Getting Graded on the Gospel

I rehearsed my first official Toastmasters speech (the "Icebreaker") a time or two in the car. I wanted to make sure I shared the right stories and struck the right tone. My speech was entitled "Worst of Hypocrites" (re-telling here is based on memory, since I don't use notes).

"My name is Stephen Roberts. I am a follower of Jesus Christ, a husband to my best friend, a father of two children that I adore, and...sad, but true...a hypocrite.

I know that hypocrisy is the reason why many claim to reject Christianity, and if you are one of those people, then I am the guy you're talking about. I am a hypocrite, and it runs in my family.

(My dad, in his repentance, is very gracious with me speaking about our past.)

My parents became Christians when they were in college--as hard as it might be for some of you to believe--I know people can often take Christianity for granted out here.

A few years after getting married and having their first batch of kids, my dad's business collapsed. He became very depressed and was prone to despair. This from the same guy who took us to church week after week to hear about the one source of true hope in the world!

His depression wasn't tied up in a neat, little bow, but gave way to anger. He took his children to Sunday School week after week to hear about a Savior who bore the world's anger, but didn't repay it in kind. Yet he manifested that same anger toward his family.

But who am I to point the finger at my dad?

When I became a Christian, in many ways, I was a jerk. Even though I believed that my new faith was a sheer gift of grace, I berated others for not embracing an obvious truth--as if it had been obvious to me!

And my hypocrisy continues to the present day. Tonight, I led my family in prayer around the dinner table. Yet, earlier in the day, I was impatient toward my little boy--who bares all my same traits!--and with my wife, who is so wonderfully different from me. I had the gall to lead the family I hadn't loved well before the Lord in prayer.

I am a hypocrite, but not without hope. In fact, I think that we are all hypocrites--striving for standards or ideals that we can't possibly keep. I am and will always be a hypocrite. I strive to keep the law of God. How can I possible keep God's law when I am a mere man, broken under the weight of my own sin and suffering? My hope is found in the fact that God sent His Son to fully keep that law in my place, so that I can get up each day anew and strive to keep it in gratitude.

But let's leave the language of hypocrisy. I think it best to describe people as messes. We are all messes, broken under the weight of our sin and suffering, The question is "Whose mess?" You are either God's mess or your own mess. I am God's mess.

God tells us in His Word that "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (and Paul adds), of whom I am the worst. But it was for this very reason, that in me, the worst of sinners, He might display His unlimited patience as an example for those who might believe and have eternal life."

When you see me, you will not see strength, but weakness; Not wisdom, but foolishness. But I hope that you will also see that I am God's mess. I hope that you will see that His same patience can be your hope.

I sincerely thank you for your time."

Here are a few excerpts of the written feedback on the substance of my speech:

"We are messes--like that description. Great message about being a hypocrite. You told a story. People love hearing messages in a story. It's relatable. Very sincere, nice pace--voice loud and clear. Great enthusiasm."

"As an active church goer, I sympathized and could think of examples from my own experience."

"Confident, powerful, sincere...Good introduction; content came from the heart. Great message for us to apply to ourselves. Everything "vocal" was excellent."

"It was personal, informative and teaching/preaching. Very enthusiastic, forceful. It was fast at the end, but that is you!"

"Your ability to tell a story makes me feel like I'm transported to the moments in the past as you described your very personal story. We got to know you extremely well since you were so open about yourself...The speech was well structured, but flowed freely. Like a great conversation with a friend. I wouldn't ask you to change anything about the speech. I like how personal and humble the story was. For most people, it's difficult to own up to our flaws. I like that you shared your faith openly and how it makes you the person that you are."

For my own part, I love having a captive audience for whatever it is I want to share. And I love that they need to pay rapt attention in order to take notes. :) I also appreciate the feedback and believe I'll grow from it, by God's grace.

If any of you in the Falls area would like to practice your public speaking and/or share your faith with others, come and visit this fun club! We meet every other Monday at 6:30pm at Uno Chicago Grill. Come put your mess on display!

Further Inroads: A Status Report

Greetings, Friends.

It has been a while since I've written, and for good reason: We've finally closed on our house. It's more than a house. It's a blessing to us and an instrument of blessing to others.

We feel truly blessed here. On the same day as the closing, a number of church members joined me in loading up a U-Haul at our storage unit, and then unloading it at the house. Thanks to their labor of love, the whole process took about two hours. The next morning, another group of folks from the church came to our house and helped us unpack about 90% of our belongings. Our hyperactive toddler has plenty of room to run around, and our little infant girl can crawl to her heart's delight.

Due to this tremendous show of support, our family has not been completely swamped with unpacking. Last Monday, I officially joined the Toastmasters, waited for the impromptu speech portion, pulled a coin out of a bag, and spoke about the year on the coin and what it meant for me.

2012. That was the year in which my wife and unborn baby went under the knife. That was the year I prayed that the Lord would take me instead of my wife and child. That was the last year I would have with my wife and child before I would deploy and potentially have my prayer answered. But I could bear 2013, because the Lord had blessed my 2012.

On Wednesday, I conducted my first run "meetup" in the bitter cold behind A.J. O'Brady's pub. I met a new Catholic friend on that run, and he joined me afterward at the Legion bar for a drink. We talked for about an hour, and shared some banter with some of the men at the bar. This new friends has borne a great deal of heartache. Let us pray that his trail of tears become for him a pathway of grace.

"They make the vale of tears a spring, with showers of blessing covering." (Paraphrase of Psalm 84:6 in the Psaltar hymnal)

Early this week, I took over the Meetup group that was formerly devoted to the Menomonee Falls Young Professionals. The online portion was about to be shut down, and the group allowed me to re-purpose the site. I have tentatively called in "Dinner, Drinks, and Deep Discussions" after the same-titled group in Sterling, Virginia. I am not sure how best to reach the surrounding community with this group, nor what form it should take. Please pray that the Lord would give me wisdom in this matter!

Yesterday, I met with a troubled teen and his mentor, who attends our church in the evening. This young man lives in a home with his adopted mom, an array of adopted siblings, and his mom's live-in boyfriend, who constantly threatens him. His mom likewise threatens to give him up to foster care (a virtual death sentence for a young man of his age). By God's grace, the state of Wisconsin has a program that allows at-risk teens to do five months of dual training/learning at Ft. McCoy. In His providence, I will drive by Ft. McCoy every time I go to my drill at Eau Claire, and a number of our drills will actually be in the field at Ft. McCoy. That means that I can probably visit this kid once a month. This kid also represents the community we're trying to reach in the greater Falls area--broken under the weight of sin and suffering and in need of grace (just like us!).

Today was probably the best of them all. The soldiers at the local recruiting station secured me an invite to their monthly gathering in nearby north Milwaukee (15 minutes from our house). Upon my arrival, the Company Commander told me how much they've longed for chaplain support over the years and told me of a number of the ways he hoped I could get involved. He then gave me an hour to just talk with the gathering of recruiters from all over the Milwaukee area. It was a precious time. They saw my heart for them, and responded in kind. They took almost all of my business cards and church invitation cards, and a number of them said they'd be in touch. This will hopefully be the first step in the intertwining of my pastoral and chaplain callings in and around Menomonee Falls.

This afternoon, I visited the head of the Business Improvement District in downtown Menomonee Falls. She oversees all of the businesses and improvement projects in that area. I secured a booth for Falls Presbyterian next Saturday at the Christmas Market--a fair of sorts for the community where independent businesses will advertise their goods inside the downtown businesses. Ironically, our church booth will be in The Main Mill--a prominent pub. For four hours, folks from our church will hand out free Bibles, books, invitation cards, candy, and (hopefully) hot chocolate.

Only two days before that fair, I will host the first Menomonee Falls "Turkey Trot" on Thanksgiving morning. It will probably not draw many people--only two have signed up so far on Meetup--and we're starting late in the ballgame. But it will be a good trial for what could be the first annual Menomonee Falls Turkey Trot next year, supported by the downtown Business Improvement District. Both the trial run this year and the potential run next year would draw attention both to the charming downtown of the largest village in Wisconsin, as well as to the host church--Falls Pres--which will bring all donated goods to the local food pantry.

For those of year in the area, please consider coming to both of these events next week!

One final note--our church family has been amazing. Several men in the church diagnosed and fixed our plumbing issues and have offered their services for other handyman projects. Families continuously drop off meals, and some have given us extra frozen meals for later. One family heard that we lacked a microwave and dropped one off for us tonight. Meanwhile, the elders have constantly offered me wise counsel to further hone the work I try to do, and at the same time eagerly encourage me to act boldly. I am pretty sure that this sure has already metaphorically offered us the shirt off of its back.

All of this reminds us, of course, of the wise words once preached by my friend, Phil Proctor: This is not my ministry, nor our ministry. This is God's ministry. He has simply privileged us, by grace through in Jesus to Christ, to take part in His breathtaking work.

Random Tidbits and Prayer Requests

It's the small things. I already shared a little bit about my time with one of my Army units this weekend, so I probably don't need to tell you that these are tiring weekends. I may be a bubbly extrovert, but imposing yourself upon dozens of strangers from the early hours of the morning until the early hours of the evening is not easy work!

But God's grace is ample and sufficient. I forgot my coffee when I left home yesterday morning for my hour-long car trip. So I stopped by a charming independent coffee place in small town called Mukwanago (try pronouncing that!). The staff and customers all greeted me warmly, thanking me for my service, and the owner gave me a $5 gift card for coffee in the future. We'll be back!

During my lunch break at McDonalds, as I was following the beat down of my hometown Redskins, parents kept approaching me with their children, and each of the kids would come up to me and thank me for my service. One dad told me that his boys were all in the Scouts and suggested that they might become soldiers some day. I sure hope so.

For all of the frustrations attendant to the Army life, especially in the Reserve world, there is still a striking cultural difference between this institution and the culture at large: It doesn't turn victims into celebrities; It turns servants into heroes.

I won't usually have this privilege when I'm drilling in Eau Claire (four hours away), but I was able to join my family for the evening worship service at Falls Presbyterian and hear an encouraging sermon from Romans 8 on suffering and hope. I was tired and distracted, but because the Word does not return void, I came away blessed.

The Bible and the Egg. Thankfully, there's no debate here as there is with the chicken and the egg. The Word was the means by which God created this world, and the expression of His will for it. That said, we recently found a Bible verse printed on the inside of our egg carton. This pleasant surprise joins a box of Angry Orchard Hard Cider, which had a Gospel message folded up and tucked inside the box. Welcome to the Midwest, where more folks wear their faith on their sleeve (and egg carton) and haven't been shamed into silence.

Religion and politics. I'm always nervous when I think of how best to employ my great passion for politics. It stirs up great emotion in most people (often unhappy emotion) and becomes an unfortunately means for defining someone prior to any substantive exchange on a personal or spiritual level. Despite this nervousness, many of my best Gospel engagements over the years have occurred at local polling places with people from both parties. As always, I must pray for wisdom and work to be winsome and personal by God's grace. Thankfully, I do not have to choose between the pastorate and politics. Fundamentally, I am a Christian and can love the Savior who first loved me through whatever task the Lord sets before me.

This morning, I met with the county volunteer coordinator for my given party, and plan to get plugged in a hopefully write/ghost-write op-eds in support of this movement over the coming year. I will attend a rally for my favorite presidential contender this afternoon and aside from enjoying a great speech, will have plenty of cards on hand for folks who may be interested in meal or a church.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for my participation in this political rally this afternoon, and for my second gathering with the Toastmasters tonight--that the Lord would give me at least one opportunity in each venue to say something of the Gospel. And please pray that I would seize those opportunities, by His grace.

Please pray for my American Legion meeting tomorrow night and my first running meetup on Wednesday night, that again, the Lord would give me opportunities to know people, love them, and share with the true hope of Jesus Christ.

By God's grace, we will be closing on our house this Friday. Please pray that the whole process would go smoothly and that we would be able to quickly switch into our hosting-gear and start fulfilling the promise of a meal, drink, and good conversation that I have made to so many!

Please also pray for my family. They have borne the weight (and wait) of about six months of uncertainty and trying transitions--practically the whole of our baby girl's life! Please pray that amidst all of the new (and wonderful changes), the Lord would help me to re-focus on my marriage and family and enable us to have some routine and stability!

Army Life Is Always Active

I visited one of our subordinate units this weekend in a place called Sturtevant (near Racine, south of Milwaukee).

Yesterday, I spent most of the day walking the hallways and visiting with the soldiers. When I first joined the Army, this type of introductory work intimidated me. I would walk the hallways aimlessly, shooting smiles at passing soldiers and hoping that someone would stop and want to talk. Now, I am much more at ease engaging a host of new faces. I can go up, shake a hand, introduce myself, and ask some basic questions (Where are you from? How long have you been in the Army? Married? Kids?).

There's a different breed of soldier out here.Virtually all of them are from Wisconsin or Chicago and are homegrown. Most have never gone through a divorce--either their own or their parents--though most are still acquainted with death. And most of the soldiers of this particular detachment of Army firefighters have never deployed. Unlike many soldiers I have known, these soldiers love coming to drill and there is a great espirit de corps.

The leaders of this unit clearly love their soldiers. While most of the soldiers haven't deployed, their NCOs have--numerous times. These NCOs are reachable at all hours of the day and take great pride in being able to care for their soldiers. One NCO today talked about coming home from Iraq and the older veterans who greeted his unit at the terminal at 1 in the morning. He got choked up.

At this morning's chapel service, virtually the whole detachment showed up (some 20 soldiers or so). This included a Muslim soldier from Iraq who I befriended yesterday. I read Isaiah 53 and we sang the first verse of Amazing Grace--a staple of chapel services conducted on the fly. I then read and preached from Matthew 27, when the Son of God was put on trial by mankind.

I emphasized the clear innocence of Jesus on that day, and the equally clear verdict of mankind (including us) to kill him. We do not reject Jesus because we don't see Him in the flesh or lack the miracles. We do not reject Jesus because Christians are hypocrites. We (mankind) had Him in the flesh, along with His miracles. And Jesus Christ, of all born in this world, was no hypocrite. We rejected Jesus because we hate God by nature, and thus killed the Son of God in the flesh.

The beauty of that passage comes with the knowledge that soon after the people cried out "His blood on us and our children" and invoked God's curse upon themselves, Jesus cried out "Father, forgive them" and shed His blood in mercy, not judgment. And though the criminal Barabbas deserved to die, it was the innocent Jesus who bore the death he deserved. Oh that we would confess hearts like Barabbas, that we would truly savor a Savior like Jesus!

Every soldier took one of my cards, and I hope that I am able to follow up with some of them in the future. I let them know that there's always a place at our table and an open bed in our home. I wish I could follow up with them every month, but am tied to the "mother" unit in Eau Claire. Pray that the Lord would bless this brief excursion with future opportunities to share the Gospel and love on soldiers!

Life on the Run

Sometimes I think I am on this internet thing too much, especially when I go through withdraw symptoms after going 12 hours without checking my email.

But sure enough, every little while, am important email springs up from something church-related, Army-related, freelance-related, or house-related--many of which are time-sensitive. Perhaps this validates my wife's insistence that I join the 21st century and get a smartphone.

In any case, I got one of those important emails the other night. The organizer of the the Menomonee Falls Running Club on meetup.com decided to step down, triggering a brief amount of time when someone else can step up into that role before the group is shut down. I immediately volunteered, and subsequently, am now the leader of the local group before even closing on a house.

My life is now out of order, or at least my plans for my new calling are a bit out of order. The first quarter is devoted to integration in both the life of the church and life of the community. Mostly reconnaissance and trust-building type of stuff. Nice and slow.

Volunteering for leadership roles in the community is a fourth quarter priority--meaning, next summer. It is funny how the Lord, in His holy, wise, and powerful providence, will rearrange things on me every time. Without a house for the first six weeks, all of my early hospitality plans have gone out the window. But, hey, I can go ahead and take over a group and its 120 local followers right away. I guess ordinary pencils still have their use--for making plans.

One irony in all of this is that I haven't run in three months. I will run for three months, culminating with a marathon or something similar, then will work myself ragged and will hardly move a muscle for the next three months. I actually rely on leadership roles to keep me motivated. I will run all year if I can help other runners in the process.

So I went for my first run yesterday, on another atypical 70 degree day in Wisconsin in November. I left the church, went south on Pilgrim Ave, then east on Good Hope Rd. I constantly had to switch sides of these major roadways in order to stay on the sidewalks (people treat shoulders like extra lanes here). I enjoy running by lush green fields as I made my way to Appleton Ave, which runs diagonally through town. Once on Appleton, I passed a number of shopping centers until I arrived at my desired destination--the Army recruiting station. Closed.

So I continued on my run northward on Appleton until I hit the intersection with Pilgrim, and took it south back to the church. I unintentionally ran 5.25 miles out of the gate and now have a preview of what soreness at age 50 will feel like (only 17 years away!). I will be hosting my first run here in the Falls on Veterans Day--a two mile out and back through our ample green spaces to simulate the Army PT test, just without the yelling. There's an open invite at the American Legion bar afterward.

Please pray for me in this new position of influence and opportunity to bring hope and grace to the lives of others in my own, broken only-by-the-grace-of-God sort of way. Feel free to join me if you live in the area! As with the larger race of life, there may be some pain involved, but also satisfaction.

The Unspoken Bond

This was only my third time, but when I entered the local Army recruiting station in my civilian clothes and barely adolescent beard, I was greeted by a chorus of greetings.

I didn't need to wear the uniform--they remember their own, and they remember their chaplains.

The first question I was asked: "Have any of our soldiers shown up at your church yet?"

Apparently, a number of them are looking for churches (good ol' Army with its middle-America culture) and want to visit! I told them I would love to see them there. I can honestly say that I love the church--the people are loving, and the preaching is warm, rich, and most important, biblical!

I cannot wait until our family moves into our new home. These soldiers will hopefully be unofficial uncles and aunts to our kids, and will always have a place at our table.

(I had a dear elder brother in the faith ask me today if my family eats beans six days a week so we can host others on the seventh. That has never been a problem. God has always provided plenty on all occasions. We have always been blessed by those who host us and serve leftovers--it shows that they are giving of what they have.)

While I share a unique bond with fellow soldiers, the rest of the church to which I belong also shares bonds in the community. Some gather with fellow trappers and hunters for a quality outing. Others have play dates with friends in their neighborhood. In all of these communal bonds, opportunities are in place to get deeper--to know others' struggles, yearnings, and beliefs. And in those deepening relationships, there are opportunities to share the truth of Christ--the hope for every broken sinner.

There is one deeper bond, and that is the one shared by those who know Jesus Christ. That bond transcends all others, for it is forged in divine blood. When we share the Gospel with others, we seek to bring new meaning to the term "blood brothers" and welcome people who may be very different from ourselves into the most intimate of relationships.

What is a camouflage uniform compared to the blood-washed robes of those belonging to such a great Savior?

Evangelist Update: A Torrent of Opportunities in the Falls

Greetings, Friends.

Since we're currently in the Dells, I am only able to get in to the Falls about once a week while my wife attends Community Bible Study and before my kids nap. Thus, I pack out every inch of my schedule with to-dos in the church and community. Thank God that we will return to Oconomowoc on Friday and I'll be able to commute in on a daily basis.

Here are the places I went today and handed out my business card and our church invitation cards:

1) U-Haul Storage Facility--chatted with one of the first people I met upon arriving--the manager of the facility. Decent guy, and runs the place with his wife. Look forward to getting to know them better. He seems to be pretty open with me when we chat.

2) Gents Barbership--the man who runs this place in the heart of the "downtown" excels at his craft and takes great pride in his work. We also became buds when he gave me my first haircut here. He is Greek, his wife is Dutch, and his mother-in-law is curmudgeonly. :) My business cards with Falls Pres now sit alongside the piles of cards of other local business owners near the front door.

3) Nino's Bakery--also located in the heart of downtown. I visited for the first time today, having already gotten to know two of the workers there on separate occasions. The place was founded and is run by a Sicilian family and they take pride in their bakery as a place where the local priest takes his parishioners to talk. Anyone want to join me there next week for a cup of Joe?

4) YMCA--amidst the rush (there were hundreds of cars in the Y parking lot), I reconnected with a believing friend who I met a few weeks back, and met a couple other workers. My friend would like prayer for her two boys--12 and 4.

Acouple dozen more cards bearing the name of "Falls Presbyterian Church" are floating through the bloodstream of the community.

We also handed out the church invitation cards this past Sunday morning during Sunday School and before and after the morning worship service. If you haven't picked yours up yet, please come by!

Remember: Contrary to the popular thinking of our day, faith is no private matter. Your beliefs--for better or for worse--are not only the most important thing about you, but they are you. They are not only the things you hold most dear, but they explain how you think, what you say, and what you do.

In order to love someone, you must first know them. In order to know them, you must know what they believe. And if you truly love them, you will share your hope in Jesus Christ with them--knowing that the Gospel alone is the power of salvation (Rom. 1).