Pastors' Blog

A week ago Thursday I was sitting at my desk thinking about what had been presented at House of Prayer the night before. Part of the presentation was a re-reading of Isaiah 53. Have you read it recently? It’s only 12 verses long, but before you read any more of this blog you might want to read that. 

In John 5:39 Jesus admonishes the religious leaders of that time that all their study of the scriptures which they did, thinking they were getting into the kingdom that way, didn’t do them any good—because the scriptures testify of him, but they refused to believe in him so, In other words, the entire Bible, which is all about Jesus whom they wouldn’t believe in, didn’t do them any good. Isaiah 53 is, of course, part of the scriptures and tells part of the story of Jesus. 

Which part? The sad part. The painful part. If you want to read sadness, like the Sabbath School quarterly suggests, John 11 is probably the saddest section of any of the Gospels: Jesus even sheds tears. Have you ever lost someone you loved? This far into a world of sin there are very few people who haven’t. Even though Jesus came, knowing what he was going to do, didn’t mitigate the pain he felt for Martha and Mary. 

Is. 53.3 says that Jesus was “a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.” V. 4: “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering.” As sensitive as Jesus was, the pain of every single person he interacted with must have touched a resonant chord in his soul. It doesn’t say that he wept tears like with the widow of Nain, yet I don’t think there is any question as to whether or not Jesus knew how people felt—the pain they carried for whatever reason. The leader of the synagogue, Jairus, lost his heart when the servants came and told him not to bother the healer any longer because his daughter had just passed. I see Jesus putting his arm around Jairus as he told him, “Don’t fear; just believe.” Imagine the joy he felt as Jairus and his wife took their daughter in their arms. If Jesus had tears, they would have been tears of joy at bringing happiness to that family. 

Jesus still knows exactly how we feel about things. When our hearts are as broken as possible, he knows. Bring your broken heart to him. He can take care of it. 

There were two times when Jesus endured pain beyond measure. One was on the Mount of Olives when he was riding the colt, looking over the valley at the temple. He saw into the future and knew what was coming to the people he loved because they would not believe in him. Desire of Ages says that he sobbed huge, racking sobs. His people broke his heart. The other time when the pain could not have been any worse, was when he gasped out, “Eloi, Eloi; lama sabachthani.” (My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.) V. 10: “It was the will of the Lord to crush him and cause him to suffer.” V. 11: “After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied…”

Pain? Bring whatever pain you have to him, and trust him to give healing to your heart. And as far as your relationship with him is concerned, don’t cause him any more pain than he’s already experienced, by rejecting him and refusing to believe in him. Put your faith in him and keep looking in confidence to him: he can and will heal whatever pain you are experiencing. 

Have you ever wondered just where God is? Of course, He is seated on His throne up in the third heaven, but if we could see with clearer insight, we’d realize He is very present in our world.  

Ellen White expressed it like this: "Every leaf grows, every flower blooms, every fruit develops, by the power of God.”  One of the things that is so appealing about this part of Michigan is our trees; they’re gorgeous.  Another thing is all the eatables that are grown here. Think about all the items God created specifically for food: apples, pears, cherries, peaches, tomatoes, sweet corn, melons, grapes, et. al.  Every single leaf, every blade of grass, grows as a result of God’s power. We do, too.  

Then there are the seasons. We’re at the point right now of summer turning into autumn: 90 degree days turning into 70 & 80 degree days, then even cooler. One of the things that makes this time of year so beautiful is the colorful autumn leaves. I’ve often thought that God went wild with color with birds, tropical fish, autumn leaves, and flowers.  I still am amazed at how chlorophyll masks the colors: they’re there all the time. Then when shortened daylight occurs the chlorophyll disappears, and the colors emerge.  

This changing of the seasons reminds me of something God told Noah after he got off the ark. “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”  Genesis 8.22. This tells me that as long as the world continues and seasons come and go, then God is still on the throne. He is. He is ruling His universe. As a wise ruler He is very aware of what is going on here.  

Check out Daniel 2.20-23 and the words of Daniel's prayer of gratitude when God showed him the king’s dream. “He changes times and seasons, he deposes kings and raises up others…” If that is true for kings—and it is—then do you suppose it’s also true for Presidents and Governors? I think so. The implications of this are what is behind the scenes of the upcoming election, is surely God is moving to accomplish His purposes. It’s almost like whoever ends up in office is there because God chose them to be there. I don’t know that I can say that point blank, but it seems to ring in.  

What about the lives you and I live?  All those events we’re mystified and troubled by?  Can it be that God knows all about every one of them? If he knows the number of hairs on our head, 

then He’s well aware of what’s going on in our lives. And if, in conclusion, I may make a suggestion, then rather than spending so much energy in attempting to control our world, maybe the thing we need to do is put our energies to work in connecting with the God of heaven, the Father of Jesus. As you and I cooperate with Him we will be amazed at all He does.  

Godly sorrow produces repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret, but the sorrow of the world produces death - 2 Corinthians 7:10

Springtime across the wider Christian world celebrates the story of past mistakes being covered over by Jesus’ blood. The sacrificial, atonement Jesus made on the cross stands as a testament to the truly amazing nature of grace. A grace that is so deep, so wide, so rich, so beautiful that it can cover every sin inside never to be seen again. There truly is something amazing about grace that is extended to sinners like you and I.

Yet, too often that aforementioned grace is negated by the one factor in this universe that can undo it. You. Me. Us. Each of us has our own secrets of sordid nature that lurk in our past. Yes, grace covers them. Grace wipes that slate clean. Jesus, himself, won’t remember those sins again (read Zechariah 3, Micah 7:19, Isaiah 43:25 as a quick refresher). But, we do. Somehow the most powerful force in the universe - the Grace of the Almighty Creator God - can be outdone by our memories. Some individuals are never able to move forward in their faith journey’s because they are trapped by their own remembrance of their sinful past.

The verse at the beginning of this blog (2 Corinthians 7:10) is a reminder that there are indeed two roads that diverge in vastly different directions. Both roads have sorrow, but one leads to life and the other to death. Theologians and Pastors, far smarter than I, have preached and written on the differences and meaning of these sorrows. I tend to view these sorrows through the lens of guilt and shame. Two approaches, two vastly different outcomes.

Therapist and researcher Brene Brown has spent a career understanding the effects of shame and guilt on human beings. In her own words, she describes the difference between shame and guilt as such:

I believe that guilt is adaptive and helpful—it’s holding something we’ve done or failed to do up against our values and feeling psychological discomfort.

I define shame as the intensely painful feeling or experience of believing that we are flawed and therefore unworthy of love and belonging—something we’ve experienced, done, or failed to do makes us unworthy of connection.

I don’t believe shame is helpful or productive. In fact, I think shame is much more likely to be the source of destructive, hurtful behavior than the solution or cure. I think the fear of disconnection can make us dangerous.^[1]

Shame is an insidious thing. It creeps into every facet of our lives seeking to destroy us from the inside out. Shame is the voice that tells us there is no coming back even when God’s grace tells us otherwise. Guilt, on the other hand, is the reminder of the wrongs we’ve done that leads us to the grace that we are gifted because of what Jesus has done.

As Brown states, the deadliness of shame is that it makes us dangerous. The stories of Peter and Judas illustrate that well. Judas’ story of betrayal ends in a scene with no hope. A man possessed by shame and seeing no way out of the mess he had made. A desperate and dangerous, making decisions that could never be undone. Shame is a dangerous thing. It makes us dangerous because it eliminates the possibility of hope and connection with God. Peter’s story, on the other hand, shows what happens when guilt makes room for grace. Peter’s guilt, make no mistake, was crushing but it wasn’t permanent. After the resurrection, by the seashore, Jesus’ gentle words of restoration, “Follow me” (John 21:19) reminded Peter that no matter the sin there was still space for connection with the Saviour.

Pioneer Memorial Church and the Andrews University Center for Faith Engagement believe strongly that each person has an opportunity for grace rather than shame. And, this season, we wanted to remind you of that. So, we got a group of students together to write a brand new, original for 2024, musical (yes, originally written songs) that will tell the story of guilt and shame. This musical is called, Through His Eyes. It will be shown at Pioneer Memorial Church on March 30 (doors open 4:30 PM) and March 31 (doors open 5:30 PM). Everyone is invited to this free event which will showcase how grace can cover our worst mistakes and give us a better future.

^[1] Brown, B. (2013, January 15). Shame vs. guilt. Brené Brown. https://brenebrown.com/articles/2013/01/15/shame-v-guilt/

It’s small group season at Pioneer!

Discipleship comes in many forms across our campus and our church. One of the most common is the small group. It’s seen in Sabbath Schools, in Grow Groups and the natural connections people form around friendships and common interests. I think about how Jesus utilized the table and fellowship to craft intimate moments of discipleship with those he was closest to. Think about his feet being anointed and the aroma wafting through the house during what could be considered a small group meeting. The lesson resonates still to this day about devotion to God being the most important aspect of faith. Small groups provide the space where lessons like that can learned. They also are places of shared connection and refreshing after times of intense ministry activity or life changes. I think about our campus small groups (which are a strong part of our Grow Group program – there are 16 run by and for our students!). Among those small groups we have a special group dedicated for our returned student missionaries to reconnect and share moments of faith and difficulty from their time abroad sharing and being the gospel.

The following excerpt is written by Kelli Coffen, AU Student and Returned Missionary Teacher.

“I don’t know if there is anything more exciting than someone asking you to share pictures from a recent trip or adventure you have just returned from. The joy of getting to relive the experience and share the details and funny moments you experienced precipitates laughter and smiles from your captivated audience. 

Last week I got to experience this joy as our student missions small group kicked off and our conversation quickly turned to our time serving and the joys and sorrows that accompanied our time abroad. It can be incredibly difficult to capture the true essence of spending a semester, summer, or year as a missionary, but the comradery and understanding that only fellow missionaries can provide is such an exciting place to be. Finally feeling like you can share the intimate details and be honest about the hardships of being away from home, living in a new country, learning how to be a teacher, and just missing out on life back home. How do you convey that to someone who has never experienced it? 

Nestled around tables full of dinosaur coloring pages and snacks, these returned student missionaries began to open up when their fellow SM’s began asking questions about what they did, what it was like, and if they missed it. Soon phones came up to show pictures of beloved students or pets, well-loved living spaces, and favorite dishes they had experienced. Stories poured out from everyone as they related to each other’s experiences and affirmed the hardships and joys that they each experienced in their own ways. It was clear that connections were being made and bonds just beginning to form between these students tied together by a common experience in ministry. 

These intimate connections and personal stories may never make it to the stage of Pioneer or a vespers program, but the impact they had will be felt in the relationships formed from this mutual exchange of lived-experiences. That’s part of the beauty that comes only from small groups– individuals feel empowered to share openly and honestly in a way that church services and pews just can’t provide. There is an implied intimacy that comes with a small group where you are able to learn everyone’s names, make a personal connection, engage in a Bible study or activity together, and truly see one another for who you are. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” I’ve felt so blessed to be able to begin to experience this building up in a small group and cannot wait for more individuals to be able to open their camera rolls and share their adventures to allow us to build them up and build community.” – Kelli Coffen

If you are looking to have a small group experience like the one described above, check out our Grow Groups at pmchurch.org/grow. There you can find one around aligning with your interests and your discipleship needs in your current season of life. Or, maybe you have a passion to help others by leading one. We have a spot for new groups, too! Either way, don’t miss out on a key piece of the discipleship journey. Join a Grow Group today.