A Purpose Forgotten

A Purpose Forgotten

Where Grace Meets Shiloh: Part 3
August 31, 2025

1 Samuel 4:1-11, Jeremiah 7:12-14

When the troops returned to the camp, Israel’s elders said, “Why did the Lord defeat us today before the Philistines? Let’s bring the chest containing the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh so it can go with us and save us from our enemies’ power…”

…So, the Philistines fought. Israel was defeated, and everyone fled to their homes. It was a massive defeat: thirty thousand Israelite foot soldiers fell, God’s chest was taken, and Eli’s two sons Hophni and Phinehas died.

~ 1 Samuel 4:3, 10-11 (CEB)

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Israel thought that bringing the Ark of the Covenant into battle would guarantee victory.  Surely, if God’s presence was with them, they couldn’t lose.  And yet they were still defeated.  The priests’ sons were killed, and the Ark was captured so the Philistines could mock their God.

The problem wasn’t the battle itself, but the fact that Israel had already rejected God’s presence through corruption and idolatry.  In 1 Samuel 3, God tells Samuel that Eli’s family would face judgment for desecrating God’s name. 

When things fell apart, the people wanted a quick fix.  They used the Ark of the Covenant like a magic talisman or a lucky charm, while ignoring the evil and injustice they had long tolerated.

This story is more relevant for the church today than most of us care to admit.  For centuries, we’ve turned a blind eye to evil done in God’s name.  We’ve aligned ourselves with power and wealth over justice and mercy.  We’ve let politics override the way of Jesus and then put on public displays of faith hoping God will restore our former greatness.  But no performance or virtue signaling can substitute genuine repentance.    

While parts of the church may indeed repent and thrive, a large majority of the church in our nation finds herself in Israel’s shoes.  We have lost our integrity and any credible witness we once had of God’s loving presence among us. 

God has not stopped working.  In 1 Samuel, the capture of the Ark sets other events in motion.  Even now, God is  calling the church to repentance.  The Spirit is moving in places of hope, love, compassion, and justice beyond our walls, through people we might least expect. 

But for our part, we must own the ways we have misrepresented God and live with the consequences.  It’s not just about individual morality or living a good life.  It’s about our corporate witness, across denominational lines, and the negative image of God Christians have, and continue to put forth in the world.

We are not being persecuted.  We are being called to account. 

Like Israel, we are being refined by fire, until all that remains is Christ.     

For Further Reflection:

• Where have we confused displays of faith for actual faithfulness?

• What would repentance look like for the church today?  Beyond words, in tangible action?

A Prayer for New Life

A Prayer for New Life

Where Grace Meets Shiloh: Part 2
August 24, 2025

1 Samuel 1:1-2:11

“How long will you act like a drunk? Sober up!” Eli told her.

“No sir!” Hannah replied. “I’m just a very sad woman. I haven’t had any wine or beer but have been pouring out my heart to the Lord.  Don’t think your servant is some good-for-nothing woman. This whole time I’ve been praying out of my great worry and trouble!”

Eli responded, “Then go in peace. And may the God of Israel give you what you’ve asked from him.”

1 Samuel 1:14-17 

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It’s easy for small churches to get an inferiority complex.  Everything in our culture says that bigger is better.  And yet, small congregations make up the majority of churches in the U.S.  Over 61% have less than 100 in weekly worship and 31% have less than 50.  Less than 10% have over 250 people, and yet these are the ones that get most of the attention.

Healthy small churches have many strengths.  They can adapt more quickly to change, nurture closer-knit intergenerational relationships, stay grounded in their local communities, and equip a higher percentage of members for meaningful service, both in and beyond the church.

As a woman who cannot bear children, Hannah is easily dismissed and misunderstood.  Her grief is mistaken for disorder and even drunkenness by Eli, the priest.  She prays fervently for a child and boldly tells Eli, “Don’t think your servant is some good-for-nothing woman.”  That line echoes for me when I think of how easily small churches are written off today.  “Don’t think your servants are good-for-nothing because of our size. 

From this misunderstood woman in this often overlooked place called Shiloh, God brings forth new life.  Her son Samuel will lead Israel as a prophet, confront the corruption of the priesthood, and anoint David, the youngest and most insignificant Son of Jesse, as King of a nation.  Hannah’s prayer in chapter 2, much like Mary’s Magnificat centuries later, celebrates a God who lifts the lowly and fills the empty.

This story isn’t directly about small churches, but it is about a God who tends to do great things in hidden and humble places.  It’s about new life beginning where others have given up hope.  At Shiloh, we are reminded that an entire movement can begin with a single prayer, a vulnerable act of faith, and a God who has not forgotten us.

Diana Butler Bass once said to a group of anxious church leaders, “I don't think I've ever heard so many people who claim they believe in the resurrection be so worried about the death of their church.”

For Further Reflection:

• Do you think more about life or death?  Why?

• What signs of new life are you seeing in unexpected places?

• What overlooked places in your life or in your church might become sacred ground?

A Place of God's Presence

A Place of God’s Presence

Where Grace Meets Shiloh: Part 1
August 17, 2025

Joshua 18:1-5, 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

The whole community of the Israelites assembled at Shiloh and set up the meeting tent there. The conquered land lay before them. Among the Israelites, seven tribes were left that had not yet received their legacy. Joshua said to the Israelites, “How long will you avoid going to take over the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has given you?

Joshua 18:1-3 (CEB)

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Names matter… especially in Scripture.  Yet we often miss their significance.  Many churches are named after Biblical places with little thought for how God showed up in those places or what those stories might reveal about God’s presence among us today. 

Shiloh is one such name.  As the people of Grace UMC and Shiloh UMC have become one church family in this place called Shiloh, it’s worth asking: What does Shiloh mean for us?

The ancient city of Shiloh sat on a hilltop nearly 20 miles north of Jerusalem and served as Israel’s center during the period of the Judges.  It was the first place the Tabernacle was set up as a permanent structure, where it remained for 369 years.  God’s people were no longer strangers and wanderers.  They were finally home.

But there was a problem.  Once they settled in, they got too comfortable.  And why wouldn’t they?  After years of wandering, Shiloh felt safe.  This was a sacred place.  They were finally home. 

Joshua challenges them, saying, “How long will you avoid going to take over the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has given you?

Let me be clear.  Passages like this have been misused in harmful ways to justify conquest, colonialism and oppression of every kind, all in the name or Christ.  The church is not called to domination over a community or even a nation.  Nevertheless, God may still be asking, “What are you waiting for?  How long will you avoid going into the places I have sent you to be a blessing and bear witness to my love?”

Shiloh is a beautiful place to gather for worship, fellowship, study, community, and serving together.  But God’s presence doesn’t stay here on the altar all week.    We are still being sent out.  God is still calling us into the surrounding community, to be a city on a hill and a light in the darkness.  We cannot hide from the world in our tabernacle made of stone. 

How long will we avoid being God’s people out there, beyond the walls? 

God’s presence cannot be contained.  Neither should we.

For Further Reflection:

• Where might you be avoiding God’s call to go?

• What is one concrete step you will take this week to share God’s love with someone beyond these walls?

• What comfort or routine might you need to let go of in order to follow God more faithfully?