Servant Leadership

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For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. (Romans 12:3)

I have a notebook I take with me always. It has a brown leather cover on its outside, and its inside has a notepad on its right side and a pocket for storing torn off papers on it’s left. I have for 15 years now since my dad’s death kept one letter in that storage pocket that I see each time I open the notebook. I found it in my father’s papers.

It is dated June 14, 1986, and was written by Rev. Wesley Nelson, a long distinguished and beloved Covenant pastor who at that time was living in retirement in Chicago. It is written to “the newly elected leaders of our denomination”, and is a plea for their humility and servant leadership. My father was one of them. Here are some key thoughts in the letter:

“The burden of this letter is my conviction that one of our greatest needs at this time is for role models in sacrificial living. I am hoping that you will not succumb to the temptation to see yourselves at the apex of a hierarchy…no criticism of our past and present leadership is intended. I am suggesting an image of church leadership that is patterned, not after the hierarchical structures of the world but after our Master, who took the lowest place. I can envision a fresh breeze blowing through our churches if our leaders will now lead the way.“

It is there as a reminder each day when I open this notebook to attack the list of “to-dos” about the important and particularly difficult task of leadership is within the Christian community. I say difficult, and indeed challenging for a couple of reasons.

First and foremost, as pastor Nelson reminds me, we lead — follow and serve — on behalf of Jesus Christ. This can and must shape a servant hearted leadership that has to find a way to stay faithful in local church and denominational institutional structures that are in fact formed hierarchically. To put it another way, Jesus’ leads with “power-under”, and yet we are called as pastors, teachers and administrators into structures with expectations of leadership that use a “power-over” approach. It’s a delicate dance not to get out over our skis, given our structures and our own egos and bad habits than re-appear when we hold onto power.

And the second challenge is that the way our world flourishes with power-over systems and structures offer us no help, and in fact call the Jesus way articulated by Wesley Nelson the quickest way to failure. As Saint Paul says it, “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God….For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” (1 Corinthians 1, portions).

If Pastor Nelson was here, I think we would say that he was warning those called to lead that there will always be a constant temptation to think more of themselves than they ought. Well do we all know that the Church in history has given into this temptation time and again. Instead, we ought to be constantly aware of this and seek instead the servant posture of Christ.

I am grateful for the mercy that has come in moments when I have lost my Christian way! And as I seek to finish well in the few years left for me, I’m so glad that this letter is ever before me. God bless Wesley Nelson for caring enough to write it now almost forty years ago!

Love From Here

Peter Hawkinson

Ears to Hear

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“Let anyone with ears to hear listen.”

Jesus said this all the time at the end of his stories and sermons. It remains a reminder in our highly literate and post-enlightenment world that in his day only scribes and clerics could read and write. This left the other 95 percent of people who no doubt were much better listeners than we are today. They had one chance to get it, without recordings or a text to go back and scan over again. They HAD to hear well.

And then, also, their memories had to hold the story or the sermon for it’s re-telling. A couple of things to think about here…first, that old telephone game where a circle of folks pass along a message whispering ear to ear and inevitably the message comes out comically different than when it first was passed along. Second, imagine if you were to listen to a sermon or a story knowing that you will need to re-tell it at some point later on. Finally, consider the importance of passing on the stories and sermons as the primary way of keeping faith alive from one generation to another, else it be lost.

Thinking about this ancient world, even the not-so-ancient world all the way up to the appearance of the printing press in the mid-15th century, where the masses live only through an oral tradition — listening, hearing, remembering, telling — I wonder for all it’s blessings how much our literacy, and the primary importance of the written and read text, has helped us when it comes to the Good News of the Gospel. Don’t get me wrong, I know that it many ways the spread of Christian Gospel has depended on it.

I’m thinking more about primary arguments forming around verb endings and language translations and all the church schisms and splits that have accompanied an enlightened human christian community. I read recently of a biblical scholar who has a father who is also a biblical scholar. Their own familial relationship has been severed over a divergent theological point of view that hinges on a verb ending of one Greek word from a written text in a now-archaic language, and the kicker is that the text finds Jesus teaching about love.

My wondering is to what degree, for all the wonder of blessings of poring over the written text, we have missed the forest for the trees. I wonder if often now the most of us find ourselves where those few scribes were when Jesus had healed a man who had been crippled his whole life, and the response of the priests was to pull out the text, and find the place and point their fingers and show the healed man how and why and where he broke the law, because it was the Sabbath day, and he wasn’t allowed to carry his mat. Talk about adventures in missing the point! And Jesus, too was indicted, for working on the sabbath day, and therefore breaking the Mosaic law.

What comes eventually is this stunning short sermon from Jesus, who says, “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come to me for life.” (John 5) That’s a word about how the written text can keep us from hearing and seeing what the Spirit of God is doing that is so good, and right now! And Jesus seems to say that the text has it’s critically important place, but that it holds, it cradles the holy story of God’s redemptive work.

So much more to say, but I’ll end with this thought, that though we give the Bible highest authority, we need also to remember that what is holy about it is the story it tells, and holds, and the life we find in that story of God’s love and redemption. To forget this distinction is to make an idol out of the written text, replacing the tender story it cradles. Then the text becomes a prooftext, which it is not meant to be! Contrast a prooftext with this word from images in Covenant Beginnings, that our ancestors, who were called the “readers” because of their love for scripture, “gathered around God’s Word as though it was a warm campfire on a cold winter’s night.” They came to the written text devotionally, to find new life in Jesus. One of these ancestors, David Nyvall said this: “Without the Spirit…the Bible becomes a casket for dead dogmas instead of a garden of life and fragrance.”

It’s important for us who read, and re-read the scripture to hear it still, and most of all.

Love From Here!

Peter Hawkinson

Spring into Summer Church Life!

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Hello WCC Friends! In all kinds of ways we see creation coming back to life, and soon spring will give way to summer. During this season we find sabbath rest from some of our normal ministry programs and patters while others come to life.

Our Worship gathering time moves a half hour earlier — meaning we gather at 10 a.m. weekly beginning May 25. Also, we will spend some Sundays more informally outside on our lovely front lawn. On these days please bring a lawn chair or blanket if you wish. Here is the schedule for now (subject to change due to weather or other circumstances):

Worship Inside, 10 a.m — May 25, June 1, June 22 and 29, July 6, 13, and 27, August 3, 17 and 24.

Worship Outside, 10 a.m. — June 8 and 15, July 13, August 10 and 31.

Other events/Gatherings are as follows:

All-Church Picnic June 1 following our Worship.

Sunday Evening Backyard Potlucks, June 29 (Rivi home) and and July 27 (Madvig Home), 6 p.m. Bring any food you wish to add to the table, a beverage to drink, and a lawn chair or blanket. An informal time to circle up, fellowship, and enjoy community!

Music on the Steps is back! Wednesdays, June 11, July 9, August 15. Further details to come. Ravinia style gathering, bring your own lawn chair or blanket, food and drink at 6:15 for fellowship, music begins at 7 p.m.

Movies that Matter season two! Wednesdays, June 18, July 16, and August 20. Details to come. Gatherings in the youth room to view and discuss films.

All-Church Mission Trip to Covenant Mountain Mission Bible Camp in Jonesville, Virginia July 19-26! There is still time to register on the church website — http://www.winnetkacovenant.org

WCC Cycling Club resumes on Tuesday evenings beginning May 27. More details soon to come.

Children and Family Gatherings and Youth Ministry Gatherings will be happening. Watch for more details soon!

Finally, pastors Pete and Jen are hoping you might want to have a catch up conversation over coffee or while taking a walk. Please be in touch to find some time together.

Wishing you Resurrection Hope and the Peace it brings,

Peter Hawkinson

Confirmation! and a Worship Update

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Hello Winnetka Covenant Church Friends!

A week from this Sunday, May 4, confirmation Sunday arrives. Another festival worship experience is just ahead of us!

This long-held christian tradition, as so many, finds its roots in Judaism, where formal faith training begins at early age and culminates in a “mitzvah” service. In the New Testament we see the importance Jesus places on the nurture of children in faith, for he says “as such is the kingdom of God.” Confirmation in our own Covenant tradition is designed to be a systematic exploration of God’s word, the history of our faith, and the importance of living a Christian life. It is a significant early, formative step in a lifelong process of growing in faith and discipleship of Jesus Christ.

This year we are blessed with eight confirmands. They are:

Claire Bouwman, Grace Bowen, Phoenix Broad-Crawford, Ethan Fogel, Jonathan Heintzelman, Naomi Johnson, Katie Tropp, and Caleb Werling.

Each of them will have time to witness to their faith in some way, and we will have a special time of prayer for each of these students. Pray for each of these students as this special moment of affirmation and holy encounter come soon. And pray for their siblings, parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents and friends who come to join us on this special day!

Because of all that will be taking place in this service, we will be celebrating the sacrament of Holy Communion the Sunday following, May 11.

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One other worship update also. Going forward (at least for a time) our service will end after we have sung God’s blessing to one another. Our final worship act will be greeting one another as we begin fellowship, and we will not have a postlude at the service end.

Now may resurrection’s easter joy continue to have sway on your spirit.

Peter Hawkinson

An Update, A Meeting, and The Story

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Hello Winnetka Covenant Friends!

An Update.

Mirela Hukic has served faithfully as our Coordinator of Church Finances for the last few years, and now is making an exciting transition into a new small business. Bread Cult Is her Sourdough Bread baking company. The staff has already experienced Mirela’s delectable offerings, and her bread is already in great demand. We will celebrate and thank Mirela on Sunday, May 25 during the worship service, and enjoy a bread feast afterwards! Also, for those (count me in!) who are interested in supporting Mirela’s venture going forward, Friday afternoons will bring deliveries to the church just in time for your weekend. Watch for further details. THANK YOU MIRELA! GOD BLESS AND KEEP YOU.

A Meeting. The culmination of our Palm Sunday celebration this coming Sunday will be a brief congregational meeting to vote into membership 17 sisters and brothers. What a great joy! We will offically welcome them during our Easter Sunday worship. Welcome them!

Anthony Broad-Crawford (Phoenix, Ivy), Lindsay Broad-Crawford, Aubrey Davis (Evangeline, Junia) Matthew Davis, Nancy Forbes, Jim Forbes, Michelle Gad (David, Noah, Mira), Emily Mathews (Hannah, Asher), John Mathews, Christina Tassone (Bella, Gabi, Mateo), Ken Tassone, Isabella Tassone, Courtney Thomas (Adeline, Callum), Ali Voss (Elsa, Sofia, Anders, Vera), Jon Voss, Arnie Werling, Jane Werling.

Also, we will receive an update on our gym floor process from Steve Kanda, our trustee chair. Plan to stay for just a few moments for this important work.

The Story.

As we come now to Palm Sunday and holy week commences, you will be receiving readings appointed for each day of holy week. Here is the list:

Monday: Isaiah 42:1-9, Psalm 36:5-11, Hebrews 9:11-15, John 12:1-11

Tuesday: Isaiah 49:1-7, Psalm 71:1-14, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, John 12:20-36

Wednesday: Isaiah 50:4-9a, Psalm 70, Hebrews 12:1-3, John 13:21-32

Thursday: Exodus 12:1-14, Pslam 116:1-2,12-19, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Friday: Isaiah 52:13-53:12, Psalm 22, Hebrews 10:16-25, John 18:1-19:42

Saturday: Lamentations 3:1-9, 19-24, Psalm 31:1-4, 15-16, 1 Peter 4:1-8, John 19:38-42

Read and reflect on them as they came to you in narrative form. God bless us one and all.

Peter Hawkinson

Followers of Jesus

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As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea– for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. (Mark 1:16-17)

Grappling with the call of Jesus takes a lifetime. It’s a constant process of letting go and setting out, of leaving behind and adventuring forward. In terms of what Jesus seems to mean when he uses the word, it’s both the purpose and deepest meaning our human journey can know and also necessitates a servant-hearted, other-first approach that ends to get the world around angry.

The Danish Philosopher Soren Kierkegaard says it like this: “It is well know that Christ consistently used the expression ‘follower.’ He never asks for admirers, worshippers, or adherents. No, he calls disciples. It is not adherents of a teaching but followers of a life Christ is looking for.” (Provocations: spiritual writings of Kierkegaard, ed. Charles Moore, Orbis books, 2003).

He goes on to draw distinctions… a Follower is or strives to be what they admire. An Admirer, however, keeps themself personally detached, and fails to strive to be what they admire. They always play it safe. Though in a word an admirer is inexhaustible about how highly they prize Christ, they will not reconstruct their life.

I’m convicted by this! “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the One I love” as Fanny Crosby has us singing. For me it is not a once for all decision, but a daily tug of war. So often I want to claim the grace and mercy Christ brings, I want to admire it, but on my own terms, with my own plans still intact, still holding onto my own nets.

This tug of war is a biblical idea…just listen to St. Paul: “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate…for I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members… (Romans 7). And certainly we know that though Peter and Andrew dropped their nets and followed Jesus that day, they still would dabble in the comforts of admiration on many days yet to come.

So it goes for all of us.

This leaves me feeling so grateful for the grace, for the patience, for the steadfast love of God for his people!

Love From Here!

Peter Hawkinson

Singing and Learning the Wondrous Story

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Today’s blog post is written by Pastor Jen.

It has been a great month in Adult Sunday School.

It’s also hard to believe how much we have accomplished!

This year, March was one of those rare months where the calendar aligns perfectly to have five Sundays, so even with the cancellation of Sunday School one week (in light of local schools’ spring break), we had ample opportunities to learn and grow together.

The first two weeks of March were devoted to the conclusion of our series “Building Stories,” one of several new curricula created by seminary friends of mine through their grant-funded project: “OptIN: the Trade School for Christian Formation.” (I encourage you to check our their website and learn more here.)

Over the course of March 2 and 9, we heard from both new and long-time members of our community as they shared one story of God’s activity in their lives. We laughed, we cried, we were surprised, and we learned so much about each other. (And my hope is that we all learned that it doesn’t have to be so scary, and can indeed be very powerful and important, to share just a glimpse of God’s activity in our lives.)

Then, on March 16 we welcomed Mark Safstrom, of both Augustana College and North Park University, to lead us through “Reading with the Mission Friends,” a look at scripture and other important texts in our Covenant history, and how they have shaped our ethos as Covenanters throughout the years. Yesterday, Mark came back for part two of his series, “Singing with the Mission Friends,” and he and Royce Eckhardt led us through a wonderful hour of learning about our Covenant hymnody and its themes of the immigrant experience and pilgrimage.

And we’re not nearly done yet! This coming Sunday, Royce will come back to lead us in the first of two sessions through April and May, taking a closer look at our worship. In his own words, “We’re examining our motivations for attending worship. What is ‘contemporary’ worship? Or ‘traditional’ worship? And why the conflict in so many churches? Understanding the rhythms of worship, the progression of the service, the dialogical character of worship. We’ll explore biblical perspectives on the centrality of worship in the Christian life and experience, and how much music and worship are inextricably linked in scripture and contemporary practice.”

Come join us for “Why We Worship” on April 6, and mark your calendars for “How We Worship” on May 11.

Then, we will gather on April 13 for our tradition of a Palm Sunday Intergenerational Class in the Upper Room. There will be music, food, lots of coffee, an activity and game, and all of the beautiful chaos of Palm Sunday together.
We will take a break on Easter Sunday, as we will all be busy during the Sunday School hour eating pancakes at our annual breakfast!


Then, Hauna Ondrey of North Park will join us for two sessions starting on April 27, featuring a closer look at some of our Covenant affirmations and the debate surrounding them throughout the 20th century.

Much to learn and much to celebrate in the coming weeks! I hope you’ll come and bring a friend.

yours,

Pastor Jen

Becoming

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This Sunday to come, the fourth of lent, we might call our central reading the “Gospel motherlode”….or “fatherlode”. It’s Luke 15 and the parable of what we normally call the “prodigal son” who “came to himself” and went back home. Some have called it the parable of the “waiting father” who looks out on the horizon, sees him, and runs to kiss and embrace him. And of course we can’t leave out that “resistant brother” who is angry and refuses to come inside and join the homecoming party.

The invitation it seems is to find yourself in the story. I hope you will read and reflect on the story each day as we come to Sunday.

Henri Nouwen’s seminal work “The Return of the Prodigal Son” came after spending hours, indeed weeks sitting in front of Rembrant’s massive painting of. the same name which led him to write his book. While Henri was fixed on understanding how he could claim the journey and attitude of both the younger and the older brother, a friend sitting with him one day said, “Whether you see yourself as the younger son or the elder son, you have to realize that you are called to become the father.” and this becomes Henri’s central reflection, that “The spiritual journey isn’t just about returning to a divine father figure, but about developing the qualities of that father within oneself….to become like the Father whose only authority os compassion, I have to shed countless tears and so prepare my heart to receive anyone, whatever their journey has been, and forgive them from that heart.”

And this process of becoming more like the father in the parable seems to be more difficult for that older brother, whose spirit is growing in a different direction. It’s important to remember that we only have this wonderful story because “all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.'” The irony I am wrestling with is that those scribes and pharisees are like that older son whom the father speaks to: “You have always been with me. All that is mine is yours. We have to celebrate because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found!”

This process of becoming invites me, invites us to grow more into the arms wide open posture of that father as we grow through life. But in order to move in this direction, we must come to the end of ourselves, as both of his sons had to do, each in their own way.

So much to reflect on. Looking forward to worshipping with you on Sunday!

Love From Here

Peter Hawkinson

SO IF……

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So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden in Christ with God. (Colossians 3:1-3)

This is the season of repentance. It means to turn away from one direction and move in another. Theologically, it seems that we locate this repentance as a decisive act of our will…”I’m going to change…I’m starting anew with following Jesus.” This comes largely from the oft used greeting Jesus uses to begin his ministry and teaches his disciples to use when they witness in the world…..”The Kingdom of God has come near to you. Repent, and believe in the good news.” (Mark 1:15). It seems as though repentance is our primary act of response to this Good News.

The question that rumbles around in my spirit this morning is, “Then why do we view repentance as more of a negative than a positive thing?” Maybe its because it’s John the Baptist’s favorite word, and he seems to like to shout it, we imagine with anger. Maybe the word has been taken hostage by angry preachers and evangelists, who point fingers at us while they threaten hell’s eternal fire. Maybe this creates this sense that repentance means that I/we have been caught, we’re busted, and we’re in trouble. The call to repentance comes to feel like a “just wait until your father gets home” moment. Maybe we tend to identify the call to repent as a sign that God is most angry and fundamentally against us.

But we need to consider the word and practice of repentance as Jesus gives it to us: The Kingdom of God has come near to you…”what if repentance is really one of God’s great merciful invitations? An opportunity to live into the love and grace we have come to know? What if we could view this constant process of turning away from our sins, and our selfishness, and moving toward Jesus and the new life he gives us? Repentance is deeply connected to the nearness of good news is what Jesus says, an act of opening up and letting all the good of God fill us up — peace and joy, mercy and grace, and a love like no other.

For me, at least, it seems that the opportunity to repent comes alive when it is primarily an act of response to what God has already done, rather than a feeble attempt to appease God and avoid punishment. We repent because of what God has already done, not to try to get God to accept us. God has already in Christ Jesus fully accepted us as sinful, broken people and repentance is the invitation to accept that acceptance, that grace, that good news, and let go of the sins and sorrows that burden us. Repentance is an act of trusting in the love of Jesus. This can’t help but set our spirits free to love and serve in a new way.

“SO IF you have been raised with Christ” Paul says to the early church, “seek the things that are above!” Essentially, this is repentance. Leave behind your old way of life in this old world, and why…? because “You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

These things are true, this good news is real, because God has in love chosen to give us new life in Christ. That’s the truth whether or not we will ever choose to respond. And repentance is the opportunity for us to respond to what God has done, to the good news that comes near to us.

That’s it! You have died and been raised with Christ to new life. What say you today, and tomorrow? Will you repent and believe in this good, glad news?

What an opportunity and privilege!

Peter Hawkinson

Growing Through Life

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But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (2 Peter 3:18)

I recently re-connected with, or I might say really connected for the first time with my older cousin David, on the Larson side, who lives in New England. We find ourselves on face time now and then wndering how we can grow more healthy and whole in an increasingly angry and anxious world. I suggested we might read a book together: he led me to David Brooks, whose recent work How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen has captivated my spirit, at least thus far over the first five chapters. Brooks reflects on this idea of how our relationships with others can grow more healthy. Here’s a few of my underlines:

“Being open-hearted is a prerequisite for being a full, kind, and wise human being.”

“There is one skill that lies at the heart of any healthy person, family, school, community organization or society: the ability to see someone else deeply and make them feel seen– to accurately know another person, to let them feel valued, heard, and understood. Seeing someone well is a powerfully creative act.”

“The roots of resilience” the psychologist Diana Fosha writes, “are to be found in the sense of being understood by and existing in the mind and heart of a loving, attuned, and self-possessed other.” In how you see me, I will learn to see myself.

“In every crowd there are Diminishers and there are Illuminators. Diminishers make people feel small and unsees. Illuminators, on the other hand, have a persistent curiosity about other people.”

“To be able to understand people and be present for them in their experience– that”s the most important thing in the world.”

“Accompaniment Is an other-centered way of moving through life. When you’re accompanying someone, you’re in a state of relaxed awareness — attentive and sensitive and unhurried.”

“We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are.” (Anais Nin)

“The greatest thing a person does is to take the lessons of life, the hard knocks of life, the surprises of life, and the mundane realities of life and refine their own consciousness so that they can gradually come to see the world with more understanding, more wisdom, more humanity, and more grace.”

I’ve been chewing on this idea for awhile, and find myself praying with hope that I can grow to be more gracious, generous, and welcoming as I grow older. Challenges abound as life and culture change around me.

Richard Rohr, in his seminal work Falling Upward, talks about a second half of life as a spiritual journey where we become more playful, open, and willing to surrender control — very much like a child. Jesus talks about this idea of receiving the Kingdom of God like a child. A Child approaches the world with wonder and trust, not certainty.

Wondering about all of this, Bonnie and I often reflect our hope together that we can grow old while we grow more generous, inclusive, and in touch with grace. The alternative is to find life’s ending chapters to grow in bitterness, regret, and disdain.

What do you think? How do you reflect on your life’s trajectory?

Love From Here

Peter Hawkinson