Hi Folks!

We are into the final two-weeks of Faith Quest and I thought, in addition to the numerous e-mails, newsletter/bulletin articles and devotional booklets, I would revisit the "whys" of Faith Quest.

The first "why" should have been evident from the first day Faith Quest was brought forward. Christians who live by faith in Christ and (not by sight or by the things of "the world") become deeper and more committed Christians. Faith is the belief in the unseen things of God that are evident in daily life. The 40-day devotional guide gives us a daily look at how God has revealed Himself to our Christian brothers and sisters as they have faced the trials of life. I pray these devotional messages and the words shared by our brothers and sisters in Christ are both beneficial and helpful as you live your daily life. They represent our shared lives together and our shared love for others.

That brings me to "why" number two. Our friend "Santa Rosa Mike" is a reminder that life is a faith adventure. The song Amazing Grace says it like this, "Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come, tis grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will bring me home." John Newton, the writer of Amazing Grace, knew the things he'd faced in his faith journey. He reflected on his life and wrote these timeless lyrics to express the understanding that without God and without His guidance we are nothing. His guidance comes to us primarily through His Word, which is why we have a 40-day devotional book with _script_ure and shared experiences.

The final "why" relates to what I believe is a serious issue in many churches. I am both amazed and troubled by the people, throughout Christian history, that have expected both the "message" and the "_style_" of God's Word to come to them in a way that is simple, easy and comfortable. Almost all Biblical writers, directly in _script_ure, express frustration with the selfish and "me-oriented" expectations of their audiences. The Scribes and Pharisees of Jesus' time wanted our Lord to bring the message to them in a way that met with their "traditional" (or maybe their "contemporary") norms. The story I told on Sunday from Mark, Chapter 3, was just such a story (I'm not going to go back through the story, but you can find it in your Bible). In short, they asked Jesus to do His work and His ministry that was consistent with the rules they had set. Jesus said "no" and He still says "no!" We come to Church (I hope) to hear what God has to say in every context He desires to say it. Whether it is within our "comfort zone" or whether it steps on my "traditional" or "contemporary" toes is not the point. The point is, God has something to say. I pray that he gives me the vision and words to say it well. Pastor Jerry and I ask God every Sunday to speak through the music, the "context" of worship and the message. We give it to God, whether it is Santa Rosa Mike's "drama," Dayna's message to the children, any multimedia presentation or the message itself.

I pray often that the people of Good News never fall into the "me-oriented" trap that was so pervasive in Jesus' time.

You see, the point the Scribes and Pharisees never got was this, the ministry of Christ wasn't about them. These are not the people in _script_ure we have any desire to emulate! "Good News to the poor", "sight to the blind" and the "Year of the Lord's favor" (Luke 2) were all outwardly-focused. That is God's nature, otherwise He wouldn't care about any of us. Jesus was about God expressing who He was and inserting His life-giving message of change into human history. He told us who He was and what He expected of His people. Jesus pulled no punches. He didn't try to _frame_ the message in politically correct terminology. Everyone didn't get it. And those that wanted His message to be "spoon-fed" so they wouldn't have to struggle with it went away sad and empty.

I'll end here with just a few prayers. I'm praying that our people become so outwardly-focused that Jesus' message becomes life itself to them. I pray that we, as a Church, have a passionate desire for God's Word and a thirst for His purpose. I pray that our Faith Quest always leads us to set our minds on "the things above." I pray that when we have negative thoughts that are self-focused we remember the others traveling with us and ask, "how can I help someone else today?" And I pray that God blesses your day, your week and your life so much that your response will be a permanent, heart-felt gratitude.

As an ending note, I am asking Ron Bruner to place this e-mail on the "pastor's blog" on the Website www.goodnewsumc.net . You can find the "blog" under "resources" and it is listed as "The Walk (pretty appropriate for Faith Quest)." If you disagree with the e-mail (above) or have some other church/faith-related issue you'd like to discuss, please follow the forum rules and state your case.