Ministry in Motion

Caring for the poor and marginalized is a central tenet,  not only of the gospel message,  but also of a functioning civilized humanity.   For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink.    I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me. … I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me. Need a  New Year's Resolution?  Let’s just leave it as it reads. @minmchurch   #MinistryinMotion   @minm_church   #MetroLifeChurch

I wonder if later in his life the innkeeper wished he’d made more room for Jesus.   The way we love each other today lets everybody know the baby in the manger wasn't just a decoration for us.   - Bob Goff

How well do we wait? Your answer is not a surprise. While it’s true that patience is a fruit of the Spirit, most of us wait poorly.   Statistics show that the average person in the US spends at least an hour per day waiting. Personally I think that stat is a little light. Could it be that by age 70 we will have spent 3+ years in wait? Dormant, on hold, paused … waiting for something to happen.   We are a people who should be experts at waiting, we seemingly spend so much of our valuable time doing it.   Waiting well. Sounds like an oxymoron. Consider how we treat people around us while we are in wait. Lingering in time may very well produce worry, distress and anxiousness, for many of us. Marking time in wait seeks any distraction, even blame, to ease its discomfort. By contrast, waiting well holds tension, an expectation for believers, that God can be overtly present through the stillness of waiting. What we do while waiting, what goes through our minds, there’s the challen

As a young Christian I was almost immediately indoctrinated into the theology that said the Lord was returning soon. Like pack your bags soon. Almost four decades, a mere drop in the ocean of time,   later I realize how immature, how impatient, my eschatology truly was - everything does not need to happen in my lifetime.   Patience produces stillness . Impatience produces reactions. Impatience instills an almost permanent agitation in the soul; Patience quiets the heart and calms the mind, it tunes my spirit to the will of the Eternal, my creator. One of the major themes of  Advent  – the period of four weeks preparing for the coming of the Christ at Christmas – is waiting. Waiting with patience, waiting in anticipation. Advent teaches patience in a white noise, highly charged culture. Third Sunday of Advent What’s the Hurry? The Gift of Patience This year Ministry in Motion will stay connected to Advent, drawing upon the   Book of Common Prayer as a gui

I f you count up the number of times Jesus used the word “grace” compared to the amount of times grace is used in the rest of the New Testament, can you guess how many times? Zero. Really. Not once in any of the four gospels does the Bible record Jesus using the word “grace” in his earthly ministry. Seems odd considering He epitomizes grace. John’s Gospel mentions grace, but the words are present as part of John’s narrative.   How would you define grace? It’s one of the most thrilling terms used in Scripture. Often it’s misunderstood, squandered and even applied so loosely so as to be glossed over without fully appreciating the depth of its message.   Divine grace  is a theological term present in many religions. In Christianity, it is a divine influence which operates in humans to regenerate and sanctify, to inspire and to impart strength to endure trials and resist temptations. Advent Grace. It is a love that stops, stoops, cares and rescues; It’s the

Look at how a single candle can both defy and  define the darkness Darkness is the absence of light, and light  doesn’t exist well without darkness. The dichotomy between the two has been part of human storytelling and since Genesis chapter one. As the Advent season begins to dawn, light comes from more than the Advent candles we light. The five candles contrast darkness and light. We light them in succession, one more each week, as we count the Sundays in the season waiting…moving closer to Christ's birth, Christmas Day. Advent means 'Coming' in Latin, the coming of Jesus into the world. Christians use the four weeks of Advent to prepare and remember the real meaning of Christmas. December 1st marks the beginning of the Christian liturgical year.   This year Ministry in Motion will stay connected to Advent, drawing upon the   Book of Common Prayer as a guide, as we journey through this Advent. The Collect ( KOL-ekt) Almighty God, give us grace to