February 16,2006
Dear Resurrection Family,
I apologize for not sending out an e-mail last week - while I try to do this weekly, there are times when I am swamped and simply can't get to the pastor's e-mail; last week was one of them. I'll tell you a bit about what was happening:
I was in Dallas on Tuesday and Wednesday speaking at Southern Methodist University - on Tuesday delivering the Peyton Lecture on preaching to about 300 pastors, and then offering a workshop on leadership and evangelism for another 90 pastors and church leaders. On Wednesday I had the joy of preaching in the seminary chapel to the student body, faculty and pastors on temptation in the Christian life. It was a great blessing to be speaking at my alma mater and the response from the clergy and students was very positive. It is exciting to hear pastor's find a renewed excitement about preaching and leadership after sharing with them ideas from our church. It was also a joy to see a few old professors and classmates from seminary.
On Thursday, between meetings, I was working on both my sermon for last weekend on Pharisees, and the marriage retreat LaVon and I led on Friday night and Saturday for 300 people at the Doubletree. Friday when I usually write my pastor's e-mail I was finishing my presentation for the retreat and trying to wrap up the sermon. The retreat seemed to be a blessing to most couples that attended - LaVon and I had a wonderful time leading this event. We ended the retreat leading the 150 couples in a renewal of wedding vows - the tears flowing throughout the room indicated this was meaningful for many of the couples in attendance. It was a terrific weekend.
Here's what I'll be covering in today's e-mail:
1. Super Bowl Food Drive Results: WOW! INCREDIBLE!
2. 189 Adults and 105 Children Join Resurrection at Coffee with Pastors
3. Young Adults: Join Me Tonight in the Student Center
4. Kudos to Rick Warren and Duane Liftin
5. Five "R's" for Resisting Temptation
1. Super Bowl Food Drive Results: WOW! INCREDIBLE!
For this year's Super Bowl Food Drive you donated 47,000 pounds of food - an increase of 15,000 pounds over last year. Plus you gave another $16,800 in cash to us to purchase food on your behalf - which will purchase an additional 31,700 pounds of food - for a total of 78,700 pounds - that's 39 tons! - of food donated to relieve hunger and minister to the poor in Kansas City!!! I am so proud of you as a congregation. In addition to the money and food donated, there are so many of you who gave of your time to sort, check expiration dates, and package the goods for distribution to area food pantries. I wish all of you could have taken a trip down to our basement to see the mountain of food as it was being sorted and prepared for distribution.
One word of reminder - we had 1,160 pounds of expired goods - much of it so expired it could not be used. In addition we had some items donated that were partially used - these also could not be donated. (Among the odder things donated to one of our food drives was a partially used jar of chocolate body paint!) Despite this, the food drive was a magnificent success and there will be thousands of people in Kansas City who will be helped by what you have done.
2. 189 Adults and 105 Children Join Resurrection Last Weekend
In one of our largest groups to ever join the Church of the Resurrection, we had 189 adults and 105 children who became members of the church this last Sunday afternoon at Coffee with the Pastors. It was so exciting to welcome each of these persons into our church family. Some were long time Christians, but many were relatively new to church and some were committing their lives to be followers of Jesus Christ for the very first time. In addition to this group, two weeks ago 52 people were baptized in a special baptismal service following Sunday worship. I spoke with one of these being baptized - a 60 year old man who was so excited to be publicly accepting Christ at his baptism. Pastors Judy and Molly led this service as I peeked in from the back of the Chapel. It was awesome. On another note, 209 youth are going through Confirmation preparing to profess their faith in Christ and to become adult members of our congregation. This is the largest confirmation class we've ever had - and reflects one of two classes we'll offer this year. It is easy to think these are all just numbers - but each of these numbers represents a person who has either met Christ or is growing in Christ through this congregation. How exciting is that?!
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3. Young Adults: Join Me Tonight in the Student Center
The next two Thursday nights I will speak to our Young Adults in the Student Center - this week on Methodism and next week on the Tough Questions Thinking People Ask about Christianity. If you are a young adult (18 to 32) invite a friend and join me tonight at 7:00 pm in the Student Center! Questions? Contact Janelle Baker at (913) 745-2245.
4. Kudos to Rick Warren and Duane Liftin
Last week a group of 86 "evangelical" leaders launched an initiative to raise awareness of, and take a position on, global warming and the environment. Among these were Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, Duane Liftin, President of Wheaton College, and a host of others. Their willingness to speak about this issue when many among the more conservative churches are hesitant to deal with issues like the environment was important and courageous.
However you see global warming, the fact that Christians should be concerned about the environment seems to me to be an unavoidable conclusion when we take seriously the Bible's claim that God created this planet, that he has placed us here to have dominion over it, and that, according to Paul, the earth itself suffers under the effects of human sin. Christians should be on the front lines raising questions about stewardship of the earth's resources.
A part of holiness is stewardship - it is caring for and using our resources (individually and as the human race) in a way that honors God. We do this in many ways. When I leave a hotel room I make sure every light is off and the thermostat is turned off or to a low temperature in the winter or a high temperature in the summer. When we bought our last car, we bought the smaller of two engines available because it gets a bit better fuel economy. When I see trash in my path as I'm walking I try to pick it up. These are personal stewardship decisions I see as very small acts of Christian discipleship. Being concerned about the environment and the effects of human behavior on a large scale upon the quality of our air, the trapping of greenhouse gasses, the production of other toxic wastes, should be a part of viewing the world through lens of our faith.
There has been a great deal of debate about global warming. I am not an expert in the science behind this and thus rely upon what others have said. Having read a bit on both sides of the issue, the proposition that global warming is occurring makes sense to me. If there is doubt on this issue I would rather err on the side of being pro-active than to assume global warming is not really occurring and find, decades from now, that we were wrong and we should have done more, sooner, to address this issue.
As with any issue like this, I am not suggesting you must agree with me to be a faithful follower of Christ - only that I think together we should be considering God's will regarding our stewardship of resources and how we care for the earth on his behalf.
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5. The Five "R"s for Resisting Temptation
I have spoken in several groups recently on the subject of temptation. Temptation is a part of life. Each day we will all face temptation. Temptation by its nature is an invitation to do what is less than best - to settle, to miss the mark, to violate another, or God or yourself. I am never tempted to do good, but I am often tempted to do wrong.
Among my temptations: To talk too much and listen too little, to be critical. to over react to things that frustrate me, to jump to conclusions, to snap at LaVon or Becca when I am tired or frustrated, to eat too much, to not exercise and take care of my body, to avoid reading things that will nourish my soul, primary of which is the Scriptures, to buy things I don't need, the list goes on.
The Bible says we can resist temptation. Scattered throughout the Scriptures are different ways to resist. Recently, I have shared ways of resisting temptation, describing the five "R's" for resisting temptation. If you struggle with temptation (c'mon, we all struggle with temptation!), perhaps these simple guidelines might be helpful to you (nothing here you don't know - but a lot that is important to remember).
The Five R's for Resisting Temptation:
When facing temptation...
REMEMBER who you are - you are a child of God and a follower of Jesus Christ!
RECOGNIZE the consequences of your action - will you feel better or worse afterwards? Who might be hurt or helped? Will you glorify God? Will you separate yourself from God? Etc.
REDIDICATE yourself to God through prayer - stop, in the midst of the temptation, and pray, asking for God's help and strength.
REVEAL your struggle to a trusted friend who will hold you accountable. When your temptation is no longer a secret, it loses some of its power.
REMOVE yourself from the situation - when you know there is a situation in which you are tempted, plan to avoid the situation.
Nothing revolutionary here - but, if followed, these 5 R's will help you to resist temptation.
Conclusion - Jesus, a Leper and a Prostitute
Finally, I hope you take the time to read tomorrow's Study Guide reading from Mark 14:1-11, where you will see last weekend's sermon on Pharisees and their conflict with Jesus unfolding in a powerful way. Jesus is eating in the home of a leper (an "unclean" person - this very act tells us much about Jesus), and while there a woman (in Luke we're told she is a prostitute - another who is "unclean" in the eyes of the Pharisees) anoints Jesus with perfumed oil; some are present who rebuke the woman. But, Jesus affirms her gift and rightly foretells that her story will be told throughout history. Had you been a Jew living in that day, what would you have thought of this scene? It is at this moment one of Jesus' own disciples decides he can no longer follow Jesus, and thus Judas decides to betray him. Take a few moments today or tomorrow to read and ponder this story in the light of last weekend's sermon.
That's it for now. May the Lord bless you today!
Adam Hamilton