Sermon delievered to Shepherd of the Hills United Methodist Church, January 23, 2011
At the beginning of the service, I asked “What are you here for?” I now submit another question for your consideration: “Who are you here for?” Perhaps you are here for yourself and to have an encounter with God, praise and worship our risen Savior and Lord Jesus Christ and to be filled with the Holy Spirit for this upcoming week. Maybe you’re here because your spouse dragged you here! Or your parents! I won’t be so presumptuous as to think that you are here for me, but perhaps you are here to hear a sermon from Buddy. (Sorry you’re stuck with me today.)
Now you might be wondering why I am asking you questions that really don’t matter. You’re here and isn’t that all that’s important? And to a certain extent, you are right. You could be anywhere but here this morning but you’re not. You’re “parked in the pew.” But I would propose that the reason you are here is much more important that some might give it credit for. And the person you are here for is important as well. I will also submit to you that if you are here for any other person than Jesus, you’re probably here for the wrong reason.
We learn from the Epistle lesson today that the church in Corinth is having some issues. In fact, if you read the entire letter written by Paul, you’ll discover that the church in Corinth had a lot of issues. The city of Corinth was an important city. Corinth was a port city and most all of the trading between East and West took place there. It hosted a population of different ethnicities, backgrounds, socio-economic classes. The church there reflected these things.
The people in the church at Corinth were aligning themselves based on criteria they thought were important rather than on the teachings of Christ. Things like who had baptized them and who their favorite preacher was. Some were in Paul’s camp. Some were in Peter’s. Others in Apollos’ camp who had come sometime after Paul had left. Some claimed to be in Christ’s camp but that wasn’t a good thing either because they were placing themselves in a higher status than others.
And so what happens? Somebody tattle-tells to Paul. We have no idea who Chloe was or who her people were. We just know that one of “Chloe’s people” told Paul what was going on. And judging by today’s text, Paul was none too happy about it.
Paul’s problem with the Corinthian church is that they were dividing themselves up into “fan clubs” rather than uniting themselves under the one true Christ. They believed that they gathered together to judge a message based on what was said and the speaker’s power of persuasion rather than to worship and glorify God and to build one another up. So in today’s text, Paul is trying to reorient the Corinthian church to the way they needed to think about their preachers and the messages that were delivered to them.
It’s a good thing that we don’t have this problem today, isn’t it? We never place the messenger of God above the message that is delivered do we? We don’t idolize pastors today. The names Billy Graham, Jimmy Swaggert, Joel Olstein, and Rick Warren mean nothing to us today, do they?
Maybe we need to investigate this a little more.
First, we need to examine what exactly a preacher’s job is. A preacher’s job is to deliver the word of God – the good, the bad and the ugly. Then their job is to help you take that word of God and apply it to your life. By doing this, the preacher helps you little by little, step by step – in some cases, centimeter by centimeter – to move closer to God and become like Christ. The issue is – preachers and pastors are not two separate jobs. Preaching is just one part of a pastor’s job.
The pastor is the one we call when the big events in life occur. I want to get married – I need to call my pastor. I’m having an operation – I need to call my pastor. I’ve just been diagnosed with an illness – I need my pastor. I’ve just lost my spouse – I need my pastor. And by sharing in these intimate moments of people’s lives, pastors become a player in these sacred moments. We – both parishioners and pastors – develop relationships with each other. And those relationships can be strong depending upon the circumstances of the situation! So it’s no wonder that our pastors hold a special place in our hearts and in our lives.
But consider this - in sharing in these sacred moments with members of a congregation, pastors are still bringing the word of God. The word that God loves you and because God loves you and you are important to him, I love you too and you are important to me.
The danger arises when we place following a particular pastor above following Jesus Christ – or in thinking that we can’t follow another pastor. Because in doing so, you’re placing your trust and faith in a mortal, rather than in God – in something temporary, rather than something eternal. You’re counting on one particular person to deliver something that can only be delivered by God. You are also believing that one particular pastor is the only one capable of leading a congregation and sharing God’s word. This isn’t the case.
This is what Paul is trying to explain to the Corinthians in today’s passage. He begins by making his appeal “by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” – grounding everything that he is about to say in the single reality of Christ.
Christ is the reason for the church. Christ exists for the church and the church exists for Christ. Scripture compares the relationship to a marriage. Jesus is the groom – the church is the bride.
Every bride needs her attendants – the ones who help her get ready for the wedding. Pastors are more like the maid or matron of honor. We help the bride prepare for the wedding. We make sure her dress is ok. We hold her bouquet when she needs us to. We smile as she lovingly looks at her groom. But we aren’t the one she’s marrying!
Paul then sarcastically asks in verse 13, “Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?” The answer, obviously, is no. And perhaps we have no problem seeing it from that perspective. Let’s make it a little bit more personal.
Take a minute and think about a pastor that you hold in high regard. Now replace his or her name for Paul’s in verse 13. Since he’s not here today and I can get away with it, for my example, I’m going to use Buddy. Was Buddy crucified for you? He might argue that he has been figuratively crucified, but we can be assured that he has not been physically crucified. Were you baptized in the name of Buddy? I doubt it. And yet, I’ve heard rumblings from people that when Buddy retires this summer, they will be leaving the church as well. This means that there are people within this congregation who are identifying themselves with a Christian leader – Buddy- rather than with Christ. They are marrying the maid of honor rather than the groom!
If you think that because a pastor leaves, God will be leaving the church as well, you need to do some re-evaluating. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” God is not going anywhere and neither is his word. If God’s not leaving, why should you?
Brothers and Sisters, hear me when I say: The word of God is the word of God no matter who it’s delivered by. It doesn’t matter if it’s Buddy, me, Darrel Hinshaw, a preacher from another church or a child during children’s time. The word of God will be spoken and if a person is truly called to share that word, God will make them heard. And shame on you if you are more concerned about the messenger than the message!
Let me share something else with you. Preaching is not and should not be a celebrity-making or celebrity-sustained enterprise. Our job is not to entertain you. If you have a pastor who chooses their words based on what they think people want to hear rather than what God wants him or her to say - if you have a pastor who is more concerned about winning a popularity contest with the congregation than sharing God’s word – you have a dud. If your pastor is in the game for his or her own glory rather than God’s there is a huge issue! And a pastor who’s in it for their own glory is pretty easy to spot.
The church universal – and our own church – has an important mission. That mission is to bear witness to the good news of God’s love that was shown to us by Jesus, to bring people into fellowship in which that love is shared, and to help people grow into followers of Jesus Christ. There are people within the reach of our church who are hungry for the love of God that we were given to share – some who don’t even realize how badly they need it.
Doesn’t it make sense that we focus on this mission rather than who is leading us in the charge? For if we are focused on this mission, who is leading us is inconsequential as long as they share in the mission with us. We are all called by Christ and everything that we have is owed to him. We don’t abandon the mission because of a change in leadership. We keep battling, because our true leader is Christ.
Amen.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Love and Acceptance for All?
I had a Facebook chat with a friend the other night. It was a former high school classmate of mine but our friendship goes back further than that. In fact, if I remember correctly, we met in 5th grade when he moved to our town. We had lost touch after high school but now, through the magic of Facebook, have reconnected some 20 years later.
I remember back when we were in school, he always claimed he was going to be a politician - or a preacher. (I'll save the irony of those two vocations being linked for another blog.) So when we became Facebook friends, naturally I asked him which of those two paths he took. He answered neither and he had entered the business world. His reason: Once he had come to terms with who he was, he realized that a career as a politician or a preacher wasn't possible. He was a gay man and felt that because of this, neither of his childhood aspirations was possible.
I'm not going to spend the rest of this blog discussing the moral and ethical issues of a gay lifestyle. It's a topic that most people - for better of for worse - have already decided upon. What I am going to discuss is people - and how we treat each other.
I remember "talking" with my friend and upon hearing that he didn't realize his childhood dream, feeling my heart break for him. I felt that again the other night as we were IMing back and forth. Naturally, the recent news of all of these kids committing suicide because of their sexuality has really struck a chord with my friend. I had been reading some of his posts where he's been sharing parts of the "It Gets Better" campaign on his wall. And it got me to thinking. Then it got me to worrying. So when I saw him on Facebook, I asked him if life was really that bad for him back in high school.
I remembered him always having friends. He wasn't unpopular. And I don't remember people picking on him. But, as is often the case when we are teenagers, I was caught up in my own little world of drama and didn't see what was really going on.
He was being teased and called names. He was beaten up. And worse, he couldn't share any of this with anybody. None of his friends knew the truth. His parents didn't know the truth. He became very adept at pretending to be someone he wasn't. And it took it's toll on him.
As he shared some of his experiences with me, my heart broke again and my eyes filled with tears. To discover that one of my friends had endured horrible things was awful. What was worse was to realize that, not only did I do nothing about it, I didn't even know it was happening.
This is not about gay or straight. It's about how we treat people. As Christians, we are called to love our neighbors as ourselves. As decent human beings, we need to treat people with respect. Nobody should have to endure being tormented and tortured by others for any reason. Nobody deserves to be looked down upon because we perceive them as different.
I wish this behavior could be chalked up to ignorant teenage angst. But it can't be. We can be just as bad as adults as when we were kids. If someone is of a different religion, a different political party, a different sexual orientation, a different ethnic background - a different anything - some people feel as if it's alright to disregard them and treat them differently. It's not. Shame on us for thinking it is. And shame on us for doing it!
Everyone deserves to have a place where they are loved and accepted. If we can't provide that, Heaven help us all.
Amy
I remember back when we were in school, he always claimed he was going to be a politician - or a preacher. (I'll save the irony of those two vocations being linked for another blog.) So when we became Facebook friends, naturally I asked him which of those two paths he took. He answered neither and he had entered the business world. His reason: Once he had come to terms with who he was, he realized that a career as a politician or a preacher wasn't possible. He was a gay man and felt that because of this, neither of his childhood aspirations was possible.
I'm not going to spend the rest of this blog discussing the moral and ethical issues of a gay lifestyle. It's a topic that most people - for better of for worse - have already decided upon. What I am going to discuss is people - and how we treat each other.
I remember "talking" with my friend and upon hearing that he didn't realize his childhood dream, feeling my heart break for him. I felt that again the other night as we were IMing back and forth. Naturally, the recent news of all of these kids committing suicide because of their sexuality has really struck a chord with my friend. I had been reading some of his posts where he's been sharing parts of the "It Gets Better" campaign on his wall. And it got me to thinking. Then it got me to worrying. So when I saw him on Facebook, I asked him if life was really that bad for him back in high school.
I remembered him always having friends. He wasn't unpopular. And I don't remember people picking on him. But, as is often the case when we are teenagers, I was caught up in my own little world of drama and didn't see what was really going on.
He was being teased and called names. He was beaten up. And worse, he couldn't share any of this with anybody. None of his friends knew the truth. His parents didn't know the truth. He became very adept at pretending to be someone he wasn't. And it took it's toll on him.
As he shared some of his experiences with me, my heart broke again and my eyes filled with tears. To discover that one of my friends had endured horrible things was awful. What was worse was to realize that, not only did I do nothing about it, I didn't even know it was happening.
This is not about gay or straight. It's about how we treat people. As Christians, we are called to love our neighbors as ourselves. As decent human beings, we need to treat people with respect. Nobody should have to endure being tormented and tortured by others for any reason. Nobody deserves to be looked down upon because we perceive them as different.
I wish this behavior could be chalked up to ignorant teenage angst. But it can't be. We can be just as bad as adults as when we were kids. If someone is of a different religion, a different political party, a different sexual orientation, a different ethnic background - a different anything - some people feel as if it's alright to disregard them and treat them differently. It's not. Shame on us for thinking it is. And shame on us for doing it!
Everyone deserves to have a place where they are loved and accepted. If we can't provide that, Heaven help us all.
Amy
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Sometimes being a pastor really sucks!
Please understand that I really love what I do! There are so many rewards to being a pastor that I truly am blessed for being able to serve as people's spiritual leader.
But occasionally something happens when I wish I wasn't a pastor. Being a pastor, I need to behave in ways that show an example of God to people: If someone sees me behaving in an un-Christian like way, I could be causing them to stumble and I don't want that. But occasionally I would like to show the Sodom and Gomorrah side of God! Here's what I mean.
I had to return a purchase to a store. I turned into the parking lot to find a place to park my minivan. You see, I'm still in the soccer mom phase of life and have to haul my kids, their friends and all of their stuff from place to place.
I pulled into a stall that was a tight squeeze. On one side was a huge truck with those tires that lift the vehicle about 50 feet off of the ground and the other side was one of those smart cars. The smart car hadn't pulled in straight and the driver's side tires were on the dividing line. I pulled in and had to back up to straighten my car around so I would be in the center of the stall. It was a tight fit but I managed to get in the stall.
I got out and went to the passenger side of my van to retrieve the item to return when the window of the smart car went down and a woman - holding a venti size Starbucks cup - started chewing me out. "Do you know that you almost hit me?! Do you know how close you came?! Do you know where the front end of you car was?! I was scared you were going to hit me!"
Now I admit, I probably did come close to her car. But there was no need to overreact like she did. I apologized to her and told her that yes, I did know where the front end of my car was. That obviously wasn't enough to appease her because she continued to go on and on about my skills. And after I went into the store, I saw her get out of her car and examine her car as if I might have actually hit it without her being able to feel or see it.
Immediately I began to think of everything I could have said to her. I believe that we need to be good stewards of our planet and need to take care of it. However, smart cars are glorified golf carts and I'm not completely convinced they need to be on the road with other cars. Regardless of this, if someone driving one isn't able to park this tiny thing squarely in a parking space, perhaps they are the one with the driving issue. I could have pointed the fact out to her that had she not been parked on the line, there wouldn't have been an issue.
I could have told her that while she was waiting to go into the craft store to get her supplies for a day of scrap booking or card making or jewelery designing, I was on my way to hold the hand of a man as he died and help his family plan a memorial service. While she was sipping her venti white chocolate macchiato, I would be dealing with the resignation of the church organist. While she thought all of her daily activities were so important, they paled in comparison with what I had on my to-do list for the day.
I could have really overturned the tables of her temple just as Jesus did with the money changers!
But I didn't. Instead, I meekly accepted her rant, apologized and left. Because this is the example the Christ showed us.
I've often wondered if the humanity of Jesus made him want to react differently. Did he ever want to say to people, "Look. You need to get out of my face. Or else I'm going to prove that 'to dust you shall return' thing to be true."
He never did, though. He allowed people to mock him, to spit upon him and to hit him all the way to Calvary. He showed us the ultimate example of how to love people by not fighting back. That is his challenge to us.
Now if I could just find a substitute for a smart car!
Blessings!
But occasionally something happens when I wish I wasn't a pastor. Being a pastor, I need to behave in ways that show an example of God to people: If someone sees me behaving in an un-Christian like way, I could be causing them to stumble and I don't want that. But occasionally I would like to show the Sodom and Gomorrah side of God! Here's what I mean.
I had to return a purchase to a store. I turned into the parking lot to find a place to park my minivan. You see, I'm still in the soccer mom phase of life and have to haul my kids, their friends and all of their stuff from place to place.
I pulled into a stall that was a tight squeeze. On one side was a huge truck with those tires that lift the vehicle about 50 feet off of the ground and the other side was one of those smart cars. The smart car hadn't pulled in straight and the driver's side tires were on the dividing line. I pulled in and had to back up to straighten my car around so I would be in the center of the stall. It was a tight fit but I managed to get in the stall.
I got out and went to the passenger side of my van to retrieve the item to return when the window of the smart car went down and a woman - holding a venti size Starbucks cup - started chewing me out. "Do you know that you almost hit me?! Do you know how close you came?! Do you know where the front end of you car was?! I was scared you were going to hit me!"
Now I admit, I probably did come close to her car. But there was no need to overreact like she did. I apologized to her and told her that yes, I did know where the front end of my car was. That obviously wasn't enough to appease her because she continued to go on and on about my skills. And after I went into the store, I saw her get out of her car and examine her car as if I might have actually hit it without her being able to feel or see it.
Immediately I began to think of everything I could have said to her. I believe that we need to be good stewards of our planet and need to take care of it. However, smart cars are glorified golf carts and I'm not completely convinced they need to be on the road with other cars. Regardless of this, if someone driving one isn't able to park this tiny thing squarely in a parking space, perhaps they are the one with the driving issue. I could have pointed the fact out to her that had she not been parked on the line, there wouldn't have been an issue.
I could have told her that while she was waiting to go into the craft store to get her supplies for a day of scrap booking or card making or jewelery designing, I was on my way to hold the hand of a man as he died and help his family plan a memorial service. While she was sipping her venti white chocolate macchiato, I would be dealing with the resignation of the church organist. While she thought all of her daily activities were so important, they paled in comparison with what I had on my to-do list for the day.
I could have really overturned the tables of her temple just as Jesus did with the money changers!
But I didn't. Instead, I meekly accepted her rant, apologized and left. Because this is the example the Christ showed us.
I've often wondered if the humanity of Jesus made him want to react differently. Did he ever want to say to people, "Look. You need to get out of my face. Or else I'm going to prove that 'to dust you shall return' thing to be true."
He never did, though. He allowed people to mock him, to spit upon him and to hit him all the way to Calvary. He showed us the ultimate example of how to love people by not fighting back. That is his challenge to us.
Now if I could just find a substitute for a smart car!
Blessings!
Friday, August 20, 2010
Oh Sh*t!
When my son was two years old, his favorite movie was "The Sandlot." If you aren't familiar with it the movie tells the story of a group of boys who play baseball in an open field - the sandlot. The main character - Smalls - is the new kid on the block and isn't very athletically inclined. In fact, he doesn't know a lot about sports. He doesn't even know who Babe Ruth is!
The end of the sandlot butts up against a junk yard - complete with its own junk yard dog whom everyone refers to as the beast. The boys regularly lose baseballs that are hit over the wall of the junk yard and cannot be retrieved because of the beast.
One day as the boys lose their last baseball, Smalls volunteers to run home and get another ball. The only problem is that the ball is from his step father's sports collection and it has been signed by Babe Ruth.
Of course, this ball is hit over the wall of the junk yard and when the boys discover that it is a Babe Ruth ball they devise all kinds of plans to get the ball back. But none of them work. Finally, one boy from the team decides he will hop the fence and get the ball back. He manages to do this but the beast decides to chase him. The boy manages to get back over the fence but the dog jumps over the fence, too. When Benny sees this he says, "Oh sh*t!"
This scene contains the one and only bad word in the movie. And it is the one and only word that my son decided to repeat from the movie - and at two years old, no less. He would reenact the scene from the movie for anyone who would watch, proudly saying "Oh sh*t!" The rest of the movie was filled with all kinds of funny and witty lines. But my son concentrated on the one bad one.
We sometimes are guilty of the same thing. There are so many good and wonderful and pleasant things that happen to us and around us. Yet we can choose to concentrate on the few bad things - the one naughty word so to speak. We focus on the sh . . . er, the nasty things instead of the good ones.
Let's try to focus on the good things instead of the bad. Sure, bad things are going to happen. But we don't have to dwell on them. Focusing on the blessings helps us to be thankful for what we have. And we have a lot more to be thankful for than we do to be sad about.
Blessings!
Amy
The end of the sandlot butts up against a junk yard - complete with its own junk yard dog whom everyone refers to as the beast. The boys regularly lose baseballs that are hit over the wall of the junk yard and cannot be retrieved because of the beast.
One day as the boys lose their last baseball, Smalls volunteers to run home and get another ball. The only problem is that the ball is from his step father's sports collection and it has been signed by Babe Ruth.
Of course, this ball is hit over the wall of the junk yard and when the boys discover that it is a Babe Ruth ball they devise all kinds of plans to get the ball back. But none of them work. Finally, one boy from the team decides he will hop the fence and get the ball back. He manages to do this but the beast decides to chase him. The boy manages to get back over the fence but the dog jumps over the fence, too. When Benny sees this he says, "Oh sh*t!"
This scene contains the one and only bad word in the movie. And it is the one and only word that my son decided to repeat from the movie - and at two years old, no less. He would reenact the scene from the movie for anyone who would watch, proudly saying "Oh sh*t!" The rest of the movie was filled with all kinds of funny and witty lines. But my son concentrated on the one bad one.
We sometimes are guilty of the same thing. There are so many good and wonderful and pleasant things that happen to us and around us. Yet we can choose to concentrate on the few bad things - the one naughty word so to speak. We focus on the sh . . . er, the nasty things instead of the good ones.
Let's try to focus on the good things instead of the bad. Sure, bad things are going to happen. But we don't have to dwell on them. Focusing on the blessings helps us to be thankful for what we have. And we have a lot more to be thankful for than we do to be sad about.
Blessings!
Amy
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Are you there, Margaret? It's me, God. (Sermon July 25, 2010)
Our Scripture comes from the book of Revelation. Now some people hear that and go “ugh.” Revelation is one of those books that can be hard to interpret. This vision that John received – is it real? Is it not? Did he maybe just have bad Chinese the night before and have a really weird dream?
Regardless of your feelings on the book of Revelation the words that are contained within do speak to us. I will be reading from Revelation 3:15-22.
“I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.’ You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked. Therefore, I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich; and white robes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen; and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me. To the one who conquers I will give a place with me on my throne, just as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”
There are at least 8-10 sermons in these 7 verses that I just read. But today we’re going to focus on about 8 words. “Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying.”
I think I mentioned in one of my sermons earlier this year that when I have my next birthday, it’s going to be a big one. I hit the big 4-0 this year. But anyone woman who is around my age, probably read a book. It was almost a rite of passage for some of us. It’s by author Judy Blume and the book is titled “Are you there God? It’s me Margaret.” It’s really funny. I went to purchase the book at Barnes and Noble and when I found it I thought to myself I remember it being a lot thicker than one-half inch and 150 pages. I reread it in an afternoon. And it took me back. The first time I read it I was in the 4th grade and a few of my girl friends and I had a pact. There was a boy in our class who was determined to read this book. And at 10 years old we didn’t think he had any business reading it. So when one of us finished, another one of us checked it out so he didn’t have the opportunity to read what we thought was inappropriate for a 10 year old boy to be reading. Oh, the things that are important to 10 year girls. Anyway, I digress.
Margaret is an 11 year old girl. And she is in the process of discovering who she is. She’s becoming a young woman and she is lamenting over parts of her body that she thinks are too big. She’s lamenting over parts of her body she thinks are too small. And she’s not an avid church-goer. He father is Jewish, her mother is catholic and they don’t go anywhere. They’ve decided that when Margaret is older, she can decide what she wants to become as far as her religious affiliation. The one thing, though – Margaret does pray and she prays quite often. She always begins her prayers with this phrase. “Are you there, God? It’s Me, Margaret.”
Now some of the prayers are the prayers of an 11 year old girl. She’s getting ready to attend her first school dance and she feels a need to pray. This is her prayer.
Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret. I can’t wait until two o’clock, God. That’s when our dance starts. Do you think I’ll get Philip Leroy for a partner? It’s not so much that I like him as a person God, but as a boy he’s very handsome. And I’d love to dance with him…just once or twice. Thank you, God.
But some of her prayers are quite profound for an 11 year old girl. Margaret has decided that it’s time to discover who she is spiritually. So she has started visiting different churches with her girl friends. After come home from one church service, she prays,
Are you there, God? It’s me, Margaret. I’ve been to church. I didn’t feel anything special in there God. Even though I wanted to. I’m sure it has nothing to do with you. Next time I’ll try harder.
She visits another church with another church with another friend and prays this:
Are you there, God? It’s me, Margaret. I just came home from church. I love the choir – the songs were so beautiful. [Huh! She came to our church!] Still, I didn’t really feel you God. I’m more confused than ever. I’m trying hard to understand but I wish you’d help me a little.
Are you there, God? It’s me, Margaret.
I wonder if God ever feels this way about us. Does God ever say, “Are you there, Amy? It’s me, God” I think perhaps He does. Because often times, we aren’t listening for Him.
Now we all have our stories and our differences of definition on what hearing and listening in. For instance, wives, can you relate with me? You’re talking to your husband telling him all kinds of important things that need to be taken care of and things that must be done and about half way through your spiel he goes, “Huh?” He’s hearing you but he’s not listening to what you’re saying.
Men, now I’m sorry. I don’t have the male experience to relate to – I’m a woman. I can only relate at a wife and a mother. Moms – how many of you can relate to this? You know when you hear your kids fighting what you can ignore. You hear the ruckus in the background. But immediately you know when to listen. You know when the cry or that scream means something is wrong! We’re hearing what is going on but we listen to what we have to.
I wonder what our excuse is for not listening to God. As I was thinking about this, I came up with several different reasons. The first is very simple - I don’t want to listen to God. “God, I’ve given you years of my service. I’ve done all of this stuff for your glory and your kingdom. And I don’t want to do anymore so I’m not going to listen to you anymore.” It’s almost a form of Christian retirement.
A couple of weeks ago, I shared with you in the report from annual conference that we heard from Adam Hamilton. He has everything from 2 day olds to 90 year olds in his congregation. And he regularly preaches to them that Christian retirement occurs when you die. Until then, keep working!
Take for example Mother Theresa. When I say the name, you immediately get a picture in your mind – I hope – of this little Catholic nun with her blue habit - a very frail looking woman who spent 69 out of her 87 years ministering to people. She began her ministry when she was 18 years old and she did not stop until she died. Even the weeks leading up to her death when she was weak and sick, she was still entertaining people. She was still mentoring them and helping them up until the final days of her life.
Now you might be sitting there saying, “Yeah Amy, that’s great! I ain’t no Mother Theresa!” I would respond, “Yes, you are!” You have your streets of Calcutta somewhere in your life. You have a calling that you were meant to do. There is something God is calling you do to.
One of the favorite shows that our family watches is “Clean House.” It’s a group of four people who go into a house that is just nasty with clutter and filth and dirt. They go in and they clean it and organize it. One of the reasons I watch the show is that I am able to look at the houses on TV then look around my own house and say, “I’m not doing such a bad job!” It’s a real morale boost for me.
The show gets rid of all the stuff in the house by having a huge yard sale and the families always balk at having to give up their things. The host of the show has a saying that goes like this: When your hand is open to giving something up, it is open to receive something even better.
When your hands are open and willing to do something for the Kingdom, they are open to receive wonderful blessings from God.
Maybe we need to start listening more.
Another reason people don’t listen to God is we’re scared to. He might ask us to do something that we don’t want to do. Luke 18 contains the story of Jesus’ encounter with a rich young man. You might be familiar with the story. It says,
A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments” You shall not commit adultery: You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness: honor your father and mother.” He replied, “I have kept all these since my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich. Luke 18:18-22
The ruler didn’t want to do what God was telling him to do.
There’s another Biblical story about someone who heard God’s call and said, “No, I’m not going to do that.” His name was Jonah. God tells the Old Testament prophet, “I want you to go down to Nineveh and deliver my message of repentence to the Ninevites.” And Jonah said, “Huh-uh” and went and boarded a boat to Tarshish. What happened to Jonah for disobeying? He became whale food and spent a few days in the belly of whale. He didn’t want to go Nineveh. But he ended up going.
To really drive home the point, I want to remind you of an occurance in the final hours of Jesus’ life. Matthew 26:39 says this:
And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayer, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.”
In just an hour or so, Roman soldiers were going to be there to arrest Jesus to take him to be crucified. Are we lucky that he listened to the call of his father?
Another reason we might not want to listen to God is that we’re scared He’s going to ask us something we don’t know how to do.
Jesus had just learned that his cousin, John the Baptist had been beheaded and he went off by himself to grieve. He had lost not only a cousin but a beloved friend as well. But as so often was the case with Jesus, he went to be by himself and the crowds followed him. “Jesus, heal me.” “Jesus, do this for me.” “Jesus, please I need your help.” And he had compassion on them, even in the midst of his own grief and continued healing them and continued teaching them.
Supper time came along and the disciples tried to make everyone leave so that they could eat. But Jesus rebuked the disciples and said, “Give them something to eat.” The disciples said, “Um, how? We have 5 loaves and 2 fish. How are we going to feed them? There’s got to be 5,000 people out there!” And Jesus said, “Give them something to eat.”
They started to feed the crowd and everyone ate until they were satisfied and there were 12 baskets of leftovers. God makes a way where there is no way. If you don’t know how to do something, He will tell you how to do it – show you how to do it.
Take for example, Moses. He’s out in the field one day tending the sheep and all of a sudden a bush starts burning. He goes to check it out and this bush starts telling him, “I’m going to send you to Pharaoh to bring my people out of Egypt.”
What does Moses do? Well, he doesn’t say, “Let me go home and pack.” He tries to get out of it. He says, “Pharaoh is going to ask me questions that I don’t know how to answer. Well, OK you’re going to give me the answers, but these people aren’t going to believe me. Well, OK you’ll send signs and miracles and plagues to help convince them that I’m telling the truth, but I can’t speak well. You know I stutter. Send someone else.”
But God didn’t send someone else. He showed Moses how to do it – how to fulfill the call he had be given.
Finally, I think one of the reasons we don’t listen to God is that we don’t know how to listen to God. I’ve been on this ordination process for three years now. The end is in sight. But every committee that I’ve come up against, every group that I’ve had to pass inspection with, always asks this question: “Tell us about your calling.”
I’ve often wished that my calling were a little bit more exciting than it really is. I don’t have an impressive calling like Paul on the road to Damascus. I wasn’t struck down blind. And it can be a problem to say, “Well, you know, I just kind of fell into ministry because I didn’t want to go teach music in Fredonia, Kansas.” That doesn’t tend to go over very well. But what I’ve learned in these three years is the Paul on the road to Damascus experience is not the normal form of a calling – it’s unique. The norm is a still, small voice. In the Greek, it’s actually called silence: Listen for God in the silence. The norm are those little, random thoughts that pop into your head that won’t go away, those feelings that there is something you need to be doing. That’s God calling you. Are you listening?
The issue is in our busy, crazy, techno-crazed world, we don’t’ know how to listen for that still small voice. First, we aren’t still long enough. I’m not talking about periods where we sit and veg out and do nothing. I’m talking about specific, intentional periods of inactivity where we are diligently seeking an encounter with God – where we have the opportunity to hear his voice. Second, we aren’t satisfied with the dull and mundane. We don’t want the little, nagging feelings and voice. We want the Paul on the road to Damascus experience to be convinced that it really is God talking to us.
Today, we’re going to take an opportunity to listen to God. I invite you to sit and be still – not just a period of inactivity but a period where you are intentionally seeking an encounter with God.
This can be hard. We’ve been taught that if we just sit and do nothing, we’re lazy – a bum. That’s what our world has taught us. That’s not what Christ has taught us. Listen for what God is saying - what He wants you to do.
Maybe he’s already told you and like Jonah, you’re trying to avoid it. Ask him to help you not avoid it any longer.
Maybe what I’m asking is too much for you to handle right now. That’s OK. Please read the following words of the song “Word of God Speak” by Mercy Me as a prayer. The Holy Spirit wants to meet you here now. Please don’t stand him up. Listen to what he is saying to you.
I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay
The last thing I need is to be heard
But to hear what You would say
Word of God speak
Would You pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see
Your majesty
To be still and know
That You're in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In Your holiness
Word of God speak
I'm finding myself in the midst of You
Beyond the music, beyond the noise
All that I need is to be with You
And in the quiet hear Your voice
Word of God speak
Would You pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see
Your majesty
To be still and know
That You're in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In Your holiness
Word of God speak
I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay.
I hope you have had an encounter with our risen Lord and Savior. God does want your obedience. But more than that, He wants your love. I hope you’ve had a chance to show Him your love.
Regardless of your feelings on the book of Revelation the words that are contained within do speak to us. I will be reading from Revelation 3:15-22.
“I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.’ You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked. Therefore, I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich; and white robes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen; and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me. To the one who conquers I will give a place with me on my throne, just as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”
There are at least 8-10 sermons in these 7 verses that I just read. But today we’re going to focus on about 8 words. “Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying.”
I think I mentioned in one of my sermons earlier this year that when I have my next birthday, it’s going to be a big one. I hit the big 4-0 this year. But anyone woman who is around my age, probably read a book. It was almost a rite of passage for some of us. It’s by author Judy Blume and the book is titled “Are you there God? It’s me Margaret.” It’s really funny. I went to purchase the book at Barnes and Noble and when I found it I thought to myself I remember it being a lot thicker than one-half inch and 150 pages. I reread it in an afternoon. And it took me back. The first time I read it I was in the 4th grade and a few of my girl friends and I had a pact. There was a boy in our class who was determined to read this book. And at 10 years old we didn’t think he had any business reading it. So when one of us finished, another one of us checked it out so he didn’t have the opportunity to read what we thought was inappropriate for a 10 year old boy to be reading. Oh, the things that are important to 10 year girls. Anyway, I digress.
Margaret is an 11 year old girl. And she is in the process of discovering who she is. She’s becoming a young woman and she is lamenting over parts of her body that she thinks are too big. She’s lamenting over parts of her body she thinks are too small. And she’s not an avid church-goer. He father is Jewish, her mother is catholic and they don’t go anywhere. They’ve decided that when Margaret is older, she can decide what she wants to become as far as her religious affiliation. The one thing, though – Margaret does pray and she prays quite often. She always begins her prayers with this phrase. “Are you there, God? It’s Me, Margaret.”
Now some of the prayers are the prayers of an 11 year old girl. She’s getting ready to attend her first school dance and she feels a need to pray. This is her prayer.
Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret. I can’t wait until two o’clock, God. That’s when our dance starts. Do you think I’ll get Philip Leroy for a partner? It’s not so much that I like him as a person God, but as a boy he’s very handsome. And I’d love to dance with him…just once or twice. Thank you, God.
But some of her prayers are quite profound for an 11 year old girl. Margaret has decided that it’s time to discover who she is spiritually. So she has started visiting different churches with her girl friends. After come home from one church service, she prays,
Are you there, God? It’s me, Margaret. I’ve been to church. I didn’t feel anything special in there God. Even though I wanted to. I’m sure it has nothing to do with you. Next time I’ll try harder.
She visits another church with another church with another friend and prays this:
Are you there, God? It’s me, Margaret. I just came home from church. I love the choir – the songs were so beautiful. [Huh! She came to our church!] Still, I didn’t really feel you God. I’m more confused than ever. I’m trying hard to understand but I wish you’d help me a little.
Are you there, God? It’s me, Margaret.
I wonder if God ever feels this way about us. Does God ever say, “Are you there, Amy? It’s me, God” I think perhaps He does. Because often times, we aren’t listening for Him.
Now we all have our stories and our differences of definition on what hearing and listening in. For instance, wives, can you relate with me? You’re talking to your husband telling him all kinds of important things that need to be taken care of and things that must be done and about half way through your spiel he goes, “Huh?” He’s hearing you but he’s not listening to what you’re saying.
Men, now I’m sorry. I don’t have the male experience to relate to – I’m a woman. I can only relate at a wife and a mother. Moms – how many of you can relate to this? You know when you hear your kids fighting what you can ignore. You hear the ruckus in the background. But immediately you know when to listen. You know when the cry or that scream means something is wrong! We’re hearing what is going on but we listen to what we have to.
I wonder what our excuse is for not listening to God. As I was thinking about this, I came up with several different reasons. The first is very simple - I don’t want to listen to God. “God, I’ve given you years of my service. I’ve done all of this stuff for your glory and your kingdom. And I don’t want to do anymore so I’m not going to listen to you anymore.” It’s almost a form of Christian retirement.
A couple of weeks ago, I shared with you in the report from annual conference that we heard from Adam Hamilton. He has everything from 2 day olds to 90 year olds in his congregation. And he regularly preaches to them that Christian retirement occurs when you die. Until then, keep working!
Take for example Mother Theresa. When I say the name, you immediately get a picture in your mind – I hope – of this little Catholic nun with her blue habit - a very frail looking woman who spent 69 out of her 87 years ministering to people. She began her ministry when she was 18 years old and she did not stop until she died. Even the weeks leading up to her death when she was weak and sick, she was still entertaining people. She was still mentoring them and helping them up until the final days of her life.
Now you might be sitting there saying, “Yeah Amy, that’s great! I ain’t no Mother Theresa!” I would respond, “Yes, you are!” You have your streets of Calcutta somewhere in your life. You have a calling that you were meant to do. There is something God is calling you do to.
One of the favorite shows that our family watches is “Clean House.” It’s a group of four people who go into a house that is just nasty with clutter and filth and dirt. They go in and they clean it and organize it. One of the reasons I watch the show is that I am able to look at the houses on TV then look around my own house and say, “I’m not doing such a bad job!” It’s a real morale boost for me.
The show gets rid of all the stuff in the house by having a huge yard sale and the families always balk at having to give up their things. The host of the show has a saying that goes like this: When your hand is open to giving something up, it is open to receive something even better.
When your hands are open and willing to do something for the Kingdom, they are open to receive wonderful blessings from God.
Maybe we need to start listening more.
Another reason people don’t listen to God is we’re scared to. He might ask us to do something that we don’t want to do. Luke 18 contains the story of Jesus’ encounter with a rich young man. You might be familiar with the story. It says,
A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments” You shall not commit adultery: You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness: honor your father and mother.” He replied, “I have kept all these since my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich. Luke 18:18-22
The ruler didn’t want to do what God was telling him to do.
There’s another Biblical story about someone who heard God’s call and said, “No, I’m not going to do that.” His name was Jonah. God tells the Old Testament prophet, “I want you to go down to Nineveh and deliver my message of repentence to the Ninevites.” And Jonah said, “Huh-uh” and went and boarded a boat to Tarshish. What happened to Jonah for disobeying? He became whale food and spent a few days in the belly of whale. He didn’t want to go Nineveh. But he ended up going.
To really drive home the point, I want to remind you of an occurance in the final hours of Jesus’ life. Matthew 26:39 says this:
And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayer, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.”
In just an hour or so, Roman soldiers were going to be there to arrest Jesus to take him to be crucified. Are we lucky that he listened to the call of his father?
Another reason we might not want to listen to God is that we’re scared He’s going to ask us something we don’t know how to do.
Jesus had just learned that his cousin, John the Baptist had been beheaded and he went off by himself to grieve. He had lost not only a cousin but a beloved friend as well. But as so often was the case with Jesus, he went to be by himself and the crowds followed him. “Jesus, heal me.” “Jesus, do this for me.” “Jesus, please I need your help.” And he had compassion on them, even in the midst of his own grief and continued healing them and continued teaching them.
Supper time came along and the disciples tried to make everyone leave so that they could eat. But Jesus rebuked the disciples and said, “Give them something to eat.” The disciples said, “Um, how? We have 5 loaves and 2 fish. How are we going to feed them? There’s got to be 5,000 people out there!” And Jesus said, “Give them something to eat.”
They started to feed the crowd and everyone ate until they were satisfied and there were 12 baskets of leftovers. God makes a way where there is no way. If you don’t know how to do something, He will tell you how to do it – show you how to do it.
Take for example, Moses. He’s out in the field one day tending the sheep and all of a sudden a bush starts burning. He goes to check it out and this bush starts telling him, “I’m going to send you to Pharaoh to bring my people out of Egypt.”
What does Moses do? Well, he doesn’t say, “Let me go home and pack.” He tries to get out of it. He says, “Pharaoh is going to ask me questions that I don’t know how to answer. Well, OK you’re going to give me the answers, but these people aren’t going to believe me. Well, OK you’ll send signs and miracles and plagues to help convince them that I’m telling the truth, but I can’t speak well. You know I stutter. Send someone else.”
But God didn’t send someone else. He showed Moses how to do it – how to fulfill the call he had be given.
Finally, I think one of the reasons we don’t listen to God is that we don’t know how to listen to God. I’ve been on this ordination process for three years now. The end is in sight. But every committee that I’ve come up against, every group that I’ve had to pass inspection with, always asks this question: “Tell us about your calling.”
I’ve often wished that my calling were a little bit more exciting than it really is. I don’t have an impressive calling like Paul on the road to Damascus. I wasn’t struck down blind. And it can be a problem to say, “Well, you know, I just kind of fell into ministry because I didn’t want to go teach music in Fredonia, Kansas.” That doesn’t tend to go over very well. But what I’ve learned in these three years is the Paul on the road to Damascus experience is not the normal form of a calling – it’s unique. The norm is a still, small voice. In the Greek, it’s actually called silence: Listen for God in the silence. The norm are those little, random thoughts that pop into your head that won’t go away, those feelings that there is something you need to be doing. That’s God calling you. Are you listening?
The issue is in our busy, crazy, techno-crazed world, we don’t’ know how to listen for that still small voice. First, we aren’t still long enough. I’m not talking about periods where we sit and veg out and do nothing. I’m talking about specific, intentional periods of inactivity where we are diligently seeking an encounter with God – where we have the opportunity to hear his voice. Second, we aren’t satisfied with the dull and mundane. We don’t want the little, nagging feelings and voice. We want the Paul on the road to Damascus experience to be convinced that it really is God talking to us.
Today, we’re going to take an opportunity to listen to God. I invite you to sit and be still – not just a period of inactivity but a period where you are intentionally seeking an encounter with God.
This can be hard. We’ve been taught that if we just sit and do nothing, we’re lazy – a bum. That’s what our world has taught us. That’s not what Christ has taught us. Listen for what God is saying - what He wants you to do.
Maybe he’s already told you and like Jonah, you’re trying to avoid it. Ask him to help you not avoid it any longer.
Maybe what I’m asking is too much for you to handle right now. That’s OK. Please read the following words of the song “Word of God Speak” by Mercy Me as a prayer. The Holy Spirit wants to meet you here now. Please don’t stand him up. Listen to what he is saying to you.
I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay
The last thing I need is to be heard
But to hear what You would say
Word of God speak
Would You pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see
Your majesty
To be still and know
That You're in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In Your holiness
Word of God speak
I'm finding myself in the midst of You
Beyond the music, beyond the noise
All that I need is to be with You
And in the quiet hear Your voice
Word of God speak
Would You pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see
Your majesty
To be still and know
That You're in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In Your holiness
Word of God speak
I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay.
I hope you have had an encounter with our risen Lord and Savior. God does want your obedience. But more than that, He wants your love. I hope you’ve had a chance to show Him your love.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
The Long & Winding Road
The last time I was in Wilmore, Kentucky attending a class at Asbury, a good friend of mine and I took a walk. We were staying with a professor who rents out extra rooms in his house to Asbury students who come for a week long class. He lives outside of town down a country road.
We started off on our walk and came to something very unusual - the road went underwater! Well, maybe the more accurate way to describe it is that a creek that is usually dry was full and the water running through it came up over the road. It wasn’t very deep. If we had decided to wade across it, the water might have come up to mid-calf level. But we decided to turn around and go the other way so we wouldn’t get our feet wet.
Sometimes our life is like this. We’re walking along with things going pretty smoothly and all of a sudden we come across a stream that we aren’t sure we want to cross. It might not even be a deep stream but we don’t want to get our feet wet. So we turn around and go a different direction.
The next day, my friend took another walk. (I had homework to do) She came to the stream and this time it was river. She decided to wade through it and the water came up to the middle of her thigh. She’s about my height so that gives you an idea of how deep the water was. She told me that before she went through, she prayed, “Lord, tell me what to do.” She heard the answer, “Go slowly and you’ll be just fine.” She ended up wading through the river twice – one time going and one time coming back.
Proverbs 3:5 says Trust the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Our paths often are not straight – even when we are trusting God. We are going to have twists and turns in our road. We’re going to encounter streams and rivers we must wade through. The road can be anything but a straight shot. That’s not what the verse necessarily means. What it means is that when we trust God we travel the road He wants us to be on – even with all the twists and turns.
So wear a good pair of walking shoes!
We started off on our walk and came to something very unusual - the road went underwater! Well, maybe the more accurate way to describe it is that a creek that is usually dry was full and the water running through it came up over the road. It wasn’t very deep. If we had decided to wade across it, the water might have come up to mid-calf level. But we decided to turn around and go the other way so we wouldn’t get our feet wet.
Sometimes our life is like this. We’re walking along with things going pretty smoothly and all of a sudden we come across a stream that we aren’t sure we want to cross. It might not even be a deep stream but we don’t want to get our feet wet. So we turn around and go a different direction.
The next day, my friend took another walk. (I had homework to do) She came to the stream and this time it was river. She decided to wade through it and the water came up to the middle of her thigh. She’s about my height so that gives you an idea of how deep the water was. She told me that before she went through, she prayed, “Lord, tell me what to do.” She heard the answer, “Go slowly and you’ll be just fine.” She ended up wading through the river twice – one time going and one time coming back.
Proverbs 3:5 says Trust the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Our paths often are not straight – even when we are trusting God. We are going to have twists and turns in our road. We’re going to encounter streams and rivers we must wade through. The road can be anything but a straight shot. That’s not what the verse necessarily means. What it means is that when we trust God we travel the road He wants us to be on – even with all the twists and turns.
So wear a good pair of walking shoes!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Big Brother REALLY is watching!
I have to preface my post with three stories.
1. My maiden name was Sifford. My married name is Seifert. This will be important to remember for the next story.
2. When Todd and I were first married and heading to St. Cloud, Minnesota my dad co-signed a loan with us for a small Toyota pick up truck. We had discovered that it probably would be a good idea to have a reliable 4-wheel drive vehicle in an area that receives mounds upon mounds of snow each year. Upon arriving in Minnesota, the Minnesota Tax Commission required everyone listed on the loan to be on the title of the vehicle. The similarity of the names (see story #1) caused major issues. Ultimately, the title was issued like this:
Todd Seifert
Amy Sifford
David Seifert (my dad with my new married name)
3. My dad passed away in November 1999.
16 years after the messed up title was issued, two cross country moves later and almost 11 years after my dad's death, I receive mail addressed to David Seifert. This is something that has occurred regularly over the past 16 years. I have received offers for everything from mobility scooters to invitations to join social organizations to club membership offers. AARP was so persistent in sending mail to David Seifert - even after I called and requested his name be removed from mailing lists - that I finally called and said that since they seemed intent on him receiving a membership that I would take it and make use of the discounts even though I was only 31 years old!! The membership invitations stopped.
The latest pamphlet came from a local Utah company telling dad how he can improve the quality of the insulation in MY house . Keep in mind that I moved to Utah after dad died so he most definitely did not co-sign the loan on this one. So how in the world does the state of Utah know that David Seifert, er uh, David Sifford even existed?!?!
Quite simply actually. Somewhere over the past 16 years the Minnesota Tax Commission sold their car title list. Now that really isn't so surprising. What is surprising is this. How in the world is his name associated with me 16 years and two states after it was added to the Minnesota state database and 11 years after his death? After all, this mail comes addressed to him at my current address in St. George, Utah!
Did you ever read Orwell's book "1984?" Remember how we all thought that this would never be possible? Maybe Orwell was a prophet because it seems like anyone can be tracked down anywhere at any time - even people who don't really exist!
I guess what is really funny about this is this fact: Since David Seifert never really existed, apparently he can't die either. So in the mean time I guess I will keep watch over the offers he receives at his new home in Utah and, if it's a really good deal, maybe I'll order it. Maybe since he doesn't really exist he won't have to pay for it either!
Blessings!
Amy
1. My maiden name was Sifford. My married name is Seifert. This will be important to remember for the next story.
2. When Todd and I were first married and heading to St. Cloud, Minnesota my dad co-signed a loan with us for a small Toyota pick up truck. We had discovered that it probably would be a good idea to have a reliable 4-wheel drive vehicle in an area that receives mounds upon mounds of snow each year. Upon arriving in Minnesota, the Minnesota Tax Commission required everyone listed on the loan to be on the title of the vehicle. The similarity of the names (see story #1) caused major issues. Ultimately, the title was issued like this:
Todd Seifert
Amy Sifford
David Seifert (my dad with my new married name)
3. My dad passed away in November 1999.
16 years after the messed up title was issued, two cross country moves later and almost 11 years after my dad's death, I receive mail addressed to David Seifert. This is something that has occurred regularly over the past 16 years. I have received offers for everything from mobility scooters to invitations to join social organizations to club membership offers. AARP was so persistent in sending mail to David Seifert - even after I called and requested his name be removed from mailing lists - that I finally called and said that since they seemed intent on him receiving a membership that I would take it and make use of the discounts even though I was only 31 years old!! The membership invitations stopped.
The latest pamphlet came from a local Utah company telling dad how he can improve the quality of the insulation in MY house . Keep in mind that I moved to Utah after dad died so he most definitely did not co-sign the loan on this one. So how in the world does the state of Utah know that David Seifert, er uh, David Sifford even existed?!?!
Quite simply actually. Somewhere over the past 16 years the Minnesota Tax Commission sold their car title list. Now that really isn't so surprising. What is surprising is this. How in the world is his name associated with me 16 years and two states after it was added to the Minnesota state database and 11 years after his death? After all, this mail comes addressed to him at my current address in St. George, Utah!
Did you ever read Orwell's book "1984?" Remember how we all thought that this would never be possible? Maybe Orwell was a prophet because it seems like anyone can be tracked down anywhere at any time - even people who don't really exist!
I guess what is really funny about this is this fact: Since David Seifert never really existed, apparently he can't die either. So in the mean time I guess I will keep watch over the offers he receives at his new home in Utah and, if it's a really good deal, maybe I'll order it. Maybe since he doesn't really exist he won't have to pay for it either!
Blessings!
Amy
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