God's Not Dead-Reality Check

Several months ago, a group of youth and adults attended the movie "God's Not Dead" together.  The premise of the movie is that a professor asks each student in his class to write God's Dead and sign it--then he will forgo the class on the mythical God and each student will pass.  While most students see this as nothing and write the words and sign, one student can not--he cannot go against what he believes to be true.  And the movie plays out from there.

In recent weeks and months, our Christian brothers and sisters in Iraq, Syria, and other places in the Middle East are asked to denounce Jesus--to denounce their Christian faith.  Some news has reported the beheading of children who refuse to denounce their faith.  Others, I would assume simply do so, because they think what is in the words--and if they have a chance to live--why not!?! 

We live in a country that is flawed, but we do have a freedom to worship in the way we believe.  Granted, some of us don't go to the place of worship, but if pushed, I think most of us would say we believe in Jesus, and that Jesus is our savior.  We take for granted this freedom and in some ways we waste the opportunities to witness, freely, as God commands.  We fail to witness to each other by staying home, we fail to witness to the community because we have too many other pressing issues, or we feel we don't have the time or money. 

What if we lived in a place where we experience a real threat to our earthly lives?  Would we take our faith for granted?  Would we get quiet and claim to believe something else?  Would we out and out convert?  I guess the question really is, do you believe?  Do you trust in the abundant live Jesus has given you?  Are you thankful?  How do you respond?

I am very troubled that the church, ours included has not intentionally done something. I prayed last evening for this specific situation, praying for families and children, and praying that I too would be strong enough if someone came to my door with this ultimatum. 

I don't have an answer.  I don't have a request.  I will invite you into this struggle, a struggle of faith and commitment.  We can pray--we can remember--we can do something.  God's Not Dead, Jesus is risen! 

And when we struggle, we can meditate on Mark 9: 23-24: 
And Jesus said to him, "'If You can?' All things are possible to him who believes." 24Immediately the boy's father cried out and said, "I do believe; help my unbelief."

Death in the church

This is one of those days that being church is not easy, it brings sorrow and grief.  I believe that when the church rejoices, it rejoices together; and when we grieve we grieve together.  At a meeting last night, we learned of Grace Lutheran in Saginaw’s plan to hold their final worship service together on October 5, and as of November will cease to be Grace Lutheran Church. 

We have also learned that Michi-lu-ca, a camp near Fairview where I went with confirmation youth for years, attended retreats, and my favorite cabin Birchwood 4 (which ironically burned this past spring) –overall the camp was a place of faith sharing and solitude will also be let go, sold.  I am sad, and I know others are as well.

Over the past days I have followed Facebook posts on how people are reacting primarily to the sale and closing of Michi-lu-ca.  There is anger, mistrust, grief, doubt, blame—and I admit that I have felt some of the same.  This is natural.  I spent time pounding re-rods as the Saginaw congregations built the worship space, I have had heart to heart talks with youth about life, and I’ve attended weddings at this place.  I get it.  

But it also reminds me that God is bigger than a place, God’s plan has never been to keep the world as it is.  As a lifelong Lutheran, I understand that death is part of the reality, and resurrection and new life is impossible without it.  There is a time for everything… there has been from the beginning.  The writer of Ecclesiastes knew this—“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 2a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 3a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; 7a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.”

I understand we are at different places in our responses to these things.  I can only imagine how the members at Grace are feeling with the decision they needed to make.  I can only imagine and read the responses of former camp staff, campers, donors, directors as they hear the news about the camp.

We are the church—the people are, not the buildings, not the land, not the camp.  My fear for a long time is that we have forgotten this.  As a church, we spend so much time maintaining buildings and things, and not tended to the mission God calls us all to, to make disciples of all people.  Yes, Grace and Michi-lu-ca have been vehicles for growing faith for many—but it wasn’t the buildings or the grounds.  It was and always will be the camp staff, the members, the pastors, the ministries… and no one has done anything to these. 

I have been serving in some capacity in Michigan since 1999.  Since that time, I have watched the Gathering attendance go from where we used 3 hotels to one, and often not filling that one up to capacity.  Camp attendance has decreased—from confirmation, Leadership training, and Bass Lake.  I have served on committees for some events and for others attended with youth.  But the writing was on the wall.  I have participated in capital campaigns, where I received a phone call from an active camp staff who called to ask for donations.  I received mailings.  I heard camp directors and others speak at assemblies and other meetings encouraging camp participation.  As an assistant, I shared in almost every congregation the importance of camping and that one year, only four of our congregations in the North/West Lower Michigan synod participated in Bass Lake.  We can place blame if we wish, and we could even blame ourselves—but the reality is, this is the time.  This is the time for a death, painful as it is, and I can only hope and believe that the resurrected results will share that grace with our young people and campers for years to come.  

I guess we all have a choice to make.  My choice and hope is in the future, to trust that the people of Grace will continue to use the gifts they have received for the building up of faith and hope in the Saginaw community.  And I hope that the people of God in Michigan will continue to be church together and support the ministry that clearly means so much to many—and support camp.  I will be at Stony next year with confirmation campers from Ascension.  I plan to be at the Gathering.  I plan to continue to support in prayer, finances and participation as the church.  

I understand and pray for those in grief.  In time, I pray that we can trust that God works for good in all things—and that the ministry will continue as it needs to and as it is beneficial.  We are the church—the people, the body of Christ. 

Below is the video produced to help us understand as best we can what happened with Michi-lu-ca and the commitment to mission.  I encourage you to watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owp2SDeNV_s&list=UUO8_ClAdyGWbKo6GRPOjFEA