Pastor's Blog

Pastor's Note - June 2

This Saturday is the annual Advice and Aid “Walk for Life.” It takes place at their Overland Park office (10901 Granada Lane), at 9am. The purpose of this is not to protest anything in any way, but to fundraise for Advice and Aid, publicly demonstrate an advocacy for life, and to pray for our larger community. Our family plans to be there, so hit us up if you will be walking! If you want more information about it, visit their events web page at https://adviceandaid.com/partner-with-us/events/. There you can find a link to their “Walk for Life” site, where you can register and donate. One of the things we love about Advice and Aid is that they are a ministry devoted to the health of the whole family – child, mother, and father.

This is an especially significant season to be engaged with ministries like Advice and Aid, as there is an upcoming vote in Kansas on what is called the “Value them Both” Amendment. You may have seen this promoted in various places around town. Here are some basic points about the issue and the vote, which were sent to me from our district minister:

• In 2019 the Kansas Supreme Court found an unlimited right to abortion in our Kansas Constitution. All laws constraining abortion are now presumed to be unconstitutional and specifically late-term abortions are now a constitutional right in Kansas.
• In order to reverse the Kansas Supreme Court’s decision and ensure that our state can continue to regulate the abortion industry, a Constitutional Amendment is required. The “Value them Both” Amendment was created and has been approved by both the Kansas House and Senate. The final step to secure its passage is for the people of Kansas to Vote “Yes” with a majority 50% plus 1. 
• According to the abortion industry’s most influential attorneys, Kansas has become “a haven state for the Midwest” for unlimited abortion. Passage of the “Value them Both” state constitutional amendment on August 2, 2022, is the way to protect women and babies in the heartland from this predatory industry.
• The vote is on August 2, 2022. Early voting starts on July 13, 2022.

According to one pastor familiar with the issue, “the recent US Supreme Court ruling will not effectively give Kansans the right to legislatively choose what kind of abortion limits can be imposed in Kansas. The KS Supreme Court ruling will make it difficult to pass restrictions on abortion once the issue is handed back to the states by the US Supreme Court (if that is actually what happens).” If you have more questions about the amendment, or the current Kansas Supreme Court ruling that is currently in effect and which prohibits ability to place limitations on abortion, then definitely listen to this podcast, hosted by local pastor and friend Micah Hayes, and features Brittany Jones, one of the authors of the “Value them Both” amendment. Give it a listen if you want to learn more about the vote on the proposed amendment.

BVBC Pastor Speak Podcast: Why Is the ‘Value them Both’ Amendment Important?

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/why-is-the-value-them-both-amendment-important/id1540182568?i=1000562117655

Pastor's Note - June 2

How should we feel when we worship? That’s a question worth exploring, that I touched on during the sermon on Sunday, but didn’t take too much time to explore. I’ve probably told the story, but there is an old minister who once was meeting with a younger member of his church. That younger member was expressing some exasperation that she did not feel anything at worship. He responded to her, saying; “My dear, worship is not a glandular condition.” His point being that worship is not defined by how we feel about it, or how it feels to us. Rather, it is defined by the one we praise, and by our act of giving praise to Him. We tend to be overly sentimental in our worship, thinking that it is only true worship if we feel a certain way about it or because of it. The reality is, however, that we can have all sorts of ecstatic experiences that have nothing to do with worship at all. I’ve been to rock concerts that had my adrenaline going far more than any Sunday service. This is also why I am skeptical of summer camps that make it their goal to produce a “high” or “mountaintop” experience. Such experiences don’t have any real correlation to long-lasting discipleship and faithfulness to Jesus – which is the real context and fruit of true worship. Now, all that said, true worship can and does and should produce a feeling. Real worship is not defined by stoicism as much as it is not defined by fanaticism. True worship, if it is true worship, in which our hearts and minds are set on giving God praise, ought to result in feelings of ongoing joy and contentment and gladness in the Lord. And maybe there’s the point – worship will yield ongoing joy in the Lord. It may or may not yield moments of ecstatic happiness. And in the end, true worship of the Lord will yield eternal joy as we are together with the Lord forever. I think that true joy is what we see in the worship of the book of Revelation. I’m excited to dig into worship more in the weeks ahead.