Travel Light

Where do we start?  A new denominational connection?  A new name?  A new clarity to our mission?  Lots of new stuff!  Some of us are reading this and saying "Change, change, change ... I am tired of all this talk about change!"  Others are excited about the newness and clarity of a clear starting point and a clear destination.  You may fall in one of these camps, or maybe you are somewhere in between.  But next Sunday is January 1st, 2023.  Can you believe it?  How do we begin this new year?

I could give you lots of advice.  But I think my advice will be short and sweet ... brief ... concise.  Because I wonder if we make life and journeys far more complex that we need to.  To 12 disciples that were sent out into a hostile world with an unpopular message, Jesus had this advice ... travel light!  ""take nothing for their journey except a staff - no bread, no bag, no money in their belts - but wear sandals and not put on two tunics (Matthew 10:8-9)."  Hebrews 12 says, when we run the race set out for us, "throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles."  You get the point ... travel light!

How do we relate these passages to us?  I could go in many directions with this.  I could ask us to get our priorities straight ... out of our plan and into God's plan.  I could advise us to throw off the things we worship ... the things on which we spend the lion's share of time and money.  But I want to start simple with just one thing.

Last summer we took the grandkids to Washington, DC.  It was a fun trip, but one of the days was earmarked for seeing museums and monuments.  We packed snacks, water and sunscreen.  My little backpack was very light.  During the day, we ate some of the food and drank some of the water.  So my pack got lighter, didn't it?  Well ... yes, technically it DID get lighter, but as I carried it it seemed heavier and heavier.  Lee tracked the miles and after a pretty long day her watch said we had walked 8 miles and we were not back to our hotel.  That little pack was pretty heavy by that time.  When we got back it seemed to weigh 50 lbs.  When we carry weights for a long time, that is what happens.  And when those weights are worries, fears and other "weighty" things, they just get heavier and heavier ... like my backpack, but worse.

So here's my advice for starting a new year.  Travel light!  Take up the journey, but put down some things that will weigh you down.  The Bible says put down sin that entangles us.  I have found myself being drawn into some criticism of the United Methodist Church for placing us in the position we are in.  Then I thought ... why am I spending time, energy and thought on a denomination we are no longer affiliated with?  We've a story to tell to the nations, and that story is not about the United Methodist Church ... it is about Jesus.  The song says, "a story of goodness and mercy, a story of love and light!"  I need to leave that "entanglement" behind!

The Bible says, put down worry.  We can't add to life by expending it on worry!  Worry gets heavier and heavier as we carry it along.  It is like my backpack, that seemed manageable at first .. but backpacks and worry get heavier the longer you carry them.

Finally, stop carrying fear.  See the truth of God's love, because "perfect love drives out fear (1 John 4:18)."  Fear is a heavy burden, and fearing what God has overcome bears no fruit for us.

Our journey is filled with unknowns, pitfalls, enemies and danger.  All of those things are part of the world in which we live.  But Jesus has promised "I have overcome the world (John 16:33)."  The question is ... do you believe Him?  I do, and He has never let me down!  Throw off sin, put down worry, and lay down your fears.  Travel light!  Randy

Lighting the Christ Candle

This year we have the rare event of lighting the Christ Candle of Advent twice.  On Christmas Eve we light the candle to celebrate the birth of our Lord.  On Christmas Day we will relight the Christ Candle to remind us of the centrality of Jesus in the life of the Church, the people of God.  Both events are joyful.

In our Christmas Day reading we will share Paul's words from 2 Corinthians 4:6.  These words say ... "For God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness" has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."  Let's unpack that passage ...

First, the supernatural power of God has spoken all things into being.  I watched an interview with Michio Kaku, a modern physicist.  This week there was a major breakthrough in nuclear energy as the use and power of nuclear fusion has come a step closer to reality.  Since fusion does not produce harmful waste and does not melt down, it could solve many of the world's energy problems.  Kaku's quick explanation about why fusion is an energy game changer was very simple.  He said, "Nuclear fission (our current nuclear plant technology) is not how nature produces energy."  I am sure I am oversimplifying this, but when I heard this I thought ... "God's design works."  Wade and Ciara read a prayer that asked that supernatural God (who started the fire of creation) to speak light and life into our world.  Light our darkness!

Second, we worship a God that wants to be known.  His word (according to Scripture) is "near to your heart and your tongue (Deuteronomy 30:14)."  God didn't hide His word.  He sent it to be taught, preached and proclaimed.  We have had a long history of ignoring and attempting to make God's word fit our will.  But in the end, God's word is offered to be known and followed by people.

Finally, we are able to see and know God's glory, because we can see and know Jesus Christ!  The glory of God that happens when we seek and find the face of Jesus Christ.  Shepherds saw the glory of God and rejoiced in Luke 2.  Mary, in the same chapter, reflected and treasured God's glory found in her little child.  Stephen found God's glory as he marveled at the scene of Jesus standing at the right hand of God in Acts 7.  Throngs saw the glory of God as Jesus is worshipped as "worthy" in Revelation 7.  The worshippers say, "Worthy are you O Lord our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power.  You created all things and because of your will they existed."

There is a lot of darkness, but God's light shines in the darkness.  God's Son, Jesus, has overcome the world.  And, if we remember to allow Jesus to be the centerpiece of life, we can see God's glory, know God's plan and experience the supernatural power of the God who spoke all into existence.  Let's meet and light that candle together!  Randy

The GOAT

Over the last few years, I have watched several terms totally change in meaning.  Dope used to be a bad thing but now the term means something good.  Cloud used to be a visible mass of condensed vapor, but now it is a storage medium on the internet.  Then there is GOAT.

When I grew up, you didn't want to be the goat.  The "goat" of the game was someone who did something that caused calamity to befall their team.  But now GOAT is the "greatest of all time."  We Americans like to use our words to be confusing, don't we?

The Bible has a GOAT.  Paul reminds us there are eternal things or virtues to which we should aspire.  In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul says, three things "remain" (are eternal) ... "faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love! (1 Corinthians 13:13)."  What does God's word tell us about this "greatest" thing?

Love is a companion of truth.  In Ephesians 4, Paul warns his people to "no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of doctrine. "  Then Paul uses the word love to describe how we offer doctrinal correction to those who need to hear and know the truth.  In Celebrate Recovery this GOAT is played out by being open and non-condemning, while offering the truth of God's correct path to healing.  People are welcome to come, cry, try, struggle and express frustration, but always (at every meeting) truth is offered that is Scripture-based and God-breathed.  Hebrews 12 reminds us of this when it says, "the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastens everyone He accepts as a son."

Love is a companion of another GOAT ... the greatest commandment.  "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind (Luke 10:27)."  The love of God encompasses our entire being.  The heart is the center of human life.  Love of God should be central to who we are.  The love of God flows from the breath that God gave us as He breathed life into us.  Our feelings, desires, affections and aversions should flow from our relationship to God.  The love of God should be an investment of our physical strength.  It is good and proper that when we love God this way, we describe the result as "a good tired!"  And, love of God should capture and challenge our intellect.  I wonder if this is why the Old Testament often says God acted, "so that they will know that I am God (Ezekiel 33.29)."

Friday, part of the struggle of disaffiliation will be completed.  The Abbeville Methodist Church will have new deeds that will name the AMC corporation as the owner of this property some of us call our church.  But as we celebrate this new thing in the life of Abbeville Methodist Church, I hope we will only consider this milestone as a part of something that is much greater than deeds or property or our often shallow concept of "church."  For Jesus, Church is God's people whom God loves with perfection.  The Church is Jesus' bride who will be claimed by Jesus when He returns.  And the Church is the people God loves with the greatest love ever ... love that gave Himself for us by living, dying and rising for the people He loves.

Nothing on this earth is greater than the love that God sent us that first Christmas.  We light the candle of love to remind us that God's love is perfect, complete and without comparison.  I only have one word that can come close to describing how much God loves us ... that word is Jesus.  AMEN

Joy Beyond the Reset Button

Isaiah 65:18 is a beautiful expression of something we all love ... the reset button.  Last Sunday, as the panel of outlets that heat the coffee for the 1st service went out, I was hoping for that joy.  Unfortunately, it didn't happen that way.  The surge protector didn't have a reset button, and it took Steve Sasser's help to find the correct circuit breaker.  A reset button is certainly a blessing.

In the book of Isaiah, the Hebrew people have lots of reasons for anxiety.  The Northern Kingdom has been destroyed/disbursed (722 BC).  The Southern kingdom will soon be in exile to the rising power of Babylon (597 or 586 BC depending on source).  Bad choices, bad political alliances and just ignoring God's prophets has brought Israel to a place where they have no control except for history to play out.  Isaiah warns the people, to no avail.

But, at the end of Isaiah's prophecy, God makes a statement that seems both beautiful and impossible.  It is beautiful, because God's promise is that he will restore His people.  It is impossible, because God uses some very specific wording to announce this joyful thing.  "But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight (Isaiah 65:18)."  You might be saying, "If I read that right, God is 'creating' these people.  How can that be?"  Here's what I think!

First, we should be "glad and joyful" that we are smack in the middle of God's plan.  We are the Ecclesia ... the Church ... the plan of God for the announcement of God's kingdom to the whole world.  We have just joined with a rapidly-growing number of congregations that are heaven-bent on telling the world about the Good News of Jesus Christ.  David Knapp thanked us Sunday for joining with Radical Life Ministries in Costa Rica as we tell people to follow Jesus and submit to God's plan spelled out in the authority of God's Word!  We are doing the same as we feed school children every week (BFF), tell people that recovery is both possible and desired by God (Celebrate Recovery), show love by feeding people in our community (Reverse Advent Calendar/Food Pantry), invest in the lives of our Belize partners (Ed and Arita Lemas), and do what our new mission says ... worship passionately, love extravagantly and witness boldly.  You should be joyful that God is using your church and that God wants to use you in the context of His Ecclesia.

Second, be amazed that God is not just shining up an old car that He has restored.  God (it says it right here) is CREATING!  "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away;  behold, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17)."  While I am satisfied with pushing the reset button, God is planning something bigger, better and beautiful ... God is creating something new.  Twila Paris writes, "could it be that He is only waiting there to see, if I will learn to love the dreams, that He has dreamed for me?"  "Behold, I am making all things new" Jesus says in Revelation 21:5.  You can believe the negativity of the world, the anxiety of our culture, the negativity of our critical natures ... or you can believe God.  I choose newness, because that is what I need to allow in my life.  The joy of that little baby in the manger is that He makes us new!

Finally, do you read that God is making His people a delight?!  That is the people of Israel and the people of the new Jerusalem (His Church).  Are YOU part of this plan of God to change the world?  Because all of this (and all of the above) is about becoming part of God's plan and leaving behind the small plans and petty dreams of the culture.  Are you a delight?  Are you more excited about your church than about the other things swirling around you?  Is your focus on being new ... delightful ... engaged in your part of life in God's plan and God's Church?  Is your engagement, passion and purposeful attention to God's plan to create you as a delight in the forefront of your mind?

God is creating something new, delightful, big, bold, good, wonderful and worthy.  God's plan is a party and you are invited!  In the midst of the devotion, hard work, and heavy-lifting, God promises His plan will happen.  And that plan will end in forever-rejoicing, creation and a kingdom of delightful people.  So ... if you don't have something more important, I am inviting you to this kingdom-party.  Wanna come?  Randy

Verse 4

We all love our Christmas music.  I have been hearing suggestions from several of you about what songs to play and sing this Christmas.  There are the old favorites.  There are some new and beautiful songs.  There are traditional songs, and some of those traditions have become songs we sing every year.  

When we sing these songs something happens.  Maybe it is just me, but when we share music together in the context of Church, I hear and perceive God's message of peace, continuity and power over the things of this world.  Verse 4 of O Come O Come Emmanuel is a prayer expressing what we should all seek and this seasonal sense of peace.  "O come desire of nations, bind.  All peoples in one heart and mind.  Bid envy, strife and quarrels cease.  Fill the whole world with heaven's peace.  Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel.  Shall come to thee O Israel."  The spirit of this verse is remembering the voices of the angels praising God over the birth of Jesus saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth, peace to those upon whom His favor rests (Luke 2:14)."

Three things happen in this praise chorus spoken (we want to believe sung) by those angels.  The first is our attitude when we come to God for petition.  The Lord's prayer begins with this same exaltation of God and God's power ... "Hallowed be thy name!"  The angels give God praise.  They profess that God has power both in heaven and on earth, even though this power is opposed by cosmic evil from the unseen realm (Satan), corporate evil from groups who conspire to do evil, individual evil from people who choose evil and infirmity (things that happen because we live in a fallen, dangerous world).  Our attitude and belief is that we worship a God who has (as Jesus said) overcome the world (John 16:33).

The second thing that happens is a blessing of peace.  Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9)."  God's power and blessing are upon those who choose peace.  Maybe you apply an attitude of peace which quells strife or conflict at the family table.  Maybe (as is prescribed in O Come O Come) you decide that pride, envy and quarrels are a poor witness in a world that needs the blessing of peace.  Maybe you become willing to listen to the Jesus who wept over Jerusalem and said, "Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace (Luke 19:42)!"  Peace is a freely-offered expression of God's grace.  I think, like many things God desires for us, we have peace by submitting to God's will and way and putting away our knee-jerk reactions that bring on quarrels and strife.  Peace isn't easy.  Peace isn't our natural reaction.  Peace is of God.  Peace is truly a submission to God.

The third thing that happens is God's favor.  The blessing from Luke 2 and from the 4th verse of "O Come O Come" is ... God favors us when we follow Him vs the pull of the culture in which we live.  Many Bible verses come to mind here.  We find God's favor and peace when we "tell the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15)."  We find God's favor when we choose to "turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:39)" and decide not to engage in those non-essential arguments.  We find God's favor when we understand that contentiousness is allowing Satan to get a foothold and refusing to submit to Christ's plan.

A final point.  Peace is NOT acquiescing to evil or leaving evil unchallenged.  Speaking the truth in love means we DO speak out against evil, but we flow from God's Word and we flow from God's love of people (yep, all of them!).  Dietrich Bonhoeffer preached the Gospel as the Nazi leaders led their people far from God's plan.  Million's died, including many American soldiers.  The entire world felt the pain of war.  Jesus, as He stood outside Jerusalem and wept, understood that perfect peace arises from seeking and following God's plan.  "O come desire of nations, bind.  All people in heart and mind.  Bid envy, strife and quarrels cease.  Fill the whole world with heaven's peace.  Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel, shall come to thee O Israel."  Randy

Progress

Over the past months I have learned a thing or two about progress.  I used to view progress as moving forward.  But C. S. Lewis makes a point that I think applies to our progress.  "We all want progress, but if you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an-about turn and going back to the right road."  The Bible calls this repentance.

Do you remember John the Baptist saying, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near (Matthew 4:17)!"  The Bible (and C. S. Lewis) knows that the word "repent" means, turn around.  If you are sliding into a ditch, you must first slow your acceleration.  If you find yourself in a hole, first stop digging.  So ... let's STOP and consider where we are.

First, we are the Church.  We are part of the Ecclesia of Matthew 16 that Jesus said would prevail against the very gates of hell.  The Ecclesia is "called-out" of the worlds chaos to offer the truth, the way and the life contained in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  So, let's stop.  Read and review what we believe.  The Church prevails against the gates of hell by becoming a place/source of truth ... a place where we offer a direction ... a place that "offers them Christ (Wesley)" so that they may have life, and have it in abundance.

Second, we are kingdom-bringers.  I offered a quote from N. T. Wright (the great Bible scholar) who said, "We are not here to get ourselves to Heaven ... we are here to bring Heaven to earth!"  When Christ comes close (like in the story from Matthew 4) the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

Third, we are all worship leaders.  Last week we sang, "give thanks, with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy one."  We professed and sang about the "goodness of God."  We reminded the congregation that "in the mountains, in the valleys, in the shadows of the alleys, in the fire, in the flood, always is and always was ... there was Jesus."  Can we become engaged, excited and thankful about these truths?  I sure can!

Let's stop, turn around if necessary, find the road Jesus has drawn out for us, and go down that road with a new song in our mouth (Ps. 40), praising God for what He has done.  Today, on the first Sunday of Advent, let's remember that the Jesus we worship didn't come to encourage us to keep moving on the road to destruction ... He came to (as the song says) "set His people free."  Randy

Thanks-Giving

Last Sunday I had the honor of doing a funeral for the mother of a friend.  This occasion was really a time of giving thanks for a life lived well and for a person that became welcome, blessing and goodness for her whole family.  One of the passages I used in the eulogy was from Psalm 23 ... "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil ... my cup runneth over (Ps. 23:5 KJV)."  As I was giving thanks for this life well lived, I thought about how God demonstrates His love for us and how He gives us abundance in the midst of all of our struggles in life.  And He doesn't just give a little ... "our cup runneth over!"

As we enter the season of Thanksgiving (the community Thanksgiving service is here Sunday evening at 5pm) lets remember that these words are historically and completely connected ... thanks ... giving.  Thanks is our response to God and Psalm 23 is David's giving thanks for a God who watches over him.  But it is also an expression of God's act of giving to those He cares for.  God gives guidance (the Lord is my shepherd).  God gives peace (He leads me beside still waters).  God gives renewal (He restores my soul).  He gives discipline (thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me).  He gives assurance in the midst of danger (Yea though I walk through the Valley of Death, I will fear no evil).  He gives presence (for Thou art with me).  He gives sustenance (Thou preparest a table before me, in the presence of mine enemies).  He is our source of goodness and mercy (surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life).  And God gives a sure and eternal destination (I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever).  God gives ... and God leads us to give as we remember what He has done and who He is!

As we come into the season of Thanksgiving and Christmas, I hope we enter these times in a spirit of giving.  Giving to our church for the things that are before us.  Micah 3:10 reminds us that we cannot out give God and, in fact, God will notice and respond to our giving ... "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple.  "If you do", says the Lord of Heaven's Armies, "I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won't have enough room to take it in!"  that is God's promise ... do you believe it?

And I hope we will enter with a spirit of thanksgiving and gratitude.  We will sing "Thanksgiving Song", as is our tradition, this week.  My favorite line in the song is ... "Grateful for the hands we hold, gathered round the table."  The old song "Come Ye Thankful People Come" will be part of our evening Thanksgiving Service.  Be grateful for the good things God has provided.  Be grateful for hands around the table ... hands that will not always be with us on this side of heaven's doors.  And remember the first line of Psalm 23 ... "The Lord is my shepherd ...  I shall not want!"  Randy

Baseball, Faith and 17 Inches

You may have been watching the World Series of Baseball over the past few weeks.  I admit to not watching a lot of baseball during the season (though I am a Braves fan), because the season is long and my interest is only tweaked when we get close to the post-season games.  This year's World Series was won by the Houston Astros.  But there is something we can learn from baseball that is applicable to our faith.

In the movie, Field of Dreams, James Earl Jones makes a speech to Ray (the main character), about the timelessness and nature of baseball.  He says, "The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball!  America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers.  It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again.  But baseball has marked the time."  James Earl Jones could have just as easily been talking about the Church.  It is timeless ... it is constant ... and it is important in every time and context in history.  Why?  Because Jesus stood before a rock face (that looked very ominous) in Caesarea Philippi and told Peter (who had just confessed that Jesus was the Son of the Living God) and said ... "Upon this rock I will build my Church (ecclesia, 'the called-out ones') and all the powers of hell will not conquer it! (Matthew 16:18)."  The Church of Jesus (not baseball) IS the true constant through all the years!

What can we learn from all of this?  If you know a little about baseball, you will realize that home plate is 17 inches wide.  It is in the rules and it is a part of the game.  17 inches ... always!  They haven't made the plate wider to make it easier for the pitcher to throw the ball over the plate.  They haven't made it narrower so that the batter has the advantage.  It is 17 inches ... that's it.

There are (at least) 2 current issues that come to mind as we begin our church life as Abbeville Methodist Church under the umbrella of the Global Methodist Church.  The first relates to standards.  I will post (and send out to all) a copy of the Catechesis of the Global Methodist Church.  It is "17 inches", just like it has always been, because it derives its authority from God's Word.  What we believe is only true because it is underpinned by Scripture.  In my message last Sunday I quoted Isaiah 40:7-8, "Grass withers and flowers fade away when the Lord's breath blows on them, but the word of our God will stand forever."  As Christians, we have our differences, our opinions and our skirmishes, but God doesn't have those arguments in the Divine Council ... for God's word is enduring truth.  It doesn't change to make it easier for me or you.  It is given, not so we can change or transform it, but so that IT can change and transform us.  17 inches is the width of home plate.

My second point relates to grace and the nature of people.  Babe Ruth, a giant in the history of baseball, struck out 1,330 times.  He got 2,783 hits ... about double the number of strikeouts.  But those are a lot of mistakes.  Nolan Ryan, one of the greatest pitchers in baseball, gave up about 4,000 hits.  By those statistics, we can note that pitchers don't always throw the ball where they want and batters don't always hit the ball.  Baseball, and life, is not a game where we are perfect.  So ... we need a model or standard of perfection.  His name is Jesus, "the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2)."  We seek Him.  We strive to do well.  We (according to Hebrews) set our eyes upon Him.  We acknowledge our imperfections but we don't ask for rule changes for us ... the plate is still 17 inches wide.  It always has been and hopefully always will be.

We seek Jesus' narrow way (Matthew 7:14) that leads to life ... not the big tent that leads to destruction.  We could convince ourselves that the road should be widened, so that more traffic could pass.  We could ask for the plate to be widened so that it becomes easier to reach 1st base.  But then the game becomes something different.  And the one that defines and perfects our faith is no longer the authority over that game.  We are, historically, not very good at understanding the consequences of rule changes!

All of this discussion is really about something that is not a game after all.  It is about our decision we make (or made) when we say/said, "I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior, and place my trust in Him ... I receive and profess the Christian faith as contained in the Holy Scriptures."  Do you remember saying something of that sort when you became a Christian and became part of Jesus' Church?  Is Isaiah 40 still true, and does that word of God you confessed changed?  Is Jesus still the truth, the life and the way, or has some "other" way been given by the Divine Council of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit?  Is the Gospel story of Jesus different because some group has decided the Gospel (or home plate) needs to be widened or narrowed?  These are the questions of our time ... the ones you need to answer ... and, if you still believe in Jesus' authority, I welcome you to a church filled with imperfect people, trying to get from here to first base, knowing that I will (at best) hit the ball about 1/3 of the time (even the best humans messed up).  That is the Church (ecclesia, the called-out ones) in whom Jesus has placed His Spirit that will (by God's power) prevail against the very gates of hell.  And all the people said ... AMEN!

Firsts and Lasts

This Sunday is All Saints Sunday.  It is a time to read the names of those who, during the last year, have entered the Church Triumphant.  Our time of reading is always bittersweet.  On one hand we rejoice with those who have "mounted on wings like eagles, run and not grow weary and walk and not get faint (Isaiah 40:31)," for they have their "hope in the Lord."  On the other hand, they are not with us to laugh, cry, and do life.  Added to this tone, we will celebrate Holy Communion as a United Methodist congregation for the last time as Abbeville United Methodist Church.  This brings a natural feeling of loss and a little anxiety for the future.  But, as Isaiah proclaims in Isaiah 40, God has this, and all the transitions of life, fully in His hand and in His mighty grasp.

I remember the first Sunday I preached here in Abbeville.  It was full of those moments preachers never forget.  That Sunday was communion Sunday and I will admit not fully having my feet on solid ground.  Someone (I think Lucky Armstrong) snuck out during the message and filled the communion cups that were not on the table of remembrance (thanks Lucky!).  When I walked into the Sanctuary before the 2nd service, I heard knocking on the front door of the Sanctuary.  I thought the door was locked, but Abbeville had experienced a lot of rain, and the wood on the Sanctuary door had expanded to the point it was stuck.  I used my shoulder and old football experience on the blocking sled to open the door.  Lots of good memories on what was an anxious day for me.  You all made me feel at home, and you loved me in spite of the obvious issues of that first day.  Thank you!!!!!

As I remembered these stories, I thought about how they relate to "Firsts and Lasts."  The names we will read aren't names of perfect people.  But they are names of people who a loving God has welcomed in spite of being "fragile treasure in clay pots (2 Corinthians 4:7)."  They are people who are remembered for their uniqueness, and they are all people God sees with complete honesty and loves them anyway.  God loves us in our imperfection, and that is great news for I am an imperfect child of God.

As we reflect on the death that brought the names before us today, I hope we won't dwell there.  I think God would call us to view this time as a beginning of a journey.  As we begin life in the context of the Global Methodist Church, we are expectant, excited and empowered by the same God we have worshipped over the last 100+ years.  Our congregation (with many changes in name) has persisted and served the "awesome God" that created the heavens and the earth.  Our congregation has moved forward through life, loss, good times and hard times ... a depression ... two world wars ... births, deaths and setbacks ... all under that God who we confess as "maker of heaven and earth."  Our journey with that God begins under one of many "new names."  But, as Isaiah reminds us, "the grass withers and the flowers fail, but the word of the Lord endures forever! (Isaiah 40:8)."

It is so appropriate that on this day we remember all these things in the context of Holy Communion.  The word eucharist means the thanksgiving of remembrance.  As we enter the familiar and holy sacrament, we remember the God that has called and kept us.  We remember that God's goodness and grace have washed over our congregation and all of the names we will read, loving them and with grace that pursued them, reconciling them to God, and sanctifying them by growing them toward the God who is salvation, resurrection and eternal life!  And we give thanks to the God who will send us off to new things.

As we celebrate these firsts and lasts, let's place God first in all we say and do.  The single thing, that is our strong and solid foundation, is Jesus Christ our Lord.  We are His new creation, in water and the word.  From heaven He came and sought Her to be His holy bride.  With His own life He bought her, and for her life He died!  Randy

Calling Out His Name

Do you remember in the Easter story, Jesus comes into Jerusalem riding a donkey?  People are shouting and singing, "Hosanna in the highest ... blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord."  The leaders want Jesus to quiet the crowd, but Jesus says, "If they (the people) keep quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers (Luke 19:40)."

There has always been a connection of reverence between God and His creation.  Job best states this, as he responds to critical people saying, "But ask the animals and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky and they will tell you; or speak to the earth and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you.  Which of all of these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?  In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind (Job 12:7-10)!"  Paul, in Romans 8:21-22, reflects "the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.  We know that the creation itself has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time."

Is Jesus suggesting that His creation is filled with life and love of its creator?  Is Job suggesting that even simple animals know the power and majesty of their creator?  Is Paul saying that the entire creation is a living thing, expectant for the new and beautiful thing God is doing?  I believe the answer to all of these questions is ... "YES!"

Two points to these questions.  First, there is a bigger picture than we are often willing to see.  We are trudging through the mud and muck of life, world events, national politics and just trying to find our daily bread, and we fail to see past these temporal distractions.  But God is doing big and great things.  If you don't believe this, read the unveiled hope in the Revelation ... God and good prevails.  God cares for His creation and loves the people He calls His "treasured possession (Exodus 19:6)".  God loves us with extravagance!  That is how we should love each other and the things God has given us to experience and enjoy.

Second, never forget that every event of every day ... every beautiful sunset ... every powerful storm ... every soft breeze ... every ray of warm sunlight ... every majestic tree or fragile sapling ... is calling out the beautiful name of the creator.  Isaiah 55:12 expresses God's intent in beautiful poetry, as he announces the Word of the Lord ... "You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands!"

Sunday I am hoping we can do one of my all-time favorite songs. ... "Calling Out Your Name" by Rich Mullins.  The song is an expression of God's great majesty embedded in nature and in our participation with the created world.  Every line of the song is filled with images that show a God fully in control of the "big picture."  One of my favorite lines says this ... "There is still a faith that can make the mountains move ... and a love that can make the heavens ring ... I've seen love make heaven ring!"

Do you believe in that God that is so vividly documented in Scripture?  Do you affirm, with your life and witness (how you pray, how you are present in the life of God's church/people, how you shout God's majesty by trusting God with your giving of time and resources, how you witness with boldness) that you are part of His creation, telling the "Old, old Story, of Jesus and His love!"  Are you living inside the story He is writing, giving with a faith that can move mountains and loving in a way that makes heaven ring?  Are you, like ALL the trees in the field, clapping your hands?  Randy

Recognition

Last week I saw someone at a store.  I had that feeling I should know them, but I just couldn't place the name.  I could have dealt with this in several ways.  I could have followed them around, hoping something would "tweak" my memory.  I could have taken the direct approach and walked right up and said, "Hi ... I think I should know you, but my memory is shot.  I'm Randy Greene.  Do I know you?"  But my introverted self took the wimpy way out ... I pretty much avoided them till my shopping was over.  For introverts, this is our "go-to" tactic.

Later in the week, I reflected on this encounter (really, non-encounter) and remembered a song from way back.  The song was sung by Wayne Watson and was titled "Would I Know You Now."  The song asks the question, "Would I know You now, if You walked into the room?  If You stilled the crowd, if Your light dispelled the gloom?"  It is a good question.  Would WE know Jesus if He walked into the 9am or 11am service, and would He be welcomed or avoided?  Would we recognize Him?  And (importantly) would He recognize us?

In Matthew 7, Jesus is preaching to the crowd gathered for the "Sermon on the Mount."  It is fairly early in Jesus' ministry, and was His first and most thorough discourse on a myriad of topics.  One of these topics was recognition.  Jesus talks about false prophets in verses 15 thru 20.  He makes the point that we recognize false prophets by the fruit they bear.  In the day of mega-churches and populist messages, it is good to look at fruit.  Are we ... are our people ... is the Church bearing the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, self-control)?  Are we recognizable as THE Church?

Then, Jesus speaks of true and false disciples.  What are the traits of true disciples?  Will Jesus look at us (me) and say what he says in this verse, "I never knew you!?"

But back to the song.  Wayne Watson writes about Jesus coming to our little congregation and our responses to His coming.  He says we can:

1. Be nostalgic and "miss" Jesus - I hear this from people who have chosen to be in their own little world.  They are all over Facebook, eating out, touring the countryside, hanging with friends and doing everything but faithfully honoring God's call to be in fellowship with others in church.  They say things like, "I miss my church!"  But not enough to let church hamper their lifestyle choices.

2. Be angry and point blame at Jesus - "I don't need that 'religious' stuff!" "I can fellowship with God anywhere!" In the song, the person "cries out ... 'I don't need You anymore.'"  Have some of us turned from God's call to relationship using the excuse of demonizing or degrading the church, the people, or even Jesus?

3.  Follow Jesus to the path and place of restoration - "Would I follow You, could I be restored?" the songwriter asks.  In Matthew 7:7-8, Jesus tells the crowd, "Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you shall find!"  Jesus repeats a command 13 times ... "Follow me!"  He wants to be known, found and needed by His people and His Church!

What about you?  What is your response?  Do you want to know, seek and follow Jesus?  Or, are you content to have just a "little walk with Jesus?"  This song is hard and convicting for me, because it goes right to the heart of preaching and leading ... "Do the images I've painted, so distorted who You are, that even if the world was looking, they could not see You, the real You?"

Sunday, I will try to paint a very imperfect picture of the Jesus who gives us life, breath and wisdom.  He comes to us, not as we desire or expect, but as who He is.  And the only way we will know Him is to seek fervently, follow intently and find Him.  For He wants to be known, found and followed!  AMEN

Where We Are Going

I was meeting with some friends last week and they asked a question that needs to be clear to all of us making the journey from the United Methodist Church to the Global Methodist Church. They asked, what does the Global Methodist Church stand for?  I know we have shared a bit about this, but I thought my weekly blog might be a good avenue for professing several important statements that might be good for each of us to know.

First, the Global Methodist Church has a mission ... a very clear one.  The mission of the Global Methodist Church is to "make disciples of Jesus Christ who worship passionately, love extravagantly and witness boldly."  We are going to be part of a church that places first things first ... especially Jesus.  In the current United Methodist Church, many leaders profess the many ways to God (Adam Hamilton talks of how close many [practically all] other religions are to God).  1 Peter quotes Isaiah 40:6-8 and reminds us "all people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever."  Jesus is (John 1) the "Word made flesh."  Jesus is essential, primary and foundational as "no one comes to the Father except through Christ."

In the Global Methodist Church worship is part of who we are.  In Psalm 150 God reminds us to worship with pretty much everything we have.  So we will gather, in fellowship with our brothers and sisters from all different walks of life, and point to Jesus, "the author and perfector of our faith (Hebrews 1:2)."  We will affirm our faith (we are creedal), we will sing (we sing our faith and our expressions of God's Word), we will participate in liturgy, we will give, we will hear God's word preached, we will pray and we will praise God from whom all blessings flow!  We will not be afraid to worship passionately!

We will love with extravagance!  God loves us so much he gave His only begotten Son!  How extravagant is that?  So we share that love with others through our helping ministries (Backpacks for Friday, Food Pantry, Benevolence), through our recovery ministries (Celebrate Recovery, Selah, CR Inside), through our missions (Belize, Costa Rica, Red Bird) and through nurture (ICU, meals for families).  Our cup truly overflows!

And we will witness!  We will preach the pure Word, teach in our opportunities for growth and we will lead children, youth and adults toward a knowledge that will allow them to "have this hope as an anchor for their soul (Hebrews 6:19)."  Our witness is one of hope and of the grace of God, given freely to all who come to Him!

We are going on a journey with a church that is more concerned with your soul than your pronouns.  We will remind people that to find themselves they must lose themselves in Christ.  We will not be ashamed of Scriptural authority, Christian tradition, our connection to other Christian believers, our belief in justification by faith in Christ alone, our belief that the presence of Christ is able to transform sinners into saints, our advocacy for our Christian faith, our focus on discipleship and accountability and our involvement in ministries that express compassion into our world.  And we will always remember what Moses told a group of stiff-necked Hebrews, stuck in a wilderness ... "the Lord IS your life."  This is the freeing message that life isn't about ME ... it is about God.  "Let me be full, let me be empty.  Let me have all things, let me have nothing.  I freely and fully surrender all things to Your glory and service.  And now, O wonderful and holy God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer, You are mine and I am Yours (John Wesley)!"  AMEN 

Past the Wall

In the summer, fall and winter of 1986 I trained for the Dallas White Rock Marathon.  I don't know what possessed me to want to do this 26 mile run, but I guess the old "it was there" thing might have been working in the back of my mind.  But, whatever, I trained in the Louisiana heat, the sultry fall weather, and the breezes of October, heading for a December race.  On the day of the race it was 35 degrees and drizzling rain.

In a long distance race you might have heard about "the wall."  In running "the wall" is a time when your body has expended all of the energy it has stored, and you are truly "running on empty."  You are only moving forward by the power of your will to finish.  It is a very real and painful thing, but to finish the race, you must overcome this barrier.  In my race, that cold December day, a very unexpected thing got me past that wall.  At the 19th mile a lady (truly a saint sent from God) was handing out bags of LIFESAVERS.  While it is not a candy I would normally choose, I grabbed those LIFESAVERS like a big fish hits a lure.  They were the most wonderful candy I ever tasted (before or after) because my body needed just a few calories to overcome the fatigue and pain of "the wall."  I finished the race and have the medal in my office to prove it!

I learned several things from this experience.  First, "the wall" is real.  Mine was physical that December day, but I have encountered many walls since that marathon race.  People, projects, finances, worries, real and imagined barriers, events and spiritual battles have all been "walls."  Right now we are running toward the "wall" of moving from the United Methodist Church to the Global Methodist Church, and there are lots of "walls."  Paperwork, approvals, communications with attorneys, pressure from our current conference, getting funds collected, and a fair amount of connectional bickering have filled my days during this time.  All the while, life, church and weekly responsibilities continue.  We are excited that our Youth and Children's Ministries are moving in a good direction (some good announcements will be forthcoming).  Moonlighter's will happen this coming Saturday (doors open at 5:30pm so get your tickets).  I am always excited as we prepare worship and music for Sunday.  But "walls" are real.  I think of Nicodemus as he listened to Jesus tell of being born again and of the decisive movement of God's Spirit.  John 3 tells this story of God's seeing and tearing down that wall!

Second, with walls we must understand we need help.  The "guy thing" is to say, "I will just bust that wall down."  But with all of the battles we face, help is needed.  Some walls can't come down with human power.  Nicodemus could not save himself.  He neither had the information (knowledge of God's plan and Spirit) or the ability (he couldn't save himself) to overcome the wall.  God's Spirit teaches us as we invite the Spirit into our lives.  God's Word leads us to listen, learn and get past the barrier of our ignorance.  Jesus teaches Nicodemus, "You must be born again ... and you must let God's Spirit take you where you cannot go yourself."

Finally, it is clear from the word that Nicodemus has a knowledge barrier.  His human logic is blocking his spirit's ability to understand God's message to people.  He has run out of spiritual calories to finish the race.  So Jesus says, "you must be reborn."  Jesus says Nicodemus needs to die to the self he has known, so that he can be born into the light and life Jesus offers.

I hope that as you face your "walls" this week, you realize Jesus and God's Spirit are right there with you.  Like that lady at the 19th mile of the race course, Jesus is ready to give you something that will get you to the end of the race.  Others will offer you the buzz words of this present darkness.  Empty calories will be offered in the form of human-devised justice, convenient kindness, inclusion, tolerance and many virtues.  But none of these things have virtue without the foundation of God's word and the "founding" in Scripture.  So Sunday, we will offer the Christ who is the only just one, the only source of true kindness, the one who offers inclusion through belief in Him, the one who tolerates my mess-ups but won't leave me mired in them, and the one who is the teacher and demonstrator of virtue.  Wesley said, "Offer them Christ" ... and that is what we will do!  And, with Jesus, we can finish the race God has set out for each of us.  Randy 

Found

Last week we talked about the demonic side of mental health.  We learned we have an enemy that wishes us ill will and the lostness of our connection with God.  Theologically this is represented by the King James term "unclean spirit," which is the demonic realm trying to distort or disconnect our connection with God.  When our connection with God is lost, we are truly off-the-rails, out-of-control and wandering.  In the world of nature, predators try to draw a weak or sick animal away from the protection of the herd.  Then they find easy prey.  This is how Satan and the demonic world operate, always looking for a victim.

The above is a scary scenario, until we realize the paradoxical solution offered by God in His word.  Yes, we have an enemy, but we need to realize that Satan's number one tool to harm us is something pretty simple ... self.  Here is the simple formula Jesus teaches from the Gospel of Matthew (16:25).  "He who wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me (Jesus) will find it."

Here is the paradoxical point to all of this:

1) I think most of us are good with the idea of saving our life.  While most of the time we are comfortable, we have a "self-preservation" tendency, and that self-preservation manifests itself in many ways.  We want to be in control.  We want to be free.  We want to be important and significant.  Jesus turns the table on all of this.  He says, in no unclear terms, our salvation isn't something that comes from our own power.  If we keep trying on our power ... our terms, our plans and our reasoning ... we will lose our life in the process.  We neither have the wisdom or any power to save our own life.  CR says "I realize I am not God and I am powerless to control my tendency to do wrong, and my life is unmanageable."  It is the first lesson of many, but without this lesson and realization, healing will no and cannot happen.   Jesus teaches this lesson because He has hope that the 12 disciples will realize powerless is not worthless and lost is not a lost cause ... there is a solution.

2) The solution is both beautiful and terrifying.  We must lose our life to find it.  Zac Brown records a lyric in the song "Knee Deep" that is profoundly simple ... "when you lose yourself, you find the key, to paradise."

I was preparing a Sunday school lesson the other day.  I use the Agape Classroom and our little group meets there as close to 10am as possible each week.  When I went into the classroom, both dry erase boards were full.  The information on the boards was from the two weeks prior, but this week's lesson needed a place.  So I got out the eraser and cleaned off the old lesson.  The new lesson couldn't be written until the old one was erased.  Maybe that is what Jesus is teaching here.  I come to Jesus with my mess, my confusion, my priorities, my plans and my stubborn pride.  Maybe Jesus is trying to tell me, "Randy, I need to erase that old stuff.  Let's start a new plan, a new lesson, and the new creation I see in you!  Lose yourself in me and I will keep the good, send away the bad and take your upside down life and turn it right side up!"  Jesus told 12 disciples (all with their own ideas, their own plans for "The Kingdom" and all with their mess) "Stop trying to save your life, because this will cause death.  Instead, lose your life in me, and you will find your life."  Moses knew this when he told stubborn, stiff-necked people, "The Lord is your life (Deuteronomy 30:20)."  C.S. Lewis recounted that "Aslan (the Jesus figure in the Chronicles of Narnia) is not a tame lion, but he is good."  Jesus is not a tame savior, (He is bad to erase your board) but He is good!  Randy

A Different Kind of Healing

If you read it carefully, the New Testament is filled with stories of Jesus casting out demons, and I am a believer in a demonic realm that is well-documented in God's word.  Ephesians 12 says, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm."  In Romans 8 Paul says that these powers (neither angels nor demons) can prevail against "the love of God that is in Christ our Lord."  I remind you of these things in the context of Scripture that is very clear on the subject of evil, led by a very real Satan.  

There is a school of thinking that would classify some of the New Testament "demonic" encounters as what we see as people in a nation plagued by the infirmities known as mental illness.  While I am not ready to connect these two things, I see (daily) the effects of mental illness on people right here in our community.  The Surgeon General (December 7, 2021) issued an advisory on what is called a Youth Mental Health Crisis that impacts as many as 1 in 3 students ages 3 to 17, and many more young adults.  Impacts are felt in adults from late teens to the elderly.  In my ministry, I see all of this unfolding, and this congregation has been directly impacted by the epidemic of hopelessness, helplessness and even suicide.  I won't profess to know the line between mental illness and the demonic realm, but I have seen, first hand, people overcome by this infirmity.  But I have also seen people healed from this and other diseases.  So ... let's see what Jesus did!

In Mark 5:1-20, Jesus heals a demon-possessed man and casts the demons out into a herd of pigs.  In this rather famous story, Jesus contends with four issues we sometimes face when we decide to confront our demons.  The first confrontation Jesus faces is the man himself.  Scripture says the man "could not be restrained."  He cut himself and broke away from every restraint, seemingly having super-human strength.  The second confrontation was the demons possessing the man.  Scripture says that the spirits called themselves "Legion" because they were many.  Jesus commands that the demons come out.  The third confrontation was the reality that the demons knew the identity of Jesus, something Jesus didn't want to be revealed at that time.  The demons call Jesus "Son of the most high God."  The fourth confrontation is with the people of the town.  After Jesus sends the demons into a nearby herd of pigs, the people see their economic loss and maybe they are even afraid of the power of Jesus!

I have lots of "takeaways" from this story.  But here is the one thing I believe with my heart.  For the issues faced in the area of the Gerasenes, Jesus was what the people needed and what that young man needed.  For the issues we are facing with the "pandemic" of mental health issues, maybe we should call on Jesus.  I believe He would say what is conveyed every Thursday evening in the Family Life Center ... 1) admit my plans have ME out of control 2) acknowledge there is a power that is able to run things right , 3) be ready to give my will to God 4) see myself honestly 5) admit my good and bad traits to God and another human being, 6) prepare myself for God to cast out the bad 7) ask God to send out the bad and grow the good 8) make a list of those people I have harmed 9) make amends where it will not hurt another, 10) make this inventory process part of my normal behavior, 11) keep in contact with God through prayer, reflection and connection with God's people, 12) remember to help others (it's not about me ... it is about God's plan).  We all have hurts, habits and hang-ups.  Maybe, when dealing with issues of the mind and the spirit,  the healthy thing is to give them to the Healer!  Randy

Intercession

Last week we shared the story of blind Bartimaeus and how Jesus healed his blindness with just a few words.  "Go, for your faith has healed you!" Jesus said.  This week we will look at the act of intercession ... when we pray or act on behalf of another person, even when that person has no power or awareness of our action.  And, yes, I said action.

Some of you think of prayer as passive, powerless and merely a duty.  The Bible calls it powerful, and Jesus said it was the only way to cast out some of the demonic forces He faced.  And prayer is powerful, when we pray in Jesus' name and in God's will.  But our story this week is all about the very active intercession of some friends that want healing and wholeness for another friend.

The setting is Mark 2 and a crowded room and a Bible study.  Yep, Jesus was "preaching God's word to them (v:2)."  It is interesting that the Son of God, the Living Word, is giving the people the life-giving truth of God's word.  In the room were all sorts of people.  There were teachers of religious law.  There were people who wanted to see "The Jesus Show."  But, for sure, the room was filled with sinners needing the salvation of God.

Four men, bringing their paralyzed friend to be healed by Jesus, carry him to the house on a mat.  The place is so crowded they can't get in.  And, unsaid but true in the story, it doesn't seem anyone is willing to let the four men through to bring their friend to the Healer.  So, the men do something that, if they did it today, would bring the police and lots of anger. They cut a hole in the roof and lowered the man down through the hole.  Mark reports, "seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man man, 'My child, your sins are forgiven (v:5).'"

This is unexpected by all.  The four men are probably disappointed.  They might have said, "We're about to get arrested for property damage, and our buddy didn't even get healed."  The Scripture reports the accusations of the religious teachers when they say "This is blasphemy!  Only God can forgive sins! (v:7)."  So Jesus cuts to the point and (with rhetorical intent) says, "Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or ' Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk (v:8-9).'"  Then, making His point clearly that He has "all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18)," Jesus says, "Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home (v:11)."  The man, without a single word in this story, does just that.

As I read and reread this story, it brings (at least to me) several points.

1) when you are with God, opposition is close by, 

2) crowds do not mean there is unity of purpose, 

3) the word of God is always worthy of preaching/teaching, 

4) maybe the physical healing (here in this crowded room) is the easiest thing Jesus does, 

5) people (especially religious people) resist forgiveness (even when it is done under God's authority) and 

6) intercession is a powerful part of what we (the Church) does in the world.

When I think of intercession I think of two groups.  One is our people at Abbeville Methodist who meet on Tuesday morning.  They pray for those on the prayer list, for the faith community in our town and for their pastor.  I am honored and thankful to be on that prayer list.  I also remember a story of an ex-KGB friend who shared how he, and many others, were lost in the bonds of communism, dictatorial rule, and oppressive darkness.  My friend said the only thing that sustained the faith during that dark period was "the prayers of the grandmothers."  I, when I recount that story longer than I can tell here, think of Russia, still facing evil and dictatorial rule, can still be brought back to faith by Jesus who has "all authority in heaven and on earth."  Maybe the Russian people are so bound up and paralyzed they are "like sheep without a shepherd."  Maybe the demons of leaders can only be brought to ground by prayer.  So ... let's cut a hole in the roof.  Let's lower down the faithful who are paralyzed by fear and oppression.  Let's pray for forgiveness, wholeness and healing.  "For those who live in the land of deep darkness, a light will shine (Isaiah 9:2)." "Lord, heal their land, and our land!"  AMEN

 

Healer

Over the next few weeks I want to share some keys to healing that can help us connect with God's mercy, grace and renewal.  People are hurting.  Obsessions, addictions, conditions, confusion ... on Thursday's we call them hurts, habits and hang-ups ... all happen in our midst.  Whether it is physical or mental illness or whether we label it as a specific condition, it happens to all of us.  So, I want to spend a sermon series talking about some Biblical ways Jesus approached healing (both physical and spiritual).  Maybe Jesus' actions can help us as we try to get out of God's way and let Him do what He does best ... heal His people.

I think this series is important for a number of reasons.  The biggest reason is that I see people in my sphere of friends, family and congregants who have experienced issues with physical and mental health, either personally or within their personal connections.  We find it easy to understand physical illness.  People get sick, have accidents and find what John Wesley called, infirmity.  We find it less easy to deal with mental and spiritual issues.  A friend gets caught up in our divisive politics and changes from a generous, positive servant to an angry, isolated and fearful activist.  Another friend drifts in and out of church connection, struggling with depression and chronic fatigue.  A promising young man commits suicide.  A hungry-for-truth Christian becomes obsessed with online prophecy videos and forgets the unveiled hope of God's revelation.  And I could go on and on.  What do we do?

We invest in the wholeness and the truth of God's Word.  So, what were the hallmarks of Jesus' ability to heal?  Jesus healed the blind, the demon possessed, the physically sick, and even some who were caught up in obsessions like greed.  How did He do it?

This week we will start with one thing that seems to accompany many of the instances of Jesus healing people.  In the story of blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52), Jesus encounters a blind man who is shouting, "Son of David, have mercy on me."  Jesus asks Bartimaeus one simple question ... "What do you want me to do for you?"  Bartimaeus responds, "Rabbi, I want to see."  Lesson 1 has 3 parts ... 1) God is merciful, 2) God wants to heal us, 3) We must want God's healing more than anything else, including self.  God is merciful (Psalm 145:8-9) ... "His tender mercies are over all His works."  God wants to heal us (2 Kings 20:5) "I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you!"  We (or those who love us) must want and seek God's healing on God's terms.  Jesus tells Bartimaeus, "Go ... your faith has healed you."  And God's word says something remarkable about Bartimaeus' actions after he is healed ... he "followed Jesus down the road."

The times in my life when God has healed my hurts, my obsessions and my addictions are the times when I have come to God with nothing but a plea.  I have had to become empty of self.  I have had to place myself into the powerful, gentle and sometimes painful hands of God.  And I have had to leave it all there with Him.  For me, to stay inside His healing, I had to follow Him down the road.

God is merciful.  God wants to heal us.  We must want God's healing more than anything else.

Pushback

Pushback ... "a negative reaction or response."  That is the definition on Google for a term we use when describing how people respond to events, happenings or changes.  I have been reading a lot about this as Facebook is changing to Meta, TV commercials are increasingly pushing products where people are wearing VR headsets and it is becoming evident that we (all of the people) are having something new "pushed" upon us.  Virtual reality is a product and a way of life being introduced into our lives, and most of us aren't really aware.  Like many societal changes, the playbook is to tell us how "normal" and "fun" this new thing can/will be, without telling us how treacherous, addictive and damaging this new thing really is.

A few weeks back, I was watching the morning news and they were "selling" the metaverse.  Yes, I used the word selling.  Because to those introducing the metaverse and virtual reality, we are a market.  If you want, you can buy "virtual" real estate, "virtual" Gucci purses and "virtual" cars.  You can have "virtual" experiences ranging from the benign to the dangerous.  And people are betting that you will buy into this new thing in a big way.  Virtual reality is becoming part of the design of college courses, part of the marketing strategies of major corporations, and part of one more thing people can become addicted to or obsessed with. All the while, people are having more and more difficulty coping with the real world, real problems and real people.  What do we do?

I believe Christians become those people who embrace reality.  Jesus said, "I am the truth, the way and the life (John 14:6)."  Jesus came into the world to open our eyes to reality and bring us into a healthy perspective of living a real, abundant life (John 10:10).  Jesus came to give sight to the blind (Luke 4:18).  We embrace truth, abundance and sight, all in the reality of the world God has given us.

In one set of interviews about virtual reality, I heard parents and many 20-something adults talk about their concerns with the metaverse.  One of the parents said, "If my child is asked to take a course where the metaverse is introduced, I will take my child out of that class immediately!"  Some of you might say, "That is a pretty strong pushback!"  But others might say, "That is appropriate and right."  For me, I won't be introducing virtual church, virtual worship or virtual sacraments anytime soon!  We worship a God that is real.  We worship a God that leads us through the joys and challenges of real life.  We worship a God that has found us in the reality of our mess, and who takes us to the reality of His kingdom.  Billy Graham said, "Religions are about man's search for God ... Christianity is about God's search for man."  Come Sunday and meet Christ in the bread and cup, find Him in the reality of people who have joined together in the beauty of a messy table, with messed-up people and a God who is leading us to His real and perfect place!  Randy

You Move Me!

One of my favorite old Christian songs is called "You Move Me."  It is sung by Susan Ashton and is an expression of a faithful God that moves stubborn people like me from comfort to connection.  I love the lyrics that say, "You move me, out of myself, and into the fire" and "You move me, I can't go with you and stay where I am."  The song has been part of my faith journey as I have watched and experienced a God that won't allow me to be complacent, stagnant or indifferent.

How about you?  Do you feel the movement of God's Spirit, as He breathes new life into our congregation?  The new life and growth will bring challenges, choices and blessings.  Those things might seem like chaos, but God has a way of bringing order to chaos if we just watch, listen and pray.  I will be doing all of those things as I try to follow God out of myself and into the fire.

I love what Isaiah 43 says about those fires.  "When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned: the flames will not set you ablaze.  For I am the Lord your God (Isaiah 43:2)."  Earlier, God claims His people, saying, "Do not fear for I have redeemed you: I have called you by name and you are mine (Isaiah 43:1)."  Do you grasp those truths?  We are claimed by God.  We are protected by God.  God knows the situations we get ourselves into, yet He is with us and all around us!

So I enter this season and journey of change, expectant and assured that our God is here.  That is the God who looked into a formless void and brought order, light and life, breathing His Spirit into people like you and me.  That is the God we worship and serve.  So, "Lord ... move us where you will.  Give us life and grace, and move us out of ourselves and into the fire.  And we will give you the glory!" AMEN!

The Ride or The Journey?

As a pastor, I have a unique vantage point of looking at people.  I get the blessings of seeing the deep beauty, the deep moments and the deep cuts that we all experience.  I get calls about life events ... births, weddings, sickness, milestones, deaths ... from people that were/are part of the congregations I have served.  The life-long connections are deep, wide and lasting.

In saying the above, I want to share a little of my heart today.  This sharing is borne of 28 or so years of serving churches in Kentucky, Florida and Alabama and serving as a layperson in Louisiana, Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky and Alabama.  In all of these places I have worked and served alongside people who can generally be placed in 2 categories ... riders and journeyers.

I recently met with a person I would classify as a rider.  He talked about how he had attended 5 different churches over the last several years.  He recounted how each of those churches had failed him in some way.  He was disappointed, jaded and almost angry at these people/places that had "failed" him.  My friend was a rider.  He was on the church bus for a ride that was all about what he could get.  He had his agenda, his plan and his needs, all of which constituted his "check-box" for a church that was about him.  And he wondered why all of his needs were not met!  He left disappointed!

I thought about this man's story in the context of the "rich young ruler" from Luke 18:18-23.  The young man asks Jesus "Good teacher ... what must I do to inherit eternal life?"  Jesus hears the man give an account of his virtuous life, keeping all the commandments "since he was a boy."  Then Jesus says, "You still lack one thing.  Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow me."  The Bible says, "When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy."  This young man left disappointed for the same basic reason my non-wealthy and troubled friend left ... Jesus reminds both of them that faith, church and living with Christ involves something that is probably the hardest thing they will ever do ... giving up self for a deep relationship (a journey) with Jesus.  "Follow me," Jesus said.

So, do we want a ride or a journey?  Because a journey with Jesus is one that starts with giving up self.  I tell people being baptized that going under the water was a "dying to self" ... that being lifted up out of the water was a "being raised to life within the context of an imperfect, flawed but journeying Church."  That Church is about following Jesus' call to 1) "come" and 2) "follow me (Christ)."

So, I leave this reflection with a prayer for you, me and my friend.  The prayer is that my friend "sells all he has."  Sell (get rid of) the baggage, needs, rights, prejudices, control, and attitudes that blind our ability to see the Church Jesus has "called".  That Church is my dream and hope for all of us.  And my prayer is for "Christ to be more and more at home in your hearts, living within you as you trust in him.  May your roots go way down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love, and may you be able to feel and understand, as all God's children should, how long, how wide, how deep and how high his love really is! (Ephesians 3:17-19)"

When you are a rider, trying to get to your destination, you will miss all of that!  But, if you choose the difficult, thankless but wonderful and joyful journey with Jesus, you will have deep roots, deep love, deep understanding and deep respect for who God is, what God has done and what God can do if we leave the non-eternal for the eternal.  That's my prayer for my friend and for all of those who share life, love and journey!  AMEN

Weather Vane

This morning I got a call from a friend who is struggling through the process of what to do about the happenings in the denomination (and truly the entire church).  As we talked, I remembered both the good things and the untruths that are so often found inside our decisions.  I will share a few of these as we try, as a church, to prayerfully proceed with "doing the right thing."

Before I talk about that phone call, I did want to remark about how deeply yesterday's worship moved me.  As always, the music was beautiful and seamless as it led us all into a spirit of worshiping the one true God.  I loved that Nicey shared how our church, as we invest life/love/Gospel into our community, sends little bits of Jesus out into our world as imperfect but Spirit-led messengers.  We go into the schools, into the jails, into the hospitals and nursing homes, into Belize, into community groups, into the sports teams and into the whole world as the Church.  Paul and Wesley reminded us of something we can never forget as we make these journeys into a world God loves ... "offer them Christ, and Christ crucified."

Now, back to the call!  My friend talked about how he had been a Methodist all of his life.  How he worried about getting a preacher, owning the cemetery at his church, having a voice in preacher appointments and other "nuts-and-bolts" issues of being a church.  My answer was, "You (if your church remains Wesleyan) will remain Methodist ... just maybe not United Methodist."  I told him the preacher appointment process, at least under the Global Methodist Church (GMC), would be collaborative.  That the voice of his church would be a strong part of that process as more and more new and old preachers become aligned with the GMC.  And I told him under disaffiliation his congregation would own all of their property, including the cemetery.

Then I changed the subject from the nuts-and-bolts to something more important.  I asked him, "Do you believe in Scripture?  Do you think Scripture should be the foundation of seminary training for your pastors?  Do you think Jesus is who Jesus said He was?  Do you think the Church should follow the ever-changing winds of societal whims, or should we follow the never-changing voice of God?"  Of course, his answer was yes to the first 3 questions and "the voice of God" on the 4th question.  Hopefully I gave him a few things to ponder as he had a churchwide meeting tonight to discuss how his congregation will respond to their own affiliation decisions.

As I talked and listened to my friend, I thought of a statement Dr. Karl Stegall made in a letter you should all have received and read.  Karl remarked, "a conservative bishop remarked, "Our church has traded the cross of Jesus Christ for a weather vane, waking up each day to see which way the wind is blowing."  Paul writes, in Ephesians 4:14, "We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery and by their craftiness in deceitful scheming."  Maybe the choice we are making is that simple.  Are we to be a weather vane for detecting and applying societally-accepted norms, or are we the Church that will 1) stand on the solid rock of Jesus, 2) hold to the cross of Christ and 3) stand and prevail (Matthew 16:18) even against the very gates of hell!?  

An Applied Choice

Sunday is communion.  I looked up the official definition of this word we use so often in the Church.  The word is 2 parts.  Union is one we all should know ... "the action or act of being joined."  Last week my friend Jess joined AUMC!  She and Renee are now in union with our congregation.  And I like the other part of that definition ... "action or act."  Union is an applied choice.

The prefix, "com" is also pretty easy.  Com is "A word-forming element usually meaning together or with (from Latin)."  The prefix forms words like community, common, and complete.  There is a sense that each time a new person becomes part of a congregation and joins with "the body of Christ" that body becomes more complete.  It has been going on since God created people and for some wonderful reason decided to relate to us in a personal way.  My messed-up, sinful and broken self has trouble fathoming why a perfect God would ever want to do that, but God has chosen this relationship in spite of me!  Wow!

Last evening Nicey Eller sent a song to Andy and me.  The title is Communion (go figure) by Brooke Ligertwood.  I would recommend checking it out on YouTube.  As I listened and pondered to lyrics (I am very lyric-focused) I marveled at how music and lyric can be so powerful in conveying a message that has been proclaimed ever since that Passover when Jesus said, "This is my body ... this is my blood."  Jesus chose union with His disciples, and all who have come to the altar since that beautiful and terrible night when He was handed over to the Jewish and Roman authorities.  The song repeats the thought of remembering the sacrifice, the blood, the only Son, the price paid, the wounds and the Lamb slain on the cross.  It is beautiful and, in the words of the song, "a bittersweet cup."

Sunday we will come.  Broken for sure.  Confused about many things, but sure of one great truth ... (again from the song) "His blood has power still and by His wounds we will be healed."  The reason we can make this bold statement of restoration and forgiveness is that the story, challenged by what is called "new" theology, is true, real and life-giving.  I can say this because the Bible is true.  I can say this because Jesus said He is "the way and the life."  I can say this because Jesus' life isn't some made-up story.  I can say this because (contrary to some "modern" theology) Jesus is the "sinless Lamb who was slain for our sins."  I can say this because I affirmed, as a new believer affirmed on Sunday, that "I confessed Jesus Christ as my Savior, placed my whole trust in His grace, and promised to serve HIM as my Lord."  If you haven't made this public statement, please come Sunday and confess your faith in Jesus!  

I hope you do come Sunday.  To be with other struggling sinners who gather to remember the sinless Savior that came to save the world (every person is eligible).  To kneel or stand beside the confused, convicted, the broken, the knocked-down, the self-focused, people.  Take action to join with others who will remember the blood, the sacrifice, the wounds, the only Son, the price paid and the Lamb slain on the cross.  All of this, so we could be with God here, in this life, and in eternity with the one true God.  "His mercy is enough for the many and the one!"  AMEN 

Past The Buzzards

The other day I was traveling down Alabama Hwy. 10, coming from Prattville (a funeral) to Abbeville.  At night the stretch of road is known for deer and dents.  But during the day, the power poles and trees sport the Alabama State Bird ... yes, the buzzard.  The buzzard is an odd and interesting bird.  It is really a member of the hawk family.  Like its fellow raptors, the buzzard has keen eyesight that can (according to Google) spot a carcass from 4 miles away.  They gather in groups called wakes and they are a necessary part of a healthy ecosystem.  They are nature's cleanup crew.  But, for sure, they are nasty things!

As I looked at the top of a power pole, I saw 2 buzzards perching and waiting (it's how they roll!).  As I looked at them with thoughts about their presence being an omen of bad things, I looked past them and saw a beautiful sky, the colors approaching sunset, and a reminder that God is in the business of renewal, restoration and the beauty of grace!  It was a great thought!

Elisha and his servant were confronted and surrounded by the enemy (Syrians).  In 2 Kings 6:17 Elisha prays "O Lord, please open his eyes (the servant) that he may see."  Elisha is praying that in the midst of confusion, conflict and danger, the servant would see God's provision and deliverance.  According to 2 Kings, "the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha."  So, a few observations:

1. In the midst of facing conflict and unpleasantness, God is already here.  We are in uncharted waters of decision, division and difficulty.  There are lots of buzzards, including the humanist theology, progressive world-view and political "wokeness" that permeates our society.  It is hard to see past all of this, but I am praying that we (God's servants) can look past the obstacles to the goal.  God is providing, God is speaking and God is living in us, His Church.

2. In the midst of facing conflict and unpleasantness, God is working for our future.  In the 2 Kings story, God provides a plan that leads Elisha to a place of protection and victory.  The enemy is led to Samaria and the Syrian soldiers open their eyes to certain defeat and probable death.  God provides a way, and God gives the victory.

3. In the midst of facing conflict and unpleasantness, God remains graceful.  God, in this story, "prepares a table before them in the presence of their enemies."  The king of Israel feeds the Syrians, and sends them home.  Even the Syrians find beauty beyond their conflict.

We have buzzards galore.  They include people who mean us harm, a worldview that is against our families and children, old prejudices that need to be left behind, disobedient bishops, conferences, seminaries, boards/agencies and even our own conference.  We feel surrounded and persecuted.  But, we must look past all of these things.  We must persist in our efforts to do what God is asking us to do.  We must lift our eyes to the hills, for our help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.  We must plan for the days ahead, knowing God will be in those plans.  We must resist becoming buzzards ourselves, and apply a grace that will teach those who oppose us.  We must look past the buzzards on the pole, and see the beauty of a sunset and the promise of a new day.  Randy 

It's Time

In Job 38:11 God is talking to Job after Job has requested an audience with God (because Job believes he has been unjustly punished).  In God's little discussion with Job, God asks Job a very good question.  God establishes the "pecking order" at the beginning of the chapter when Job, full of questions for God, is told by God, "I will question you and you will answer."  This is not the dialogue Job wants, but God is God, and Job learns pretty quickly God makes the rules.  Here are a few of the questions Job is asked:

1. "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth (v. 4)? The question is rhetorical ... God knows exactly where Job was!

2. "Who laid its cornerstone  (v. 6)?"  Again, God knows this answer too.

3. "Who shut in the seas with doors, when it burst out from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors, and said, 'this far you shall come and no farther ... here your proud waves shall be stayed' (v. 8-11)."

God asks many more questions of Job, without an answer from Job.  Because Job has no adequate answer ... God is God.  Let's spend some time on that last question.  "this far and no farther."  There comes a time when a line is drawn and a stand is taken.

Drawing lines in the sand reminds me of a childhood fight I had because of an argument over scuppernongs and muscadines.  In Wikipedia, scuppernongs are described as "a large variety of muscadines."  9 year olds in North Carolina didn't have Wikipedia ... we didn't even have air conditioning!  So, over this little thing, I punched Chris Venable in the nose.  It was not a proud moment, but kids will be kids.

But what do we do about God's words to Job?  Job 38:8-11 indicates that God creates limits for a purpose, whether we understand it or not.  It (in some pretty beautiful imagery, from what theologians would like to tell you are 'primitive' people) paints a picture of knowledge, intent and purpose as God creates the natural order of the world.  I (and Job for that matter) cannot really tell you how all this was done, but God's action here is one of those things bound up in the passage that says "My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts, and my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine (Isaiah 55:8-9)!"  When God says, "where were you" when all this happened, I think Job is starting to get the point.  There is a creator God, and it isn't Job.  There is a purpose in the universe, but it is beyond Job's ability to fathom.  There is a higher authority that is wiser, more powerful, and more loving than we can even grasp.  Powerful enough to create everything we can see and not see, and loving enough to remove our sins "as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12)."

So ... a quick few thoughts.  1) Do we believe God is wiser than us?  My answer is yes ... His word (Scripture) proclaims this, His action in history demonstrates this (Tradition), my life with God solidifies this (Experience) and my mind, while unable to fully grasp God's vastness, understands this (Reason).  2) Do we believe God knows more than we do?  My answer is yes ... because my choice is to either follow the whirlwind of the world or stand on the solid ground of God.  3) Do we think we (people) can devise a better plan for our world?  This one is a no-brainer!  Humanism does not work, along with a lot of other 'isms' we have tried.

As I look at Job's story here, he (Chapter 40:4) says, "I place my hand over my mouth."  Maybe that is what Adam and Eve should have done, rather than listening to the serpent say, "your eyes will see and you will be like God (Genesis 3:5)" ... this far and no farther!  Maybe this is what we need to say as the proud waves of humanism flow over our church and our nation trying to drown the church in societal wisdom ... this far and no farther!  Maybe, when we hear our own church say "there will always be a place for orthodox believers" (while simultaneously teaching humanism in lieu of Scripture, and overflowing the bounds God has wisely set for a Church He has called out of the world) we need to say, this far and no farther.  Will we, as God's Church, here to save the world by Christ's power, follow the two oldest lies in human history ... "did God really say that (Genesis 3:1) and "your eyes will see, and you will be as God (Genesis 3:5)."  For me, I say ... this far and no farther.

Discernment and Decision

The dictionary definition of discernment is very short and pointed.  Discernment is "the ability to judge well."  Over the past months we have been in a state of discernment.  That discernment has been related to an understanding of 1) who we are as a United Methodist congregation, 2) who we should be as a church and 3) what decisions we need to make so that we can do the work/ministry/worship God has planned for us.  While we should be in a constant state of discernment, this time seems stark, different and important.  We must enter this time in both prayer and in the word of God.

Paul, in speaking to Timothy, knows discernment is important.  God has called Timothy and Paul is sending his friend (that he loves as a son) out into a chaotic world.  Paul knows that this world will not be merciful or graceful to Timothy.  But Paul also knows that Timothy has been doth gifted and equipped for the task.  And Paul's advice is for Timothy to carry with his the tools of discernment.  In Chapter 3 of 2 Timothy, Paul sends Timothy with this advice, " ... you have known the Holy Scriptures that make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.  All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."  The advice is sound in a world that needs foundation and discernment.

So, back to the three questions.  Who are we as a United Methodist congregation?  We are good and faithful followers of Jesus with a rich heritage, solid theology and a missional mindset.  Our UM Discipline is, in the Articles of Religion and in statements about the complex issues facing our people and nation, orthodox (conforming to what is generally accepted as right and true).  We can say the creeds without reservation.  We can preach and profess the truth, foundation, sufficiency and necessity of Jesus Christ. 

Who should we be as a congregation?  Paul tells Timothy while the world is operating in opposition to Christ and God, the Church must be different.  Where the world sows hate, the Church sows love.  Where the world says "every man for himself," the Church becomes willing to give up its life for the salvation of others.  Where the world says, "find yourself" the Church says (as Paul shared with Timothy) find "salvation through the savior, Jesus Christ."  And when our denominational structure becomes the wing of a political party, the Church remains true to the foundation of Scripture and Discipline.

What decisions do we need to make so that we can conduct what Paul calls "the good works God has equipped us for?" We do some things that are very "Methodist."  Our Trustees develop/maintain facilities and long-term resources for ministry.  Our Staff Parrish Relations Team makes sure we have people to do this work.  Our Finance Team makes sure that we secure funds for the ministry of the church.  

This is who we are and who we will be.  The old song, "I Have Decided" says, thou none go with me, still I will follow. We (our congregation) must decide whom we will follow.  We will do what Paul says to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3 ... 1) we will look around at the brokenness of the world and know that we live/speak/love into that world as a light, 2) we will reflect on our foundations from God's word and from the people who poured that word into us and, 3) we will choose the context out of which we will "do the good works God has planned-out for us."  Let's choose well!  Randy

Discernment

The dictionary definition of this term is very short and pointed.  Discernment is "the ability to judge well."  Over the past months we have been in a state of discernment.  That discernment has been related to an understanding of 1) who we are as a United Methodist congregation, 2) who we should be as a church and 3) what decisions we need to make so that we can do the work/ministry/worship God has planned for us.  While we should be in a constant state of discernment, this time seems stark, different and important.  We must enter this time in both prayer and in the word of God.

Paul, in speaking to Timothy, knows discernment is important.  God has called Timothy and Paul is sending his friend (that he loves as a son) out into a chaotic world.  Paul knows that this world will not be merciful or graceful to Timothy.  But Paul also knows that Timothy has been doth gifted and equipped for the task.  And Paul's advice is for Timothy to carry with his the tools of discernment.  In Chapter 3 of 2 Timothy, Paul sends Timothy with this advice, " ... you have known the Holy Scriptures that make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.  All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."  The advice is sound in a world that requires foundation and discernment.

So, back to the three questions.  Who are we as a United Methodist congregation?  We are good and faithful followers of Jesus with a rich heritage, solid theology and a missional mindset.  Our UM Discipline is, in the Articles of Religion and in statements about the complex issues facing our people and nation, orthodox (conforming to what is generally accepted as right and true).  We can say the creeds without reservation.  We can preach and profess the truth, foundation, sufficiency and necessity of Jesus Christ.  But, we are connected to many other UM clergy, conferences, bishops, agencies and even curricula that are inconsistent and even in opposition to the UM Discipline and the Scripture that supposedly support them.

Who should we be as a congregation?  Paul tells Timothy while the world is operating in opposition to Christ and God, the Church must be different.  Where the world sows hate, the Church sows love.  Where the world says "every man for himself," the Church becomes willing to give up its life for the salvation of others.  Where the world says, "find yourself" the Church says (as Paul shared with Timothy) find "salvation through the savior, Jesus Christ."  And when our denominational structure becomes the wing of a political party, the Church remains true to the foundation of Scripture and Discipline.

What decisions do we need to make so that we can conduct what Paul calls "the good works God has equipped us for?" We do some things that are very "Methodist."  Our Trustees develop/maintain facilities and long-term resources for ministry.  Our Staff Parrish Relations Team makes sure we have people to do this work.  Our Finance Team makes sure that we secure funds for the ministry of the church.  And, in the midst of all of these "good" problems, we must try to maintain/develop facilities, hire people and raise funds while the tenor of brothers and sisters all over our nation ignore, oppose and even mock the UM Discipline and the Scriptural basis upon which the Discipline is founded.  "Good works" are hampered because the leadership and the structural support of our denomination has chosen to live in opposition to our basic tenants.  And our friends, neighbors, potential employees and community sees the disconnect.  We must decide/discern who we are and where we are going.

We must judge well.  Randy

 

For Teaching

2 Timothy 3:16 says God's Word, "Scripture ... is useful for teaching."  As I studied this passage I thought about how many teachers we have in our congregation.  I can name well into the teens and I am probably missing a few folks, but I shouldn't need to tell our teachers that teaching, studying and learning are important things.  And in the life-or-death nature of God's gift of Scripture, it is vitally important.  So, what does teaching require?

Teaching requires something worth teaching.  Do you believe that the Bible is worth teaching?  Do you think Scripture is of value?  I believe both of these things!  Paul, in 2 Timothy 3, is both warning Timothy and encouraging Timothy.  The warning relates to 1) people who only will love self and money, 2) people who will hate what is good, 3) people who will be prideful, 4) people who will act religious but reject the power God gives them to follow godliness.  Paul warns Timothy to stay away from people like that!  But Paul also encourages Timothy.  Paul says to follow Scripture (the teaching of Scripture) so he will be prepared for the good work God intends.

Teaching requires someone worth teaching.  Paul spends much time instructing Timothy.  Paul writes letters to all of the churches he has planted.  The content of that teaching is 1) Scripture, 2) how Scripture informs the context of life, and 3) how the power of Scripture can give abundant life in the midst of strife/persecution and difficulty.  Who is worth receiving this good word?  All people who are willing to listen.  Jews, Gentiles, Greeks, slaves and free.  Paul wants to give this beautiful free gift to everyone!

Finally, teaching requires a teacher.  If you remember the Gospels, what was Jesus often called?  Teacher!  If Jesus is the one who authors and perfects our faith, isn't He worth following?  I believe so. For, as Karl Barth observed, "Jesus doesn't just give us a recipe to show us the way to God as other teachers do.  He IS the way!"