We Are Family

We Are Family

In 1979 Sister Sledge released the hit dance song, “We are Family.”  This catchy tune is a reminder that family is more than just biology, it’s more than the people that share your DNA, family is a reality that crosses social, economic, and political structures.  Family is such a strong word that drums within us emotional responses.  Sometimes when we think of family our hearts are flooded with joy-filled memories and then there are moments where the term family tears open a wound.  Family is complicated, but one of the greatest realities of the word “family” is a spiritual one.  From the Old Testament to the New, we Christians embrace our identity as members of the family of God.  We are family.  Perhaps one of the most profound examples of being family is the early church.  As people started following Jesus a new family reality began to emerge.  A reality where widows were taken care of, children that were abandoned adopted in, and the poor and powerless embraced.  No longer were religious people concerned with DNA and biology, now they embraced a family marked by the waters of baptism.  Baptism, not biology became the marker of what it meant to be part of the family of God.

This week as I have embraced the newest member of the Billups’ family, I am reminded of just how awesome and powerful it is to be part of the family of God.  Throughout this week, not only have I received hundreds of messages through cards, Facebook, email, and text, but also I have felt the prayers of my family.  It is incredible to be a part of the family of God right here at Shiloh Church!  Jon and I are grateful for your love and support during this time of new life in our lives!  And I am also incredibly grateful for the leadership of Shiloh Church, both our staff and also our lay leaders.  Everyday I am reminded of the gifts and passion of Pastor Brent, Pastor Danny, and Pastor Dorian and how they are giving their all to gift me with this time away.  As family I want you to know that I am praying for you daily and I ask you to pray for me, Jon, Adeline, Christopher, and Baby David.  We will need all the prayers you can send our way.  

Shiloh, we are family!  I thank God that I have such an incredible family at Shiloh Church!  

Blessings, 

Pastor Rachel 

New Life

New Life is always something we marvel at: from the birth of new babies to the tree buds of spring.  New life fills us with wonder, anticipation and a sense of hope.  And even though our mornings of late feel more like fall than the heart of summer, new life is all around us: a new Shiloh campus in Price Hill, a regular stream of new faces in Delhi,  and even a new order of worship in all Delhi services!  This weekend we will have passed out 800 back packs at Shiloh Fest to families eager to prepare for this new school year.  Our building will be full to over flowing with people looking to the future in the faces of their children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.  It’s an awesome experience!  But Shiloh Fest isn’t just about the back packs, it’s about relationships.  We want to build relationship with people in our community, people in our church, and ultimately we want our relationships to point people to a relationship with Jesus Christ! We want people to experience the new life that only comes from Jesus!  Whether you’ve been a Shiloh for a while, or you are brand new, a relationship with Jesus can bring a renewed hope to our lives every single day.  And we need it!  We need that regular reminder that new life is possible, that abundant life is possible!   In John 10:10, Jesus said, “I have come that you might have life and have it to the full.”  Jesus wants us to live and I mean really live.  No matter what we are experiencing in our everyday lives, Jesus can bring a hope, a refreshment, and a renewal that will open our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls to the new life all around us!  He is making all things new!  

Hopefully as you are reading this, I am celebrating new life!  Like the rest of my kids, David Isaiah Billups has decided to take a few extra days to hang out in the womb, but I know I will not be pregnant forever.  New life will happen!  Not only in my life, but also in yours.  Jesus has come to bring us life!

Blessings, 

Pastor Rachel 

Hurry Up and Wait

“Wait for the Lord;  be strong and take heart  and wait for the Lord” (Psalm 27: 14 NIV).  

I’ve got to be honest, I hate to wait.  I’m not naturally a patient person.  I don’t like to wait in lines, I don’t like to wait for my Wifi to work, and I certainly am not found of waiting for big events to happen in my life.  So you can imagine that I am not doing a great job of waiting on the Lord these days.  As I write today’s blog I am 12 days and counting from my due date.  If the past is any indication of the future, I may have to wait a few extra days before I meet the child that has occupied my body over the last 9 months.  You could say, “it’s worth the wait.” True, but in the midst of being uncomfortable, anxious, and just in general as busy as I can possibly be, waiting is the last thing on my to do list.  

You might find yourself waiting.  Maybe it’s not a baby that you are waiting for.  Maybe it’s an answer, a decision, a job, or even a friend.  But a lot of life seems like a hurry up and wait.  If we don’t pay attention to the waiting, we will miss a lot.  In our “need for speed” sometimes we can fail to reflect, fail to enjoy, and fail to wait for the presence of the Lord in our lives.  Just as a new born baby is worth the wait, so is the presence of God.  God is worth the wait.  I wonder do you ever spend time waiting for the Lord.  Sitting in a quiet place: on a porch, in the woods, or even just at your kitchen table; quiet, listening, waiting on the Lord?  It’s not easy, especially for hurry up and wait people like me, but it makes all the difference.  It gives us time to breathe, it gives us time to reflect, it gives us time to live in the present moment.  

I may be in a hurry to have this baby but I don’t want to miss the opportunity to wait for God.  

Blessings, 

Pastor Rachel   

What does it mean to be ordained?

Throughout the last couple of weeks we have been talking about the next steps that our Associate Pastor and Director of Discipleship Ministries (birth-college age), Brent Dearnell, is taking toward becoming an ordained pastor in The United Methodist Church.  This Wednesday, July 17, at 7pm, we will be having a Charge Conference to confirm the SPPRC’s (Staff Pastor Parish Relations Committee) decision to affirm Brent’s request to become a Certified Candidate for Ordained Ministry.  Now some of you might be asking yourselves what does all of this mean?  

In The United Methodist Church we have a process for everything so it shouldn’t be surprising to note that there is a lengthy process for ordaining pastors within our denomination.  It takes years--a call from God, an education (both college and graduate school), and prayerful discernment both on the part of the person who is called and the people that are affirming that calling.  So what are we doing on Wednesday Night?  We are affirming the call on Brent’s life.  We are asking ourselves the question, “Do we see the fruit of pastoral ministry in Brent Dearnell?”  Although the Leadership Council will be the group to take the official vote, if you would like to be a part of the conversation you are more than welcome to attend Wednesday Night’s Meeting in Class Room 1.  

This is an exciting time in Brent’s life.  Not only is he taking the next steps toward his call in ministry, but he is also growing as a spiritual leader here at Shiloh.  That’s why it’s without hesitation that I will be passing the baton of leadership to Brent while I’m on maternity leave.  In other words, Brent is in charge!  Don’t hesitate to contact Brent with any pastoral care concerns or ministry concerns you might have.  He can be contacted at brent@shilohumc.com or 513-451-3600 #106.  Please join with me in praying for Brent while he takes these next steps in his faith journey.  

As always pray for your pastors.  I need it, Brent, Danny, and Dorian need it.  It is truly an honor to serve Shiloh United Methodist Church.

Blessings, 

Pastor Rachel 

   

A Real Treasure Book

When I was growing up, I can remember a book that my mother kept by her night stand.  It was a cloth- bound, bright red book with very old images throughout it.  It looked kind of like an ancient treasure book- with it’s funny pictures and fancy lettering.   It wasn’t until I got older that I discovered that this mysterious treasure book was none other than an old book of Psalms.  One could say that the book of Psalms is a treasure book.  

The book of Psalms is the longest book in the Bible, and it contains the longest chapter of the Bible- Psalm 119.  Written over hundreds of years, many of it’s chapters are attributed to Bible giants like David and Moses.  It seems that the book of Psalms was written as a kind of hymn book (book of liturgies) purposed for worship, first in the Tabernacle and then in the Temple.  Most of the Psalms are set to song.  You may notice as you read through the book of Psalms headings that describe the type of instrument that would have been used for a particular psalm.  For example Psalm 5, “For the director of music.  For flutes. A psalm of David.”  For thousands of years people have been using the book of psalms as a song book for worship.  One of the founders of the Reformation movement in the 16th century, John Calvin believed the book of Psalms to be the perfect book of worship.  He wrote, “There is no other book in which we are more perfectly taught the right manner of praising God, or in which we are more powerfully stirred up to the performance of this exercise of piety.”   His beliefs on the book of Psalms lead some Protestant faith traditions to limit their hymn singing to the psalms.  Although we, as United Methodist, don’t limit our praise to the Psalms, many of the songs found in our hymn book and modern worship songs are inspired by or a direct quote of a psalm.  

But these scriptural treasures are not just songs of praise, they also include words of lament (passionate grief), prayers of confession, declarations of trust, and words of wisdom.  In essence it is a treasure book, a book filled with expressions of our deepest emotions, our frustrations, our victories, our hopes, and our dreams.  My mom still keeps that little cloth book on her self, she still reads from its pages, she still sings it’s songs, and she still prays it’s prayers.  Reading through and praying through the book of Psalms is a great way to connect to God.  So throughout the month of July I want to challenge you to read the book of Psalms and discover it's treasures for yourself! 

Blessings, 

Rachel   

A New Dream

Have you ever given up on a dream?  Have you said goodbye to something that you were hoping for but just never really panned out?  Has someone in your life died and when they died so did that dream?  Truth be told we’ve given up many dreams throughout our lifetimes. When I was a little girl I dreamed of being a country music star (remember I grew up in the heart of the Hocking Hills).  I would ride my bike throughout our “neighborhood” making up songs and dreaming of the day that I would sing in front of thousands of people.  But as I grew up and my fear of singing in front of people grew larger, I realized that dream would never be actualized-no Grand Ole Opry, no CMAs, no glitter and rhinestones- no country music superstar.  Many of us dream these kinds of dreams and whether you dreamed of the day when you would bat for the Reds or spend your Sunday afternoons returning kick-offs for the Bengals, those dreams come and go with little to no emotional damage.  But what about other dreams: relationships that never come to pass, careers that never come to fruition, children that die suddenly.  What about those dreams? 

This week we are continuing to read through the book of Job and Job begins and ends with dreams.  Both in the preface and epilogue of the book of Job we see dreams that die and dreams that are revived.  It’s interesting that Job (which some scholars believe to be the oldest book of the Bible) is so human, so emotional, so much like real life.  Job’s dreams are shattered when he loses not only his possessions, but especially his children.  I guarantee Job had dreams for each and every one of those 7 sons and 3 daughters.  Normal kind of parent dreams like having a career, family, and a future.  As a parent of soon to be 3 children, I dream of the day when my kids will graduate high school, college and even graduate school.  I notice special traits about them and wonder what career, what calling has God placed on their lives?  And so I can imagine Job dreamed incredible dreams for these kids.  So no wonder he collapsed when he found out that those dreams were smashed by the walls of the home of one of his children.  And frankly Job spends a lot of time questioning and wondering why those dreams have to die.  But God doesn’t leave Job dreamless.  No; by the end of the book, by the epilogue, God has given Job a set of dreams, a new life, a new career, and even, yes, a new family.  Do I believe for a second that Job forgot those old dreams?  No, but those old dreams didn’t keep Job from living out the new ones.  Sometimes we have to let go of old dreams to allow God to birth a new dream within our hearts, minds, and souls.  So I wonder, what new dreams is God birthing in you?  What dreams are you being asked to dream?           

What Did I Just Say?

Sometimes we find ourselves in places and spaces in life where frankly we are just at a loss for words.  Perhaps the most frequent of those moments is when people are experiencing tragedy in their lives.  From the sudden loss of a loved one to the announcement of a diagnosis, it’s difficult to know what to say and how to say it.  We may find ourselves fumbling over our words and leaving our friends and family thinking to ourselves, “what did I just say?”  “Did I really mean to say that?”  Most of the time we are looking to bring peace, comfort, and a little hope to their lives.  On a regular basis when I am talking to people going through tragedy I pray, “God help me to say what you want me to say or just keep my mouth shut.”  But for some reason when people are silent, we like to fill the silence with words.  That’s exactly what was happening in the book of Job.  Job is one of the most perplexing and yet profound books of the Bible.  Considered part of the Wisdom Literature in the Old Testament, much of Job reads like a beautiful yet complicated poem.  Woven within the poetry are “words of comfort” from three of Job’s friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar.  Although these words are meant to help Job in the middle of loosing all his family, all his property, and even his health, their words don’t seem very comforting or helpful.  Maybe it’s because they come off as theological platitudes rather than words of compassion or empathy.  Chapter after chapter Job is blasted for his depression, his defeat, his utter despair toward life and God.  And to the modern reader these friends don’t come off as friends at all.  They seem more like people obsessed with being “right” about their understanding of God and life, rather than comforting a friend who has experienced overwhelming tragedy.  And yet as we read further we will discover there are some truths about God in what Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar have to say.  There is the tension between the character of God and the comfort of Job.  It’s that tension that keeps us from quickly dismissing the words of Job’s friends but at the same time looking at Job with sincere compassion.  The story of Job is a complicated story, but one that really challenges our understanding of life, fairness, good, and bad.  Sometimes we live under this illusion that if we come to church, if we serve God, then our lives will be comfortable, easy, and successful.  But Job is an ever-present reminder that health, wealth and success are not the aims of a Christian life, rather we are called to love God and others as ourselves in the middle of all life circumstances-the good, the bad, and the just plain awful.  

As we experience the many ups and downs in life and as we bring comfort to our family and friends, let’s always remember we don’t have to defend God.  We don’t have to speak on God’s behalf.  All we really need to be is present.  And our presence is enough.  Will there be moments when we think to ourselves, “Did I really just say that?”  absolutely, but that doesn’t mean we stop trying to bring comfort to people who need a healing touch.  

Blessings

Pastor Rachel