Shepherd's Heart 10/16/26
Beloved,
I just got back from the LCMC National Gathering, and I am excited to share some reflections with you.
It was so good to be with other pastors. We swapped stories over meals that went way too late, and I heard the same thing over and over again from pastors of churches big and small. They want to see people come to faith in Jesus again. Honestly, so do I.
I also got to give one of the plenary talks, and I went up there as your pastor, and I was so honored to represent our beautiful community.
What I preached
I spent time in Galatians 5, where Paul says, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.” He goes on to say that freedom isn’t for indulging ourselves. It’s for serving one another in love.
That theme runs all through Scripture. In Exodus, God hears his people crying out in slavery and comes down to rescue them. A little later he tells them to love the foreigner living among them, because they know what it was like to be foreigners in Egypt. God frees his people, and then he sends them to care for others.
Then we went to Acts 16 and the city of Philippi. Three people meet Jesus in that chapter. Lydia is a businesswoman who hears Paul by the river, and the Lord opens her heart. A young slave girl is being used by her owners to make money, and Paul sets her free in the name of Jesus. And a Roman jailer, who was about to take his own life in the middle of the night, ends up washing Paul and Silas’s wounds and feeding them at his own table.
These three had very little in common, and yet they became the first church in Philippi.
There’s one small detail in that story I love. Paul and Silas are sitting in the stocks at midnight, beaten up, singing hymns. And Luke tells us the other prisoners were listening to them. I think about that a lot. People are watching how we live, especially when things are hard.
What I sensed for us
I went to preach this to pastors, but I think God was preaching it to me too, and to us as a church.
We’ve been set free by Jesus. I’m afraid the Church in America has gotten comfortable keeping that to ourselves.
I know the word evangelism makes a lot of us nervous. Maybe you picture someone knocking on doors or handing out tracts. But look at what actually happened in Philippi. There was a conversation by a river and a meal around a kitchen table. That’s the kind of evangelism I’m talking about, and I really believe we need to get back to it.
Jesus told his disciples that the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. I think there are a lot of people in Naperville and Downers Grove and all through these suburbs who are more open to Jesus than we’d guess.
Alpha starts in January
That’s a big part of why I’m so excited that we’re launching Alpha here this January. Jackie Froschauer and Pastor Pamela have been working hard to get it ready, and I’m really grateful for both of them.
If you haven’t heard of Alpha, here’s how it works. People share a meal, watch a short talk about a big question of faith, and then talk about it around the table. Any question is welcome, and nobody gets put on the spot. It’s designed for people who aren’t sure what they believe, or who left church a long time ago, or who have questions they’ve never felt safe asking.
Would you start praying now for one person in your life? Maybe a neighbor, a coworker, a family member. Ask God to open their heart like he did Lydia’s. Then when January comes, invite them, and come along with them. If you're interested in leading or want to work with the team that's making this happen, including by being in prayer for the event, let them know about it here.
Making disciples
My hope is that Good Shepherd becomes a church where disciples make disciples. Where someone comes to faith, and a year later they’re the one inviting a friend.
That’s what happened in Philippi. Lydia opened her home, the jailer’s whole family came to faith, and that church grew into the one Paul later wrote to with such affection. Luke tells us the jailer was filled with joy. I’d love for us to know that kind of joy again.
I’m so grateful to be your pastor.
From my heart,
Pastor Tara Beth
I just got back from the LCMC National Gathering, and I am excited to share some reflections with you.
It was so good to be with other pastors. We swapped stories over meals that went way too late, and I heard the same thing over and over again from pastors of churches big and small. They want to see people come to faith in Jesus again. Honestly, so do I.
I also got to give one of the plenary talks, and I went up there as your pastor, and I was so honored to represent our beautiful community.
What I preached
I spent time in Galatians 5, where Paul says, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.” He goes on to say that freedom isn’t for indulging ourselves. It’s for serving one another in love.
That theme runs all through Scripture. In Exodus, God hears his people crying out in slavery and comes down to rescue them. A little later he tells them to love the foreigner living among them, because they know what it was like to be foreigners in Egypt. God frees his people, and then he sends them to care for others.
Then we went to Acts 16 and the city of Philippi. Three people meet Jesus in that chapter. Lydia is a businesswoman who hears Paul by the river, and the Lord opens her heart. A young slave girl is being used by her owners to make money, and Paul sets her free in the name of Jesus. And a Roman jailer, who was about to take his own life in the middle of the night, ends up washing Paul and Silas’s wounds and feeding them at his own table.
These three had very little in common, and yet they became the first church in Philippi.
There’s one small detail in that story I love. Paul and Silas are sitting in the stocks at midnight, beaten up, singing hymns. And Luke tells us the other prisoners were listening to them. I think about that a lot. People are watching how we live, especially when things are hard.
What I sensed for us
I went to preach this to pastors, but I think God was preaching it to me too, and to us as a church.
We’ve been set free by Jesus. I’m afraid the Church in America has gotten comfortable keeping that to ourselves.
I know the word evangelism makes a lot of us nervous. Maybe you picture someone knocking on doors or handing out tracts. But look at what actually happened in Philippi. There was a conversation by a river and a meal around a kitchen table. That’s the kind of evangelism I’m talking about, and I really believe we need to get back to it.
Jesus told his disciples that the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. I think there are a lot of people in Naperville and Downers Grove and all through these suburbs who are more open to Jesus than we’d guess.
Alpha starts in January
That’s a big part of why I’m so excited that we’re launching Alpha here this January. Jackie Froschauer and Pastor Pamela have been working hard to get it ready, and I’m really grateful for both of them.
If you haven’t heard of Alpha, here’s how it works. People share a meal, watch a short talk about a big question of faith, and then talk about it around the table. Any question is welcome, and nobody gets put on the spot. It’s designed for people who aren’t sure what they believe, or who left church a long time ago, or who have questions they’ve never felt safe asking.
Would you start praying now for one person in your life? Maybe a neighbor, a coworker, a family member. Ask God to open their heart like he did Lydia’s. Then when January comes, invite them, and come along with them. If you're interested in leading or want to work with the team that's making this happen, including by being in prayer for the event, let them know about it here.
Making disciples
My hope is that Good Shepherd becomes a church where disciples make disciples. Where someone comes to faith, and a year later they’re the one inviting a friend.
That’s what happened in Philippi. Lydia opened her home, the jailer’s whole family came to faith, and that church grew into the one Paul later wrote to with such affection. Luke tells us the jailer was filled with joy. I’d love for us to know that kind of joy again.
I’m so grateful to be your pastor.
From my heart,
Pastor Tara Beth