(In The Life Of The Church)
Ordinary Time
Politics?
"My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place."
John 18:36
Jesus said that. He also prayed for God's kingdom to come. I get confused.
This past week was marked by another American political election. I've been eligible for 15 of these now.
My friend Ben posted this picture as a gentle reminder of why that's important.
There are plenty of stories from human history that have tyranny and oppression as their villain. I get it. Voting is a privilege and I'm grateful for all the people who have died to make that possible. I think it's important to vote.
And yet I confess I have become extremely apathetic to voting.
Not because a divided government will get nothing done.
And not even because 90% of Texas's political race outcomes were predictable six months ago.
I get worn down by seeing Christians using political platforms as moral barometers.
I think there was a time when I was naive enough to believe that politics didn't matter. I'm past that now. They do matter and some moral solutions that are good for humanity can be achieved best by political action.
I bet if I said that no one candidate or political platform completely represented the Kingdom of God few people would object. Those kinds of generalizations are safe statements to make. Most of us could find at least one thing we disagree with our favorite politician about. But to my astonishment this never keeps people from tagging Jesus to their political presuppositions.
I read a discussion thread this week about an issue that is extremely decisive. One of the participants had been deeply wounded by a topic and consequently spoke with passion. That experience elicited my empathy. I have not suffered nor been effected like this person has. Part of their passion filled speech included a statement that "Jesus would ..." I can think of few things more blasphemous. This, to me, is the quintessential meaning of taking God's name in vain.
This brings me to my main point. In a recent sermon I defined idolatry as anything in our life that we try and get the kind of life form that only God can give. To me this is the biggest problem with Christians and their politics. It's where we tend to get our life from and perhaps the bigger indictment is this ... this is where our hope lies. In this way Christians look no different than the world.
When I read Christian commentary on politics, I feel like the author of Ecclesiastes. Cynical. Like nothing new under the sun will be said. That being acknowledged I did like retweet one thing on twitter that I appreciated. Shane Claiborne posted this:
Perhaps the initial tension I raised in Jesus' words can be resolved this way. Jesus' kingdom is not of the world. Not of this style. Not of the this imagination. But it is coming to earth as it is in heaven. And it is coming through his church who conquers through the blood of the Lamb.
Important Update from Emily!!!!
Hello, UBC! I want to convey my appreciation for the kind words and encouragement that Jeremy and I have received since announcing our departure! We have never felt so loved by our UBC family! But, even though we took all precautions to insure that we did not make our move public until we were TOTALLY sure that it was an inevitability, it seems that life thrown us another curveball. I am excited to announce that the circumstances surrounding our move to Mississippi have changed and our family will be able to stay in Waco for the foreseeable future! We sincerely apologize for the back and forth of all of this. We deeply value UBC, the community and the roles in which we have served during our time here, and we would never want to appear flippant about these things that we cherish so much. To those of you in our community who felt called to step into my role as Children's Pastor, I am incredibly grateful for your willingness to serve the children and families of UBC. It is awesome to know that we have so many in our community who share my passion for our sweet kids! So with our sincerest apologies, deepest appreciation and trust in God's plan for our family and for UBC, we look forward to our future here in the community that we love so much!
Sincerely~
Emily
Made In Waco
It's the final countdown! Please join us for Made In Waco on November 15th from 10:00-3:00 at UBC! We are SO excited about our vendors this year and we hope that you will ALL join us to celebrate our local artisans! Not only that, but I have some GOOD NEWS! We have ways that the less-crafty-UBCers can help make this event a success!
- Visit the Made In Waco event page via UBC's Facebook page and LIKE the HECK out of it! TWEET it! POST it! INSTAGRAM it! RETWEET it! Make it such a social media sensation that Lebron James and Taylor Swift feel like they are no longer cool because they are only hearing about it now! BLOW IT UP! (Disclaimer: UBC does not endorse the use of any actual incendiary devices for the purpose of promotingMade In Waco on November 15th from 10:00-3:00 at UBC!)
- ATTENTION PEOPLE WHO CAN MAKE CHANGE OR MAKE TREATS! Be on the look out Sunday for sign-ups for our concession stand! We will have three two-hour shifts and we would LOVE to have YOU behind the counter! If you can't make it to Made In Waco on November 15th from 10:00-3:00at UBC, I'm sad for you, but don't worry! We need YOU to bring homemade individually wrapped baked goods to sell to our guests! These can be dropped off any time before next Saturday so get your ovens preheated and strap your aprons on! This is our chance to show the WORLD that the UBC Community is a hotbed of Culinary Genius!
- Check out the big table in the foyer on Sunday for Made In Waco cards! You can take them with you and distribute them to your pals, community boards and all of your local hang-outs so that EVERYONE will want to come toMade in Waco November 15th from 10:00-3:00 at UBC!
- And, of course, COME to MadeIn Waco on November 15th from 10:00-3:00 at UBC!
nUBC’ers Cookout
If you are new to UBC in the last year, we would love for you join us for a cookout at Jeff and Teri Walter’s on Friday November 21, 2014, at 6pm. We will provide the food and drinks, and we would just love for you to be there. This will be a time to get to know some other UBC’ers who have been around for a while, and meet some of the other new folk. If you are thinking of joining us, please sign-up in the foyer at UBC on November 9th or November 16th. If you have any questions, or want to sign-up through email, please contact toph@ubcwaco.org.
Meet Our Newest Finance Team Member
Hannah Kuhl
Vocation: (could be your job or something you love doing/believe you were made for): Social Worker for Waco ISD
favorite movie: Elizabethtown or any other Cameron Crowe film
best restaurant in Waco: Claypot - Pineapple Fried Rice
Bible verse/chapter/book that has been meaningful for you: James
best television show: Gilmore Girls #teamjess or Parenthood also known as Gilmore Girls 2.0
favorite holiday: I can't help it - the magical season of Christmas
something you might not know about me: one of my favorite places is the Automatic Car Wash. I break into involuntary fits of high pitched laughter. It's like being in a washing machine!!! I also like the smell of skunk, so there's that.
Work is Worship 11-9-14
Mug Cleaners: Sara & Vince
Coffee Makers: Chad & Joel
Greeters: Ryan & Joel
Shutdown Team: Cavemen
Announcements:
- Sermon Text: 1 Kings 18 . Please be in prayer for and ready to celebrate our guest preacher David Wilhite.
- nUBCers at Walter's on Friday, November 21st at 6:00 PM. More information to come.
- Advent Workshop will be 30th after church. More info to come.
- Thanksgiving Love Feast!!!! At UBC on Sunday November 23rd at 6:00 PM
Do you have an Emergency? Do you Need to talk to a Pastor?:
254 366 9779
Leadership Team
If you have a concern or an idea for UBC that you’d like to share with someone that is not on staff, feel free to contact one of our leadership team members.
Chair: Teri Walter: terijan@gmail.com
Jana Parker jparkerslp@gmail.com
Kristin Dodson: kschwebke@prodigy.net
Kaley Eggers: kaley.eggers@gmail.com
David Wilhite: david_wilhite@baylor.edu
Jamie McGregor: jameson.mcgregor@gmail.com
Byron Roldan: Byron_Roldan@baylor.edu
UBC Finance Team
Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.
Tom Haines: thomas_haines@baylor.edu
Paul Taft: ptaft@extracobanks.com
Josh McCormick: Josh.McCormick@dwyergroup.com
Chris Kim: chris_kim@alumni.baylor.edu
Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com
UBC HR Team
If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.
Maxcey Blaylock: maxceykite@gmail.com
Mathew Crawford: mathewcrawford@yahoo.com
Callie Schrank: Callie_Schrank@baylor.edu
Jeff Walter: jeff_walter@baylor.edu
Michael Heins: mheins@hot.rr.com