Pastor's Note

Results filtered by “Chris Abel”

July 7, 2021

Every week or two, Beth and I will bring our miniature dachshunds over to the church to run around the massive backyard area. I have literally never seen animals look
happier! Because the property goes so far back, we don’t ask our volunteers to mow all the way back, and as a result, the natural grass has grown up to nearly chest level.
But there is a mowed path to the pond and it’s gorgeous and relaxing. (I really recommend you check it out yourself!) Moments like these humble me because I realize
how blessed we are as a church, and how blessed we are to have tools for ministry like our amazing property and building.

We have this building and land, not because we deserve it, but because of the people who have come before us—not just one or two generations, but going back 149 years. Before Blue Springs was even a city, the people of First United Methodist Church were growing in faith and serving this community! And our church today stands on their shoulders. Remembering this fact helps me feel simultaneously grateful and responsible.

I use that word “responsible,” because it can be tempting to think about church through the lens of “me.” You know what I mean: my preferences, my comfort, my territory, and my comfort zone. And in a world that’s changing faster and faster, sometimes in our anxiety and worry, we can find ourselves becoming even more “me” focused. Instead of looking at our church resources as tools for ministry to invite people to grow toward Christ, we can see these resources as tools to serve ourselves. It’s almost like buying a fancy pie as a housewarming gift for the new neighbors … and then eating it yourself when you’ve had a bad day (which is an example that is probably too close to home in my own life … ).

But God has a funny tendency of taking our “me” and making it a “we.” When it comes to a community of faith, we’re always learning how to focus less and less on “me” so we can focus on what Jesus asks of us. And this, friends, is probably the hardest part of being part of a church community! If you do it right, you benefit less. The more you follow Jesus, the less comfortable you’ll probably be. The more you focus on the people you love, the less you’ll focus on what you want. The more you let God move in your life, the farther you’ll be from the comfort zone you hold onto.

Sound really appealing, doesn’t it? (Ha!)

But the good news is, we’re standing on the shoulders of multiple generations of faithful Christians who made it more about Jesus than themselves. And they’ve entrusted us to do the same. And I think we’re up for the challenge. Grateful for you and for where God is bringing us!

Pastor Chris

Posted by Chris Abel

January 23, 2021

It’s already 2021. Can you believe it? I'm still getting used to it. SO MUCH has happened this last year! I’ve been thinking about how different my life looks compared to this time a year ago and while there were some tough times, there were a lot of good times, too. Here are just a few of my personal memories.
 
  • Someone actually married me! And my crazy plan to have our wedding in Beth’s parents’ back yard actually worked!
  • We got a second miniature dachshund and named her Winnie. She’s already bigger than our little man, Reeses. (I guess “miniature” is relative?) 
  • I bought a 1969 trailer, tore it apart, and am rebuilding it. Definitely a story to tell the kids someday.
 
2020 was also an important year for our church… even in a pandemic. When I came to First UMC a year and a half ago, I prayed God would use us for something bigger than ourselves. And even though it’s had more challenges than I ever could have imagined, here are a few things God did this past year.
 
  • We took a leap to provide a free Drive-thru Christmas Nativity… in the middle of a pandemic… in the freezing cold… and 1600 people came to hear the Christmas story! (That’s almost double our Christmas Eve service last year!)
  • We restructured our staff in order to bring on two key leaders who will help us take our next step as a church: Our Next Gen Director, Mona Candea, and our Associate Pastor, Andrew Nelson.
  • We made hundreds of masks for first responders, wrote letters of encouragement to local teachers, provided hundreds of donuts for hospital workers, and provided Easter baskets for the local fire stations.
  • We gave our biggest Christmas Eve offering EVER—$41,000—that will provide mobile health clinics to make a difference in people’s lives through the Mozambique Initiative. 
  • New people from around the country have begun worshipping with us online. Wow.
 
And these are only a snapshot of the way God has been faithful to our church this last year! People are being impacted by your involvement and generosity, even in a year with obstacles and challenges like we’ve never seen. And God isn't done with us yet!
 
If you’ve given in the past, or are a member of the church, you hopefully received a letter and “estimated giving” card this week. We can’t see the ways God will continue to work through our church this coming year, but your planned generosity allows us to plan for what could happen this year! If you didn’t receive a card or would like to join our faithful crew of financial supporters, just comment or respond to this e-mail and we’ll make sure you receive a card (or visit bluespringsumc.org/2021 to submit one digitally). I am so grateful for the way God has moved through you, and so glad we get to do this together. 
 
 
Chris
 
Posted by Chris Abel

November 6

As I’m writing this, we’re still waiting to hear the final results of the election and it feels like people have been on pins and needles for days. (Or years!) The increased anxiety I see in my friends and society at large has made my heart heavy. And not just from the election. I’ve been thinking of those who have suffered through (necessary) restrictions and isolation these last six months, and how far from “healthy” we all seem. It’s just been a long year. 
 
So when we were planning our upcoming sermon series for the rest of November, I posed the question, “What will help people the most?” 
 
Our answer?
 
Helping people. 
 
You might be thinking, “yeah, Chris, you just said that. You want to help people.” But what I mean is this: We want to help people by helping people help people. 
 
You might be skeptical… but this actually works. And not only is it a religious concept… it’s one that’s backed by science. According to the Templeton Foundation, one survey “found that spending money on other people was associated with significantly greater happiness, regardless of income; conversely, there was no association between spending on oneself and happiness.”
 
Now this challenges my personal worldview because I really think a new Amazon package at the door brings me happiness. But the truth is, we find happiness, ironically, not when we’re trying to make ourselves happy… but when we’re trying to bring happiness to others. 
 
So for the rest of November, our goal is to help you think about how to help others. Learning how to help someone else might be the smartest thing you can do for yourself.
 
Hope to “see” you online or in-person this Sunday as we kick-start this important topic!
 
Chris
 
P.S. We’ll be introducing our new Next Gen Director, Mona Candea this weekend. If you haven’t sent her a welcome note yet, you can reach Mona at  . Drop her a line!
 
P.P.S. If you’ve been around the church and looking to take your “Next Step,” join us online or in-person for our Next Steps class next Sunday! This is for people who: Want to become a member, join a Sunday school class or small group, find a place to help out, and/or learn more about what we believe as a church! Details below in this newsletter :)
Posted by Chris Abel

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