Breaking News: Archdiocese of Chicago to Pfleger – "Step Away" From the Pulpit

Watching Fox News…. Fr. Michael Pfleger, pastor at St. Sabina Catholic Church on Chicago’s south side was just asked to “step away” for a couple of weeks by Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago after his controversial sermon at Trinity United Church of Christ (Obama’s, now former, church).

A statement from the Archdiocese’s website:

To put recent events in some perspective, I have asked Father Michael Pfleger, Pastor of St. Sabina’s Parish, to step back from his obligations there and take leave for a couple of weeks from his pastoral duties, effective today. Fr. Pfleger does not believe this to be the right step at this time. While respecting his disagreement, I have nevertheless asked him to use this opportunity to reflect on his recent statements and actions in the light of the Church’s regulations for all Catholic priests. I hope that this period will also be a time away from the public spotlight and for rest and attention to family concerns.

I hope also that the life of St. Sabina’s parish may continue in uninterrupted fashion. Fr. William Vanecko, Pastor of St. Kilian’s parish, will be temporary administrator of St. Sabina’s and will assure the full complement of ministerial services during this period. I ask the members of St. Sabina’s parish to cooperate with him and to keep him and Fr. Pfleger in their prayers. They are in mine.

From my experience… you don’t appoint an interim pastor unless he is going to be gone longer than two weeks.  Another thought is, how arrogant he is to say to the Archbishop (his boss), “I don’t think this is the right step.”  That will likely be what eventually will get this guy removed permanently.

Technorati Tags: Father Michael Pfleger,Archdiocese of Chicago,Pfleger disciplined

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Meet the Walking Man

Marking a first for Caffeinated Thoughts I wanted to introduce you to our first guest blogger, Narciso Zamora.  Pastor Zamora will be joining us this week for his “Walking Man Blog Tour”.

Pastor Zamora has been a church-planting missionary for over 25 years in Peru, Ecuador, and Chile.  He is currently establishing an institute in Peru to train Latin Americans to be missionaries within their own continent.

Pastor Zamora has walked the message of Christ into the mountains, jungles, fields and forests of his native Peru and throughout Ecuador and Chile. Dreading the life of hard labor offset by nights of drunken stupor that his father modeled, Zamora ran away from home after high school. He lived a vagrant’s life, surviving through delinquency, until through the generous support of a Christian family, Zamora came to know Christ. He left the jungle to study at a seminary in Lima.

He has recently written a book called Walking Man which recounts Zamora’s winding and treacherous path, literally and figuratively, toward finding his calling in missions. Characteristic of Zamora’s more than 30 years of mission experiences is his determination to go anywhere he felt called to preach and teach – walking day and night into the jungle or trekking from valley to alpine zone and back down the other side of the mountain, just to reach an isolated village.

With half a dozen well-established congregations in place in Peru, Zamora affiliated the churches with an international denomination and later moved to Ecuador and Chile planting churches. In Chile a new trial faced the Zamora family when his wife’s kidneys started to fail. Dealing with the emotional turmoil of a chronically ill spouse wore more heavily on him than any adversity he had encountered in his ministry. Zamora became depressed and in this chapter of his life, he learned new lessons and gained new insights into what it means to carry the cross of Christ.

Anyway, I look forward to Pastor Zamora’s guest blog this week and I hope you stop by to check it out and be sure to visit the Walking Man website.

Technorati Tags: Missions,South America,Narciso Zamora,Walking Man,Blog Tour,author introduction

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A Contagious Community (Part 5)

When I was a kid my family and I attended a small rural church several miles outside of the town I grew up in.  I remember going to VBS, Christmas programs and the fact the church didn’t have indoor plumbing.  I remember that the pastor was in the outhouse when a bull snake presented itself.  Let’s just say we were laughing about that for quite some time.

They were good people.  I had a good time.  I didn’t hear much about having a relationship with Jesus there.  Then when I was in junior high we quit going.  I’m not sure why, but there wasn’t an intersection with my life.  So I didn’t miss it.

From junior high until the summer before my senior year in high school I did not have one person tell me about Jesus.  My freshman year I met a guy after moving into Des Moines who invited me to church, but he quit spending time with me when I found excuses each time I was asked.  I didn’t encounter anyone who had a heart for somebody like me who was outside the faith.

That isn’t the heart of Jesus.

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.  When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest,” (Matthew 9:35-38, ESV).

He would look at those around him and have compassion on them.  He saw past people’s facade and saw their brokenness and pain.  He loved lost people.  He knew as well that the harvest of those outside the faith would be plentiful if we would pray to Him to provide workers.

We’ve been looking at the Church in Jerusalem and we have seen a continual devotion to growth and obedience to God’s word.  We saw that the enjoyed and were committed to the fellowship that they shared.  They were also enjoyed God,  worshipping him continually in small groups and large.

If we were to stop looking at this passage, we would have a very inward view of the Church.  On its own Acts 2:42 presents a very lopsided picture of the church’s life.  That wasn’t all that was going on though.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.  And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.  And all who believed were together and had all things in common.  And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.  And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved, (Acts 2:42-47, ESV, emphasis mine).

It is important to realize, the Lord did it.  It was He who added to their number those who who were saved.  The Church was being the Church and He provided the fruit of their faithfulness.  This first church had a contagious community and that was attractive to those on the outside looking in.

They were also faithful in getting the good news of Jesus’ death & resurrection out.  They couldn’t contain themselves.

And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ, (Acts 5:42, ESV).

Praise and proclamation were both the natural overflow of hearts that are full of the Holy Spirit.  And as their witness was continuous, so continuously were people being saved.

The great 19th century American evangelist D.L. Moody was once approached by a woman who criticized him for his methods in attempting to win people to the Lord.

Moody replied, “I agree with you.  I don’t like the way I do it either.  Tell me, how do you do it?”

The woman replied, “I don’t do it.”

Moody retorted, “Then I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it.”

The key is faithfulness, not so much our methods.  We do need to be relevant.  We do need to be winsome.  But we also have to remember that the Holy Spirit is the Evangelist, not us.  Our goal is not to see people as targets, and move on to the next person if they are not responsive (much like I experienced my freshman year in high school).  Rather we need to faithfully share, with those whom we love and encounter, the life-changing message of Jesus Christ.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith,” (Romans 1:16-17, ESV)

The Gospel is powerful.  We shouldn’t be ashamed to share it.  It is good news, why would we not want to pass the word along? 

Do you intentionally look for ways to build bridges with those outside the faith that you know or encounter?  Do you have compassion for those without Christ, or are you like the woman who spoke to D.L. Moody?  Do you partner with others to share Christ with your friends, family and coworkers who don’t know Him?  Does your church have a heart for those who need Jesus?  Do you know how to share your faith effectively?

It is my prayer that you and your church will seek to be contagious for Jesus.

Technorati Tags: Acts 2,evangelism,Contagious Communities,Effective Churches,The Church

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Corrections in Crisis

Chuck Colson, the founder of Prison Fellowship and Mark Earley, it’s current president outline, in a four part Break Point commentary series, a crisis that we are seeing in our criminal justice system and what the Church can do about it.

Colson paints a picture of the crisis that we now face:

Most systems are operating above safe capacity, despite the prison-building boom of the past two decades. Of the 2.3 million in prison, an estimated 700,000 will be released from prison this year unprepared for life on the outside. Two-thirds of them will be rearrested within the next three years.

In part one, “Admissions of Failure” Colson says that it is time to learn about a Christian response to our nation’s prison crisis.  Part two, “One in Ninety-Nine” with one in 99 American adults being in prison and with prison overcrowding, Earley asks, “What should we do with non-violent offenders?”

In part three, “Melting Hearts” Colson says that “crime cannot be boiled down to statistics.  At the receiving end of a crime is a flesh-and-blood victim.  Christians should be advocates for restorative justice.  Justice doesn’t stop with the police, court system and prisons, it is also a matter of the heart, as justice also means repairing the harm caused by a crime.  Ultimately what is needed to see change happen in the criminal justice system is transformation.  In part four, “The Heart of the Matter” Mark Earley discusses the work that government can not do.

Followers of Christ can not afford not to address this problem and respond to it in a meaningful way.  We should be the ones who bring hope to those who are imprisoned and their families.

Technorati Tags: Chuck Colson,Mark Earley,Prison Fellowship Ministries,Break Point,criminal justice,prison ministry,corrections,restorative justice

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A Contagious Community (Part 4)

One Sunday a visitor showed up in a more formal, liturgical church than he was used to attending. The church was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. That made it all the more obvious when this visitor got excited about something the minister said and he shouted out “Praise the Lord!”

What was second nature to this newcomer was behavior that shocked and even scared the faithful in this setting where they were not used to such exuberant expressions of worship. Nobody had ever done anything like that before.

One of the regular attenders leaned forward and tapped the man on the shoulder and whispered, “We don’t praise the Lord around here.”

Someone seated nearby heard this exchange and they said, “Yes we do. It’s on page 15 of the Lectionary.”

We have seen that the Church in Jerusalem was devoted to the ministry of the word, to discipleship.  We also saw that they were devoted to fellowship.  There is one more item that this church devoted itself to – worship.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.  And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.  And all who believed were together and had all things in common.  And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.  And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved, (Acts 2:42-47, ESV, emphasis mine).

We see that this church was devoted (continuing steadfastly) to the breaking of bread and the prayers.  This phrase suggests a reference to communion (which was probably part of a larger meal) and times of prayer for those in their community and out.

It is important to note that worship follows Biblical instruction as we respond out of gratitude to what we learn about God’s character and attributes, to His goodness and grace in our lives, and we rejoice in what God has done for us through Jesus.  When we learn about who we are in Christ how could we not praise Him?

It is also worth mentioning that this worship is closely linked to fellowship.  Our fellowship with other followers of Christ is rooted in our fellowship with God through Christ.  It is a spiritual bond, and fellowship with God entails worship our response to Him.  In the Word He speaks to us.  Through worship we reply.  In fellowship we experience this together.

In contrast to the church experience mentioned above is in stark contrast to what worship is to be about.  It isn’t about style.  It isn’t about methods.  It isn’t even about location.  It most certainly isn’t to be about us.  It is about God.  He is to be the center of our worship.  When we worship, we are doing what we were created to do.  When we do this in accordance to our free will we bring Him glory.  The last statement of the Westminster Catechism illustrates this when it says, “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”

We can see several aspects of the early church’s worship:

Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people, (Acts 2:46-47a, NASB).

The word “continuing” (“attending” in ESV, but the NASB is the better translation here) is the same Greek word used in verse 42 that is translated “devoted”.  They were literally continuing steadfastly to meet together.

They were also of “one mind”.  This speaks of a unity that was present among the believers, not just everyone being with one another physically, but a spiritual unity.  Their hearts were being knitted together by the Holy Spirit.  The Apostle Paul reminded the Church at Ephesus about their common life in Christ and how it should affect them as a whole.

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all, (Ephesians 4:1-6, ESV).

We also see in Acts 2:46 that worship wasn’t limited to larger groups, but within small groups as well.  It wasn’t limited to a particular day, but day by day.

They also had glad and sincere hearts – they were joyful.  In Acts 2:43 we see that “awe came upon every soul” this community was drawn into the presence of God and it was amazing!  A.W. Tozer describes worship in a similar fashion.

Worship is to feel in your heart and express in some appropriate manner a delightful sense of admiring awe and astonished wonder and overpowering love in the presence of that most ancient Mystery which philosophers call the first Cause, but which we call Our Father which art in Heaven.

Another thing to mention worship isn’t just music (music isn’t even mentioned in Acts 2:42, but some would say that Acts 2:47 – “praising God” could be referring to praise in song).  Again, worship isn’t about a particular style or method.  We are to worship God with our lives.  The Apostle Paul writes:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship, (Romans 12:1, ESV).

Rick Warren, the senior pastor of Saddleback Community Church in Lake Forest, CA likes to say that the problem with being a living sacrifice is that we have a tendency to want to pull ourselves off the altar.  Our lives should glorify God.  Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount eludes to this as well.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven, (Matthew 5:16, ESV).

The Apostle Paul echoes that as well.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him, (Colossians 3:17, ESV).

So with this we see that our worship is not contained to Sunday morning, but throughout the week.  It isn’t just corporately, but individual worship as well.  We worship when we respond to the Word in obedience.  So we worship when we do our very best on the job.  We worship when we don’t cut corners.  We worship when we parent.  We worship when we do our best in school.  We worship in our service.

We also worship when are together with other believers – whether that is in a small group or on Sunday morning remember that our fellowship is a spiritual one and that we need to encourage one another.  The apostle Paul encourages the Church at Ephesus to address “one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ,” (Ephesians 5:19-21, ESV).

Worship is responding to God for who He is, what He has done for us, and who we are in Christ.  It is an act of love.  We have the privilege to bless Him, to glorify Him, and enter into His presence both individually and corporately.  Some want to look at worship as something they can do individually without being a part of spiritual fellowship.  That would be a mistake.  The writer of Hebrews exhorts us:

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near, (Hebrews 10:24-25, ESV).

We need the body, but worship is also in how our life is lived so it does no good to attend Sunday worship and not live for Christ the rest of the week.  He doesn’t want us segmented.  He wants our entire life.  We are designed to glorify Him, and in doing so we can enjoy Him and be satisfied in Him.

So in this we see that a local church in order to be a contagious community is a community that as a group and also with its individual members seek to fulfill the first commandment of the Great Commandment to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength.

Technorati Tags: Acts 2,worship,Church models,Contagious Communities,Effective Churches,The Church

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