PBJ

If you were to look at my calendar, you would see an event called PBJ scheduled every day. PBJ to me is not a sandwich, but Prayer, Bible, and Journaling. Others might call it their quiet time or devotional time. It is simply setting aside time each day to spend time in the Bible, to pray, and to journal.

One would think that me being a minister means I'm consistent--that this time is a given every day. Some may even think this is all we do as ministers. Boy, do I have you fooled. I am simply like everyone else. Some days my time is good and consistent. Sometimes, its horrible and lost amidst the busy and mundane.

I have struggled with making PBJ time most for most of my spiritual walk. I would do well with reading the Bible, but I would be horrible at a specific prayer time in my day. I would do well reading the Bible, but there would be days and week long gaps between when I wrote in my journal. I simply wasn't good at making time and being disciplined. Isn't that what we all struggle with?

This year I have made a purposeful effort to make more time. I've been purposeful to be more consistent and to put this time first in my day. There is an alarm set on my phone for 5:50am every week day. It goes off, and I argue with myself about getting up to spend time with God. I have been doing it for a little over a month now. I've had good weeks, and bad weeks. I've made at least three days each week.

Do I tell you this to say, "I'm better than everyone else?" Not at all! I partly say it so you can keep me accountable. You have every right to stop me some Sunday and ask, "How is PBJ going?" I'll be honest and tell you if its good or if I've given into sleeping through the mornings.

I also tell you to hopefully encourage you. We are called to live our lives for God. To do that, we need to engage our hearts and minds with him--with his Kingdom. How do you do that? How do you make time to seek God every day? If you don't, how do I help you start?

We have plenty of resources. I'd be more than happy to find you a journal to start in and give you some directions. If you need a Bible, we have plenty of those. You can even get them online for free. If you need a reading plan, we have those too. If you need a PBJ buddy--someone who will ask once in a while how it is going and how you are making space, just ask!

One more thing--I don't simply get up at 5:50 each morning to have my PBJ time because it is a requirement or a checkbox I need to fill for my spiritual life. It is me making time to allow God to shape my day. It gives me time to read Scripture and see how others lived and interacted with God and his Kingdom. It gives me the chance to pray for those around me and to thank God for the day ahead. While it hasn't been easy to get up each day, this last month has felt better. I feel better about who I am. I feel more focused on my ministry and how I am helping to lead you all to seek, study, and serve God. I don't think that has been on accident.

I encourage you to make time for God. Lean in to Him and see what happens!

The Path

Walter Neuenschwander, our new Young Adult Minister, shared with us this Sunday about Psalm 1. His message was titled, The Path.  You can listen or download below!

A silent legacy

Herb Owens died in October.

Most folks reading this have no idea who Herb Owens is. The ones who do, likely, don't read blogs or even own a computer for that matter.

But, if not for Herb Owens, I doubt very much you would be reading this.

Herb Owens was the founding pastor of South Lansing Christian Church.

More than sixty years ago, Herb and Doris Owens came to Lansing to visit some friends. While they were here, church planter Virgil Felton took them for a drive in southeast Lansing. He suggested that Lansing needed a church and that Brother Herb needed to plant that church. Several months later, in September 1952, that is exactly what happened. South Lansing Christian Church was born.

Yesterday Ruth Doty, one of our church's matriarchs, mentioned that Herb's Christmas card was returned to sender. She asked me to Google him and see what I could learn. Here is his obituary:

Herbert Arthur Owens, age 93, died Sunday September 28, 2014. A native of Indiana, Mr. Owens was the son of the late Earl and Minnie Jones Owens. Mr. Owens was a retired Minister and was a member of Galilee Christian Church. Funeral services will be held Friday October 3, 2014 at 4:00pm in the Smith Memory Chapel. Rev. Bruce Quiggle will officiate. Burial will follow in Indiana at a later date. Survivors include Nieces; Elizabeth (Bruce) Quiggle and Janet (Bob) Jewell; great nephews; Robert Bruce Quiggle and John Arthur Quiggle; sister-in-law; Nola Faye Isley; and other nieces and nephews.

No obituary can tell the full tale of someone's life. No doubt this was read at Brother Herb's funeral; his friends and family told stories of his faithfulness and leadership in the Church of Christ.

I wonder if his nieces and nephews knew that he planted a church in Lansing, Michigan? I wonder if they know that thousands of people have come to Christ in the last sixty-four years because of the church he planted? I wonder if they know that there are hundreds (thousands?) of other believers in India, Haiti, Chile, and the Dominican Republic because he planted South Lansing Christian Church?

By now Herb has had plenty of time to hang with Jesus. He's checked in with the patriarchs of the faith and the apostles who propagated it. He has caught up with Doc Doty, Bob Palmer and the rest of his SLCC friends who have gone before him. Hopefully, by the time I arrive at that same destination, Herb will have a few minutes for me. I'd like to say "Thank you!" And, if you've been blessed by the ministry of the church he founded, I'm guessing you would too.