You’re invited!!!

When I was in second grade a friend of mine from school, Tommy, was having a birthday party, but I didn’t find that out till after it happened.  I didn’t find out because I wasn’t invited.  The fact that I can tell you about that event from so long ago tells you the effect it had on me.  I was not invited, not cool enough, not a friend enough, not whatever enough to be at the party.  I struggled to go to school after that and talk to Tommy, because apparently we were not friends, why else would he have left me off of his invite list.

There is something powerful about an invitation.  I laugh thinking that I can remember not being invited to party years ago, but it shows the importance of invitation.  An invitation means you were thought of, you are accepted, you are welcome, your presence is desired, and that you belong.

When we read the Christmas story we hear some of the people who were left off of most people’s invitation list; magi and shepherds.  Shepherds were loners, at the bottom of the social ladder, and not just left off the invite lists, but just plain forgotten most of the time.  The magi were not invited into faith because they were cultural “outsiders,” or heathen.  These were just some of the people in Jesus’ day who were left off of invite lists for parties and gatherings.  So when Jesus arrives God sends out invitations for people to come and see his son.  So who does God invite?  Most would think the very best people, religious leaders, kings and rulers, and the powerful just to name a few.  But God has something else in mind; he invites the very people who everyone else does not invite, the lost, the least, the forgotten, and the outsiders.  He invites them all because as Jesus would later say, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” (Matthew 9:11-12, TNIV)  Jesus drive and purpose for his ministry was to come for those who had not been invited.  His ministry was meant to reach those who did not know God, and those who had been hurt and pushed away by the church.

In this Christmas season, and as we move towards 2011, take a moment to think about the power of invitation in your life.  Maybe you can think of someone it would mean the world to if you invited them to come with you to church.  It might mean that you befriend a co-worker who few others do.  And perhaps God’s invitation is for you.  Maybe you feel like you have been hurt or left out by the church.  God came not just for the select few; God came for all, that we might know His son, and that our lives might be transformed.  Perhaps this invitation is time for a first step, back to family, back to church, or back to God.  The invitation from God is there, but will you come?  And will you share it with others?

Member’s Only

“Members Only.”   I was a golf caddy for four years during high school and college, and each day as I arrived at work I was greeted by a number of signs with that message on them.   I always wondered, what was behind those doors?   What was so special in the member’s only space?   Finally in my last summer caddying, I was called to enter a member’s only space to receive my tip from a golfer who had no interest in walking back outside in the pouring rain.   I remember getting ready to walk through the doors with such excitement and wonder.  I had been told what the other side was like.  I had read books and seen movies that depict it but now I was going to get a chance to experience it first hand.

Country clubs were not the first to come up with the idea of a “member’s only” space.   Ancient Jewish culture had two clear members’ only spaces.   First was in the temple.   There was an area in the middle of the temple that had a veil covering the entrance that was called the Holy of Holies, which could only be entered by a selected priest once a year.   Yet when Jesus died on the cross we read in scripture, “With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” (Mark 15:37-38, TNIV)  The second “member’s only” space were a system of roads that only could be used by priests and powerful political figures.   We read in Isaiah 35 about these roads that when Jesus comes, “And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way…But only the redeemed will walk there, and those the Lord has rescued.” (Isaiah 35:8-10, TNIV)

In both of these passages the message is similar; Jesus’ coming will signal a change in how we engage God.   Before Jesus only a select few priests would have the opportunity to engage God closely at the temple. When the temple veil is torn, symbolizing Jesus’ death clearing a path so that God’s people have and can continue to directly engage God.   Isaiah’s passage lays out a vision of a special road that is made for all of God’s people, not just the elite or royalty to travel to meet God.

Each day people drive past churches all across America and see these little “member’s only” signs.   They see it on the church building, the front doors, and the people who worship inside.   There are many who need to be at church, and some who even desire to come here and spend time with God and others, but fear that they don’t belong because this is a “member’s only” zone.   We could tell them that it is not the case, but our examples today from scripture are not about rationally convincing people of a new reality.   Instead both our passages are showing and engaging people in that new reality, inviting them to come and meet God in a real and personal way.  So this Holiday season, perhaps you will invite someone to come and meet God, and to experience first hand that this is not a “member’s only” zone, but rather a place where all who desire to meet God are welcomed and loved.

The Invitation

I remember back in High School when the dreaded turn around dance would come, where the girls would have the chance to ask the guys if they would be their date at the dance.  That time each year I painfully learned what it must have felt like for girls to wait around to see if anyone would come and invite them to come to the dance.  It was tough, placing your hopes and feelings on a simple invitation.  To be invited to the dance meant that you were wanted, accepted, and that you belonged.  If you were not invited it hurt, you wondered if you were valued or even mattered.

Enter Jesus’ words from the Message translation in Matthew 11:28, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest.”  Jesus made it his ministry to go to those who were far from God and outside the church, to extend them an invitation to come closer, to meet God.  Jesus spent his time going to those who felt that they did not belong, were not worthy of being asked, to come and join Him, to come and meet God.  Jesus heart and life were dedicated to reaching those who did not know God.

Who invited you to meet God?  For some, we were invited us to meet God, to go to church, and to grow in our faith.  Maybe, someone invited you to come to Trinity, to a program, to a ministry, a concert, or a cookout.  There is so much power in an invitation.  It can bring us such joy, such a feeling of belonging, of love, of connection to others.  It can make our day, bring a smile to our face, or completely change a course of events.  Invites can help someone move from a stranger to part of the family.

So who are you going to invite?  Who will you invite to our Rush of Fools Concert on June 26^th?  Who will you invite to VBS August 2^nd-5^th?  Who will you invite to come to church on a Sunday morning?  We are a church passion about serving, caring, growing, and reaching, and this is one primary way that we can do all of those things.  Through invites we can invite people to come and be served at events like God’s Closet.  We can invite people to be cared for and to grow with us in a small group.  We can reach out to people by inviting them to check out our website or listen to a sermon.

It is time to get our hands dirty, time to take the next step, time to get to work.  It is time to make our vision statement not just words on banners, but the reality of who this church is, and the focus of all our work.  Take sometime to prayerfully consider who it is that you can invite to the concert, VBS, small groups, Sunday morning, or to our website.  Your invitation may be the one that leads someone to come to know God, to help them plug into a church, to have their life changed by God forever.  Knowing you could change someone’s life by a simple invitation, how can we not invite someone?

Welcome

Thursday April 29th, 2010

A co-worker has invited you to their home for an office Christmas party, and as you approach their front door you realize that you don’t know a lot about them. As you walk in you take in everything you can about them based on your initial perceptions. Did they ask you to take off your shoes? Was it done kindly, in a harsh manner? Is their furniture laid out for company or are you afraid to sit on the furniture? Does the home feel inviting and warm, or sterile and cold? Very quickly you “learn” a number of things about your co-worker based on your perceptions and feeling about their home.

This summer at Trinity we will be welcoming home old friends, and inviting in numerous new ones. As we have been preparing for the 5grow Celebration, it became clear that our church home did not reflect the people inside. Our church desires to be welcoming and friendly to all people. We want our church to be a place of fellowship, friendship, and growth. As one member told me this week, I want to see our church be a place that people from our community and church gather at. As this was discussed the consistory voted to begin some renovations to our facilities, and approve a team to lead the design project.

As you walk into church Sunday morning you see some of the fruits of their labor. The early phases of renovations to the narthex, front office, entryway, front bathroom, and nursery will have started. Phase one of this work will be done by Sunday with more renovations and additions to come.

I want to thank the design team for using their gifts at Trinity; your talents are invaluable in this work. This is an exciting time in the life of Trinity as we prepare for the 5grow celebration to begin on May 15th. From the renovations to our narthex, a new website that will launched in the coming weeks, and an anniversary celebration that is unlike any that I have been part of before, including a dinner, a children’s clothing distribution and a concert.

This all is meant to offer each of us an opportunity to invite others to come and join us, but also create a more welcoming atmosphere for those visiting us at Trinity. As we continue to prepare for these events think about who you could invite to join us as we celebrate our 5grow celebration, and also how you can be hospitable to those joining us at Trinity for all our ministries.

Pastor Bill

Do You Remember?

Do you remember your first day at a new church?  What did you feel like?  What did you notice?  For many, those experiences evoke feelings of nervousness and fear.  It is scary to be new, whether it is new to a church, a group, or a business.  You are entering into someone else’s world.  They already have a way of doing things, an idea of what normal is there, and some traditions that everyone there already knows.  Yet for many of us we can point to places where we felt welcome and part of the community from the moment we entered it, because of their hospitality.  There are those who can make you feel welcome and a part of their group in a few minutes just by their actions and words.

Yet as we enter into a group, as we begin to get comfortable, and learn the culture, we forget that feeling.  We quickly forget about the impact that a greeter made in connecting us to a person our age, we forget the loaf of lemon bread to say thanks for coming, and all the other things that made our experience a good one.  We forget what it is that lead us to come back, and why we felt we belonged.

In Hebrews 13:1-2 Paul talks about hospitality to strangers saying, “Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” (Hebrews 13:1-2, TNIV)

Jesus also taught about hospitality in Matthew 25 saying, “Then those ‘sheep’ (those who Jesus invites to enter into heaven) are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’ “(Matthew 25:37-40, The Message)

As we plan to celebrate the 5grow celebration at Trinity, there will be a number of people in our building and at events who don’t normally come to Trinity.  As we kick off our 5grow celebration weekend there will be a number of people who are unfamiliar with the current culture of Trinity.  This week tickets went on sale for the Rush of Fools concert we are hosting (5grow.weebly.com).  As we prepare for the concert the challenge to each of us is, “Who will you invite?”  We are hosting this concert as an outreach event, a place that you could invite friends who might not come to church, but would consider coming to a concert.  But that night 500+ people will gather at Trinity, and we pray that a number of those people do not come to this church on a regular basis.  Vacation Bible School welcomes a number of kids from our local community each summer who do not attend our church.

As we prepare for a summer filled with wonderful events to reach our community, are we ready?  Are you ready to be the person who welcomes them, shows them around, and makes them feel like they belong?  Jesus tells us that we serve him when we reach out to the person who is overlooked and forgotten.  We have an opportunity make a number of people feel at home and welcome as they come to our church each week.  As you think back to how you were welcomed and invited into Trinity, remember that you have an opportunity to reach out and welcome someone new.  You can be the one welcoming newcomers, as someone welcomed you; you can help to break the ice as someone did to help you feel like you belonged.  You never know who God will bring through our doors.

Pastor Bill