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Brothers and sisters,

Early on in my time here at Hope Valley, I mentioned that I love coffee. I love the smell of coffee brewing. I love the rich taste of a good dark roast. I love coffee shops and the atmosphere they cultivate. There is a buzz in the air—though that could just be the caffeine! My favorite thing to order at a coffee shop is always a pour-over. A pour-over, for those that may not have ever ordered one, is essentially just a cup or two of coffee. But pour-overs take time and attention from the barista. The coffee beans have to be ground to a specific size. The water has to be heated to a specific temperature based on the roast of the bean. The grounds need to be “bloomed” with a little bit of water and then the barista must slowly pour the hot water over the grounds to ensure a smooth, silky texture to the finished coffee. It takes time, but my goodness it is worth it!

I actually have all the equipment I need to make pour-overs at home. I’ve got a burr coffee grinder so I can get the exact grind I want, a digital gooseneck kettle so I can heat the water to the exact temperature I want and control the flow of the water once it’s been heated, and a glass Chemex to hold the coffee (glass is preferred since it imparts no flavor of its own to the brewed coffee). From start to finish, it takes about ten minutes to brew one cup of coffee. As a coffee-drinker, I love every step of the process and my friends who are coffee-drinkers enjoy it as well. But I do surprise some of them, because even with the Chemex and all the special equipment I own, I still have a Keurig machine. Within the coffee community, Keurigs are looked down upon. They are not as exact as a pour-over. K-cups are filled with preground coffee, meaning it isn’t as fresh as possible. And the machine forces the water through the grounds, rather than letting it work its way slowly through them. And so, I’ve over-heard coffee-drinkers at my beloved coffee shops saying things like, “Ugh. I’d rather have nothing than have to drink Keurig coffee.” But on a weekday morning, when I’m heading out the door to work, I don’t have time to heat water to a specific temperature and set my grinder to a specific size. I don’t have time to “bloom” my grounds. I just need coffee.

Our faith can be like that too. It is wonderful to be able to take time to slow down, read the scriptures, pray over them, and spend time speaking to God and with God. Those dedicated times of prayer and reflection are incredible and I would not trade them for anything. They can be soul-nourishing and invigorating, the types of moments that help us to build strong faith. But sometimes life is hectic. Sometimes you just have to get out the door. Sometimes you just have to make a meeting or get to an appointment or get on the road. And so some-times all we have time for is a quick prayer, a quick, “God, be with me,” or, “Help me, God.” Sometimes we can pour over the scriptures and sometimes we only have time for a quick reading. Both are valid. Both are faithful. Both are good. The important thing is that we find some time, any amount of time, to speak to God. If you can dedicate some time to an in-depth reading of the scripture, filled with prayer and contemplation, I would encourage you to do so. If you can’t, I would encourage you to try and steal a minute or two here or there where you can say a quick prayer or reflect on your faith. Regardless, I would encourage you to spend whatever time you can with God. It will always be worth it.

Grace and peace to you all,
Pastor Ben

Brothers and sisters,

I wanted to write to you all this week and tell you about one of my friends and the way that friend has affected my faith. Most of you will remember that my birthday was in July and that I had some friends who were visiting from Pennsylvania. Well, this is a story about one of those friends, Adam, who I’ve known since college. Adam and I met during a summer camp between our Junior and Senior year in high school, but we didn’t really spend much time together then. Once we got to UNC, however, we became really good friends. Adam is the type of person that I can talk about anything with. Sometimes, we have deep discussions about subjects we’re passionate about (for me, it’s theology; for him, it’s English literature). Other times, we talk about our hopes and dreams for the future. Other times, we talk about frivolous things or we crack inside jokes.

One of the things that I’ve always admired about Adam is his open and welcoming attitude toward other people. Adam is incredibly hospitable, always looking to invite folks into whatever he’s doing. I saw that happen most often at meals and celebrations. Adam is the type of person who is always looking for an excuse to invite folks over. And what’s more, Adam is always looking for more people to bring to the party. If he’s having a birthday party and has invited friends over, he’d love nothing more than for them to bring their friends. If he’s made a bunch of food, he’s going to go knock on his neighbor’s door and see if they want some. He sends food home with people, makes plates for folks that have to leave a get-together early, and makes a point to speak to everyone. Hospitality is something that comes naturally for Adam. He is always looking for ways to bring people into his circle of friends and I admire that about him.

I tell that story because this Sunday, we will be celebrating the Lord’s Supper in worship. Communion is a constant reminder, for all of us, of the way that Jesus constantly brings people into his circle. It is a reminder that Christ loves people and that Christ is always looking for chances to know them. Communion ends up being this wonderful glimpse of the kingdom of God because all are welcome to come to the table. All are welcome to partake of the bread and the cup. Communion ends up acting as a beautiful reminder of the generosity and abundance of God, of the love that God has for each of us. Communion also acts as a challenge to each of us, reminding us that our tables should be open. We ought to be sure that we are reaching out to people and letting them know that they are loved, regardless of who they are or what they have done. At Christ’s table, all are welcome, all are fed, all are loved.

I also want to be sure and let everyone know that we are going to be taking Communion in as safe a way as possible on Sunday. We have purchased special Communion cups that will allow everyone to partake of the elements in their seats. Simply put, the cups we have purchased have both the wafer and the juice packaged together. So, when you come to church, you will pick up one of the cups on your way into the service, hold onto it during the service, eat the bread and drink the cup at the right time, and then dispose of the cups on your way out. In this way, we can still take time to celebrate the love and hospitality of our Lord, while faithfully loving our neighbor in the midst of the pandemic.

Grace and peace to you all,
Pastor Ben

Brothers and sisters,

I hope that the Illuminator this week finds each of you happy and healthy. The last two weeks have been eventful! We have made yet another delivery to the folks at McDougald Terrace and are planning to make one more. We have begun, in ear-nest, a school supply drive to benefit the teachers and students over at Parkwood Elementary School (be sure to check the list of needed supplies!). And we have wrapped up our sermon series on King David, “The Man After God’s Own Heart.” This past Sunday, August 15, and next Sunday, August 22, we’re taking some time to read a couple passages from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, and then, starting the next Sunday, August 29, we will begin a whole new series, entitled, “A Book of Straw.” So, I wanted to take some time and cast a little bit of a vision of our next sermon series.

First of all, this series will be shorter than the series on David. With David, we were looking at the highs and lows of a person’s entire life. In the new series, we will be looking at some of the most famous passages from one of the shortest books in the Bible — the Letter of James. Since the letter is so much shorter than the accounts of David’s life, we’ll only be in this series through the month of September, but I like the idea of moving through a letter like this because we can get a much fuller understanding of James’ beliefs in a shorter amount of time. And James’ ideas about God and the Christian life are wonderful and life-giving.

So then, you may be wondering, “Why call the series ‘A Book of Straw’? What does that mean?” The title of the series comes from Martin Luther’s famous (or infamous) opinion of James’ letter. He believed that there was nothing worthwhile in it, so he deemed it a “book of straw.” He particularly disliked James’ idea that “faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead” (James 2:17). Luther much preferred Paul’s letter to the Romans and Paul’s emphasis on faith alone, “For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law” (Romans 3:28). Luther also preferred Paul’s writing style and abilities to James’ style. Paul writes long, eloquent essays on complex theological topics, using complex Greek words and sentence structure, with soaring rhetoric that inspires and informs his reader. James writes very plainly. He writes in short sentences. He does not use long words. And his insights are incredible.

Here’s the thing—I think the ideas of Paul and James are both correct. I love the way that Paul can write such beautiful works about the boundless love and grace of God. I also love the way that James can speak so simply about how Christians can live in ways that testify to that love. James is an incredibly practical book. It is wonderfully relatable. A few years ago, I had a church member who told me that James’ letter was his favorite book in the Bible. When I asked him, “Why is that?”, he responded, “Because he tells it like it is. I feel like he’s actually talking to me.” So, over the next five weeks, we’re going to read through this letter and see what James has to say to us. We’re going to look at the simple, practical, insightful advice he gives to all Christians. And we’re going to see how James affirms the idea that God’s love is unending, God’s grace is boundless, and God’s mercy knows no end. We will see that it is a book of wisdom, not straw.

Grace and peace to you all,
Pastor Ben