St. Paul Lutheran Church in East Lansing, Michigan. Member congregation of the ELCA - Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.

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January 2007

Into this New Year I have been pondering a new theme. How shall we serve both God and our neighbor? One thing that prompted these thoughts is reading a passage in my favorite new book, My Grandfather's Blessings, by Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D. In one passage she speaks of how serving others is not really fixing a problem. When we are fixers she notes, we set ourselves above those we are helping. It can do some good, but often it is at the expense of the self worth of the person being helped. Service, she says, is more like taking all that you are and standing beside the person and working on the problem together. Most often it involves listening as much as doing.

That is what I believe we as Christians and church members are called on to be and do. Christ came to serve. And he calls us to do the same. He didn't do it by imposing his will on others but by inviting them to follow him. He didn't force people, he showed himself through his words and actions and people wanted to follow him. This is what I see he desires for us also. There are always opportunities for us to serve. I believe we best serve God, by serving our neighbors. Lots of people do that through their jobs, their families, and the church.

What I hope we will do is serve others in a couple of new ways. The first is through the IMAGE Program. This program helps people to learn how to market themselves. It may sound crass but it helps them gain self confidence and set goals. It helps them see they are worthwhile persons and helps them get their life in some sense of order. If you are interested in serving in this way please contact Julie Anderson in the church office, 351-8541.

The second way I hope you will be willing to serve is to become a part of our ETeam. Craig, Dick, and I have been working to try and get the evangelism effort going for St. Paul's. We have another opportunity to bolster this effort. On Saturday, January 13th, there will be a workshop to help us vision our outreach for the church. It will be held in Michigan Center and will be from 9:30am to 3:30pm. To me this is a wonderful way of serving others when they don't even know they have a need for this service. It is the most important thing we can do for those who do not know their need for the Lord. Yes, I believe it is a need of which they may be ignorant. But it goes back to what was said earlier. It is not to be done by lording it over them, but by inviting, listening, and walking along beside them.

If either of these options sound interesting to you, please let us know. Julie or I will be happy to have you with us on this service road. I believe this is what we are called to do as Jesus followers today. I hope you do too. Happy New Year.

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