Hello MBPPC,
C.S. Lewis famously said:
“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
Read MoreMy first day at MBPPC was Wednesday, and I had a great time meeting the wonderful staff. I am looking forward to working with you this year as your Transitional Pastor. Transitional times can be times of spiritual growth and renewal. I often turn to the book of Exodus for the stories of a God who is with God’s people in transition. God and the people forge a new identity together as the community learns to trust God in new ways.
Read MoreMatthew 5:38–48
The lectionary text for the day is located within Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. This particular chunk of text is known for its “you have heard it said … but I say …” statements. Jesus is looking to the wisdom in Hebrew Scriptures that are already calling for equity and acts of mercy, and is then calling his listeners to take it even further with radical generosity and acts of gentleness.
Read MoreI know that we all miss Pastor Lee Seese’s weekly messages in our newsletter.
Our hard-working and creative church Secretary and new member, Clare Conrad, had an inspired idea.
Why don’t we incorporate a message from a person in our church family about their Faith and Hope in each week’s newsletter?
As many of you may remember, we used to have a moment at the end of each Sunday service where anyone could come up to the Lectern and share their experiences and thoughts.
Read MoreDear MBPPC Friends and Family:
Last week, I wrote that the end of my contributions to this blog had arrived. But that was before the most incredible, joyful send-off you all provided for Lisa and me. And so, many, many, thanks are in order!
First, I want to thank the committee members who planned and carried out our send-off dinner on Saturday night. They were very sensitive to the needs of this introverted pastor (when my last day in Michigan came, and there was a formal send-off line of about 600 people, I almost fainted). The evening’s schedule was perfect. Lisa and I were able to spend time with almost everyone in a one-on-one way as we mingled and visited tables.
Read MoreThis will be my last installment of this blog. I am grateful that it does not come to you suddenly, or as the result of a reduction in staff, or because anything beyond my tenure as pastor is concluding (such as the church closing). I am grateful that we all have had time to prepare for this eventuality.
And yet, when an ending comes, as the ending of my tenure as your pastor now does, there is no glossing over the variety of feelings that attend it.
Read MoreA long time ago, I came to the realization that I think in pictures more than concepts. That comes in handy for preachers since so much of our work involves offering metaphors as a way to convey Biblical messages. But this thinking-in-pictures has served me in another way during my tenure as pastor at MBPPC. It has given me a way to conceptualize the larger work of leading a congregation.
Read MoreSeveral people have asked me about my relationship with MBPPC after my retirement. Let me share a few things in order to clarify how such a relationship works in the Presbyterian Church (USA), our denomination.
Read MoreLast Sunday, in a sermon based on Romans 8:37-39, I emphasized the purpose of the Christ’s Church as being to proclaim God’s unshakable love for us. I opened with a story of a young woman seeking ordination in the Presbyterian Church who, when asked in an examination by the Detroit Presbytery’s Committee on Preparation for Ministry, “What difference does Jesus make in your life?”, burst into tears. So powerful was her experience of Christ’s love, she could not express it in words, only in tears of joy.
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