The Bridge 2013

Maybe you're like me and you grew up in a faith tradition that emphasized something called "confirmation."  Around here, "The Bridge" is the name we've given to our class that seeks to help teenagers connect their faith in Christ with the mission of God.  Last year, almost 20 high school and middle school students completed a thorough and challenging study of the basics of the Christian faith, what it means to be on-mission, and how each of us is gifted to serve God in the world.  We looked at all kinds of subjects related to faith - the Bible, authority, decision-making, mentoring, and ethics, to name a few.

This year, we're hoping to gather a new group of teenagers, adult mentors, and families for The Bridge 2013.    The class format will be different this year, taking fewer weeks for study and also including a retreat in Crested Butte.  Tentative dates for The Bridge are late February through the first Sunday in May.  If you or someone you know might be interested in being part of the class or one of our courageous adult mentors, please contact me.

Blessings,

Travis Fletcher

tfletcher@firstpresgj.org

My Favorite Ballplayer

I grew up going to one or two Astros games a year.  My parents' home in the suburbs of Houston was a bit of a drive from the Astrodome.  Actually, it wasn't the drive that deterred our family from going to games.  It was the Dome itself.  When it was built in the 1960s, it was heralded as a modern architectural marvel, the world's largest air-conditioned space.  By the time I was going to ballgames as a kid in the 1980s and 90s, it was a dump.  Players hated games at the Dome, hated losing fly balls in the off-white colored skylights, hated the Astroturf and how it hurt their bodies, and fans hated the cavernous spaces where home runs went to die.

Craig Biggio played his entire major-league career as a Houston Astro.  Despite the shortcomings of the Dome, he played every game with passion and intensity unrivaled in the major leagues.  He wasn't afraid to get hit by a pitch (actually, he set the modern record for being hit by a pitch during his career - 285 times) or dive for a ground ball.  He played catcher, second base, and center field - all with energy and enthusiasm that set the stage for the rest of his teammates in Houston.  Biggio once told his manager that "the veterans have to show [new guys] that you have to play [hard]...If someone dogs it here, then they're not here for very long."

(see the quote in context and the rest of the article at this excellent post from ESPN.com:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/hof13/story/_/id/8809931/craig-biggio-belongs-cooperstown)

Hopefully, Craig Biggio will be elected to the baseball Hall of Fame this year.  He's retired now and is a coach for his son's high school football team in Houston, sharing his intensity and enthusiasm with a new generation of athletes.

What about us?  Although a baseball team's culture is much more competitive and potentially-cutthroat than life in the church, are we not also called to the kind of passion and devotion Biggio showed during his career?  The gospel of Christ, the mission of God, the fellowship of all believers - these are the things that should get us excited for the mission and ministry ahead of us.

So here's a practical challenge for those of you who may feel like Biggio in his attempts to share his passion with younger players: have you talked to a younger believer about stewardship?  Have you shared your passion for your area of ministry with someone who hasn't yet found what God has made them to do?  How can we, as a whole church, better involve everyone who walks through our doors in our mission: to follow Christ and share his Word?

May God bless us as we work on this together.

Shalom,

Travis

(Craig Biggio photograph (C) Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Grief, Joy, and Community

Earlier today, we hosted a memorial service here at FPC for a fisherman named Kurt, beloved husband of one of our elders.  He passed away suddenly this past weekend, the service was filled to the brim by families, friends, and of course – fishermen (and women!).  One of the things we shared during the service was how God gives us joy to further reveal his glory in our lives.  For people like Kurt, fishing brought about joy like nothing else.

What brings you joy?  What will your friends and family celebrate about your life when the day comes to say goodbye?  Although many folks have been to funerals that are devoid of joy, at this church (and especially in the terrific way Tom leads these important events), we focus on the joy Jesus offers to those who have followed him and given their lives to him.  We can offer this joy to our world, and it can be a powerful witnesses to the gospel.  

This joy is amplified in Christian community.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a wonderful little book called Life Together, and the following quote helps frame the importance of Christian community, not just in times of mourning or joy, but in the daily rhythms of our lives:

Christianity means community through Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ.  No Christian community is more or less than this.  Whether it be a brief, single encounter or the daily fellowship of years, Christian community is only this.  We belong to one another through and in Jesus Christ.

Think about that last line for a moment.  How amazing is it to belong deeply to each other in a way that only Christ provides?  Who in your life could be moving toward belonging to Christ?  Bonhoeffer continues: 

What does this mean?  It means, first, that a Christian needs others because of Jesus Christ.  It means, second, that a Christian comes to others only through Jesus Christ.  It means, third, that in Jesus Christ we have been chosen from eternity, accepted in time, and united for eternity (p. 21).

That last phrase – “united for eternity” – is what we get to celebrate at memorial services.  We can celebrate this truth as well in our daily lives and offer this message to our hurting world, and to each other.