PASTOR’S CORNER, Rusty Husted, First United Methodist Church, Liberal

Lately, I have been thinking about anxiety. I have been contemplating the effects of anxiety in our culture. Not just our Western culture, but the culture of Christians in the Church. It comes as no shock that there is a lot of anxiety in the air.

According to Webster’s Dictionary, anxiety is “an abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by physical signs (such as tension, sweating, and increased pulse rate), by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about one's capacity to cope with it”. Anxiety is felt as worried, nervousness, and unease about a situation or relationship. Anxiety triggers our “fight or flight” reflex. Ultimately, anxiety can lead to depression. Anxiety influences our work, family, and church, basically anytime we are in a group setting, anxiety will influence these settings.

PASTOR’S CORNER, Rusty Husted, First United Methodist Church, Liberal

Have you ever noticed all the noise in our lives? We are surrounded by noise. From cell phones, television, car horns, restaurants, construction, 24/7 news, social media, air conditioners, neighborhood children, so many different noises that cross our ear. Take for instance, I googled how long it takes to get natural nature sounds without airplanes or vehicles or human made noise. It said it takes an average of eight hours of recording to edit 1 hour of natural nature sounds. We even are surrounded by silent noise. Do we need any more billboards on the road??? So, it is no surprise to me that finding silence in our lives is very difficult. In fact, now we buy noise canceling headphones just so that we can listen to music and no outside noise effects it. It’s no wonder that people are uncomfortable with silence.

PASTOR’S CORNER, Phillip Dow, New Beginnings Church, Liberal

One of the greatest lies we can believe is that strength means handling everything by ourselves. Our culture celebrates self-sufficiency. We admire the person who never asks for help, never lets anyone see them struggle, and always appears to have life under control. But the Christian life was never designed to be lived that way. God created us for community.

From the very beginning, the local church has been more than a place to attend on Sunday mornings. It has been a family—a people who worship together, laugh together, grieve together, and carry one another through life's most difficult seasons. One of the greatest gifts God has given us is the ability to lean on people who know us rather than trying to depend entirely on ourselves.

PASTOR’S CORNER, Phillip Dow, New Beginnings Church, Liberal

One of my favorite moments every Sunday happens before the sermon ever begins. It’s that moment when the congregation lifts its voice together. Some people sing beautifully; others … enthusiastically. A few of us couldn’t carry a tune if it came with handles. But together, something remarkable happens. We aren’t just making music, we’re shaping our hearts.

I sometimes hear people ask, “Why do we sing so much in church?” That’s a fair question. The answer is that singing has always been one of God’s primary ways of teaching His people.