Author Archives: Karen Bates

El Poder de la Oración by Karen Bates

Hace años, cuando me uní a Facebook, muchos cristianos no sabían qué pensar de la nueva plataforma de redes sociales. Uno de mis mentores renunció a Facebook y me explicó los peligros de conectarse con personas a través de Internet. Estaba tratando de convencerme de que la plataforma no tenía valor redentor.

 “Puedes ser amigo de gente que ni siquiera conoces.” “Eso no es seguro” advirtió.

Ella no fue la única que hizo sonar las alarmas, pero yo estaba en la escuela de posgrado y lo veía como una forma de conectarme con personas más allá del aula.

Después del “tsk, tsk, tsk,” mi objetivo era usar las redes sociales para algo más que mirar actualizaciones de estado e imágenes. Comencé a orar por las personas en sus cumpleaños, cuando aparecían al azar en mi “feed” o cuando actualizaban sus estados. No siempre les dije, pero oré.

Amo orar. No siempre comprendo el misterio de la oración, pero conozco su poder. Lo sé por mis propias experiencias y por lo que he leído en las Escrituras; hablar con Dios es fundamental para mí. Ayuda a activar mi fe, restaura mi esperanza cuando decae y me recuerda que Dios siempre está conmigo.

En algunos de los días más oscuros de mi vida, oré para que Dios iluminara mi situación. Puedo recordar haber escrito en mi diario esta sabiduría de Santiago 5: 13a: “¿Hay alguien entre ustedes, que esté afligido? Que ore a Dios.” Y luego del Salmo 27: 1,“El Señor es mi luz y mi salvación; ¿A quién temeré? El Señor es la fuerza de mi vida; ¿de quién tendré miedo?”

Algunos días, no siempre sé las palabras para orar. Cuando estaba angustiada en medio de una transición difícil, encontré consuelo en lo que el apóstol Pablo escribió en Romanos 8:26: “De la misma manera, el Espíritu nos ayuda en nuestra debilidad. No sabemos por qué debemos orar, pero el Espíritu mismo intercede por nosotros con gemidos sin palabras.”

Fue un gran consuelo para mí saber que el Espíritu estaba intercediendo por mí los días en que había orado todas las palabras que sabía orar.

Cuando la aplicación de fotos en mis dispositivos comenzó a proporcionar collages de eventos y Facebook comenzó a proporcionar recuerdos, me molestó. Algunas de las imágenes eran buenos recuerdos que quería revivir; pero algunos de los recuerdos incluían personas y situaciones que quería olvidar.

“¿De verdad Facebook, una foto de cuando jugaba voleibol en seminario hace 13 años? ¿No tienes nada más reciente o halagador?”

Sin embargo, miré a las personas en las fotos y me pregunté dónde estaban y qué estaban haciendo. No podía recordar todos sus nombres, pero recordaba cosas sobre ellos. A algunos los tuve que buscar para recordarlos. A algunos todavía los conocía porque éramos amigos de Facebook.

Entonces me pregunté: ¿qué pasaría si comenzara a orar por las personas que aparecían en collages y recuerdos? ¿Cuáles serían las oraciones, especialmente para los collages que muestran a personas con las que no había hablado en años?

Me di cuenta de que podía agradecer a Dios por las temporadas que estas personas estaban en mi vida.

Podía agradecer a Dios por lo que significaban para mí en ese momento y orar por la curación en situaciones en las que nuestras separaciones eran menos amigables. ¿Qué pasa si oro por ellos en sus circunstancias actuales o por lo que sea que estén haciendo ahora?

No tuve que decírselos. Podría simplemente orar. Así que lo hice y lo hago.

Soy de un linaje de personas que oran.

Muchas mañanas me despertaba con el sonido rítmico de mi madre orando, clamando a Dios por las personas, los lugares y las situaciones. Ella tiene una sala de oración y un muro de oración. Allí coloca fotografías de personas por las que está orando.

Cuando mi madre celebró un cumpleaños histórico el año pasado, oró por cada uno de sus nietos y bisnietos. Y cuando nació su primer tataranieto a mediados de junio, una de las primeras imágenes que surgieron fue la de ella orando por él. Es el comienzo de la quinta generación viva de nuestra familia.

Rev. Arlene Bates, Photo Credit: Tonyka Thomas

A menudo, mi madre nos llevaba a visitar a mi bisabuela materna, Lelia Mincy White. Mis cuatro hermanas y yo nos dispersábamos por la sala del apartamento de un dormitorio mientras mi madre y su abuela estudiaban las Escrituras y oraban. Recuerdo una visita en particular cuando mi bisabuela se levantó de la mesa y entró en la sala de estar. Ella puso sus manos sobre cada uno de nosotros y oró por nosotros.

Cuando murió mi bisabuela, la encontraron arrodillada junto a su cama, probablemente orando.

Después de la muerte de mi abuela materna, se compartieron cuadernos llenos de oraciones que había escrito. Oraba por muchas cosas por escrito, pero a menudo le recordaba a Dios quién es él y cuánto más poderoso es que un presidente—quien en el momento de una oración, estaba arruinando la economía.

No pretendo saber todo lo que necesito saber sobre la oración. No entiendo ni sé por qué se responden algunas oraciones y, aparentemente, otras no. No sé por qué algunas respuestas llegan rápido y otras lentamente.

Pero sé que Dios escucha y contesta las oraciones. Dios permite que la gente ore por ti incluso cuando no lo sabes. He llegado a comprender que incluso en mis momentos de duda y cuestionamiento, Dios todavía está escuchando, y todavía contesta las oraciones, y que el tiempo de Dios es perfecto.


La traducción por Rev. Dr. Edgar Bazan


Featured image courtesy Timothy Eberly on Unsplash

waiting

How to Pray in Active Waiting by Karen Bates

I am horrible at waiting. I don’t always hate waiting itself, but I have expectations. When something is not done in the timeframe I expect, I get an attitude — and keep waiting.

Right now, we are all waiting for the pandemic to pass. Social distancing, quarantining, and staying home are taking a toll on many of us. How do we endure the wait?

One of my best lessons about waiting came from learning how to grill a steak properly. For me, a perfect steak is medium well — just a hint of pink.

The first time I grilled steak, it was a disaster. It appeared to be just right — the juices were bubbling, the grill marks were there, and it smelled divine. Then I cut into it — it was blood-red and cold to the touch. Not one who is easily defeated, I talked to some seasoned grillers. They all suspected the same thing: the heat was too high.

“You have to wait for a steak to come to perfection. The high heat cooks it deceptively,” one of the grillers told me.

“It looks ready on the outside but is still raw on the inside. High heat cuts down the wait time, but it does not thoroughly cook the meat.”

I didn’t like hearing I was impatient.

Waiting isn’t bad; it can be a time of renewal. In Isaiah 40:31, Scripture tells us, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Being renewed gives you strength for the journey. But sometimes, I find myself getting tired, because I am working to do what God said he would do, instead of waiting on God.

Earlier this year, I ran my first 5k race. I trained for the race, but halfway through, I found myself a little tired. However, when I saw the finish line, something happened to my weary body — I got a second wind. I didn’t even stop to take pictures with the signs of famous women along the route. I just kept running, going around people, staying focused on finishing. When I get tired of waiting, I imagine God renews my strength, just like my strength was renewed when I saw the finish line. Waiting is always part of the process.

Waiting is about preparing for what is to come. Get ready for what you request! Instead of watching my steak, pressing it down, or flipping it too soon, I left it alone. Instead, I set the table and put out the side dishes for the meal.

Invest in your waiting. I have petitions before God. While waiting, I fast and pray not just for my requests but also for others’ requests. On Fast for Your Future Tuesday, I fast and pray with people, believing God for answers.

Wait well. Learn how to praise God for what you are waiting for. Offering gratitude for what you cannot see may be a challenge. But praising God can change your attitude and perspective.

Are you praying for something? Do you have a request before God? Don’t get discouraged if you are tired of waiting. Just wait —the answer is on the way. Sometimes, waiting is easier said than done, but I am always encouraged by what David says about waiting in Psalms 27:13-14: “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

Don’t be impatient, like I was with the steak. Wait on the Lord. Because just like I waited for the steak to cook properly, you will be glad you waited for God to give you or send you the perfect answer.

 


Featured image: “Waiting” by Nicholas Roerich, 1927

Wait for God’s Goodness by Karen Bates

In a recent conversation, the idea being discussed centered on what it means to wait on God. One person in the group asked, “how do you know when to give up?” The other members of the group immediately looked at me. I asked, “why are you all looking at me?” Someone replied, “you are the pastor! You should have an answer.” The person scoffed when I said, “you never give up when you are waiting on God. It doesn’t matter if you are waiting on a promise, something you requested, something you need — whatever it is, if God says, wait — wait. It is important to trust God’s timing.”

That’s something I have experience with. During a season of unemployment, I knew God had promised me that I would return to work, that I was not to panic but to trust him. It was easy to trust God while I was receiving unemployment checks. But as the deadline for the checks to end neared, I tried not to panic but kept reminding God that bills were still due.

God provided — from expected and unexpected sources. One person who didn’t know me put money in my hand and said, “God told me to give this to you.” When I tried to explain, the person said I owed no explanation. “And please, do not send me a thank you note. Thank God. It is from him.” I waited until I got to my car to count the money. It was enough to cover my car payment, insurance, and gas for several weeks. And while I thanked God, I reminded God again: I need a job. After the unemployment checks ended and I still wasn’t working, I was always asking for prayer. God reminded me to stop asking and to wait.

One of my favorite verses of scripture is Psalm 27:14: “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” However, that Scripture is what I quoted to other people who were waiting. My morning prayer turned into me asking God for courage to wait and to strengthen my heart to believe. When my belief in what God has promised me wanes, I often consider the father whose child was possessed by a spirit described in Mark 9. The truth is, sometimes I’m the father — “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.” I don’t always know what it takes to believe God for what he has promised. Unbelief is easy; belief takes faith — and sometimes patience.

The beauty of waiting is not always evident. In the waiting, I am often consumed by thoughts about what happens if. What if God’s promise doesn’t come true? What will people think if I said God would do it and he doesn’t? What happens if? God has gently reminded me more than once that the onus for what he has promised is not on me. It is on him. God will do what he says — in his own time.

There is a beauty in waiting, but it is not shown while we wait. The beauty is revealed when you review what God has done in you while you were believing and waiting.

The father’s request — and Jesus’ promise — was healing for the boy. Even when it looked as if the boy was dead, the father continued to believe. Don’t stop believing if life was promised to a situation that appears dead. I wonder how the father felt in those moments when his son was on the ground, and some thought the boy was dead? I’m sure those moments felt like years. However, the good news is that the promise came to be: “Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.” ( Mark 9:27)

As I was waiting and praying for the job, I talked to an employment counselor. The counselor said it would be at least four to six weeks before I would be working. I had been without an income for five weeks at that time. However, God’s timing is perfect. The job opportunity God had for me opened much sooner. I applied for the job during the third week of July and was working in the second week of August. Never give up on what God has promised you. Keep believing, keep the faith, keep trusting, and keep waiting. Wait on the Lord, and if you must, pray, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.”

Praying Power by Karen Bates

Years ago when I joined Facebook, many Christians didn’t know what to make of the new social media platform. One of my mentors swore off Facebook, explaining to me the dangers of connecting with people through the Internet. She was trying to convince me that the platform had no redemptive value.

 “You can be friends with people you don’t even know. That is not safe,” she warned.  

She wasn’t the only one sounding alarms, but I was in graduate school and viewed it as a way to connect to people beyond the classroom.

After the “tsk, tsk, tsk,” my goal was to use social media for something more than looking at status updates and pictures. I started to pray for people on their birthdays, when they showed up randomly on my feed, or when they updated their statuses. I didn’t always tell them, but I prayed.

I love to pray. I do not always understand the mystery of prayer, but I know its power. I know from my own experiences and from what I have read in the Scriptures; talking to God is essential for me. It helps activate my faith, restores my hope when it wanes, and reminds me that God is always with me. 

In some of the darkest days of my life, I prayed for God to bring light to my situation. I can remember writing in my journal this wisdom from James 5:13a: “Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray,” and then from Psalm 27:1, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

Some days, I don’t always know the words to pray. When I was distressed in the middle of a difficult transition, I found consolation in what the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:26: “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”

It was great comfort to me to know the Spirit was interceding on my behalf on days when I had prayed all the words I knew to pray.

When the photo app on my devices started providing collages of events and Facebook started providing memories, I was annoyed. Some of the pictures were good memories I wanted to relive; some of the memories included people and situations I wanted to forget.

“Really Facebook, a picture from when I played volleyball in seminary 13 years ago? Is there nothing more recent or flattering you have?”

However, I looked at the people in the pictures and wondered where they were and what they were doing. I couldn’t remember all of their names, but I remembered things about them. Some I looked up. Some I still knew because we were Facebook friends.

Then I wondered: what would happen if I began praying for the people who popped up in collages and memories? What would the prayers be — especially for the collages showing people I hadn’t spoken to in years?

I realized I could thank God for the seasons these people were in my life.

I could thank God for what they meant to me at that time and pray for healing in situations where our separations were less than amicable. What if I prayed for them in their current circumstances, or for whatever they are doing now?

I didn’t have to tell them. I could just pray. So I did, and I do.

I am from a lineage of praying people.

Many mornings, I would wake up to the rhythmic sound of my mother praying — crying out to God on behalf of people, places, and situations. She has a prayer room and a prayer wall. She puts up pictures of people she is praying for.

Rev. Arlene Bates prays over her great-great grandson, Dallas White, on the day of his birth.
Photo Credit: Tonyka Thomas

When my mother celebrated a milestone birthday last year, she prayed over each one of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. And when her first great-great grandson was born mid-June, one of the first pictures to emerge was of her praying over him. He is the start of our family’s fifth living generation.

Often, my mother would take us to visit my maternal great-grandmother, Lelia Mincy White. My four sisters and I would scatter throughout the living room of the one-bedroom apartment while my mother and her grandmother would study Scriptures and pray. I remember one particular visit when my great-grandmother left the table and came into the living room. She laid her hands on each one of us and prayed over us.

When my great-grandmother died, she was found kneeling at her bedside, most likely praying.

After my maternal grandmother died, notebooks full of prayers she had written were shared. She prayed about many things in writing, but often reminded God about who he is and how much more powerful he is than a president, who at the time of one prayer, was messing up the economy.

I do not claim to know everything I need to know about praying. I don’t understand or know why some prayers are answered and seemingly, some aren’t. I don’t know why some answers come swiftly and some slowly.

But I do know that God hears and answers prayers. God allows people to pray for you even when you don’t know it. I’ve come to understand that even in my moments of doubt and questioning, God is still listening — and still answering prayers — and that God’s timing is perfect.

Karen Bates ~ Egg Salad and Easter Sunday: Preaching the Messiness of Hope

Holy Week is a special time to reflect as Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection are commemorated.

I also get to remember how deeply loved I am, when I consider Jesus willingly suffering and dying on the cross for me. I love guiding people through the significance of Jesus’ journey to the cross and his resurrection.

Once during a ministers’ conference, the speaker said that on Easter, too much talk about the crucifixion and the events surrounding it is “a downer.” Talk about the good parts, we were told, because it gives people hope — focus on the resurrection. People are not coming back to the church to hear about the crucifixion, the speaker claimed.

But I wonder: Are there any bad parts to the story?

Talking about Jesus being denied by a friend, betrayed by a disciple, and turned on by a crowd is not bad. Isn’t it an opportunity to allow people to meet Jesus in his humanity and divinity? Jesus experienced the same messiness of life many of us are experiencing or will experience. But he knew his destiny; and though he could have walked away from the divine assignment, he didn’t.

Jesus had a choice and decided I was worth the torture and pain he was experiencing. He knew he was going to be resurrected. He knew the resurrection would be a bridge connecting me to his Father — our Father. When people understand the depth of love exhibited by this act, it draws them to the Savior.

Recently, while picking up coffee, I heard a store clerk shouting at a man in the aisle to bring the candy he was putting in his pocket to the counter to pay for it. He put the candy on the counter; however, the clerk did not see the sandwich and treat he was holding in his other hand. When she realized it, he was running out of the store. The clerk prepared to chase the man while the store owner called the police. A customer agreed to pay for the items if the owner would not call the police.

When the man realized no one was chasing him, he looked surprised and scurried up the street.

I wondered how hungry the man was to steal an egg salad sandwich from a convenience store. I also wondered how he would have reacted to the customer’s kindness.

He left without knowing his debt was paid. He was free to go. The food belonged to him.

That information probably would have surprised him. A stranger thought enough of his plight to free him from arrest (even though the man likely deserved the punishment for taking the items).

I thought about the spiritual implications, too. What the customer did for the man was what Jesus did for me. It made me sad because the man did not know he was free to go. I wondered how many people live with the burden and guilt of sin, but don’t know they are free to walk away from it.

Commemorating Jesus’ last week on earth reminds us of John 16:33: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” That is why sharing all that happened to Jesus leading up to the crucifixion at calvary is important.

Life’s problems do not disappear. They didn’t disappear for Jesus. How Jesus handled problems was different. Inviting people to see the messiness of what happened to Jesus and how he handled it is something that gives us all hope — not just the Resurrection.  

Jesus loved Peter despite Peter denying him. Jesus washed Judas’ feet even though he knew he would betray him. He accepted the crowd’s praise, even though he knew they would demand he be crucified.

Jesus also knew the end of the story.

In Mark 8, after Peter said Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus talks about his death and resurrection. “He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.”

Telling the whole story is a holy adventure that provides examples of ways to navigate through life’s challenges.

Reflecting on those challenges and the triumph over them is a fresh reminder of how Jesus’ love for others pushed him to endure torture so he could lay down his life for his friends. It is also an opportunity to tell somebody who doesn’t know about the beauty of Jesus’ love. They need to know that the cost of their sins, and the guilt and shame that accompany them, are covered.

People need to know what led to the morning when women, coming to slather fragrant oils on a decaying body, found the stone rolled away from an empty tomb. This is a time to remember why Easter is a celebration. It’s not just about the resurrection, but everything that surrounds it. 

Karen Bates ~ The Call to Proclaim

One of my favorite evangelists is known by her place of conversion.

She is the woman at the well — the Samaritan woman — who encountered Jesus while she was filling her water pot. She had a conversation that transformed her and moved her to share her experience with others.

While I am sure she was probably just minding her business, she ends up having a divine encounter with Jesus that covers a lot of subjects, including wells, water, worship and the Messiah. When Jesus dipped into her business (“call your husband”), she realized this conversation was different.

She mistakes Jesus for a prophet, but Jesus lets her know he is the Messiah during this exchange in John 4:25-26: “The woman said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When He comes, He will tell us all things.’  Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He.’”

It is after this exchange that the disciples return to find Jesus talking to the Samaritan woman, and even though they were surprised by the scene they didn’t ask Jesus — or the woman — to explain what was happening.

Besides, the woman didn’t stick around to answer questions. She left her water pot and went back into the city to invite others to come (John 4:29-30: “’Come, see a man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?’ Then they went out of the city and came to him.”)

What I love about this woman is how she invited people to Jesus without an ordination service, a Bible school or seminary education, or permission from anybody. She didn’t even ask Jesus if she could tell what happened.

She just went back to the city and preached, inviting people to Jesus — to partake of the Gospel.

My mother, the Rev. Arlene Bates, said people who proclaim the Gospel immediately after their conversions have pure proclamations: “They simply tell what has happened.” That is what happened with the woman at the well — she just told what happened because it was an experience that changed her.

Too often, when God calls people to assignments — especially ministry — others show up with a list of requirements to meet and rules to follow.

Sometimes, people will boldly ask, “Who gave you the authority to preach?”

The authority comes from God. To me, ordination is recognition of what God already has ordained and authorized. While ordination boards and other checks and balances have an important place, sharing how your life has been transformed by the Gospel doesn’t require a certificate or approval. I have learned to follow God’s voice, because people always have reservations about whether you are capable of what God has called you to do.

When I was called to ministry, it was exactly the last thing I wanted to do. I had a plan. Nothing ministry-related was on my radar. My mother is a pastor. I had a front-row seat to how women were not always treated fairly in ministry. I watched her do what God called her to do regardless of what other people had to say or what they would do.

During the time I was sensing my call to ministry, I had a long conversation with one of my best friends. We discussed the pros and cons and why even if I was called, I wouldn’t do it.

This time in my life coincided with a period of insomnia. During a doctor’s appointment, I mentioned to my physician that I was having trouble sleeping. He told me some things to do, but also gave me sleeping pills for days when I needed them. It wasn’t funny, but the first night I took a sleeping pill, it seemed I was more awaken than I had ever been. I knew God was speaking to me and trying to get my attention. I was rejecting the overtures. Over the course of a month or so, I occasionally took a sleeping pill, but it didn’t help me sleep.

One night, I called my best friend, who had just purchased a new piano and was an excellent musician. I asked him if he could play some music to help me fall asleep. He started playing the hymn, I Surrender All. I hung up on him! But when he called back, he asked me if I thought I was going to be able to run from God forever.

As I pursued my call, I heard many reasons why ministry wasn’t right for me — not because God called me — because I was a woman. I was a woman of color. I didn’t have the education. I wasn’t as committed to Christ as I needed to be.

I told God all of those excuses and reasons others had provided me with, because they sounded good to me. During an intense time of prayer and discernment, God reminded me – he called me. Other people could tell me why I wasn’t cut out for ministry, what I needed in order to do ministry, or why it wasn’t the right time, but they were not the ones who had called me — God had.

In one of my moments of doubt, I remember sobbing about not wanting to be in ministry. I heard God speak to my heart: Proclaim the Gospel. I am with you.

So now, like the woman at the well, I proclaim the Gospel. And I love telling people, come see a man.

Karen Bates ~ Hope in a Diner Booth

At a time in my life when things were not like I wanted, I sat in a restaurant booth across from a friend as tears streamed down my face explaining how everything was going wrong.

The holidays were around the corner. I was short on cash. I was helping other people but no one asked me if I needed help. I needed to find a new place to live. I was pastoring a church and thought I was a failure. I was doing a Christmas concert and felt unprepared. I was a stressed-out, overwhelmed mess.

We had just left a service that was part of an Advent observance. Though I smiled through it, tears welled up in my eyes when the candle representing hope was lit. I didn’t let tears fall as Scripture passages were read and we sang O Come, O Come Emmanuel. But sitting across from my friend, I sobbed. For me, in a season where I was expected to celebrate Advent, I felt like doing no such thing.

My friend let me cry and then encouraged me to remember that my hope was not in my circumstances, but in my savior. My friend encouraged me to reread the Christmas story and to do things to be a blessing to other people.

For many people, this season can be a challenge. Life is hard. Things happen that catch people off guard. And it is never just one thing. It seems that difficult circumstances and situations come in waves that overwhelm.

For the first time in 20 years, a friend will celebrate Christmas without a spouse. It is not only the separation and impending divorce that rattled the friend. It was all the things that happened leading up to the separation and divorce request that has my friend in a place that seems hopeless.

And hope looks different for people. For the mother of an addicted child, hope is her child completing rehab, returning home and the family resuming its daily routines. For the child, hope is completing rehab and moving 2,000 miles away from the environment that cultivated and fed the addiction.

In this season, they are overwhelmed as they seek to find what hope looks like.

What circumstances or situations overwhelm you or someone you know? The breakup of a marriage? The death of a spouse or a loved one? The loss of a job? An addicted child? Aging parents? An undiagnosed illness? A terminal illness? An out-of-control child? An estranged relationship? A difficult job situation? Tense living conditions? Financial pressures from student loans, medical bills, or unexpected expenses? Car repairs? A crazy political climate? Difficulty find a job? Difficulty keeping a job? Mental illness? Depression? Oppression? Constant criticism? Unacknowledged achievements? Homelessness? Unemployment? Underemployment? Unmet expectations? Feeling like a failure? An unexpected transition? Family pressures? Chronic illness? Lack of health insurance? Injustices? An unjust situation?

Sometimes, people feel like they have no hope even after they have been successful because it doesn’t seem to be enough.You can fill in the blank for yourself about what overwhelms you or someone you know. For some people, it’s not just one thing, it a combination of things.

However, as we prepare our hearts to remember the birth of the Christ child and anticipate his impending return, know your hope is not in your circumstances, but indeed, in Christ, who is with you. The promise was made in Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (God with us).”

Word that the promise is being fulfilled comes as Jesus’ birth is announced in various New Testament Scriptures. One of my favorites is in Matthew 1 when Joseph is told he should still marry Mary even though she was pregnant, because the child is from the Holy Spirit. A fiancé pregnant with a child you didn’t father probably did dimmed the hope Joseph had for the future of his relationship with Mary. However, the hope for his relationship was likely restored after the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream telling him: “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’).”

In this season, if your hope is gone, waning or in short supply, my prayer is that as the candles on the Advent wreath are lit, it will reignite hope in your heart. I pray you are reminded God is with you. If your hope is gone, may the flame not only rekindle hope, but may it also remind you God loves you.

As his love surrounds you, I pray you feel the peace and joy celebrated in this season, even if you don’t feel like celebrating. Know this — God’s promises are true and God is with us. May the light of this season illuminate your way to restored hope in the resurrected Christ!

Karen Bates ~ Choosing Thankfulness in a Harsh World

Occasionally, I pay for people’s coffee while I’m buying my own. Not because I’m rich, but because it’s a nice thing to do.

Recently, I decided to buy coffee for the man behind me, but contemplated whether the kindness was warranted after he was less than kind to the person serving us and to another person in line. I remembered I had no idea what kind of battle the man was fighting and told the cashier I was paying for his order. After I left the store, the man came behind me demanding to know why I bought his coffee.

When I turned to talked to him, he had tears in his eyes. “Thank you. You are a nice woman. Thank you. You made my day.”

It would have been easy to justify not buying his coffee. He was rude, unnecessarily short with the employee and nasty when a person accidently bumped him with a bag. But several months ago I wrote myself notes to always be kind and always be grateful.

It’s hard to do that in situations that challenge basic decency. It’s even more difficult when the adverse actions are taken because of people’s skin color, religion, or for no reason at all.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18, the Apostle Paul said:  “Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Somehow, being thankful seems inappropriate when people have lost their lives, name calling is out of control, and being mean, nasty, and rude is commonplace for some. However, what I have found is that in all the tense circumstances, there are reasons to give thanks — and one reason is for the communities that rally around people when it seems that all is lost.

On October 27, the day that eleven worshipers at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh were killed, I was in the city  (my hometown) to celebrate my mother’s birthday. I watched people rally around our Jewish brothers and sisters, reminding them that hate does not win. There were vigils, blood drives, and words of affirmation to those who were viciously targeted by hate.

I was further encouraged when the community expanded.

On November 7, the Washington Capitals played against the Pittsburgh Penguins in a hockey game. At the game, the Capitals had a 50/50 drawing where one half of the pot was going to the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh to assist the victims and families of the shooting. However, instead of splitting the pot, the winning fan, who wanted to remain anonymous, waived his right to his half of the $38,570 prize.

When something like that happens, it is a reminder that there are more decent people in the world than there are those who publicly display hate. The deeds and support of people who show love is one way to strip away the power people think hate gives them. Hate is nothing more than fear of the unknown.

When good and love overtake hate, it is also a reminder that God is omnipresent, good and merciful — and not as a cliché.

In Mark 14, there is a woman who crashes a dinner party to minister to Jesus. The Scriptures say she lived a sinful life, but it didn’t stop her from using her tears to wet Jesus’ feet. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

The host, Simon, was not happy about the uninvited guest, and thought if Jesus was a prophet he would have known the woman touching him was a sinner. Instead of asking the woman to stop and leave, Jesus gave the host, Simon, a lesson about hospitality and then forgave the woman of her sins.There were other guests at the party, and some of them were probably feeling the same as Simon. However, what wowed them was Jesus’s forgiveness of the woman’s sins.

I imagine the woman responded with thanksgiving and appreciation after having faced a group of people who only recognized her for her sin, not Jesus’ ability to forgive her. This incident could have ended differently if those around the woman had recognized she needed to be forgiven instead of ridiculed, or if they had thanked her for caring for Jesus.

When I purchased the coffee for the man I wasn’t sure deserved it, I returned good for evil and in a crazy sort of way I was thankful for him — despite his behavior.

In these days when the culture is trying to normalize hate and bad behavior, be thankful for the people who stand up against it. Be thankful for communities that show love when others are the victims of hate and un-Christlike behavior. Know that you can be a member of a community of love based on how you respond to situations you know about, see, and experience.

Be thankful for your voice and use it — even if you are a community of one. People on the receiving end will be thankful.

multiethnic women

Karen Bates ~What We’re Missing when Multiethnic Women Are Absent from Pastoral Staffs

I recently participated in an online roundtable about multiethnic women in ministry. Most of the women were connected to the Wesleyan Church, of which I am a member.

The conversation reminded me that I am not alone on the journey, and that while strides have been made, there are still many miles to go. Many of the women who shared their stories have parallels to my story. I could relate to the joys — and struggles — of saying yes to God’s call but hearing “no” when it came to fulfilling it. In the end, the focus was really on women in ministry.

Here are my three main takeaways:

*God is inclusive — God doesn’t exclude women from ministry. The identity of women called to ministry is not found in the people we are called to serve, but in the God who called us. “No” from people does not negate your “yes” or God’s call. Limits that people try to put on women do not change the identity God has given them as ministers of the Gospel. No matter what people do to limit her, God will continue to bring her back to her identity in him and provide opportunities for ministry.

*Not everybody has the same excitement about women in ministry, but we are slowly inching that way. While the rhetoric and the reality are at different levels in the church, some leaders and congregations have acknowledged that God does call women. They welcome women to join with them, not because of their gender, but because they are called — period. However, there still seems to be a disconnect — most notably among congregations and local boards of administration.

*Many women find joy in discovering their place to work and serve. When a woman is affirmed by a congregation and those she works with on every level of ministry, it allows her to thrive. That affirmation is rooted in genuine friendships where the gifts and skills with which God has equipped each woman are acknowledged and appreciated. Some women work alone; others work alongside their spouses, but all are trying to get to the place where they fit so they can thrive.

Sometimes it is a struggle to find a place to belong. And for a woman of color, there are unique challenges because of her skin color.

My journey has been a long one. I have heard “no” more than “yes” and faced rejection for jobs that I was more than qualified for. Most times, there are no replies to my applications or inquiries. I have also faced a backlash when I have talked about my journey — and had to learn that some people don’t like you to talk publicly about the less flattering things that have happened.  However, you can’t see what is in the dark unless you shed light on it and you can’t change what you don’t acknowledge. One pastoral position I applied for yielded a call from a board member who asked me if I knew I was a black woman.  “We aren’t looking for a woman, and certainly not a black woman,” the caller said. I am not sure how I was supposed to know that, especially since that information wasn’t in the job announcement.

These days, I serve as a volunteer assistant pastor at a church where I am welcomed and affirmed. I have a pastor who is not threatened by me and recognizes that I have gifts that are important to the Body of Christ. I am called to full-time vocational ministry and I hope that door will open.

What I pray for my sisters as we work together in different places towards acceptance,  affirmation and a place to belong, is that each of us will find people to keep us encouraged. I pray that each of us will find churches willing to take a chance. I pray that each of us will find leaders who push back against the status quo.

I also pray that God will continue to give us courage as we live into the calling God has placed on our lives.