tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post8460530688783721570..comments2024-03-29T04:31:15.219-05:00Comments on Pastoral Meanderings: Refuge or Forward PositionPastor Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-13179959270023061272010-12-11T08:25:09.468-06:002010-12-11T08:25:09.468-06:00If the Church is a refuge, the doors are always op...If the Church is a refuge, the doors are always open to the refugees...Pastor Petershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-104278886288591112010-12-11T08:14:04.273-06:002010-12-11T08:14:04.273-06:00Locked church doors are the opposite of a Refuge.Locked church doors are the opposite of a Refuge.ErnestOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13077415409728022160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-13175509528702126062010-12-10T22:16:39.420-06:002010-12-10T22:16:39.420-06:00Most of the sermons, devotions and Bible studies y...Most of the sermons, devotions and Bible studies you will read on Matthew 14:22-33 make similar mistakes in inserting the hearer into the places of the Biblical characters too soon. This story is about the person and nature of Christ. Just before this story he feeds the 5000, showing himself to be a man sent from God a prophet capable of great miracles. In this story He uses the very thing the disciples as fishermen feared to reveal that He is God. Unfortunately too much emphasis is placed upon Peter’s getting out of the boat, and neglects that fact that these men (at this point) in many regards did not really grasp the full person and nature of Christ. Rather than meditating on this wondrous epiphany we’re asked to make this revelation a metaphor for the church, i.e., all about us, and less about Christ. There is no imperative to be found in this text telling us what we ought to go and do. Rather it challenges the reader the way it challenged the disciples; to by faith recognize Jesus Christ as true God and true man.Rev. Allen Bergstrazernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-37945007375982267152010-12-10T18:46:08.135-06:002010-12-10T18:46:08.135-06:00As a lay delegate to the Convention, I sat dumbfou...As a lay delegate to the Convention, I sat dumbfounded during Terry Tieman's "devotion." I actually turned to the pastors on either side of me and asked if this man was in fact a Lutheran pastor. He sounded no different than the preachers in the two Mega-Churches I used to attend during my "Evangelical Wandering" years. <br /><br />"We have to get out of our comfort zones, get out of our boats, and learn some things and take some risks for the sake of the kingdom."<br /><br />That makes is sound like the fate of the kingdom rests on my shoulders. The kingdom is in trouble if that is true.<br /><br />Since embracing the Lutheran faith, and gaining an understanding of the doctrine of Vocation, I find my "witnessing" opportunities on the rise. I no longer have to feel guilty about not "getting out there" (you know, scheduled, contrived, in your face, "if you died tonight where would your soul go?" type of evangelism)and "doing" something. I find conversations open up naturally and people are more willing to talk and share because the setting is natural and I am not trying to "direct" the conversation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-23817363409221269912010-12-10T12:28:24.143-06:002010-12-10T12:28:24.143-06:00"We have to get out of our comfort zones, get..."We have to get out of our comfort zones, get out of our boats, and learn some things and take some risks for the sake of the kingdom."<br /><br />What if my comfort zone is to make sure I have a small family so I can maintain an affluent lifestyle?<br /><br />What if my comfort zone is to teach this idea to my children because I value affluence most, and I want them to be affluent and comfortable?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-24354489867864913832010-12-10T12:26:55.607-06:002010-12-10T12:26:55.607-06:00Rather brings to mind the Spanish Missions of the ...Rather brings to mind the Spanish Missions of the 18th century that dotted the landscape along the south western parts of the continent. They were both refuge and outreach.Rev. Allen Bergstrazernoreply@blogger.com