Do I have to…or do I get to?

Today I’m in a bit of a rush.  I have to write this newsletter article.  I need to get a sermon started for Sunday.  I have one last youth ministry night to prepare for.  I have some faith formation ideas to get together in preparation for Peace’s conversations on Sunday morning.  I have an inbox full of e-mail that I need to deal with.  That’s just the stuff that I have to do for Peace!  I have synod work that I need to crank out too.  I hope I have the energy to get it all done!

That’s one way to look at the day.  Here’s another.

Today I get to come to a job that I really enjoy.  I have the opportunity to write a newsletter article that can help people to grow in faith.  I get to prepare a sermon where I have the pleasure of proclaiming the Good News of Jesus.  I pray that the Holy Spirit will use it to change people’s lives.  Tonight some young men and women will come to the last youth ministry of the year, and I get to find ways to help them know Jesus more deeply.  This morning I get to do what many pastors would only dream about: I get to develop some cutting edge ideas for the ways to help people at Peace grow in faith…and tomorrow night I get to share those with a team of people excited about faith!    I have an inbox full of e-mail from people at Peace who are excited about what is happening here and who want to have a part in our future.  That’s just the stuff that I get to do at Peace!  I also get to be a part of very exciting conversations concerning new ministries throughout the synod.   I can’t wait to jump in and get started!

Two ways of looking at the day: one focusing on tasks that need to be ‘cranked out’…the other celebrating that I get to do things that I enjoy.

It’s quite tempting to focus on what I ‘have to do.’  Between the work that I do for Peace, the work I do for the bishop, and the work I have to do at home the to-do lists never seem to end.  They can wear me down to the point where I grumpily approach each item as simply another task to get off the list.  On those days, my motivation level plummets.  I get overwhelmed.

But God has blessed me to have the opportunity to do what I enjoy.  I like to write, I love to craft sermons, I appreciate knowing that the work that I do here at Peace (and throughout the synod) makes a difference in the world.  These aren’t mere tasks for me to whip through…these are opportunities to do what I enjoy.  Doing things I love adds to my motivation!  I actually get more done!

This morning I’m reveling in God’s blessings.  Bring on the to-do list…because it abounds in wonderful ministry opportunities!

Boasting...in the Lord!

Yes, but…

In Minnesotan culture, pride seems to rank as one of those ‘deadly sins.’  If someone says, “I love your suit,” many Minnesotans will uncomfortably respond, “This old thing?  I got it on sale.”  We don’t see ourselves as ‘awesome’…we’re more ‘fair to middling.’  We know people who brag about themselves…and we don’t like it!

This morning over 100 retired pastors and their wives are on their way to Peace for their annual lunch with Bishop Usgaard.  It’s a time for them to renew friendships and learn about what is going on in the Southeastern Minnesota Synod.  I have the honor of giving the main presentation to talk about what’s been happening here at Peace.   We’ve been ‘in the news’ because of our new building.  

The synod staff asked me to prepare the ‘bio’ for Bishop Usgaard to use in his invitation to this event.   Here’s what I came up with:

Rev. Pete Reuss was called to serve the mission congregation of Peace Lutheran Church of Eyota in 2003, following the original Mission Developer.  Since that time, the congregation has grown from 119 members to 279 members.  Peace abounds in young families, with more than half of the members under the age of 18.  Many of Peace’s members have little or no church background, which has created many opportunities and challenges.  In 2011, after 12 years of worshipping in an elementary school gym, Peace completed a first building for ministry.    Due to this experience in a new ministry, the Southeastern Minnesota Synod contracted with Peace for a portion of Pete’s time, making him the synod’s Mission Director.  In that role he works with the New Ministries Table to oversee, support, and develop the new ministries throughout the synod.

I almost didn’t send it.  This felt WAY too much like bragging!  But why not brag…if we’re bragging about what God has done here!

Why not brag that the Spirit has increased membership by 234% in 8 years?  Why not brag that financial giving has increased by a whopping 300% over that time?  A few years ago Bishop Usgaard came to Peace and let us know, “I visit many congregations without young people or kids.  I’m often asked, ‘What is the future of the church?  How will it survive once we are gone?’  That’s when I tell them about Peace Lutheran Church in Eyota and all the young people there!”    There’s something to brag about!

Now, if we looked in the mirror and claimed responsibility for all this ourselves, we’d be in hot water!  We’d be breaking the ‘Minnesota code of conduct.’    WE didn’t do it.  GOD did.  God took a small band of people and turned it into a vibrant ministry.  I know that in those early years there was some doubt as to whether Peace could survive.  In fact, I look back and am amazed that we got through it all.  I still remember my first council meeting, where I was told, “Pastor, we on the council really don’t have the gifts for leadership…but we’re what you get!”   Ironically, Peace had a reputation in town as a ‘church that doesn’t get along very well.’   Everyone told me, “You can’t grow a church in a gym.”

God worked at Peace to change all that.  We simply listened and followed!   Leaders emerged.  Interns added their gifts.  Creative ministry opportunities arose.   People brought their friends and neighbors (I think we should change the name of ‘Bush Court’ to ‘Peace Court’).   Peace grew strong enough to build this lovely facility.  God continues to work to provide exciting, cutting edge ministry.

Now, in the midst of all those exciting things I know full well that this is not heaven on earth.  Like any congregation, Peace faces challenges.  The road sometimes gets bumpy.  We can lose our focus on the God who leads us.

Let’s not allow those challenges make us forget what God has done here.   When those retired pastors come later this morning, I will boast!  “As it is written: “Let those who boast boast in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:31)”

It's not time for the lake (or heaven) yet!

On Tuesday afternoon my mind headed north to my cabin.  I got a call from a guy who will be doing some repairs to my boat, and that effectively ended my day of work.  My mind went on vacation, pondering the warm sun, the gentle lap of the waves, the splash of the Northern as it fights against the line, the crackle of a campfire at the lake.  Summer.  Vacation.  Boats.  Fishing.  Peace.  Quiet.  There’s something special about going to the cabin.  It’s a place where I connect with my family in special ways.  I have time to take naps.  My stress level fades away.  For a few hours on Tuesday afternoon, I longed for the days of summer when I’d get to go north.  I attempted to get back to the tasks at hand, but I kept finding myself looking ahead at the calendar.  I wanted to hit fast-forward and speed to another day.  The allure of the future overwhelmed my life in the present.

But do I REALLY want to skip by the present?  As I come down from the high (and busyness) of Holy week and Easter, there are a lot of exciting things happening in my life.  Peace Lutheran Church is embarking on some cutting edge conversations about ways to approach faith formation for all ages.  Next week the retired pastors of the Southeastern Minnesota Synod come to Eyota and I get to tell them about the vibrant ministry that is taking place both here at Peace and in our African National ministries throughout the Synod.  This Saturday my son Ben gets to be a part of a state competition for Academic Triathlon.  I get to go see him do well at his junior high track meets.  One of my favorite bands (Fireflight) has a concert in a couple weeks…in Kasson of all places!  I have a niece that was born last month…and a nephew on the way next month.  What an awesome spring!

While for a few hours I wanted to skip past it all and head right to the lake, to do so would be to miss out on so many exciting opportunities between now and then.  I can look forward to what will come…but for now I can simply live in the moment, enjoying all that God brings my way.

A similar temptation hit me on Sunday morning.  Amid all the excitement of Jesus’ resurrection, I reflected on eternity.  Jesus powerful actions defeated death forever.  Death could not hold Him, and it will not hold me!  I longed for the day when I get to intimately walk with my Lord, when I will join the heavenly choirs in celebration of God’s glory.  That day of perfection has already come for my mother, Edee Reuss.  It will be awesome when that day comes for me!  For a brief moment the allure of the future overwhelmed my life in the present.

But do I REALLY want to skip by the present?  In faith I can look ahead to life with God forever, but that doesn’t mean that I have to overlook the time I get to have with God now!  God has blessed me in so many ways, with a loving family, a good profession, quirky friends, and even a cabin on a lake full of fish.  What an awesome life!

While for a few hours I wanted to skip past it all and head right to the heavenly throne room, to do so would be to miss out on so many exciting opportunities between now and then.  I can look forward to what will come…but for now I can simply live in the moment, enjoying all that God brings my way.