I love cutting edge apps and innovative software. Right now I am memorizing Ephesians 3:16 through an app called Verses. I find myself giving support to upcoming entrepreneurial ingenuity by subscribing to 7 day trials and cancelling before I get charged. In this story I am found standing by the bananas at Walmart when a transaction clears my account that could have costed me dinner that night. Here is the rest of the story

What I learned was that if I did not have a back up plan, I would have had to leave my grocery cart behind. I also learned that small decisions can have large implications. I am excited for the journey to financial peace so that my wife and I can continue to learn pay off debt, budget, save money, and give generously.

Hey Siri, what is culture? A Culture is used to maintain tissue cells,  and bacteria etc, in conditions suitable for growth. A positive blood culture means that you have bacteria in your blood, a sample can be taken from your blood, urine, skin, or other part of your body. A sample is a small part or quantity intended to show what the whole is like. In statistics and quantitative research methodology, a data sample is a set of data collected and the world selected from a statistical population by a defined procedure.

Let's get away from the petri dish q tip swab scenario for a moment and talk the 'way of life' of groups of people, meaning the way they do things. I was eavesdropping in the Chapel room at Midland as a small group of five or six young people were having devotion with Jeff Sickler. They talked about the need for prayer continually in order to know the will of God in their lives. They agreed that it needed to become a part of their lives personally and permeate our culture at home, church and school. I got to thinking, “how does one change an entire culture?” After doing a Google search I arrived at an article called 10 Tips for Changing Your Company’s Culture—and Making It Stick. There are undeniable, necessary business attributes in church governance. How do we influence the culture of the unseen realestate of the soul? How can we impress a message of such import to  free moral agents with varying personalities, temperaments, pride and prejudices?

I began to pray on it and got the answer a day later in the mail. It was an envelope with a handwritten letter, from a student hand delivered by a teacher. God doesn't need snail mail. The front of the letter said “To Pastor Fred.” Its contents had the ingredients for what it takes to change a culture one person at a time. What do you suppose it takes to change culture? Listen to how students define culture, while putting the UP IN OUT method into practice.

Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and they are always glad you came. You want to be where you can see, troubles are all the same. Thanks Cheers.

​It’s when you walk into a room full of strangers and you hear a familiar laugh, see a recognizable face. It is the group that identifies you first, spots you in the crowd and stands up. Everyone else between you and the table in the back doesn't seem to matter anymore. Its an instant connection as communication begins with nonverbal gestures, hand signaling and voiceless lip movements that beckon you with a smile. When you are asked, “how many will be in your party this evening?,” although you have come alone, it is an instant exponential multiplicity once you say the words,”Im with them.”

You feel more at ease once you identify where you belong. You know that these people share thoughts, feelings, ideals and values that match your own.They are glad to see you. No need for pretense, no performance requirements, no judgement. You hang your coat on the back of the chair, pull the base of your seat beneath you closer to the circle, place your elbows on the table and with a sigh of accomplishment, the Cheers begin. Its a personal status update of the mundane sequence you experienced just before you arrived. Timeless tales of great renowned about the traffic on the way over, or phrases that begin with “Tell me why.., you will never believe..” No matter what it is, they are happy to hear it. Why does that feel so good? Do you have a place like that for the holidays or in your life for that matter?

I no longer hang out by the tetherball court at the playground anymore. We surround ourselves with people who are headed the same direction in life that we are, in this case recess. The anomaly of Cheers is the truth of our basic human need to belong, mingled with the falsehood of the best places to get it. You may have heard:

“Saturday Night Live’s” Pete Davidson’s posted on instagram, “I don’t want to be on this earth anymore” and "I'm doing my best to stay here for you but I actually don't know how much longer I can last.”

Coming up next time, we will continue the theme of “belonging.” There seems to be a counterfeit, a bootleg, a phantom, an antichrist that runs deeper than popery potpourri.

For now, there are two χειρός in John chapter 10. One in verse 28 and another in verse 29. If you belong to Christ, by direct implication you belong to the Father. Which means you are in extremely good hands.

Whether you celebrate or not, have family or not, I pray this season you surround yourselves with the love, joy and peace that comes only from Emmanuel.

​Good news if you have an IRA (a.k.a. Individual Retirement Arrangement). The contribution limit has been lifted for the first time in six years. What that means for you is that you can contribute about $500 more to your retirement for the 2019 tax year.
 
The fastest route to Monmouth IL is 5 hours and 20 minutes from the church. That is if you took Interstate-35 through Kansas City to US-36 W. If you have family out in that direction you will be pleased to know that the boil order has been lifted. As a result of water main failure, the water in the area was deemed undrinkable and was required to be purified through boiling.
 
Look at the lady in the picture holding some cash rolled up, a hot beverage, and her glasses. It captures what we all may feel with the recent eruptions of violence all over the nation. The woman looks this way after a lockdown prompted by a gun call lifted at Pittsburgh Colfax K-8. Thank God no weapon found, and no one was hurt.
 
So, what do an IRA, boiling water, and a lockdown have in common? Before continuing this article, would you care to share?
 
If you said something about the spiraling depravity of our world, you have spoken correctly. If you said, “they all have nothing to do with me,” I might agree with that as well. Your life might be a copacetic rainbow pony ride at the moment and that is ok (you’re welcome, Drew).
 
The other thing these stories have in common are that limitations are being lifted. Some limitations are in place to regulate so that people do not use the favorable tax shelter of an IRA to stash cash quietly. Some limitations come with temporary variations of common practice, like boiling your water. Still some are simply just to protect.
 
In John 12:32, a limitation is lifted in direct proportion to the physical lifting up of a human body.
 
"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself."
 
The “I” in this verse is none other than the great I AM. If He is lifted up from the earth, things start to happen. We know He is being lifted up from the earth on a cross, based on the next verse. We see that when He is lifted, a peculiar phenomenon takes place. We know the Earth moves round the Sun in a dynamic equilibrium. The speed of the Earth's movement creates a centrifugal force which balances the gravitational force between the Sun and the Earth (thanks Google). This is the physics of material relationships. Now consider the spiritual draw that comes as a result of what Christ does in the narrative within the cosmic draw between good and evil. The truth of who God is, and what He hoped to accomplish through His Son is made manifest before the universe. The prince of this world 🌎 is cast out and an impossible third option has been created beyond anything we could have ever imagined. Eyes lifted, breath abated, words spoken, “It is Finished,” and with epic proportion, a covenant made since foundation of the world is enacted from the Father, through the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit in active living Words on the page you are reading at this very moment. An invitation. One thing missing. A choice. Your choice to receive this free gift, today, today, today. By faith you and I can take hold of this beautiful invitation. It has the power to change the course of your next agenda item scheduled in the next few minutes. While it may not feel like it all the time, it is the only way I am able to make it through another minute, hour, day in the face of a scary dying world. Let us lift Him up daily.
 
Pastor Fred

​Meet Mrs. Givehand, a 94-year-old African American widow living in Nebraska City her whole life. She lives across the street from the house she grew up in because it had been burned down. Adversity was commonplace for her and her family. She would study twice as hard in order to receive half the grade, and not for lack of knowledge. It was because she was considered a part time person. She became a 1st grade teacher 50 minutes out of town in Omaha because her town would only hire full time people. She drove uphill both ways every morning come heck or high water. She had a reputation to preserve and the odds were not in her favor. 
 
Years ran its course. Mrs. Givehand and her revilers experienced growth and change over time. I have had the privilege of seeing both groups eat peaceably under one roof. Singing together in her vintage floral wallpapered living room in honor her of her birthday. I have tasted the hate free, non-GMO, country fried chicken delivered special from Mary’s Cafe, a place she grew up around, right next to her father’s mechanic shop. It was a meaningfully decadent meal marinated in the ministry of reconciliation. 
 
It was against the backdrop of her life experiences that the deportment of her message impacted me with such great force. She said, “You better finish school and get that paper.” I was touched but not moved understanding the complications of my situation better than anyone else. My education was a patchy quilt with credit hours spent toward Anesthesiology, Computer Science, Media, Advertising, Theology, and Business. At the end of the day, my official transcripts were being held hostage at Southwestern Adventist University because of an outstanding bill that would take some time to pay off. One of the professors from Union College would visit our little church in Nebraska City. He would bring a small group of Theology students to preach. This fulfilled the preaching rotation schedule and allowed Dr. Fetrick to evaluate his students. I expressed my interests to him and he assured me that if I came to Union, some of the hands-on work I was already doing as a Bible worker was directly applicable as credit toward my degree in Theology.
 
My time was up as a Bible Worker one year later. They decided to vote to extend my stay another six months. Pastor Martinsen, Mrs. Givehand, and others in the congregation voted also to assist with my outstanding school bill. It was a shock, a blessing, and a call. A call to step forward in faith as the amount donated was significant, but $2,753 shy. The Conference was happy to consider me for future employment, and after talking with an advisor, found it would take two years to complete my degree. Registration day came, and my situation had not changed. Pastor Sweigart urged me to step forward in faith with the miracle of his own testimony. I showed up, spent the whole day working through a registration check list that ended with a “DENIED” because of missing transcripts. I was at peace knowing I gave it a good try. On my way back home, I got a text message. I wonder if it is still saved on my phone. I'll have to do some digging around.
 
Pastor Fred

Never been called the “P” word before. The title made me uncomfortable at first. It always felt like something you “are” rather than something you “do.” Like calling a person who drinks water a drinker. A person who breathes air, a “breather.” You my friend would be called a “reader.”
 
I’ve seen the title deified and trivialized by Pastors and members alike. Role identification and organization are essential for the motion of the movement at any given moment. I find however than when a name is assigned to anything, it becomes bureaucratic. Not sure if that is the right word. I’ll use it in a sentence:
 
“His mother, Olivia Caceres, sought asylum weeks later and — after enduring one bureaucratic hurdle after another, including a DNA test — was reunited with her son nearly three months after he was taken away.” --Thanks Dictionary.com
 
The “S” Word
All of this to say I prefer to be called the “S” word. That is a “servant.” It’s how I infiltrated the system and maneuvered my way into your pulpit. It’s how I became Associate Pastor, namely Associate Servant. This was not my doing to be quite honest. I just thought the whole infiltration maneuvering bit sounded kind of cool. It is the working of God through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. I’ll explain how.
 
Call me Jonah
Not because you “readers” are Ninevites, (no judgment if by some chance you happen to be Ninevite by blood, thanks genealogy.com) Rather because I purposed in my heart to become a disciple of Christ whether I was being paid to do it or not. After a year and a half as a Bible worker in Nebraska City, I received the unofficial training Moses received for 40 years after killing that Egyptian (No worries, my background check came back clean). Call me Jonah because I was certain God was not going to use me in the capacity of a Pastor. It was too complicated, and the time wasted on trying to “become” was time better spent “being” a servant. So I ran, thanks Jonah.
 
Coming Up Next
If you knew the story of how complicated it was for me to become a pastor, you would be amazed. It was the complication of permanently closed doors that proved to me and my wife that this was the path God had in mind. It was at every step of impossibility that I had to surrender my will to “give up,” and rest securely in the One who opens doors. Coming up next, I would like to share how I was able to be the servant God wanted me to become.
 
Pastor Fred