Sermon Podcast: I Must Come to Your House

"Yes, Jesus loves Zacchaeus even though Zacchaeus is a horrid human being. But a part of that love includes accepting not only Zacchaeus’ unworthiness, but also his offer of that unworthy self in the service of others who are struggling not just with guilt . . . but with trying to find enough food to eat.

"God doesn’t need much . . . a few otherwise sorry folks, working assiduously to hide their true identities, but willing to come when Jesus calls, and ready to lay it all down for those whom Jesus loves. God can turn the world inside out with a few Zacchaeuses."

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5by5 | Mac Power Users #161: Running a Mac Small Business with Ben Carter

Ben Carter's at it again! This time he's on an episode of Mac Power Users, talking about the best Mac software, workflows, and business solutions for small business owners.

Give it a listen on iTunes!

Sermon Podcast: The Great Reversal

The great reversal.  Is that good news or bad news?  I guess it depends on where you’re standing when you hear it.  

If you're one of those folks who's always coming up roses, if you’re relatively certain you’ve got this whole God thing pretty much nailed down, if you think when God goes on a recruiting trip, God’s looking for somebody pretty much like you . . . watch out.  This parable suggests that God’s fixing to mess up your world.

If, on the other hand, you happen to be one of those folks just trying to make it through the day, one of those folks just trying to stay one step ahead of the man, one of those folks that the vagaries of birth seemed not to bless . . . pay attention. You're just who God has in mind.

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Leo's Readers' Choice Awards: Douglass Loop Farmers Market Is Number One

The Leo Weekly Readers' Choice Awards announces what we've all known for some time: the Douglass Loop Farmers Market (a ministry of Douglass Boulevard Christian Church) is the best farmers market in Louisville.  

 Thank you to The Leo and everyone who voted!

Trunk or Treat

Saturday, October 26th

4-6 p.m.

at Douglass Blvd. Christian Church

2005 Douglass Blvd. 

Come on out for a fun, candy-filled afternoon. 

Sermon Podcast: There's No Place Like Home

We thought the safest place to be . . . would be . . . to be . . . where we’d been . . . where we used to be.

We thought if we could just recapture what was here before, we’d be able to handle what was happening now.

The message of Jeremiah, however, is that the safest place to be is the place where God has placed us—which is to say, where God has made a place for us.

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Sermon Podcast: Cast Your Nets

This week (10/6), church member and elder, David Sprawls brings the message.

This one is definitely worth your time!

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The missing message in today’s churches

"As someone who loves the church, I am saddened by the perception of Christianity as a vehicle of moral control and good behavior, rather than a haven for the discouraged and dying. It is high time for the church to remind our broken and burned out world that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a one-way declaration that because Jesus was strong for you, you’re free to be weak; because Jesus won for you, you’re free to lose; because Jesus succeeded for you, you’re free to fail."

~WILLIAM GRAHAM TULLIAN TCHIVIDJIAN

 

Concert in the Park

Join us for our first Sunday evening Concert in the Park. Bring a chair, cooler and your friends!

WHEN: 10/20/13

WHERE: Briney Circle

TIME: 5-7 p.m.

Sponsored by: Douglass Blvd. Christian Church

Woodbourne House: Vision and Stewardship

Remarks by Derek Penwell at the public dedication of Woodbourne House on September 30, 2013.

Generally speaking, when the church makes news something’s gone horribly wrong. Some group of Christians, brandishing bullhorns and grammatically dubious placards has elbowed its way into our living rooms by way of the cable news channels to inform us about what worthless reprobates we really are because we don’t believe _____ (X), or because we’re way too lenient when it comes to the issue of _____ (Y).

Then there are the scandals. We’ve witnessed too many shocking improprieties—sexual and financial—to deny it.

Christians have demonstrated an uncanny ability to avoid living up to what they say they believe. This kind of hypocrisy … of over-selling and under-delivering on our faith has rightly caused people to question our commitments.

Those folks who claim to follow Jesus need now, more than ever, to start living like he lived; which is to say, they need to start loving the people Jesus loved.

Of course, he loved everybody, but he had a special place in his heart for those living closest to the edge, those separated from the chaos of destitution by the thinnest of margins.

The author of 1 John says it well:

“How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action” (1 John 3:17-18).

Here at Douglass Boulevard Christian Church—beginning with the leadership of Lively Wilson—we’ve been asking ourselves over the past few years how we—who’ve been blessed with “the world’s goods”—can use what we have to offer life, and love, and justice to those whom Jesus loves. We’ve taken to viewing the resources we’ve been given as tools to be used to love people—not as artifacts to be curated in a museum.

We have this wonderful location, these beautiful buildings. Why not use them for others? Why not give them away?

I’m talking about seeing these resources as gifts that we can share with the community, not as heirlooms be covered in plastic and stored in mothballs. The buildings churches maintain are hammers—if they’re not being used to pound nails, they’re just decorations in a lovely toolshed.

And here’s the thing: If your church building is a tool, and if you spend more time polishing and oiling the stuff in your toolbox than actually making things—it is altogether appropriate for people on the outside to wonder whether you are a carpenter or merely a tool collector.

Woodbourne House is an instantiation of the belief that we’ve been given gifts—not so that we can keep them, but so that we can give them away in the service of loving those people whom Jesus loves.

Woodbourne House is our modest attempt at DBCC to extend the history and to honor the tradition of this faith community by giving to seniors in need of low cost senior housing from “the world’s goods” with which we’ve been blessed.

It is, finally, our effort to love “in truth and action,” and not just in “word or speech.”

Volunteers of America of Kentucky settles into new offices in South Fourth Street building - Louisville - Business First

An article about the amazing contributions of Volunteers of America, headed up by our favorite CEO, Janie Burks.

Making his own decisions proves to be benefit of solo work for real estate attorney - Louisville - Business First

Our very own attorney of awesomeness, Ben Carter, in Business First! Click on the link to read more about Ben's decision to go into solo practice.

Sermon Podcast: So What Do We Do?

"Jesus’ point is this: No matter what bible passages you use to excuse yourself, no matter how many televangelists tell you that God only wants a new Cadillac for you, no matter how insulated you remain from the cries of Lazarus one simple reality cannot be changed: The reign of God does not exist where some do not eat.

"We want to welcome everybody to the table—but we’d sure appreciate it if they'd clean up some before they get here.

"We like the idea of welcoming, of being in solidarity with those beat too far down to get back up—but we’d feel a whole lot better about everything if we could tell whether they genuinely deserve the help or if they’re just trying to scam the system.

"It’s tough. We don’t have riots in the streets at this point, but we know that we live right smack-dab in the middle of a world where some have and some do not."

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Woodbourne House Public Dedication

For immediate release:
September 26, 2013

Historic Woodbourne landmark site on Douglass Boulevard is restored and to be rededicated as $3.1 million housing and senior services center

(Louisville, Ky.) In a joint announcement, New Directions Housing Corporation and Douglass Boulevard Christian Church announce the redevelopment and adaptive reuse of Woodbourne House (formerly known as Briney Hall) at 2005 Douglass Boulevard.

• A Dedication Ceremony will occur on Monday, September 30, 2013 at 10 a.m. and will include The Honorable Greg Fischer, Louisville Metro Mayor, and representatives from US HUD, Kentucky Housing Corporation and Highlands Community Ministries.
• Louisville Nonprofit Developer New Directions Housing Corporation oversaw the restoration of the Greek Revival landmark home and the construction of an annex that together provides 11 units for older persons.  New Directions, a United Way and NeighborWorks America member agency, will manage the site.
  
  
• As part of its continuing expansion of senior services serving residents of the 40204 and 40205 areas, Highlands Community Ministries will relocate its respected Shaffer Enrichment Center to operate in the receiving room and library of the Greek Revival home.
  
  
• Douglass Boulevard Christian Church, which acquired the historic home and surrounding area in 1936, will continue to host the Douglass Loop Farmers’ Market on site every Saturday in season, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Built in 1836 by Starks Fielding, the house was among the first 1,000 brick homes in the region and its 200-acre property originally included Big Rock in Cherokee Park.  The property was acquired by George Douglass after the Civil War, whose daughter later donated acreage and Big Rock to Cherokee Park.  For 10 years beginning in 1939, Rugby University School operated at the site.   Broadway Christian Church, later Douglass Boulevard Christian Church, acquired a large part of the original tract in 1936 and built their current place of worship at 2005 Douglass Boulevard in 1940.  In 1949, the church rededicated the historic home as Briney Hall.  It was in continuous use until 2005.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer noted that “the challenge of this point in Louisville’s march forward is in finding new purpose for buildings threatened by vacancy and no neighborhood is exempt from the necessary collaborations needed to forge new uses and meaning for such places as Woodbourne House.”

He continued, “That this much-loved place will be home to 11 seniors, continue the Farmers’ Market tradition and welcome others to daily senior activities is the hallmark of Louisville’s compassionate way of life.  This is a triple win.”

New Directions Housing Corporation is a nonprofit community development corporation founded in 1969 by members of Saint William Church.  New Directions owns and manages almost 1,000 units located in 97 historic buildings located across Metro Louisville.  The agency recently marked the 20th Anniversary of Kentuckiana Repair Affair, a volunteer-driven home repair initiative.  This summer, New Directions also co-developed the 1321 Community Inspiration Garden in Midtown, New Albany with Saint John Presbyterian Church and completed the 12-unit Wellspring Tonini Apartments at the historic Tonini Building in Phoenix Hill.

Resources assembled for the $3.1 million development include a $190,000 US HUD planning grant followed by a $1.2 million HUD Section 202 capital advance; Kentucky Historic Tax Credits and National Historic Tax Credits that yielded equity of $98,524 and $283,113 respectively;  national Low Income Housing  Tax Credits awarded by Kentucky Housing Corporation enabling $1,122,000 in equity investment, and grants from Louisville Metro Government ($180,000); Douglass Boulevard Christian Church ($40,000) and nearby neighbors ($13,000.)   Construction financing and equity investment came from Stock Yards Bank & Trust.  The development team included Bosse Mattingly Constructors and Architect Robert Haffermann with the firm K Norman Berry & Associate Architects.

The primary benefit to residents, now and into the future, is a multi-year HUD Section 202 operating subsidy that enables seniors of very low income to affordably access this housing.

New Directions Chief Executive Officer Joe Gliessner outlined the need for more senior housing. 
“For every unit, there are five applicants, and the need for such housing is growing as agencies like
New Directions seek resources to provide for people in need while repurposing vacant properties, in partnership with great institutions like Douglass Boulevard Christian Church.”

For more information contact:

The Reverend Dr. Derek Penwell

Senior Minister, Douglass Boulevard Christian Church
Cell:  (502) 452-2629 / (502) 641-9779

Lisa D. Thompson
Chief Operating Officer, New Directions Housing Corporation
Cell: 502-396-5111 / 502-719-7106

Sermon Podcast: Whatever Happened to Margaret Mary?

"The crimes against the powerless Amos lays out aren't just a few rotten apples. The crimes Amos names are institutionalized; they're accepted as part of the fabric of the society—you know, just the way things are.

"In other words, there are good church-going people who know what's going on—those who see the injustice being perpetrated on the helpless—and yet who remain silent. The big crime isn't just that greedy people are cheating the poor—that's nothing new—but that there are average people who know about it, and who ought to know better, but who stand by and let it happen anyway.

"God's putting the whole country on notice. It'd be nice to avoid blame by saying, 'It's those shady grain sellers, those dang pawn shop brokers, those lousy chaff vendors.' Unfortunately, that kind of abuse requires—if not the explicit endorsement—then the quiet approval of the community.

"That is to say, Amos calls out the whole country for turning its back on the poor."

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Sermon Podcast: What's It Going to Cost?

"The cost of discipleship is pretty steep. As Bonhoeffer said, if you accept the invitation to Jesus’ party, you don’t have to wander around looking for a cross to bear—there’s one waiting for you with your name already on it.

"Why? Because experience tells us that the cost of inviting the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind to the party is extraordinarily high. You go out on a limb for those folks whom everybody else says aren’t worth the effort and somebody might just come along behind you and saw it off.

"But we who follow Jesus can’t avoid doing the right thing, because somebody already crawled out on that limb for us and had it sawed off behind him. That’s what it costs. So how much choice do we really have?"

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There is no God . . . who . . .

By David Sprawls

"God created man in his own image. And man, being a gentleman, returned the favor." — Rousseau

I was watching a news story on television with my son.  The story was from Southeast Asia and presented predictable issues: exploitation, abuse, oppression, injustice.  My son said: "Dad, there's proof that there is no God."  He is right.  

There is no God who functions for the convenience of human beings.  

There is no God who descends ex deus machina to set right that which we view as wrong.  

There is no God who fulfills the job description humans create for God.  

None of this is the same as saying there is no God.  If anyone says this means there is no God worthy of our worship, attention or consideration, I cannot argue with them.  If anyone says this means there is no God who could be relevant to them, I cannot argue with them.  But what the insistence on a God who meets the believer's (non-believer's) criteria reflects is humanity's insatiable appetite for small gods.  Insisting on a god who functions the way a human thinks the god should boils down to the human creating god, rather than the other way around.

Any rational human being should look at the evil, suffering and injustice in the world and doubt the existence of a just, loving, caring God.  But denying the existence of such a God is myopic.  It reflects mankind's endless, constant and irresistible quest for a small god.  A god small enough to fit between our ears.  A god who is comprehensible.  A god who is without mystery.

The God whose existence I doubt but in whom I am convicted with faith is mysterious and incomprehensible.  Although this God is almost a complete mystery to me, I am blessed with convictions regarding my relationship with this God, what that relationship calls me to do and how it calls me to live.  This faith is a blessing.  I am not under the illusion it is a personal virtue.

Sermon Podcast: Jeremiah Was Not a Bullfrog

Tune in as awesome guest preacher, Darla Bailey, unpacks the background behind Jeremiah's famous passage about the potter and the clay.

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Pacific Northwest UMC News Blog – The Church Needs More Innovative Pastors like MTV Needs More Twerking

If we are to move forward, what the church really needs are innovative lay people; willing to adopt, suggest, and try new things. When a lay person puts forth a new idea and builds their group of advocates (early adopters), their innovation, particularly if it challenges the church culture, will still hit Moore’s chasm. The difference however is that now the pastor is free to insert their authority and influence to help good ideas to bridge this gap. And when they do so, they also create goodwill and affirm the gifts of their laity to boot.

Our churches need, desperately, to become places of change. While the occasional new idea from the pastor can be good modeling, the pastor that innovates continuously sucks the air out of the church and leaves no room for innovation elsewhere. Our churches would be better served by clergy who excelled at creating and nurturing cultures of innovation.

I would expect that some might say that this sentiment is nice but they know, or serve, churches where creating a culture of innovation is impossible. Where we find this to be true we should be quick to lock the doors and shutter the windows. Before we do this however, we should consider that there is a difference between a church that continuously rejects its pastor’s new ideas and one that refuses to create their own when given a chance.

Sermon Podcast: It's Always about Politics

But in this story from Luke Jesus puts the lie to the notion that faith is best expressed in terms of "having a personal relationship with Jesus." This is a story about politics, about the ways we arrange all of our relationships . . . personal and otherwise.

This is a story, not about the lofty things that might otherwise occupy our religious reflection. This is an ordinary story about people, and lunch, and guest lists, and who gets invited, who gets left out, and why.

This is a story about how Jesus turns our world on its head, putting the first class folks at the back of the plane with pretzels and that little over head compartment that only has enough room for a couple of blankets and a fire extinguisher . . . while the folks who spend their lives sitting in the middle seat between the snorer and the salesman from Des Moines get ushered up to the front.

This is a story not just about how big our welcome has to be if we follow Jesus, but about how crazy and unrealistic it's going to appear to the rest of the world when we roll it out.

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