The Family Times
Family of God
Lutheran Church
Our Mission...
Hearing, Speaking,
And Doing God\u2019s Word
Our Core Values...
Faith, Love,
Family, and Prayer
Our Vision
for Mission...
We believe God is calling us
to be a church where:
\u2022Vital, vibrant worship in-
spires people to live out their
faith.
\u2022 People work together to meet
community needs in the
name of Jesus Christ.
\u2022People of all ages are
spiritually nurtured and grow
in the Word.
\u2022Youth are encouraged,
supported, challenged and
appreciated.
\u2022People joyfully invite others
to know the Lord and His
church.
\u2022People are open to the
stirrings of the Holy Spirit.
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assemble the sandwiches. Others still pack them all up and take them
to St. Mary\u2019s in Philadelphia to feed the homeless. Aid-for-Friends is
another group miracle. A group of folks get together (sometimes in
their own kitchens) and they prepare simple, healthy meals. We stick
them in the freezer in the boiler room. Then miraculously, off they
go to feed those who can no longer prepare their own meals. Cer-
tainly Workcamp and VBS fall into the category of sharing God in a
communal way. In order to make sure these ministries happen, per-
sons work throughout the year and then in one or two big weeks, it
all comes to fruition and lives are touched for the sake of Jesus. We
must also remember the scores of persons who gather in our home
each week to battle the evil of addiction: the seventy-something man
so tired of his wife\u2019s alcoholism; the thirty-something mother of two
who has been sober now for five years but every day remains a
struggle; the 20-something couple who committed to \u201cbeat speed\u201d
together. All these folks and more gather in God\u2019s house here in
Buckingham, because we invite them in for the sake of Jesus. God is
active at Family of God.
But, there are also times when God has seemed absent in our work
together. Times when we have been uncharitable with others. Times
when we have allowed the failings or faults of others to diminish our
relationship. Sometimes, this is most obvious when we say things
that are hurtful. More often than not, however, I observe this when
we are not direct with each other. When Leroy complains to Morris
about something that Penelope does. Or when Martha criticizes Jas-
per to the pastor, without telling Jasper to his face. There is certainly
nothing wrong with sharing our challenges with each other, and
seeking support, as long as we can also be direct in our conflicts and
disagreements. Sadly, I have seen this with children, youth and
adults. I know I have done this, too. God is not glorified in this. God
has seemed shut out to me when fear rules our hearts. When we feel
called to mission, but can only see the risks and so we don\u2019t move
forward, God is not glorified here. Finally, I don\u2019t believe God is
glorified when we allow ourselves to be complacent. Over and over I
have used the image of the church being a rescue boat, sent out to
help the ones who are drowning. Certainly, we have been able to
help those who \u201cswim to our boat,\u201d but I think we need to be more
proactive in rowing out to where others are. Our God is not a com-
placent God. Our God is an active, missional, on-the-move God.
Having said all this, there is no value in sitting with our chin in
our hands and lamenting that we are not perfect. Only Christ is.
There is no value in comparing ourselves to other congregations, or
to our own past. There is value, however, in actively deciding to
move forward to do more of the things that share God\u2019s presence and
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