ministry

Welcome to the 21st Century

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / Leave a comment

First Mass Produced Apple Computer

My first post was published to the web on February 28, 2012- it was entitled “Welcome.”

After 98 days (FYI today is my 100th day on the web) on the web and 50 published posts, I decided to take a step into the 21st Century.

I have made this blog a .com… if you look up in the address bar above you will not see evandolive.wordpress.com but evandolive.com. 😀

You can still access this site from the .wordpress address; it will redirect you.

Thanks for supporting me!

Please continue to repost, like, comment, share and discuss!

In Christ,

Rev. Evan

(“First Mass Produced Apple Computer” available under the Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0 at http://www.flickr.com/photos/dottiemae/5311528896/)

“What Does Your Church Believe?” Part III- The Oneness of the Church

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / 3 Comments

This is the third installment of my “What Does Your Church Believe?” series.  So far I have looked at the importance of open communion to DOC theology (post link) as well as freedom of belief (post link).

Today we will examine the belief in the oneness of the church.

According to the Disciples of Christ, the oneness of the church means that “all Christians are called to one in Christ and seek opportunities for common witness and service.”

One of the foundational tenets of the Disciples of Christ is the notion of ecumenical dialogue.  This is vitally important in an ever changing theological and religious landscape.  It seems like now that churches operate independent of themselves and in a sense, “compete” against one another.  One church is trying to have the best youth program; this church is trying to have the best educational programs; this church is trying to have the best music and preaching.  Churches are trying to grow the number of people in their church building on Sunday morning; whoever has the biggest congregation wins right?

Is this the church that Christ envisioned and died for?  Did Christ really want differences in hymnals and Bible translations to separate others from doing the will of God together?  In the end the fact of the matter remains, we are all serving, worshiping, honoring and loving the same God.  No one denomination has a monopoly on God.  As Disciples of Christ we are called to try to bridge gaps that have been place by years of separation and animosity.  The people of this world who are suffering and need a healing touch of grace don’t have time for us to sit around and complain about “those people” over there.

From the beginning of the movement, the Disciples of Christ have been about the restoration of the church, to restore the church back to one body where Christ is served and God is worshiped in a way that is meaningful.  But alas, humanity has messed it up.  We want church our way and any other way is wrong.  One of my favorite seminary professors said that the church itself has not really grown much, we have just found ways to divide ourselves.  This is a sad but true fact.

It is because of this notion of ecumenical dialogue that I started ShareFest Orange which was held in March of this year.  It was great to see 70+ people from around the city of Orange coming together to serve God in the public arena together for the benefit of others not a church role sheet.

God can be worshiped and served even when doctrinal beliefs are different.

Let is cling to the notion that God is bigger than our differences.

“We are one in the spirit we are one in the Lord…”

In Christ,

Rev. Evan

You And I Aren’t So Different

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / 6 Comments

Here is my latest article for the Orange County Record.

It’s a common question.  It’s is a question that comes up in the most general and basic of conversations.  You could be at a party for a friend, meeting someone for the first or in the chair getting your haircut.  The question arises: “What do you do for a living?”  For most people when they answer question the response is one that is met with probing or clarifying questions, not when I answer.

You see when I tell people what I do it strikes fear in their heart, I tell them: “I am a minister.”  All at once a wave comes over their face as if they are shocked that a minister would come out from behind the pulpit and Bible commentaries to venture out into the world of sinners and commoners.  Eye contact lessens as if people don’t want me to peer into their soul and see them for who they truly are.

Generally people immediately begin to tell me about their religious preferences and experiences.  If the person I am speaking had not interjected what I call “God talk” yet, they promptly add it to the conversation.  They will tell me about their minister’s sermons from the previous Sunday to prove to me that they were listening and that his/her teaching was effective.  Someone actually turned on the Bible on CD while I was receiving a haircut.

Once someone inquired about my job and told them that I was a minister.  They told me about their lack luster church attendance.  This person in particular had stopped going to church because the service in the church she was attending was not connecting with her on a deep, spiritual level.  If she had just told me that part of the story I would have been fine and we might have continued our conversation about her religious experiences or maybe abandoned that track and began a completely new conversation.  Rather she began her conversation by informing me “I really don’t go to church that much, I mean I am not a devil worshiper or anything like that but I just don’t care for the service at my church right now.”   Since when did not going to church for Christians become devil worshipping in a minister’s mind? Is that the dichotomy that exist– Worship God or you are a devil worshiper?  Is this is perception that people have of ministers?   Do people really think that I am a perfect, pious, self-righteous, judgmental person who goes from place to place condemning people for their lack of faith and church attendance?

Sadly that is an accurate description of about one percent of the ministerial population, but not me.

Ministers are human beings; we are people just like you.  We go to the store, we shop online, and we try to make ends meet month to month.  Ministers have taken on as their call or duty to ensure that the message of Jesus Christ is promoted and propagated in the world.  Yes many ministers are educated in theology, divinity and pastoral care, but knowledge of the Bible and having good skills in the pulpit does not make one perfect.  Yes ministers are seen as the spiritual leaders of their congregations but to place the label of perfection places a great weight on minister’s shoulders.

Ministers don’t walk around singing “The Old Rugged Cross” and quoting scripture, rather ministers have to find a way to get the kids to soccer practice, homework completed, dinner on the table and make that two hour evangelism committee meeting on top of writing a sermon, making visits and calls.

Am I perfect? No, far from it and I don’t claim to be.

I listen to music other than gospel (gasp!)

I make mistakes just like everyone else. (double gasp!)

I sometimes don’t pray as often as I should. (heretical gasp!)

Does this make me a less effective minister?  I don’t think so, but it does make me human.  Christ came to the Earth to restore people to wholeness and mend people in their brokenness.  Nowhere in the Bibles does Christ command his followers to be perfect, rather he understands that humans are flawed individuals seeking completeness.

So the next time you see a minister tell him/her that you hope they are well and not too stressed, especially during the holy times (Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter).  Don’t try to impress them with your knowledge of Bible verses or church history.  Don’t treat them any differently than you would treat anyone else.

So as you can see, you and I aren’t that different after all.

Sermon- “What Does This Mean?” Pentecost 2012

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / Leave a comment

Sunday (Pentecost 2012) I preached a sermon entitled “What Does This Mean?” based on Acts 2:1-12.  You can listen to the sermon by clicking the link below.

Sermon Link

In Christ,

Rev. Evan

And You Wonder Why People Aren’t Christians: Part III

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / 1 Comment

I didn’t think I would be writing another one of these post for while.  But Christians are giving Christians a bad name… again…

For some reason unknown to any one but him, Pastor Charles L. Worley of Providence Road Baptist Church in North Carolina took to the pulpit to speak on President Obama’s recent statements affirming same-sex marriage. Now North Carolina was in a big debate regarding this issue and in a statewide vote denied same sex couples the right to marry; no doubt that was fresh on his mind when he came to service.

A little over a week ago I posted an audio clip from Pastor Sean Harris who advocated to hit your children if they “acted gay.” You can read (or re-read it here).  While Pastor Harris’ comments were out of line, Pastor Worley’s comments leaves Pastor Harris’ comments in the dust… Why?  Worley advocates murder.

In the video posted below, Pastor Worley goes on a two-minute rant about homosexuals, the President and what his solution to the “gay problem.”  In the video he says,

“I had a way I figured a way out…a way to get rid of all the lesbians and queers. Build a great big, large fence 150 or 100 mile long – put all the lesbians in there. Fly over and drop some food. Do the same thing with the queers and the homosexuals. And have that fence electrified until they can’t get out. Feed them and you know what in a few years – they’ll die out. You know why – they can’t reproduce.”

On a personal note, the video was extremely hard to listen to.  Not only does he advocate for a group of people to be killed he is doing it from the pulpit in a church which is supposed to be a holy place AND has the audacity to say this comes from God.  At one point he says that the Bible is “again” it and that God is “again” it.  Also, what is disheartening is that fact that members of his congregation were “amening” and agreeing with what he had to say.  Glad they are practicing that love of Christ… glad they love all people just like God loved them dispite their faults.  If (as some say) all sins are equal in the eyes of God then why are they stratifying this particular sin?  Which is it Pastor Worley and the members who agree of Providence Road Baptist Church in North Carolina?  Are all sins equal or does God have a “Top Ten” list of the sins one is not to commit with homosexuality at the top?  Why are you trying to make disciples in your image of God?

Pastor Worley I believe you and I (and millions of other people) are reading different Bibles.  Jesus Christ (the one you are supposed to be following) never called for the murder of a group of people just because they were different and didn’t think the say way he did.  History lesson: Hitler did that… so… think about that…

Christ being the compassionate person that he was sought out the ‘other’ to be in relationship with him/her to tell them that God still LOVES them for WHO THEY ARE.  Don’t believe me?  Check out your Bible… there are more passages about loving your neighbor and being the hands and feet of God than there are about homosexuality being wrong.

Trust me… actually don’t… look it up for yourself, you might learn something. 🙂

You can watch the video below… if you want… as well as a member trying to defend her pastor’s position on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360.

In Christ,

Rev. Evan

If You Want To See The Gospel Put Your House On The Market

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / 2 Comments

2255 1936 DeSoto AirFlow For Sale
As I have written previously, we are in a transition point in our life here in Orange. The future is not as clear as we would like but we are optimistic. Part of this process is listing our house on the market to be sold. If you ever had to sell your home, there are a myriad of things that you put up with but a suspecting buyer might not. Some of things were small fixing a piece of carpet that was coming up to larger tasks like fixing a gate and laying sod over an area where our old above ground pool once resided.

My story though starts a few days ago. Knowing that the house was officially for sale, we knew/hoped potential buyers would want to stop by and take a peek. One of the biggest projects we have is laying sod in the backyard. One of the problems that we were having is that I no longer have a truck to haul the sod from the grass farm to the house. My neighbor who has a nice Silverado (Texas Edition of course) told me that if I ever needed him to pick up the sod he would get and drop it off at the house. I took him up on his offer. So last Thursday, he went to the grass farm and picked up a half pallet of Saint Augustine sod. There was one little problem, I had a doctor’s appointment that afternoon. Generally when I go to the doctor I have good luck and do not have to wait too long to see the physican, this time was not one of those times. I guess that since I had to be somewhere in a decent amount of time, the doctor’s office decided to make me wait and wait and wait.

My wife called me while I am playing the waiting game and told me that our neighbor had come to the house and was laying the sod down with three other neighbors. When I was finally relinquished from the bonds of the doctor, i made it home only to find that they had finished laying the sod, even though I didn’t order enough. My neighbors were still there, working on the fence post that was leaning which made it hard to open and close the side gate properly. They were digging and digging and digging, trying to get this post out. Since there were four people now trying to get one stubborn post out, one of the neighbors decided to go to his house and get his hedge trimmer. He began trimming the holly bush out front of the house and even began to weed eat under the bush. He mowed over the hedge clippings to make them smaller to fill in a hole from from pipe work in the front yard. And that was just the beginning.

Within a span of three days- two posts were straightened and cemented, another half pallet of sod was laid, tiles were pulled up and news one were put down, boxes were moved, surfaces cleaned and numerous trips to Home Depot and the trash can– all done by a group of people seeing a need a acting on it. In the time since the intital work, smaller jobs have been completed around the house, all with the sole focus and intent of serving another human being.

This my friends is the embodiment of the gospel.

This is the essence of what Jesus Christ came to Earth to do, to be and promote. Christ came to start a new way of understanding and embodying the nature of God. No longer will God be somewhere in a distance place in the cosmos or even in the Temple in Jerusalem. No, Christ came to show that God is present in laying sod, moving boxes, cleaning windows, laying tile, pouring grout and the many many other things that needed to be done so that our house will be in tip-top shape for potential buyers.

Because of their actions my faith has been strengthen. A group of people over the span of a couple of weeks have shown me what it means to be the community of God. Not a word of Jesus Christ was mentioned, no prayers were said, no angelic choirs singing, but God was present.

I pray that I am able to show the gospel in such an impactful way someday.

May we all pray that prayer.

In Christ,

Rev. Evan

(“For Sale” available under the Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0 at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bsabarnowl/3998894081/)

What A Difference A Year Makes

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / 7 Comments

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of one of the most infamous end times predictions to date.  Harold Camping and his Family Radio called on Christians to prepare themselves for the end of the world, the date of this cataclysmic event?  May 21, 2011.

Camping stated he had figured out through numerology and probably some complicated algebra problem that the Bible predicted the end of the world and if you looked closely enough you would find the date.  This wasn’t Camping’s first trip to the rodeo when it comes to end times predictions.  In 1994 and 1995 he made similar predictions, but this one gained some momentum largely in part (I believe) due to the internet.

Any time a Christian minister makes bold predictions it garners national attention.  For days leading up to the fateful day, news organizations from around the world held interviews with Camping as well his followers.  On May 20, people waited with bated breath to see if anything would happen in Australia.  I thought this was interesting that the notion of the end of the world was supposed to start  across the International Time Line.  The International Time Line is a human construction; Camping was banking that God subscribed to the International Date and even Day Light Savings time to ensure the end of the world.

Of course, May 21, 2011 came and went and nothing happened, we are still hear.  Camping tried to revise his claim and stated that May 21 was the spiritual judgment and the physical judgement was to come in October.  That date as well came and went.  Finally Camping declared that humanity was not supposed to know when the end of the world was going to be and therefore we should stop worrying about it.

In the wake of the prediction, hundreds if not thousands of people spent their money and said their good-byes for nothing.  One report came out that a family in New York had racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt because they thought the end of the world was coming and no one would come calling for their payment. (Greedy?)

Time Magazine called Camping’s prediction one of the top ten failed predictions of all time.  (Read it here)

People have been trying to figure out when the end of the world is going to be for millennia, the newest craze is the Mayan Calendar which goes out sometime in December 2012.

The fact of the matter is that it doesn’t really matter when Jesus is coming back or when the world will end; what matters is what followers of Christ are going to do in the mean time.  Are we going to sit around and just wait or are we going to try to bring a piece of the “pie in the sky” Heaven here on earth?  Brian McLaren (not sure if he is the originator of this quote or not) stated that we needed to stop teaching the Bible as an evacuation plan, but rather a transformation plan.  This is was the fault of the May 2011 prediction.  While they firmly believed that the world was going to end instead of trying to transforms people’s lives by allowing them to experience the same Christ they had experience they posted billboards and ran radio spots.  No billboard, picket sign, radio commercial or even blog post will ever be as effective as personal, one-on-one, communication and contact.

Jesus was with the people.  He didn’t sit from a throne and bark orders or look smugly down his nose at the outcasts of society.  No, we got his hands dirty and mingled with people who most wouldn’t have touched with a ten foot pole.  He transformed lives with his presence.  We have ability as well.

It won’t be too much longer until we get another bold prediction and we will have to re-visit this.  But in the meantime, let’s start transforming the world.  It’s a big place and we have a lot of work to do.

In Christ,

Rev. Evan

“What Does Your Church Believe?”: Part II- Freedom of Belief

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / 7 Comments

This is the second installment of my “What Does Your Church Believe?” series. Last week I discussed the notion of open communion and the importance of it in DOC theology (click here for Part I). This week we will look at “Freedom of Belief.”

Back in the 19th Century when the what is now know as the Disciples of Christ was beginning to form as a movement, one of the pillars that many lifted up was the notion of freedom of belief. Our founders came out of a Presbyterian background. While there is nothing wrong with being Presbyterian, the founders did not like the use of creeds in worship and as tools for believing the ‘right’ types of things. Over time the motto of the Disciples of Christ became “no creed, but Christ.” This means that we are called as followers of Christ to seek out a relationship with God in a way that is meaningful for ourselves, just as long as we center our beliefs on that idea that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior.

We all come from different backgrounds, life experiences, socio-economic status, generations and education levels. We are NOT going to interpret the same thing even though we are reading the exact same passage. Some passages that were meaningful to us five years ago do not mean as much today. I like to give this example. My daughter, Violet, was born on February 1. On January 31, passages in the Bible that mentioned parenting, God as a loving parent, or that the people of Israel were God’s children, it not mean as much to me as they did when I read them on February 2.

Now if there was just one interpretation, who would get to decide which was “correct?” Would the Catholic interpretation be favored over the Baptist interpretation? Would the Presbyterians be “more correct” than the Methodists? As you can see this would cause major dissention between the denominations (and there is already enough of that to go around.)

Does Freedom of Belief mean you can believe whatever you want? In sense no. When reading the scriptures one has to remember the original intent of the book or passage one is reading; we can’t make the Bible “say” something that it never was intended to ‘say’ in the first place. The Disciples of Christ sum it up by stating “Persons are free to follow their consciences guided by the Holy Spirit, study and prayer, and are expected to extend that freedom to others.” The key here is extending grace and acceptance to others. We may not all believe the same things, we may all see something different when it comes to the Bible, but if we are grounded in the one essential of faith, Jesus Christ, then everything else is secondary.

In Christ,

Rev. Evan

Misconceptions About Christians: Part Four

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / 2 Comments

Here is my fourth installment of my “Misconceptions About Christians” series for the Orange County Record.

If you missed the first three misconceptions read them now!

This is the fourth installment in the series “Misconceptions About Christians.”  So far I have discussed three misconceptions: that being a Christian one must read the Bible literally, that being a Christian means you have to go to “church” and that TV minister/evangelist are representative of all Christianity.  Today we tackle another misconception.

I was walking through a parking lot the other day and I saw a bumper sticker that made me stop to examine it more closely.  It was a blue sticker with white words and a yellow Christian cross; it read “Christian Democrat.”

Misconception #4- Being a Christian means that you have to vote for Republican candidates and conservative ideals.

Generally I shy away from mixing politics and religion.  It is of course the two things we are warned do not mix.  We are taught this adage for good reasons, people are passionate about their faith just as they are passionate about their ideals about how the country should be run and organized.  But somewhere along the way the two were interlinked and interconnected.

When did it become the norm that stating that you were a Christian meant in the same breath you were saying that you supported conservative ideals?

Christians for years have been reading the same Bible and yet due to their life experiences and personal understanding of God glean a completely different interpretation.  Christians for the most part have never been unified on much of anything.  Debates, often heated ones, are still raging today over women in ministry, homosexuality and contemporary music.  Debates and differences are nothing new to the church and the Bible has been at the center of most of them.  For the most part, the Bible has been used for and against war, used for and against slavery, used for and against accepting homosexuality and the list goes on and on– the same book at the center of all it.

Christians are free to express their understanding of God and Jesus Christ in the world in a variety of ways.  Some take to the streets and feed the homeless and needy, some fix up homes for those who are unable to do so, some go door to door inviting neighbors and strangers to church.  It is the same when it comes to government as well.  Some Christians believe that government should be as giving and caring as Christ was, some believe that charity should be the work of the church; herein lies the problem.

Most Christians would not object to some people living out the gospel by feeding homeless people, but once you start making statements about politics, then all bets are off.

Why do Christians who agree with the philosophies of other political parties than the GOP have to resort to bumper stickers to show that they are different?  Does the fact that some punched their ballot for a person with an “R” or a “D” by their name really matter?  How is this any different than having a different interpretation of the Bible?  For some people being a Republican or Democrat and Christian is fine, but there are some who believe that the Bible commands all of Christianity to come under the banner of the conservative movement.  This is not what Christ came to this earth to do. Christ did not come to start a political party or even support one; yes, Jesus was political in his time, but he did not ever want to be President of the United States of America.

With all of this said, this does not mean that our faith does not inform our political assertions.

If Christians are supposed to be about sharing the love of Christ in the world today, why bring politics into the matter?  Should politics be in the church house?  Maybe… but then again maybe not.  Does it matter if someone votes for a Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, or Green Party member and still calls themselves a Christian? No, it does not.  The church has bigger problems to worry about than whether or not a particular party’s candidate is in office come November.

“What Does Your Church Believe?”: The Beginning of a Series

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / Leave a comment

I wrote this for my church’s newsletter and I thought I would share it on here as well.  I will be posting this series as they come out.   How do you respond to people when they ask you “what does your church believe?”

Enjoy!

As a minister I am often asked “what does your church believe”?  I try to explain to them that within the walls of our church (and more than likely theirs as well) we can have a wide range of beliefs on most issues.  Generally this is a bit puzzling for them.  The follow up question is usually “doesn’t that cause problems within the church?”  I usually smile and say “all the time, but that’s OK with me.”  I truly believe what I said.  Conversations about our faith and the questions that arise are vitally important.  People today are seeking answers to life’s biggest questions.  For many years people turned to the church to help ‘sort out’ their inquires but sometimes the answers they received were not good enough.  Today, for the most part, people do not want to be told want to think or what to believe.  They want to experience it for themselves and have a place to discern and evaluate their experiences.  This is where the church comes in.  The church needs to be a place of openness, a place where the questions are asked and the discussions are held.

As members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) we pride ourselves on being open and accepting of other belief systems and interpretations.  We want to have discussions about faith and practical matters.  That is why our founders believed in the motto “No creed but Christ.”  We are called to live out our faith in a way that is in accord to teachings of Jesus Christ.  If we are able to believe and affirm that Jesus Christ is the son of the Living God and offers saving grace to all of God’s children, everything else is just secondary.

I have heard it said that Disciples of Christ churches are the ‘best kept secret’ or ‘if people just knew what we stood for, they wouldn’t want to go anywhere else.’  Well for the next five weeks I am going to be discussing the some of the theological beliefs and practices associated with the Disciples.  This will be by no means an exhaustive account but it should give you a good foundation to build from.

We are never too old to learn, grow, change, think, rethink and think again about the issues of faith. Our faith is never stagnate.   I hope that this series will be one that is informative as well as challenging.

In Christ,

Rev. Evan