Bethany West Seattle's blog

What it looks like to orbit the Earth.

Sat, 02 Feb 2013 07:49:33 -0800

What it looks like to orbit the Earth.

Pastor Shonnie’s reflections on Sandy Hook.

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 07:00:56 -0800

There is an overwhelming array of news, blogposts, videos, and editorials to digest on the Sandy Hook Elementary school tragedy, so why should I add to it? Especially since the point I’m about to make is this: limit your exposure to all this media.

I’m adding to it only to share the balm God’s given to me…right in the midst of my own personally traumatic week….hoping it might be of some pastoral comfort to you as well.

Along with the shock, repulsion and grief this event provokes in all of us, it’s also normal to feel a certain amount of survivor’s guilt. We wonder if there’s a “proper” way to share in the communal grief surrounding us. How should this impact our Christmas mood? For me last week, being broadsided by my mom’s sudden hospitalization for very serious pneumonia, I flat out had to put a box around how much I could process. How much can we take—and how should we respond—if we’re already carrying the world on our shoulders?

Romans 12:15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. “ For sure, we’re to deeply empathize and share in the grief over the horrific, incomprehensible loss of these innocent children and adults. Jesus weeps with those who weep, and we’re to carry on his ministry as the Body of Christ. Yet, we should check ourselves if we find ourselves gawking. (Gawking is akin to stalking). There’s a flood of media available to us, but once we’re informed, going back for more and more, or re-exposing ourselves to the same information, is a sign we’ve unwittingly crossed over the line into morbid fascination (an excessive interest in death or unpleasant events). This is unhealthy, un-Jesus-like, and it’s not going to do us, or others, any good.
Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” This is not Pollyannaish, nor is it disrespectful. The apostle Paul, who exhorts us here, personally experienced more trauma to mentally and emotionally replay than we ever will. Yet he carefully chose what to THINK ABOUT. THINK ABOUT THESE (true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy) THINGS. The amount of pain, suffering, and evil in this world will quickly overwhelm your mental and emotional tank if you choose to gawk.
1 Peter 3:8-9 “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” The way to honor the dead, “repay evil,” and honor Jesus in this season, is to be sympathetic, compassionate and loving toward the people right around you. Actively “be a blessing” to the people in your family, at work, and in your neighborhood. Manage your thinking well (where you’re “spending” your mental and emotional attention), and you will represent Jesus well. You’ll be a comforting light of hope, in a world that desperately needs Jesus to show up this Christmas!

Our campus pastor, Shonnie Scott, is just getting into blogging. Shonnie is a wife and mother, who has trustingly followed Jesus’ into countless wild and crazy adventures—in ministry and life! She never looks back…

"Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack in..."

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 14:52:31 -0800

“Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.”

- Leonard Cohen

Audio

Sun, 09 Dec 2012 07:00:52 -0800

the waiting game.

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 07:00:54 -0800

have you ever waited for anything? i’m not talking about that 10 minute doctor’s appointment you waited an hour for in the waiting room. i mean real waiting. the kind that costs you wrinkles and springs forth grey hair. why it’s referred to as a game, i don’t know. it isn’t fun, and there are no cool pieces to move around or sound effects if you hit the dinger thingy.

we had very little trouble having children. some may disagree, as it took a little time with our first, but i happen to know this because of the sheer numbers of God-fearing, incredible women God has surrounded me with who cannot (yet) have biological children. despite the best western, eastern and wherever-else-ern medicine has to offer, it isn’t happening. (yet.)

i was texting with one of those friends tonight. i actually planned on writing about something else in this week’s newsletter, but i can’t get my head away from my conversation with her so i’m giving in and realizing God may actually have changed the plan on me. (He does that, you know.)

this week’s message refers to Luke 1, where the angel Gabriel tells John the Baptist’s (future) father Zechariah that his wife Elizabeth would become pregnant with him. this couple had tried to get pregnant but were unable. and when Zechariah heard the news, he freaked out and told Gabriel he wanted proof. really not a good idea. because Gabriel became a little perturbed and took away Zechariah’s ability to speak.

but when God decides to do something, He does it. we can try and get in His way, we can jockey this way and zig-zag that way, but regardless of doubting daddies, aging bodies, and completely freaked out parents-to- be, God’s will will be done.

so if you’re waiting for something, know that God knows. He knows. He knows your struggles. He knows your doubts. He knows your frustrations. and regardless of all of this, He has an answer. you may just not be quite ready to receive it. (yet.)

so pray, ask your friends to pray, and pray some more. because the same God that knows also loves.

Amanda Lenke is the Children’s Ministry Director at BCCWS. She’s got two spunky kids, a loving husband and makes lists of lists. Email her if you’d like to receive the Children’s Ministry newsletter.

"It’s all about desire."

Sun, 02 Dec 2012 22:05:13 -0800

“It’s all about desire.”

- Today Pastor Joe preached about waiting in anticipation. About being aware of our wants and surrendering them to God in this season of Advent. Here’s another reflection on desire in the time of waiting for Emmanuel, to read alongside your Advent devotional if you wish.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-james-martin-sj/advent-is-about-desire_b_2213677.html

Want more? Visit our blog again throughout the Advent season for more reflections, thoughts, and other creative ways to prepare the way for the coming Messiah.

“God is all about giving away God.”

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 15:12:00 -0800

“God is all about giving away God.”

A visual perspective of each nation’s GDP - the fatter the...

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 08:00:29 -0800

A visual perspective of each nation’s GDP - the fatter the country, the richer.

Map image: © Copyright SASI Group (University of Sheffield) and Mark Newman (University of Michigan)

Are there any small/community groups I can join in West Seattle?

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 10:44:01 -0700

The new sermon series fleshing out what this “local, relational, contextual” stuff is all about is very timely as it’s intersected with another question I hear floating around Bethany West Seattle with great frequency, “Are there any small/community groups I can join in West Seattle?”

As someone who is a problem solver and who has taught a Bible study numerous times in West Seattle, my first reaction was to gear up and offer the Bible study again this term. Thankfully, this line of thinking was intersected with a conversation with Josh and Bob who have felt called to lead a group, too. The fruit of that discussion was a concept for leading a community group this fall that would not only facilitate relationships (as all groups do,) but that would also equip and encourage others to lead community/small groups, too!

So, if you’ve found yourself asking when there will be more groups offered in West Seattle (or more variety,) perhaps that’s the Holy Spirit nudging you to consider leading a group! Even if you’re not sure whether that’s the case, we’d love to have you join us every other Thursday this fall (beginning September 27^th) to learn more about leading a group for Bethany West Seattle (and to meet some other awesome folks in the process!) The group is aptly titled, “Basics for Leading Groups and Bible Studies at Bethany,” and we hope to see you there! More details can be found by selecting the group from this list.

Contact me (Kristi Nelson) by e-mail if you’d like to sign up or if you just have questions about the group.

Did you get a chance to read Marissa's blog post about how our first communion with the kids went? (click here)

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 11:54:00 -0700

Did you get a chance to read Marissa's blog post about how our first communion with the kids went? (click here)

BCCWS children and the Lord’s table.

Thu, 10 May 2012 20:31:05 -0700

This coming Sunday, BCCWS children will be at worship with us during communion. We anticipate this will be a new experience for several children (and their parents!) but we’re excited to come to the Lord’s table as an intergenerational community, and we’re confident it will prompt wonderful curiosity and spiritual conversations amongst our body.

Bethany Community Church is a bit of a melting pot in terms of attenders’ past church experiences and traditions. And we like it that way! But in recognizing that, we’d like to provide a little background on how Bethany views children and the Lord’s Table.

Bethany Community Church West Seattle is a nondenominational church community guided by the attitude “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” We do not offer a “confirmation” or “first communion” class for children. Instead, we leave it to parents to determine when their children are ready to receive Christ’s profound, transforming gift of the bread and cup at the Lord’s table. We strongly encourage parents to seek God, search the scriptures, and trust their own sense of their child’s faith in Jesus, as simple as that faith may be. Take time to talk about communion with your children before Sunday (find some great tips here). If you are unsure if your child is ready to take communion and would like help with this decision, contact Pastor Shonnie (shonnies@churchbcc.org).

Finally, we encourage all our worshiping community to exemplify Jesus’ attitude toward children: “Let the little children come to me…for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Mark 10:14

Psalm 122

Sat, 05 May 2012 16:02:04 -0700

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem—built as a city that is bound firmly together. To it the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord. For there the thrones for judgment were set up, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, and security within your towers.” For the sake of my relatives and friends I will say, “Peace be within you.” For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.

Picasso - Long Live Peace

Sat, 05 May 2012 12:00:24 -0700

Picasso - Long Live Peace

Photo

Sat, 05 May 2012 12:00:19 -0700

Here’s a video with one of the speakers we heard at the...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:36:40 -0700

Here’s a video with one of the speakers we heard at the conference, Michael Frost. He’s a pretty well-known current missiologist. What do you think?

The BCCWS staff is headed to the 2012 Inhabit Conference this...

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 23:17:35 -0700

The BCCWS staff is headed to the 2012 Inhabit Conference this weekend. Check it out at www.inhabitconference.com

Easter Sunday Romans 8.34-39 Who then can condemn? No one....

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 06:23:06 -0700

Easter Sunday

Romans 8.34-39

Who then can condemn? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Good Friday Psalm 22 1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken...

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 22:40:00 -0700

Good Friday

Psalm 22

¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
   Why are you so far from saving me,
   so far from the words of my groaning?
² My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
   by night, but I find no rest.

³ Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
   you are the praise of Israel.
⁴ In you our ancestors put their trust;
   they trusted and you delivered them.
⁵ They cried to you and were saved;
   in you they trusted and were not disappointed.

⁶ But I am a worm, not a human being;
   I am scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
⁷ All who see me mock me;
   they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
⁸ “He trusts in the LORD,” they say,
   “let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
   since he delights in him.”

⁹ Yet you brought me out of the womb;
   you made me feel secure on my mother’s breast.
¹⁰ From birth I was cast on you;
   from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
¹¹ Do not be far from me,
   for trouble is near
   and there is no one to help.

¹² Many bulls surround me;
   strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
¹³ Roaring lions that tear their prey
   open their mouths wide against me.
¹⁴ I am poured out like water,
   and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
   it has melted within me.
¹⁵ My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
   and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
   you lay me in the dust of death.
¹⁶ Dogs surround me,
   a pack of villains encircles me;
   they pierce my hands and my feet.
¹⁷ All my bones are on display;
   people stare and gloat over me.
¹⁸ They divide my clothes among them
   and cast lots for my garment.

¹⁹ But you, LORD, do not be far from me.
   You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
²⁰ Deliver me from the sword,
   my precious life from the power of the dogs.
²¹ Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
   save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

²² I will declare your name to my people;
   in the assembly I will praise you.
²³ You who fear the LORD, praise him!
   All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him,
   all you descendants of Israel!
²⁴ For he has not despised or scorned
   the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
   but has listened to his cry for help.

²⁵ From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
   before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.
²⁶ The poor will eat and be satisfied;
   those who seek the LORD will praise him—
   may your hearts live forever!
²⁷ All the ends of the earth
   will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
   will bow down before him,
²⁸ for dominion belongs to the LORD
   and he rules over the nations.

²⁹ All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
   all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
   those who cannot keep themselves alive.
³⁰ Posterity will serve him;
   future generations will be told about the Lord.
³¹ They will proclaim his righteousness,
   declaring to a people yet unborn:
   He has done it!

ASBO Jesus - 788. This probably happens.

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 09:42:18 -0700

ASBO Jesus - 788. This probably happens.

Brooke's reflection.

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:54:00 -0700

Lately I’ve been thinking about what it really means for Christ to be “enough”.

As a broken person, I’ve always had this notion that my faith was something like superglue or spackling paste, something to piece my soul back together and fill the holes that have patiently been eroded away after years of living out a sinful life in a sinful world.

But recently I came to a new realization, a new metaphor. My faith is not a chore on some list of rainy-day DIYs, nor is Christ meant to fill the empty spaces left for Him as an afterthought.

He is meant to CONSUME us. To reside in every part of our mind and body and soul. When we talk about Christ being “enough,” the real problem (at least for me) is not in making an effort to live out our lives with Him (John 15:4, “Abide in me, and I in you,” is a verse that comes to my mind) but to somehow find a way to disregard everything else that distracts us from Him.

Sometimes I feel guilty for how strongly my heart reacts to the view outside my window, or to a particular song, or to the face of someone I care for. And all the while I forget that Christ is greater than all these things. He is meant to be our single source of refuge, strength, hope, and love. So why then is it so much easier to try and find that in the flesh and blood of another broken person, or some kind of creature comfort?

Logically, it makes no sense.

——————————————————————————————————————————————

As I struggle with this new realization, I am reassured by the idea that each day presents me with a new opportunity to put Christ first in my life, to accept all that He wants to give me, and to turn myself away from the distractions of the world.

I just need to allow Christ to be enough, and hope from there.

Simple enough, right?…

Brooke Snyder is a Visual Communications student at Seattle Pacific University, brings quite some artistic talent to Bethany WS, and happens to have her own tumblr.