Rev. Zach

Sermon Delivered July 21, 2012  2 Samuel 7:1-14 Ephesians 2:11-22 Mark 6:30-34 Earlier this Summer, my daughter and I participated in what has become somewhat of a tradition – the annual building of a drip castle. If you have never built one of these it is the careful result of filling your hands with wet sand and letting it slide through – little by little – to create larger structures. Usually there is some kind of hard packed base, and usually there are portions that break off due to their height and weight becoming out of balance. But, with enough patience or persistence – which ever characteristic suites you best – you can eventually come up with something quite unique! The most unique thing about it is that it never comes out the way you have in mind, and it always ends up as the result of participating with forces beyond your control. That seems to me to be a lot like who we are and what we do in the church. In fact, this tension between building something unique ...

Speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. ( Ephesians 4:15 ). Communication is an essential aspect of any society. In everything we do, we communicate something of ourselves with someone else. Even during times when we feel isolated - or when we choose to be - we are still interacting with goods and services that have the imprint of someone else's soul upon them. So, whether we are intentionally communicating or not, we are always interacting with others through the expression of our character. Some time ago I can recall psychologists making a big deal about nonverbal communication, or body language. Recent studies have shown there to be over ten thousand visibly differing facial expressions! Very few of us are aware of the subtle cues we give off that belie our true feelings. Gamblers call this a tell. A tell gives you away when you are bluffing. A tell is an expression of anxiety - a twitch of the ...

3 And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Mathew 18:3 I often wonder what parameters Jesus had in mind.  How old were the children he referred to?  We pass along stories about babies talking to God and children with great wisdom, but do we truly value their perspective?  Do we have any intention of "changing to become like them"?  Sometimes I wonder if it is simply the ability to wonder and to allow the fantastic to be real that children offer as a critique to our over developed sense of self importance.   Sam is in a magical age at 3 yrs. old.  The other day he fashioned a pirate hat out of thin air and put it on my head.  Tonight we had a dialogue about super heroes, although he was wearing his "Cars" pj's. Disclaimer: He is 3.  Most conversations are about body functions. Sam: Dad, I'm Superman!  Superman doesn't pull down his pajamas to go potty. Me:...

This is a summary / review of chapter one of " 5 Practices of Fruitful Congregations ".  Christian hospitality is something many of us take for granted these days.  Certainly few of us think of it in terms of a fundamental orientation toward welcoming and including others.  By calling it "radical", Schnase is suggesting that it be rooted in the life of faithfulness and radiate toward others.  A radical shift means that it is outside of the norm.  It means that a new base line is established that orients all activities.  Most congregations would say that they are friendly, but do they exercise their welcome in such a way that it eventually puts them at risk?  What I mean by this is that most practices of evangelism and hospitality are inwardly focused.  They answer they question, "How can we make them join us?" or "How can we add to our ranks?" They idea of radical hospitality acknowledges the reality that any change in membership naturally create...

Today I am writing from an annual clergy retreat.  Seventeen friends from seminary and our 13 children from all over the country have converged in Nags Head, North Carolina for the week.  All of us have been in ministry for roughly 8-10 years.  We are Educators, Pastors, Associate Pastors, Campus Ministers, and Doctoral Candidates.  Our ages range from 30's to 50's, and we are equally balanced between men and women.  Our ethnic representation is about the same as the denomination (99% White, 1% Other).   Tonight's topic of discussion centers around whether or not a pastor should know what congregants give to the budget.  The topic initiated by one of our members reflecting on the comment of an older minister from his presbytery offered in a Pastor's lunch.  His primary reason was to determine the commitment of the membership.  The response has been varied and slightly heated.  Primarily the rebuttal is that it leaves us at risk of knowing information that creates person...

“Throw Open the Doors” is a sermon that was delivered in worship at Euharlee Presbyterian on July 27, 2008. Scripture: Luke 10:1-9 Sermon: If your family is at all like mine, I bet you have some family stories. Some of us have close friends that we share funny stories with as well. Most of those stories are best if you were there or if you know the people involved. But some stories are just good no matter what. Like one of the many times my mother, Lord bless her, a single working parent with three children (an eleven year old son, a fourteen year old daughter, and a seventeen year old son) tried to instill manners and maintain decorum at the dinner table. On this particular occasion my brother, heathen that he was, salted his food before tasting it. My mother, who always sat up straight, stiffened her lip, lifted her nose ever so slightly and said in an austere southern voice, “Jeffrey Scott Sasser, only barbarians salt their food before tasting.” The stillness was palpable as ...

Joan Grey , present Moderator of the General Assembly of the PC(USA) is winding down her term and fulfilling her role as Ambassador to the church. She spoke at a recent meeting of the Cherokee Presbytery and opened the floor to questions. My notes are incomplete and may not be direct quotes, but I tried to record the sense of things as I understood it. What is "Missional", and how is it happening in the PC(USA)? I'll give you an example. My husband and I showed up at 4th Presbyterian in Boston . It's located in the kind of place that you aren't sure if you want your car parked on the street or not, really a bad part of town. We walked into a Bible study and found a man who looked homeless, very grungy and unkempt. Next to him sat a man in a business suit, and next to him a woman in batik. When we went to worship we saw that this was what the whole congregation was like. They were a true mix of the social strata, and everyone was accepted. I think that...

Joan Grey , present Moderator of the General Assembly of the PC(USA) is winding down her term and fulfilling her role as Ambassador to the church. She spoke at a recent meeting of the Cherokee Presbytery and opened the floor to questions. My notes are incomplete and may not be direct quotes, but I tried to record the sense of things as I understood it. What surprisingly positive experiences have you had while visiting congregations in the last two years? The most surprising thing to me was to experience the vitality of some of our smaller congregations. These are congregations in communities where the population has shifted, and there is no hope of being the larger congregations they once were. What I found is a real honest attitude that said, "We know we can not be what we used to be. God, what can we do now?" I think these congregations are taking a very faithful approach to living and being the church. Another gratifying experience was the chance to meet and talk to...

Here's a video from a retreat I led last weekend.

So, the gang from the POJ who went to New Orleans are back safe and sound. Praise be to God! So, now I'm off to find the next example of proclamation in action! Happy Easter, one and all! -Zach