Posted in faith, Ministry, pastor

“I know Clara Reuben!”

Posted on by William Douthwaite

At last summer’s synodical convention in Tampa, the exhibitor hall was a great place to escape some of the long business sessions and presentations when my brain and bottom just couldn’t endure any more. Every Concordia was represented along with every shape and size of ministry at home and abroad.

One morning I stopped by a booth promoting a ministry to Jewish people. I don’t remember the name of the ministry or the person I spoke with, but I do remember speaking about the time Steve Cohen came to my congregation to do the presentation Christ in the Passover. I then shared how years later I had met Clara Reuben, who did some amazing Jewish outreach on Long Island and in South Florida.

At the mention of her name, his face lit up and he exclaimed, “I know Clara Reuben!”

What a small world! Clara was the great-grandmother of one of my confirmation students. I visited Clara a number of times during the last year of her life when she lived in my town. I was privileged to be one of the few Clara never expelled from her home. Clara began every visit by asking, “Do you love Jesus?” She would always tell me, “I kicked the last minister out. He didn’t love Jesus!” And then she would double-check, “Do you love Jesus?”

Of course I do. But more importantly, she did. No nonsense here. No political correctness or cultural sensitivity. You either love the Lord or not. No pussy-footing around. Just cut to the chase. Either he’s Lord, or he’s not. Got a problem with that? Get out!

We could all learn a lot from Clara Reuben about outreach, evangelism and faith. I know I did.

Posted in Israel

I spy…all kinds of things

Posted on by William Douthwaite
A rooftop just below the house of Caiaphas

We had just been in Caiaphas’ house. We had just descended into the sub-basement, the “pit” as it were, where Jesus may have been held while awaiting his first trial before the high priest. I had just read Psalm 69 to our group, remembering who to look to when we feel like we are in “the pit.” We climbed back out of the pit, passed by a place which could have been where Peter denied knowing Jesus three times.

I casually looked down from the courtyard where we were standing and saw a rooftop piled with all kinds of trash. In the picture you can see

  • A shopping cart
  • Milk crates
  • Scooters
  • A door
  • Five gallon buckets
  • Wicker shelves
  • Wood pallets
  • Barbed wire
  • Bicycles
  • A wheelbarrow
  • Tires and wheels
  • Refrigerator
  • Rake
  • Washing machine
  • Cememt mixer (?)
  • Dish antenna
  • Rebar and cinderblocks
  • Skateboard

You might be able to pick out even more discarded items. I’ll bet there are stories for each of the things that someone either tossed onto or carried up to the roof.

The reality of present day trash interrupted my meditations on the arrest and trial of Jesus, which led to his suffering and death on the cross. Then again, I’m sure they had a lot of refuse at Jesus’ time, too.

Our street looks like this on trash days. But we also put out furniture, mowers and trimmers and mattresses. I guess the age old question has always been, “What are we going to do with all this trash?”

Posted in Grace

Just take a walk

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I don’t get to see many fall colors on trees in Florida, so this one just kind of jumped out at me when I was walking Sam. The palm trees and the pine trees keep their green year round. But this tree’s a trifecta. I’ve never seen a tree like this one with three vivid colors simultaneously on display. I wish I knew what this was. I’d get one for my yard!

It is so easy to miss the creative work of God that frames my walks around the neighborhood. I stroll through a museum of his handiwork many times each week. Green lawns, flowering shrubs, towering trees, familiar neighbors walking their dogs, storm clouds off in the distance, the vivid clouds of the sunset, the first few stars in the evening sky – all testimonies of the God who created heaven and earth – and me.

So grace can look like a tree covered in color, making me stop and look and take a picture. You want to catch a glimpse of grace? Just go for a walk.

Posted in church, Grace

They just show up

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I’ve been visiting a lot of families who have just recently begun worshiping with us. It’s one of those seasons in our community when a lot of houses are being built, a lot of people are moving to the area, and some of them set out to find or just happen across our congregation. I do not fully understand why this is happening at this moment. I will not be able to write a book about how to grow your church this way. I can only stand back in amazement and realize, “This is what grace looks like.”

  • One family just happened to see us on Google maps. There were getting directions to someplace and saw our church on the map. He said, “Hey, do you now there’s a Lutheran church just up the road from us.” She said, “Let’s try it out.” They experienced the tradition they had grown up with in our worship. They’ll be joining our congregation.
  • Another had been listening to podcasts about Lutheranism and had become adept at finding churches in the area. They showed up, worshiped with us, and sent me an email thanking me for preaching the gospel. They may or may not join, but they’ve been back a number of times.
  • The week before last a man told me, “I live just around the corner. God told me I should check you out.” I don’t know what that means. I do not know how God did that. But I enjoyed meeting this worshiper.
  • I recently spoke with another really nice couple who were looking for some compromise between their previous Roman Catholic-Baptist-Brethren-Methodist-Presbyterian experiences. They found us to be a good fit.

You know the old adage, “God works in mysterious ways”? He does. Without a clear vision, strategy, formula, program or method, we seem to be growing. Our secret: we gather weekly around Word and Sacrament. That’s the only thing we do on a regular basis. What can I tell you? God does the rest!

Posted in Israel

What’s behind that door?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

This door in Jerusalem fascinated me. I believe the door was cut into this mix of older and newer stones after these walls were built. The original handle must have been replaced by a key lock and later by a fourteen- button keypad. There were some signs on that door at one time, too. I have no way of knowing, but I can’t help wondering, “What was behind that door?” In hindsight, I could have knocked. Who would have answered? Or I could have tugged on the handle. Maybe someone left it open. I didn’t. I wasn’t feeling that brave that day.

Judging by it’s location on mu photo roll, it was on the way to or from the upper room of the last supper, a well-traveled route through the city. It’s got a lot of wear and tear, used by many over the years.

  • It could be as simple as the entrance to a residence. Just as in St. Augustine, FL, many live right where thousands of tourists explore historic streets and alleys. There’s no peephole, though. If you were leaving you might just open that door right into the face of someone like me who stopped to take a picture. Ouch.
  • Maybe it’s a plain, almost unnoticeable private entrance for after-hours entertainment. One that required a secret knock and/or code for admission. No one would know it was there unless you were told.
  • Some kind of storage closet? A place to keep brooms and cleaning supplies, signs and banners for special celebrations, trash cans and traffic cones? I really hope it’s something more exciting than that.
  • It could open to a flight of steps down below the street level. The streets of Jerusalem are built layer upon layer of history. The steps might lead to underground tunnels and passageways that can take you to different parts of the city. Or the steps might lead up, onto the rooftops. From there you could look down upon the streets, or move from one building to the next.
  • Or an elevator. I doubt it, but you never know. Someone might have had to install one after the fact.
  • What a surprise it would be to open that door and discover…a brick wall! A passageway that had been sealed up. But what – or who – was behind that wall? And how long had they been there?

Maybe someone will see this picture and tell me what it really leads to.

Posted in Israel, prayer

Siddurim at the Western Wall

Posted on by William Douthwaite

While at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, I was fascinated by the sight of these bookshelves and tables filled with what I believe are Jewish prayer books. So many shapes and sizes. Some look brand new. Others are well worn. I wanted to pick one up and page through it, but I felt super conscious of not doing anything touristy or offensive.

On the men’s side at David’s tomb, a room full of men were bowed over their prayer books. I assume these were also siddurim. Again, I tried not to offend and didn’t get all the pictures I wanted.

Praying at David’s tomb

As I thought back to that moment, I wondered if I could buy a siddur, a Jewish prayer book. And sure enough, you can order one on Amazon. They have all sorts of sizes and shapes, new and used, many with parallel Hebrew and English pages for people like me.

I came across an interesting article on How to Choose a Siddur, or Jewish Prayer Book, and it’s not as simple as I thought. They have digital versions, and a variety of apps. There are versions that appeal to Orthodox, Conservative and Reformed traditions. There are versions that include commentary and devotions. There are gender-inclusive versions. There are some published specifically for the high holy days. There are very small print pocket versions, so I assume there’s large print, too. It’s not unlike trying to figure out what bible to buy in a store with a sea of different versions and publications!

I need to ask some of my Jewish friends. Did they get one as a gift at their Bar Mitzvah? Or have one handed down in the family? They would no doubt be surprised that I know just enough Hebrew to awkwardly find my way around a Siddur.

Watch for a future post after I get one and see what they are all about.

Posted in Ministry

Is that your ax?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I took this picture on Tuesday, which means we were in Jerusalem and I believe we were on our way to the Upper Room of the Last Supper. Our guide often said, “Be on the watch for unusual things” and this certainly caught my eye as unusual. It appears to be an ax, wrapped in paper, hanging from a string tied to a railing on someone’s upstairs porch.

I don’t know who lived there and I have no idea why someone in the city needed an ax, but it’s fun to speculate the reason behind this tool-storage method. The paper and string look new. This hasn’t been hanging out in the weather for very long. It’s fresh. Just think of the possibilities.

  • Kid-proofing the house? Little ones get into everything. When you don’t have a shed or a basement workshop for tools, where do you keep your ax? “I don’t care where you put it, just get that ax out of the house! You want someone to chop off a finger?”
  • Maybe one of the kids found this and brought it home. But they knew mom would never let them have an ax, so they had to find a place to hide it. Under the mattress? Too obvious. Inside a stuffed animal? Too invasive. “I know, we’ll tie a string and let it down from the porch. Mom will never suspect.”
  • Could a murder have already taken place? Where would you stash the weapon? The solution of a game of Clue: “Levi with an ax in the back alley.” I don’t see any blood though.
  • But I can read a number on the handle: 0527634250. A phone number? If I Google it, a get a reverse lookup website in Hebrew. My Hebrew’s not that good. But maybe I’ll call that number. “Hey, I think I know where your ax is.”
  • Maybe someone is being held prisoner in that upstairs room. But they have gotten their hands on an ax. They are hiding it from the guards until one night when they plan to make their break. Could you bake something like that inside a loaf of challah?
  • It could be for sale. In lieu of swip-swop, just hang your item out the window with a phone number. Call me if you’re interested.

You never know how far a blog post goes. One person reposts it, someone reads it and suddenly realizes, “There’s my ax!”

Posted in Confirmation Class

Bananas and sauce

Posted on by William Douthwaite

From time to time, I will bring in a snack for the Monday night confirmation class. The usual fare will include cookies, chips and salsa or queso, perhaps a bag of pretzels. Or, I’ll let them request a snack. When they’ve provided input, we’ve had waffles, funnel cakes (yep, I made ’em), ice cream sundaes, and pizza.

This year’s class is different in many ways. Creative, inquisitive, intelligent and eccentric. When I asked, “What do you want for snack next week” they answered, “Bananas and sauce.” Not a difficult request, but certainly not typical. No pizza? No candy? Nope, bananas and sauce.

At first, I didn’t take them seriously. I brought in some left over chocolate cookies from a previous week. Immediately, they challenged, “What about the bananas and sauce?”

The next week, I complied. I bought a bunch of bananas along with some chocolate fudge sauce and butterscotch sauce. You should have seen the look on their faces. From disbelief to delight, they enjoyed every bite. They loaded their plates with both sauces, peeled their bananas and dipped them in, savoring that sweet moment of bananas and sauce.

Chocolate fudge was the favorite by far. But I had little of either sauce leftover. And there were no leftover bananas. While some abstained, others ate two or three.

This also led to the discussion of how you should eat your banana. Shell on or off. I have always completely peeled my banana before eating. But as it turns out, I’m in the minority. Most peel just enough to take a few bites, and them peel some more. Interesting. I’ve always completely unwrapped a candy bar before eating it, too. But that’s just me.

I digress. I never even thought of eating bananas with sauce. It certainly was a hit for this class as we worked hard on the second commandment. Our snacks will never be the same. I have a feeling we will soon return to this moment and revisit bananas and sauce!

Posted in Grace

“What is grace?”

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Busted. A student in my confirmation gently raised her hand and asked, “What’s grace?”

I toss that word around like it were obvious to everyone. Guess what? It’s not.

  • “Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).
  • “Stephen, full of grace and power” (Acts 6:8).
  • “We are justified by his grace as a gift” (Romans 3:24).
  • “Grace abounded all the more” (Romans 5:20).
  • “You are not under law but under grace” (Romans 6:14).
  • “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you” (1 Cor. 16:23).
  • “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Cor., 12:9).
  • “By grace you have been saved” (Eph. 2:5).

I could go on and on and on. All those verses roll off my tongue like lyrics for a top forty song. My point is, if you’re a Christian and you like to toss around the word “grace,” you better have your elevator definition ready for anyone who asks you, “What is grace?”

My simple answer: when you get what you don’t deserve. A good grade when you really didn’t study all that hard. A close parking spot on a busy shopping day. Another chance to get it right. Forgiveness. Oh, yes, especially forgiveness. No one deserves that. But someone paid dearly so you could have it.