It always comes as a surprise that the Advent season comes at the end of November. It seems like it should all be in December, but here it is “early” every year. At a Doctor’s appointment back on October 20 the staff wished us Happy Holidays. We were not yet to Halloween or All Saints and one month from Thanksgiving. Advent is the season of anticipation as we focus on the coming of the Messiah. It would be easy for this rushed season to be the season of anxiety rather than the season of anticipation. So let’s corporately take a deep breath and try to relax. Focus our attention on anticipation and preparation for the coming of Christ. I know there are so many things to accomplish, so many traditions to honor, so many people to care for, but can we just put down enough of the seasons birthday to experience the hope, joy, love and peace that the season beckons us toward? We not only need to keep Christ in the season, but keep ourselves in it as well. There is much good that we plan to do, but the best we can do is to welcome Jesus home in our hearts.
11/20/2022
The gospel song says “This world is not my home, I’m just a traveler here.” I understand and I agree with this sentiment, but for now this world is at least my temporary home and it is the only home I have experienced so far. So even with my eyes cast toward heaven bye and bye, I strive to be at home in this world. I want to enjoy the blessings of God in this world. This world has so many wonderful benefits. We joke that it can’t really be heaven if here is no pizza or steak. Seriously, we know the glories of sunrise and sunset. We relish the simple comfort of home and family. We thrill to the sound of great symphonies and to unaccompanied vocal solos. We love lofty hymns and simple choruses. We are moved in our emotions by great athletic victories and children enjoying their play. Spectacular movies catch our attention but so do simple Christmas pageants with freckle faced shepherds and bath robed wise men. Grand vistas in nature fill us with awe but so do bedewed gardens on misty mornings. Until that heavenly home comes to reality, I intend to enjoy the blessings of this present world.
11/13/2022
Today I chose to have a good day. It was not as if everything was going perfectly. In fact there were a number of small irritating things that popped up. I was tempted to let those irritations set the agenda for the whole day, but I decided that I could choose how I would view my day. It is a lesson I learned from my father-in-law. Dad was by nature prone to be depressive and had a mother who could see the dark side of any cloud. For her there was no silver lining. My father-in-law transcended all of that and chose to be positive and lived out that choice. He benefitted by his faith and the sermons and writings of Norman Vincent Peale (The Power of Positive Thinking). I have benefited by his example. Some days can be overwhelming but most of the time I know that I can choose what kind of day I will have. The circumstances of any day doesn’t determine my response. I can choose to be positive. My faith helps me in this. While I acknowledge the stresses and difficulties, pains and problems of this life I know that the grace and love of God gives me a reason to choose hope and even on the difficult days.
11/06/2022
Nobody has ever referred to me as Saint Spencer, but perhaps they should. Not because I am so obviously “saintly.” Saint Paul, the apostle referred to all believers as saints. It was later in the churches life where “saint” came to designate the heroines and heroes of the faith or those Christians whose lives were most full of the heavenly virtues. The idea that simple folk could be thought of as saints became more dim in much of the churches’ memory. All Saints Day, November 1 and All Saints Sunday (this year, November 6) recognize this more universal meaning for saints. When in the service we remember those who have passed away we especially honor those believers who have gone before us, but we do more as well, we recognize that it is we saints who remember those saints who have gone to their eternal rest. We mean to be like them and live out our faith as God’s saints in this world. Our Lord Jesus and his faithful followers throughout the ages are our examples until we come to our eternal rest. So come Lord Jesus and gather your saints home for as long as this world lasts.
10/30/2022
Benedictions are often viewed as the closing prayer of a worship service, but they are intended to be more than that. The elements of the words suggest that it means “to speak a blessing.” I think of it as one of the roles of a pastor in a worship service to deliver a final blessing on the congregation before we go on our separate ways. At time, I might use one of the many blessings found in scripture. These long shared benedictions have a special strength tying us to the longer tradition. Through those words the great leaders of the faith reach out yet again to bless us. At other times, I compose a blessing to fit the theme and focus of the sermon and worship service. At other times the benediction is a spontaneous expression of the momentary inspiration that the service has inspired. On occasion it may be a more contemporary blessing written by a present Christian leader. Whatever the source the benediction it offers the opportunity to bless the members of the congregation both individually and corporately. It is a great privilege to be the one offering this blessing to our brothers and sisters.
10/23/2022
I remember the tag line to a popular song, “The future’s so bright that I got to wear shades”. That kind of optimism appeals to me, but it is not the message that I most often hear from the world around me and even from Christian sources. I think I am sufficiently aware of the presence of negativity and even evil in our world. I know there are wars and rumors of war. I know that there is still much injustice in our world near and far. I notice that there seems to be ten painful stories for every positive one on the news every night. Will everything keep getting worse and worse until Jesus returns or has the Christian hope for this world and the world to come transformed our views of what the future will bring? Can we have confidence that with God’s help and guidance, the future will indeed be bright? I hear the words of scripture, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, on them has the light shined.” This is more than Pollyanna thinking. I believe that there is a promising future in the promises of God. There can be dark days and nights, but eventually the sun will rise and shine again even brighter as the darkness is blazed away in God’s light. “Shine Jesus, shine fill the world with the Father’s glory.” So until that time comes I’m going to hold onto my shades.
10/16/2022
When I was a child I went barefoot almost all summer, inside and outside. I was not quite as rough and tumble as my cousins who I remember seeing outside in the snow of a wintery Utah totally barefoot and with no coat or hat. They were rugged farm kids unlike citified small –town kids like my brother and I. The wrath of our mother may have been a factor in keeping our shoes on our feet. I still like to be bare foot at home in the house, but I am now too much of a tenderfoot outside these days. One of the first things I do on arriving home is to shed my shoes. This is about what feels good rather than necessity. Some of the great Kenyan runners have trained to run barefoot because of the cost of proper running shoes. Not having shoes is one of the marks of poverty even now in our world. The African American spiritual says, “I got shoes, you got shoes, all of God’s children got shoes. When I get to heaven, going to put on my shoes, going to walk all over God’s heaven!” Having shoes stands in for all the blessings of God now and in the world to come. Rejoice, all God’s children got shoes!
10/09/2022
Recently I had the rare delight of spending a day with my grandson who is now 18 year old and working at a store. Since he lives in Sarasota, Florida, I do not get to see him often. Even as a child he was fun to talk with. He is an even better conversationalist now as an adult. We visited a game store, a book store, a guitar store and a Lego store. Now from his job he has money of his own to spend although grandpa treated him to an Italian Garden lunch (his choice). The most fun of all was the conversations that we shared. We talked about music and politics, movies and religion. We agreed about the issues of the day and found agreement on some of the possible solutions. We talked of family and his and my future. I learned some things about his deeply held belief and commitments and even learned of some of his sorrows. I found out that one of his deepest convictions was the importance of respect for people and their opinions even when one disagrees. Some “grown-ups” seem not to have learned that value. What a delight to converse with and learn from a bright, thoughtful young person. It was a fantastic day together.
10/02/2022
If I want to be sure to get in touch with my daughters, I send them a phone message. This form of the texting is more effective than e-mail or even a phone call. By the way, how does a noun like ” to text” become a verb almost overnight? This is how I learned to “text”. It would not have been my preferred method of communication. Unlike some students who can type with magic thumbs on their phones with nearly light speed while I hunt and peck while being passed in my lane by snails, sloths and tortoises. I don’t text because I like it or find it efficient, I text because it works to get me in touch with my beloved daughters. I could just say :I am old, why should I have to adapt to a new way of communicating?” The answer in my mind is\that I prefer the connection to my daughters over my own convenience. Is there a principle here that could be applied to the work of the church? There are my preferences for programs or for worship or for music, but what would our process be if we asked what are the preferences of those we would like to reach? How can we best make contact with them?
09/25/2022
Once I read this statement, but fail to recall who wrote it, “I have settled my complaints with the ruler of the universe.” I wish I could easily say this . Certainly some of my earlier complaints have been settled, but like most of humanity I seem to have a frightenly large reservoir of complaints to draw on from the size of the avocado pit to why the righteous suffer. Large and small I can find plenty to moan to the Eternal about on a frequent basis. On the other hand I find much in life around me to celebrate. So many things cause me to be glad from small to great. I delight in the first buds of spring, in the joy of new fallen snow, in a cooling summer breeze, in a good joke, in a well turned phrase in literature, in a quiet moment at evening,, in a majestic sunset. Even bigger part of society make me rejoice. The family focus of many young fathers, in gains against racism, in acts of charity that expect no reward or recognition, in the receiving of refugees, in the growth of peace in some areas and the hope for peace in others. I am settled in my praise for the ruler of the Universe for all good things.
09/18/2022
Would you rather save up and buy a more expensive and potentially longer lasting item or would you like a less expensive and potentially less durable items and have it available immediately? An open credit card seems an easy answer, but then the bill comes due and may be interest as well has to be paid. Of the first two choices which best fits your style? There are advantages to both. There are also advantages especially for the credit card companies for the third choice. With the first choice- better quality and durability are often pluses. For the second immediate enjoyment and economic savings may be pluses. I’m not sure there is ;a right way, but how we choose does give us clues to our mental state. In the end conscious choice is better than unthoughtful accidental decisions. How would our commitment to the Christian faith speak to any of these three way of spending? It seems like it should. Will not a firm faith reach down into our pocketbook as well as upward into our souls? I hope so, but I confess I do not find choices easy to figure out. In this area as well as others I need a strong measure of God’s wisdom.
09/11/2022
Our earth is a treasure from God. We have it on loan from the Creator. We have a degree of authority over it. We can use that authority to nurture and sustain the earth or we can use it to exploit and even destroy it to feed our selfish desires. This authority is shared with the rest of humanity and is in trust for future generations. When our stewardship is flippant, or selfish, or wasteful, it is like we are unfaithful managers. No matter how clever we believe ourselves to be, eventually the neglect of our stewardship of the earth could end in disaster. But faithful sensible stewardship may help avoid future disaster for ourselves and our d3escendants. We do not all agree with what we should do to nurture and preserve the gift of earth that God has given us, but perhaps we could agree that God has placed this stewardship atleast partially in our hands. We buy insurance to prepare for the “what ifs” of life. We may begr;udge the premiums paid if disaster doesn’t come, but then we remember the peace of mind that comes from preparing the best we knew. What can we do together to insure a good future for our food earth out of gratitude for this gift from the Creator God?
09/04/2022
When the temperature gets high, I want an ice cold drink. My father always maintained that hot coffee cools one down. It never made sense to me. I suppose, that hot coffee on a hot day makes one perspire and as the perspiration evaporates one feels cooler. Some things about which I am skeptical turn out in practice to be correct. Some time ago I signed up with a company called Norwex to get 60% off on their microfiber cleaning cloths. I was skeptical at first that they would be effective with just water and no noxious cleaning products. In practice I found that they actually work. They worked not only on hard surfaces but they body cloths cleaned my oily skin without soap. I still prefer a fluffy cotton towel to dry off with rather than the microfiber towels, but that is because it feels better, but the cleaning cloths really do work. I could have sold the company’s products as a business, but so far I have been content with the 30% price cut. The point for me was I started out skeptical but when I put the materials into practice. I found them to be effective. I wonder how many who are skeptical of the Christian faith would feel different if they put it into practice.
08/28/2022
Long before there were factories in the modern sense, there were home based businesses. This has continued from ancient times even to the present day. Joseph had such a business as a carpenter. Probably it was operated out of his home with family living space sharing the business space. In the United States often a stove front shop had living quarters in the back or upstairs from the shop. There was a living interaction between the home and the shop. In recent times a portion of those living business and industry, do so as a way to start their own business. The satisfaction and challenges of being one’s own boss are many and varied. It is hard and often unglamorous work that may not always be successful. I wonder how it was for Joseph. It was a large family with Mary, Jesus and many brothers and sisters needing food, clothing and shelter. Did Joseph feel the pressure of his small business? It is hard to know as there are no records from that time. We can only speculate with our imaginations. Jesus inherited the business and worked himself as a carpenter. Did Jesus feel the pressure of being a small business owner? Did he decide to go into a teaching – healing ministry out of success or failure? I wonder what it was like for him after 30 years to take his ministry on the road?
08/21/2022
Do you have a favorite color? If I was forced to choose, my favorite would be blue. Cobalt or royal blue are strong contenders for first place, but robin’s egg, sky blue, navy and even periwinkle could all get a vote. Then again I also like the sunny yellows, the vibrant gold and even the sultry mustard. The greens seem restful to my eyes and calming to my mind. I prefer the dark forest green to the washed out green of Florida, but in the end both are pleasing. My brother favors the reds as his signature colors and I think my wife looks good in the purple shades. Perhaps we favor those colors which look best on us. We certainly are affected by the colors of the world around us. We are comfortable with the soft pastels, but also like the intense saturated colors. Even black and gray have their appeal. White looks good on more than just brides and most of us have some in our wardrobe. All in all color is a wonderful gift to our senses. How creative of God to paint the world in technicolor even before the movies discovered it. It could have just been multiple shades of gray, but what would be the fun in that? Thank you, God for creating such a wonderful, beautiful and colorful world.
08/14/2022
There is an old saying that has floated around in the success motivation field that says, “Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.” It has a cute ring to it and certainly contains some truth. However, there are some important corollaries to this pithy saying like, “no plan is perfect” and “no plan ever survives without change.” No matter how perfect the process, no one can adequately predict the future. So many things can develop. Which were unanticipated in the original plan. Life moves so quickly that ten year plans are better thought of a five years plans and five year plans as three year plans. It is still the case that a good plan (short term or long term) can be extremely helpful. It is easier to make adjustments from a good plan than from no plan. I am often amazed at the plans evident in the Old and New Testaments. Jesus certainly made plans with a core group of twelve and later seventy sent out two by two. Even Jesus’s plans had to be adapted as the situations changed (remember Judas). In the end the adapted plan was a tremendous success as the faith of Jesus Christ spread around the then known world.
08/07/2022
I’ve never thought of myself as an adventurer. I like to limit the risk, if possible. I’ve never been attracted to motorcycles or fast cars, and two dollars is all I’m willing to risk even on a 11/2 billion dollar lottery ticket. I only had to climb to the top of a fire tower one time and it was enough to last me for the rest of my life. However, as I reviewed my life so far, I have gone on some adventures. After my Freshman year at South Dakota State University, I climbed on a bus and came to Anderson College not knowing anyone. While there I spent a summer in Nigeria West Africa. I went into pastoral ministry (always an adventure). When I wanted a post seminary education, I packed up my wife and two little girls and went to St. Andrews University in Scotland, U.K. for three years. That on reflection seems like much more adventurous than my personal view of myself. Now in my later years after careers in University teaching and pastoral ministry, I wonder what adventures are still out ahead of me. It seems God has set me on more adventurous paths than I expected, but isn’t that just like God who sees in us what we find difficult to see in ourselves. So look out adventure, I’m still hoping to meet you down the road a bit.
07/31/2022
Recently I had a visit from one of my former students. We did not have a lot of time together, but it was great to catch up on the news of her family. Not only was she one of my students but two of her daughters were also my students. It was a pleasure to hear what they are now doing in work and ministry. One is now working on a doctorate and writing her dissertation. The other is involved in music ministry in the church. Even more exciting is their mom is now going back to work on an MA in Christian ministry. To be remembered with affection by three very gifted women who at different ages are now using their gifts in the church is very rewarding to an older retired teacher. As we age we sometimes wonder about what legacy or value we have left behind from our working years. To hear that we had an effect on the lives of our students makes retirement such a richer experience. We may never have an opportunity in this life to know how much we have influenced the lives of other people. Sometimes we get a glimpse, but the Heavenly Father sees it all and rejoices with us at what even unknowingly we have accomplished for Him as we have passed along.
07/24/2022
Independence Day, July 4 is now in the rear view mirror. The fireworks are finished the back yard grill is cold. The parades are over and the lawn chairs are folded up until the next event. I admit to some mixed feelings. I love my country and I cherish its noble ambitions, but at times I am a bit disappointed at how often we fail as a country to live up to our most noble dreams and aspirations. My family and I lived outside the US for three years In Scotland, U.K., so I have at least some points of comparison. There were things I preferred in Scotland and things I preferred in the U.S., but I would never want to give up my place in the U.S.A. I do at times have “a lover’s quarrel” with my country. Our easy resort to violence in conflict, and our glorification of size, money and power distress me. At our worst we seem too often to choose ignorance over knowledge and wisdom. Just when I start to feel most discouraged, a new example of compassion and concern reminds me that we can still cherish our ideals and our most noble thoughts. So I guess I’ll just keep trying to be part of the America that welcomes, heals and helps.
07/17/2022
To more easily participate Sue and I will be viewing Annual Conference on line this year rather than in person. Annual Conference is in Omaha, Nebraska this year. It has been a long time since it was held this far west. The Conference scheduled for California was cancelled because of scheduling problems. This will be a chance for Church of the Brethren from other parts of the country to participate. Participating by video will let us see the business meetings and the worship services. I will miss many of the conferences which are not televised. Titles like: Engaging the Whole Church in All Nations, or Chronicles as a resource for the Congregations and Community, or the General Agencies of Annual Conference in the Global Community, or Part Time Pastors plus Full Time Churches” are among the many that sound engaging. There are sessions by the General Agencies of Annual Conference. There are concerts and special events. There is fellowship, learning, and celebrating. Being there in person is the best, but when you can’t be there, the online presence is still wonderful, but being there is still the best.