Along with a few delegates from our denomination, my mother in law and I are chilling out in Portland, Oregon for the Evangelical Covenant Church Annual Meeting.  Currently, we’re in a meeting with all the other pastors in our denomination, a gathering referred to as the ministerium. Sounds sinister, and perhaps it has that potential, but it’s really a great opportunity to spend time together, and hear how the greater denomination family is doing.

Saturday, we’re scheduled for ordination, and for those who are interested, the link above will take you to a live video feed. I have no idea what to expect, but am prayerfully excited about the next steps of honoring God’s call.

Isaiah 50:4-9a

To those who suffer, what words of comfort dare we offer? Do we know the “word that sustains the weary,” (v. 4)?  In the late 1990’s, besieged by circumstances unaccountably complex, my parents were faced with an impossible choice: choose which child you will keep.  Working class salaries, especially when work became harder and harder to find, could no longer cover the medical care my younger brother needed.  Can you imagine the loss?  Who is there to vindicate your cause against government and economic systems that would rather see a family apart, than together?

Isaiah speaks prophetically of a God who knows loss and suffering, a God who is subject to impossible circumstances, and yet finds hope in the “Sovereign LORD who helps me,” (v. 9).  The Jesus I identify with is the Jesus who knows what it is to suffer, and still finds hope.  These are the words that sustain the weary.

God, in my suffering, may I hear your words of hope.  Grant me the strength to believe in your help, and to allow you to be my vindicator.  Amen.

Mark 8:31-38

When I was very young, my father worked seasonally as a logger in rural Alaska.  He would leave for three months’ time, visiting once or twice before returning in the fall.  Dad went to provide a better life for us: the work was steady and the pay was higher.  Every time Dad left, I wished he had stayed.  Who would push me on the swing set or feed me bites of breakfast cereal on his lap?  Life was not the same without him.

Jesus starts teaching about the coming change and his impending death.  Suffering and death?  That’s not part of the plan. Identifying with Peter’s rebuke and fear, it’s easy to imagine he would rather be at Jesus’ side.  How could life be the same without Jesus?  For those of us who consider comfort and Christianity congruent, Jesus’ words are jarring: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me,” (v. 34).

Lord God, may we trust you enough to lose it all in order that we might find you.  Amen.

James 3:13-18

Learning about the Kingdom of Heaven is disconcerting.  God’s view of success is the polar opposite of what we are taught to value.  In society, and in the church, the powerful are ambitious, look out for number one, and do whatever it takes to make a name for themselves.  Envy is encouraged in online and television advertisements.  The website Facebook gives us a chance to brag to the world about all we have accomplished, and compare those accomplishments with our friends’.  In James, we are instructed that “such ‘wisdom’ does not come down from heaven, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic,” (v. 15).  “Wisdom…from heaven is…pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive…” (v. 17).  In other words, success in God’s kingdom is anti-success.  It puts others first and values sincerity and peace above selfish scrambling for superiority.  It is submissive.  In all our posturing for recognition and praise, do we consider others?  Are we impartial and sincere, or do we look to flatter those who can improve our image?

God of all, transform our hearts and minds that we might value your idea of success, and seek it for our own lives.  Amen.

James 3:1-12

In the early days of our church, a member felt it was time to move on and start attending elsewhere.  While this happens in every faith community, this individual chose to make their feelings known by emailing the entire membership a list of reasons for leaving.  How many of us in a moment of anger or frustration have clicked the ‘send’ key and realized, too late, that we had made a mistake?  Controlling the tongue is not easy.  Too often, we allow our tongue to control us, speaking (or typing) words of anger and frustration indicative of the heart attitudes behind our words.

We must submit our tongues, our words, and our hearts to God’s redemption.  Transforming the tongue reaches deeper than the organ situated in our mouth.  It involves a total character check, and a transparency of the soul.  We cannot offer praises on one hand and slander from the other; we will be found out, and our true nature revealed.

God, I ask for your transformation.  Purify my heart that my tongue might sing your praises. Amen.

Mark 8:27-29

My husband and I started dating in November.  By Christmas, we considered our relationship serious.  In March he bought a ring, by April we were engaged, and in August we began our life as a married couple.  From the outside, our courtship seemed short.  “Are you sure?” we were asked again and again.  We were.  It was not anything we could quantify or explain; it was a certainty in our very beings.

Jesus asked Peter, “Who do you say I am?” (v. 29).  Those around Peter considered Jesus a good teacher, wise man, a prophet.  Peter, first among the apostles, spoke out of the knowledge of his heart: “You are the Christ” (v. 29).  In the midst of a crowd, Peter felt within himself a certainty, a heart knowing, about Jesus.  This knowing changed the trajectory of his life forever.  Who does the trajectory of your life say Jesus is?

Holy Spirit, instill within me a heart knowing of Christ as savior, that I might live out of that revelation.  Amen.

Proverbs 1:20-33

Small children trust their parents’ wisdom.  What a shock when the teenager realizes Mom and Dad don’t know everything–even worse when the young adult begins to imagine they don’t know anything.

How often in our Christian walk do we imagine ourselves mature, and thus stop listening for wisdom’s voice? “Do you know how long I’ve been going to church?”  we might say to those who desire to share with us correction and guidance.  Listening to wisdom’s voice requires an open and humble spirit.  We are told in Proverbs that those “who choose not to fear the LORD” will be felled by “the waywardness of the simple…and the complacency of fools.” (v. 32, TNIV).  Ignoring the voice of wisdom has the consequence of leading us further and further from God’s truth.

Gracious God, let us never become so complacent in our own knowledge that we close our hearts and minds to your revelation. Amen.

It has been a tough few weeks here at the Klug household.  We have been a bit shaken at the loss of a family member, and have been encouraged as our (Alan’s) family has reached out to one another, offering comfort, support, prayer, and genuine love.  How do we sustain ourselves through tough times?  What helps us keep going? Recently, I put together a few devotionals, and thought I’d share them over the next week, to remind myself that my hope, my strength, my life comes from a source outside myself.  It may be difficult for each of us to feel this at times, but that’s precisely when, as the Body of Christ, it’s our job to remind one another of God’s unceasing faithfulness, that “neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:39)

Psalm 125

Lead Us Not into Temptation

Temptation.  When the wicked seem to prosper on every side, doing what is right isn’t easy.  Sometimes a temptation is clearly wrong; more often it is a progression.  One small step leads to another, and we find ourselves in a place we never could have imagined.  How do we guard against the gradual pull of wickedness?  Showing up to work just a few minutes late can’t be wrong, can it?  Looking at that website just once can’t be wrong, can it? As God’s people we are told our foundation is not in the crooked ways of this world, but in the mighty and surrounding presence of our Lord.

God promises we will not always be subject to temptation because God knows we are prone to doing evil.  Can we place our trust in the Lord today, that we might overcome the temptations that plague us?

Lord, we rely upon you to be our strength and unshakable endurance.  Grant us the humility to ask for help when we need it, and remove from us the scepter of the wicked. Amen.

After four years in seminary together, you get pretty tight with some of your fellow pastors-to-be.  If you pass candidacy to receive an MDiv from Seattle University, you join a year long cohort of students, producing as a final project your personal theology.  It’s a celebration of your  call to ministry, your vision for the Church and your potential role.  All students and professors, as well as ministry colleagues are invited to attend to question, learn and listen together.  I presented my MDiv synthesis last June, on a gorgeous Seattle summer day.  As I walked across campus, I thought I saw someone standing near the doorway, waiting to head into the presentations.  In the glare of morning sun, I thought I saw my classmate Deb, one of the first people I met at Seattle U, a bubbly and vivacious single mom who was the first to ask a question in class, took the BEST notes, and was also the first to make us all smile and tell us to take ourselves less seriously.  Only it couldn’t be Deb.  After our third year, and after applying to join the same leadership cohort I was presenting my final project for, she killed herself.

Deb was one of the most alive people I have ever met, and as we joined together that fall to begin another year, we realized none of us saw it coming.  Blindsided, we couldn’t fathom how someone so many of us loved, cherished, and looked forward to spending time with could consider the world, her family, her friends, better off without her.  I wish she had shared how she was really feeling, I wish she had asked for help.  In a school full of pastoral candidates and professors, I wish we had known how to help her, that we could have read the signs (were there signs? I still wonder…).  Last June, as I gave my presentation, I couldn’t help but wish she was there with us, and hope that she could hear us all.

A year later, as another group of colleagues and friends graduate and begin their pastoral ministry, I still think ‘Deb, you should be standing with them. You should be here.’  We are not the same without her chiding, challenging, loving presence.

If I had the chance to go back in time, I would try to tell her she was loved, no matter how difficult it must have been for her to hear the words.  I would tell her that her beautiful son needed his mother, and couldn’t fathom life without her.  I would tell her that we needed her, saw in her a woman with so much potential, with so much to give.  I would tell her that this was not her time, that God had not finished God’s work in and through her life.

I would say to anyone who has considered the world might be better off, their friends might be better off, their families might be better off if they were gone, their problems are insurmountable: don’t believe it. It’s a lie. Not for a second would the people in your life, the world, be better off without you. If you need help, ask. Ask your minister, a friend, a family member. If you don’t know who to ask, start here The folks at 1(800)SUICIDE are trained counselors, it’s anonymous, and they know what you’re going through.  Life is hard, but please know you don’t have to go through it alone.

I will never stop missing Deb and wishing she were here.

One of my areas of oversight here at Quest has been the Global Presence ministry.  As we have sought to form partnerships, care well for our missions folks, and discern how to involve our little church in the world, a theology of Global Presence has emerged.  As I continue to share, educate, and invite collaboration with the church, I’ll share my presentation for you to peruse, and learn with us what it means to develop your own theology of engagment. Enjoy. Critique. Comment.

If you want to see the pretty, pretty slideshow (minus our missions partners for sensitivity reasons), here’s a link: http://tinyurl.com/owqbwn

Developing a Theology of Global Presence

Developmental Stages:

• Education and Discernment
• Know Yourself
• Know Your Social Location
• Take Action

Education and Discernment: What Questions Should You Ask?

WHY do we support Global Presence work?

• Biblical Mandate
  • Matthew 25

WHO are you called to partner with?

• Region of the world
• People group
• Cause
  • Human Trafficking
  • Extreme Poverty
  • Education

WHAT types of ministries will you partner with?

• Development work
• Evangelism

HOW will you partner with these ministries?

• Financial Partnership
• Time and skills partnership

What does authentic partnership look like, and how do you find partners?

In the words of Harper McConnell, before you support an organization:

1. Research where the executive directors and staff members have worked previously and how that may influence their prescriptions.
2. Evaluate how much they incorporate the local voice where they’re advocating.
3. Read criticisms of the organization.
4. Determine whether they are too focused on attracting celebrities to their cause.
5. Be sure they approach the issue from a historical perspective, addressing the root problem.
6. Look at their budget and how they spend their money.

7. What is their history—have they demonstrated sustainability?

Authentic Partnership:

• Builds personal relationships
• Benefits both parties
• Builds local capacity
• Is Long-term and Sustainable
• Is directed by mutual relationship
• Honors people and culture
• Recognizes God at work in the situation
• Takes time and personal investment!

Authentic Partnership Is NOT:

• Lacking any personal relationship
• Cultivating a culture of dependency
• A ‘hand-out’ dynamic – only about $ or resources
• Judgmental of culture and lifestyle
• Short-term
• Directed by one party
• Viewing the ‘helper’ as having a superior faith or spirituality
• Only done at the convenience of the party in power

Know Yourself:

• What are your interests and passions?
• What are your skills and talents?
• How much time, energy and resources do you have to devote to a partnership?
• What type of calling is God placing on your heart?

Know Your Social Location:

• What is your culture?
• What is your ethnic background?
• What language(s) do you speak?
• What is your socioeconomic level on a global scale?
• What is your educational background?
• As you research global partnerships, what about the daily lives of your partners seems ‘normal’ to you?  What does not?

Take Action!

Formulate Your Own Theology/Philosophy of Global Presence

• Take into account
  • Time and Resources
  • Personal Calling
  • Social Location
  • Opportunities for Partnership
• Get Involved!
  • Join Others on the Journey
  • Plan for Sustainability
  • Never Stop Learning!