Presence

I have to confess something.  Every time we sing, "Surely the Presence" (you know the song) my memory is drawn to the 1980 movie, Airplane.  I wonder if God is thinking on the same 'plane' (pun intended) and wants to respond, "Yes, I'm here ... and don't call me Shirley!"  But enough of that!  God's presence is serious business that is apparently a bit misunderstood by the Church.  As we move from our New Year thoughts to settling into the seasons of Epiphany, Pre-Lent, and Lent, I want us to stop and consider this important, and often ignored, part of Wesleyan theology, and Biblical truth.

On two weekends in January, we (GMC Board of Ministry members) interviewed candidates for ministry in the Alabama Emerald Coast Conference.  We had some great conversations about ministry, life, and presenting Jesus in the context of Wesleyan Theology.  Some foundational parts of that theology are things like 1) Jesus wants all to be saved, 2) all CAN be saved, 3) all can know they are saved, and 4) all can become sanctified to the point they are, as Wesley called it, "saved to the the uttermost," meaning they approach life in, through, and with the love of Jesus.  Another part of Wesleyan theology is the reverence, meaning, and foundation of our sacraments.  One specific question seemed to be difficult for many of the candidates. We asked, "What makes these sacraments (Baptism and Communion) sacred?"  We generally got the answer, "Because Jesus prescribed them."  While this is true ... that Jesus prescribed and participated in these sacraments with the disciples ... it lacks the completeness of the truth from a Wesleyan perspective.  So ... here goes with a little Wesleyan theology, and a lot of what is missing in the American church.

Wesley believed, and practiced, a very Jesus-centered view of the sacraments, and a Jesus-centered view of how God's grace is conveyed to us in everyday life.  That "Wesleyan Way" is described to us as "Presence."  We just left the Advent/Christmas season.  We used a word during that time called Emmanuel ... "God with us."  At the end of Jesus' ministry in Matthew 28, Jesus said something to us about this ... "I will be with you, even unto the ends of the earth (Matthew 28:20)."  Jesus' story in the Gospels described this presence in every event.

John begins telling this story of Jesus' presence, by describing Jesus as a pathway, gateway, and stairway between heaven and earth.  In John 1:51, John describes Jesus as "the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth."  I could call this a clue to Wesley's theology of the sacraments.  But it is WAY more overt than a clue.  John says Jesus IS the connection between heaven and earth.  When Jesus is with us and in us, as we participate in one of these sacraments, we are in vertical connection with God (through John's stairway) and in horizontal connection with Jesus and the Church (the people) because he is with/in us.  Did you get it ... "on earth as it is in heaven?"  Do you get that the reasons our sacraments are "sacred" are not:

1. Jesus prescribed them;

2. They are symbols of what Jesus did in Scripture;

3.  They are just a "sign."

The reason they are sacred is that Jesus is present ... the Holy Spirit is with us, in the present.  It is the only way for us to be wholly in the Spirit and Truth Jesus describes to the Samaritan woman in John 4.

Why is this understanding important?  Because to have the power of God and the Spirit, we must have the presence of God and the Spirit.  One of many "telling" passages about this happens in the early Church.  In Acts 19, seven sons of Sceva try to "invoke" the power of Jesus by casting out a demon.  The demon responds ... "I know Jesus, and I know of Paul, but who are you?"  We, the Church, cannot be known for going through the motions of being the church.  We can be thoroughly connected to amazing music, beautiful sanctuaries, powerful/eloquent speakers, aesthetic surroundings, and everything that is attractive to the people of our society.  But, when we "get down to business" (the title of my message a few weeks back) we had better be willing to shed all of those things.

I know a young woman ... a friend.  She has had trial after trial.  We have been called upon to be her prayer warriors, her support system, and an expression of a faith she is counting on.  We have moved from the sidelines into the game.  We have gone from the admin tent to the front lines.  How will the demons of infirmity see us?  Will we approach with the signs and wonders of our trappings ... eloquent prayers, appealing songs, stunning sanctuaries, and attractional theology?  Or, will we embrace our friend, cover her with prayers, and allow the presence and person of Jesus to flow from us into her broken body?  Will we understand that the presence of Jesus, in this grace we express and give away, is all we have to offer?  "Surely, the presence, of the Lord is in this place ... I can feel His mighty power, and His grace.  I can feel the brush of angel's wings, I see glory on each face.  Surely, the presence of the Lord is in this place!"  Pray in Jesus, the son of the Living God ... and the very gates of hell will not prevail against us!  AMEN

Hoboes and Destinations

I was intrigued by a story I heard at the 30A Songwriter Festival.  The story was about a man named Steamtrain Maury, elected 5 times as "King of the Hoboes."  Most of you are reading this and wondering, "How is a person elected King of the Hoboes?"  Since hoboes are wanderers, it seems structurally impossible for them to elect anyone.  But, there is a Hobo Convention in Britt, Iowa (go figure?) and elections are held for King.  So, the title King of the Hoboes.

Maury was a strange, troubled, and complex character.  He hopped countless trains, and still had time to visit 34,000 veterans (he served in the military as a medical technician).  He had a heart for those who had served their country. He lived 89 years.

As I heard Steamtrain Maury's story in song, I wondered ... did he just randomly jump trains, not knowing (or caring) where they were going?  Did he just, on a whim, follow the wanderlust of the rails, thinking that all of these random, seemingly disconnected, journeys were "freedom?"  And, is our spiritual journey any better?  Do we have a solid starting place?  Do we have a purpose in our travels?  Do we have a destination?

I plan to stay in the Book of John in the weeks coming up to Lent.  One of our adult Sunday School classes will be traveling alongside us.  John is a simply-constructed book that focuses on the person and work of Christ.  John, the writer, was in Ephesus in the mid to late 1st Century when the book was written.

John was not a spiritual hobo.  John knew where the Gospel story began.  It started with the person of Jesus who told us our starting point.  Jesus said, "I am ... the light of the world (John 8;12) ... the door of the sheep (John 10:7) ... the good shepherd (John 10:11) ... the resurrection and the life (John 11:25) ... the way, the truth, the life (John 14:6) ... and, the true vine (John 15:1)."  This is where we start our journey.

John knew the journey was filled with stories, testimonies, and opportunities to know Jesus.  The Samaritan woman learned the truth about Jesus and herself ... and she was changed.  Nicodemus learned that we must be born of the Spirit, which has a direction and purpose that "goes where it will!"  Lazarus and his family learned that even death cannot overcome the power of God.  

John also knew where the story ended.  It didn't end on the cross, though the powers of this world thought it was finished.  It didn't end in a cold, dark tomb, though even the disciples feared all hope was lost.  It ended in a very strange place ... with Jesus, the Kingdom, and the very presence/Spirit of God indwelling the earth and God's people (all believers).

We are "pilgrims and strangers, traveling through this world of woe," as the old song says.  But we have a beginning ... Jesus.  We have a purpose ... our testimony of blessing to all the world.  We have a destination ... the Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

Our special song for the 1st service is called, Glory Bound.  The words say, "Well I don't know which way you're going, and I don't know if you're lost or found, all I know is you've been forgiven, and this train is glory bound!"  Steamtrain Maury didn't always know where he was going.  One obituary said he, dying at 89 years old, had finally hitched a ride on a comet.  But we, God's people, will have a better destination ... the glorious Kingdom of God!  Jump on board! AMEN 

Down To Business

January 13th (WOW, already a half-month of 2025 has gone!) is a reminder of what Gordon Lightfoot writes in a song ... "time doesn't wait for nobody to find what they're after, It just keeps on rolling on down the deep canyons and through the green meadows into the broad ocean." That lyric reminds me of what my friend Jimmy Rane told me one day ... "Daylights a' burning." Time is a finite resource. So ... with a lot of chaos in the world around us, we remember that Jesus said, "You know the saying, 'four months between planting and harvest.' But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for the harvest! (John 4:35)."

There are 3 instructions in what Jesus tells his disciples in this prologue from the story of the Samaritan woman. They are simple, but necessary if we are to proceed with any urgency toward what God is calling us to do.

1. Wake Up - In his Wake Up Call devotional, JD Walt begins each devotion with a prayer. It says, "Wake up sleeper ... rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you!" The prayer comes from Ephesians 5:14, and harkens from passages in Isaiah and Malichi. The Bible is in a constant state of calling God's people to wake up. I did a sermon once called, "I Believe In Zombies." Zombies are, of course, walking, dead people. I see them every day. We walk past the stricken traveler on the side of the road. We walk past the signs, warning us that something is right. We know differently. Last week we sang "Is He Worthy." The first line of the song is a statement and reply ... "Do you think the world is broken? We do!" We see fires, floods, broken people, pettiness, anger, deceit, destruction, and all manners of struggle. Yet, we are content to be a cog in the wheel of time. JD Walt says, wake up! Rise from the dead. We are called and equipped for such a time as this!

2. Look around - Isaiah 43 says, "Behold, I am doing a new thing! Do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert (Isaiah 43:19)!" We know we are living in this time of wilderness. I think we, if we look around, can see and feel the parched desert. God's word has said this would happen. Amos 8:11-12 says, "A time is coming, says the Lord, when I will send a famine upon the land. Not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord!" We HAVE the word of the Lord in the Scriptures we have been given. We HAVE God's Holy Spirit to open, teach, and unpack the word of the Lord. What we are missing is eyes to see and ears to hear. Notice the passage from Amos says ... 'a famine of HEARING the word of the Lord.' I wonder if this is why Jesus (and John in Revelation) frequently say, "Let he who has eyes see and let him who has ears hear." We are called and equipped for such a time as this!

3. See the ripeness of the fields - Here is what we often miss. In our sheltered settings ... in our pristine buildings ... in our preferred styles of worship ... we forget about the mission and purpose. In 2025 I will pound the mission and purpose into our consciousness. Forgive my repetition, but the Mission is to be God's blessing to the world (not just America, which, by the way, isn't hearing/seeing/perceiving our message) ... Genesis 22:18. Our Purpose is to be part of God's plan to "bring people to Himself (Exodus 19:4)."

Wake up! Look around! The fields are ripe! The Church has a mission. The Church has a purpose. Time keeps "rolling on down the deep canyons and through the green meadows into the broad ocean." We worship and follow the Lord of the harvest. Let's get down to business!

Wise Advice

I have an acquaintance who is in charge of a large school system.  He is a good leader, and, best of all, a wise witness to students who share his challenging upbringing.  He didn't rise to his position easily ... it took lots of effort, education, struggle, and hard work.

One day, a person working with students with discipline and learning challenges asked him to speak to these struggling students. They might listen to someone who had similar challenges in education and life.  Here is what he said was the #1 thing that would lead these struggling students forward.  "Do not be, or allow anyone to make you a victim.  Being a victim is a crutch, a cultural sham, and a lie.  It will cause you to focus on how others are the cause of your situation.  Remember ... you are who you choose to be.  If you become a victim, you will never be accountable for anything.  It will always be some other person's fault, and you will live in anger, mistrust, and falseness.  Live and grow past this attitude.  Make choices that will grow you and challenge you.  Work hard.  Be the person you were created to be, and don't let victim mentality take that away from you!"

John 21:21-22 addresses this head-on.  Peter gets in victim mode as he sees John following while he is conversing with Jesus.  Peter asks Jesus, "What about him?"  Jesus (in what seems to me a snarky tone) says, "If I want him to stay alive till I return, what is it to you?  YOU must follow me!"  What is Jesus saying here?

1. Stop coveting - The 10th Commandment (Exodus 20:17) tells us "Do not covet!"  To Peter, Jesus is saying, "Stop diluting your witness, your walk, and your actions based on what other people are doing ... follow me!"

2. Stop worrying - You get the impression that Peter is still caught up in diva mentality ... he wants to be the top dog.  Yesterday Tyrek Hill, Miami Dolphins wide receiver, said, "I want out ... I'm a competitor and I don't want to just go out there and be there."  My comment to brother Hill would be ... "Are you saying that the other players on your team don't desire to win and compete?  Are you saying you are better?"  Peter is part of something bigger than him ... divas are not needed in ministry!

3. Stop sifting life through your perceptions and feelings - Maybe Peter feels threatened by John's relationship with Jesus.  Maybe Peter feels like what happens to John diminishes what Jesus has to offer him.  For a group of students struggling with school and authority, a wise administrator is telling them to drop the concept of sifting their life through what happens to other people.  Work hard.  Trust leaders who are investing in you.  You are not better or worse than other people, but you are different.  Your gifts, when used by the master, are just what the master needs.  Be taught.  Be led. Be you. Be God's.  Be completed by the only one who can complete you.  Let the other doubts, emotional impulses, and Satan-led (yes, I said it!) perceptions be negated by the God who says, "With God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26)."

You say, "Ok pastor ... that is what we stop doing.  What do we do?"  We do to others as we would have them do to us (Matthew 7:12).  We live in the thin place of serving God, washing feet, spending time with the brokenhearted, extending mercy, loving justice, and walking in humility (Micah 6:8, Psalm 34:18, John 13).  We worship with all we got (Psalm 150).  We share the Good News with everyone so that disciples of Jesus are made (Matthew 28).  And, we pray a lot, using our 2 ears more than our 1 mouth (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17).  This should keep us busily doing what Jesus told Peter ... "You must follow Me!"  AMEN