March 2023
By Pastor Phil
Lead Pastor
As we embark on our Lenten journey this year, we have about 100 people signed up to participate in our Lent study Live Justly! My prayer is that this would challenge us to learn how to pursue justice for the poor and the marginalized in our everyday lives. As we engage these challenging and convicting conversations we are attending to the call in Isaiah 58, which was read at our Ash Wednesday service:
”Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
It turns out that Lent involves more than just giving up Pepsi or chocolate for forty days!
As your pastor, I sometimes struggle to find the balance between the pastoral and the prophetic voice. My personality causes me to lean toward the pastoral voice - I love preaching sermons that comfort, encourage, and support people in hardship. Yet, preaching is also meant to be prophetic. By prophetic I do not mean future telling but truth telling. Prophetic preaching is meant to challenge, convict, and disrupt our lives by calling us to face what is not right in our lives and in the world.
Sometimes we have to hear hard things. I’m reading the book of Micah in correlation with our Lenten study. In chapter 2, Micah exposes the false prophets who tell him that he shouldn’t preach about injustice. Micah 2:6 reads, “Do not prophesy,” their prophets say. “Do not prophesy about these things; disgrace will not overtake us.” Micah is being told to take a kinder tone and ease off on convicting sermons. Micah responds, “If a liar and deceiver comes and says, ‘I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,’ he would be just the prophet for this people!” Micah 2:11. The people would rather hear a health and wealth message that promises abundance instead of listening to a preacher who talks about issues of injustice.
As we confront these hard topics of justice, discernment is needed. We need to discern between the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the false accusation of the evil one. The evil one in scripture is called “the accuser” after all. In 2 Corinthians 7 Paul suggests that there is a difference between a godly and worldly sorrow for our sinfulness. He writes: "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 11 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.”
The Holy Spirit does sometimes allow us to feel weight or sorrow over our sin. When Peter preaches a message or repentance in Acts 2 it says that people were “cut to the heart.” It can be unsettling and uncomfortable to confront our complicity in injustice and our brokenness as human beings. Notice, though, that the fruit of the conviction of the Holy Spirit is repentance, the absence of enduring regret, and salvation. The worldly, or false guilt, has the opposite effect. One writer has likened the conviction of the Holy Spirit to the feeling of touching a hot stove. It hurts, but it actually protects us from getting burned. It leads us to turn away from the things that are destructive.
In the end, the prophetic and the pastoral voice actually support each other. A mentor of mine once said that there is an important difference between a prophet and a critic. The prophet loves the people, and the critic just likes to cut people down. Ultimately, it is loving (though uncomfortable) to hear what needs to change in our life. I would not want a mechanic to withhold information about what is broken in my car because they did not want me to feel bad about how much I needed to spend. I would not want a doctor to withhold a difficult diagnosis because they did not want to hurt my feelings. Facing the truth of what is broken is a vital first step toward healing and growth.
This Lent, I hope that we do feel a bit uncomfortable and disoriented as we explore the scriptural call to do justice. In the midst of these vital conversations, let us also learn to discern between the conviction of the spirit which leads to repentance and life, and the accusation of the evil one which overwhelmed us with regret.
God Bless,
Pastor Phil
This past month at BCC we focused on our partnership with the Covenant Kids Congo and World Vision. The Covenant has been involved in holistic outreach to the Congo for numerous years. BCC has been involved for the past 10 years through child sponsorship and hosting our annual 6k run for clean water. We had 27 new sponsorship commitments at BCC during our Chosen sponsorship Sunday on February 12. These new sponsorships will provide an additional 12,600 dollars a year of funding for vital outreach programs to this vulnerable community. Thank you for your generosity! A unique aspect of this sponsorship experience is that the children in the Congo had the chance to choose their sponsor instead of the sponsor choosing the child. Check out some of the photos below of the Chosen celebration event that took place in the Congo a couple weeks ago!
By Jim Bruns
Hey Everybody! Spring is just around the corner and we are starting up the Gardner’s Corner, located in the foyer by the office. As you start working your soil, you might find that you have extra plants and bulbs, or when you start buying starts for your vegetable garden and you only want four cabbages and the pack has six in it, bring them to the Gardners Corner and share! As your garden starts producing you are welcome to bring any surplus to the Gardners Corner to share with others. For information call Jim Bruns at 360-393-1403.
During COVID, our church began to find new ways to build community and stay connected, these short video segments were one way to do that! Even though things are back to “normal”, we still find value in sharing our lives together. This month, we are lucky enough to get to know Graham better!
Prime Timers
Thursday, March 2
12:30 pm
Meets in the Dining Room
*Prime Timers is a ministry for those who are 60(ish) and above
Vespers
Sunday, March 5
6:00 pm
Meets in the Sanctuary
*Vespers is a contemplative worship and prayer service
Second Cup of Coffee
Saturday, March 11
10:00 am
Meets in the Café
*Second Cup Of Coffee is relational ministry for the women of BCC
Holy Week Events
Sunday, April 2 - Sunday, April 9
Various Times, Various Locations
Click HERE for a complete schedule