Final Questions from "Ask the Pastors"...

Since this will be my final installment from our 2017 Post-Easter "Ask the Pastors" session, I'll try to pick a couple of good ones! Here goes...

What is the significance of the "Jesus fish"?

This question is from one of our Mid-High youth. The "Jesus fish" was actually featured on an episode of Seinfeld. David Puddy, Elaine's boyfriend has one on his car, and they get into a humorous "spiritual" battle about David's Christian faith and why he doesn't seem to care if Elaine is going to hell or not. She ends up prying the "Jesus fish" from his car and retuning his car radio away from a Christian music station, in a fit of revenge. Sorry...serious questions usually take me to Seinfeld...

The "Jesus fish" is a simple symbol made of two opposing arcs, which, when overlapped, form what looks like a fish-shaped line drawing. Legend has it that it was used as a kind of code for early Christians during the time of persecution under Roman Empire rule, when it wasn't a great time to be very "public" about one's faith. If a person suspected another was a fellow Christian, they would draw an arc in the sand with her or his foot. If the other person WAS a Christian, they would draw the opposing arc, forming the fish. Without saying a word, they could confirm their common profession of faith. If the other person WASN'T a Christian, the little sand figure would be meaningless--no harm, no foul.

There is more to this fish story, however. Sometimes you will see the Christian fish symbol with several capital Greek letters contained within its belly. The letters look something like this ΙΧΘΥΣ. These are the first letters of the Greek words which mean: "Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior." And when you put them together into an acronym such as shown, they form Greek word "Ichthus," which means "fish." So, as you see, the "Jesus fish" has much going for it as an early secret code and as an interesting theological word puzzle. Who knows, maybe its use saved a bunch of lives of early Christians? Now, though, it's just a "Jesus fish."

Here's one more from our youth...

What do you think is something people misunderstand about our church?

Wow. What a great question. Depending upon what "people" you are talking about, I'll bet there are a lot of things people misunderstand. Let me see if I can walk us through a few that concern me.

We have as part of our Mission Statement that we are a "welcoming" church, and each week our worship guides list our more formal "Welcome Statement," which we are very public about. This statement lists some specific marginalized groups which have been spurned by many Christian churches-and even some denominations--historically. We list them so that any guests who come here and who may be a member of one of these groups, will know specifically that they are welcome at St. Paul's. All of us, though, fit into one of the groups listed (we all have a family status, an age, a sexual orientation, etc.). Because some churches and "Christians" have disrespected or even shunned persons who are of a "different" group, many persons have developed a strongly negative view of the church and the Christian faith, in general. I fear these folk may tend to lump St. Paul's in with these less-than-welcoming churches. This is one reason why our Welcome Statement is so important, and why we put it--along with our Purpose, Mission, and Vision--on just about every thing we do! We are a welcoming church, and we aim to be an inclusive, diverse church. We want to "draw the circle much bigger," as they say, rather than build walls to shut people out who may be different than we.

St. Paul's is a church in the Wesleyan tradition, which means we have a rich theology of redemption and grace, which necessarily launch us into an ever growing myriad of social justice activities. That's what true "Wesleyan" churches are about, and this is what they do. There are some who are trying to claim the "Wesleyan" label who have a very different and confining definition of what this means, and I fear it projects a very negative witness to a lot of people who could really benefit from a loving, redeeming, and empowering relationship with Jesus. There is a real "civil war" brewing in our United Methodist denomination over the divergent views of Wesleyan Christianity. Unfortunately, this dispute is claiming more "press" than the incredible, life-changing ministry and mission being carried on by the people called United Methodists. I fear the harm this situation is doing could be long-lasting to our church. Our Purpose, Mission, Vision, and Welcome statements put St. Paul's right smack in the middle of what most serious scholars of Wesleyan Christianity would endorse, but the entropy of the "family spat" within Methodism can too easily overshadow what we are really about.

Here's one more "misunderstanding" that I hope we can overcome. Actually, it is not a misunderstanding! Our current reality is that we are a "white" suburban congregation, at present. While we certainly have several families of color and/or ethnic origin other than North American here at St. Paul's, a snapshot of our church on the average Sunday morning is pretty "monochrome." If we are to realize our Vision of becoming an "inclusive, diverse church," we have much work ahead. A good question for us to keep asking until we get an answer is, "Why are we remaining such a white church when the North Hills is becoming more ethnically and racially diverse?" I don't have an easy answer to this question. But thanks to our new Vision, we are compelled to find an answer--and a solution--to this question, with the goal to be a church that fully reflects the growing diversity of our local communities.

And, one final question from the congregation...

What's the best way to comfort someone who is hurting emotionally?

Obviously, there are many reasons why someone may be hurting. As a friend, or even just as a fellow Christian or church goer, the first thing we can do is express our sincere concern. Many people are "hurting" and no one notices. Secondly, talk with them in a supportive, loving way, listening for any cues as to how serious their emotional pain is. If you feel that they are pretty distraught, ask them if it would be OK if you shared their concern with one of the pastors, or maybe even inquire if you could personally take them to meet with a pastor. There are times when a person is in deep anguish, or possibly even on the road to more serious depression, and they may benefit from clinical help. Your pastors are sometimes more able to help determine this and then offer to refer the person to a counselor.

A majority of the time, however, the individual just needs a caring, listening presence. Any person can be "present" to a friend, neighbor, or church member at this point. The most important thing to remember is be a listener, and ask just enough questions to prompt the individual to talk. Do not try to solve the person's problem, and while launching into your own personal story (which may or MAY NOT really parallel their experience) is a strong temptation, resist it for as long as you can. Focus on the other, and try not to get "hooked" into their story to such a degree that you begin opening up your own issues, rather than being a listening ear for theirs. This is actually much harder than it sounds, by the way. The brain is amazing in its ability to connect things, but all of these "circuits" are not necessarily empowering to the person with whom you are trying to help.

Also, remember that St. Paul's has a Stephen Ministry. We have individuals trained through this program, and they are available to be assigned to a care receiver, walking with this individual through their process, whether it is grief, loneliness, or a spiritual "dark night of the soul." Pastor Karen Slusser leads our Stephen Ministers, so if you feel a person to whom you have reached out might benefit from a Stephen Minister, reach out to her.

Grace and peace, Friends!