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This week’s guest blogger is Anthony Varesio.  Anthony will be contributing to the NewLife blog on occasion with his, as he puts it, “unfiltered and in-progress diary of the personal challenges and revelations that come with my pursuit of becoming a better person and living ‘The Way’.” 

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. (Romans 15:5-7)

I am so inundated with thoughts of spiritual and moral recovery that I have created a “traffic jam” in my mind.  I could literally write a rambling list of, or inventory of, self-realizations, focus items, or epiphanies to run an endless ink well dry.  But, one thing is weighing heavy on my mind; now stay with me, this could be a delicate situation:
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Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. (James 3:1)

This morning, The Hartford Courant had yet another story about the ongoing debacle of priests with a history of pedophilia.  The story was concerning the Diocese of Norwich and its attempts to keep secret hundreds of documents pertaining to Thomas Shea, a retired priest accused of molesting as many as 16 girls at 11 different parishes over his 40 year career.  The potential scandal in this case is that one of the letters was sent to Joseph Ratzinger, the man who is now Pope, when he was the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, the office that decides whether accused priests should have trials that could lead to them being defrocked.  Regardless of what is in those documents, the fact remains that this whole scandal is a black eye not just on the Catholic Church but on the very name of Jesus.
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Last week I reference an article in The Hartford Courant and asked the question of why we shouldn’t all just be spiritual people while keeping our distance from organized religion.  After all, with the options available to us today, it is possible to listen to your favorite preacher, worship band, and even to financially support your favorite cause, all from the comfort of your own home, without having to worry about the messiness of relating to other people.  Thank you to all who shared your thoughts on the blog or on my Facebook page.  Here are my thoughts on the matter:

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 The Hartford Courant had an interesting article this morning on a fact that should not surprise many of us, which is that the number of Americans who affiliate themselves with no religion has increased significantly over the last two decades, from 8% in 1990 to 15% in 2008.  This group, called the “Nones” by the Trinity College researchers responsible for the study, is made up atheists, agnostics, as well as people who consider themselves spiritual but do not affiliate with any particular religious group. As one person interviewed in the article put it, “I do believe in something, but organized religion has no appeal.”  All in all, this group numbers about 34 million strong.

 I have a few thoughts on this trend, but I would be interested in hearing your thoughts as well.  Read more »

When I was younger, I used to assume that pastors and priests must get free tickets to heaven for giving their life to the service of God.  I no longer believe that, now that I know that God’s grace and favor are not earned but are a free gift, and that we serve Him not for what we can get from Him but because of what we have already gotten from Him.  I’m not in this ministry for the free ticket, the money, the hours, or any of those reasons; I am doing this because I believe this is what God has made me to do.  Last week I shared five of the challenges that are unique to the pastor’s job.  This week, let me share three of the blessings that are unique to this calling. 
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“It must be nice to only work one day a week!”

Ahh, the pastor’s favorite words to hear.  To those unfamiliar with church life, it may seem that the pastor does little more than stand up on a Sunday and speak for thirty minutes and then shake hands with people as they live.  The reality, of course, is quite different.  The pastor’s job is one of the most unique jobs out there, in my opinion, and I thought it might be instructive to share five of the challenges that are unique to the pastor’s job.  Next week, I will share some of the blessings that are unique to this calling.  What I write is not meant as a complaint; rather, I believe it will help you know better how to pray for me and my family, and will be helpful to any of you who are considering going into the ministry.
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Last week I shared a story of a man who drowned in a pool full of lifeguards to illustrate what it’s like in the church when someone who comes in need of God yet is overlooked by all the Christians around them.  One of the comments I received pointed out how that metaphor could apply just as well to the cities, where there might be a church on every block yet still the same issues that destroy people while the church is afraid to get their hands dirty and jump in to help.  In light of that comment, I thought it would be interesting to share an article I read last week about an organization called Family Promise and the difference it is making in Lawrence, Kansas (among many other locations).  Family Promise is a partnership of congregations in a community that help families who are homeless get back on their feet.  For all those people who ever looked at big empty church buildings that stay empty night after night and wondered if they could somehow be used to help those who are homeless, this article is for you (the article can be found at http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2009/jun/14/program-helps-homeless-get-back-their-feet/).

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In September of 1985, there was a celebration held at a New Orleans municipal pool.  The party was being held in order to celebrate the first summer in memory without a drowning at the pool.  In honor of the occasion, two hundred people gathered, including one hundred certified lifeguards.  As the party was breaking up and the four lifeguards on duty began to clear the pool, they found a fully dressed body in the deep end.  They tried to revive Jerome Moody, 31, but it was too late.  He had drowned surrounded by lifeguards celebrating their successful season.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
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Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

In our pluralistic society, it is one thing to have faith in the God of the Bible and to commit your life to being a disciple of Jesus Christ.  But it is another thing entirely to be a missionary and to spend your life trying to live out Jesus’ words in Matthew 28:18-20, to go and make people of other nations, cultures, and faiths disciples of Jesus Christ.  Seeking to “convert” people, while true to the last words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, will win you few friends in the world, where thinking your religion is superior to another is in many minds one small step away from being a terrorist. 

 But if Jesus was right, and if His life, death, and resurrection is the only cure for our broken world, then we have a lot to learn from those fearless men and women who devote their lives to reaching those who have never heard of Jesus, even if they may be anonymous or even hated in the eyes of the world.  One such man was Ralph Winter, a great man of God who died this past week at the age of 84.  I would encourage you to learn more about this man and his contributions to the modern missions movement and to the kingdom of God (you can learn a lot about him at www.ralphwinter.org).  Let me briefly share two of the ways Ralph Winter impacted the kingdom of God.
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