A lot of people ask me how I ended up in Central PA after seminary. While I grew up in Connecticut, I knew I didn’t want to return there to be a pastor, and while I went to Duke Divinity School in NC and I enjoyed NC, I knew I didn’t want to stay in that area, so my last year of seminary I started looking at different Annual Conferences of the UMC where I could serve. I looked at the NE part of the country so I could be close to my family and then began to more seriously consider Pennsylvania. In PA there are three Annaul Conferences, Eastern PA, Western PA and Central PA. I really did not feel called or qualified to do any kind of urban ministry so decided that Easter and Western PA were out because I really did not want to end up at a church in Pittsburg or Philadelphia. So that just left Central PA. Once I applied to this conference and was accepted, my first appointment was in Altoona, not really an urban area, but where the church was located was definitely an area that dealt with urban issues. All around us was poverty, broken and dysfunctional families, at risk children, crime and drug use, so we dealt with a lot of traditional urban issues. Our church was broken into a couple of times while I was there, we had a drug house directly across the street from us and there was a police identified gang that hung out on the steps of our church every afternoon. They were known as the 2nd and 2nd gang since our church was on the corner of 2nd Ave and 2nd St. They were not a violent gang, just more of a nuisance.
As a church, we slowly started to meet the needs of our community. It started with a VBS that reached out to the children, and then an after-school program that got the kids from the 2nd and 2nd gang off the street and into our church gym. We started a fellowship and lunch program for the many seniors in our neighborhood who struggled with both poverty and loneliness, and we provided space to help launch a youth center to address some of the issues that faced the youth of our city. While I was the pastor there, I sat with children who wanted to run away from home because their parents did drugs, and I was on the phone occasionally with children and youth and the police advocating for children. The year I left Altoona, our church was recognized with the first urban ministry award ever given out in the Northeast Jurisdiction of the UMC. Our outreach ministry was recognized over ministry in all the large urban areas of Boston, NY, Baltimore, DC, Harrisburg as well as Philadelphia and Pittsburg. When our church was recognized that year, I had to laugh to myself because I came to Central PA specifically because I did not want to do urban ministry, and yet that was exactly where God placed me. It was exactly what God had me do at that moment in time.
I think that is what it means to be empowered. While the dictionary defines empowerment as being given authority, I like how John Indermark defines the word in the devotional book we are reading because he says we are empowered when God gives us the ability to live in a way we had not thought possible or dared to live before. The key is that God is the one who gives us the power, but God gives us the power to live in a way we had not thought possible. I had not thought it possible for me to be effective in any kind of urban setting, and yet that was God’s mission for us as his church. But God didn’t just place me there, show us the needs and then leave; God placed me there and then gave, he gave us the power to fulfill his mission. Being empowered by God is not just receiving power to live a new life, it’s receiving God’s power to live the life and to be involved in the work God wants for us. We see this in 2 encounters that Jesus has with people in Luke 8.
Luke 8 is an amazing chapter. Last week we heard from Luke 8 about the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years. Jesus transformed her life by physically healing her, but in the same chapter there are others whose lives are not just transformed but empowered by Jesus. The first is a woman who we have been hearing a lot about these last few years but someone we actually know very little about from the Bible, and that is Mary Magdalene.
Thanks to Dan Brown’s best selling book, The DaVinci Code, there has been a lot of interest and speculation about Mary Magdalene, but we actually know very little about her. What we do know is that she was at the cross when Jesus died, she saw them lay Jesus in the tomb, she was one of the women who went to the tomb to prepare Jesus body of its final burial and while the other women fled when the found the tomb open, Mary lingered in the garden and so she was the first person to see the risen Jesus. While Mary is one of the key figures in the crucifixion and resurrection stories, we know very little about her life before that. What we do know, we learn from Luke 8. It is here that that we find out that Mary had seven demons driven out of her at one point in time – obviously that healing transformed her life, but it also empowered her, because from that time on Mary not only travelled with Jesus and his disciples, but she helped provide for Jesus and his ministry. She supported them financially out of her own resources. Luke 8:1-3
So Jesus empowered Mary, he gave her the ability and the opportunity to live a life that she had previous never thought possible. He didn’t just drive out her demons; he called her to be part of his ministry. She traveled with Jesus, shared in his work, and she helped make it all possible by giving them support. But Jesus didn’t just empower Mary, in many ways he empowered all women because he welcomed several of them into his life and ministry. Jesus gave these women the ability to live in a way they had not thought possible and he gave them opportunities. Women had no opportunities in Jesus day, they had no status and no rights and they certainly were not seen as leaders, but here is Jesus accepting their help and allowing them to travel with him. Think about it, these women were the last ones at the cross and the first ones at the tomb. The women were the first ones to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus, in many ways they were the first preachers of the gospel. That the Bible gives that role to Mary tells us that she had a place in the ministry of Jesus. He gave them opportunities to be part of God’s work, he gave them the power to accomplish God’s mission – Jesus empowered these women, he opened up a new life them, and this is the empowerment Jesus offers us.
Jesus doesn’t just call us to work with him; he empowers us to work with him. Jesus gives us the opportunity to be involved in God’s mission and then he provides the power needed to accomplish that mission. Jesus calls us to step out in life and in ministry in ways we never thought possible. For me it was not just being a pastor, it was being a pastor in a ministry setting I never thought I’d be effective in. If we are willing to trust that God loves us and then rely upon God’s power working in us, then we will be able to experience God’s ultimate purpose for our lives. We will be able to serve God in ways we might just dream about right now, or in ways we have never even thought about.
One of the questions I wrestle with the most, and probably the question I’m asked most often is how do we know what God wants us to do? How do we know what God has empowered us to do? What’s the mission or the ministry God has for me? I wish there was an easy step by step process to find the answer. I wish there was a formula we could just plug facts and figures into and get the right answer, but there isn’t. The truth is that our faith is not a rigid set of rules and regulations that we follow, it is a relationship with the living God and so we find life’s meaning and God’s purpose by having more encounters with God through Jesus Christ. We are empowered simply by being with Jesus.
Think again about Mary. Her life was transformed when the demons were driven out, and then she just started walking with Jesus. Every day she listened to what he had to say, she got involved in what Jesus and his disciples were doing, and tried different things as she had the opportunity. The reason she was one of the last followers of Jesus at the cross and the first one to see Jesus alive was simply because she was there. Are we willing to simply be present with Jesus and allow those encounters to empower us and open the door to a new life? Are we willing to seek more encounters with Jesus so we can have more opportunities to receive his power and hear his call? While that may sound simple – just being present with Jesus - it isn’t. Staying connected to Jesus is not easy; it requires daily discipline and encouragement. It takes patience and accountability. Consistent and ongoing encounters with God are hard work, but it is through these encounters that we are empowered to be involved in a ministry that we never thought possible or maybe just never dared to live before.
One final thought on being empowered to do the work God has for us, the work God has for us may not be the work we think God has for us. I never thought I wanted to be involved in urban ministry. That was not part of my plan, but it was part of God’s plan and we have to be willing to go where God sends us. Earlier we heard the story of the demon possessed man who lived in the tombs. After Jesus transformed his life and drove out the demons, he empowered the man to be involved in Jesus ministry. While the man’s plan was to go with Jesus, he even begged Jesus to let him travel with them, Jesus had other plans. Jesus wanted this man to stay home and tell everyone how God had changed his life, look at Luke 8:38.
What this story shows us is that God has a unique plan for each of us. Mary had demons driven out of her and then traveled with Jesus, but this man had demons driven out of him and was sent home to tell others what God had done. God has a unique purpose for our lives and if we go where God sends us, he will empower us to do what he wants us to do. The man returned home and told people what Jesus had done for him. God gave him the power and courage to share his testimony and it took courage to do that because this was a region that was hostile to Jesus. Remember how all the people were angry and frightened of Jesus because of what he did to their pigs. Jesus had destroyed their livelihood so it took courage for this man to talk about all the good things Jesus had done. The reason this man was effective wasn’t because he was good on his on, it was because he was empowered by God.
God is the one who transforms our lives, but it doesn’t end there, God also wants to empower us for ministry, but it is God’s work we have to embrace, not our own, and we learn what God has for us when we are willing to do what the demon possessed man did and stop running around chasing nothing and he settled down at the feet of Jesus and in that encounter begin to listen. In these days leading up to Easter, are we willing to take some time to settle down at the feet of Jesus and listen? Are we willing to allow God’s power to transform our lives and then empower us to do God’s will?
As a church, we slowly started to meet the needs of our community. It started with a VBS that reached out to the children, and then an after-school program that got the kids from the 2nd and 2nd gang off the street and into our church gym. We started a fellowship and lunch program for the many seniors in our neighborhood who struggled with both poverty and loneliness, and we provided space to help launch a youth center to address some of the issues that faced the youth of our city. While I was the pastor there, I sat with children who wanted to run away from home because their parents did drugs, and I was on the phone occasionally with children and youth and the police advocating for children. The year I left Altoona, our church was recognized with the first urban ministry award ever given out in the Northeast Jurisdiction of the UMC. Our outreach ministry was recognized over ministry in all the large urban areas of Boston, NY, Baltimore, DC, Harrisburg as well as Philadelphia and Pittsburg. When our church was recognized that year, I had to laugh to myself because I came to Central PA specifically because I did not want to do urban ministry, and yet that was exactly where God placed me. It was exactly what God had me do at that moment in time.
I think that is what it means to be empowered. While the dictionary defines empowerment as being given authority, I like how John Indermark defines the word in the devotional book we are reading because he says we are empowered when God gives us the ability to live in a way we had not thought possible or dared to live before. The key is that God is the one who gives us the power, but God gives us the power to live in a way we had not thought possible. I had not thought it possible for me to be effective in any kind of urban setting, and yet that was God’s mission for us as his church. But God didn’t just place me there, show us the needs and then leave; God placed me there and then gave, he gave us the power to fulfill his mission. Being empowered by God is not just receiving power to live a new life, it’s receiving God’s power to live the life and to be involved in the work God wants for us. We see this in 2 encounters that Jesus has with people in Luke 8.
Luke 8 is an amazing chapter. Last week we heard from Luke 8 about the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years. Jesus transformed her life by physically healing her, but in the same chapter there are others whose lives are not just transformed but empowered by Jesus. The first is a woman who we have been hearing a lot about these last few years but someone we actually know very little about from the Bible, and that is Mary Magdalene.
Thanks to Dan Brown’s best selling book, The DaVinci Code, there has been a lot of interest and speculation about Mary Magdalene, but we actually know very little about her. What we do know is that she was at the cross when Jesus died, she saw them lay Jesus in the tomb, she was one of the women who went to the tomb to prepare Jesus body of its final burial and while the other women fled when the found the tomb open, Mary lingered in the garden and so she was the first person to see the risen Jesus. While Mary is one of the key figures in the crucifixion and resurrection stories, we know very little about her life before that. What we do know, we learn from Luke 8. It is here that that we find out that Mary had seven demons driven out of her at one point in time – obviously that healing transformed her life, but it also empowered her, because from that time on Mary not only travelled with Jesus and his disciples, but she helped provide for Jesus and his ministry. She supported them financially out of her own resources. Luke 8:1-3
So Jesus empowered Mary, he gave her the ability and the opportunity to live a life that she had previous never thought possible. He didn’t just drive out her demons; he called her to be part of his ministry. She traveled with Jesus, shared in his work, and she helped make it all possible by giving them support. But Jesus didn’t just empower Mary, in many ways he empowered all women because he welcomed several of them into his life and ministry. Jesus gave these women the ability to live in a way they had not thought possible and he gave them opportunities. Women had no opportunities in Jesus day, they had no status and no rights and they certainly were not seen as leaders, but here is Jesus accepting their help and allowing them to travel with him. Think about it, these women were the last ones at the cross and the first ones at the tomb. The women were the first ones to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus, in many ways they were the first preachers of the gospel. That the Bible gives that role to Mary tells us that she had a place in the ministry of Jesus. He gave them opportunities to be part of God’s work, he gave them the power to accomplish God’s mission – Jesus empowered these women, he opened up a new life them, and this is the empowerment Jesus offers us.
Jesus doesn’t just call us to work with him; he empowers us to work with him. Jesus gives us the opportunity to be involved in God’s mission and then he provides the power needed to accomplish that mission. Jesus calls us to step out in life and in ministry in ways we never thought possible. For me it was not just being a pastor, it was being a pastor in a ministry setting I never thought I’d be effective in. If we are willing to trust that God loves us and then rely upon God’s power working in us, then we will be able to experience God’s ultimate purpose for our lives. We will be able to serve God in ways we might just dream about right now, or in ways we have never even thought about.
One of the questions I wrestle with the most, and probably the question I’m asked most often is how do we know what God wants us to do? How do we know what God has empowered us to do? What’s the mission or the ministry God has for me? I wish there was an easy step by step process to find the answer. I wish there was a formula we could just plug facts and figures into and get the right answer, but there isn’t. The truth is that our faith is not a rigid set of rules and regulations that we follow, it is a relationship with the living God and so we find life’s meaning and God’s purpose by having more encounters with God through Jesus Christ. We are empowered simply by being with Jesus.
Think again about Mary. Her life was transformed when the demons were driven out, and then she just started walking with Jesus. Every day she listened to what he had to say, she got involved in what Jesus and his disciples were doing, and tried different things as she had the opportunity. The reason she was one of the last followers of Jesus at the cross and the first one to see Jesus alive was simply because she was there. Are we willing to simply be present with Jesus and allow those encounters to empower us and open the door to a new life? Are we willing to seek more encounters with Jesus so we can have more opportunities to receive his power and hear his call? While that may sound simple – just being present with Jesus - it isn’t. Staying connected to Jesus is not easy; it requires daily discipline and encouragement. It takes patience and accountability. Consistent and ongoing encounters with God are hard work, but it is through these encounters that we are empowered to be involved in a ministry that we never thought possible or maybe just never dared to live before.
One final thought on being empowered to do the work God has for us, the work God has for us may not be the work we think God has for us. I never thought I wanted to be involved in urban ministry. That was not part of my plan, but it was part of God’s plan and we have to be willing to go where God sends us. Earlier we heard the story of the demon possessed man who lived in the tombs. After Jesus transformed his life and drove out the demons, he empowered the man to be involved in Jesus ministry. While the man’s plan was to go with Jesus, he even begged Jesus to let him travel with them, Jesus had other plans. Jesus wanted this man to stay home and tell everyone how God had changed his life, look at Luke 8:38.
What this story shows us is that God has a unique plan for each of us. Mary had demons driven out of her and then traveled with Jesus, but this man had demons driven out of him and was sent home to tell others what God had done. God has a unique purpose for our lives and if we go where God sends us, he will empower us to do what he wants us to do. The man returned home and told people what Jesus had done for him. God gave him the power and courage to share his testimony and it took courage to do that because this was a region that was hostile to Jesus. Remember how all the people were angry and frightened of Jesus because of what he did to their pigs. Jesus had destroyed their livelihood so it took courage for this man to talk about all the good things Jesus had done. The reason this man was effective wasn’t because he was good on his on, it was because he was empowered by God.
God is the one who transforms our lives, but it doesn’t end there, God also wants to empower us for ministry, but it is God’s work we have to embrace, not our own, and we learn what God has for us when we are willing to do what the demon possessed man did and stop running around chasing nothing and he settled down at the feet of Jesus and in that encounter begin to listen. In these days leading up to Easter, are we willing to take some time to settle down at the feet of Jesus and listen? Are we willing to allow God’s power to transform our lives and then empower us to do God’s will?
