I have a liking for mid-century modern furniture, yet, I don’t have the pocketbook for it. Instead, I own a couch that is older than me, and may even be older than my parents. It’s blue, dirt is one with the couch, and the seats are sunken in towards the middle. My boyfriend complains that it is too low and that I should get rid of it, but I refuse because I love the couch. In a seminary class, I was tasked with describing my ideal world where I find peace. It featured me, the boyfriend, my dog, and my couch. Yet all those things are either finite or temporary.

Just like the day in which I will have to get rid of my couch, finite is bad, as is getting to the bottom of a pint of ice cream and realizing that the pint does not have an infinite end. Yet, temporariness can be good. When temporary is awesome, it is the end of a workweek. We can go throughout our day or week pointing at the end of something and contemplate how its lack of permanence affects us. Temporariness is always around us, though we commonly do not take notice of the importance of temporary. 

The world has meaning because the world is finite. And we are accustomed to things having an end. Celebratory moments are dear to us because they do not last forever. Buying cotton candy (my sweet tooth again) is special because it is a once in a while purchase. 

Of course, the existence of my couch, eating cotton candy, and ice cream are small examples of finite moments, but the same lesson transfers over to irreplaceable moments and people in our lives. For all of us, we have or will experience the harsh reality of being in a world of non-permanency, whenever we lose someone we love, or go through dramatic and undesirable changes in our lives. But because we dwell in the reality of a world full of temporary, we cannot help but treasure what we have in our orbit. 

Scripture reminds us of being in a world of temporary with these words, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it,” Psalm 118:24. Though the rising of the sun seems destined, it is not guaranteed. Rather, it is a blessing from God. Take stock of what is temporary around you. You may be surprised by the reality that has not been given much thought. You may feel the need to reprioritize. Ice cream and cotton candy will taste sweeter, hugs will last longer, and the end of a work-week may actually be workless for once and awhile.

God's peace,

Pastor Alec Brock (he/him/his)

Are you a “maybe someday” person? Do you have a “maybe someday” list?

Maybe someday I’ll get new brakes for the car.

Maybe someday I’ll finish that degree.

Maybe someday I’ll go to the doctor and ask about that lump.

Maybe someday I’ll reach out to make amends.

Maybe someday I’ll take a cruise.

I’m not entirely a “maybe someday” type of a person, but there are plenty of scenarios that I push down the road to a time when there will be more hours in a day, more money in the bank, and more energy in my heart to begin or accomplish a certain something. Maybe someday.

Several friends – including some of you – have been an inspiration when you tackle stuff immediately. You schedule the brake job, finish the degree, talk to your doctor, explore the forgiveness option, and book the cruise. You move through life with a Larry the Cable Guy attitude, “Let’s get ‘er done!”

Even more than that, some of you are “early adopters.” You embrace new technology, invest in new ideas and patterns, and jump at the chance to try something new. Others wait it out, but early adopters live into the future now.

Lord of Life is an early adopter kind of a community. Long before “contemporary worship” was being discussed in Lutheran circles, Lord of Life used a variety of instruments and styles in worship. From our beginning, we’ve opened our building to outside groups and created time and space for community organizations to assemble. We have a long history of engaging issues of addiction and mental health as linked to our spirituality. Rather than circle in ourselves, Lord of Life has invested dollars and hands in our local, regional, and global ministry partners, extending the living, sharing, and celebrating of our Christian faith to all people.

This year has forced us to be early adopters in new areas, too. Over the last seven months, our exceptional staff has figured out how to make worship and ministry connections happen beyond our building. Online worship, virtual meetings and Bible studies, along with an alternative model of Vacation Bible School (VBS) were “maybe someday” ministry elements which were thrust to the forefront with COVID precautions and restrictions. All of these new virtual tasks and many more have been added to the already full plates of our ministry team.

As we look to the coming year, one of the areas of focus for growing our mission spending plan for 2021 includes “The Future Of Ministry Excellence.” This not only includes first fruits giving to our ministry partners and a cost of living raise for the Lord of Life staff who work tirelessly to help us live out our mission, but also a new part-time Digital Ministry Coordinator to help Lord of Life sustain high quality online worship and faith formation experiences. This person will also supplement and enhance our in-person experiences.

As we have seen during the pandemic, the way we worship has changed. Thank you for adapting and continuing to support our ministries. Your generosity has allowed us to remain connected while socially-distant and has also expanded our digital ministry footprint, reaching people for whom “Maybe someday I’ll reconnect with church” has become a reality!

Thank you for following Jesus – the first early adopter of all things that truly matter – love, forgiveness, joy, and hope. We love, because he first loved us.

Someday is today!

Pastor Lowell

We had our first preschool chapel a few weeks ago in the outdoor worship space. Over two days, our seventy-five little ones gathered beneath the canopy of changing leaves and the autumn sky to talk about God’s amazing creation. We read through each day of the Creation story, finishing with a resounding, “And God saw that it was good!”

If you’ve ever been present for the children’s message, you know that the leader needs to be ready to respond to anything at a moment’s notice. A few years ago, as I was explaining the beauty and mystery of that Easter morning, a child piped up and declared, “Jesus is a zombie! He was dead, but is alive forever!” She couldn’t help but share her epiphany with the assembled community.

Little ones aren’t the only ones to have enthusiastic “A Ha!” moments. Lifelong learning is part of our Christian faith. We not only read Scripture and listen to sermons to gain new insight, but we also invest in new hymns and worship songs, dig deep into difficult conversations, expand our generosity to meet a need, explore new ways to serve, and stretch our hearts, souls, and minds in hopes of growing in faith.

We experience clarity in moments of prayer or meditation. A book, film, music, or conversation can illuminate a reality we hadn’t noticed before. Sometimes, we can’t help but blurt out our discovery to the world! We trust that God is not done working and growing in us.

Robin J. Steinke, President of Luther Seminary, declares, “[We] cling to the same hope that energized the first reformers half a millennium ago: God is at work, forming faith by the power of the Holy Spirit, and transforming the world through the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the hope that fuels our efforts in faithful innovation.” 

This is a time of dreaming and living into a future filled with hope. All of us have recognized during this COVID season how our ministry needs to adapt to our new reality. As we build for the future of ministry at Lord of Life, formation in Christian faith and continuing growth as disciples will be essential. We need help and guidance as we continue to learn and grow as a people in this place.

We are making plans for the addition of a Director of Faith Formation in the new year. We are fortunate that our church is committed to growing and learning! Engaging a new ministry leader in this role will provide our congregation with a powerful focal point. They will work with individuals to discern their gifts and passions, and work with staff and other ministry leadership to identify ways to enrich our already vibrant learning and serving moments – allowing them to connect people with opportunities to encounter the promises of God and wrestle with issues of faith. The synergy created by having a staff member dedicated to individual discernment, and equipping and empowering leaders, will allow us to expand our spectrum of ministry.

As our world changes, so do the ways that God invites us to love and serve one another. God’s faithfulness to us and our enduring, creative response as a community of faith, allows us this time of dreaming and living into a future filled with hope. God told the prophet Jeremiah, “I know the plans I have for you. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT). Those same promises spill into our lives, fueling us for ministry.

God is good!

Pastor Lowell

I recently went to Duke Divinity School in North Carolina for some continuing education. Well, I didn’t really go to Duke, but joined in a virtual conversation for their annual Fall Pastor’s Convocation series offered for pastors across the country.

The Dean of Duke Divinity, L. Gregory Jones, addressing the webinar, explored “Navigating the Future in the Midst of a Heavy Fog.” Jones contends that we are currently experiencing four overlapping pandemics: COVID, racial injustice and systemic racism, economic disruption, and a mental health crisis. Any of these on their own have the ability to trigger massive anxiety and disruption, but the compounding realities at the intersection of these issues creates a deep unease within ourselves, our families, our churches, communities, and the world. Jones compared the looming chaos and unpredictability to a heavy fog.

I don’t know how you drive in heavy fog, but I’m overly cautious. Even on the roads of Butler County, which might be familiar to me and well-traveled in my daily life, I move forward with hyper-attentiveness and restraint, trying to anticipate what might emerge from the mist. What’s ahead? When do I need to slow down or turn? Each of these are difficult to comprehend when not able to look ahead with clarity.

Throughout the biblical narratives, people often met God in cloudy and foggy moments. A fog was lifted from eyes and hearts. God spoke from the cloud and the Spirit descended. Jesus was shrouded in haze on the mountaintop during the Transfiguration and the Israelites were led by a pillar of cloud and fire through the wilderness wanderings.

We don’t know what the coming months hold, but we trust that God will meet us in the fog of our lives and bring transparency. The One who has been faithful throughout all of history, will continue to guide us. As we move through the clouds of this season, we are planning with clarity for the future.

Looking at our 2021 Mission Spending Plan, you will notice that we have some new additions. Our congregational and community needs continue to grow, so we are proposing new staffing positions to help us grow in faith, first, adding a Director of Faith Formation. This person will devote attention and energy to engaging and equipping people of all ages with tools and opportunities for deepening their discipleship, by inviting them into transformational learning and serving moments.

We also hope to round out our digital strategy by hiring a part-time Digital Ministry Coordinator to help Lord of Life sustain high quality online worship and faith formation experiences, while also supplementing and enhancing our in-person experiences. As we have seen during the pandemic, the way we worship has changed and has allowed us to remain connected while socially-distant and reach people that previously were not attending in-person worship.

What a gift it is to not be in the fog alone. God promises to be with us and, to sweeten the deal even more, God gives us traveling companions who encourage us and walk boldly into the future with us.

Navigating together,

Pastor Lowell

As you all can imagine, as a Louisville native, my eyes have been glued to television news since the Kentucky Attorney General announced that though there are three charges of wanton endangerment for one officer who blindly fired his bullets through the walls and into an adjacent apartment, there will be no charges for the killing of Breonna Taylor. Protests quickly ensued around the city, and even around the country. I sat on my couch as I saw a seminarian classmate march on my living room television. I scrolled through my Facebook newsfeed, seeing videos and updates from people on the ground. And I wish I was there with them. 

Weeks before moving to West Chester, I was protesting in downtown Louisville because of Breonna Taylor’s death. And though I protested for racial justice and criminal justice reform, I also assumed that based on the letter of the law, there would be no charges for the officers who killed Breonna Taylor. At least, not any murder charges. In my reasoning, Breonna Taylor’s death could not simply be blamed on three officers. Instead, it was due to a flawed system that ordered a wrongful no-knock warrant at the wrong location, for someone already in police custody. The right to self-defense (arguably reckless self-defense) in response to another exercising their right to “stand your ground” caused six bullets to hit Breonna Taylor, who was simply there. Not shooting. Just being in her apartment. 

Yet, I still felt sorrow hearing there would be no charges. Sorrow because prosecuting a system, and not a person, does not feel like real justice. What recompense is there when the perpetrator is a system issuing a poor order? Reforms are restorative, and for them I am thankful, but how do they bring justice for what has been done? Though I understand the lack of murder charges, there is a large hole in need to be filled. In regards to this case, even when the justice system issues a reasonable verdict according to the letter of the law, justice is not served.

As you can see, I am perplexed. On one hand, I understand the reasoning of the jury and Kentucky’s attorney general. And on the other, I am mad because Breonna Taylor was wrongfully murdered and there is a lack of justice. I wish I was marching in Louisville, as I want justice to roll down like waters (Amos 5:24), yet, for Breonna, I am unsure what that looks like. 

You’re probably wondering why I am telling you about my wrestling. I want you to sit with me in my unresolved thoughts. I want you to understand what seems to be a loop of the same thoughts. They have kept me up to 2 am, typing this. And I want you to welcome it. As Christians, we do not have the luxury of complacency in moments of injustice. In a case like this, we have to sit with complexities. We have to feel sympathy for the oppressed. It is easy to accept that it is a nuanced issue, thus, not needed to be touched. But that is not what we are called to do. 

Right now I feel inadequate for my lack of firm positioning. Because of my ongoing questioning, I am not fully sure what exactly God calls me to say at this moment. But I know words are necessary, and silence in moments of injustice is violence. Thus, I must sit with this troubling reality. And you’re not off the hook, either. We’re in this uneasy time together.

God has something to say. Your reflection upon Breonna Taylor’s death or race relations may be different from my own. Perhaps you think justice was served. Perhaps you think there should have been murder charges. Nonetheless, we cannot ignore the reality. Theologian Karl Barth, pastor during World War I, frequently preached on the privilege of living in “a unique time of God.” We are in a unique time as we are placed in our time to be witnesses of God’s justice. Privileged to carry-on the fight of the civil rights movement. Privileged to provide the healing words of the gospel to a broken world. Though it may feel burdening, we are privileged to be in God’s redemptive work. And sometimes, the discernment to answer God’s call is not crystal clear. Now may be one of those moments, yet, now is not a time to look away; it is a time to be uneased. 

Still Wrestling,

Pastor Alec Brock

(he, him, his)

Five months ago, Jennie Gruber and other gardeners put seeds in the ground on our property in hopes that they would become carrots, tomatoes, zucchinis, and other varieties of delicious veggies. It worked! All summer long, volunteers picked, packaged, and delivered fresh produce to local families in need. Back in the spring, we couldn’t be absolutely sure what would happen, but the holes were dug and the seeds were nestled down in the soil in hopes the harvest would come.

This past Sunday, a handful of people trimmed bushes and spread mulch around the playground at Union Elementary School. We don’t know if the children will be able to enjoy that area all year long or just for a few more weeks – it all depends on what COVID does – but that didn’t stop us. We cleaned up and beautified that space trusting that our efforts would not only visually enhance the space, but also make that area more conducive to play and would encourage little ones and their encounters with creation.

People of Christian faith are future-focused people. We aren’t ever certain what the immediate future holds, but that doesn’t stop us from leaning into the coming days with hope. This orientation doesn’t make us oblivious to the realities around us and we certainly don’t ignore the pain and suffering that plagues people and communities. We also don’t diminish the mountaintop joys and thrills of the here and now. Life is filled with both. We dwell in both the already, but not yet. We are fully present right here, right now, and also have our eye on the horizon for something that’s coming our way.

Last time I visited my mom, I noticed that she had a new wall hanging in her kitchen. “Not to spoil the ending, but everything is going to be OK.” God promises to be with us on the highs and lows of our journey throughout life, as well as a future of full restoration, healing, and complete peace—shalom. God promises us that there will be a day when the lion and the lamb will lay down together (Isaiah 11), tears will be wiped from our eyes (Revelation 21), and death will be turned to life (Romans 6). Echoing the biblical voices, Bob Marley sings, “Don’t worry about a thing, ‘cause every little thing is gonna be alright.”

We’re going to be talking about the future a lot this year. What will ministry and life look like in the season of COVID and beyond? What will our moments of worship, learning, and serving look like as we adjust to the new rhythms and regulations of our life together? As we dream and look ahead, what has this season of quarantine and isolation taught us about ourselves and about God? How can we live into the future as one in Christ, when we live in a polarized society and envision things in a variety of ways? Do our differences pull us in opposite directions or merge us together, forging even stronger bonds with one another for a shared purpose in loving and serving God and our neighbors in need?

Everything before us is God’s loving work. The Spirit of God stirs our hearts and minds, moves our hands our feet, and puts us in motion for mission. We can’t help but live, share, and celebrate right where we are.

Looking forward to all that is ahead,

Pastor Lowell