Dear Friends, 

    I recently traveled to St Louis to visit my grandsons and their parents. Loved the trip. The travel? Not so much. Long miles on I-70 littered with orange barrels and traffic merging down to one lane. I even planned my departure so well I hit rush hour traffic in Indianapolis! And that was driving there. The trip home? Ditto only longer!

   Don’t get me wrong. I love seeing my grandsons and catching up with their parents. I just don’t care for the journey. Too much fast food. Too many slow drivers. Too much time wishing it was over!

   Life has been like that for me lately, too. I retired in June to start a new ministry at the old Brunson’s Restaurant – a “pay what you can afford” restaurant. Had it been up to me, I would have dusted off the old place and got busy serving meals. God had other plans. So I am now on the long road of building renovation and renewal. No orange barrels. But the pace is slow and the way ahead obscure.  Many times I‘ve been lost and had to go another way. Even now, the long journey continues.

   What I have discovered along the way is that it is not only the restaurant changing. I am re-learning the fine art of waiting on God now leading the way in my rear view mirror.  God is not going fast enough. Me? I’d rather arrive and get busy.  God? Taking the long way enjoying the view. This is a hard lesson for me.

   So for those of you who ask me when Table One will be open, I can only say, “sometime soon.” For now, I am learning to let God show me the way. It’s a nice way to travel.

But I’ll still be glad when I get there!

   See you in church.

Loran 

Dear Friends,

    
 I pride myself on not going to the Dairy Queen. It’s a Jesus problem for me. Mostly I try to pass up the DQ because it is hazardous to my pants size. However, that’s not so much about my health as it is vanity. When I give in, I spend money I know could be used for someone genuinely hungry.  Plus, I feel guilty and this separates me from God. But I know all good things come from God including my chocolate “Moo-Latte”! So what’s a good Christian to do?

   After much prayer, I have discerned the occasional small DQ treat is part of God’s plan for me. It won’t kill me. It reminds me of God’s good gifts. And it motivates me to be more generous. It turns out stopping at Dairy Queen is the Christian thing to do. And it’s guilt free! God's grace is good all the time. Even at Dairy Queen.

 

See you in line.

 Loran

     

Why Does God Allow Suffering?

Friends,

    Do you know why most people say they don’t believe in God?  They can’t understand why God would allow suffering in this world. It seems like a valid complaint. After all, if I were God I wouldn’t let children starve to death or tornadoes wipe out towns. I wouldn’t let kids get cancer (adults, either) or stand by while teens get killed in car accidents on prom night. And I would certainly have stopped the horrors of 9/11, Auschwitz and Rwanda.  

   If you think God doesn’t care, or isn’t powerful enough to stop suffering in this world, I suggest that a better question is, “What is God’s alternative?”  Kids don’t go hungry because there isn’t enough food in the world. Tornadoes happen when two storms that bring much needed rain on the one hand collide and form funnel clouds on the other. The same cells that give us blue eyes, blood types and protect us from disease also mutate and become cancerous. We freely choose to risk our lives every time we get behind the wheel and so do our youth. And 9/11, Auschwitz and Rwanda are the other side of the coin of freewill that allows human beings to choose either great good for  the world or great evil. Is God’s appropriate role to continuously monitor and suspend the laws of nature for all 6 billion of us human beings, or is God’s role something else?

   Yes , bad things do happen to good people. But the good news is we don’t have to walk through the valley of the shadow of death alone. God promises not to prevent or take our pain away, but to walk together with us through it. To give us strength, courage and most of all hope no matter hard it may be.

   So when people say to me they can’t believe in God because of suffering, I tell them it is when I suffer I believe in God the most. And God has never let me down.  
   See you in church.

Dear Friends,

All Christians are Hypocrites! 

   This is one of the most frequent reasons people don’t want to go to church or have much to do with Christians. Much as we would like to pretend otherwise, too often Christians are hypocrites. Outsiders see Christians who act pious in the pew on Sunday, then forget it all by Monday. We preach one thing then do the other. We insist others act one way while we act another. We say they will know us by our love, but act in ways that are hurtful and mean. Jesus called out religious leaders of his day as hypocrites because they acted the same way. But the question is, are all Christians really hypocrites? Of course not. But like everyone else, Christians do sometimes act in hypocritical ways. And that includes me.

   As Christians we know better. We know others hold to us to a higher standard. We know our actions matter and our failures give others cause to wonder about our faith and God. As Christians, we try to get hypocrisy out of our lives. When I was a child my parents corrected my ways and gave me loving guidance on the right path. Now it is Jesus who guides and corrects my ways.

  That is why I regularly pray with St. Patrick: “Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in the hearts of all that love me, Christ in the mouth of friend and stranger.”

   So yes, Christians are hypocrites. But mostly they are ordinary people with an extraordinary God, who love their families and their community, while trying to make a difference in the world.

And I can live with those hypocrites. See you in church.

 

Dear Friends,

 

May I be honest with you? No matter how hard we try, I am convinced most people who passed aren’t interested in joining us in church on Sunday mornings. It’s not even on their radar screen.

   Sunday morning is about resting up, catching up and getting ready for the weekly grind.  “Everyone” knows all sermons are boring, all Christians are hypocrites and what churches really want is your money. No matter how hard we try we’re not going to win out over sleeping in and getting a leg up.

   The problem is we church lovers don’t know how to connect the dots between church going and Jesus loving. In fact, too often we believe it’s the same thing. The hard truth is if our friends, neighbors and co-workers are not coming to us, we must take the Gospel to them.

   I’m not suggesting you collar everyone you pass by and ask them if they know Jesus. (Though, when was the last time you asked someone that question?) I am suggesting that you introduce others to Jesus in ways that appeal to them. Share the common language Jesus speaks that everyone understands.

   Do you openly love your neighbor more than yourself? Do you care for the poor, the widowed, the orphan?  Do you feed the hungry, clothe the naked and visit the sick in the hospital? If you do, can you tell your friends why? Or can you only tell them why they should join your church?

   Most likely, there was a time when Jesus wasn’t yet on your radar screen. You fell in love with Him. When others get to know Him they will fall in love with him too. Jesus bridges the huge gap between you and those who don’t know your Jesus.

   So do invite your neighbor to church. But remember what they really need to know is not how great your church is, but how great your Jesus is.

   See you in church.

Not Time Like Today

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.

Proverbs 27:1

Friends,

   I still have Christmas stuff up in the house. I know they need to come down but I’m a procrastinator. I don’t expect the Christmas fairies to do it. II just know I’ll get to it tomorrow.

Too often I decide I'm busy today. I'll get to my life tomorrow. I’ll play with the dog tomorrow. I’ll go out with my wife tomorrow. I’ll pray more tomorrow. I’ll love more tomorrow.

   The problem is my cousin was diagnosed with cancer yesterday. He is 55.  The Bible says we are to live for today. No one is promised tomorrow.  My cousin knows that now. He doesn't want me to wait to learn that lesson.

   So I think I’ll play with my dog this morning, go out with my wife tonight, pray and love more all day long. I'll put off procrastinating until tomorrow.

   And maybe I’ll get the decorations put away too.

 

Blessings,

Pastor Loran

Friends,

My wife and I were shopping and taking my 87 year old father to lunch on Friday December 14th. When we travel, we rarely turn on the radio. So we were blissfully unaware of the horror unfolding at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown Ct. By the time we heard the awful news, surviving kids were home safe, the President had spoken and families were still learning who had lived and who had died. Our hearts are broken for the unspeakable that has happened.

So God, we have some questions today. Where were you when all this was happening? Why didn't you do something? How many times must we ask these questions before God answers?

Maybe God has answered but we aren't listening. Should God force us all to never do anything wrong in order to protect us from ourselves? Should I be robbed of my free will to choose good over evil? Doesn't God beg us to choose to be a blessing and give up the evil in our hearts? Didn't God send his son to  show us what love looks like? Did he save even his own son from violent death?

There will be lots of soul searching and debate in the days ahead about what to do so these awful tragedies will never happen again. Sadly, I doubt that's possible while evil stalks this world. But this  I do know. Whatever darkness or hell awaits us on this earth, God is with us. Emmanuel. Even in Newtown Ct. This is God's promise.

That promise did not die on Friday.

Loran
Pastor