Put Church Back Together

      I am a notorious list maker! Each day while working in the office here at church I always begin to make a "To Do" list for the next day. Now like any other busy Pastor that list changes often, sometimes hour by hour. Each time I finish a task on the list I cross thru it and go on the another one. This morning when I got to Church one of those items that I added to my list said this: "Put church back together". Now the reason I wrote it down was that yesterday we had a funeral here at Church and then I had to leave right after the meal for another funeral I had that afternoon. I did not have the time that day to clean up my mess in the altar area or my office. Not to mention getting the Foyer furniture and other items put back where they belong. This is why I wrote down, "Put Church back together". But later in the morning when I looked back at my "To Do" list this one jumped out at me, "Put church back together". Boy did my words startle me! What an awesome task this is. Shoot, the old nursery rhythm tells us that "not even all the kings horses and all the kings men could put Humpty together again". Who am I then to put the Church back together. You see, the Church universal , worldwide is in need of some major repair! We have lost our focus. We have made Church about what "I" want it to look like and that it needs to meet everyone of "MY" needs and be responsive to each and everyone of "MY" pet ministries and of course it needs has to agree with the way that "I" think on each and every theological issue under heaven! But our actual focus should be on Christ and He alone. We need to spend more time in His Word and less time in the newspaper or on Facebook. More time in worship of Him and less time making certain our every whim is met. If we were to focus more on Christ, He then would put His Church back together, just how He had always planned it would be. So let's let Jesus do His thing and then wait and see what His/Your Church will look like!
Love ya' All Pastor Rick Koch Dutchtown Church             

Tutoring Time

     A year or so ago I felt a call from the Holy Spirit to be involved in our school in an educational way. Now I have been a volunteer coach and Announcer for many sports for many years, so this call was different. I talked with the principle about it and she said that she would get back to me. I never heard back. But about 5 months ago a retired teacher asked me if I would like to help out with a Grandparents Tutoring program that she was going to have. I accepted. Three Wednesday afternoons a week elementary age kids read to me, I helped them with math and spelling and whatever was asked of me. It is now done for the year. As I reflect back on the time several of us spent with these kids, I ponder "The Fruit" of our work and  I see this. I am getting old! I had kids who I worked with whose parents went to school with my daughters! I saw how the kids, whom I did not previously know, warmed up to me after time. I was blessed to see these kids improve their skills. Fruit I did not see yet, but I know is to come because I am trusting in Christ, is how may my/our interactions with these kids, the relationships made, how will that grant me future opportunities to minister unto them and their families. But for now those seeds are planted. Where might God be calling you to plant a few seeds, water a few young plants, pull a few weeds when needed, so that Christ like fruit may one day appear?       

The Deck

     A few month's ago my wife Beckie gave me an ultimatum. Get the Deck power washed and sealed by  Mother's Day. You see my wife s a huge flower gardener as well as one who enjoys decorating our deck with flowers galore along with all of that other artsy stuff she has learned about from HGTV. So last Wednesday afternoon I borrowed from my friend Paul Skoog, his power washer. Now this was no ordinary power washer. This was Industrial grade! You dare not put your fingers in front of that spray, that is if you valued them. Man I was washing away crud I didn't know existed embedded in the grain of those wooden planks. It caused me to think about the Industrial Power Washer Christ must have had to use on me to make me like it says in Psalm 51:7"Wash me and I will be whiter then snow". Sometimes you and I build-up many layers of crud/sin in our lives that only can removed by this Guy, we know as Jesus, who was willing to die for us. And why? Because His love for us cannot be matched by anyone on this globe.
   O.K. now the Deck is clean, on to the next step. Come Friday afternoon I began to use my trusted Thompson's sealer to protect my deck from the elements. Two and one half hours on my knees with a roller. My 55 year old back and knees were barking at me! But it was done. Ephesians 4:30 tells us that you and I as well have been "Sealed by the Holy Spirit". That God not only cleansed us, but then sought to seal into our hearts all that good stuff he has passed down and that he did this by giving us the Holy Spirit!.
    So for those of you who have Decks or porches you enjoy spending time on and ones that you have put into a little elbow grease. Remember how our Father has done the same for you tthrough His Son Jesus and through the Holy Spirit. Now get outside and enjoy that deck this Summer!
Pastor Rick Koch Dutchtown Church          

Two or More

      A verse that has become very powerful unto me lately is Matthew 18:20, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am with them." For most people who know me well, they know that I am a "Numbers" person. I promote heavily aattendance in worship and Sunday school and being apart of those other activities that the Church promotes. These are just a few of the areas people talk about when we ask ourselves about the health of a Church. Low numbers can have adverse effects. And when I look into public life the same holds true as well. I am beginning to see the ill effects of the lack of volunteers for most if not all of our volunteer organizations as well. But this verse is now constantly bouncing around in my head ( and that's a lot of bouncing seeing as my brain has shrunk with age) I am now seeing the wisdom and truth in this brief verse. I now attend a Bible study just for guys where our largest group has been five and many times just three. Great conversations can take place within this number. I meet regularly with a mentor having God Talks that are invaluable. This past Saturday I and one high school youth went on a service project 70 miles from home. A great experience. In years past I would have canceled out for the lack of numbers.
   Anyway, I will always be a strong proponent of Worship attendance and being accountable myself to those volunteer organizations that I am apart of. But I also value greatly these small intimate times where only a handful may gather, for I have seen what God can and will do in their midst! So the next time you are considering canceling something due to "Numbers", you might want to reconsider your decision! For who knows what blessing God might have waiting for you and the person you sit across from.
           May you have a Blessed and Joy filled week! Pastor Rick Koch Dutchtown