A Pastor Joke...

Rev. Jones shocked the congregation when he announced his resignation from the church and planned move to Arizona...

After the service a very distraught Mrs. Williams came to the pastor with tears in her eyes, "Oh, Pastor Bill, we are going to miss you so much. We don't want you to leave!"

The kindhearted pastor patted her hand and said, "Now, now, Liz, don't carry on so... The pastor who takes my place might be even better than me."

"Yeah", she cried, "That's what Paster Mike said when he left!"

The Star Spangled Banner

Over the Memorial Day weekend I did a little reading about our national anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner." It was written by Francis Scott Key and inspired by his witnessing a major battle in the War of 1812, a conflict most Americans know little about.

It's safe to say that most of us have never heard all four verses of the poem originally titled "Defence of Fort McHenry". But as a fan of hymns and of our great country, I enjoyed reading the whole thing, and I thought you might enjoy it, too.

Key was a lawyer who was nervously watching the British navy pound Maryland's Fort McHenry with cannon balls and recently developed Congreve Rockets. This war was no guaranteed victory for the Americans (in fact the Capitol Building and president's mansion in Washington had just been burned down before this battle). Key wonders if, when the night is over, the American flag will signal that we still hold our ground, or if Baltimore (the nation's 3rd largest city) will be destroyed. He asks:

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare,
the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night
that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

When dawn finally breaks, he gets his hope-filled answer:

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam
of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected
now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Thrilled with the victory, Key rejoices over their enemy's defeat. He apparently saw the British as haughty, mercenary professionals, and he expresses no sorrow for their loss! I love this verse, especially the first four lines, but I can see why we never hear it in our politically correct modern culture:

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save
the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight,
or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

In light of America's triumph over her enemy, Key then ends his poem with a beautiful blessing. I've heard a couple recordings over the years that include this verse, and I'd love to hear it more:

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must,
when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto:
"In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

This past weekend we've remembered some of those "freemen" who stood "between their loved homes and the war's desolation" and paid the ultimate price for our freedom. As one who has never served in the armed forces, I am so very appreciative and proud of our brave men and women who have sacrificed so much over the last 230 years to protect families like mine and to preserve our great nation. And even with its flaws, I believe this country to be the greatest country on earth, and I consider it a true gift from God for those of us who live here! Long may its banner wave!

(If you'd like to learn about the story behind the song, I suggest the Wikipedia.org page which you can find here. There is also an interesting article from the Smithsonian that includes a picture of the actual flag that flew at Fort McHenry, which you can see here.)

Memorial Day BBQ

We’ve posted pictures of our Memorial Day BBQ on the Photo Gallery section of our website.

After a special Service of Remembrance, we headed over to Discovery Meadows park for a barbecue/picnic/potluck. Despite a little chill in the air, we had a great time grilling and visiting, while the kids played on the equipment. There was some great food after which our new softball team had a practice at the field. We definitely love being together!

The Insular Gospel Ghetto

This short article by Dr. James Emery White is a good reminder to us that Jesus was a "friend of sinners" and so should we be.

UFO Fest Parade Pics

I was looking around on our website and discovered that Rebecca had put some pictures of the Alien Days Parade on our Photo Gallery page...check them out! I've also included some of my own pics below here...

Here's the wacky New Hope crew ready for launch.

You can practically see the smoke coming from my 4-year-old's brain as he takes in a group of sedentary Klingons followed by a gang of hammerhead people.

And in these two shots you can see our groovin' band as we "float" on by. Doug Selby was a last minute addition roady to make sure our generator kept working. (Three minutes before the parade started, it mysteriously quit, threatening to turn us into an awkward "air guitar" presentation).

A work in progress...

Jazz Night at Linfield

The Linfield College jazz band and choir will be putting on a concert this Friday night at 8:00 p.m.

Our own Eric Blumenstein, who plays in our worship band, is playing bass in the jazz band. If you're a jazz fan, go check it out! The concert is in Ice Auditorium (Melrose Hall) on the Linfield campus, and admission is free.

Ad Hoc Men's Choir

Last Sunday in our Mother's Day worship service we had all the guys come up front to form an ad hoc Men's Choir and sing "Amazing Grace" for the ladies. We recorded it at the sound board and put it up on the website's Downloads Page so you can have a listen. It's not exactly studio quality, but you get the idea!

(Don't forget, you can also hear Rich Bryson's Mother's Day message online, as well as most of Dewey Bertolini's messages from the past several months.)

Choir director humor...

Joe's wife likes to sing so she decided to join the church choir. From time to time she would practice while she was in the kitchen preparing dinner. Whenever she would start in on a song, Joe would head outside to the porch.

His wife, with hurt feelings, said, "What's the matter, Joe? Don't you like my singing?"

Joe replied, "Honey, I love your singing, but I just want to make sure the neighbors know I'm not beating you."

Happy Mother's Day!

Women's Luncheon!

I, of course, was not invited to the Mother/Daughter Women's Rainbow Luncheon last Sunday, but I hear it was a great event! There were over 50 in attendance, they had some good food and fun, and (judging from the pictures below) they engaged in some wacky secret female rituals that we don't normally include in our Men's Rainbow Luncheons. :)

Fortunately I had a "man on the inside" take some pictures for me, and you can see even more pictures of the event in the Photo Gallery page of our website. Check them out!

When pastors' travel allowances get out of control...

NHCF in the UFO Fest Parade!

Last year was my first experience with McMinnville’s UFO Fest, and I thought it was a blast, especially the parade! So, I thought it would be fun to have a NHCF entry in the May 19th parade this year! The event is next Saturday at 1:00 p.m. on Third Street.

You may be (and should be) asking yourself, “What is the purpose of having our church in this kooky cavalcade?” Here are my reasons:

1. It would be really fun.
2. It’s a good way to let people know we’re here (especially since we’re new).
3. It shows people that Christ’s followers have fun and enjoy being together.
4. It shows McMinnville that we enjoy being a part of the community.

The basic plan: Put our band on a flat bed trailer to play some groovy music, and have others riding/walking along to throw candy. All will need to be dressed up, and if we get ambitious maybe we’ll have some kind of float in addition to the band trailer.

What we need:
- Pick-up truck (full size) with hitch
- A good-sized flat bed trailer
- Aluminum Foil o’ plenty
- Candy
- A good generator (bigger and quieter the better)
- Funky alien stuff (costumes/props)
- New Hope banner
- Ideas!

The deadline to enter is this Monday, and we need to describe what our entry will look like. So if you’d like to help dream up our plan, we’ll have a brief brainstorming/planning meeting this Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at my house. If you’d like to participate in the planning and/or the parade, please email me back soon at brian.janssen@newhopeconnection.com.

Live long and prosper!

If God is sovereign, why pray?

Here's a thought-provoking article by John Piper that deals with predestination and prayer. What do you think?

The Sovereignty of God and Prayer

A baseball joke...

Two ninety year old men, Moe and Sam, have been friends all their lives.

It seems that Sam is dying of cancer, and Moe comes to visit him daily.

"Sam," says Moe, "You know how we have both loved baseball all our lives, and how we played minor league ball together for so many years. Sam, you have to do me a favor. When you get to Heaven, and I know you will go to Heaven, somehow you've got to let me know if there's baseball in Heaven."

Sam looks up at Moe from his death bed, and says, "Moe, you've been my best friend for years........of course, I'll tell you."

And shortly after, Sam passes on.

It is midnight a couple of nights later. Moe is sound asleep when he is awakened by a blinding flash of white light and a voice calls out to him, "Moe.... Moe...."

"Who is it?" says Moe sitting up suddenly. "Who is it?"

"Moe, it's me, Sam."

"Come on. You're not Sam. Sam just died."

"I'm telling you," "It's me, Sam!"

"Sam? Is that you? Where are you?"

"I'm in heaven," says Sam, "and I've got to tell you, I've got good news and a little bad news."

"So, tell me the good news first," says Moe.

"The good news," says Sam "is that there is baseball in heaven. Better yet, all our old buddies who've gone before us are there. Better yet, we're all young men again. Better yet, it's always spring time and it never rains or snows. And best of all, we can play baseball all we want, and we never get tired!"

"Really?" says Moe, "That's great, but what's the bad news?"

"Uhh...Sam, you're pitching next Tuesday."

"And that fills them with hope."

A couple nights ago Kelly and I watched the 2002 movie Signs by M. Night Shyamalan (of "The Sixth Sense" fame). We really like this film that's a great mix of creepy and hope-filled!

In the story, Graham Hess (played by Mel Gibson), his brother, Merrill, and his two children live on a Pennsylvania farm and are startled to find mysterious crop circles in their corn field. It turns out that there are visitors from space whose intentions are unknown, and the whole world is on edge. One late night as the two brothers are watching TV coverage of 14 space craft hovering above Mexico City, they have an amazing conversation about what it all means--it's the highlight of the film to me. Graham is a former Anglican priest, so the conversation is a spiritual one, and he tells his nervous brother:

People break down into two groups when they experience something lucky.

Group number one sees it as more than luck, more than coincidence. They see it as a sign, evidence, that there is someone up there, watching out for them. Group number two sees it as just pure luck. Just a happy turn of chance.

I'm sure the people in Group number two are looking at those fourteen lights in a very suspicious way. For them, the situation isn't fifty-fifty. Could be bad, could be good. But deep down, they feel that whatever happens, they're on their own. And that fills them with fear.

Yeah, there are those people. But there's a whole lot of people in the Group number one. When they see those fourteen lights, they're looking at a miracle. And deep down, they feel that whatever's going to happen, there will be someone there to help them. And that fills them with hope.

See what you have to ask yourself is what kind of person are you? Are you the kind that sees signs, sees miracles? Or do you believe that people just get lucky? Or, look at the question this way: Is it possible that there are no coincidences?

The great thing is, not only is "someone there", we can actually have a relationship with that Someone. He not only has everything under control, both good and bad, but as it tells us in Romans 8, nothing can separate us from His love.

There may be tragic things happening in our lives--God's ultimate aim is not our earthly happiness but His ultimate glory. But in the midst of our tragedies, big and small, we really do take hope and comfort in the fact that He is completely in control and loves us with an everlasting love.

Spring Choral Concert

Linfield College is presenting its Spring Choral Concert this Sunday, and four collegians from our own New Hope family are among the performers: Anne Muehlek, Lindsey Jorgensen, Meagan Rosson and Ethan Barske.

The concert is at 4:00 p.m. this Sunday, May 6th, and will be held at the First Baptist Church (125 S. Cowls in downtown McMinnville). Admission is free!

The concert should be interesting, because in honor of Cinco de Mayo the groups will perform songs by Latin American composers. So if you like choral music, come see Anne, Lindsey, Meagan and Ethan (and scores of their closest friends) live in concert!

Truth is truth.

At New Hope Christian Fellowship we have a real commitment to God's Word as absolute truth. It is our sole authority for how we ought to glorify God, run our church, live our lives.

I am saddened that there are many "Christian" churches that do not seem to share that same commitment. Today I read an interesting piece by Albert Mohler. He was commenting on a newspaper article in the Arizona Daily Star about Tucson area churches who are changing the language in their worship services to make church less offensive. The quotes from these church leaders just left me stunned. Try this example:

St. Francis in the Foothills United Methodist Church has been minimizing its use of "Lord" for two decades, senior pastor David Wilkinson said.

"We usually change 'Lord' to 'love' or 'soul' or 'light,' " Wilkinson said. "It's pretty much a hierarchical, patriarchal image we're getting rid of."

Or how about this one...

"Lord" has become a loaded word conveying hierarchical power over things, "which in what we have recorded in our sacred texts, is not who Jesus understood himself to be," St. Philip's associate rector Susan Anderson-Smith said.

YIKES! Now I don't think we ought to be obnoxious in our faith, nor should we be offensive out of a sense of pride or feeling of superiority. But truth is truth! And if you find yourself offended by something that is true--well, it's still true! We use a hierarchical word like "Lord" because (you guessed it) the universe has a hierarchy!

I could say a lot about this, but maybe I'll save it up for a sermon or a really long blog entry one of these days. In the meantime, I highly recommend Mohler's response to these Tucson churches and the many others like them:

Not Much 'Lord' in this Church Service

And believe me, our church is and always will be proud to proclaim the Lordship of Jesus Christ and to submit to His Word as absolute truth!