Come thou Fount

At the end of Brian's flight training, we were able to go to KC to celebrate Easter and do some baptizing of little Piper!

To get a little theological here, Brian and I always wanted to baptize our baby even though the dispute of baptizing an infant runs controversial in christian circles and even within our own extended family. Here is where I gather the differences in baptism interpretations lie... you can either believe that:

1) baptism is the profession of faith and the mark of the Holy Spirit - so if you aren't old enough to profess it, don't get baptized
2) baptism means that one is receiving the mark of the Holy Spirit and that even if you don't really "get" what's happening while you're young, you have a better chance of becoming a follower of Christ because the Spirit is living within you
Or
3) you get baptized because Jesus said so

The last two interpretations are why Brian and I ultimately decided to baptize our baby. In addition, let's just say that maybe the Spirit doesn't literally "enter in" during baptism - yet, that doesn't dispute the fact that the chances are still very high that a baptized baby will become a believer because the parents are making a profession of faith by stepping forward for the baptism. In a way, it's like marriage. We stand before a group of believers who will hold us accountable in growing in a Christ-like manner. Plus, Pastor Jeff summed it up well at the baptism gathering, "Jesus said to teach and to baptize; in what order specifically, he doesn't say..."

So, Piper was baptized on April 24th which happened to fall on Easter Sunday. (26 years and 3 days after I was baptized!) After all the morning services, an intimate group of family and friends gathered around the baptismal fount and we sang, "Come thou Fount" and then sprinkled some water on Pipers dear little noggin. It was so quiet and reverent that if you thought about it too much...the fact that a group of believers were huddled around a young life hoping and praying that she knows that there's ONE greater than all of us....you could become overwhelmed with emotion.

And speaking of emotion, despite having lost her sister to cancer the night before, my Aunt Linda (wife of my Godfather - who stood next to me when I was originally baptized) made it to the gathering. It all felt so raw that she was dealing with a life loss mixed with the observation of Piper's fresh little life beginning. God is so BIG like that; you can be going along in life and then SMACK - He'll hit you with a moment that shows you the way life works. Life has extreme lows but also extreme highs, but ultimately, He is Good.

And the baptism was SO good.

It was everything we could have asked for and more.
What a wonderful Easter Sunday: He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!

And here are some pictures from the big event!
This is my dearest friend Jenna, who grew up with me in Christ Lutheran Church (and well, we continue growing up together :)

gathered around the fount

gathered around the fount with PJ (Pastor Jeff)

The Christ Lutheran music director and building manager - could you believe that I was able to book them at a moments notice!?! hehe (that's my mom and step-dad)

singing

baptizing


lighting of the baptism candle from the paschal candle

baptized!

The baptism crew, minus Jenna's boyfriend, Tray, who took the picture...Thanks, Tray! :) And a special thanks to all who helped make this happen: Mom (the music), Bill (the building), Pastor Jeff (the baptizer) and CLC who made Piper the banner and the baptism certificate with the candle - And thanks to all who attended! We Sullivan's really felt that it was special!

Spiritual Pathways

Brian and I have had a difficult time getting linked in to a corporate worship setting. One church we went too was so stuck in its ways that it was almost dead while the other church had people slain in the spirit for 2 and a half hours. Neither scenario is great for a newborn to attend nor her parents. So while it bothers me that our "church-goin-selves" don't have a place to plug into, I know that this will only last for a short season. Yet, its impermanence is no excuse for spirituality to take a hiatus. This is why I have recently used this time as a regrouping period.

Who am I? I am a friend, sister, daughter, mother to the most beautiful girl in the world, a military wife, and a lover of a most high God; what do I need to be doing to enrich those roles so I may continually strengthen those imperative relationships in my life? Typically, that last role permeates to the others - I'll start there.

Heartland Community Church (in Olathe, KS) had a sermon series a year or so ago pertaining to spiritual pathways. Based upon Gary Thomas' book, Sacred Pathways, pathways are personal traits that create a closer connection to God. They can be diverse and completely different from person to person - one can have many pathways and others may have only a few dominant pathways. It just depends.

Those pathways are:
Naturalist - draw near to God through nature
Sensate - draw near to God through senses
Traditionalist - draw near to God through ritual and symbol
Ascetics - draw near to God in solitude and simplicity
Activist - draw near to God by bringing about social change
Caregiver - draw near to God by caring for and serving others
Enthusiast - draw near to God through celebration and mystery
Contemplative - draw near to God through personal adoration and heartfelt devotion
Intellectual - draw near to God through the mind

For example: I took the spiritual pathway quiz and found that among my pathways to God, Intellectual is my most dominant. I feel closest to God when I read about Him, ponder Him and philosophize about Him. Whereas my sister would be categorized as more of an enthusiast in her pathway of understanding God. She likes experiencing and expressing herself to God through deep emotion. My mom would probably have a more contemplative pathway. When I was growing up, I would often wake to find her at the kitchen table with a Bible and journal in front of her. She felt close to God by experiencing quiet moments of prayer and reflection with Him. These women exemplify the diversity and importance of understanding how they personally relate to God. In knowing How to relate, they can then Act upon growing that relationship.

Why would one want to grow that relationship?
C.S. Lewis said in his book, Mere Christianity:

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

And since I fall on the side of thinking that he is the Lord...the guy who said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life...." (John 14:6) I want to get to know Him better.

By the way, I am an Intellectual,
a Contemplative and an Ascetic....

To take the quiz to find out your spiritual pathway, click on this link:
Spiritual Pathways Quiz

How to Shop for a Church

I hit the wall last Sunday. My husband and I were both baptized Lutheran and felt that because of theology, we wanted to be apart of a Lutheran church. (We can't deny our beer-drinkin' German roots after all...). This past Sunday, the preacher approached the pulpit and gave his sermon. It went a little something like this: "Don't be anxious for tomorrow [add weird preacher-man voice inflections] because the birds and the lilies of the fields don't worry about how they will be taken care of - God takes care of them, so don't be anxious." We walked out of there completely exhausted. For one, the preacher made no relation between the message and his audience. And amidst the random hymns and standing up and sitting down I checked out. This is the God of today? This is the God that we cling to when we're in times of trouble? This is our strength and anchor in times of need? This is the God that hears my sins and forgives me because he ultimately sacrificed EVERYTHING for me? We repay that God with worship that we trudge through with random notes and ancient lexicon...that doesn't seem right.

So, Brian got a second wind and said, "Let's go check out a church in Corpus." I was about ready to crawl into bed, but instead, I agreed to the long road trip that had another long sermon waiting upon our arrival. We finally arrived (15 min late) to a racially diverse congregation - so racially diverse that I picture it being what heaven will look like someday - and they were gettin' dooown to gospel. Arms were raised, voices were loud, refrains were sung a million times over and people were running through the aisles. This was worlds different than our Lutheran experience 45 minutes prior. After a Kirk Franklin song, a speech from guest missionaries from Israel, offering and announcements (a good hour and 15 minutes in) the lead pastor took the helm. That day we were going to talk about Ephesians and how men and women should treat each other. IT was amazing. Had I heard this passage taught before? - OF COURSE. But have I ever had it told to me by a hilarious older black man that brought the scripture to life in an evangelistic, love-the-lord, "let's get rowdy for jesus" sort of way? - Nope, that was a first. After he preached, they continued with closing praise and worship...sooo at about 2 hours, Brian and I called it: it was time to go.

After experiencing both corporate worship experiences, Brian and I gathered our thoughts over a Sunday brunch. We ultimately pondered, how should we shop for a church? With a baby on the way, we feel the additional pressure to be rooted in a christian community during the Big Event. So what do we need? This is what we ultimately concluded:

1) praise and worship that is current with music one may hear on the radio
2) a message that is applicable to life and theologically sound (using the Bible)
3) a preacher that is a humble leader, interesting speaker and an intelligent student of the Lord
4) a community that is relatable to us (either in the same age group, socio-economic background, or life path)
5) opportunities for us to get involved and use our spiritual gifts (serving, singing, teaching, etc.)

I have concluded that those 5 aspects won't always rank chronologically on our scale of "church needs." Based upon where we're at right now, I need 2, 3, 4, 1 and 5 (in that order). So what I realized is that it's semi-easy to figure out what I need; here is a short list on what I don't need...

1) church that makes me feel exhausted after a sermon
2) guilt trips from the pastor or community
3) feeling that church is worlds different from the real world
4) church community that distracts me from the worshiping experience (please, if your baby is crying....LEAVE THE SANCTUARY)

As a Christian, it's so hard to make these sort of lists without instantly feeling guilty. There's the thought that the people are the church and if your church sucks...well, that kinda means that you suck. My little caveat to that argument is that for families that are mobile (i.e. us in the military), we need a church that we can fit into, not start from scratch. That's the latest thought process on the church search. Please pray for our continued search this weekend!