The Importance of Conversation

"Why was I not informed about this sooner?" "When did that happen?" "Why am I the last to know?" "I had no idea it was that bad." What happens when we stop talking to each other? In marriages major things start to happen when we don't talk - be it a missed appointment, an argument, or perhaps an important message becomes lost in the silence. What about the church? Group dynamics and human emotions would direct us to be diligent about making sure communication happens and the conversation continues. Breakdown and even larger problems can surface.

Conversation would at least in my mind be an active dialog between people. Each brings something to the table and something is learned. In the church there are many conversations occurring. The Bible Book of Faith conversation, the conversation over human sexuality, and the conversation about the future of ministry for many congregations.

Jesus used the table as a place of beginning conversation - a hosting place for dialog, for receiving God's graces, and for the granting of new life. May our conversations by a place of beginning and open to the rich possibilities of hope.

Pastor Kris

Differences

What may be truth to you may not be truth to me.  It is all relative.  We each find our own and discover the ultimate in our own lives.  If these statements are truth, which is completely relative, then why is the truth of the resurrection any different?  Can we agree on what is truth even as Christians?

Seems if we embrace the relative theory approach to Christian life then we basically stand on a sand filled trench of doubt.  What is core or central to our identity as post Easter disciples of the Lord Jesus?  

(1) Jesus endured the cross, the brutality of the cross, and rose again granting salvation and fulfillment of God's ultimate promise to bring freedom from sin, death, and the devil.

(2)  We can expect the divine in our lives to be tangible and not stand as an abstract theory of something possible.  

(3)  The road by which a disciple must travel is difficult and not for the faint of heart.  

Since when did discipleship and being a Christ follower turn into something that resembles a country club?  When we have institutionalized religion and turned it into a means to gain salvation rather than a means to build up the assurance of our salvation.

Thoughts for a Thursday afternoon eh?