To the Church...

    Sometimes you just have to record history.  That is my goal today.  Yesterday I had the opportunity to stand on the steps of the Capital in Lansing and pray for the Church in the historic year 2020.  It was a beautiful day in October, full of sun!  There were roughly 200 people, a very loud mic and best of all humility was established from the very beginning.  The event began with the LONG OVERDUE apology  to the Native Americans in our state for atrocities that have been dismissed with phrases like 'That was a long time ago.'  The broken treaties were all remembered and repented for, tears were shed and forgiveness was tangible.

    My piece of the program was to address the Church and to pray for God to reset us, as ONE, toward genuine love and grace toward the watching world.  What a honor and may I just say...thank you She Leads Michigan for asking.  My heart has ached for the posture of the Church this year as elections and COVID have tempted so many to fighting and ill behavior.  At times I have been angry with brothers and sisters in the faith whose careless, aggressive posture has unraveled Kingdom progress.  Here is the gist of my heart shared publicly.

    I am here today because my heart aches for the divided and judgmental few, that are in the body.  The careless posture of those that represent the church in an aggressive way, an US v. THEM mentality.  I came to confront the confusion of my boys as they saw a Christian woman whose bumper sticker shows our state 'mitten' as a middle finger with the name of our Governor written across it.  Then this same woman walks her child into a Christian homeschool co-op.  We are warned that the yeast of Pharisee-thinking will destroy the bread entirely.  I care deeply about the true war as laid out in the sacred text by Jesus, our Rabbi, who said he came for the lost sheep of Israel...the pious, the prideful, that traded a genuine heart for the God of Abraham, for simple, age-old religiosity.  There is certainly a battle for November, but our true mission is the war for hearts and Romans 2 reminds us that kindness leads to repentance.  

    I came today to ask God to remind us that righteous anger has a place, but in the example of Jesus we are to remember  'The Kingdom of Heaven is near' and not to become obsessed with the affairs of Caesar.  I came because the hurt caused by brothers and sisters in the faith, when buildings closed, NOT the Church, and for the destructive critique over masks.  These disputable matters are far less important than our call in Malachi to chase mercy, not sacrifice, unity not division.  I cam to ask God to reset the Bride toward solidarity, to remind us that we are ON THE SAME TEAM and that judgement and critique of one another unravels so much progress in the true Kingdom war.  Yes, there is a battle for values, but never in scripture are we given permission to fight harder against government than we do for the souls of the men. 

YOU, Father, are the lead pastor of all 'small C' churches.  Humble us today.    

Lighthouse

Ten years ago it was clear that Mosaic was the fitting name for what God was creating in Lenawee County...'one purpose, many pieces'.  And there have been so many pieces that fit together for just the right time and added to the beautiful story.  Mosaic has lived out its given name so well...as truly ALL are welcomed and loved and valued.  ALL.  No exceptions.  Many of us have found that our piece, maybe for the first time, does fit perfectly into this artful mosaic.

But pastor, I have a unique point of view today after watching you this past decade.  You are not creating a stained glass masterpiece.  Quietly and so carefully you have been making a sturdy, still beautiful lighthouse.  You've never created one before and you have no one to apprentice under, except the whispers of the Spirit and the quiet moments with the Father each morning.  Without a blueprint, daily you build.

Lighthouses are a symbol of hope, peace and beauty for the ships on sunny, placid days.  And they offer direction, reference and help on a dark, stormy night.

I didn't know you were a lighthouse keeper in 2010.  But what I have seen is hundreds of ships come toward the light you cast and as they sail your way, you welcome them with warmth...this is what light does, it attracts.  Then as they anchor near your lighthouse, you ask what they need food? Repairs? Someone to listen to their adventures at sea? Supplies? A map? 

A few ships have come and lingered so consistently that they are now dear friends.  Countless have come for light and stayed to be served, then gratefully set back out before you could learn their name.  As the lighthouse keeper, there are no conditions, no contracts...just light and a deep desire to introduce these ships to design so that they may sail fully and abundantly.  

You, pastor, have the most amazing gift to celebrate ANY ship, never swayed by size, adornment or crew.  And you have the most admirable way to stay focused on the goal to strengthen and support ships, with absolutely no thought of any ship ever returning your kindness.

Occassionally, there are moments that being the keeper of the lighthouse means you'll turn the large light and add bricks to the house, offering the sea longevity completely alone.  This never discourages you because the voice of the Father is clear and preparing for the next ship is your mission.  The ships don't know your toil.  They rarely ask.  Your own repairs and trials are yours alone.

How do I know this?  Because I feed you and joyfully care for your personal quarters.  I love watching you.  I love that you are the same light-giver when it is just us, that you are when a hundred ships anchor and there is festival and feasting.  I love that somehow besides building a strong, bright lighthouse, every spare minute is given to building 5 small ships with so much care and integrity even though you know you'll send them to sea someday too.

I also know something the ships do not...when they anchor for the night or set out for a new adventure, you kneel inside the lighthouse and intercede for them.  You bring your hurts, their ignorance, their crews before the Father and ask for help...because the sea is majestic and mysterious and we are mere men.  I know you cry for them, even last night, because their pain is personal to you and your care is so much deeper than any ship realizes.

Pastor, your mosaiced lighthouse, pieced together with so much care, may never be recognized by the ships, but do not think, ever that the light, the huge light you've given the sea hasn't mattered.

And finally, I must say that this entire vision and these words for you were given to me in 2018.  Today, two years later in 2020, I had NO IDEA how perfectly this picture would depict you...calm, humble, focused, brave, undeterred by the crashing waves of a culture war, a political storm, heartbreaking racial scars, violence...and hostility toward the Light itself.

Lighthouses do not shout at ships.  They don't fight the raging storms.  They don't use bullhorns or huge signs.  They remain sturdy and daily prepare to project light...strong, rhythmic, piercing, hopeful and comforting light.  The keeper waits for a tattered ship regardless of affiliation or tribe and then serves.

I didn't know you were building a ship 10 years ago, but it is beautiful.  Light always is.  Well done!

Kayla Crist

Before I read almost anything, I do as much learning as possible about the author.  I read everything I can about the storyteller, so that I might hear the voice of their writing accurately.  I can be a very thorough person and 'knowing' who I am reading is just part of me.  Perhaps you function this way too and if so then todays post is for you.

I am simple in every way.  I like simple systems and simple days filled with my kids and a great read aloud.  I care so little about fashion, social media, and degrees...although true scholarship is so beautiful...this of course does not include Google or FaceBook :)  

I do not fit into tribes very well.  I seem to be too conservative for many and too liberal for an equal amount.  I am much more at home with the bridge builders than I am with tribalism.  In fact, tribes repel me since so many tend to be powered by hate and I believe so much more in the power of love.

I adore my husband.  Understatement.  I thank God for my pastor and partner and greatest friend.  I am an introvert, although meeting me you may not believe so.  This man with so many titles in my life is the safest human and person most-like Jesus I have ever met.  He is goodness.

I am both gifted and cursed with deep empathy.  There is almost something supernatural about the level of feeling I can have for others.  People are precious and sacred...all of them...unborn, elderly, black, tan, female, young, religious and those imprisoned.  It is only by the grace of God...

I love to get up 3 hours before my children with hot tea, and my Bible.  I LOVE dark, slow mornings.  I love art and letting my kids get messy and then giving them warm baths full of laughter.  I love Lake Michigan and have nearly a million memories there and hope to have a million more.

I also love music and nature and how both bring my favorite people alive.  I love the woods and fall and reading with a blanket.  Did I mention that I like simple?  It is worth mentioning again.  I really like simple goodness...family dinners, living books and pictures of recorded memories on our walls.

I chase Jesus everyday through the ancient text.  I love the story of God and plan to let its pages change me more and more for the rest of my days.  My biggest heros share my faith:  Mother Teresa, Ravi Zacharias, David Platt and the Quakers that housed Harriet Tubman.  Humans worthy of grace.

If I could meet anyone from history I would choose Charlotte Mason first and thank her for the phrase 'living books'.  Good literature has marked our home with sweetness for nearly two decades.  Then I would meet Abraham Lincoln and thank him for his courage and example in parenting, wild and free!

I am afraid of snakes and mice and especially of seeing either in our house.  I am equally fearful of FaceBook and unbridled unkindness.  They appear to be married and live in Cyberspace.  The humble and those marked by lovingkindness are my kind of people...and they do exist.

My friends are the ones who are still showing up at my hardest funerals and to cheer for birthdays.  They know I am both sinner and saint, like David.  They are my Nathan.  They know how I long to be Mary in this Martha world and that our friendship will happen in real time and in real places, not virtually. 

The Bible has undoubtedly formed my orthodoxy.  I am convinced of design and the more I live within it, I am blessed by peace and freedom.  My parents however, have shaped my orthopraxy...they are generous and kind and selfless and humble and compassionate and friends.

I appreciate good scholarship and especially love to learn the other side of the story.  I believe there is good in people if we would just slow down and listen to their story.  I work hard to teach objective history and am saddened by the revision by both the secular and religious...subjective stories lose their impact.

And finally, there is a mystery in my own story...my children.  I don't know of anyone that knew how much I dreamed of 4 sons and a daughter.  This was a private desire I only shared with God.  But they exist and are sleeping right above me.  Kadan, Jaxan, Danika, Jensen and Kanaan you are my reason for nearly every decision I make.  I will always wonder why such grace!  

May I give you warmth and love everyday.