From September 2015 Bethel Bell Tower newsletter
But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.
~ James 1:22
I once heard that the most difficult journey is 18 inches. That’s the approximate distance between your brain and your heart. Rally Day (September 13) helps us come together and worship in one service at 10:00am, kick off our Sunday school year, and share some fantastic food and fellowship at our annual congregational picnic. Through our Sunday school, confirmation classes, adult classes and educational workshops, we spend a lot of time educating and thinking. Educating and challenging our minds is very important and is definitely a value to Lutheran Christians. Our challenge is not only to receive, hear and consume, but for the great learning and thoughts of our minds to have an effect on our hearts. Guided by our faith, informed by our minds, and motivated by our hearts, we do the work of God in addition to thinking about it. And when we are doing the work of God, we find ways to overcome differences between people, overcome obstacles including finances, and we focus on caring for the people God has called us to serve.
In a recent conversation with Connie Houtz, she shared with me her excitement at the Adult Forum curriculum called “Faith Out Loud” and the blossoming conversations happening through that class. As you know, we have continued much of our educational programming through the summer months because the schedule of the school system shouldn’t be the sole determinant for our church programming. Connie said she was thrilled that people were opening up and sharing their faith stories. It became clear to me that the class participants already had their faith stories, but this class provided a safe environment and some good prompts to allow people to articulate those stories. You may recall that I did a Bethel Faith & Life survey a few months ago. As many of us would expect, the survey revealed that many of our members said it was difficult to talk about matters of faith with strangers or even neighbors. People generally said they have an easier time talking with friends and family about their faith. I wonder if we can learn something from the Adult Forum’s experience. Can part of our doing of the word involve simply creating a safe environment for people and giving people the opportunity to articulate their faith or explore their questions? Like the classroom experience, maybe we need a safe place to experiment as we learn to articulate our faith and put it into action.
Being a doer of the word isn’t always going on an overseas mission trip or participating in a miraculous healing. Being a doer of the word is most often simply living your life, interacting with the people around you, voting, caring for and protecting the most vulnerable in our world, and paying attention to the urging of the Holy Spirit.
In Christ,
Pastor Jeff
Epicurious Lutheran 