump in the boat with Jesus.  May we maximize our discipleship.  And if by chance we’ve stood on the shoreline in the past with eyebrows squished together trying to figure out if this Jesus-thing is really worth it, then may we thank God that Jesus’ boat is coming back around.  He calls us to join him and the offer is always open.

Holy Week for… ME (?)

Hey all, sorry it’s been tooooo long since we’ve put a new post up.  But I have something to share with you that I found quite powerful.  We started a Sunday worship series called “I Am… Jesus”, looking at Jesus’ seven “I Am” statements in John’s gospel.  And now as we find ourselves in the midst of Passion Week with Good Friday tomorrow, I pray that we might find the image below to stir our souls and remind us of the power in Jesus’ work on the cross.

Paul writes in Colossians, “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” (2:13-14)  In a sense, as our sin was executed on the cross, Jesus became our sin so that it could die with him.  Consider the following watercolor painting by artist Sarah Brown.  I find it very powerful.  Jesus took me to the cross with him in order that my sin might be executed and that I might rise with him sin-free for all eternity.

Blessings to all of you this Holy Week…

~ Letter to West Hills ~

I must share with you:  I’m Excited.  I’m VERY Excited.

God is at work at West Hills!  And in the midst of some incredible challenges, this church—YOU!—have worked sacrificially and followed the Spirit’s leading toward the great things that are planned for us.

Just about one year ago, we all gathered together and took several weeks to discuss the road ahead for West Hills.  The elders and I had already spent months seeking God’s direction and a vision for the future of this congregation.  Then last February, we presented that vision and the exciting ways it would shape and motivate all we do as a church.  Many specifics were addressed.  And work has been done to move us forward.

Now a year later, we want to reconnect on these very things.  Please make sure to join us on Sunday, January 31 for what we’re calling the “Comeback Q&A.” Anyone interested in the future of West Hills will want to do everything possible to make this event.  Put it on your calendar and help spread the word.

Following our normal worship gathering that Sunday, we’ll break for pizza and rejoin to both assess where we are currently and look forward to our next steps.  We’ll take the needed time to make sure we’re all on the same page and that all our questions are addressed.

If you have any questions you’d like to ask, one way you can do this is in writing ahead of time.  You can submit your questions in the drop box at the info booth or via email at whccoffice@gmail.com (Please subject line your email “Comeback Question”).  Though we’ll do our best to get to everyone’s questions at the Q&A, those submitted ahead of time will be given priority.

Truly, these are exciting days.  And I believe that the next steps along the way will continue to bring even more excitement.  And in case there’s any doubt about it, yes, there is a role for you to play in this as well.

But let’s be clear:  God is leading.  West Hills is following.  Let’s make sure we’re all following together.  Join us Sunday the 31st for a little pizza and a whole lot of discussion.  God is on the move.  Let’s make sure none of us are left behind.

God bless you.  — Pastor Drew

Responding to the Haiti Crisis

As we all look for the best avenues of response toward Tuesday’s earthquake in Haiti, we realize that the call of Jesus is clear in times like this.  It is one of sacrifice and servanthood.  It is one of love in the most tangible of ways.  After all, if we can’t even care for people’s visible needs, how can we claim to care about those we cannot see?

As a community of Christ-followers, we want to respond to this need by doing what we can.  I have a friend serving in Northern Haiti (www.highwaytohaiti.com) who testifies loudly to the fact that jumping on a plane is NOT the most effective thing to do right now.  But you can read more about what he is doing and the project he’s putting together at his blog.

As you know, West Hills Church is an extention of Converge Worldwide.  Withny Pierre is Converge’s director of Haitian ministries and also pastors a Haitian church in Brooklyn.  Unknowing of what was about to happen, Withny had arrived at Port-au-Prince just hours before the earthquake.  Of course, his entire schedule transformed before him.  But God’s blessing was that we now have Withny right there in the midst of the chaos to be our eyes and ears.

We all understand that the need in Haiti is overwhelming.  Tomorrow (1/17) in our worship gathering we will designate our open-mic prayer time toward the Haiti Crisis.  We will also present our plan for the following week.  On Sunday the 24th, we will collect a special relief fund.  The entire collection will be given toward our relief effort with Converge.  Converge’s Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund will be used toward a variety of channels to make the best use of the monies.  Please take time to seriously consider your role in contributing to that 1/24 offering.  Please make sure to join with us on Sunday the 17th and 24th as we respond in these ways.

Feel free to leave comments or further Haiti updates below.

Pray for Haiti and that God’s light would shine in the darkness!

From the US Geological Survey:

Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though some resistant structures exist. On June 24, 1984 (UTC), a magnitude 6.7 earthquake 329 km East of this one struck the Dominican Republic, with estimated population exposures of 320,000 at intensity VII and 2,964,000 at intensity VI, resulting in an estimated 5 fatalities. Recent earthquakes in this area have caused landslides that may have contributed to losses.

Source: U.S. Geological Survey