by Fletcher Lowe

This Easter was one of the best – if not THE best – I have ever experienced.  Why? Not only was the tomb empty, but so were the stores and the streets as well as the church buildings. We had none of the usual distractions: e.g.  bunnies, egg hunts, parades, Easter finery.  The real Easter message of Resurrection was there!

So where are we? Like those early apostles “locked in.” Not as they were, for fear of the authorities, but because of fear of the virus.

And where are we? Perhaps out walking, like those two men on the road to Emmaus. And like them, a bit confused and uncertain and unsettled, not because we didn’t recognize the Risen Lord, but because so much about the virus is unknown.

And where are some of the Apostles later, but back in Galilee at work. Out fishing, a bit frustrated for lack of productivity. And where may some of us be? Perhaps working or studying, but at home, and a bit frustrated for the lack of daily personal contact.

So in these three ways we meet those early disciples in their post-Resurrection fear, confusion, and frustration.  Into those situations, and ours, Jesus appears, and his presence makes a significant difference. As he met them where they were, so he meets us where we are today amidst all the unsettling reality of Covid 19. And isn’t that the central Easter message – that Christ is risen and meets us wherever we are, bringing us hope and love and peace.

Christ is Risen, the Lord is Risen indeed!! Alleluia!!

by Pam Tinsley

In a recent post, fellow blogger Demi Prentiss shared the challenges that many of us are experiencing as we adhere to stay-at-home orders, which are intended to keep others safe by protecting them from the spread of coronavirus. Staying at home to serve others feels so counter-intuitive when Christ’s mission field is outside the walls of our churches – and outside the walls of our homes.

Yet, it is absolutely possible to be the hands and feet of Christ in the midst of a pandemic, as my fellow parishioner, John Cain, wrote in an April 9 letter to the Tacoma News Tribune. He describes that “a tavern gifted hamburgers and cheeseburger sandwiches to every tenant in a nearby apartment complex. A friend who likes to grill gives away food to children and families who are in need. Phone calls to friends are far more rewarding than Facebook posts…. It is the quiet acts of generosity that will sustain us in the long run.”

Over the past month or so, I’ve also been inspired by many responses to Jesus’ love in action, when I see people reach out to those will become increasingly isolated as stay-at-home orders remain in place at least through May 4. Neighborhood groups, such as Nextdoor, seek to connect people and share resources for emergency public alerts and assistance. With schools closed, teenagers are offering their babysitting services to parents who have essential jobs. Individuals are picking up extra groceries for quarantined or high-risk neighbors. And, on Good Friday, a moving parade of first-responders in firetrucks, ambulances, and police vehicles saluted a local hospital’s Emergency Department to thank health-care workers on the front lines – with blaring sirens!

By embracing this spirit of sacrifice – rather than succumbing to fear or scarcity-induced hoarding – we, as Christ’s disciples, can show the world that we are Christ’s hands and feet in the world – and that all people and relationships matter. As my friend John concludes, “How we handle this crisis and how we reach out to others will sustain us not only now but in the future.”

by Demi Prentiss

Much of the world is sharing the experience of “sheltering in place” to “flatten the curve” in the Covid-19 pandemic. Many of us are dealing, simultaneously, with an unfamiliar cascade of emotions. Who would imagine looking to Harvard Business Review for guidance? So Scott Berinato’s recent HBR article was a surprising gift.

“We feel the world has changed, and it has.…. The loss of normalcy; the fear of economic toll; the loss of connection. This is hitting us and we’re grieving. Collectively. We are not used to this kind of collective grief in the air,” Berinato writes.  And along with that collective grief, he points out, we share anticipatory grief: “Anticipatory grief is the mind going to the future and imagining the worst.”  Once we can find the courage to name our grief, Berinato urges we engage in calming strategies:

• • • Come into the present.
    • Let go of what you can’t control.
    • Stock up on compassion.

For me, in these recent weeks, my own grief has gathered around my decision not to go to the front lines, to mitigate some of the devastating effects of the pandemic. My age and my husband’s health make that foolhardy. My lifelong commitment to daily life ministry is challenged, as I discover what “being the church” means when my mission field is defined by the boundaries of my home. The internet, of course, extends my reach, and my extrovert reaches out in multiple ways.

Nevertheless, I’m challenged to claim the mission I’ve been given.  What WOULD Jesus do?  I’m working to practice the Benedictine virtue of “stability” – staying put. Poet Mark Nepo offers an encouraging, hopeful perspective.

“Accepting This,” by Mark Nepo

“… We cannot eliminate hunger,
but we can feed each other.
We cannot eliminate loneliness,
but we can hold each other.
We cannot eliminate pain,
but we can live a life
of compassion….”

Perhaps we can learn to befriend the grief we’re feeling. Perhaps we can recognize that acceptance, as Nepo describes it, can mean simply showing up, with intention. For many of us, showing up as our authentic selves is the way we practice our ministry in daily life. As we show up, we have the opportunity to be the hands and feet and presence of Jesus, remembering the words of Mordecai to Queen Esther (Esther 4:14): “Who knows? Perhaps you have come [here] … for just such a time as this.”  (NRSV)

by Fletcher Lowe

I am a salt guy.  I like to salt my food, sometimes even before I taste it, much to the chagrin of my wife.  But I simply tell her, I’m just following doctor’s orders – after all on more than one occasion, as recently as a year ago, a doctor has said I’m salt deficient. I just need more salt!!

Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount has something to say about salt. “You are the salt of the earth.” Notice first of all it is not “of the church” or “of the faith community,” but “of the earth” that we are called to be salt.  We cannot retreat from the world or be neutral; our calling is to be proactive.

That is why, for me, the Dismissal is the most important part of the Liturgy – for of what value are the music or the readings or the prayers or the sermon or the bread and wine if they don’t propel us out from the church to be the church in our “earths,” our daily lives of home and community and work?  Go – that is our calling – and, like the salt, to “salt’ that part of the earth that each of us inhabits. We are called to be salty Christians.

Notice too that salt makes a difference in whatever it touches, be it food or the ocean or as a preservative.  But to make a difference, it must be in touch, in relationship – it has no value standing alone.  So, too, for us as salty Christians.  Our faith must be put into practice – in our earths.  Otherwise, it is of no value. Jesus’ message is clear to his followers – you and me.  As disciples we are called to make a difference, to join with Jesus in our calling expressed in the Lord’ Prayer: “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

So, salty Christians, as we put our faith into action, let us Go forth and be the salt of our earths.

by Demi Prentiss

In Ephesians 4, Paul declares that the work of church leadership is to “equip the saints for the work of ministry,” which he describes is “building up the body of Christ.”  Observing the emphasis that many Christian communities place on gathering for worship, formation, and fellowship, it might be hard to discern how that “building up” process might be occurring for anyone except “insiders,” people who find their way inside the walls of the church building.

Those of us who understand “ministry” as a daily, whole-life endeavor for all God’s people long for the day that faith communities claim their calling to truly equip their members: to give them tools to leave the church grounds and become intentional, functional ambassadors for the reign of God wherever they find themselves. Such folks can transform organizations, neighborhoods, even cities as they work to do God’s work in the world.

Our friends at the Theology of Work website offer strategies for helping a congregation practice that sort of equipping. Their web page on The Equipping Church poses four key questions for churches that aim to equip their people for mission in daily work:

• • • What is God’s Mission in the World?
    • How does human work connect to God’s work?
    • What does this mean for people in their daily work?
    • How can we equip our people for God’s work in the world?

Faith communities that want to “equip” their people tend to shift focus, prioritizing “beyond the church walls” work over “inside the church” work. That last question can help faith communities shape their lives together in ways that build up the body of Christ, both those inside the church walls as well as among all the people they encounter.

What does it look like in practice for a church to operate in a way that reflects these changed perspectives and priorities? Churches that have embarked on this journey demonstrate a number of common characteristics.

Equipping churches:

• • • have a vision of God at work where their people work
    • actively hunt for examples and resources
    • connect daily work to worship
    • address the opportunities and challenges their people face at work
    • invest resources in equipping people for daily work
    • create structures to sustain this ministry
    • empower and collaborate with people in the congregation to lead the ministry
    • release and support their people for work outside the church
    • encourage everyone to take responsibility
    • include daily work as part of youth ministry and compassion/outreach/service ministries

What items on that list are characteristic of your own congregation? Which of those practices might you want to undertake during the coming year?

by Pam Tinsley

Earlier this month, my hairstylist Ron and I were talking about our respective Thanksgiving Days. I spoke about being together with family, and Ron said that he had decided to help serve meals at the Rescue Mission. That’s where he happened to run into a homeless man who sometimes works with Ron to transform a local high school gym into the church where Ron and about 600 others worship each Sunday.

After most of the meals were served, Ron joined some of the men at a table and talked with them. As people were leaving, Ron asked his friend if he would help him put up the Christmas tree in his salon. Ron said his eyes lit up. Ron appreciated both the help and the company, and his homeless friend appreciated being valued.

They speak honestly – including about how the man became homeless – and Ron is clear about boundaries when the man works in his yard or at church. The man has asked Ron to help him learn to hold on to some of the money he earns from odd jobs, and Ron has found a “money counseling” class they’ll attend together in the hope that his friend might live into his dream of steady work and having a roof over his head.

Yet, more importantly, Ron offers respect and community. Because Ron listens and sees him for who he is, a beloved child of God, this man experiences a bit of love in the midst of a cold world that would prefer that he “simply went away.” And, while not all of us can offer someone occasional work or can volunteer at a homeless shelter, we can pay attention and listen to everyone we meet and treat them with dignity and respect. We can treat them as God’s beloved children and perhaps bless them with a touch of hope, if only for a brief moment.

by Demi Prentiss

Recently Michael Piazza offered a “Liberating Word” post on “Discovering Your Superpower.” He shared this powerful thought: “…the first step to becoming a superhero is to believe you are gifted, that you are uniquely empowered by the spirit. Missing or neglecting that gift will diminish your life, weaken the Body of Christ, and leave the world a dimmer and more divided place.”

Too often laity – who comprise 99 percent of the church, consistently across denominations – assume that our superpowers are the abilities that will enable us to “make it,” or “get rich,” or “become famous.” Truly, gifts of the Spirit may have that effect on our lives. More importantly, Piazza specifies that whenever our superpowers show up, it’s because we are “uniquely empowered by the Spirit [capital “S” mine].” While those gifts may not make us rich and famous, they definitely make our lives worth living. And they are put to work in big and small ways, most effectively in the actions of our ordinary, everyday lives.

Gifts / superpowers are typically those attributes that are so deeply rooted in our identity that we’re almost unaware of them, or where they came from. They’re just “how we are,” without thinking about it. They usually don’t get us recognized as “superheroes.” And because each of us is a precious, unique, beloved Child of God, our superpowers assume a unique shape or manifestation – just because we are who we are. It’s essential – and definitely not egotistical – that we offer them. That offering is not only the expression of our whole self – it also makes the Body of Christ more whole, more brilliant, and more unified.

Where the laity are empowered to “be all that you can be,” God’s reign is more fully realized. Where those superpowers are unleashed, the people of God experience and offer more love, and the world becomes more whole. The effect is transformative, of people and situations, and often practically unnoticed.

For Piazza, there’s a sure way to understand what your superpower is. “If you really want to know what your superpower is, honestly answer this question: ‘For what do you want to be remembered?’ In other words, what do you want your unique legacy to be?”

What daily life superpower will you be remembered for?

by Demi Prentiss

It’s all too easy to get sucked into the notion of the need for a heroic response to God’s call.  Once you’ve figured out where God is asking you to go, isn’t it up to the individual to get themselves there – climb any mountain, swim any river, suffer weariness and pain, all for the sake of responding to God’s call with immediate, decisive action?

There are actually times when that kind of response is called for. Usually, however, ending up in tune with what God has in mind has more to do with careful discernment, fueled by watching and listening and waiting before we set a plan in motion. Remembering that God has been there, in action, long before we even entered the picture. Being clear that the people around you are players in God’s plan as much as you are.

Faith+Lead offers access to a learning lab supported by Luther Seminary. Focused on exploring ways to cultivate Christian faith in the twenty-first century, Faith+Lead serves as a connector to resources, experiments, and communities that see the Holy Spirit moving in the midst of change.  Members of such communities recognize that God is at work everywhere in the world – wherever we go, God is already in action. One of the keys to acting on our faith is learning to perceive where God is operating, in order to join in the work that’s already in progress.

A recent blog post invited readers to start with paying attention to what God might be up to in their neighborhood, turning a lawn chair into a tool of mission.  The blog claims, “This breakthrough practice helps you discern where the Holy Spirit is at work in your neighborhood–simply by making time regularly to pay attention to your neighbors.”

The instructions boil down to

1. 1. 1.  Set up a lawn chair. Sit in it.
      2.  Pay attention. What’s going on around you?
      3.  Ask questions. Notice God’s activity.
      4.  Try variations. Get out and observe where God might be showing up.

Responding to God’s call to make a difference may depend on our ability to discern what God is up to, right in front of us.

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Have you discovered the “Making It Work” podcast? Launched on October 21, “Making It Work” is a new podcast produced by a partnership between The Max De Pree Center for Leadership at Fuller Theological Seminary and the Theology of Work Project. Join hosts Leah Archibald and Mark Roberts as they talk with guests about inviting God into the challenges that come across your desk and into your inbox on a day to day basis. Listen in and see what God might be saying to you. Don’t miss it! Follow on Instagram @theologyofwork for updates.