Vowed

This week I end my wedding season with my sister’s wedding. This is the third week in a row I have done weddings. I pray this is where Mt. Calvary heads in the future with lots of weddings for young adults. Regardless, I have been thinking about weddings a lot.

My time in ministry has allowed me to experience a lot of weddings. My first church was known for its beautiful architecture; therefore we saw a lot of weddings performed in our facility. Every time a new couple came to my door it was a new story and a unique blend of two lives. I love to ask how they got engaged. Some are proud of the story and some have a hard time admitting how they proposed.  I follow up by asking about their favorite date. At this point, the stories are all over the board and truly show who the couple is.

Maranda is my youngest sister, I have watched her grow up. I have seen her mature into the woman she is today. She met a wonderful man who is going to bless her life. My sister is full of joy and excitement and can’t wait for this wonderful day. Everything is paid for, guests are coming, her brother and step-dad are tag teaming the ceremony, her tribe of nephews are ring bearers, and her dress is perfect. They just bought a new house and have been figuring out the details for that. 

There is very little to worry about except maybe my son, Jacob, thinking he is actually a real Bear. He asked Mindy if he got to roar at Maranda. Negating that all is good!   A remote chance of  uncertainty still exists:  that her bridesmaids will make it to the ceremony on time with their kids; as well as her brother, who lives in St. Louis, with his three kids. So, there still is some stress.

One reason I love to draw the couple back to where they started is because it was the natural feeling of love that drew them together—the dates, the talking, the hanging out, and the engagements—all promoting that mushy, gushy, lovey, dovey feeling. But when they leave that altar, life begins to tug them back into selfish behaviors, and at times, away from one another. It is so easy when life is difficult, to forget those beginning moments that made them treasure one another.

Christ compares himself to the groom and the Church as His bride. At first this analogy can seem odd, but in the middle of wedding season I remember why it is so real. When you first experience the love of Jesus, who died for you, it is unreal. Even if you have known it your whole life, there are times the feeling just overwhelms you. Yet, it is never easy.

Last week in worship I reminded you of the home and hope we have in Jesus, and to keep that hope and home the central focus. I talked about how it should be our security, yet even two days later we are probably finding how we are so reliant on earthly things.

In my small group Bible study we are reading the Screwtape Letters.  It is a reminder of how the devil uses the distractions of life to pull us away from our daily drive with Jesus. The book suggests how demons are doing the simplest of things to distract us from anything faith building or edifying in our relationship with Jesus our Bridegroom.

I love talking to Christian couples who have been married for over twenty-five years. So often they light up--still talking about one another. But it’s not anything they used to think was great about one another, like dates, proposals, kisses or so on. No, they light up talking about things that probably used to make them upset or frustrated. Now they appreciate their spouse’s uniqueness.

In Chattanooga they have a wonderful tradition:  men call their wives “My bride.”  It is like they never want to forget the moment the bride embraced their relationship and told the groom they want to be in love forever.

I can imagine this is how Jesus feels about us. He will never forget the moment you became a part of His family. The moment we quit fighting it and just let Him love us, day in and day out. The fight to trust His love can be so challenging, but what a beautiful picture of Jesus still calling us His bride.

I love when brides say they are all good with the marriage vows in the Bible, except that whole submission thing. I always say, “Hmmm, well can I ask you something?” They usually oblige. And then I tell them this, “What if you came home one day and you found your husband on his knees praying for your kids, praying for your home, and then praying that God would allow him to love his wife with all of his heart. That he may never waiver and pour his life into her? Would you submit to that kind of man?”

I pray that in this wedding season you turn to Jesus who loves you so much that He is not just on his knees praying for you, but that He died and rose again for you.

Ephesians 5:22-33

²¹ Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
²² Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. ²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶ to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷ and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. ²⁸ In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— ³⁰ for we are members of his body. ³¹ “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” ³² This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. ³³ However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Burning for Home Life

We used to go visit my cousin in Chicago.  I thought my cousin Josh was super cool, and I still do.  I have so many fond memories of him.  We spent hours together playing sports, video games, or hanging with our families.

We were there for one Fourth of July.  We headed to the park to watch the fireworks.  The wind was pretty terrible that day, and it blew firework pieces on us.  I remember feeling the burn of the fireworks.  I was not thrilled with this.  I looked at my aunt and told her how I felt, but she kind of passed on it.  I was like, “Hey, I am getting burned here.” Ok, I never said it out loud.  My polite boy side would not allow that.  That was one of the few times at their house I could have run for home.

Home is different for each of us.  There are so many things that help us feel comfortable and at home.  Some of those things are found in our family homes, in our church, or in some other thing that brings us comfort.

What is home?  Is it true that “Home is where the heart is?”  In a week where we reflect upon our country and everything God has given us, what makes us feel at home?  What would be the one thing, if it were missing, just would not be right?

When my mom married my step-dad, Rod, she married a younger man.  Shhh, don’t mention that I said that.  It’s because she is so young at heart, that’s why!  (Love you, Mom).  Regardless, as a result, I got a lot of cousins that were younger--a lot younger.  I was fifteen years older than Austin.  So I was this high schooler who loved to play with my little cousins, but didn’t think I had made such an impression on Austin.  Every year my brother and I would take our summer money and put on a fireworks show for our family.  It was a blast--some of the greatest memories of my life!  I didn’t know what an impact that had on Austin.

I moved on to college and was gone a lot, but managed to be home for most 4^th of July holidays, so once again, my brother and I put on a great fireworks display. When I was at the seminary my Grandma told me that every year Austin was sad if I was not there to do the fireworks. Who knew that kid’s feeling of home was our fireworks show!  Weird, I thought.  How did that event become something he found so necessary?  But as I thought about it, we created a lasting tradition that he counted on and enjoyed.

Jairus, in the Gospel reading from Mark for this Sunday, was a powerful man.  He probably had control over a lot of things in his life.  But one thing he didn’t have control over was the life and death of his daughter.  When his daughter died, his world and his home were rocked!  He was in shambles, and he ran to Jesus for help.

What is your home?  Do you feel peace this Independence Day, or is your home in shambles?  What does Jesus want for your home?

This week at Mt. Calvary we will talk about home.  A reading from the Old Testament will help us really understand home and what Jesus wants for us.

God’s Peace

 

Lyrical Captivation

Some of you may wonder why is it that my blog has this man playing the guitar on top of it.  The hard copy this week had a newer picture of him to help you understand what I am talking about.

That man became one of my favorite artists back in college.  His guitar music and unique lyrics drew me to some deeper thinking in life and about myself.  John Mayer still does that for me today. I find the expression of a person’s heart in music, art or words to be unique.  I am specifically intrigued by music.  It has played so much into passionate moments in my life.  We handed out a CD at our wedding as our favor.  When our first son, Jacob, was born I made a CD for his arrival.  Most recently the song heard at installation, sung by the young man from my previous youth ministry, was one that touched the hearts of Mindy and me as we prepared to give Abby so much, but knew that only Jesus could give her everything.

I have always wanted a soundtrack for my personal life. You know--God playing all the right songs at all the right moments. Last Sunday’s beginning would have been a very creative and exciting song anticipating the future.  But this week’s song really falls into the category of one of my favorite hymns.  I told Kristen Schade, our organist, that we could not play my very favorite hymn at my installation and she asked, “Why?” I said,    “Stricken, Smitten and Afflicted was not installation appropriate.”

This week I gave Kristen free reign to pick whatever songs she wanted. You should have seen her eyes.  It was like seeing Carlos Beltran watch a ball coming right over the plate; or a reporter who caught a killer story first; or a pastor with an hour to give a sermon.  Anyway, I found it appropriate to give a musical good-bye with some awesome hymns to a family that has blessed this congregation so much.  I thought what better time to talk about how God blesses and grows us in our faith with unique tools.  Music has always been a tool with which God has blessed His people.

It is shocking to me to think of a church reformer like John Calvin who was anti-music. I wonder how he could not envision the wonderful way music touches the hearts of men and women. Martin Luther, on the other hand, took bar songs or common tunes and used them for hymns. Ray Charles did the reverse when he took common Gospel tunes and changed them into pop hits.

A song immediately can take me back to where I was when I first heard it:

Let Her Cry, by Hootie and the Blowfish takes me back to playing Madden football on our Sega Genesis at my house with all my buddies.

Love Song for No One, by John Mayer takes me back to my best friend’s dorm room, as Adam Lucky came in to show me this new artist.

Build Me Up Buttercup, by the Foundations takes me back to the wedding of one of my friends from Seminary, where he wore his bow tie and danced with his brother.  Two good southern boys dressed up and dancing with a graceful lack of rhythm.

Finally, Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted, takes me back to my home church at the 7 p.m. Lenten service.  It was just dark enough in the sanctuary to feel the gloom and sadness.  Only the choir lamps in the balcony were on, and for a minute I could feel the darkness that the people of Israel must have felt crucifying our Lord.

This week we talk about how God uses music, with the words of Scripture to bless, nourish, and encourage us in our daily journey with Him.  You will hear how the hymns and a few current songs take the words of Scripture and put them in a format with emotion and feeling.  How has God blessed you with music in your life?  How has it made you think about stuff in your own life?  How does music affect your memories?  How can music help us to communicate the wonderful message of Jesus to people that need to hear it?

God’s Peace

Will

Patiently waiting for God to take us on our new journey!

As a young boy, I sat in the pews of my home church, closely observing my pastor as he faithfully and diligently proclaimed the Good News of God’s saving love and grace. I can remember watching and learning from him. I thought his family was so cool, and I could see how lovingly he treated them. I knew then that I wanted to become a pastor, and I wondered what it would be like. I was getting ready for my time now.

Through the years I have watched my pastor transition from being senior pastor to being retired; and yet he is still helping in ministry. His sermons often involved deep, challenging messages, as well as reflections on God’s goodness to him during his ministry.  Both of these styles impacted my life.

While his transition was going, on my wife and I were becoming the team and family for which I had prayed.  In 2007 I became a pastor, and for the past five years I have devoted much time to youth work.  It was a challenging calling because youth continually moved in and out of the ministry, but God was at work.  

My wife, Mindy and I have spent the last five years learning how to love one another through the ins and outs of life and ministry.  At the same time we learned how to be parents to our three wonderful children.  God was at work.

When I received the Call to Mount Calvary, the person I had to talk to was the much respected and well liked Pastor Z. [I have to admit I was nervous for our meeting.] I just randomly called him up and asked him to meet with me to talk about my newest Call.  Pastor Z shared a wonderful story about his last five years at Mt. Calvary.  He explained that during that time, he saw the passion in the hearts of the members as they shared the love of Jesus with others.  He said God has worked on them to shape Mount Calvary for new things and new journeys.  God was at work.

And suddenly…

There we were—our family spending time in Branson the week before I was installed at Mount Calvary.  It was our first family vacation without extended family there in some form or fashion.  We had a great time at the wax museum, taking pictures of our children with all those famous wax statues.  Mindy got a birthday present at the outlet; Jacob swam with a chipmunk that had gotten knocked into the baby pool; Gavin showed us how to play mini golf by dragging the club; and Abby stole the hearts of many with her hair bows and dresses. I sat back, feeling overjoyed as a father and husband while experiencing a wonderful vacation with my deeply loved family.

And suddenly God has brought us to this moment!

I drove into the parking lot, soaking up every moment as my car rolled up the drive.  This is the church to which God has called me.  It seemed unreal; the interview, the call papers, and now today.  That moment I had dreamed of as a boy was here!  My work with youth had been a constant process—learning how to connect with youth, and how to care for them.  God did so much teaching in the past five years, and suddenly when he was finished teaching me about our youth culture, he brought me to this moment. 

Pastor Z shared another story of a lady who was struggling with the fact that he was leaving Mount Calvary.  She implored, “But Pastor Z, how can you leave us--you brought us to this moment--like through the wilderness?”

Pastor Z replied, “I may have brought you through the wilderness, but now you finish the story.”

As I heard this, I thought about Mount Calvary’s journey.  It was an overwhelming feeling to know that I was called to serve the wonderful people of Mount Calvary.

And suddenly…

God brought Mindy and me and all of Mount Calvary to this moment.

Pastor Vern and Pastor Kyle have led you on an amazing journey as you prepared for the next pastor.  They have taught you, loved you, cared for you and shared the wonderful words of Jesus with you.

And suddenly . . .

God used all of that to bring us to Sunday.  It was a joyous moment celebrating the work God has done in each of us over the last five years.  I wish each of you could have been at the front of the church with me as I watched those “Hanke Hankies” being waved!  I was overjoyed, and felt your joy as well!

It is that joy that will bring us here to celebrate God’s wonderful Word and Sacraments.  Together we will share in the joyous moments, as well as in the difficult moments.  We will share in God’s forgiveness and in reconciliation.  We will share in inviting and welcoming new people into our church family.

And suddenly . . .

God’s work will be done by His grace and mercy.  I look forward to many years of growing in faith with you, and in sharing our faith with this wonderful community that surrounds Mount Calvary.

God’s peace,

Pastor Will

Like Ice Cream

This is a book and the title is "Like Ice Cream," by Keith Ferrin.

Have you ever wondered about how you can really be engaged in reading the Bible. Sometimes it's hard even for pastors. This guy wrote a book about how to truly read the bible in an engaging way. He has a new book called, "Like Ice Cream." I saw him speak at our church, here is the main idea...

Every day of Keith's life they ate ice cream at night, sounds like a bad diet, but get this. Keith knew that every night they would eat ice cream. No one had to tell him, hey are family likes ice cream. He got it by years of examples. His family always ate ice cream. What if the Bible was like that? What if our kids just knew that is just what we do? My son sees dad reading the Bible that is just what dad's do. Awesome huh? Check out his new book coming out

Other key points: Reading the Bible is hard because we have a defender. He uses a great football example how the defender was always tackling him. That is just like how the devil doesn't want us to read the Bible because he wants to win. If we read, then we internalize and it becomes a piece of us!

Last point: Make it real. James as mentioned in a previous blog is the brother of Jesus. If you grew up with a perfect brother and then found out he was the Savior of the world, how would you feel? You probably would struggle with it, and then when you realized it was true it would change your life. This makes James a powerful book, but if you don't read it thinking he is a real person, and making it real it is just a book from Jesus. The Bible is full of people God used and it's amazing when you think how they received it and what it can and will do for you too! God's word is living and when we read it we come alive.

Check out his book... "Like Ice Cream" Keith Ferrin

Castlevania

As a kid I hated not having a gaming system. Most of my friends had Nintendos. I even remember one sad story of going over to a friend's house who wanted to play outside. I just wanted to play Nintendo with him. His dad took me down to set-up the Nintendo, while he played outside without me. I remember the ever condemning question, "Son, do you have a Nintendo at home?" I of course had to answer no, and there it was utter humiliation, but I was a kid so I played Nintendo.

One of the games I hated was Castelvania. I think I was trained to hate things like that. I was taught to fear the scary castles that might have some devil hide inside of it. Of recent I have done a lot of thinking about our Castlevania problem.

It was once said that we are a castle culture. We go and hide in our castles and don't answer the door. This was made more clear on Saturday. Mindy left to take Jacob on a play date, and Gavin fell asleep, I was thrilled, that meant I could take a nap of my own. I never sleep well after having kids. I am always listening for them. Gavin was resting but occasionally I would pop up to put his pacifier back in. Finally, he rested and I fell to sleep and was dreaming. I heard a huge pounding in my dream. I rushed from our bedroom to answer the door, and find my wife there. Yes, I looked super suspicious like I was trying to hide something. She was like, "What are you doing?" "Nothing," I said, "I just fell asleep." But this made me realize how much the Castle thing is true.

I have been thinking about this now for several weeks, and also how this blog is neglected. See I can't even answer my own door without fear of who is there. Our cultural has become one of living in castles. This is the biggest fear of social media. We hide in our castles. I spent hours watching the pro-bowl and several other shows tonight. Sure I was working on things like getting Gavin's new set of clothes out, but I hid in my castle. I was with my boys, but it just seems odd to me how we hide.

I think it goes further, we become so afraid of what they will see, when they come knocking at the door. Some of this is natural because we are sinners. We at times become a culture afraid of the things people see. Tonight in my constant desire to keep up with cultural and check out what kids are seeing, I watched a show. This show claims this is based upon what really happens in teenage lives today. Let me tell you if that is what really is happening, I have a lot more work to do. Shows claim to have this vulnerability but what about us? There is something about how vulnerability can free us from this.

You might be saying, "but Will look at how much we say on social media...we are vulnerable." Yeah, but sometimes we do those things for shock factor, like the show I watched. Trust me I get it, we don't want everyone to see what is in our head, because they would see the war. The war that would show the temptations we face and how the devil plays on them. We fear that if someone were to see that no one would like us. I hate using absolutes, but I think we all feel that.

But the problem with the Castle thing, is we have more time for the inner war to wage. Castlevania was a good guy trying to beat the castle. We fight a war that Jesus has won, but the devil just wants to convince us to part from the winner. The devil wants us to believe the war is not over. I know we still have to live in this world, but others remind me that we have won. Some of my friends said they actually grow spiritually themselves when teaching God's word. At first I disagreed with that. Seemed like a cop because their job was to preach, but today it made sense.

The devil was waging his normal war in my head. You know beating me up for all the ways I got things wrong and things I didn't do yesterday, this morning, and so on. This goes on in my castle all the time. I got in front of youth to teach the Lord's Supper thinking I don't belong up here. Anyway, I shared about Jesus' victory for us, and felt like I was speaking out loud what God had been trying to tell me all day. Really He tries to tell me this most days. And His was using me to minister to myself. All because I started to talk about about my castle. I shared a story of feeling awkward in middle school, and how God has molded my heart to share God's word with teenagers. I began to see how God had used all those castle wars to His glory. I walked away feeling redeemed and loved by my Savior.

But I went back to my castle and my thoughts at home. I have been working with a school district trying to get neighbors to interact. This would seem normal, but most of the times we are castle people. Today, I missed my neighbors. I thought we talk in the summer, and when I am grilling out, but because of snow mounds we don't talk right now. We only break from the Castle when it fits our season. I am not saying shout everything out, but I just think a few less wars in our head would be won by the devil, if we were consulting with a friend, or maybe just because we spoke it out loud, it would help us to see it better.

Thank you friends who listen to the war in my head, and don't judge me. Thank you for your love and support. I pray that God continues to provide His people to surround me, so I can work through my castle. I pray you build bigger doors on your castle today.

Whatever is in your Castle Jesus beat it!

Gavin James

I read James today. I am preparing to tell my son, why James was such a powerful name in scripture. I never thought I would be one with biblical names, but as I grew older I felt like it is a beautiful way to communicate scripture to them. Jacob was easy. He is one of my favorite characters in the Bible. Mindy said will you tell him about Jacob in scripture and why it is your favorite story? I have of course agreed, but in naming my second son I saw the challenges. I picked my favorite guy in scripture for Jacob, but now what will I do with my second son. Names were tossed around, but G James Hanke was what we liked the most. I loved Gideon feeling like that would be a great story to tell. Mindy liked Gabriel, but that seemed like a harder story to tell. Gavin was the name we came up with. There is not scriptural base with that one, yet we held to our idea of using the grandpa's first names, as middle names. This was great to have James. With Gavin not being in scripture, James became the way to talk about the bible.

James seemed to alleviate my problem about worrying about picking my favorite character for Jacob. James was a book I held dear in college. I still won't forget the Supertones song that talked about reading the book of James and praying for a wife. I did that several times. James is full of controversy. James speaks about one of the major issues in my life. The battle between law and Gospel is very vivid in this book. As a father I look at the potential to share so much with my son about my trials. James, being the brother of Jesus may have felt the challenges of a perfect brother. Although James spending so much time with Jesus, created doubt, but then greater belief. This book is showing his strong convictions towards Jesus and the Gospel.

Gavin will be faced with many challenges with a father who spends so much time with Jesus. We have seen the PK issues in the past. I pray his name will give us the very chance to discuss some of these very challenging situations.