First Christian Church

Pastor's Blog

February 3, 2011 at 5:32 pm by: Cynthia McBride

New Life

Last weekend, Charles and I drove to Denver Friday night in anticipation of attending Jose’s ordination. Jose Francisco Morales, Jr. has been serving as the Transitional Regional Minister for the Central Rocky Mountain Region. He came to us as a seminary trained, licensed minister from the Indiana Region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). In our denomination, the process of ordination most often includes a candidate earning the Master of Divinity degree, being approved by a regional commission on ministry, and being sponsored by a local congregation in recognition of an individual’s sense of call and fitness and gifts for ministry. During a special worship service, which includes a verbal covenant between the candidate and the whole church (plus of course the Lord’s Supper, because we’re Disciples) and prayer with the laying on of hands, the candidate is “ordained” and enters the "order" of Christian ministry - in that mystical moment, he or she “becomes” a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the priesthood of all believers, we are all called to minister – to serve in the name of Jesus. Ordination recognizes those who are called and “set apart” for life-long representative ministry. So… Jose is now The Rev. Jose Morales, Jr. (His parents were also ministers.) I give thanks to God for his amazing gifts in the Spirit.

It was touching to watch Jose rise with tears in his eyes, after having the hands and prayers of so many laid upon him. It reminded me of my own ordination 15 years ago at First Christian Church in Alamogordo, NM. Just as the service of baptism marks new life in Christ, and a marriage marks a new life covenant between two partners, the service of ordination represents both the gifts of the spirit and the new life of a clergyperson living into union with the church.

When Charles and I got to Denver Friday, we had no idea of the “new life” that was waiting for our family…. Before going to sleep, we turned on the local news in our hotel room and saw that the “Buddy Center” was offering a discount on pet adoptions. Charles has been wanting an additional pet for many months, so I agreed to go look…. Enter Miss Cancion (Spanish for song)! We now have a 10 month-old kitten who’s busy pestering Henry dog and trying to play with Berkley cat (who’s not at all sure she wants a little sister). Cancion has her own personality. We decided to name her in Spanish, in honor of Jose, the reason we were in Denver in the first place. She is well-named as she sings quite frequently. She seems to enjoy talking to herself, just to hear the sound of her own “Mew.” She’ll walk across the living room, mewing and purring with every step for no apparent reason.

It’s been a delight watching our three pets learn to adjust to each other, and, having a new “little one” in the house brightens up life in simple ways…. Having someone encourage me to stop and PLAY for a minute or two, hearing a contented PURR right in my ear, stroking her soft fur….

It is good for me to give THANKS to God today for New Life. I officiated this afternoon at a memorial service for Randy Day (who attended First Christian Church years ago and whose husband was a colleague of Paul Hallock’s at Casper College). It was a celebration of life as her family and friends gathered to give thanks for the unique joys Randy brought into their lives. It was also a sad day, knowing that she was only 64 and spent the last year battling against cancer. (She and Ron, her husband of 43 years, always said that "their song" was the Beetles' Will you still need me when I'm 64?) Shortly before the service, I learned of another loss. A member of FCC, Curly Fusselman, has died. His service will be next Monday. These two services make me wonder - will there be a third? That often happens....

As an ordained pastor, I am called to stand at that unique crossroad where earthly life meets the eternal. For the grounding of grace, for the joy of a new kitten, for the passing of saints, for the ordination of a faithful servant, for the ongoing call to serve – for all the ways today’s experiences speak to me of the promise of new life in Christ – I give thanks to God.

Yesterday at 11:44 pm by: Patience (Patience)

Well if we are talking about lost kids that don't have godly parents... as a missionary (now SAHM and wife to a missionary) with Child Evangelism Fellowship I must say you (the church) must go to the kids. It's not good enough to teach sunday school classes of kids "About" Jesus. You MUST share the Gospel with them! Most of our churches teach Bible stories to children... which obviously I have no issues with... but I bet the reason these kids end up leaving is because they never became Christians! As someone who taught kids sunday school for a long time I can tell you most of the curriculum DOES NOT share the gospel... or it does once every 5 weeks or something like that. That isn't good enough! You can't expect kids to stay in church if they never accepted Christ as their personal Savior. For kids outside of the church? Go to where they are. Schools (yes you can do it, visit cefonline.com) community centers, parks, wherever kids are and tell them why Jesus came.Kids should know Bible Stories but if they don't know the Gospel then they can't be saved and won't stay in church.

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May 14, 2012 at 10:03 pm by: Elmira (Elmira)

As a pastor's wife- this topic is near to my heart!First of all, I have to say that I do not believe that the "Church" is at fault!! The Bible is very clear, that it is to be us PARENTS that are to be training our children in righteousness!!! Sunday School & Youth Group were started many, many years later & really were started for the "non-churched" kids! Those statistics are sad, but I think they are a lot due to the fact that parents have been relying on the church to teach their children about Christ- instead of taking an active role themselves (& actually living what they believe)!A couple things our church does that I LOVE are... when children turn 4, they join their parents in "big" church- children younger than that are certainly welcome, but there is nursery & children's church provided for children under 4. Although I do understand how difficult it can be for some kids to sit so long (we are all about wiggles at our house), we believe that having children in the service, plants seeds in their little hearts! :)We also have just started a curriculum (our pastors & elders & teachers have created) that lasts 7 years & walks everyone through the Bible... all Sunday School classes of various ages as well as the sermon are focused on the SAME topic... are memorizing the same verse, etc. In this way, children (along with their parents) will go through an in depth study of the whole Bible twice.Sorry, this is getting way too long! ;)Great question!Jessica

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April 30, 2012 at 11:41 am by: Nityananda (Nityananda)

Okay, next to my family and my kids, this is my Passion topic! It's what gets my juceis flowing.First and foremost, I believe that those statistics are proof that the church has fallen asleep. The church has narrowed itself into a corner and unless willing to adapt to some change, this statistic I fear will grow. Churches have been doing what they do because that's the way it's always been done. Some churches hold tight to Tradition. The church can never compete with culture. They will never win. Its just the way it is. But the church can certainly change from "doing" to having a strategy.If You read my "About" section on my blog, you'll see a line where I wrote, "I bleed Orange." I encourage you to check out www.whatisorange.com to learn more about that and to see where my firm stance on what the church should be doing.We (as in Us, Moms, Parents, etc) put So much responsibility on the Church for those poor statistics. I see it as a 50/50 deal. Parents need to wake up and realize that they are the primary spiritual leaders in their kids lives. The church is a "Partner" to you as a Parent. Or at least it should be. There in lies the problem. Churches are failing to see that they need to come along side of us as parents and support us and understand that what happens at home is far more important than what happens at church. I am a product of Christian parents, christian private schools and church all my life. I saw friends come and go within the church. From my experience, The leadership within the church are all on different pages. Nursery, elementary, youth and "big" church are all doing their own thing. There is no strategy. They are silo'd. I beg of the church to align themselves together with parents and have a strategy for how to get a child from birth through college not ever wanting to leave the church! It is possible. It just means people are going to have to adapt to change and let some things go. Sorry for the rant. I warned you that it was a Passion area for me. I could say so much more.... : )

Nityananda

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