During Advent Christians have an unusual opportunity to let their faith out "from under a bushel," but too often we don't. In fact, it seems that we are embarrassed or afraid to own our faith during this most Christ-centered of seasons. Here's a great blog from Frederick Schmidt, encouraging us to live into our faith this season. http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Mortal-Flesh-Keep-Silence-Frederick-Schmidt-12-12-2011.html

How do you feel about snow globes? You know, those glass balls with some water,
some kind of white stuff and some Christmasy figure inside it. Most, in my opinion, are pretty cheesy. They have a cheap-looking Santa and poorly
painted reindeer or a red and green manger scene (seriously?). Then, every once in a while, in the midst of the cheesiness there comes one that is genuinely beautiful. We had one for years that had escaped the Curse of Christmas Tacky, beautiful snow geese, realistic snow and a nice
quality pedestal. I enjoyed looking at it for many years and was disappointed when the geese had discolored to the point that it was time to say goodbye to it.

Maybe I’m stretching here, but it seems to me that the season itself is a lot like those snow globes. Most of what we see every year at this time resembles those tacky globes—designed for a quick smile but nothing really important—and wholly without beauty. You see then everywhere,
especially in the big box stores.

Then, just when you think The Curse of Christmas Tacky has completely taken over, something of true beauty appears, something that reminds you that the core of this holiday season is not some shoddy decoration but the beauty of the presence of God among human beings. Emmanuel—God with us—is the beautiful message of Christmas, a message not gilded with fake gold leaf but wrapped in plain cloth; not boxed in paper and ribbon but laid gently in manger straw. The beauty of Christmas is simple, unadorned and bare, yet it is without equal.

Once you see the beauty of Jesus, born on Christmas because of God’s unfathomable love, you yearn for the true beauty of Christmas to push aside the singing snowmen and the second-rate snow globes, and to fill your heart with a warmth that is not fleeting but will last a lifetime.

May this Christmas season fill you with the true beauty of presence of God in the baby Jesus!
PD

Pastor on the Titanic?

http://www.abpnews.com/content/view/6877/9/

Building Disciples Together

So, if someone asked you
what was happening at Shepherd of the Hills, what would you say?

You might answer about
Generations in Faith Together (GIFT), our total-family Sunday school. You could talk about the Faith 5 becoming a
part of our worship and devotional lives, or our striving to think in terms of
discipleship not membership. Perhaps
you’d tell of our efforts for the food bank for October or look ahead to the
Alternative Giving Fair coming up in November.
You might talk about weekly youth meetings or youth preparing for the
ELCA Youth Gathering, an intergenerational game night, confirmation off to a
great start, or the wide variety of worship styles on Sunday mornings. Or Bible Fitness or choirs or Stephen
ministry or RE:New worship on Saturdays or the group going to the HPI soup
supper or men’s Bible study or women’s Bible studies or the “date for eight” fellowship
event-groups that are starting. Or, or, or…

There are so many things
happening at SOTH right now! Thanks be
to God!! We are a busy place but not
just a busy place. We seem to have
purpose in the things we do, like we are doing…mission!

So, how would I describe
our mission? Fair question, since I
asked you. The phrase that sticks in my
head right now is Building Disciples Together.
This is what I believe that God is calling us to do and be here at
Shepherd of the Hills.

Building

At SOTH we seek to grow
and build our faith, to pursue a deeper understanding of God’s will in our
lives, to press on to see what God has in mind for us. The Christian faith is dynamic, that is it’s
always moving and changing and we seek the presence of God to build up the body
of Christ (Ephesians 4:12) in this place.

Disciples

We’ve been saying it for
a while now—the great commission was not to go and make members! Jesus calls us to be disciples—followers,
learners and servants. We give because
God has given to us and instilled in us a need to give; we serve because Jesus
became a servant and we love because Christ’s love has been poured into us
(Romans 5:5). Being disciples takes
effort but we are fueled by the Holy Spirit!

Together

Shepherd of the Hills
values community—we do this disciple-building in community! We want folks to hear the invitation: you are
welcome at Shepherd of the Hills. We
value all generations and we celebrate the variety of people who have found
community among us. We also know that
faith happens in community, that is, we learn how to grow and love and serve
best when we are among others on the same learning journey.

I never get tired of looking west. From my window, Long’s Peak and Mount Meeker
stand perfectly between the trees, as if someone had framed them just for
me. The Mummy Range peaks over the
foothills when the sun shines, providing a hint of their massiveness.

Mountain can evoke powerful emotions. They are symbolic—massive, unmoving, strong,
or cold, dangerous, foreboding.
Awe-inspiring and breathtaking, their grandeur reminds us of our
miniscule place—in status and location—on this planet.

But , in truth they are ever
changing, ground by wind and water, moving ever so slightly, pushed by subterranean forces unseen by human eyes.
They speak to us of larger things; of weather systems and tectonic plates, of ecosystems and microclimates.
And then there are the small things, mosses and marmots, petals and pikas.

You hike and walk and walk and hike and still, the mountain
is before you, as though it has taken a step for every one of yours.

To stand at the top of a mountain is to experience the
magnitude of creation in a way like no other.

When I see the mountains, I am reminded that the earth is a gift to us from God, the
Amazing Creator of this vibrant earth, with its myriad complex systems, given to us to steward and care for. We are called by God to take on this vital role as stewards of all we have been given. This call is wide and varied, from thinking about our “carbon footprint” to our footprint on mountain tundra.

As summer approaches and the mountains call us, go with
senses tuned to see and hear and touch and smell, even taste, the greatness of
our Creator in the majestic peaks and verdant forests of this amazing place we
live.

pastor of second chances

Jesus is all about second chances. that's why I love this article: Pastor of second chances

Hot Dogs and Cross-Cultural Dialogue

I stumbled across this post that I think is worth sharing. We live in a society that is quick to pigeon-hole, label and separate. Here are some folks who believe that believers of different faiths can learn from one another and live as neighbors.

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/23/pastor-pitches-reality-show-about-dinner/

Salt and Light

David Lose, professor at Luther Seminary, has an interesting suggestion: he says "We have a hard time believing that we are good, worthy, and lovable and therefore will perhaps nod politely when you call us salt and light but not really believe it. (And while I think this is true of all ages, I think it's especially true of adults! We know ourselves too well; moreover, we believe our pastors are nice people paid to say these kinds of things!) For this reason, we need to actually show people that they are, in fact, salt and light. So I suggest starting a "Salt & Light Log." Really. Start asking people to collect examples of where God has worked through them to help someone else.

"Now, I warn you: this may be difficult for many of us who were taught never to boast. (Or, more accurately, we were taught that saying anything good about ourselves publicly is boasting.) So you may have to tell people that you really need them to do this. You know, to help you with your sermon. Or you might say that they can practice by pointing out where they see someone else being salt or light, but encourage them also to look and see where God is using them as salt and light, too."

Thanks, David, for the idea. Will it work? I have no clue, but that isn't going to stop us! We’re going to give it a try. How has God been using you as salt and light? Post it here or send me an email. I'd like to know. And, I have to preach on Sunday!

A man walks in to a bar...

A man walks into a bar in Minnesota ... to preach

King's 'Letter from Birmingham Jail' still challenges us | National Catholic Reporter

King's 'Letter from Birmingham Jail' still challenges us National Catholic Reporter

Later this month we celebrate Martin Luther King Day, and in doing so remember the work done by Dr. King to bring to the forefront of our nation the issue of human and civil rights for all Americans. He was both demanding and hopeful, challenging and expectant.

As part of his famous speech at the Lincoln Memorial in August of 1963, King said “When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

"It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check.”

Nearly fifty years after this renowned speech, the challenge of equality for all is still before us. The biting winds of prejudices and separatism still blow through our nation and our community. We still look forward to the day when all people ”will be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

If you’d like to watch King’s “I have a dream” speech, click this link: http://www.mlkonline.net/video-i-have-a-dream-speech.html

King saw his cry for freedom as directly tied to the promises of the prophets, especially the words of Isaiah: I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together (Isaiah 40:3-5). His commitment to love his enemies was rooted in his Christian faith, which both empowered and sustained his work. His vision still inspires me, and it hope it inspires you, to take on the mantle of love for all people, of respect for all human beings, and to see in the face of the marginalized the face of Christ himself.

I still hope for the day when King’s dream can become our reality.