Eureka Christian Church

Reflecting Christ's Light from Our Doorsteps to the Ends of the Earth

Questions

by on

How can I grow my mowing business?

How can I help grow my mini-mowing/yard work bisness [sic]?  (I am just a kid.)

This is a great question! It speaks of your work ethic, your determination, your independence, and your sense of responsibility. I bet your parents are very proud of you!

How can you grow your mowing/yard work business? Work hard and do good-quality work are my first responses. Mow when you say you are going to mow. Communicate with your customers if you know you might be delayed. (For example, if you get sick or overwhelmed with homework or if your family goes out of town.) Do a thorough job. Clean up after you are done. Pay attention to the things your customers have asked you to do or not do—for example, don’t weed-whack the flowers they asked you to leave alone.

Your customers will appreciate all your efforts and, perhaps more importantly from a business point of view, they will stay your loyal customers. Some businesses are really good about getting new customers, but they do not do enough to keep the customers they already have. You can’t grow a business that way. You grow a business by keeping the customers you have and adding new ones.

Which brings me to the next thought for growing your business: ask your current customers for referrals. If they are pleased with the work you have done for them, then they will be more than happy to let their friends, neighbors, and family know about your business. You might even want to create fliers or business cards for them to hand out. One word of caution, however: don’t add so many customers that you can’t continue to offer good-quality work to your current ones. There is a sweet spot here—having enough customers for your business to thrive, but not bringing in so many new customers that the quality of your work suffers.

And one last thought: be open to new possibilities. In addition to mowing, maybe add weed pulling in the summer, leaf raking in the fall, snow shoveling in the winter, or hedge trimming in whatever season hedges are trimmed. Pet sitting might also go well with a yard business because you’re at the house already—might as well feed and water the animals!

Good luck!

by on

Where was God when I was suffering?

Why was God or an angel not there when I was bleeding and beaten on the floor?  I had to get the help [on my own].  Why did I have to suffer for so long and so young?  I didn’t sin or hurt people—if anything, me being abused was protecting the others.  But why?  Why was there no one to save or to help me?  

Editor’s Note:  Because of the depth of pain in this question, two members of the Response Team have offered their perspectives.

Response One: I am so sorry you had these experiences. It hurts my heart to know this kind of thing happens, and that this happened to you.

To answer this is difficult, and there are not satisfying answers. An early church teacher, Irenaeus, spoke of an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving God allowing evil as a way of soul-making—that the existence of evil would help us be more aware of and draw us closer to God. There is a whole branch of theology devoted to this dilemma, called theodicy. However, it is wholly inadequate for addressing many of the horrors in this life, including those you experienced.

The best understanding I have of why situations like yours occur without God’s direct intervention is that God chose to create a world in which we were given free will—free will to choose God or not to choose God.  Part of this free will means we have the freedom to hurt others. I am sure this hurts God, too. However, it seems there is something about redemption and salvation that requires us to respond directly and personally to God, and that it would somehow be ruined if God forced us to follow him. I am a parent, and think of the love of my children. I want them to choose to love me, I do not want to make them love me—and I cannot. The downside of this freedom is that we are also free to do great harm.

Response Two: I am so very sorry that this happened to you. The trauma you experienced at such a young age is heartbreaking. I join with you in weeping for the pain your younger self endured and the scars that linger still today. People are often capable of terrible actions toward each other. Call it sin. Call it evil.  Either way it is an unmistakable sign of brokenness. The person who abused you was/is broken. I am so very sorry that you bore the brunt of that brokenness.

Sometimes people think that bad things happen to them because God is punishing them. Personally, I do not believe this, but the idea is definitely out there. “If you are suffering, it means you have done something wrong.” This is not a helpful response to the question of why we suffer, as you even point out in your question. “Why did I have to suffer?” you asked, “I didn’t sin or hurt people.” Exactly. The abuse you endured wasn’t because you did anything, and it wasn’t God punishing you. It was the abuser taking advantage of the power he or she had over you and causing you deep pain. In other words, the brokenness belonged to the abuser, not to you.

Why do bad things happen to good people? This is a huge question. People have been asking this question probably since the beginning of time. There are many, many books on the topic—one, in fact, called When Bad Things Happen to Good People. We have received several questions about the problem of suffering through this Questions Ministry too. You can find some other responses here.   

For me, I think bad things just happen. Sometimes unspeakably bad things happen—as you experienced when you were young. We can’t get away from pain and suffering because they just are. They are a part of living in these mortal bodies (for example, the suffering that comes from disease), and they are part of living in a world where people struggle with their own brokenness (for example, the person who abused you). Pain and suffering just are.     

So what do we do with the pain and suffering we experience? Well, when we are in the moment of crisis, we put all our strength into surviving. Making it through. Doing what we have to do to keep going through the valley of shadows. But then, once we are on the other side of the pain—once we are safe and on the road to healing—we can look back and say to ourselves, “Look at that! I made it through. I am strong. I am resilient. I am me—wholly and fabulously me!” And, once we are safe and on the road to healing, we can look around with eyes more attuned to see the struggles that others are going through. Then we do what we can to help them because we’ve been there, and we know what it takes to survive.

Where is God in all this? The answer I have received through my faith and my personal experience is that God is right beside me. Right there always. Weeping with me when I am weeping. Comforting me. Mourning with me. Giving me the strength to make it through. And, healing me when I’m on the other side of the pain. 

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” Psalm 23 says, “I fear no evil, for You, O God, are with me.” Notice the way that is phrased: even though.  In other words, the valleys will come. The suffering will come. The pain will come. Even though I walk in all those difficult places, the psalm says, God is walking there too, never abandoning me to the pain. In my experience, I have felt God as a presence within me—rather than a bodily presence coming to my aid in the way you describe in your question. But that’s just my experience; others may have the experience of a bodily presence.

I think I hear in your question that you felt abandoned by God in your greatest moment of need. I am sorry for that too. And it makes me think of Jesus’ own prayer from the cross. When he was in his greatest moment of need, he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34). In other words, why have you abandoned me? He was praying the words of Psalm 22 in that moment. If you are looking for God in the memories of your painful experiences, perhaps this might be a pathway to discover where God was in those awful times. 

You might want to spend some time with Psalm 22. You can even say what Jesus did out loud, “My God, my God, why did you abandon me?” (I mean, if Jesus can pray such a prayer, then surely we can!) “My God, my God, why did you abandon me?” Say it as many times as you need to, as many times as you want to. Shout it. Whisper it. Write it down in a prayer journal. “My God, my God, why did you abandon me?” And then wait. Wait and see what thoughts come to your mind, what images rise up. 

When I pray like this, I begin to realize that new thoughts come into my mind. Things I never realized before, things I never saw before. I believe these are messages from God. Sometimes we call this the “still, small voice of God” (1 Kings 19:12); sometimes we call it the “peace that passes understanding” (Philippians 4:7). But either way, it has helped me to recognize that God was actually there for me, even though I didn’t see it at the time. I was not as alone as I had thought. Maybe this will be of help to you as you continue your healing journey. My prayers will be with you.

by on

How do I know when to open my mouth and when to keep it shut?

I need help knowing when to open my mouth and when to keep it shut! (Even when I know
I’m right.)
My suggestion is for you to reflect on instances when you have said something that you
later regretted, and then ask yourself whether it is more important to be right or more important
to be on good terms with people you know. I also think it’s all right if you express your opinion
if you are able to really hear another person’s opinion as well. It isn’t as important that you both
agree in the end, but more important that you both walk away from the conversation feeling
heard and respected. If you end up saying something you regret, you can ask for forgiveness and
keep trying to do better. We all need grace.

by on

Are there people beyond earth’s atmosphere? Or organisms?

Are there people beyond earth’s atmosphere?  Or organisms?

The short answer to your question is that we do not know.  Philosophers and scientists—plus regular people like you and me—have been asking this question probably for all of human existence.  So far we have no proof of life beyond earth’s atmosphere, but that does not mean it doesn’t exist.  NASA has a fun website called Exoplanet Exploration that you might want to visit.  You’ll especially want to explore The Search for Life on the site.

In college, I took a class called “The Search for Extraterrestrial Life,” and we explored this question using something called the Drake Equation.  The Drake Equation gives us a way of trying to gauge the probability of whether or not we might ever discover life on other planets within our own galaxy.  (Keep in mind that astronomers estimate there are 100-200 billion galaxies in the universe; we’re just talking about one, our Milky Way!)  The Drake Equation involves coming up with estimates for:

  • the average rate of star formation in the Milky Way
  • the number of those stars that might have planets
  • the number of planets per star-with-planets that could support life
  • the number of those planets that would actually go on to develop life at some point
  • the number of those planets that would develop into intelligent life
  • the number of those civilizations that could develop technology we could detect (such as radio signals that go out into space)
  • the length of time such civilizations would exist

Multiply all that together, and you come up with a potential estimate for the number of civilizations in our galaxy that we might be able to communicate with someday. 

Some Christians believe (or perhaps they fear) that if we were to find life on other planets, it would somehow lead to a crisis of faith because it would call into question the creation stories in Genesis.  I do not share this concern.  The creation stories found in Genesis 1:1-2:3 and 2:4-25 both proclaim God as the Creator.  For me, discovering life beyond the bounds of earth would merely mean that God’s creative work extends beyond what we know.  But I believe that already!  Of course God’s creative work extends far beyond what I can possibly imagine or even comprehend!  Finding life on other planets would become for me just one more indication of God’s magnificent, creative power. 

I believe and proclaim that God is the Creator of the universe—the heavens and the earth; the moon, the sun, and all the stars in the sky. 

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established.
Psalm 8:1, 3

by on

What do angels look like?

What do angels look like?

The word most often translated in the Bible as “angel” comes from a Hebrew word meaning “messenger.”  Angels, then, would be ones who are sent to share a message from God.  We definitely see this in the Gospel of Luke when the angel Gabriel is sent to tell Mary about the coming of the Christ child (Luke 1:26).  The Gospel of Matthew tells us that an “angel of the Lord” appears to Joseph in a dream to deliver the same news, but that angel is not named (Matthew 1:20).

Sometimes angels have names.  Gabriel, for example, as we’ve already seen, presented most often simply as a messenger.  Revelation describes another named angel Michael, who is depicted as a warrior (Revelation 12:7).  Other ancient books not included in our Bible name different angels such as Raphael and Uriel.  And many other references to angels do not include names, such as the angels who appear to the women at the empty tomb (Matthew 28:2, Mark 16:5, Luke 24:4). 

In the Bible, angels serve several functions.  Messengers and warriors, of course.  But also as members of a heavenly council/court surrounding the throne of God (1 Kings 22:19-22) or coming down to earth from heaven (Genesis 28:12).  Sometimes angels are described as a heavenly army (Deuteronomy 33:2), an image which carries over into the New Testament as we see in the proclamation to the shepherds at the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:13).  Angels are also considered to be guardians or protectors (Genesis 3:24, Revelation 2-3).

What do these angels look like?

  • Sometimes they are described simply as regular people, such as the three visitors who came to Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 18:2) or the man who wrestled with Jacob at the River Jabbok (Genesis 32:24).  This is what the Book of Hebrews is referring to when it says we may have “entertained angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2). 
  • Often, angels are described as being dazzling and radiant—wearing equally dazzling, radiant clothing.  We see this in the resurrection stories at the end of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.  Matthew describes the angel who comes down to share the news of Jesus’ resurrection with “an appearance like lightning, and clothing white as snow” (Matthew 28:3). 
  • The Book of Daniel in the Old Testament describes an angel whose body “was like beryl gemstone, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, with a voice like the roar of a multitude” (Daniel 10:6).  
  • And then there are the angelic beings called cherubim and seraphim.  Cherubim are pictured as winged creatures, part human and part animal (Ezekiel 10).  Seraphim, likewise, are winged creatures with six wings each and voices like human beings (Isaiah 6:2-3).   

by on

Is there a way I can say goodbye to my loved ones after I die?

Is there a way I can say goodbye to my loved ones after I die – as I fear dying young?

I don’t presume to know exactly what happens when we die, but I have lost friends and family members I loved, and I can speak from those experiences. Even after my loved ones are gone, I sometimes have a strong sense of their presence. I think that what I feel in those moments is their love for me. Viktor Frankl also wrote of having a strong sense that his wife was present with him while he was imprisoned in a Nazi death camp even though he didn’t know whether his wife was still alive.[1]

In Paul’s treatise on love in 1 Corinthians 13, he spoke of spiritual gifts and of end times. He was writing in response to a Corinthian congregation who was arguing about which spiritual gifts were the greatest. Paul wrote, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:12-13, NRSV). Paul’s view was that even though faith and hope are important spiritual gifts, they are no longer needed after we die since we will be face to face with God. Love, however, endures, and that is what makes it the most desirable of the spiritual gifts.

I have offered you my Biblical and theological response, and now I would like to offer you a pastoral response. I suspect that your reason for wanting to tell your loved ones goodbye is to tell them you love them. If that is so, why is it necessary to wait? Tell them today and every chance you have how much they mean to you. You won’t regret it.

[1] Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning (Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2006), 111.

by on

How can I help the dying or sick better?

How can I help the dying or sick better?

            If you can be with the person who is dying or sick, my suggestion is to learn how to listen empathically. That means learning how to listen deeply to what the suffering person is sharing with you simply for the purpose of fully understanding what they are experiencing. It is different from listening with the intent to think of something to say in response. Being heard and understood is often more validating and meaningful for someone who is suffering than just about anything we can say. And you need not be stoic in their presence; if you shed tears with them, it can be very empowering for them if they feel they have been heard.

            I find it helpful to reflect on times when I have suffered. I can’t remember very many things that people said to me in those moments, but I can remember many of the people who showed up. The fact that you are present for someone who is sick and dying probably means more than you know. Finally, if you cannot be present, don’t underestimate the power of a card or a short note to let someone know you are thinking of them.

Photo by Patty Brito on Unsplash

by on

What does scripture say about marriage?

What does scripture and Jesus say about marriage/who can marry? Is marriage between a man and women only or can LGBTQ persons legally marry?

As you are probably aware, the issue of same-sex marriage is a controversial and potentially divisive issue in the church. My personal belief is that the Bible is silent regarding who can and cannot marry. The only time I can recall Jesus speaking about marriage is in Mt 22:30, but his comments are in response to Pharisees who are trying to trap Jesus, and are really more about resurrection than marriage. As is often the case, the context of what Jesus is saying is important.

The second part of your question asks if LGBTQ persons can legally marry. In the United States, the answer to that question is determined by individual states, and within Illinois, same-sex marriage is legal. However, I think you mean to ask what the Bible sanctions. Different people answer that question differently – and very passionately. I am providing links below that present opposing views, and you can find people with each of these views within the membership of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

https://www.hrc.org/resources/what-does-the-bible-say-about-homosexuality

https://calvarychapel.com/posts/marriage-by-design-understanding-the-bibles-perspective-on-homosexuality/

What does the Bible say about homosexuality?

by on

Why in Bible times was the role of pastor always filled by a man?

Why in Bible times was the role of pastor always filled by a man?

            My understanding is that religious leaders were men rather than women because all of society was androcentric, or male focused. That fact was true not only for the people of Israel, but for the people throughout Mesopotamia. It may not be surprising to find that as Judaism and Christianity evolved in such an environment, they became androcentric, or patriarchal in nature as well. It simply reflected the water they were swimming in and the air they were breathing. And the fact that women had so few rights helps explain the concern the prophets and Jesus held for widows; they were among the poor and dispossessed without the men on whom society had made them dependent.

            During the time of the Old Testament, only men who were descended from the tribe of Levi, the tribe of Moses and Aaron could be priests, and they had to be the first-born males in their families. Simply being male did not qualify a man to be a priest. Only specific males could be priests.

            The situation changed for early Christians after the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Initially after the death and resurrection of Jesus, his followers thought of themselves as Jews and not as creators of a new religion. Worship was conducted in the homes of believers, and neither the roles such as deacons and bishops, nor the hierarchy that exists in the church today existed at first. Some prominent women participated in worship, but it doesn’t appear that they led worship as the church was evolving.

            Disciples of Christ today are among the denominations who affirm the gifts that women have for ministry. Eureka Christian Church is blessed with such women, and our Regional Minister and our General Minister and President are capable and extraordinary women who faithfully serve us well.

by on

Why did God send Satan to test Job?

Why did God send Satan to test Job even though he was already following God’s desires?

While the Book of Job can be interpreted in several ways, it is probably best understood as a narrative (not literal) exploration of the age-old question:  why is there suffering?  Or, more personally: “Why am I suffering?  After all, I’ve tried to do the right thing most of the time.  Oh sure, I’ve messed up a time or two, but overall, I’ve tried to live a Godly life.  So why has this tragedy happened to me?  Is God punishing me?”  Many of us could put ourselves in Job’s shoes.  It is a timeless, universal tale addressing a timeless, universal struggle.

A quick recap in case Job (pronounced with a long o) is unfamiliar to you.  When we meet Job, he is very well off.  He has “seven sons and three daughters, seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and very many servants” (Job 1:2-3).  We also learn that Job is faithful—“blameless and upright” is the way he’s introduced.  But then the scene shifts to the heavenly court.  Ha-Satan (literally, “The Accuser”—think prosecuting attorney, not red pointy-tailed creature) points out that Job is so faithful precisely because God has given him everything.  “Take away Job’s blessings,” Ha-Satan argues, “and then he will curse you, God.”  So God gives permission.  In one tragic day, Job’s oxen, donkeys, and camels are stolen, his sheep are burned up, his servants are murdered, and his children are all killed.  But still Job does not curse God.  So Ha-Satan asks for and receives permission to harm Job himself.  Soon Job’s entire body is covered with sores, and we find him sitting on an ash heap scratching his sores with a pottery shard.  That’s a pretty miserable scene.  Job’s wife bluntly says, “Oh, just curse God and die.” 

All of this happens in the first two chapters.  But the Book of Job is long—forty-two chapters in all.  So what’s the rest of the book about?  Well, the rest of the book (apart from the last eleven verses when Job’s fortunes are restored) is about the struggle to understand in the midst of the pain.

The structure of Job is what I like to call a “sandwich.”  The beginning and the end are a prose folktale, most likely much older than the rest of the book.  In between—the middle of the “sandwich”—is a long poem that explores this question of suffering.  The familiar folktale at the beginning and end proclaims a simple lesson, too-simple really:  “If you are patient in spite of your sufferings, it will all pay off in the end.”  But the middle of Job, by far the bulk of the book, proclaims something else: “When you are suffering, when you are in pain, when you are going through the absolute worst time in your life, you will question everything.  You will question your faith.  You will question all that you have ever learned or known about life.  You will even question God.  And that’s OK because God is big enough to take it.” In adapting an old folktale for his own narrative and theological purposes, the author of the Book of Job accepts the framework that God is testing Job, but that isn’t his focus.  The question our author really wants to wrestle with is this:  How do we continue to relate to God when we feel like we have been abandoned?  And the answer is:  we just keep at it.  We argue.  We complain.  We whine.  We shout.  We question.  We pray.  In the end, what matters is that we stay in there and keep wrestling because it is the conversation with God that is key.  It is the relationship with God that ultimately will lead us back to wholeness and life.