THE CONNECTION

June 2023 Connection
Posted on May 26, 2023 in BLOG, Uncategorized |

A church that worships together — thrives together —
grows together!
Pastor Brian
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May 2023 Connection
Posted on May 1, 2023 in BLOG, Newsletter |

“Not Complicated, Not Easy”
A Call to Real Discipleship
the affect of, “Being a Christian really isn’t that hard, though. Just love people!” I nodded in response, agreeing that “just love people” is a pretty fair summary of Jesus’ teachings. But I also took time to add this: Being a Christian is not a complicated thing, but that doesn’t make it easy.
margins as they are.
Jesus’ greatest commandment as a litmus test for what is good and right. Does it love God? Does it
love the neighbor? Is it loving ourselves? It’s not complicated, but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy.
And so, may we journey as Christian disciples together! May we encourage one another to love in a
way that is oftentimes challenging! May we remind one another of what Christ’s love looks like, so
often that we can’t help but reflect it, too! May we seek to be a church that embodies the love, grace,
and joy of Christ in this world…this community.
Pastor Brian
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April 2023 Connection
Posted on Apr 1, 2023 in BLOG, Newsletter, Uncategorized |

Doubt-ish
~John 20:24-28 (CEB)
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March 2023 Connection
Posted on Mar 1, 2023 in BLOG, Newsletter |

Rubber Band S#%
focus in on the 10 commandments. After all, we like neat, concise lists, and there is some truth to this, as well. But “sin” isn’t really a noun, as in a set of rules, sin is really more a relational verb.
have. Go ahead, keep adding distance.
NEVER pushes us away. God only pulls us back toward God’s self. Why? It’s because close to God is where we feel good. Close to God is where we feel at home.
Pastor Brian
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February 2023 Connection
Posted on Feb 1, 2023 in BLOG, Newsletter |

“This Is One Boring Article”
matter…caring for others!
churches to the district! Oh, and I’ll still be serving as your pastor here at GBUMC.
ministry in our own backyards. And so, as disciple-makers and disciples ourselves, we keep serving, loving, and being the church!
Pastor Brian
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January 2023 Connection
Posted on Jan 1, 2023 in BLOG, Newsletter, Uncategorized |

“For Auld Lang Syne and Days to Come”
In May of 2013, the American adaptation of the television series, The Office, aired its series finale which was cleverly titled, “Finale.” During that heart-string-pulling episode, the character Andy Bernard, played by actor, Ed Helms, reflected on the many memories of his years at the Scranton, PA branch of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company (true fans would demand that I mention the fictional Sabre Electronics division to that title). In that moment of sentimentality, Andy says: “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.”
I was thinking about those words the other day as I was surrendering to the speed at which the 2023 new year seems to be approaching (though, it will have arrived by the time you read this). Andy’s reflection actually got me thinking a bit about how we can approach the new year, specifically this time around the sun. What if, instead of approaching this year as if it is just another year – a year of our lives, a year of our careers, a year of our relationships…perhaps a year of our ministries? – what if we approached it as THEE year of our ministry as church? THEE year of our lives as family people, relational people, even working people. In other words, what might happen if we approach 2023 as if it was already a year that we’d remember with excitement for all our lives to come?
To do this, we have to first accept a few nuances:
- It is safe to say that 2023 will not be perfect! We need to anticipate that there will be moments of disappointment and dissatisfaction during the year. There will also be moments of heartbreak and seemingly failure. This is part of life and is unavoidable. That said, how we approach those inevitable challenges makes all the difference! If we go into January 1st expecting 2023 to be a fruitful and special year in our lives, then we can approach difficulties with a reminder within ourselves that God has already overcome anything that seems insurmountable. The grief we’ll face, the loss we’ll experience – it doesn’t get to define us! Perhaps we can reflect on these words from the Gospel of John,
“In the world you have distress.
But be encouraged! I have conquered the world.”
-John 16:33 (CEB)
- We have to put some energy into making it true! Like with planning our New Year’s resolutions, we sometimes forget that nothing magical happens as we hang our new calendars on the wall or as we watch the ball drop in New York City. If I resolve to eat better, I have to actually change my grocery shopping habits. The calendar won’t step in to start making me kale salads, much as I might want it to. And yet, we mark time by dates and years, and so we can certainly enter 2023 with a desire to make it special. But then we have to join forces with God to begin doing something to make 2023 special and memorable for all the right reasons. IF this is the year that we’re going to see ministry at GBUMC flourish, then we all have to, not only get excited about that, but we have to start making it happen!
- 2020-2022 weren’t all bad. Were they difficult years for a variety of reasons? Absolutely! Were there moments when we faced fear and uncertainty? Absolutely! Did we grow in areas during that time? We sure did! Did we learn as we experienced life in new ways? Of course! Like #1, we will face challenges in the year to come. We should expect that! But, we can’t forget that we’ve faced challenges in the years gone by.
I look forward to all that we will be as a church in 2023. I do believe it will be a year we will look back on with memories of growth, new beginnings, and fruitful ministries! Do you believe it? Will you help to make it so? If so, take a seat at God’s ever-growing table with me and all others, and lets begin to feast!!!
For auld lang syne and for days to come,
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December 2022 Connection
Posted on Dec 1, 2022 in BLOG, Newsletter, Uncategorized |

“A Nativity’s Purpose”
(we’ll leave the “it’s too soon for Christmas” argument for another time). We all know what we’ll find in a nativity scene: Mary, Joseph, some shepherds, an angel, 3 magi/kings/wisemen, perhaps some sheep and a camel, and of course Jesus.
the angel’s announcement to the shepherds in the nearby countryside, and then…well, that’s about it. Matthew is kind enough to include the visit of the magi, but says nothing about shepherds. So, how did we arrive at our favorite nativity scenes at Christmas time? We simply bring the two Gospels – Matthew
and Luke – together and provide a few embellishments. Anything wrong with this? Not at all! Is it accurate? Well…not really.
how they might ever sleep again. Coincidently, probably not the best time for shepherds and sheep to show up, but hey! It could always be worse, right!? But, how about Matthew’s magi. Speculation is that they (not necessarily three of them, by the way) probably arrived a good bit after Jesus birth. Herod’s order to kill all children in the region 2 years old and younger (Matthew 2:16) suggests that Jesus may have been as old as a toddler by the time the magi greeted him and the holy family. Frankincense, gold and myrrh – every toddler’s favorite gifts!
parents of Jesus because for the next 30 years or so, Mary and Joseph would be tasked with raising this
infant child to be the Son of God. They’d teach him how to pray, how to love, how to worship, and how to
care for neighbor. They’d model forgiveness for him, and remind him that he is loved. Could it be that
Mary and Joseph simply needed some encouragement, and so God sent these unlikely prophets to them
in order to confirm a divine truth? I suspect that’s the case!
rehearsed this journey for generations, and so we know what will be there. Though, don’t we still need
prophets of some sort to announce and witness to us what we’ve come across? To declare to us the full
divinity of the child born on Christmas? Don’t we need to, not only see Jesus, but hear the reminder that
he came to us as Emmanuel, God with us, that we might discover love, grace, and new life?
share that same confirmation with others who need to hear it. This Advent and Christmastime, consider
these questions: for whom can you be shepherd, magi, or angel? And who can be that for you?
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November 2022 Connection
Posted on Nov 1, 2022 in BLOG, Newsletter |

Bridging Divides and Setting Tables
righteous people, but sinners.”
-Matthew 9:10-13 (CEB)
that raised eyebrows! But what is Jesus doing? He’s making the table big enough to welcome those who don’t necessarily fit in at any other table.
side of the divisive canyons in our lives? No. That is possible – and it is the hope – but that takes a lot of
work! But, sitting at the table and pulling out the chair for someone else is a great place to start!
Pastor Brian
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October 2022 Connection
Posted on Oct 1, 2022 in BLOG, Newsletter |

A Learning Church
pass on to you all as a church!
to learn, grow, and discover the goodness of God in all that we do. One thought that the class has been playing with for a couple of weeks now is this: The church does not have a Christian Education program. The Church is a Christian Education program
God’s grace. We grow every time we find ourselves breaking bread with neighbor, friend, and stranger. We educate ourselves as disciples of Jesus Christ every time we dance to the rhythms of forgiveness and reconciliation.
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September 2022 Connection
Posted on Sep 1, 2022 in BLOG, Newsletter, Uncategorized |

An Obvious Miracle
Jesus found fish in a fishing village.
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