John Louk

Jesus said, “Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant…For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve.” (Mark 10:43, 45) In worship a few weeks ago, we heard that, as God’s people, we are to be a blessing to the whole earth. The covenant God made with God’s people, beginning with Abraham and Sarah, is that the L ORD blesses us in order to bless others; all the families of the earth will be blessed by us (Genesis 12:1-3) . Through Jesus we have been grafted on to God’s people. So we are meant to be a blessing to all the people of the earth. Tom Long, a preaching professor in Atlanta, tells a story about the city where he lives that sounds like 1974 in Cedar Rapids when Interstate 380 was built. “A decision was made to build a new freeway into Atlanta…A swath of houses was condemned, and eventually a whole neighborhood was torn down to make way for the highway. For a short time, though, families were still living in those houses, homes that many of the...

My parents wanted to put some loose rock down on the side of their house this spring. There’s a patch there where the grass doesn’t grow well between the house and their neighbor’s wooden fence. So they went out to a store and bought eighteen 50-pound bags of rock. I said, “That’s a lot of rock! How are you going to get it to your house?” They thought they might be able to put it in their car and just take several trips. I was very concerned for them. I don’t live in the same city and couldn’t just run over to help them. They’re both in their mid-seventies and they’ve both had some health issues. I told them I didn’t think that was a good idea. After all, I said, that’s 900 pounds of rock! I didn’t think they had any business, physically, trying to move 900 pounds of rock.  My mom replied, “That isn’t 900 pounds of rock. Let’s see, it’s 18 bags, each bag is 50 pounds…well, when did you get so good at math, Mr. Smartypants?!” I thought they should buy the rock in bulk and...

General Conference, our global family reunion that speaks officially for The United Methodist Church, met during May . Read the letter from the Council of Bishops here . It wasn’t a smooth start as delegates struggled for several hours over three of the days, deciding what rules would govern their conversations and whether they would use new technology (tablet computer) or old technology (colored cards) to communicate with the presiding bishop. From the beginning, there was mistrust. As I followed social media, I was surprised and disappointed in the behavior of some who claim to be followers of Jesus. Like the culture at large, many in the church try to demonize other Christians who don’t agree with them. Sadly, too often we have allowed people outside the church to determine our language and behavior. Our bishops indicated they are trying to hold us together in unity. Unity, being together, is not the same thing as unanimity, having the same mind. The question remains, can w...

General Conference, the once-every-four-years meeting, begins today, May 10, in Portland, Oregon. It is the top legislative assembly and the only body speaks officially as The United Methodist Church. 864 delegates elected by their annual conferences will consider 1044 petitions. Half the delegates are clergy and half are laity. Bishops lead the sessions, but have neither voice nor vote. This United Methodist meeting gathers brothers and sisters in Christ from Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. In addition to the legislation and times of worship, there will be many celebrations, including what we have accomplished through Imagine No Malaria. More than 1 million mosquito bed nets have been distributed and more than 250,000 people have been diagnosed and treated. Many lives have been saved! During the 11-day session, there will be many issues discussed and voted upon as our church continues to be shaped. There are several proposals to restructure the ministries of the gene...

“How do you become a member?” That’s a question I'm asked fairly often at my church. It’s a good question that deserves a helpful answer. First, while we love to receive new members (and we will during this Easter season!), I want to let you know that our mission isn’t to make new members but to make new disciples of Jesus. Our initial focus, therefore, is to connect with people and help them to first become and then grow more mature as followers of Jesus, who go on to live in a such a way that they participate in God’s mission to transform, to renew the world. So you don’t need to become a member of Salem. That’s not our goal. And all are welcome to be a part of Salem regardless of membership. That means your baptism, wedding, or funeral can happen at Salem even if you’re not a member. We’re more concerned about your connection to and participation in the congregation. You can worship and serve and be a part of the church in every way except for two. You have to be a memb...

In 24 Hours That Changed the World , Adam Hamilton points out that we believe Jesus died at the age of 33 after a life of approximately 12,000  days. The Gospel writers devoted most of their work to just 1,100 or so of those days, the last three years of his life. Their primary interest, however, was one particular day—the day Jesus was crucified. The gospel writers believed this 24-hour period changed the world. It may be helpful to explain how time was counted in Jesus’ story. It’s a little different than how we keep time. For most of us, a day begins and ends at midnight. This doesn’t hold true on a Jewish calendar, not in the time of Jesus and not today either. In the beginning, when God created time, the night was created first and then the day. “God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, a first day” Genesis 1:5 . Therefore, a Jewish day begins at nightfall and ends the following nightfall. Of course, exac...

How are we doing at making disciples of Jesus Christ who transform the world? 2015 was a momentous year for us! Each year, in assessing the state of Salem, we take a look at some benchmark statistics. Our membership now includes 235 professing adults. We also have 38 baptized infants and children— so 273 total. This past year 7 members died while we received 15 new members. That means we have received 81 new members since arriving at our current location a little over five years ago! We will be receiving more new members come Easter. Our worship attendance increased again. We averaged 209 this past year, up from 185 in 2014 and 177 in 2013. That’s close to 20% growth in the last two years! Salem’s attendance, at its lowest point after the flood in 2008, was 126. We’ve grown more than 65% since then. One of our goals for this year is to continue holding “bridge events” outside our building to reach our community. We’ll keep doing things like the Easter Egg Hunt and Trunk-or-Treat...