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