"For God so loved the world...He GAVE...!"

October 18, 2014
Friends of Atonement,
            A prayer shawl is wrapped around a dear congregation member.  A bag of food is carried out to a needy family’s car.  Gifts are handed out at a party thrown for expecting mothers we’ve never met.  A bible is handed to a new member family.  A shell necklace is placed around the neck of a first-time visitor.  A child walks out of Sunday school with a craft they put together themselves (ok – the teacher helped). 

            And so it goes, on and on.  Why give so much stuff out?  Why feed people with potlucks and food pantries?  Why pay for the electricity used by groups at our church?  Why be so generous that people might think we’re pushovers?
            Because that’s why we’re here.  Generosity is our job -- not selling stuff or giving but expecting something back, but making a gift of whatever we can to show the world the love of Christ.  This is the lifestyle of the joy-filled Christian.  That most beloved Bible verse John 3:16 gives us the clue – God loved us so much, he GAVE his Son…  without holding back, without a second thought, without regret.  God gave what was most precious to him so that all the world might be saved. 

            A giving God creates a giving community of giving people.  As God’s people, it’s what we’re about.  We live by living out the values of our Savior who gave himself for us.  Through his example and with his help, we give as best we can.  Our world tells us it’s all about taking -- that the one with the biggest pile of money and the most toys at the end of the game wins.  We are led to believe that the worst thing in the world would be for us to give too much to someone who doesn’t deserve it.
            Guess what?   That’s exactly what God did for us.  He gave us everything – his grace, his life, his pardon, his Spirit, his promise, his goodwill and his love.  Though we wish we could say we deserved it even a little bit, the only time that’s true is when we are being like him – giving without limits, with no thoughts of ourselves.

            I am grateful for you – for your faith and willingness to be part of a giving church – for putting on Christ and making your offering a generous sacrifice.  But there are new challenges ahead, and new ministries are being developed to meet those challenges.  A new vision for the next 5 years will be presented at the annual meeting, December 7 after the 10am service.  People are taking on new jobs in the congregation, and because of that, new possibilities are being born.  Thanks to your giving we are not just a giving church – we’re also a growing church.  God’s Spirit is among us and we can see the results taking shape.
            We will spend November preparing for this new vision in our worship together.  Fitzroy Williams, our stewardship team leader, recalled our “God’s Work, Our Hands” Sunday celebration on September 7.  Fitzroy pointed out that our giving works that way too – “It’s God’s gifts, our stewardship!” he said. 

            Since all we have are God’s gifts, we really have nothing to lose.  Since Christ is for us, no one can stand against us (Romans 8:31).  Since it is God’s good “pleasure to give us the kingdom” (Luke 12:32), we can be fearless givers of love, time, care and possessions. This will be the theme of our worship in November – ways God inspires us to live and to give fearlessly:
               November 2                Fearless Living (All Saints Sunday)
               November 9                Fearless Service
               November 16              Fearless Sowing
               November 23              Fearless Giving
                      (Home for Thanksgiving Sunday)
               November 30              “God’s Gifts, Our Stewardship” Sunday

Join me this coming month as we explore God’s generosity and our faithful, fearless response.  As we move toward the season of Thanksgiving, I pray that you are moved, inspired, and stripped of all fear by our great and giving God!
Peace,
Pastor Scott

Spread the Word challenge

Check out our "Spread the Word" challenge to local congregations at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wPpVQiZqZY&list=UUsVcs_UjbwYflo0ts-XakoA

Life in the cloud

“Therefore since we are surrounded by so great

                                                    a cloud of witnesses...." 
 

                                                                      -- Hebrews 12:1

          We hear the term “cloud computing” more and more these days as more and more of our information is handled on devices that we pick up and take with us.  The idea is that the same information can be stored in a “cloud” that can be accessed from your phone, your laptop, your tv, and who knows what else these days.  For instance, I can go to and change my calendar from my phone or my laptop, which is very convenient for keeping track of my appointments and my “honey-do” list.  It’s nice to know that if I drop my cell phone into Gulf of Mexico, all my information is still up there in the cloud.

             The author of Hebrews talked about a different kind of cloud, but one that has our back just the same.  This is the “great cloud of witnesses,” the giants of the faith who have gone before us and who teach us how to love God and connect to the Spirit.  No matter where we are or what we do, that cloud is all around us, supporting us in our struggles and leading us in faith.

 

             With the summer far gone, time is passing quickly and a lot is happening.  This year we have both our boys in college and both working, Su continuing with her job cleaning houses, and all kinds of changes going on at church. 

             Stepping out of summertime, we’ve hit the ground running here at Atonement.  We have new groups using our church building, including job training classes for those with disabilities on Mondays, and three new Girl Scout groups.  We have new people in charge of ministries, such as Robin Boyd who is doing Time and Talent and Dick Lambert, who put together this month’s newsletter.  We have new ministries taking shape, such as our columbarium which is now ready to be used, and the reconstituted Building Team, led by Terry Martin.  Our asset mapping session has shown that there is great interest in developing more fellowship and caring opportunities.  Along with all this, we are firing up confirmation, getting oriented to our new praise team director Kenneth Watts (and getting him oriented to us), and wrapping up a new Vision which will be our launch pad into 2015 and beyond. 

                With all the growth in the Wesley Chapel area that’s happening now, this is an exciting time and place to be serving the Lord.  With all that’s happening at Atonement, this is an amazing congregation to a part of the body of Christ.  There was a time years ago when Atonement nearly disappeared off the map, but today we are growing like never before.  Please remember to greet new people, make new friends, and pray for the needs of your fellow members and for the needs we discover in our community.  We are here to keep hope alive, and it happens as we gather, worship, pray, serve, encourage, and share.

                So it doesn’t get forgotten in the bustle and shuffle of Fall activities, I just want to take a moment and say thank you to all the volunteers, leaders and faithful attendees and supporters of Atonement.  Our little congregation is growing, to the point where no one person can do it all, know everyone, or be involved in everything.  This is a good thing — and it’s due exclusively to the Holy Spirit working through the goodwill of everyone who has had a hand in what’s happening.  In a very real and physical sense, I am constantly aware of being surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses who pray for me and are there to help me when I need it (and boy, do I need it!).  Not just the saints in heaven, but those living, breathing, active and caring individuals that we can lean on when we’re tired, listen to when we’re lonely, and follow when we’re lost.  Thanks for being “in the cloud.”

 

Peace,

Pastor Scott

 

Parables and Post-it notes

“To all those who have, more will be given

                                  and they will have an abundance...

                                                                         -- Matthew 25:29

 Are you a “glass half full” or “glass half empty” kind of thinker?  Are you filled with gratitude for the abundance of things you have, or are you always complaining about what you wish you had?  Most of us go both ways — some days we’re the optimistic type who feel blessed beyond our needs; some days we think we could be happy “if only” we had this or that.

                 Truth be told, whatever your perspective on life, God has given you resources and assets which you could use to improve the quality of your life and others’.   These are things you already have which God has entrusted to you: not just your possessions but also the people you know, your friendships and other relationships, your knowledge and abilities, your reputation and the trust people place in you.  As a symbol for all of this, consider the money (called “talents”) entrusted to the slaves by their master in Jesus’ famous “parable of the talents.”

In Matthew 25, Jesus tells the parable of the talents in between two other parables — it comes after the ten bridesmaids waiting for the bridegroom and before the sheep and the goats.  All three of these are stories are about the return of Jesus.  All three are also about living in anticipation of the last days and of our final judgment.  And they are all about stewardship—what we’re doing now with what God has given us.  The story of the bridesmaids warn us that if we wait too long to turn on our lamps (or let our lights shine), we are likely to miss the party.  In the last parable, with its imagery of sheep and goats, Jesus warns us that if we neglect using our gifts to help others, we might find ourselves playing on the wrong team.  And through the parable of the talents, Jesus is telling us that now is the time to use those gifts — because time is short and now is the time we can expect the biggest returns on our investments in the kingdom of God.

We invest in God’s kingdom in many ways.  We invest with our hearts by trusting God’s promises, believing his commandments, attributing all that is good in our lives to his grace, by doing our best to love what God loves and make time for the opportunities he presents us with.  We invest our hopes and dreams in the future that God is creating in, through, and around us.  We invest our time in prayer and worship, and by working for the good of God’s people in and through the church.  We invest our talents by sharing them with others, helping those in need, encouraging those who feel like they have no place by showing them that God makes room for us.

      So much is happening this year at Atonement, now is the perfect time for you to make a new investment.
The opportunities are ripe for getting involved, sharing your hopes and dreams, and finding a way you can bring about something new in God’s kingdom by sharing your gifts.  September 7 is God’s Work, Our Hands Sunday — a day ELCA churches around the country will be celebrating the work and ministries of their local congregations.  Wear the gold t-shirt, if you have one.  The praise band will be leading worship—come ready to sing, pray, hear God’s word and reflect on how God is moving in you and your life and in the life of Atonement Lutheran Church.  And come ready to join us after the service for a delicious luncheon and, well… a Post-It Note party.

Actually, what we will be doing after the service is a fun, creative activity called asset mapping.  The process for asset mapping came about as neighborhoods and towns were looking to improve and develop, but kept finding they always got stuck.  The list of things they wanted but didn’t have grew into unmanageable “to-do” lists, with no clear path from point A to point B.  Asset mapping turned it all around.  The idea is not to focus on the half-empty part of the half-full cup, but to look at what’s already there (the assets), and to brainstorm new ways of applying already available resources.

And that means Post-It notes — lots of them.  At the asset-mapping luncheon, you will be getting your own pad of Post-It notes to help come up with a list of assets we have here at Atonement.  These assets are the gifts God has given us.  They can be:

 

Å Physical (things you can touch and see): they can be concrete (such as a building or a couch) or abstract (such as the beauty of the building or the capacity of the couch)

Å Individual (talents, skills, experiences that people have)

Å Associational (relationships and partnerships, networks and groups)

Å Institutions (companies, corporations, organizations, agencies, businesses, etc.

Å Economic (spending power, investments, capacities to raise funds or produce goods or services to sell)
 

 As we brainstorm and share the assets we come up with, we will also work together at “connecting the dots” between them to see what new possibilities God has placed in our midst. 
 

The whole process comes down to recognizing our blessings.  Jesus recognized every person as an asset — he thought the sick were worth healing, that women and children had a place in God’s kingdom, that foreigners were worth telling the Good News.  He looked at a ragtag group of fisherman and saw leaders of God’s future church.  He looks at us and sees, not what we lack but who we are and what we have been created for by our loving God.  “I am the vine, you are the branches, and my Father is the vinedresser,” Jesus said in John 15.  “Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes that it may bear more fruit.”  By recognizing and appreciating the people and resources in our lives as assets, our eyes become opened more and more to the limitless opportunities God has put all around us. 

 

 

 Peace,

Pastor Scott

 

Come and celebrate

“Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;
And you that have no money, come, buy and eat!”-  Isaiah 55:1

Friends of Atonement,

 

            Imagine a long, hot day at the beach.  You’ve been out in the sun for hours and are getting tired, thinking about heading home.  Then, just as you head towards the car you smell a wonderful aroma drifting through the air.  Up ahead you see a large group of people clustered around a row of picnic tables and a smoky grill.  They are just getting ready to bless the food, but someone notices you and waves you over.  “Come join us, friend!  There’s plenty for everyone.”

            God surrounds us with blessings.  He calls us to His table, inviting us to share in his picnic of grace, joy and love.  He encourages us to take time out to celebrate and enjoy the gifts we are given.  I hope you are planning to do some celebrating this summer.  Make use of opportunities to delight in creation, to be grateful for our freedoms as Americans, to find the rest and relaxation that keeps us physically, spiritually, and emotionally fit.  Celebrate God’s love in worship, thankful for his grace which comes without price.  Share your offerings with gratitude to the God who gives us His all.

            If you are traveling this summer or are just not able to be in worship every week, you may want to consider taking advantage of “Simply Giving.”  This automated giving program makes sure your offerings get made on a regular basis whether or not you are in church on Sunday morning.  My family has used Simply Giving for many years.  For us it’s the most convenient way to get our offerings from our checking account to church. 

            Thanks for being a part of Atonement, and helping us share God’s blessings.  May your days this summer be filled with celebration! 

 

Peace,

Pastor Scott

Lords and Victors

“Can any of you by worrying add
  a single hour to the span of your life?"

                                 — Luke 12:25

 

So this packet arrives in the mail from our new new insurance company.  That’s not a typo: they are the second new insurance company we’ve had since State Farm decided not to continue homeowners’ policies in Florida.  The first one was Citizens’ Insurance, the state’s catch-all company for people who can’t get insurance elsewhere.  When our premium switched over to Citizens’ we saw a significant increase for the same coverage, something we were expecting since we figured there had to be some reason all these companies were pulling out.  But when Citizens’ began dumping people like us when smaller insurers began writing policies again, we expected our premium would go down and thing things would get better.

So we open the packet and take a look at this new policy and not only is it higher than Citizens’, it’s way higher — like over $8000.  We double check the paperwork and see that over $6000 of that is simply sinkhole coverage.  Wow—imagine the panic we were feeling thinking that it was going to cost us that much a year just for the insurance on our house.  Now don’t get me wrong, we’re not looking at moving any time soon, but the momentary thought that jumped into my head when I saw that was: “If that’s the way it’s going to be, we can’t stay here.  There’s no way.”    When the heartbeat got back to normal and the adrenaline subsided, it became clear that we’d just have to call our agent and get this straightened out...that this was surely a mistake we could easily remedy simply by changing our coverage and dumping that special sinkhole clause.  No need to panic—everything is going to be all right.  And it is.

But it’s that moment of panic that sticks with me.  That horrible sickening feeling of impending doom and disaster that jumps out at us can not only ruin your day, it can make your whole life unstable and insecure.  Whether it’s a crazy bill, a list of maladies your doctor tells you that you might have, concern about something not so flattering that someone’s been saying about you, or not getting that inheritance you’ve been thinking would be yours — foiled expectations and unpleasant surprises can change our attitude in an instant from “Everything’s fine” to “My life is over.”

How we handle those moments of panic is a key spiritual issue for us as God’s people.  We all have anxieties of one sort of another.  If it’s not ourselves we’re worried about, it’s a loved one.  If it’s not our health or careers, it’s a relationship.  We also know that all we are and all we have is in God’s hands.  Martin Luther reminded the people of his land who were being persecuted for believing in the gospel how powerful faith is in combating these anxieties.  At a time and place where  people were being executed for preaching God’s Word, he wrote to his friend Cronberg:

 

Wherever Christ is, Judas, Pilate, Herod, Caiaphas, and Annas will inevitably be also, so also his cross.  If not, he is not the true Christ.  Therefore we are not concerned with our woes, but with the wretchedness of our persecutors; for we ourselves are well provided for.  We are certain that they cannot distract from that; rather, the more they rage against us, the more they destroy themselves and prosper us, as St. Paul states in Philippians 1:18.  “Who can harm us since we have a Lord who holds the death and life of all our adversaries in his hand?” (Romans 14:9), and who addresses our heart so comfortingly in John 16:33, saying “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”  They threaten us with death.  If they were as smart as they are stupid, they would threaten us with life.  It is a shame and disgrace to try to threaten and terrify Christ and his Christians with death for, after all, they are lords and victors over death.  It is just like trying to frighten a man by bridling and saddling his horse and bidding him to ride it!”

 Lords and victors over death — this is what we are thanks to Christ and his cross and his body and his blood, thanks to our faith, thanks to our baptism.  If death is no more a threat than a horse we might ride — a walk in the park, so to speak — why is it that we still feel those pangs of fear when we are caught offguard by unexpected news?  When we are reminded of our limitations and the challenges we face in this world, we tend to forget who it is doing all the heavy lifting in our lives — the one who does more than just watch over us, but protects and provides for us every moment of every day.  Is it really possible for us flesh and blood people to get beyond worry and fear for good?

Like many things in life, I think that is a perpetual struggle for us all.  By coming back again and again for worship, inviting God into our lives in prayer, in scripture reading, in serving others, we train ourselves more and more in the attitudes of God’s kingdom.  We breathe easier, love more freely and are more patient with each other when we know ourselves to be in God’s hands.  We forgive our neighbors more freely when we have confessed our own sins and confronted the reality about how much God has forgiven us.  And when we experience the “peace that passes all human understanding” and are freed from the worries about our own lives, we are suddenly freed up to help others and to love them in a way that does not expect anything back.

This summer as you simmer in the sun or visit your loved ones or finish those projects around the house, don’t forget to make room for the one who loves you most of all.  God loves you and blesses both your labor and leisure with grace.  I hope you experience a true getaway from all the burdens that keep you from being the person God is calling you to be — that you may enjoy God’s creation and the love of neighbors and free and spontaneous praise of his glory, mercy, and care.  Like we say every Sunday, “Go in peace, and serve the Lord!”

Peace,

Pastor Scott

Card carrying members

“Now you are the body of Christ
and individually members of it."
                  -- 1 Corinthians 12:27

                What a bright, fresh feeling it is to finally reach Easter after the long Lenten season.  It feels a little like crawling out of a dark hole.  Finally we can sing Alleluia again.  The cross we were closing in on for so long turns into a launch pad to a new future.  Lilies in church, the Christ candle lit, white linens on the altar and a whole new attitude.  The trajectory of Christ’s journey stands revealed and hope is reborn in our hearts.

                 Our series for special services this past Lent was called “The Body of Christ.”  Through special bulletins, dialogs and a modified worship format, we explored the hands, feet, eyes, ears, heart, blood and body of our Lord — how each part of his human body became an instrument for God to use in bringing his grace to the world through Jesus.  The series culminated Easter morning at the 8am service with a look at the risen body of Christ at Easter and beyond.  I heard more positive comments about this series than any other Lenten program  we’ve done here at Atonement.  The readings were powerful, the services short and focused, and the topic (at least to me) was truly captivating. 

                The climax at Easter was uncovered at the very start of the service in our call to worship.  Again and again in the litany, we responded with those words from 1 Corinthians — “You are the body of Christ…”   Not some hypothetical “you” that we might be someday if we can be good enough.  Not a “you” meaning those who came after us or went before us.  The “you” that is the body of Christ is the “you” that we are — that YOU are — right here and now.  Guess what?  You are the body of Christ, and individually members of it.

              After the service, our deacon Detlev came and asked if he could put that saying up on the sign: “You are the body of Christ.”  And as powerful as those words are, and as good an idea as that was, I told him no.  After all, it took us all of Lent, from Ash Wednesday to get to the point where we could boldly declare it in worship.  These are words with special meaning, kind of like the sacraments.  Much as I dislike “insider vs. outsider” distinctions, this is a designation directed mainly towards those who have been taught that special meaning.  When we share the body and blood of Christ in communion, we try to be reasonably sure that the one receiving the sacrament has some sense of what it’s about.  The same with this realization, this identification with Christ’s risen Easter body — it’s for disciples, for those called, enlightened, sanctified people we call the Church.

 

                 I don’t know if your wallet gets like mine does sometimes — overloaded with little plastic cards.  Some are discount cards for gas or groceries, some gift cards for this or that restaurant.  Then there’s the all-important drivers license and credit cards.   And then there are a few like AAA, the hospital insurance cards and my  official Florida-Bahamas Synod pastor card — the ones you don’t use often, but you better keep them with you just in case.  Each of those cards you carry says you are a member of a certain group, plan, club, organization, or privileged clan of people.  They identify something about you that indicates a connection, inclusion or benefit that belongs to you.  These are privileges of membership, and we are all members of certain kinds of things.

               Church membership also has privileges and benefits, but I want to talk about something much bigger than church membership.  If there were membership cards for all the various groups you are part of or benefits that belong to you because of your membership in the body of Christ, your wallet would be too full to carry, much less to stuff it in your pocket.  You were baptized into Christ.  This means the call of discipleship is yours.  The enlightenment of God’s Word is yours.  The holy gifts of God’s Holy Spirit are yours.  Your baptism and the seal of the cross that was made on your forehead are your membership cards for the body of Christ.   They are a sign of… not church membership with a small “c” which makes you part of a congregation or denomination, but the big “c” Church Universal of Jesus Christ, that Holy Catholic Church we Lutherans have left in our creeds.  As long as you carry that card with faith in your heart, you carry the name “Christian.”

              But it is also true that whoever gets baptized at Atonement or affirms their faith here also becomes a member of our small “c” church as well, of our congregation and denomination.  So you Atonement people are members of Atonement Lutheran Church and of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  If you’re female, then you’re a member of our WELCA (Women of the ELCA) women’s group.  And as long as you are breathing and have a heartbeat, you are part of our Outreach team as well — with your job being to “share the love of Jesus” by “glorifying God” and “extending His Kingdom” alongside your fellow Atonement members. 

              But there’s more.  We are part of  a body of Lutheran congregations doing mission in the Tampa Bay area.  As a member at Atonement, we serve in mission along with ELCA churches in Tampa, Temple Terrace, Carrolwood, Lutz, Apollo Beach and Sun City.  Your membership at Atonement is also membership in this Tampa Conference of ELCA churches, and you are invited to their annual meeting on May 22 of this month, featuring dinner, elections, a guest speaker, and worship.  Please let me know if you’d like to go!

               Your Atonement membership means you’re also part of the Florida-Bahamas Synod, our regional group of ELCA congregations led by Bishop Bob Schaefer.  Working together as a synod, we do mission projects and support other congregations and ministries such as Lutheran Services of Florida and Luther Springs camp.  It also entitles you to be nominated to service on synodical committees and study groups, or to be a voting delegate to the annual synod convention.  All this is not even mentioning all the agencies and groups you are connected to as a member of the ELCA with its nearly 10,000 congregations.  Sheesh.  If you start exploring all these gifts, connections, and benefits of membership, you may find it’s time to get a new wallet.

Peace,

Pastor Scott