WHY DOES THE CHURCH GO DARK ON HALLOWEEN?

October 31 is a controversial date for many individuals. For some, it is a day where kids dress up in costumes and go door-to-door asking for candy. To others, the day is filled with witchcraft and the worship of Satan.

My family and the church I pastor and am a part of does not endorse or celebrate the day of Halloween.

PERSPECTIVE

Historically, the origins of Halloween as we know it find their root in the Celtic culture of 300 BC. Priests known as Druids instilled fear in the hearts of the people with their witchcraft and evil ways (Tom C McHenry). Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain. The festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture, and is sometimes regarded as the "Celtic New Year". Traditionally, the festival was a time used by the ancient pagans to take stock of supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, now known as Halloween, the boundary between the alive and the deceased dissolved, and the dead become dangerous for the living by causing problems such as sickness or damaged crops. The festivals would frequently involve bonfires, into which bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown. Costumes and masks were also worn at the festivals in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or placate them. In light of this, why do we as Christians seemingly celebrate such a holiday?

WHAT’S WITH THE NAME?

The term Halloween is shortened from All Hallows' Even (both "even" and "eve" are abbreviations of "evening", but "Halloween" gets its "n" from "even"), as it is the eve of "All Hallows' Day", which is now also known as All Saints' Day. It was a day of religious festivities in various northern European Pagan traditions, until Popes Gregory III and Gregory IV moved the old Christian feast of All Saints' Day from May 13 (which had itself been the date of a pagan holiday, the Feast of the Lemures) to November 1. In the ninth century, the Church measured the day as starting at sunset, in accordance with the Florentine calendar. Although All Saints' Day is now considered to occur one day after Halloween, the two holidays were, at that time, celebrated on the same day. Liturgically, the Church traditionally celebrated that day as the Vigil of All Saints, and, until 1970, a day of fasting as well. Like other vigils, it was celebrated on the previous day if it fell on a Sunday, although secular celebrations of the holiday remained on the 31st. The Vigil was suppressed in 1955, but was later restored in the post-Vatican II calendar.

TURN THE LIGHTS ON

Just how are Christians supposed to respond? Can we take advantage of the only day in the year where our neighbors come to our doorstep? Can we love our neighbor at least one day a year in front of our own home?  Can the church capitalize on this opportunity to share Jesus along with some candy? Even if we don’t go to them 364 days, can we share the light when they come to us 1 day? Should we even dare walk the neighborhood going to each house to GIVE rather than to RECEIVE?

As your neighbors go for “trick-or-treats”, please use these opportunities to shine bright by extending the message of the Gospel with practicality, love, and wisdom.

Enjoy The Ride, 

Pastor Cecil

MY FRIEND CHARLES' THOUGHTS ON FORGIVENESS

DIRECT LINK: http://charlessamuel.com/2013/10/tethered/

THE BARK OF THE TETHERED DOG AND THE MECHANISM OF CHRISTIANITY

THE ROPE

I stepped out of the house, my hand on the handle as I shut the door behind me.

My eyes scanned the skies as I began my casual stroll across the street. It was a great day.

I needed to go pick up my car from the service shop that was a few blocks from my house. And so I walked.

I snuck my hand in my pocket to grab my phone, whipped it out, and swiped my index finger across the lockscreen in a dizzying pattern to unlock the phone.

I didn’t get it right on the first swipe. Or the second swipe.

But the third swipe was the charm. Unlocked.

I checked some emails I received in the morning while I continued my walk, noticing the large corner house and its ample lawn out from the corner of my eye. The grass was short and neat as it met the edges of the sidewalk.

I was still fixated on the words plastered across my phone’s screen when I turned the corner, pivoting as if I was tracing the outline of the neat, rectangular lawn with my stroll.

And then I heard it.

A faint, low, sustained growl.

My head turned immediately. My body froze.

The pit bull thrust itself at me with its hind legs, barking at the top of its lungs, racing towards me. A chill went down my spine.

I should have run. I should have stood my ground. I should have done anything, really. But, I fell backwards as I saw my life flashing before my eyes.

The dog roared as if it was protecting something sacred on that lawn as it darted towards me at full speed, saliva spilling from its mouth onto the grass. I lifted my arm to cover my face, turning away, expecting the worst.

And, then, the rope that tethered the dog to its post whipped loudly, holding taut as it limited the beast to the outer edge of the lawn.

The dog tried lunging some more. Tried barking some more. Tried moving its legs some more. But the rope wasn’t giving up any more ground.

I rose to my feet, brushed off the back of my shirt and stared at the belligerent dog.

I grinned a little. I was a block away from the shop. And I had almost been mauled to smithereens by an uncontrollable pit bull.

But the rope that tethered it made sure that the dog’s bark was bigger than its bite.

And only one thought popped up in my head as I turned and continued the stroll towards the shop…

“Am I Christian?”

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RUNNING TALLY

I’m compelled to write this post for several reasons. But the one that stands out most to me is the one that seems the most obvious.

Imagine if Christians got together and compiled a Universal List of all of Jesus Christ’s attributes. Every single one of them. You know, the attributes of Christ that “being Christian” requires Christians to emulate. You know, the attributes of Christ that “being Christian” shouldn’t trip up people like Mahatma Gandhi, who famously said:

“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

I believe that, towards the top of this Universal List, what would be incredibly important and yet so often disregarded… is “forgiveness.”

And you might read that and shrug. Because you’ve done it. You’ve squashed all the beef you’ve ever had with anybody on earth. You’ve made peace with everybody who has ever wronged you in the past. Congratulations on this grand accomplishment.

For the rest of us, however, “being Christian” is a continual process. One that’s more about “emulating Christ” than it is about the running tally we have of Christian Conferences we’ve attended. Or the tweets during church that the cool speaker blew our minds away with. Or the blogs we’ve written. Or the songs we’ve led from on stage.

“Being Christian” is less about what we can do to show that we’re Christian than it is about actually being like Christ.

For a lot of us, our barks are louder than our bites.

We show face. We wear the label of “Christian” proudly on our sleeves. But we can’t bother to forgive the person next to us that really hurt us deeply the other day. The other week. The other month. The other year.

We are the tethered dogs that bark as if we have something sacred to share with the world.

But the rope holds taut and we aren’t nearly as effective as we’d be if we weren’t tethered to begin with.

What’s the rope holding us back? Not enough tweets? Not enough services? Not enough concerts? Not enough fellowship?

Naw.

The rope holding us back is not enough forgiveness.

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THE GUTS

Jesus Christ’s time on earth was fascinating.

He was sent to shift the world from a system dictated by recompense to one dictated by forgiveness. And He did this in the most effective way you could imagine.

By forgiving people.

There’s the dramatic Hollywood-esque scene in the garden. Jesus is hanging out with the disciples after His tearful, heartbreaking prayer to God when Judas marches in with his contingent of armed officers, police, and priests, ready to betray Him. Jesus walks up and asks who they’re after. The soldiers tell Him that they’re looking for “Jesus the Nazarene.” Jesus tells them to leave the disciples alone and take Him into custody if He is who they came for. Peter, seeing all of this, draws out His sword to protect his Teacher. He chops off the ear of one of the men in his haste to retaliate. And Christ reprimands Peter, acknowledging He’s ready to accept His fate. In the Book of Luke, it’s added that Christ proceeds to heal Malchus’s sliced ear before walking away for His interrogation and eventual death.

And there’s the compelling scene on the cross. Christ has been whipped, beaten, thrown upon a cross, and mocked. The crowd is in a frenzy, and still, His only concern is to ask God to “forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”

When the world expected retaliation, Christ responded with love. It was the opposite of what His wrongdoers deserved. And yet, He chose to forgive anyway.

Why is this important?

Because the drama of the gall with which the world expects usto react was diminished by the guts with which Christresponded to the world.

The guts of grace.

The guts of giving the other cheek.

The guts of taking our place.

The guts of God loving the world so much that He sent Christ to die for us in order for believers to not perish.

Because we were supposed to die forever instead!

The twist in the narrative is that we deserved none of this kindness. This love. This grace.

At the core, what made Christ who He was… was the grace that screamed:

“I know you don’t really deserve this and I know you’re probably just gonna treat me ungratefully afterwards, but I’m gonna forgive you for everything you’ll ever do anyway. Because I really, truly, absolutely am madly in love with you. So, I’m gonna take the fall for you instead.”

And that’s worth emulating.

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DODGE

Too many Christians dodge.

We dodge that coffee shop down the street because somebody that we used to know but we can’t forgive might be there.

We dodge that church event because bumping into the jilted lover we can’t forgive would be awkward.

We dodge that study session because we can’t forgive a friend of a friend who cheated on a friend who we’re really tight with.

We dodge because we can’t forgive.

Enough already.

If we can not forgive people, we are missing the most critical element of what it means to be Christian at all. The truth is that holding grudges and harboring resentment and reacting vitriolically have absolutely no place in the mechanism of Christianity.

Because Christ forgave us!

You can tweet all you want. You can Instagram all the awesome photos from meetings and photos of children smiling. You can go to all the mission trips you want. You can lead worship for 100 years. You can preach until the end of time.

But if you can not forgive the people that have done you wrong, you are an ineffective witness for Christ.

Because you are saying one thing and doing another.

Because you are barking at the world to let them know that there’s something sacred on your lawn, but the rope that tethers you will demonstrate that you’re not really up to this.

It’s time to rise up as a church and stop with the dodging. The grudges. The resentment. The vitriol.

It’s time to sit down with your brothers and sisters and forgive. Let them know you love them.

Forgiveness breaks the rope that tethers our witness.

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DESERVE

I was at a retreat this past weekend, and I was burdened by guilt. And so I prayed. My heart broke. And I knew exactly what I had to do.

So, I let this person know that I finally forgive them for everything they’ve done to me. I was done with the years of dodging them outright. Of not talking to them. Of not being transparent.

Because I refuse to be an ineffective witness for Christ.

I’m not sharing this because I’m a good guy. Or because I deserve accolades. Or because I’m some sort of beacon of hope for society. Instead, I’m sharing this because I do not want to be the tethered dog.

I can blog and lead worship and smile and share Christ’s love for years, but if I’m not forgiving others… if we’re not forgiving others, we are not really “being Christian”.

So, forgive.

Not because they deserve your forgiveness. But, rather, because you didn’t deserve yours.

ENJOY THE RIDE, 

PASTOR CECIL

Love With Its' Work Boots On

Luke chapter 10 highlights a story Jesus shares to the professors of law at Pharisee University.  He just shared an answer that we know as the "Greatest Commandments".  And a professor at this training session tries to weasel out of his responsibilities and asks a question to justify his inaction or hardened heart.  This story we have learned, memorized, and even branded in culture as the "Good Samaritan" story.

We are wired for love.  A love that endures.  A love that built to last.  That kind of love requires kindness.  I want to focus on four things about KINDNESS from this story.  The victim is gasping for his breaths, beaten, wounded, and bleeding to death probably.  First we must affirm that kindness is love in action.

1. See the needs of people around us.  To see people, things, situations, we have to slow down.  When see the stranded driver on side of road, we slow down as we approach especially if we have a feeling its someone we might know.  The pastor and the brother from church saw the dying man on the road but passed by. 

To the "victims": Some have seen you hurting and dying but are too afraid to get down and dirty with you to help you get back up.  But hold on, your help is on the way. 

2. Feel their pain. Sympathy means the feeling that you care about and are sorry about someone else's trouble, grief, misfortune, etc.  Feeling their pain requires risk, courage, humility, patience, and listening.  Ask them what's going on?  Where does it hurt?  How can I help you, serve you?  

To the "victims": People might slow down to see you struggling but wont feel you because they have other things on their mind.  They have people to see, places to be, things to do.  But hold on, your help is on the way. 

3. This is your chance, take it. The Samaritan man went down to the victim on the road to look at him from the same level.  He got off his high horse, rolled up his sleeves, wrinkled his ironed shirt, got his hands dirty, and said I'm going to help you.  When God presents an opportunity to live out love, what do we with it?  It might interrupt our plans, schedule, and routine.  But take a risk of love and kindness and see how God shows up. May God open our eyes, ears, hearts, minds, and bodies to love not only Him but him. 

To the "victims": You held on a little longer and your help is here.  It's not where you expected it from, but it's here.  It's not your family, your church, your pastor, your friends, but it's Jesus.  We were once enemies with God because of sin but through Jesus death on the cross we have become new creations and co-heirs with Christ. 

4. There is a price to pay for kindness.  If we do something for someone expecting something in return that's not kindness, that's a chore or a job.  Kindness has no strings attached.  The Samaritan man had just finished his grocery shopping for home and used what he had with him to help the man in need.  That could mean sharing your dinner with someone.  That could mean using your vehicle, paying tolls and using gas to help someone get somewhere.  That could mean that you don't keep a tally of anything you've done either. 

To the "victims": You are receiving something you didn't expect or deserve.  That is GRACE.  You didn't do anything to earn it, but you just got the best the man had.  Receive the love, grace, and mercy of God it in the middle of your pain, ruins, and ashes and allow Jesus to help you.  If you do receive Him and His love for you, He's about to take you to places you never imagined. What Satan and his minions meant for harm, God will turn it around for good.  Just hold on and let Jesus heal you and lead you ... just ENJOY THE RIDE!

Do you know someone that needs a "Good Samaritan" in their life right now? What do you have to give? Don't pass them by but reach out to them with kindness - LIVE OUT LOVE! "Your hand is God's hand for that person." Proverbs 3:27 (MSG)  Have you put those boots in the closet, stored away?  We might need to take them out and keep them handy.  

Enjoying The Ride,

Pastor Cecil

The blog posts this week was strategic by the Holy Spirit.  The message from last Sunday is here for your viewing: 

God Isn't Our Heavenly Vending Machine

I'm not the only one that's walked up to the high-tech vending machine, scanned the rows and columns, found the M&Ms or popcorn, memorize the code (B4), put in the money, push B 4 and watch it drop in pure amazement.  If it doesn't come fast enough, or gets stuck in the process, we start pushing, kicking, and maybe screaming at the machine.  

At times I wonder do we as Christ-followers see Him as our heavenly vending machine.  We go to Him knowing what we want, and expect to just hit the right buttons with our prayer and Bible reading, and stand there waiting for Him to respond in a matter of seconds.  Wait a minute.  No, literally, what if you had to wait a minute, or even a week, or a year, or maybe a lifetime to get what you asked for from God.  How many ways would we be pushing, pulling, (maybe not kicking), but definitely screaming at God because He didn't give us what we want? 

We might go to Him wanting something specific, desiring something noble, hoping for something glorious and eternal.  But sometimes, just sometimes, He will not move at our beckon call.  He has His ways, His timing, His thoughts, His plan.  As He provides the circumstances of our life, our responsibility is to provide a response.  And most of the time, that response is called PATIENCE. 

Patience calls for us to cooperate with God.  "There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next." (Romans 5:3-4)  Passionate patience! Seriously, is that possible?  The issue at home, work, life, school isn't there to destroy you but to make you stronger and wiser.  Get ready.

As we respond with patience we discover a greater perspective than just the here and now! God has the best point of view on our life and is in our tomorrow before we get there.  If we are patient with Him today, we can join Him tomorrow.  

As we respond with patience we deepen our love for God and others.  God is making us stronger through the waiting period.  He is stretching our mind, heart, body, and soul to stand firm on Him. The more firmly we are rooted in Him, the more patient we become because patience is part of the fruit of the Spirit we are to bear.  

As we respond with patience we depend on the power and presence of Jesus.  Paul writes in Colossians 1:11, "We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy," You can't avoid but be impatient in this world, society, culture. We can't wait to get rid of 3G for 4GLTE.  We can't wait for the cashier in training to get our order right.  We can't wait for our kids to read (Go Abi).  We can't wait for our spouse to just "get us".  We simply just can't wait.  May I suggest we can, if we are depending on Jesus in every area of our life.

The vending machines really don't have whats best for us in the long run.  The best snack or meal is waiting for us at home but we satisfy a craving because we can't wait to get back home.  

We need to realize He wants the best for us.  He will not hold back anything good for us.  With that guarantee, I encourage you to hold on a  little longer.  Please cooperate with God.  It's going to go against every fiber of your being to wait but let Jesus be in our fiber of our being and if He is, we can wait patiently and with joy.  His timing is EVERYTHING & BEAUTIFUL.  Our wait cannot be miserable and tedious but hopeful and joyful.  

Enjoy The Ride, 

Pastor Cee

STAFF MEETING WITH PASTOR BRIAN HOUSTON

10 Cultural Responsibilities for Staff & Leaders in the Church

Updated Oct 05, 2013        

1. I'm a can do person!
2. This is not my job, this is my life!
   1. John 10:11-13
3. I will serve the Lord with gladness!
   1. Don't think about minimums
4. Empowerment starts with me!
5. I am not on the gossip train
6. I am one of them, not one of us
7. I'll bring those around me on the journey
8. My tone of voice is not whiny
   1. Be positive, be a source of encouragement... It's Replenishing!
   2. Opinion doesn't build a church, the counsel of God does
9. I Delegate.. Not dump!
10. My spirituality is attractive!
1. People should be drawn to you based on your relationship with God.

Cultural terms we should focus on:

• Replenishing
• Life giving
• Inclusive
• Loving
• Passionate

Hillsong Conference
- Pastor Brian Houston

 

Had the pleasure of sitting in a "staff" meeting with Pastor Brian Houston at the Hillsong Conference NYC.  Praying that God will speak and mold for our church!

 

Enjoy the Ride,

 

Pastor Cecil