Bonfire

“His [God’s] intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 3: 10, NIV).

January 2010

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul is talking about how the Gentiles are united with Jewish believers through God’s grace. “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 3: 6). This is a remarkable concept for both Gentiles and Jews. They are completely different in almost every way. They eat, dress, value, stumble over, and enjoy almost none of the same things. Up to this point, they probably never even wanted to be united! But there is one thing, one very precious thing, that both groups desire; and that one thing, Jesus, brings them together. Jesus doesn’t necessarily remove their differences, but he does get beyond them, making the whole body stronger in its diversity. Through this unlikely union, a witness to the power of Christ is made not only on earth but to the spiritual powers as well.

The Bonfire churches perhaps are not as different from one another as Jews are from Gentiles, but we are each distinct with our own traditions and passions. Perhaps it is not so unlikely that we could all be friends. But the idea that distinct churches can cooperate as fully as we have and hope to in the future is an act of God and a witness to the power of Christ! When we find ways to get beyond our own self-interests and share our resources with one another, we testify that the Power who unites us is stronger than anything that would divide us. And we witness not just to our fellow earthlings but to the spiritual powers as well.

It’s a message the world is longing to hear; a message of building up when most things are falling apart. It’s a message that energizes our middle schoolers who look forward to monthly multi-church events. It’s a message that brings our men together. It’s a message that blesses us at a Thanksgiving worship service that made us all feel less lonely. It’s the message that Christ has come into this world to make all things new.

We are playing with fire. We are drawing attention to ourselves. People wonder how we do it and why we’d even want to. Other forces are wondering how to stop us. We are growing bigger, hotter, and pointing to Christ with more energy than we could ever generate alone. Our Bonfire is dazzling in its potential. May the heat of God continue to push us out of our “kitchens” and into the world around us. May the One who united us continue to connect us in ever-widening circles of promise and hope.

Sharing together in the promise of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jill Bergman
St. James Lutheran Church

Representatives from the three congregations (House of Hope, St. James, and FLCC) will be participating in three Saturday planning conferences on transformational ministries. The dates are Saturday, January 16 at St. James, Saturday, January 23 at House of Hope, and Saturday, January 30 at FLCC.

Parish Nurse and Health Committee
As part of our Bonfire collaborative (First Lutheran, St. James and House of Hope Lutheran churches) a committee has been formed to pursue a shared part-time volunteer Parish nurse position. We are seeking nurses to prayerfully consider this role. Visit www.elcapna.org for details. A training course will be provided, and we hope to gather financial support to eventually fund this position. Nurses and committee members from each congregation are also needed to join this committee.