CCC Blog

“The Good Place”

I recently watched the first season of a television series called “The Good Place” which deals with the afterlife. Once people die, an architect determines    whether people end up in the Good Place or the Bad Place. Conversations among the characters revolve around why someone would be assigned to one place over another and broach significant and complex philosophical questions. 

As season one came to a close, one of the characters realizes she is actually in the Bad Place, though (spoiler alert) she thought she was in the Good Place all along. A   noteworthy observation was made that fits with themes of our reading from I Corinthians 13 this past Sunday. Motivation matters. When the character protests to the architect that she helped raise 60 million for charities during her life on earth and that this should be sufficient criteria for being assigned to the Good Place, she is reminded that her intent (motivation) was the good favor she would receive from others.  Thus, being turned inward and doing things primarily for the good feelings or accolades afforded oneself – even if, consequentially, beneficial outcomes are derived in the process – is ultimately not “good” at all. 

The Dalai Lama similarly said in a recent interview, that all suffering has as its origin individuals turned inward on themselves. When we seek to serve our own interests, the inevitable outcomes will be pain and sorrow – for ourselves and others. Perhaps not right away or in the short run.  But over time this will always be the case.

This is the essence of I Corinthians 13.  Paul says that all the talent and ability in the world – even the spiritual giftedness we have received from God, as generous and benevolent our actions may be, are nothing if not rooted in love.  Such things are as useful as a “noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (read: not useful at all!). Love is the desired motivation. For Love is necessarily and primarily turned outward and seeks first to satisfy the interests and well being of others over its own. Love is actively and voluntarily sacrificial, seeking the best for someone or something else, regardless of the benefit it may receive in the process. 

It is human nature to satisfy our own interests first, which is why Paul speaks this way about love.  The love he references is really God’s love for us.  God is forever seeking to sacrifice Godself for our best good.  This was revealed most clearly in the gift of Jesus Christ given up for our salvation (our ultimate “best good”).  And it is witnessed countless times over, in every moment when God is patient with us and not irritable with us (though we provide plenty of reasons and occasions for God to be impatient and irritable). And in our humble acceptance of this love, we are able, by grace, to live in that love and for that love.  And when that happens???  We help build a beloved community and the Good Place is not merely something we enjoy in the afterlife, we experience it in the here and now. 

Blessings – Michael

“Introducing… On-line Giving!”

I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you something exciting now taking place at Central.  In an effort to be faithful stewards with what God has entrusted to us, we are proud to announce that we now offer some new on-line giving options.  Please note, we will still be accepting offerings and donations in all of the ways we currently do.  So if you have no interest in doing anything differently, that is absolutely fine.  But what we offering now has been a long-time coming and I want to thank the stewardship department, our treasurer and financial team, our vice-president of administration, and our church office staff for doing the lion’s share of the work to make this a reality. 

Why are we undertaking this opportunity at Central?  First, it provides flexibility for our members to give how they want to, regardless of day or time.  As our world becomes increasingly more digital, this feature allows members and friends of Central to give in ways that are more compatible with their method of making other payments.  Secondly, it will help all of us better develop a habit of giving regularly.  Online donors will be able to set up a recurring donation to the church by using a credit or debit card.  Thirdly, this allows us to connect with the next generation which is one of our core values.  We will still collect offerings the traditional way on Sunday mornings and you can certainly continue to write checks or donate cash. But younger generations are used to making payments online and this allows us to provide the means for them to be faithful stewards in a manner that is comfortable to them.  Finally, research over the last 10 years has shown that churches who embrace online giving notice an increase in consistency of gifts received, as well as in the overall amount of contributions received annually.

How does online giving work?  You will have the option of using our website (www.cccdisciples.org), clicking on “GIVE” on the homepage and registering as a New User.  You will then be able to make payments to the operating fund, building fund (capital campaign), memorial fund and any designated fund or special offering you choose.  You can also contribute with your smart phone by downloading a special App that will sync with your online account. 

In the Welcome Center you can pick up a card with step-by-step instructions for getting started.  And you may attend an orientation tutorial on Sunday June 10.  We’ll be offering the tutorial three (3) times that day: at 9:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. (after each one of our services).  These will be held in the Connection Café.  Should you miss the tutorial, we will be happy to email you the step-by-step power point.  We believe that financial giving is one of the ways we express our faithfulness to Jesus Christ.  As a pastor, I believe it is the church’s responsibility to offer everything it can to help people live out that mark of faithfulness.  To that end, I am absolutely thrilled that Central is offering online giving and am confident that this is something that will benefit us for years to come.  

“The Gospel Embodied”

This weekend we wrapped up our sermon series “The Great Exchange” based on stories in John 20.  After Jesus’ resurrection, he appeared to his followers in different ways.  We spent a week each on the figures of Peter, John, Mary Magdalene, the disciples (as a group) and the disciple Thomas (in particular). Ultimately, we noted that John closes his gospel by commenting that Jesus did “many other things” that are not contained in this book (the gospel / bible)  because no book in the world could hold everything Jesus did and said were indeed everything recorded.

It is true, and something we often experience at a funeral service.  After family and friends come forward to speak words of eulogy for the deceased, I will often say something to the effect that “even if we stayed here all day and night, we wouldn’t have enough time to convey what this person meant to us.”  How do we accurately report what our dearest loved ones mean to us?  How do we accurately report the full weight of Jesus’ life on earth?  We don’t.  We can’t.  Which means that we don’t know everything Jesus said and did and will always have unanswered questions to the historical life he lived.  But what is recorded in scripture is enough to believe. 

My mother’s role in my life is a living illustration of this truth for me.  From an early age, I found it much easier to open up to mom.  I loved my dad and knew he loved me.  But he wasn’t overly warm and didn’t always express emotions of compassion very easily.  But mom???  She was warmth personified.  Mom was a “hugger” – not afraid to be physical like that.  And every time I left the house, whether it was for long trip or a day or evening out, mom would drop whatever she was doing, walk to the front door, and hold my cheeks in her face, smile, and whisper to me “be careful.”  Even today, as I near the age of 50, before she hangs up at the end of phone conversation, mom will say in hushed tones, “Slow down and get your rest.”  When I reached the high school and college years and asked my parents for advice about possible summer jobs, my mom  was always a proponent of “do-what-you-love-the-money-will-follow.”  She wanted me to find work that would bring me happiness, regardless of how much it paid.  My father, on the other hand, was of the “how-will-you-pay-for-it?” school of thought.  He consistently reminded me of the reality that there is a cost to everything in life.   When it came to sharing, I wasn’t necessarily afraid to open up to my dad, but I honestly looked forward to sharing my insecurities and vulnerabilities with mom.

I don’t intend to make my mother out to be a saint.  She and I are both too  honest for that kind of implication.  There were many times when she didn’t have the answers I was looking for.  Or when she couldn’t offer explanations that would have been helpful.  But I have never doubted her love for me.  And in the last analysis isn’t that a personification of John’s Gospel?  For God so loved the world…  Love is the essence of the Gospel.  Communicating love is essential.  Having unlimited answers and explanations is not.  Which is why John reminds us that there were “many other things” Jesus did which are not written down.  To remind us that there will always be empty spaces that our answers and explanations can’t fill.  But everything John gave us in his 21 chapters on Jesus’ life is enough: enough to generate faith in us.  Similarly, all the love my mom has shown me – and continues to show me – is enough to embody the spirit of the Gospel and sustain that faith in me. 

Blessings – Michael

“Seeing is Believing”

But Thomas … one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came …  he said, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails… I will not believe.”                                                                                                                                    John 20:24-25

It was exactly one week after Easter in 2007 or 2008. We were living in Baton Rouge at the time. It was a glorious afternoon in early spring and after worship I decided to go for a run. I had just turned onto Hagerstown from Stones River (all the streets in our subdivision were named for Civil War battle sites) when I stepped on a nail. I didn’t see it, but didn’t need to. I felt it.  It was a biggie,  penetrating the heel of my shoe all the way into my skin. I certainly didn’t need to go to the hospital but the nail had punctured the skin and left a decent-sized blood stain on my sock. I had to call off the run and hobble home. I limped in the door to find Amy and Thomas in the living room. “You’ll never guess what happened to me,” I said and proceeded to tell them about my injury. My son looked up from the page he was coloring (he was about 5 or 6 at the time) and said with great boldness, “No way, dad.  I don’t believe you. I won’t believe you unless you show me the nail mark in your foot first.” Did I mention his name is Thomas?

A week (after the resurrection) … Thomas was with them … and Jesus came and stood among them and said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my   hands …”

John 20:26-27

 The Disciple Thomas will be our focus in worship this week. Unfortunately, he’s remembered for the name “Doubting Thomas,” as this one event in his life has determined the way history views him. But his skepticism represents a fundamental theme in the Gospel of John — Believing without seeing. Not   everyone, after all, would (or will) have an experience with the risen Jesus Christ in the flesh as the disciples did. In that sense, the story of Thomas asking to see the nail marks is designed to move us to v. 29 of chapter 20. Jesus said, “Have you believed because you have seen me (Thomas)?  Blessed are those who have not seen, yet have come to believe.”

Doubt and skepticism are things we experience because we are human. Even the popular phrase, “Trust but verify,” is a bit of an oxymoronic homage to doubt and skepticism (after all, can you really trust if you have to verify first?).  And yet as Thomas shows us faith does emerge from skepticism. Untold billions have come to follow the path of Christ over a span of two millennia without having “seen” the risen Christ. We will spend the sermon time this week considering how faith emerges from doubt. I invite you to think of times in your life when you have been skeptical, but God gave you faith in the midst of it (maybe it was a financial situation you came through; or a health situation; or something else). Some situations are admittedly easier to find trust in the midst of than others, but God desires our faith to be strengthened through them all – and not be dependent on concrete and tangible realities for its existence.   

  Blessings – Michael