Ministry in Motion

God invites us to love. He asks each of us, who call upon His name, to   stand up for and to kneel down in humility to serve others.   Yes, I am called to be my brother’s . . . my neighbor’s . . . even my enemy’s keeper.   In the Genesis story of Cain and Abel, Cain cynically answers God by saying:   “Am I my brother’s keeper?”  Cain obviously didn’t think he was. He was being a wise guy.   Today he might have said, how the heck do I know - it’s not in my job description to keep track of him! Let’s be honest, there are plenty of days when just “keeping” our own life running is about all we feel we can handle. So when you look into the face of another, friend or not, what do you see?  Do you see the things that unite us, or the things that divide us?     Instagram   Home   Office[at]minm.church   Facebook   #MininstryinMotion   #pkes

"We do not exist for ourselves", wrote Thomas Merton. At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we’ve accrued, or much of anything else. We’ll be judged by: I was hungry and you gave me something to eat:  Hungry not only for bread — but hungry for an embrace and for love; I was naked and you clothed me:  Naked not only for garments — but naked for dignity, respect and acceptance; I was homeless and you took me in:   Homeless not only for four walls with a roof — but homeless because of rejection and being dismissed . There is a void that exists in many of us. It nags at us. It’s to be purposeful - to make a difference. I’m completely convinced, true happiness and genuine significance, doesn’t come from finding yourself, but in losing yourself - by investing in someone else. I like what A W Tozer wrote: "The purpose of good works isn't to change us or save us; rather, it's the

​ I can't paint, even a stick figure; I don't sing very well; My music - I love rock and roll, but I play only the "air drums"   But empathy is my art.   I will hug you and stay and cry with you.   We will embrace the times together...Pastor Keith   Twitter   Instagram   Home   Office[at]minm.church   Facebook   #MininstryinMotion   #pkes

The baseball trading deadline is fast approaching, and in a normal season, that date would be right about now. Will there be a flurry of trades?  I’m an avid baseball fan. A # Cubbie  fan. Diehard. The Cubs are currently in 1st place, but barely. Hope maybe on the horizon.  Will the Cubbies improve with a trade or two?  Teams optimistic about making the playoffs are looking to acquire just the right player(s) to put them into post-season contention.   This has been a highly unusual 60-game season. Play as been interrupted by weather, Covid, social unrest and political commentary . Even with the  shorten 2020 season, underperforming teams are looking to off-load tradable talent or those players bound for free agency next year.  I’ve observed that many churches trade attenders like baseball players headed to the free agent market. Not intentionally, mind you, but it’s true. If you attend church regularly and meet someone new, the conversation often includes ‘I use to go to church X or Y

🎶 When I was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse Out of the corner of my eye I turned to look but it was gone I cannot put my finger on it now The child is grown The dream is gone I have become comfortably numb  🎶   Comfortably Numb is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on their eleventh album,  The Wall . Originally it was   a single with "Hey You" as the B-side. "Comfortably Numb" is one of Pink Floyd's most famous songs, renowned for its two guitar solos. (checkout the second, which David Gilmour begins at about the 4:40 minute mark) The hit song ranked number 314th on  Rolling Stone  Magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.   Often the word “numb” is often used to describe a physical sensation - my fingers or toes are numb from the cold. The word “empty” commonly applies to physical objects, such as, “This basket is empty.” Most people don’t give much attention to the feeling of being emotionally numb. Psychologists ha

Join us for a virtual Zoom study of Jude,  Wednesday August 19th @ 7pm A picture is worth a 1,000 words or so says the old adage. Imagery is a great way to convey a message quickly to an audience without them reading through a lot of text. And so it is with this week's text from the Epistle of Jude. He reminds his readers that false teachers are like natural phenomenas:  They are clouds without rain; Trees without fruit; Wild waves and wandering stars...Metaphor upon metaphor Jude speaks to conditions that exist in the church, promises and leadership that produce nothing. Consider the iconography of Jude - now ask yourself:  How are you nurtured by your place of worship?  Share your thoughts on our  FB Page .    Facebook   Twitter   Instagram   Home   Office[at]minm.church   #MininstryinMotion   #pkes  

How can you mend a broken heart ? / How can you stop the rain falling down?  We've all been there with our broken, fractured hearts. We limp along, wondering how we ended up here and if we'll ever make it to the other side of the pain.     A broken heart is one of those experiences we all share, yet we weren’t meant to experience it alone.  David, a man after God’s own heart, suffered many heartbreaking circumstances. Each time, he recovered and was made an even stronger man of God. He wrote in Psalm 34:   “ The Lord is near to the brokenhearted…”   So  how do you mend a broken heart?  The son of Jesse’s remedy for dealing with a broken heart was to worship .  “ So David arose from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his garments. Then he entered the house of the Lord and worshipped”   I like what Oswald Chamber wrote: “ Leave the broken, irreversible past in God’s hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him.”    #minmchurch May the peace and love of t

How curious would it be to consider others as you would contemplate a good poem, a glass of wine, or a painting at a museum. To speed through lines of poetry or to breeze past a work of art, to gulp a fine vino, is to miss the mystery that beckons us to pause, to look and to listen.  When we have the opportunity to interact with someone we disagree with - or someone who is different than us in culture, gender, background, personality, experience, etc - let's first lean in with a curious desire to learn rather than default to skepticism, assessing, judging and correcting.   Having been both the perpetrator and the recipient of poisonous behavior and words I’m left to ask myself:  Wouldn’t our world be more whole if we were to contemplate people with a sacred curiosity? “...Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves...” NASB   Facebook   Twitter   Instagram   Home   Office[at]minm.church   #pkes   #Min

Adopted from a Ministry in Motion July 17th, 2016 post. Do All Dogs Go To Heaven? “…If unconditional love, loyalty, and obedience are the tickets to heaven and an eternal life with my creator then my Corgi, Zoe, will surely be there long before me…” She is there now. She is where I am not, and I’m left to mourn, remember, and be comforted by those who cared for me. There are many. They’ve not been shy about connecting, loving and being supportive. Thank you.   Still, I grapple with my grief. I’m left to breathe in a place I’ve never been before. I look at my wounds of hurt and know I must live through them — it’s better to feel them than to understand them; better to enter into them than talk about them. Speaking aloud is still too breathtaking. Losing a pet is no doubt one of the most difficult things any animal lover can go through. For many, our pets are like members of the family, and the grief and sadness we feel when they pass away can be overwhelming. Today, my grief has not br