The Olympics. The Summer Games will be upon us in Paris this month. One of the most interesting events is The Marathon. This event takes us deep into the history of the Olympics. 

The idea of the modern marathon was inspired by the legend of an ancient Greek messenger who raced from the site of Marathon to Athens, a distance of about 40 kilometers, or nearly 25 miles, with the news of an important Greek victory over an invading army of Persians in 490 B.C. After making his announcement, the exhausted messenger collapsed and died, as the legend goes.

The ancient marathon may have these ancient roots, but the foot race’s official length of 26.2 miles wasn’t established until the 20th century. The first organized marathon was run in Athens at the 1896 Olympics, the start of the Games modern era. The ancient games, which took place in Greece from around 776B.C. to A.D. 393, never included such long distance races.

 
In the modern era, for the next few Olympics, the length of the marathon remained close to 25 miles. But at the 1908 Games in London, the course was extended, allegedly to accommodate the British Royal family. Reportedly, Queen Alexandria requested that the race start on the lawn of Windsor Castle (so the littlest royals could watch from the window of their nursery, according to some accounts) and finish in front of the royal box at the Olympic stadium – a distance that happened to be 26.2 miles (26 miles and 385 yards). The random boost in mileage ended up sticking, and in 1921 the length of a marathon was formally standardized at 26.2 miles.

The New Testament writers, and especially The Apostle Paul, were more than familiar with the Olympics, competition, running. Paul uses this image as a powerful metaphor for the Christian life. He writes in I Corinthians: Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

Paul again: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Let me share with you one more. We read in Hebrew: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 

There is another Marathon Man among us. His run took Him to a cross. He ran for you. He runs for you. He did not quit. He ran for the joy that was set before Him. He endured the cross.  He despised its shame. The joy? You! Seeing sinners like you and me forgiven!

I have a simple imperative for you. Actually, it isn’t mine, it is His. Keep running! The eternal wreath awaits!

Until next month,
PTK

Recently I was sifting through “stuff” in my office – in the process of scaling in down, as it will no longer be my office at the end of November – when I stumbled upon the following. It says it all. It was/is titled: WHAT SHALL WE CALL HIM?

What shall we call the man whom God has chosen to be the shepherd of our souls in the church?

Let’s not call him “Preacher.” That makes it sound like he works only on Sunday’s, at Weddings or at funerals. He doesn’t talk down to people, but up to Heaven by preaching the Gospel. Preaching is one of the primary ingredients of his job description.

Let’s not call him “Reverend.” Sure it’s meant as a title of respect, but the word “Reverend” is an adjective and must be preceded by “the” in formal usage. It also has a “holier than thou” ring to it. Our (the) pastor is a sinner just like the rest of us. So let us not call him “Reverend.”

Let’s not call him “Minister.” Minister is a word applied in various government capacities, like “Foreign Min-ister,” “Minister of Finance,” “Minister of Agriculture,” etc. It is popular today to list all members of the con-gregation in our bulletins as ministers of this and that. The Pastor becomes the director of ministries. This can be confusing, especially when one adds in the other ministries, Music ministry, Youth ministry, Adult ministry, and so on. The pure and simple, straightforward definition of “Minister” is to serve. He is the servant of the church. He serves by preaching the Word and administering the Sacraments. But let’s not add to the confusion and debate over the difference between “commissioned ministers,” or “ordained ministers” and
what have you. So let’s not call him “Minister.”

Call him/me “Pastor.” It’s not a perfect title, but then he/me is/am not a perfect person. “Pastor” is the Latin word meaning “Shepherd (In Spanish the word for “shepherd” is “Pastor.” My add.) This is what he is and does. It ‘s a fair approximation of the Biblical word “Overseer.” A shepherd feeds and oversees the flock of God. He tries to follow the instruction Jesus gave to Peter after His resurrection. “Feed my sheep” (John 21:15).

Should we call our Pastor by his first name? Some feel that shows lack of respect. If you are a good friend of his, and you are on the golf course or at a private gathering, and he allows it, you can call him by his first name. Should we call him by his first name in public meetings, in the work place, or at church gatherings? These are times it is appropriate that we call him by his family name preceded by “Pastor.” This shows respect for the man who holds the highest office in the church under our Lord Jesus Christ. He is Christ’s representative to us members of the church. So let’s show respect and thank God for our shepherd.

There can be no doubt that I’ve never taken this title or my calling lightly. I have been your Pastor for many, many years. The end of my serving you, in this corner of God’s kingdom, is drawing closer to the end. At the right time, and in the right way, God will bless Faith with a new Pastor! He will be your Shepherd. And as you have honored me by calling me “Pastor,” so also you will honor him. What a great privilege! What a great honor! What a most humbling calling!

As I have said so man times: “You don’t find the ministry. The ministry finds you.” What a most humbling title! Pastor! Your Pastor – for a few months more!

Until next time,
Pastor TK

THERE IS ONLY ONE YOU!
Think about that. Your face and features, your voice, your style, the way you walk, your background, your characteristics and peculiarities, your abilities, your smile, your handshake, your manner of expression, your view-point – everything about you is found in only one individual since people first began – YOU!

How does that make you feel? It should make you feel elated! God did not make you from an assembly line. How creative is God? Just think! Out of all the millions and gazillions of people that have populated that planet, over the course of history, not one is identical to another. When you look up the word, “creativity,” how could there not be a portrait of God?

Listen to David’s perspective on the subject:
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb,
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one them came to be.
~Psalm 139

Listen, again, to David about mankind in general.
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?
You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and
honor. ~Psalm 8

If I read these astounding statements correctly, you were prescribed and then presented to this world exactly as God arranged it. Reflect on that truth. You/we/I were not a mere blip on the cosmic screen. We are at the center of the cosmos. We are the reason God fashioned the cosmos. We are the foremost of His visible creatures, for nothing else – no other kind of living creature – was fashioned in the image of God (Genesis 1:26).

Dig as deeply as you please in the ancient, dusty archives of Homo sapiens, and you’ll not find another you in the whole lot. In your case, as is the case for each of us, the mold was broken, never to be used again, once you entered the flow of humankind! Wow!

You are you. There is only one you. And you are important. Thus, with David, we sing and say and shout: Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! 

Until June,
PTK

I want to share with you what is labeled as “A Hymn to God the Father.” It was written by John
Donne. I am not certain if it is a poem or, truly, a hymn to be sung. Regardless, in the shadow the
empty tomb, I find it relevant. Read it slowly. Read it contemplatively (ponder and meditate on
what it is saying.). It reads as follows:

Wilt thou forgive that sin where I begun,
Which is my sin, though it were done before?
Wilt Thou forgive those sins through which I run,
And do run still, though still I do deplore?
When Thou hast done, Thou hast not done before,
For I have more.

Wilt Thou forgive that sin by which I won
Others to sin? And my sin their door?
Wilt thou forgive that sin which I did shun
A year or two, but wallowed in a score?
When Thou hast done, Thou has not done,
For I have more.

I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun
My last thread, I shall perish on the shore;
Swear by Thyself, that at my death Thy son
Shall shine as He shines now, and heretofore;
And, having done that, Thou hast done,
I fear no more.

In the shadow of the empty tomb, living in the reality of the resurrection, we have nothing to
fear, we fear no more. His resurrection affirmed, confirmed, sealed His power to forgive every
sin in your life – every sin in my life. Jesus would say, shortly before His ascension, “All
authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.” The authority of which he speaks has to do
with His power over the grave; over Satan; over our sin. Because of that authority, He sets before
us the purpose of His Church – the purpose of this church (Faith LC). “Go, therefore, and make
disciples!”

This is what we are to do as our faithful response to His resurrection! We reach up to Him for
power. We reach out to others with His forgiveness. He forgives anew. He forgives again, and
again and again as we deal with our unconquerable sins and debilitating doubts. It is called “The
furious love of God!” We are the objects of that love. The resurrection proves it. The only way
for others to know this love is through us. God does not do His stuff in a vacuum. He uses
people; His Church; us. The aim for all is singular. The last stanza says it all:

I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun
My last thread, I shall perish on the shore;
Swear by Thyself, that at my death Thy son
Shall shine as He shines now, and heretofore;
And, having done that, Thou hast done,
I fear no more.

Until next month,
PTK

I am almost done reading a book titled: “The Last Arrow,” authored by Erwin Raphael McManus. He is an iconoclast, artist, and cultural thought leader known for his integration of creativity and spirituality. He is the founder of MOSAIC, a church movement started in (wait forit!!!) Hollywood with campuses across Los Ange-les, Orange County, Mexico and a global community that spans the world. We tend to think that are no Christians in Hollywood. Erwin Raphael McManus and his congregation proves otherwise. I digress. Let me get back to the point. Oh, by the way, who was it that got “her Dad” into Erwin Raphael? Got it. My/our daughter, Hannah.

The Last Arrow is based upon an obscure text in the Scriptures. At the center of it is Elisha –post, tak-ing the mantle from Elijah. Do you want to read it? Go to 2 Kings 13:14-20. Let me just quote from the book itself: [There’s] an obscure moment and could easily be missed, yet it is both poetic and profound. It is also a window into how God works in the world and how we either open ourselves to his bigger future or ensure that we make the future smaller than he intends for us. In this story, Jehoash is the king of Israel when the kingdoms of Israel and Judah are divided and at war against one another. His kingdom is being threatened by the armies of Amaziah, king of Judah.

The one great advantage Jehoash has is that the prophet Elisha is with them, but now Elisha is suffer-ing from an illness that will lead to his death. Jehoash goes and weeps over him, less because of his sorrow for the loss of the prophet and more because of his fear of the loss of Elisha's protection. Jehoash calls out Elisha, who has been the symbol and source of God’s strength and power, but now is clearly at the end of his life. Elisha then gives him a somewhat unusual series of instructions. Elisha says, ‘Get a bow and some arrows,’ and he does so. Then he tells him, ‘Take the bow in your hands.” When Elisha commands Jehoash to do this, the king immediately complies. When the king raises the bow and arrow, Elisha puts his hands on the king’s hands. 'Open the east window,” he says, and the kings opens it. “Shoot!” Elisha says, and Jehoash shoots. ‘The Lord’s arrow of victory, the victory over Aram!’ Elisha declares. ‘You will completely destroy the Arameans at Aphek.’

Then he says, ‘Take the arrows,’ and the king takes them. Elisha tells him, ‘Strike the ground.’ He strikes it three times and stops. Then the Scriptures tell us something that is quite unexpected: ‘The man of God was angry with him and said, ‘You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completed destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.’ Right after he says this, the story tells us ‘Elisha died was buried.’ What is the point Elisha seeks to make to the king? Empty the quiver! He says the same thing to us – to you! Are you hanging onto arrows, thinking, believing that you need that last arrow?

Emptying the quiver is about trusting God with your life, your future, your eternity. You cannot take that last arrow with you. The king struck the ground three times and then what? He quit. He quit and the victory was lost. He just didn’t want it badly enough. How many victories are lost before the battle even be-gins because we are misers when it comes to trusting God? Read Hebrews chapter 11 – a whole litany of those who struck every arrow – left none in the quiver! Read it! From Noah to Abraham to Moses to Joshua, all the way around and to Jesus! Oh, yes! Jesus! We go to Holy week at the end of this month. Let me ask you this – ponder this – where would you be if Jesus only struck the ground with three arrows? He empties the quiver for you! His empty quiver leads to the majestic, glorious resurrection! If he does not “strike the ground five or six times,” we/you stand defeated, still lost in your sins. Because He does empty it all at Gol-gotha, you stand victorious over the “three-headed monster” – the devil, the world, and your own sinful flesh. Is it not time for you to empty the quiver?

Until next month,
PTK

PASTOR’S FAREWELL TOUR
As I’m guessing you know by now, I announced to our congregation that I will be retiring from full-time ministry at the end of the Church Year. My farewell sermon is scheduled for Sunday, November 24th. To be sure, this has been a long pastorate as I received the call to pastor Faith in1990. Amazing! Most pastorates don’t last this long.

The Lord had other plans. It has been an incredible ride with all the highs and lows, pain and joy that parish ministry brings. The singular greatest blessing that comes from being here so long are the relationships that have been forged over time. I have come to know you – and you have come to know me. One can’t quantify that.

In these last years I have come to de-emphasize numbers. Without question, we want this slice of God's Kingdom to grow – and that always means more people. However, because of our size, I have truly been able to be your Pastor, your friend, your spiritual caretaker in the most deep and personal way. This comes with trust. And trust in a per-son can only be forged over time. I know of thousands. In many ways, I truly see this as what Jesus had in mind, in the book of Acts, as the early Church takes formation and clusters of congregations sprout up in the world of the New Testament. I am guessing there were no “mega churches” when Paul and Peter and the rest of our Lord's posse were preaching the Gospel. It is not just about numbers. It is about relationships. It is not just about numbers. It is about people. And so it has been, for me, here at Faith.

You know where to find me. My door is always open. Come on in – as many of you always do. I find it appropriate that my farewell tour, as it were, begins with the season of Lent. Ash Wednesday falls on Valentine’s Day this year – February 14th . This year, I, again, will be in pulpit exchange with Berea – two churches – four Pastors. Myself. Pastor Schimm (will make sure he gets to church on time this year!!! We love him!). Pastor May. Pastor Mueller. Our theme is titled: SUFFERING JOY! We will be exploring the Passion story as recorded in John’s Gospel– chapters 18 and 19. Go ahead and get a jump start by read-ing the account on your own.

I encourage you to be intentional in your worship during the season of Lent, making the most of your opportunities to worship the One who goes to the cross for you! Bring a friend. Come with your family. The only thing that awaits you are blessings from on high! See you soon!

PTK

But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and
valleys that drinks rain from heaven. It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the
Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end.
~ Deuteronomy 11:11-12

Today we stand upon the verge of the unknown. There lies before us the new year and we are going forth to possess it. Who can tell what we will find? What new experiences, what changes will come, what new needs will arise? But here is the cheering, comforting, encouraging message from our heavenly Father, It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end. All of our supply is to come from the Lord. Here are springs that shall never dry; here are fountains and streams that shall never be cut off. He is the source of all our mercies, even as He was in 2023! Our God, our help in ages past. Our hope for years to come. No heat, no drought can parch that river, “the streams whereof make glad the city of God. "The land is a land of hills AND valleys. It is not all smooth. The wind is not always at our back. Sometimes, we are marching, moving, maneuvering into the wind. If life were all one dead level of dull sameness it would oppress us; we need the hills and valleys. It is the hill of difficulty that drives us to the throne of grace and brings down the shower of blessings; the hills, bleak hills of life that we wonder at and perhaps grumble at, bring down the showers. How many have perished in the wilderness, buried under its golden sands, who would have lived and thrived in the hill country; how many would have been killed by the frost, blighted with winds, swept desolate of tree and fruit but for the hill – stern, hard, rugged, so steep to climb. The Apostle Paul puts it this way: Not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character hope. And hope does not disappoint us; because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.~ Romans

We cannot tell what loss and sorrow and trial are doing. Trust only. The Father comes near to take our hand and lead us on our way today. Because He carries us, leads us, guides us, it will be a blessed new year!

He leads us on by paths we did not know;
Upward He leads us, though our steps be slow,
Though oft we faint and falter on the way,
Though storms and darkness oft obscure the day;
Yet when the clouds are gone,
We know He leads us on.
He leads us through all the unquiet years;
Past all our dreamland hopes, and doubts and fears,
He guides our steps, through all the tangled maze
Of loses, sorrows, and o’er clouded days;
We know His will is done;
And still He leads us on.

Until next time,
PTK