Prayer That Keeps You Rooted

What's prayer all about for you? Is it about getting stuff from God? Is it a divine 911 call-line? Is it just one more thing to feel guilty about not doing? Is it a source of skepticism and disappointment?

As a Christian who wants to make a difference for God and for good, you kinda hafta be a praying person. How could you be a Christian leader, a minister of Jesus, a priest who mediates between God and humanity if you don't do much meditation? If you're not talking to God much, how can you help others become rooted in him? If you're not doing much listening to Him, why should anyone do any listening to you?

I get it: you're stuck between the desire to help - you have a caring heart, BUT you're also busy and don't have a lot of time to give to praying, you have a lot on your mind, and you're often tempted to disbelieve that praying makes a big difference. Am I close? Is this you? It's sometimes me.

These words from Henri Nouwen about contemplative prayer and Christian leaders - it's what I needed to hear today:

Christian leaders cannot simply be persons who have well-informed opinions about the burning issues of our time. Their leadership must be rooted in the permanent, intimate relationship with the incarnate Word, Jesus, and they need to find there the source for their words, advice, and guidance.

Through the discipline of contemplative prayer, Christians leaders have to learn to listen again and again to the voice of love and to find there the wisdom and courage to address whatever issue presents itself to them. Dealing with burning issues without being rooted in a deep personal relationship with God easily leads to divisiveness, because before we know it, our sense of self is caught up in our opinion about a given subject.

But when we are securely rooted in personal intimacy with the source of life, it will be possible to remain flexible without being relativistic, convinced without being rigid, willing to confront without being offensive, gentle and forgiving without being soft, and true witnesses without being manipulative.
~ In the Name of Jesus, pg31-32

Most of us are one step away from contemplative prayer. We already worry. We obsess. We go over stuff in our head. We lay awake at night mulling things over, trying to figure out what is going on and what to do next. Contemplative prayer includes God in on what you've got going inside your mind already. You're thinking about something with your kids. Include God in on it. Your marriage is causing confusion. Include God in on it. Work or school is a source of anxiety. Include God in on your swirling thoughts.

Contemplative prayer keeps you rooted in what God is doing already - in you, through you, in others. Direct your deep and constant concerns towards God. He listens to you, and then you...listen...to...him.... To know God is to trust him, to be rooted in him. To lead and love in the name of Jesus is to listen to Him.

To Know and To Love

What do you look for in a Christian leader?

As Christianity continues to decline in the West, what ought to be the priority for Christian leaders?

We live in the wealthiest nation EVER! Wealth of information, wealth of opportunity, wealth of stuff. And yet we are one of the most obese, medicated, lonely peoples ever. Within our swirling culture, what is the best contribution a Christian leader can make? As a priest - a mediator between God and humanity - what is our task in these confusing and turbulent days?

Henri Nouwen has this to say about the Christian leader of the future:

The Christian leader of the future is the one who truly knows the heart of God as it has become flesh, "a heart of flesh," in Jesus.

Knowing God's heart means consistently, radically, and very concretely to announce and reveal that God is love and only love, and that every time fear, isolation, or despair begin to invade the human soul this is not something that comes from God.

Knowing the heart of Jesus and loving him are the same thing. The knowledge of Jesus' heart is a knowledge of the heart. And when we live in the world with that knowledge, we cannot do other than bring healing, reconciliation, new life and hope wherever we go.

The desire to be relevant and successful will gradually disappear, and our only desire will be to say with our whole being to our brothers and sisters of the human race, "You are loved. There is no reason to be afraid."
~In the Name of Jesus, pg 25, 27

If you want to make a difference in your own home, if you want to expand your heart, you are invited to know Jesus. You must step forward and lead your self, your family, your friends into a new place of hope and healing. You must become a leader by actually leading - taking initiative, planning ahead, bringing others along with you, implementing change. Your home needs you to be a leader. Your church needs it. Your work needs it. Your school needs it. You need it.

To know Jesus - his words, his works, his way - is to know his loyalty to you, his faithfulness, his devotion and sacrifice and trustworthiness. He is to us what he wants us to be to others. To let him lead you is how you are able to lead others. This may be a new definition of leadership for you. In light of how things are going, I'd say we probably need a new kind of leader for the future. A different kind of Christian for tomorrow. One through whom others know and love Jesus.

In Our World of Loneliness and Despair

As Christians who care, we work to bring hope and help to a situation. We minister as priests, mediators between God and humanity - for God is the one who fuels hope and sustains real help. When we bring hope and help to our neighbor, we let it come from Him through us. As little Christ's, we follow in the way of Jesus, meeting others in their hard times with a heart of love, a heart that knows God.

Henri Nouwen writes at length about Jesus and our hearts and hope:

Look at Jesus. The world did not pay any attention to him. He was crucified and put away. His message of love was rejected by a world in search of power, efficiency, and control.

But there he was, appearing with wounds in his glorified body to a few friends who had eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to understand. This rejected, unknown, wounded Jesus simply asked, "Do you love me, do you really love me?" He whose only concern had been to announce the unconditional love of God had only one question to ask, "Do you love me?"

The question is not: How many people take you seriously? How much are you going to accomplish? Can you show some results? But: Are you in love with Jesus? Perhaps another way of putting the question would be: Do you know the incarnate God?

In our world of loneliness and despair, there is an enormous need for men and women who know the heart of God, a heart that forgives, that cares, that reaches out and wants to heal. In that heart there is no suspicion, no vindictiveness, no resentment, and not a tinge of hatred. It is a heart that wants only to give love and receive love in response.

It is a heart that suffers immensely because it sees the magnitude of human pain and the great resistance to trusting the heart of God who wants to offer consolation and hope.

Are you in need of hope?

Are you in need of help?

When you reach out to God, he responds in love - he can identify with your loneliness and despair. He meets you where you are at. The greatest difficulty in asking God for help is that you must trust Him, trust His way of helping. If He prompts you to forgive, you must trust Him to forgive. If He moves you to stay loyal, you must trust Him and do so. If He brings someone into your life that offers wisdom and companionship for the long journey, you'll need to trust Him on it and go along.

God will answer your prayers for hope and help by bringing someone alongside you with a heart that knows the heart of God and can be a conduit for his healing love. You must be be willing to receive the answer to your prayers.

And for you, Christian, that cares: are you willing to be part of God's answer to those who whisper "Help..."

Connecting to the Community: with Jocelyn Smith

For our third Lenten gathering, the 46808 Neighborhood Churches met at Trinity United Methodist Church with Jocelyn Smith of Rising Stars, a ministry of Associated Churches of Fort Wayne and Allen County. Jocelyn is the Community Connector for our neighborhood, and works with four local elementary schools: Washington, Nebraska, Bloomingdale, and Franke Park. Jocelyn was joined by the Rising Stars Director, Sarah Adams.

Together the two of them presented to the gathered churches the origins of Rising Stars, the difference it is currently making in the community, and what is next. It was great to have Grace Presbyterian, First Mennonite, Anchor Community, United Faith Presbyterian, and members from Trinity United Methodist come together to strengthen our partnership with Rising Stars and as members of the Associated Churches.

Rising Stars is doing great work in our local elementary schools - and providing a great opportunity for collaboration with neighborhood churches. Community Connectors like Jocelyn Smith build relationships with schools and churches, becoming a link for support and fulfilling needs. Schools always needs supplies for their students, and sometimes they need help with clothing and other essentials. But the biggest need that has surfaced is support for the parents - training opportunities that improve parenting skills, strengthen families, and nurture a better performing school.

Recently, in partnership with Youth Services Bureau and the Fort Wayne Fatherhood Coalition, Rising Stars was able to start parenting classes in a number of local elementary schools, including Nebraska Elementary School, which is ten blocks south of Anchor. These STEP classes are taught by facilitators trained through YSB and funded by Fort Wayne Fatherhood Coalition. Rising Stars then works with local churches like Anchor and Trinity, to help pay for food costs, provide volunteers and help with incentives. Parents are getting help, the Aha! moments are happening - this is neighborhood collaboration at its best! 

Sarah Adams shared some compelling stories:
*A Bloomingdale student came to school irregularly - she had to share her wintercoat with a sibling. When news reached the school, Rising Stars stepped in to provide a coat so that both students could go to school everyday wearing their own warm winter coats.
*At a different school, a family had split up - and then all their possessions were destroyed in a fire. Through the school, Rising Stars was able to provide gift cards to help them recover. The family got the help they needed, they have come back together, are in a different home, part of a local church, and have started a new life together.
*A principal shared that different teachers said they could feel the presence of God in their classrooms. The love and support they get from Rising Stars is like a big huge hug!

Churches can do more together. God does some of his best work through congregations that collaborate in their city to serve and love in the name of Jesus. To learn more about how you can get involved and make a difference for good, check out these links below:

Associated Churches of Fort Wayne and Allen County

Rising Stars Ministry

Nebraska Elementary School


Fort Wayne Fatherhood Coalition

Youth Services Bureau


Trinity United Methodist Church

Grace Presbyterian Church

Anchor Community Church



Also: NeighborLink Fort Wayne

Irrelevant and Truly Self-Confident

What's at the heart of Christian ministry? If you are a Christian, and you do any kind of serving, caring, helping, praying, etc, you are doing ministry. That makes you a Christian minister. A little Christ ministering in the way of Jesus. What is central to ministering in the name of Christ?

Henri Nouwen puts it like this:

Before Jesus commissioned Peter to be a shepherd he asked him, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these others do?" He asked him again, "Do you love me?" And a third time he asked, "Do you love me?"

We have to hear that question as being central to all of our Christian ministry because it is the question that can allow us to be, at the same time, irrelevant and truly self-confident.
~In the Name of Jesus, p23

To be irrelevant is to be free. Free from unrealistic expectations. Free from legalistic burdens. To be irrelevant is to be free to be led by the Spirit of God. And to be self-confident - most of us can only dream of becoming such. To be self-confident in our serving, in our caring, in our helping, in our listening, in our correcting, in our mentoring, in our loving...such is the way of Jesus.

Let Jesus ask you the question he put to Peter. Listen to the probing interrogation. He is looking into your eyes - that strong, steady, gentle, intense gaze: Do. You. Love. Me?

A Deep Current of Despair

When you are out in public, do you ever people-watch? You may already know that body-language makes up about 80% of personal communication. You can tell a lot about a person by how they walk, how they stand and lean and slouch and shuffle. Not everything, but a lot. Behind the make-up, behind the clothes, behind the attitude, what do you see?

As someone who cares, as a Christian who ministers, as a priest who mediates between God and humanity, what do you do with what is really going on inside others? Do you realize what is churning inside of so many of us?

Henri Nouwen has these penetrating insights into the reality of those who minister and those we see:

In this climate of secularization, Christian leaders feel less and less relevant and more and more marginal. Many begin to wonder why they should stay in the ministry. Often they leave, develop a new competency, and join their contemporaries in their attempts to make relevant contributions to a better world.

But there is a completely different story to tell. Beneath all the great accomplishments of our time there is a deep current of despair. While efficiency and control are the great aspirations of our society, the loneliness, isolation, lack of friendship and intimacy, broken relationships, boredom, feelings of emptiness and depression, and a deep sense of uselessness fill the hearts of millions of people in our success-oriented world.

And the cry that arises...is: Is there anybody who loves me; is there anybody who really cares? Is there anybody who wants to stay home for me? Is there anybody who wants to be with me when I am not in control, when I feel like crying? Is there anybody who can hold me and give me a sense of belonging?

Feeling irrelevant is a much more general experience than we might think when we look at our seemingly self-confident society. Medical technology and the tragic increase in abortions may radically diminish the number of mentally handicapped people in our society, but it is already becoming apparent that more and more people are suffering from profound moral and spiritual handicaps without having any idea of where to look for healing.

It is here that the need for a new Christian leadership becomes clear. The leader of the future will be the one who dares to claim his irrelevance in the contemporary world as a divine vocation that allows him or her to enter into deep solidarity with the anguish underlying all the glitter of success and to bring the light of Jesus there.
~In the Name of Jesus, p20-23

Does that resonate with you?

The new Christian leader will enter into deep solidarity with those caught up in the deep current of despair - and bring the light of Jesus there.

To the despairing: may enough Christians hear your cry and see your eyes and enter into solidarity with you, bringing the light of Jesus to you.

Parish Nurse Notes: Bullying

Anchor Community has been collaborating with 46808 Neighborhood Churches with the purpose of helping build a stronger, responsible, and healthier neighborhood. There are many subjects and issues that can be addressed. Among those issues are raising great teens who will grow up one day to be responsible citizens in our own neighborhoods and towns.

One issue has come to the forefront for almost all teens in one way or another: bullying. In recent research 43,321 teens were surveyed. The age range was 15-18 in 78 different public schools, and 22 private schools. Amazingly, a full 24% reported that they feared going to school, and found school to be an unhappy, and unsafe place to be. It was also found that 37% of boys and 19% of girls felt violence in schools was okay.

In other research, it has been found that as many as 100,000 students have gone to school while carrying firearms. 77% of students in one research group admitted to being bullied at some point. It is estimated that as many as half the incidents of bullying are never reported…..even considering that as many as 14% of students have had severe negative events related to bullying.

One big problem with bullying in 2011 is that it is no longer limited to just verbal threats and physical violence. Bullying has many faces including:
-relational...ie. withdrawing emotional, social, and friendship benefits to punish a victim
-racial...indirect racial slurs, graffiti, exclusion from various social settings and activities, and harassment
-sexual...sexual remarks, inappropriate touching,
-cyberbullying...threats and harassment over various internet social sites such as Facebook etc.

Very serious problems can result for bullied teens including physical harm as well as depression and social isolation. In the next couple of blogs I will discuss more in depth the problems related to bullying….and some of the steps we can take both in the Church, and in the community to help stem the epidemic which is overtaking so many of our teens.

Scott G. Eddy, RN BSN


Reference: USA Live Headlines.Com

They Are Very Busy

We've been making the contention that every Christian is a priest. Our role of mediation between God and humanity takes the form of ministry. Through our actions, our works, our deeds we reveal the mercy and will of God in the world, we become the answers to the prayers of the people. In our everyday life at work and home and school and church, while shopping and dining and playing and strolling, with the people we come across in our day - this is also where we mediate and minister.

Do you ever wonder if you are ever really making a difference? Are there moments that make you think that all your help and ministering is for naught? Whether you get paid to be a minister or you volunteer - you've probably faced those moments of self-doubt: does my ministry matter? Should I continue?

Henri Nouwen has been in that place, and here's what he writes about it:

One of the main sufferings experienced in the ministry is that of low self-esteem. Many priests and ministers today increasingly perceive themselves as having very little impact. They are very busy, but they do not see much change.

It seems that their efforts are fruitless. They face an ongoing decrease in church attendance and discover that psychologists, psychotherapists, marriage counselors, and doctors are often more trusted than they. Meanwhile, there is little praise and much criticism in the Church today, and who can live for long in such a climate without slipping into some type of depression?

The secular world around us is saying in a loud voice, "We can take care of ourselves. We do not need God, the Church, or a priest. We are in control. And if we are not, then we have to work harder to get in control. The problem is not lack of faith, but lack of competence."
~In the Name of Jesus, p19-20

It's ironic: the people who need help, well part of their problem is that they are very busy; and the people who want to help, well they are very busy helping. We are all very busy! Who is the man, who is the woman who will step out in faith and refuse to be busy? It would take great imagination to conceive of a life that is not dominated by being busy - and it would require you to not be busy. What to do?

If you want to really help someone, you must trust God to guide your steps - He will not cause you to be too busy. If you want help - if you really want God's help - you must trust him to slow down your steps so that you are not so busy.
You can't do reflection and repentance on the run.
You can't change your heart if you're too busy to cook a meal at home with your family. 

Reading the Gospels, one never gets the sense that Jesus was busy. He worked hard, he suffered, he applied himself diligently, but he wasn't busy. To serve in the name of Jesus does not require you to be busy. 

To receive the help of Jesus will require you to slow down - this sometimes looks like the wheels falling off of your life. Consider it a blessing. Incompetence is not necessarily your problem, rather it's your unwillingness to trust God's way. Your way makes you too busy and impotent. You can find a new way.

Connecting to the Community: with Megan Kelly

Tonight we met at Grace Presbyterian Church with Megan Kelly of Great KIDS make Great COMMUNITIES. Megan presented an overview of the 40 Developmental Assets, particularly those that congregations can build into kids and youth. It was a lot of good information, a very empowering session. Our 46808 Neighborhood Churches want to make our neighborhood a better place to live - and building assets into children and teens is a key investment.

Here's some highlights from the evening:
* the average American kid has about 19 assets in their life
* kids and youth who are involved in their local church have on average about 21 assets in their life
* kids and youth who are not involved in a local church have on average about 15 assets in their life
* while the ideal goal is for each child and teen to have all forty developmental assets in their life, having at least 30 will make a big difference in their life
* churches can make a key difference in the life of a child and teen directly, and indirectly through supporting parents and other local agencies.

The 40 Developmental Assets are a result of research done by the Search Institute. You can read about all the assets by clicking here. Search Institute has identified these building blocks of healthy development - known as Developmental Assets - that help young people grow up healthy, caring, and responsible. The research shows that the more positive experiences children have in their lives, the greater the likelihood that they will succeed developmentally.


What are the developmental assets that congregations can naturally build into young people?
*provide support through other adult relationships: young people need to receive support from three or more nonparent adults
*empowerment through fostering a place of safety: young people need to feel safe at home, school, and in the neighborhood
*availability of adult role models: young people need parents and other adults to model positive, responsible behavior

*nurture a constructive use of time through involvement in a religious community: young people ought to spend at least one or more hours per week in activities with a religious institution
*demonstrate positive values like caring and helping others, equality and justice for others in need, integrity with convictions, honesty when it's not easy, accepting responsibility, and showing restraint towards unhealthy behaviors
* foster a sense of purpose: young people need to feel like their life has a meaningful purpose

For a great list of specific activities of what congregations can do to build into kids and youth, click here.

In what ways has Anchor been building assets into the life of our children and teens over the past bunch of years? Here's some observations. What would you add to the list?
* serve on the worship team as singers, Scripture readers, and instrumentalists
* serve as candlelighters, ushers, and communion servers
* serve on community service projects in the neighborhood

* raise their own funds for youth trips and projects
* raise funds for people in need - in our community and around the world
* participate in small groups led by caring, fun, responsible adults
* enjoy a safe place to spend their morning singing, learning, and praying
* worship and serve alongside adults ranging from young to old

Temptation To Be Relevant

So you find yourself caring. You care about the people in your life. You care about your community. You care about the burning issues of your day. You care about victims of earthquakes and political revolutions. Like Jesus, you care.

Henri Nouwen thinks that Jesus' first temptation was to be relevant. It's a temptation that almost every pastor faces, every Christian who cares about their church and family members and neighbor faces. Here's what Nouwen writes:

Are we not called to do something that makes people realize that we do make a difference in their lives? Aren't we called to heal the sick, feed the hungry, and alleviate the suffering of the poor?

Jesus was faced with these same questions, but when he was asked to prove his power as the Son of God by the relevant behavior of changing stones to bread, he clung to his mission to proclaim the word and said, "Human beings live not by bread alone, but by every word that comes form the mouth of God."
~In the Name of Jesus, p18-19

It's worth reflecting on why Jesus refused the devil's offer. Maybe it's a simple answer: always reject what the devil offers! But the opposite would be: always accept what God offers. Which is exactly what Jesus ends up saying. It sounds so easy! But the devil knows how to offer an alternative way that comes across as very appealing. Very appealing. And convenient. And helpful. Relevant.

Why do you want to help people? When it comes to caring for people, how much of it is about you? When you reach out to someone, do you ever let God prompt you forward? Does the way of Jesus determine your course of action, or do you let yourself get driven by your own desires for compassion?

There is no substitute for knowing God's word to his people. If you are a Christian, and you don't ever let God's word direct your steps of help and compassion, you may find yourself merely turning stones to bread. You maybe be popular and helpful, but you aren't connecting people to the God who saves and rescues and heals. The temptation to be relevant is powerful, it is hard to resist.

Called To Be Completely Irrelevant

What makes for a good Christian leader? What are the qualities you look for?

How would you know if you were a good Christian leader?

Here's what Henri Nouwen has to say about it:

...I am deeply convinced that the Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self. That is the way Jesus came to reveal God's love.

The great message that we have to carry, as ministers of God's word and followers of Jesus, is that God loves us not because of what we do or accomplish, but because God has created and redeemed us in love and has chosen us to proclaim that love as the true source of human life.

How do these thoughts alter your perspective of what makes for a good Christian leader?

Too often we feel like we must choose between an effective leader and a loving leader. A leader needs to be effective, but a Christian leader must also be one who loves in the name of Jesus. Without love, that leader is like a annoying, clanging cymbal. 

Your willingness to offer your vulnerable self to God and your neighbor, in the name of Jesus, positions you for Christian leadership. Your ability to express the way God loves you - not in superspiritual lingo, not with big Christianese phrases - enables you to minister to others. This is Christian leadership at its core - leading people and organizations and communities into a way of life of loving your neighbor as God loves you.

The temptation is to skimp on love. The temptation is to continually think of yourself as a loving person. The temptation is to believe in the power of love without being a conduit for the power of love. As a Christian you have nothing to offer but your own vulnerable self, loved by God.

To some this is the way of irrelevance. But it is the way of Jesus.

Does Becoming Older Bring Me Closer to Jesus?

Becoming older can merely make us cynical or stiff-necked. But it can also make us wiser and sweeter. When it comes to knowing Jesus, the experiences that come from getting older can draw us closer to him, or push us further away. That temptation never ceases.

For Henri Nouwen, he puts it like this:

Did becoming older bring me closer to Jesus? After twenty-five years in the priesthood, I found myself praying poorly, living somewhat isolated from other people, and very much preoccupied with burning issues. Everyone was saying that I was doing really well, but something inside me was telling me that my success was putting my own soul in danger.

I began to ask myself whether my lack of contemplative prayer, my loneliness, and my constantly changing involvement in what seemed most urgent were signs that the Spirit was gradually being suppressed. It was very hard for me to see clearly, and though I never spoke about hell or only jokingly so, I woke up one day with the realization that I was living in a very dark place and that the term "burnout" was a convenient psychological translation for a spiritual death.

In the midst of this, I kept praying, "Lord, show me where you want me to go and I will follow you, but please be clear and unambiguous about it!" Well God was.

As a Christian, you may not think of yourself as a priest, but you are. If you are trying to help your friends or family get to know God better, you are doing the work of a priest. If you care about the faith of others, you have the heart of a priest. And every Christian who cares and takes initiative and gets involved at some point faces burnout. We suppress the Spirit. This also is a temptation that never ceases.

Does your current way of life make contemplative prayer unrealistic? Are you surrounded by people, yet still feeling disconnected and lonely? Do you find yourself caring about burning issues in the lives of people around you, yet you find yourself filled with low-grade despair about people and their possibility of changing? Is getting older as a Christian resulting in you becoming closer to Jesus?

So what is it about becoming older as a Christian that helps me become close to Jesus? The temptation is to dismiss the question. Or to answer it too quickly, too hastily. The following blogposts will address these issues, using Scripture texts from Jesus in the Wilderness, and Jesus' to Peter to become a Shepherd.

Connecting to the Community: With Judge Pratt

Churches in the 46808 Neighborhood gathered together tonight at First Mennonite Church to meet with Judge Charles Pratt. He was joined by his assistant Kate Rusher, the Assistant Chief Juvenile Probation Officer at Allen Superior Court.

Here's an overview of some of the material Judge Pratt shared with us in regard to reporting child abuse and neglect:
First: is the child under the age of 18?
Second: which of these in the "general neglect category" apply -
* Food
* Clothing
* Shelter
* Supervision
* Medical Care
* Education

Third: Does the neglect have a corresponding serious harm to the child?
Fourth: Has your congregation's offer to help or help from other agencies been ignored or refused?
Fifth: Has there been an act - or a failure to act - that resulted in injury (an injury that is not typical given the age, the place of the injury, and the extent of it)?
Sixth: Has there been injuries from an act of domestic violence (or has the child been exposed to domestic violence)?

When reporting, be sure to:
* Give specific conditions of the home if you deem it to be unsafe
* Articulate clearly the circumstances that you deem to of serious harm (untreated medical care, failure to provide food, inadequate shelter, children left alone, etc.)
* Call the child abuse and neglect hotline as soon as you have compiled your information: 1-800-800-5556. If you think the child is in immediate danger, call your local police.

Possible victims of sex offenses:
If the child provides you with facts that he or she has been sexually victimized, then do the following:
* Make notes for your later recollection about the child's comments.
* Do not ask the child questions. There is protocol for interviewing the children that requires an expert to complete
* Contact the police and the hotline.
* Assure the child that you are acting to protect him or her.
* Remember that the child - regardless of his or her participation in the abuse - is a victim.

As our churches become more involved in the neighborhood, and as we come alongside more families, we are seeing more children in dire circumstances. The question arises: what's the best way to serve the children and their families? And: how can we best partner with the court system to better serve those involved in abuse and neglect cases? This is how we subvert the powers of injustice.

Jesus commanded his disciples to go preach the kingdom of God and heal the sick. This is motivation for us to meet with Judge Pratt and collaborate with him in better caring for our neighbors. We are a community of churches that want to make our neighborhood a better place to live, in the name of Jesus.

We met with Judge Pratt and Kate Rusher last year - over a period of four weeks they introduced us to the court system from the perspective of children, youth, and adults. They also helped us connect with available resources like Great Communities Make Great Kids, the YWCA: Domestic Violence Services, CASA: Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children, and others.

This year we wanted to follow up with Judge Pratt and Kate Rusher and learn more about CHINS (Children In Need of Services). Next week we will meet with Megan Kelly who directs Great Communities Make Great Kids - and will do a presentation on the 40 Developmental Assets that church communities can best offer to kids and youth. The following week we'll meet with Jocelyn Smith of Rising Stars, and then the final week we'll meet with Wallace Butts of the Fort Wayne Fatherhood Coalition.

God is a God of the Present

You are a Christian. You are a priest. You are a leader. You face temptations.

Henri Nouwen was in this category as well, and he was asked to speak about Christian leadership in the twenty-first century. He writes this:

But after having said "Yes" to the invitation, I realized that it was far from easy to come up with a sane perspective on Christian leadership in the coming century.

I wondered how it would be possible to look ahead of me, when I considered that nobody in the fifties could have forseen the situation of most priests [and Christian leaders] today.

I came to see that I should not worry about tomorrow, next week, next year, or the next century. The more willing I was to look honestly at what I was thinking and saying and doing now, the more easily I would come in touch with the movement of God's Spirit in me, leading me to the future.

God is a God of the present and reveals to those who are willing to listen carefully to the moment in which they live the steps they are to take toward the future. "Do not worry about tomorrow," Jesus says, "tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:34).

You may not feel like you are a priest, or a leader, or a very good Christian, but you are quite aware of your temptations. Your way out of your temptations will be how you blossom as a Christian, become a helpful leader, and a caring priest. You may just want delivered from your temptations without all the leadership and priest stuff. I'm not sure that's the way it works.

God is still God in your present circumstances - no matter how confusing or disappointing or fulfilling. No matter how you perceive your situation, there is still the desperate need to listen carefully to Him about your next steps into the future. Your temptations can be an ongoing burden to you, or, when you get in touch with God's Spirit, they can be the gateway to a new day. Welcome to the way of becoming a Christian priest and leader.

Your Temptations & Tomorrow

If you are a Christian, you are a priest.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. [1Peter 2v9-10]

You may not ever think of yourself as a priest, you may not be able to point out actions in your life that reveal you to be a priest, but that doesn't make the identity less true.

As a priest, you face temptations. One of those temptations is too see yourself as disqualified for priesthood, or deny that you are in fact part of a royal priesthood. The temptation may be to see yourself as unusable, as part of a useless community.

A priest is one who mediates between your neighbor and God. When you pray for someone, you are doing the work of a priest. When you listen to someone talk about God, you are being a priest to them. When you help someone forgive, when you help someone understand the Scriptures, when you guide people into truth and grace as taught us by Jesus, you are being a priest. When you love your neighbor as a way to love God, you are being a priest. To be a Christian is to be a priest.

Priests face deadly temptations. Peter the Apostle writes with this reality in mind:

Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. [1Peter 2v11-12]

Not only is a priest a mediator between God and man, and not only does a priest face deadly temptations, but a priest is also a leader. This is a self-evident point, but it is too often overlooked. A priest who wrote true and helpful words about priesthood and leadership, Henri Nouwen, has some keen observations on Christian leadership in our century.

By reading his writings for Lent, my hope is that you will more fully embrace your identity as a priest, that you will find courage and wisdom to overcome temptations, and a vision for what your life as a leader can look like for others.

Anchor needs you to be a priest who embraces the task of leadership. Tomorrow needs you to accept your tasks today. Your friends need this, your family needs this, you need to do this. Temptations will never cease, and thus there is always the need for priests to help others overcome and recover. You need a priest to help you, and others need you to be the priest to help them. To be the Anchor is to be the priest to your neighbor.

You may find all this talk about being a priest rather odd, uncomfortable, or heretical.

May you not be so turned off or tuned out that you miss an opportunity to stretch your understanding of your life in Christ. It could be that your view of the world is too small. Your Jesus may be too small. Your perspective of who you are in Christ may be too small. The temptation may be to avoid obedience tomorrow by keeping your faith small today.

How'd Your Second Day of Lent Go?

What did you give up for Lent?

How's it going on your second day? 

I've already failed. At a meeting for pastors, no less!

I worked hard all day to avoid snacking on dessert stuff. And then I went to the Associated Churches Meet -n- Greet tonight and mindlessly grabbed two oatmeal raisin cookies. Ack! I didn't even think about what I did until I got home later that night. So tomorrow is a new day. And a birthday party! Oh my... what will I do?

Oh well. I'm at the beginning of an adventure. I only fail if I quit. And I'm not going to quit. So I guess I didn't fail...

I'm reminded of the kind of intentionality it takes to make a change. It's hard to keep with a commitment. Others might think it trivial what you give up for Lent. But don't underestimate the good of denying yourself. Whether it's desserts or pop or chocolate or meat or beer or smokes or porn or hate - whatever it is you decided to give up for Lent - the act of giving something up that you are attached too... this is good for you. Small or significant, putting the energy into different forms of fasting builds spiritual strength. 

You probably need more spiritual strength. Lent is a good season for testing yourself in the area of self-denial. Not in a spirit of legalism, but in spiritual development and reflection. You need to let go of some unnecessary things in order to receive what you need. 

So even if you're already struggling with your Lenten commitment, don't give up. The struggle is good for you. Don't quit. Yet. Let the struggle and the faltering prompt you to pray and reflect and try again. And again. Forty days can make a difference in your life.

You can do it.

A Prayer for Ash Wednesday

If you were going to spend the day praying, here are a few suggestions:

* Focus on praying at some point in the morning, mid-afternoon, and in the evening. You can either set a specific time, or just be mindful of a general time frame.

* Instead of praying "made-up-spontaneous-prayers" (which have their place), I'm suggesting you pray this scripted prayer, a modified version of the Lord's Prayer and the Great Commandment. When the disciples asked Jesus about how to pray, this is what he taught us.

* When you do pray, repeat the prayer several times - a form of meditation. As you do this, focus on a phrase, on a word that seems to lodge in your head and heart. The repetition lets the prayer settle deeper within you, sparks reflection and imagination.

* This isn't a legalistic religious task, but a spiritual formation opportunity. We are spiritual beings, and specific kinds of prayers and reflection open us up to the Way of Jesus and the direction of God's Spirit. 

Here is a suggested prayer for Ash Wednesday:

Our Father in Heaven,
Holy is your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done:
To love the Lord our God
With all our heart, soul, mind and strength;
And to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.

Amen.

Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday

Tomorrow is Fat Tuesday.
The following day is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.

Fat Tuesday is a fun day of celebration, preparation for the solemn day of Ash Wednesday. It's famously known by it's French name, Mardi Gras. It's also known in England as Pancake Tuesday. Feasting on extra rich pancakes with lots of fun toppings, with family and friends, knowing you'll be hungry the next day.

If you are willing, I invite you to make Ash Wednesday a day of prayer and reflection. You can do this by fasting – either skipping all meals for the day, or at least one.

When you fast, you typically still drink water – depending on your health, you may need to eat a fruit or small piece of wheat bread.

The hunger that comes from fasting is both a reminder of our Lord’s days in the Wilderness, but is also a reminder to pray and reflect on our appetites, on our desires, on our life with God.

If you were going to make Ash Wednesday a special day of prayer and reflection, a suggestion would be to center it around the Lord’s Prayer. You could keep it simple and pray it three times: morning, noon, and night. Another option would be to pray it every hour.

Or, to pray it throughout the day whenever the Spirit prompts you. Or a combo of those three options. The point is that you are slowly working your way through the prayer Jesus taught us – letting the words and ideas sink into your heart, letting them shape your words to God.

When praying the Lord’s Prayer, you may find that different phrases impact you at different points of the day, depending on how the day is going. You may find that you don’t quite understand what Jesus is asking you to pray, which will prompt good reflection. Or it may be convicting. You may also find yourself repeating the prayer over and over and over again. I often pray this prayer when I don’t know what else to pray – I let Jesus' prayer give me the words for the concerns I carry within me.

On Ash Wednesday, not only is it a day of reflection on the Lord’s Prayer, but it can also be a day of giving up something for Lent. Whether it is a particular food or drink, it can also be an addiction or bad habit, something on your schedule or some leisure activity, whatever you pick, it’s something that you’ll miss. It’s a form of fasting you start on Ash Wednesday, but continue over the whole Lenten Season.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday, the next day being Easter Sunday. May your season of prayer and fasting provide the Resurrected Lord with opportunities to dig around in your soul and mind, may He plant new seeds of hope in you as you make room for Him and His words.

Parish Nurse Notes: MRSA

My name is Scott Eddy and I am the Parish Nurse for Anchor. I am very much looking forward to this ministry. Some of the folks at Anchor have come to know me, but for those of you who have not, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself.

I have been an RN for 25 years now, over half my life. I have worked mostly in the hospital setting. I have worked in many areas including critical care, cardiac, neonatal intensive care, pediatrics, psychiatry, and surgical. I first received my RN after graduating from the Lutheran Hospital School of Nursing. Later I received a Bachelor’s degree from Indiana Wesleyan University.

I am the father of 2 great kids…both teenagers. I was born in 1964, and at that time my parents attended Third Street United Brethren Church. We were at Third Street until I was 8 years old. Just before leaving Third Street, I gave my heart to the Lord, with the help of a very dear Sunday School teacher named Juanita Sivits. Coming to Anchor (which used to be the Third Street UB Church) was like coming home, and I know this is where the Lord wants me to be.

As a Parish Nurse for Anchor, one of the ways I will serve is by blogging on various health care concerns. Some of my blogposts will feature informative subjects. Some will feature information that is geared toward prevention, some toward treatment issues. If at any time someone at Anchor would like me to discuss a certain topic, please feel free to mention that to me.

One topic that comes up repeatedly these days is MRSA. This is the acronym for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus - MRSA. A very big name to be sure. Many stories have been told about this organism which have left the public with a high degree of anxiety.

The basic form of MRSA is just called Staph aureus. This part of the organism usually resides on the skin and sometime the nasal passages of a healthy individual. MRSA is a special strain of S. aureus that responds poorly to many of our most powerful antibiotics. MRSA can be an easily dealt with problem if it is for example just on the skin and it is diagnosed and treated early. MRSA can become a serious problem if it gets into the blood, heart, bone, etc. An important concept is not to immediately allow anxiety to rule the day if a physician tells you that you have MRSA.

There are two types of MRSA. One type is acquired in the hospital. MRSA is very hard to get rid of. If you have been in the hospital, or had surgery in the last year you are at increased risk for MRSA infection. Again, allow common sense and early treatment to rule the day. The other type of MRSA is acquired in the community. This is becoming more of a problem to deal with. Some of the people at risk include athletes who share equipment, children in daycare facilities, persons in the military, and those who get tattoos.

Symptoms of skin infection may include drainage of pus or other fluid from the site, fever, warmth around the infected area. Watching for fever is an excellent way to watch for MRSA. Fever is one of our most basic indicators of overall health and one of the easiest things to check. More serious infections may include chills, cough, fatigue, fever, feeling bad, headache and muscle aches, rash, and shortness of breath. Treatment will vary according to the type and severity of the MRSA infection.

MRSA is getting increasingly hard to treat as different strains of the organism get resistant to available antibiotics. One of the more frequently used antibiotics for MRSA is Vancomycin. Any antibiotic that your physician orders for you should be taken until it is COMPLETELY finished. Many infections have the ability to rebound if antibiotic therapy is stopped too soon.

In conclusion: MRSA is a serious infection, and one of the best weapons to fight it is early detection and early treatment. If you have any reason to suspect you may have even a minor infection of the skin or any other issue, please contact your physician right away. MRSA can be contagious, so if you believe you may have a problem, you are not only doing yourself a favor, but also the ones you love.


Scott G. Eddy, RN BSN


References used:
National Center for Biotechnology Information
U.S. National Library of Medicine
National Institutes of Health