The Power of an Invitation

As a child I always enjoyed receiving mail.  I must admit the best mail for me was when I received an invitation to a party.  The invitation meant that someone else wanted me to be at their special event.  The parties I attended were always fun because it felt like my presence was important for the celebration.  The special feeling remains the same for me as an adult.  I still like receiving an invitation in the mail: party, wedding, or special gathering.


The other interesting thing about an invitation is that people reorganize their schedules to be at events they are invited to attend.  The invitation is seen as something different or special that was not to be a part of their life before the invitation was made.

For years the church has taken for granted that people want to be a part of church naturally.  For the most part this has been true, yet our culture is changing quite a bit.  Our country has less people naturally coming to church on their own.  It still happens, but not as frequently.  It is not enough for a church to offer welcome and hospitality once people arrive, even though this is still vitally important.

We are now called in the church to be "intentional inviters".  Jesus invited disciples to follow him.  The church is invited to ask people to join them in the journey of faith and be co-followers of Jesus.  An invitation means that they are sought to be a part of a community that could increase its value by their presence.

Rush Creek has a long history of welcome and hospitality.  Rush Creek has a long history of being a place for people to heal and find renewal from a scarred church past in another location.  I am inviting us to add to that long history a legacy of inviting people to the events that means so much to us as a church.

Invite people to a Bible Study.
Invite people to join you in an outreach project.
Invite people to a fellowship event.
Invite people to join you in worship.

If you invite someone to join you go the extra mile and offer to pick them up and take them with you to the event with you.  Make 2014 the year of the "intentional invitation" to grow our church.  Our church has an awesome story of worship, study, service, and fellowship.  Share the story with others and let the love of God take over.

Grace and Peace,

Rev. Dr. Chris Wilson

Rediscovering Simplicity

Texas was hit badly by the recent storms as ice has covered most of the roads and homes.  This is not the norm for us and because of this we are prone to stay indoors.  We stay indoors because of safety primarily.  The indoor hibernation can create quite a stir within us.  We get antsy to get out.  Typically, we are so on the go we don't know what to do with ourselves when we are not on the go.

Days like this are a good reminder of reclaiming a simplicity to our lives: reading a good book, board games with the kids, time for quality conversations with family, or even some prayer time with God.  We can look at days like this as chaos or we can look at them as gifts of time in a world the seems to be in constant demand of us.

We all need moments of rest, faith, and family.  Jesus, throughout his ministry, gathers people around tables for food, fellowship, and deepening of relationships.  The ice storm is the perfect excuse for time around the table with loved ones.  It could be a table for games and fun.  It could be a table for food and nourishment.  It could be a table that is simply the bread and cup that Jesus shared with his disciples.  Tables are transformative places.  Tables are places that all are to be welcome and including.  Tables are supposed to be places of love.  Let the spirit of the church be in your home during this cold storm spell that has hit our city.  Let the table in your home be of the same spirit we find in our church that invites us to remember, be loved, and urges us to seek renewal within us.
Let the time in your home these few days be an real opportunity to rediscover the simplicity of life, family and faith.  May God strengthen you and warm the depths of your soul.

Grace and Peace,

Rev. Dr. Chris Wilson

Finding Your Song--Finding God

Our emotions ebb and flow throughout the day.  Emotions are dictated by our level of energy, the circumstances of the moment, the level of stress in our life, and the degree to which we determine our self-worth.  All of us need something to help us through the tough moments when we need inspiration.

I have always found the gift of music to help me find an inner song to lift my spirit when I need it the most.  That song can come from a variety of genres.  I enjoy all kinds of music from classical all the way to rock.  I like many of the different types of music along the whole spectrum of music.  I will hit 'seek' on the radio scrolling through music until the right song emerges.  We instinctively know when the right song is being sung we need to listen to in the moment.  Maybe it is a song of reflection, or one of high energy, and possible one that you have not heard before but the rhythm of the song suits your ears.
I can recall songs vividly to particular moments in my life when I needed those songs the most.  I remember songs related to crisis moments, celebration moments, key events in my faith journey, and songs that simply fill my soul with joy.

I give thanks for the variety of music styles that I enjoy.  It is easy to like a particular kind of music and only listen to that genre.  When this happens we miss out on the gift of what other music forms have to offer to us.  We miss out on gifts that can speak to us in significant junctions in our life journey. 

The same can be said for how we understand God.  We can tend to put God in a box and expect God to act and behave in specific ways.  The best conception of God that we have is only a small glimpse of who God can really be in our lives.  We need a wide variety of perspectives of how God can be informative and inspirational in our life.  The Bible offers so many metaphors for how God can be known to us.  No metaphor is perfect, but every metaphor is helpful: source, sovereign, rock, cloud, fortress, fountain, shelter, light, judge, defender, mercy, might, shepherd, father, mother hen, etc.

When we limit God we limit how God as a song can meet us when we need it the most.  Let the breadth of God be wide and deep enough to be the song that cares for our soul.

Grace and Peace,

Rev. Dr. Chris Wilson

Stargazing

I am always amazed at the night sky as we transition to the colder time of the year.  There seems to be a crisper look to the sky.  The stars and moon look brighter and more vibrant.  I was looking in the sky the other night as the moon was full.  I noticed besides the moon scattered clouds and a smattering of stars throughout the sky.  The moonlight gave great reflection off the clouds and gave a view of the universe that allowed you to appreciate the beauty and feel small in God’s universe at the same time.

I think it is good to put our life in perspective.  We are all part of a grander story of creation.  Our part in this story may seem small in relation to the time we have on earth, yet our time here does matter significantly.  We are charged with the task of passing on the legacy, story, and witness of God’s love.  This is no small task.  We are co-participants in sharing the greatest story of all time.  God believes in our ability to tell and live this story every day of our lives.  It is easy for us to ignore this story and simply do what we want to do.  It requires us to be intentional and mindful that we are God’s ambassadors on earth.  We are to consider each day how we will enter, engage, and embody this story in our words and our actions.

We will come into close contact with this story of God’s love intimately with the celebration of Jesus’ birth.  The story of the baby Jesus reminds us that God does not forget.  God fulfills promises.  God seeks to be in our presence even in vulnerable ways.  God desires a relationship with us.  God believes in us enough to rely on us to care for this child, seek to find this child, worship this child, and do everything in our power to honor this child with our daily life.  We can easily get lost in the cultural Christmas busyness.  I hope we can see through the chaos of the day and find the joy and mystery that is the incarnation, Immanuel (God-with-us).

The next time you look up at the stars at night I want to remember that we are to be humbled in our single solitary life, yet we are wrapped up in a story of love that we live every day.  Our task is to share that story and invite others to live that same story, too.  If you recall, three men looked up in the sky one night at a bright star.  They chose to follow that star and it changed their lives forever.  Stargazing can be more encompassing than you think. 

Grace and Peace,

Rev. Dr. Chris Wilson

Surprise

I remember a time years ago when I made a trip home to visit my parents.  On that visit I found a box filled with some of my father’s personal items.  One of the personal items in the box was an old pair of eyeglasses.  I did not wear glasses at that time in my life.  I thought it would be fun to put the glasses on and see what I looked like in the mirror.  I must admit that I was not ready for what would happen the moment those glasses were put in place on head.  The glasses had some degree of corrective vision in them.  The moment I looked through the lenses of the glasses I began to see details of things in the house that I was not seeing before I had them on.  Over the next minute I would remove and replace the glasses on my head several time just to check to see if details were really more visible with the glasses.  Sure enough, I saw better with my dad's old pair of corrective lenses.

That moment was a bit humbling and at the same time helpful.  I must have gone a long time without ever really knowing my eyesight was getting slowly worse.  It was in that moment I became aware I needed to correct my vision permanently to see what I really needed to see.  I remember seeing details of leaves on trees with my father’s glasses and yet only saw a blurred green blob without them.  We never like to admit that our abilities are not what they once were.

The same can be true for this thing we call church.  We think things are fine and all is right with the world while some correction or needed transformation is necessary for a healthy future.  All organizations and churches need moments in which we examine our sight so we can see clearly into the days that are in front of us. 

It is important that we are clear about our church identity and mission.  It is important that we affirm the values and ministry and help us continue to honor Christ.  It is important that we do this work together and not just a few people.  It is important that we be humble enough to recognize we need God’s help more than we know in shaping our future as Christ’s church.  It is important that we be open enough to make adjustments and enhancements to the ministry we are already doing. 

We do not want to someday realize that we went too long without correcting the visional direction of our work together as a church.  As scripture tells us, “we see in a mirror dimly but then we will see face to face.”  Through prayer and God’s help we will form a future story that will create excitement and hope for us as we live into God’s future.

Grace and Peace,

Rev. Dr. Chris Wilson

Approaching and Leaving The Table

Communion is a powerful, theological, experiential, and sensual encounter in worship.  As a Disciples of Christ minister the weekly observance of communion I see as a gift to my weekly faith.  Our sanctuary has only one piece of furniture on the chancel, the table.  It is clearly the center of our worship.  It is clearly through Jesus that we know God more fully.

I think the table offers two valuable perspectives to our faith formation.  First, communion says something about our approaching the table. There is no barrier to this table.  We are invited by the host in whatever state we find ourselves.  We come as needing wholeness in our life.  We have within us the desire or quest to draw closer to God's presence to create depth and value to our lives.  The table draws a great diversity of people, yet in the midst of that diversity we discover the common cause to find peace in our life that is grounded in God through Jesus Christ.

The second perspective is what we do when we leave the table.  The table essentially begs action and a response to the grace God has given to each of us.  I believer grace ignites in us compassion to serve on Christ's behalf.  The world should become a better place because of our increased connection to God and our desire to serve on God's behalf.

The more we engage in this communion cycle of approaching and leaving the more the whole world will be shaped by Christ's love.  The table of God is the beginning and ending of all that is good and faithful.  Let it be so through our participation and response to the bread and cup Christ offers to you and me.

Grace and Peace,

Rev. Chris Wilson

Is Silence a Friend?

I recently made a trip to attend a Christian retreat for men in Brownwood, TX.  Men attended from both the states of Texas and New Mexico.  The drive is about 170 miles each way.  When I left the house to begin my drive I turned on the radio to listen to music or sports talk.  The stations did all right until a reached a certain mileage from the metroplex.  Once the stations were no longer clear I began to search for new local stations.  I remember at one time that when I pressed the "seek" button on the radio it never stopped.  No stations were available.  I simply turned off the radio.

It was interesting to note how my mind focus shifted from listening to music or words to that of what scenery was in front of me or paying closer attention to the thoughts in my mind.  I needed to be open to the silence on the road.  When all other sounds are quieted I am always amazed at the increased noise of thoughts inside my own head.


We sing a hymn at our church entitled, "Come and Find the Quiet Center."  It is a hymn about prayer.  There is one line in the song that simply states, "Silence is a friend that claims us."  Is silence a friend?  Silence is a balance of making room for God and paying attending to the noise of our soul.  Growth can come when we allow silence to enter regularly in our life.  It is important to reflect, pray, discern in the silence.  Silence and wrestling with the thoughts that consume our minds is not necessarily easy, but can be fruitful to our growth and connection to God and others.  Silence enables us to step out of the pace of daily life that often time seems faster than we can keep up with each day.

Scripture says it powerfully and concise, "Be still and know that I am God."  I am thankful for the silent spaces of our communal worship.  I am thankful for the silent moments I create for myself each week.  In a world filled with noise and activity, our soul truly needs the friendship of silence from time to time.

Grace and Peace,

Rev. Chris Wilson

Uncovering What Already Existed

I have recently returned to the church from the gift of a sabbatical.  A family began visiting the church during the time I was away.  Upon my return I went over with staff the new faces that are now a part of the church life.  I was able to have a nice face-to-face conversation with a woman who has been attending for a short while.  I shared I was grateful to meet her and had heard she was already becoming involved in the various ministries of the church.  Her response to me was, "I have been a part of the Disciples of Christ church my whole life, I just did not know it until I came here."

Life is much like this woman's response.  We sometimes do not know the right fit until it is experienced.  The church has been expressed in so many ways since the church began following Jesus' time on earth.  There are so many denominations and ways of proclaiming the Christian faith.  We can walk into a lot of churches and enjoy them or not feel comfortable in them.  When we find the right place for ourselves we seem to know it pretty quickly.  We seem to instinctively know when we have found our Christian home: relationships click, worship feeds you, ministry opportunities excite you, and your soul feels joy.

The other part of the equation of uncovering part of ourselves is being open to new things.  Discovering our potential with experiences that feel like home only come with a spirit of exploration and openness.  Home can be something comfortable and known, yet home can be something yet to be encountered.  A willing spirit on our behalf helps strengthen our identity as well as our connection to the Holy. 

I give thanks for those moments when I uncover an experience or encounter that evidently was already part of my being but it just had not been ignited before.

Thanks be to God for those moments of celebration and growth.

Grace and Peace,

Rev. Dr. Chris Wilson

Defining the Thin Places of Our Lives

This blog, "Glimpses of the Holy", will be about me sharing moments, experiences, observations, and reflections in which the presence of God is sensed in profound and common ways.  Marcus Borg calls moments in which the divine and human touch as "thin places."  I hope to capture and share a variety of ways in which we can see God in the many "thin" encounters of our lives.

I believe that God's presence is much closer than we might often think or consider.  God, many times, is right under our nose and we fail to see or sense it.  It can be seen in the majesty of a sunset, the smile of child, or in the observation of a simple act of kindness one person shows to another.

God is all around us.
God is all around.
God is all.
God is...

May we all have eyes, ears, heart, and mind to gain a greater sense of God's presence in our life.

Rev. Dr. Chris Wilson