Hi everyone!
This month I have another band from Ireland for you (Rend Collective is from Ireland too!). Introducing "We Are Messengers"!
"We Are Messengers" is a relatively young band, but have already made a good name for themselves. They released their first full-length album in April of 2016, and it reach #10 on Billboard's Christian charts. They've had two very popular singles played all over Christian radio: "Everything Comes Alive" and "Magnify". Magnify is currently #15 on the top 20 christian charts. Check out those videos down below.
Lead singer Darren Mulligan has a fascinating story to share including atheism, a life of selfishness, selling all his guitars and vowing to never play again, to now being the lead singer of one of the top up-and-coming christian bands in the US. Read more about Darren and We Are Messengers here:

Give them a listen. Let me know what you think in the comments. Like and share on Facebook too!. If you have suggestions for next month's CMS, leave a comment too!
Happy Listening!
~Ben

        We played a TON of games at camp. Basketball, ultimate frisbee, gagaball, capture the chicken, and so many more! As staff our goal with any game or activity was to have as much fun as possible. Imagine the bell curve above is measuring the amount of fun everyone is having. At the beginning, everyone is learning the rules of the game and just figuring out how to play. Once the group figures it out, the fun level continues to grow until it reaches the peak fun level...AKA "Ultimate Fun". Beyond that point, the activity can sometimes go on for too long, becoming boring and not as much fun to play again. If the game is stopped at "Ultimate Fun", those playing the game are left wanting more, and the game can, and should, be played again.
        I think we would all be better off if we applied this "Ultimate Fun" concept to our lives. Here are a few examples of some things I think we tend to take beyond "Ultimate Fun" (at least the things that have been on my mind lately):

1. Food: We all know the feeling of overindulging. Not only are you left feeling stuffed and uncomfortable, but the long-term effects aren't great either...trust me, I know. :)
2. Busy-ness: We all seem to be in competition with each other to see who is the busiest. The conversation usually looks something like this: "How are you?" "Ugh, busy! You?" "Yup, pretty busy." And then both parties go back and forth with all of the things they have going on. I think busy-ness is killing us! We've become so over-worked and over-stressed that we sometimes lose sight of what is important in life...our relationships with God and those we care about the most. Don't fall into the trap!!!!
3. Athletics: Anyone who knows me might be shocked by that one. Trust me I love me some sports, but we can go to far. In this case, I'm referring to youth sports. I think in general, our kids are doing way too much, way too early! I question how much this is helping our kids. Trust me, I want them to be active and exercising, and to learn and excel in sports. What concerns me is what we're beginning to see at the upper high school levels. I'm seeing 2 major things becoming more and more of a problem:
   1. Kids are quitting sports programs around their sophomore or junior years because they are just burnt out. It is no longer fun for them. They blew by "ultimate fun" around 8th grade.
   2. Those who don't get burnt out are getting seriously hurt or developing chronic injuries. Kids are putting so many miles on their muscles so early that by the time they are in the upper levels of their competitive careers, they are riding the bench with some part of their body in a cast. It just kills me to see that! (not all of them experience this, but unfortunately it seems to be more and more)

        We have got to find some kind of balance between healthy               levels of activity and gaining meaningful experience on our             courts/fields.

Life Lesson #1: Ultimate Fun - Find a balance in your life. Don't over do it. It's okay to leave wanting more, it gives you something to look forward to.

As Lutherans, we place an emphasis on the faith education of our youth, from Sunday School right up to their confirmation, and rightly so; having a strong foundation of faith is essential for ensuring that young adults continue to grow in their relationship with Christ. However, where Lutherans often drop the ball is at that point, after confirmation; because it is such a milestone, many of us treat it as a graduation, after which we have “completed” our faith education. We’re done now, right? We know enough to get by in worship, and we can relax until it’s time for our own children to go to Sunday School and go through the same steps towards confirmation. Unfortunately, or rather fortunately, God has a greater plan for us than that; he doesn’t want us to just put in our time or to graduate from the church. He wants us to continue to grow in our faith, even after we affirm our baptism, as our confirmands did this May. As Paul said in his letter to the Jews, explaining how they needed to grow in their understanding, 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:13-14). In this light, adulthood in the church does not mean allowing ourselves to become lax and content with just consuming soft spiritual food; as Paul said, we need to be able to take on the spiritual steak and be able to digest it, actively engaging with real-world problems as a mature faith community, strengthened by God’s word.

In John Roberto’s new blog series, “A New Faith Forming Ecosystem”, he compares daily Christian life and faith formation to an ecosystem, with many interconnected and interacting parts each affecting each other. When a faith formation ecosystem is working, the entire congregation depends on one another, growing in faith as they consistently learn, celebrate, pray, serve, and support each other. To do this, Roberto says, we must become “intentionally intergenerational”; that is, we must set a goal, as a congregation, to integrate and involve all age groups in the faith formation of youth and adults. In doing this, we will “foster intergenerational relationships, faith sharing, and storytelling,” strengthening our community of believers even as we grow in our faith.

Roberto provides many ideas as to how a congregation’s faith ecosystem can be improved, from improving a church’s digital presence to encouraging family faith formation at home; however, the common thread that runs through all of his ideas is the importance of continued faith growth for all Christians, no matter their age. By continuing to grow in the understanding of our faith throughout a lifetime, beyond confirmation, we can encourage and mentor young Christians as well as mature to reach a deeper relationship with Christ.

Eating solid food is a difficult thing for an infant; it takes months of work to slowly introduce new foods, but once they are able to take on those new foods, their diet is expanded, ensuring their future health. We must do the same; if we are to stay spiritually healthy, we must grow in our faith, deepening our own understanding as we encourage others who have just begun their spiritual journey. As Roberto says, being intergenerational is more than simply having every age group represented; it means having every member present, in every sense of the word. By doing this, we can become more than graduates of the church “system”; we can become life-long learners and teachers, building up our congregational community as it simultaneously builds us. 

Blessings,

Jack Busche

Here is the third installment of the mission moment series. Feel free to share thoughts and comments!

Here is the 2nd installment of the Living Our Baptismal Call series. Share some thoughts and comments if your wish!

Yesterday, Sunday, January 4th, we started a month-long focus on Baptism and living out our baptismal call. Throughout the month, I will be doing a series of mission moments before worship, focusing each week on a different aspect of how we live out our baptismal call. We will be recording these and posting them on here each week for you to see in case you miss one. 

Here is week # 1. January 4th, 2015

Blessings, 
Ben

ps...I've never been a fan of listening to a recording of myself or seeing myself on video. So I hope you appreciate the sacrifice I'm making by putting this video up online. :) I'll try to do better next time!