sermon series

I have been doing a sermon series that is based on the common lectionary. I have been using Romans starting with Chapter 12 and chapter 14. Paul has a lot to say about what it means to be a disciple of Christ. As a result, I have been reflecting on what that may look like in the 21st century. I talked about how the very foundation of discipleship is Love especially the love that Jesus had for us and the love God has for us. The start was at our Fall kickoff which we called promotion commotion. I focused on the spiritual gifts that God as assigned to each person and that we are all called to ministry. One is called to use that gift for the glory of God and not for our own glory. As a community of faith, we need the gifts of all members so that we can become the body of Christ in this world. The other concern is not to think that only a few are called or that somehow what I have is not worthy. Too often in churches, one can hear that only a few families or individuals run the church. In reality, for the church to be effective in ministry, all need to participate. If only a few are running the church, then it is time to step up and share one's gift with the community of faith rather than complaining. We have different gifts that God has bestowed and each gift is valuable and needed for the community. No one gift is greater than another and we are never done sharing. No more will I have done my part and now it is another's turn. Now is our responsibility, maybe in different ways. Certainly my gifts have changed over time so have others.
Last week we talked about love, hospitality, blessing and peace. I feel that when we are able to demonstrate these four attributes to all that we meet, we come closer to the image of Christ in our lives as a community. This is especially true when we bless those who persecute us and we care for our enemies. It is equally important to be joyful and exuberant to show our praise for God's love.
This week we will be discussing the issues of judging others and being critical. This comes from Romans 14:1-13 actually. The focus will be on essentials and opinions. As John Wesley stated in essentials unity and diversity in opinions. Yet, how many battles have been fought over nothing more than opinions of what is the proper way to worship as if there is only one way of doing so. How many denominations have formed because of this very thought even those who call themselves non-dominational churches. There may be a need for like minded people to gather together so that they do not become a stumbling block or hinderance to others. At the same time, Paul reminds us that the essential aspect of a disciple is belief in Jesus the Christ and in loving God with all of your heart, mind and soul; and loving your neighbor as yourself. Rather than criticize someone's way of worshiping, it would be better to say nothing if they are worshiping God and honoring God. It matters not what music one uses, the liturgy, how often one has communion, use of technology but rather are what one does is praising God and living to the great commandments.
I do believe that Paul's time was more simple in the concerns of whether one was a vegan or a meat eater or what day one would worship. I am glad that there are many ways for like minded people to gather with one another to worship God. My prayer is that rather than being critical of the way someone else wants to worship, we be open to letting them do so. We are called, as our church sign states, to be witnesses not judges. We can be faithful in the way we have experienced God in our lives and be able to share that. Let us be careful to allow God to move others in a differing way and for God's sake.

Expectations 2

I wanted to say a few more things about expectations and how they influence what we do. Expectations develop over time based on our experiences both positive and negative. Sometimes we are well aware of our biases and at other times we are not aware of why we might do or say things. Expectations effect our beliefs and values and most of all our relationships. I guess to me that is one of the most important aspects of expectations that can either build or destroy. We are studying the Gospel of Matthew and we were discussing the passage when Jesus asked his disciples who do you think I am? Peter responds "You are the Messiah, the Son of God." Shortly thereafter as Jesus was telling the disciples that he was going to Jerusalem to be killed, Peter tries to prevent him doing so. Peter even though acknowledging that Jesus was the Messiah, his expectations prevented him from seeing what Jesus had to do. In so doing, it affected the relationship he had with Christ.
When I was a therapist, there countless times that people would come in because of relationship problems that dealt with their expectations they had regarding the other person. Often these expectations were never voiced and because of that certain assumptions were made that when brought to the light were not true. One major one was that if you loved me you would know what I want even though I have never told you. Another expectation is certain roles within the relationship. I know that in my marriage there were assumptions and expectations that I had regarding Nancy and vice verse. Again when those expectations were not met, it often ended up in an argument. Thankfully we learned together ways of voicing our expectations and opening ourselves to the possibility of changing those.
Expectations are part of any relationship not just intimate ones. Think about one's expectations regarding a doctor, a boss, a co-worker, another family member, etc. It even happens in the church. Expectations lead to judgement about what is right and wrong. If you ever had the experience of meeting someone and within a few seconds make a snap judgement about that person, expectations and anticipation is present. Sometimes it is good and sometimes it is not true. That is why it is so important to be willing to openly talk about one's feelings and judgements rather than making assumptions about the person. It is when we are able to communicate those that we are able to rise above our assumptions. That means talking to the person directly and not through another person. Sometimes we do need a mediator who helps guide a person in the process but not to involve that person as a go-between which seldom works well.
The example that we have as a church is what Jesus has taught. Again from the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus stated that if someone has sinned against you, you are to go to that person and to try to reconcile and restore one's relationship directly. If that does not work than to have another go with you. The purpose is not to say who is right or who is wrong but to reconcile relationships. To do that it helps to be aware of one's own expectations and assumptions.

Expectations

I wanted to write about some reflections that I have had following some conversations with members of my congregation about what I had said regarding my visit to the Church of the Resurrection in Kansas City. I had stated that my wife and I had gone there to attend the contemporary worship service. Prior to attending I had some expectations about what that service would consist of and was anticipating the service. When I arrived, we found out that the praise band and the minister were not going to be present. Instead there was a very wonderful traditional introit down by the organ and a hymn sing. The music was well done and spirit led though this was not what I had expected or anticipated. At first I was feeling let down, but as always God had a way of saying to me why am I there. Was I there to be entertained or to worship? My expectations gave way to God's message for me in the music, the special music of Twila Paris, and in the sermon. I left feeling uplifted. All of this to show me that sometimes one's expectations and anticipations can so influence us that we fail to open ourselves up to the experience of worship that occurred. I thank God for this experience of praise and grace that I felt.
From my conversations with others, I began to realize that sometimes expectations and anticipation of what is worship can lead one to not be open to the experience of worship and the Spirit of the moment. Having pre-conceived ideas about what a worship experience should be and how it should be organized can interfere with what God's message is to us today. I realized that in this experience I could have walked away feeling so disappointed because the worship wasn't what I thought I wanted rather than being touched by the Spirit. I realized that worship isn't about what I prefer or what I think the service should be, but be about what God prefers and what God wants. I enjoy all types of music both traditional and contemporary. I enjoy emerging worship and liturgical worship. It is not about competition between styles and preferences but about praising God for what God has done for us. Everyone has their own preferences about what makes good worship services. What is important is not making that the sole criteria of one's experiences but to remain open to hearing where God is in this moment. I know that I can continue to love God no matter what style of worship, no matter what music style is done, no matter what order of worship one has. In any worship experience, if I am able to open myself to the Spirit of the Lord, I will be fed. That is what makes diversity of experiences so important. We can have many ways of expressing our joy and praise. I am working on not letting my expectations and preferences so influence me that I do not appreciate how others want to worship. I hope that is true for you also.

The Shack

I have had many people suggest that I read the book "The Shack" as they wanted to hear what I would say about what the author had to say about God and about religion. Without going into depth about the book and I would recommend that one should read the book, there were a couple of things that I found to inspire me and to challenge me. I will tell you that I read the book in one day, really about in 3 hours, and I was moved to laughter and tears. The story itself is compelling and once I started I had to complete the book. There are only a few books that I have found that have been so moving that I wanted to complete the book in one meal. I lost time while reading.
With that said and certainly I would encourage one to read the book before continuing with this blog, there were a couple of things that I wanted to comment on. The first was the presentation of the Triune God. I found what the author had to say to match my belief about God. That God contains in the God-Self a relationship of three, as the book states Papa, Jesus, and Holy Spirit. To often we try to make God hierarchical and structured. The very process tends to limit God to some concept that we have as created beings. God is limitless and yet relational. Perhaps that is the Great Mystery of God. We cannot define God though we try. This is especially true when we use gendered language as a means of describing God. The book has a way of helping one see through the general stereotypes that have been passed down for generations. What comes out is that it matters not what God looks like, whether God is a grandfather white male or an African-American woman. What matters is that God desires to have a relationship with you and I however that would appear to us. I found that the book begins to provide some insight into what stereotypes that we have with our conception of God and how that does not limit God but does limit ourselves. I reflected on the ways that I tend to try to limit God to be something that I would feel comfortable with. Even when I attempt to do that God remains limitless and continues to reach out with us.
The other comment I wanted to reflect on was the author's opinion about Religion which was generally negative. I noticed that he tended to capitalize the word. He was raising the issues of the stereotypes that Religion tends to perpetuate. There were several ideas that he raised that I would tend to agree. One of them being so caught up in rules and rituals that one forgets that the primary reason for gathering together is to be in relationship with one another. At the same time, he fails to look at the benefits of religion as to reaching out to others and sharing God's love with one another. I came away from the book feeling that it dealt more with individual salvation rather than the salvation of the creation. He did talk about that very issue taking an almost universal salvation approach. But it seemed to focus on just what I do rather than what we can do together. We are studying the Gospel of Matthew and exploring how the Pharisees are protrayed as so caught up in rules and rituals that they fail to perceive their need for relationship with God and with one another. What I feel the author states whether he meant that or not, substitutes one form of demand for another. Though of the two, I much prefer his. I do feel there is a need to have religion if we remember that worship and liturgy means the work of the people. We gather primarily to love God and love one another as Jesus commands. When we become so concerned about who is in and who is out, we fail in our own relationship with God.
I again would encourage one to read the book if you have not. I would like to take the book and have a discussion with those who have read it. I am sure that many will be moved as I was.

Missional churches

I receive an update from the United Methodist Board of Church and Society once a week. This update has several articles that deal with issues of mission and justice. Any one reading my blog would know that these are two areas that I am committed to. In fact, there have been several exciting things happening at our church based on missional work. The first is that we had several of our Middle school and High school youth go on a mission trip. This is the first mission trip that our youth have gone on in the last we believe 20 years. They went because of the dedication of the youth sponsors, parents, and congregational members who helped support through finicial giving. We sent 15. We already have had 37 youth and sponsors sign up for a mission trip for next summer. When we become the hands and feet of Christ in this world we are transformed.
The other exciting area was that we sent a group of five adults to a mission field for the first time outside doing our habitat for humanity project. They went to Iowa and help deliver flood buckets and spent a day "mucking" out houses. The church was challenged to provide 10 flood buckets and we sent 23. I felt that the whole church responded to the excitement of both missional opportunities. Of course, we can't stay there and need to continue to have the excitement for our church to be involved. I believe that if we can continue we will be more faithful in living as disciples and the rest of the church will benefit both worship and stewardship.
To continue that theme, I wanted to share from the UMBCS board this article. This came from the 2008 Mission Initiative Summit. The quotes are from Rev. Mike Slaughter who is the senior pastor at Ginghamsburg Church in Ohio which is a large mega-church. He was commenting on "soft-secular" people who "try to bring Jesus into their world view instead of being transformed into His." He also said "soft-secular folks never move to that place of truly sacrificing their resources and service for the sake of the kingdom." He does challenge us as a church. "The moment you can't respond to immediate missional needs because you're tied to brick and mortar, you've stopped being the hands and feet of Jesus, the body of Christ. The missional church is continually sinking everything it has to risk, to give its life, to be consumed for the rest of the world."
What I have seen this summer speaks to what Rev. Slaughter has said. Also he must be doing something right to grow a mega-church that is so invested in mission. As we continue to plan for our selves where we are going in our church, I pray that we do not lose sight that the reason we come together is not about a building but about building the kingdom through our faith, our work, and our willingness to live as a disciple.

A faith that is not tested is a faith that should not be trusted

I titled this blog from notes that I took when I attended the Church of the Resurrection in Leawood Kansas. I was so struck by this message that I wanted to share the notes of what happened. But before I begin, I need to let you know about what had preceded this time.
Nancy and I decided that we wanted to take a weekend away and decided to leave for Kansas City Saturday morning. Our original plans were to go to the art museum, check into our hotel and then to go to the contemporary service at the Church of the Resurrection Saturday evening. Sunday we were open to the possibility of attending a baseball game with the Royals and then come home.
As we arrived, we spent most of Saturday afternoon at the Nelson-Adkins Art Museum. We barely covered the modern art and decided that we would come back Sunday afternoon. We checked into our motel and made our way to COR. We did not know that Adam Hamilton was doing a mission trip in Africa and was not going to preach. Sunday Dr. Zan Holmes was preaching. For those who have taken Disciple Bible Study, he is the one who introduces that studies. He is a professor of preaching at Perkins School of Theology. I did not think that he would be preaching Saturday. This service the praise band also was taking time off. When the service started with an organ prelude, I questioned what was I doing here.
That feeling continued when they had a hymn sing from our UM hymnal. Actually it was good and certainly upbeat to hear the hymns. The whole atmosphere changed when the special music performer came onto the chancel area. It was Twila Paris who throughout the service sang four of her top hits. She was putting on a special performance Sunday evening at COR. As great as that was indeed Dr. Holmes did preach and I must say that I was fed that night.
He was preaching from Mark 6:41-44, 48-52. The title of the sermon was "Have we learned the lessons of the loaves?" I wanted to share some of what he had to say especially since I preached from the Matthew scriptures the previous Sunday. The title of the blog came in that sermon that faith that is not tested is a faith that should not be trusted. The last verse of the text was after Jesus entered into the boat after the storm," They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened." As Dr. Holmes stated that J.B. Phillips translated the text as they had not the sense to learn the lessons of the loaves.
So why do we not learn? Dr. Holmes discussed that somehow we might feel that we are exempt from understanding and service. For instance the feeling that when Jesus says to us feed them it really does not apply to me. The other concern could be that we feel we are self righteous and don't need to learn because we think we already know the lesson. Another reason was that we lose sense of connection with those who are in need. Sometimes we prefer credentials over Christ. But the biggest reason we may fail to understand is that we fail to grow through what we are going through. The thing is that God will keep sending us back through the course until we get it right. God doesn't want to waste anything. The other thing is that there is no failure with God's grace. No matter how many times especially in the gospel of Mark the disciples seem to fail to understand Jesus never gives up on them. Just as he never gives up on us. That is the power of love. So whether we deserve an F in the course of life, God's grace gives us an incomplete and we can try again. As the old hymn states God's love has lifted me up.
I went away uplifted by the service. I also was amazed about how the service which was not packed but probably had over 400 attendance worked. We met and were greeted more from the people who we sat around who shared their story of faith with us. I have come away with some ideas about worship and may implement some of those starting with the early service in September. Stay tuned.

Interesting reflection on truth and lies and perceptions

I came across this from our General Board of Church and Society. Even though the message was aimed at the falsehoods that were directed about Barrack Obama they could equally apply to John McCain though there are less of these distortions. I would invite you to read what Jim
Winkler has to say.
Word from WinklerPerception vs. truthBy Jim Winkler, General Secretary, General Board of Church & Society
I read a news report recently in which an Ohio voter declared that he’s not sure what to believe. The voter said he has heard repeatedly that Barack Obama is a Muslim, was born in Africa and is hostile to the American flag. The refusal of people who are perpetuating these lies to stop doing so is creating confusion in this Ohio voter and, no doubt, many others — which, of course, is their goal.
Two of history’s most notorious figures recognized the power to accomplish political goals through perpetuating a lie often enough. “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it,” said Joseph Goebbels, the minister in charge of Nazi propaganda under Adolph Hitler. And Vladimir Lenin, who masterminded the Bolshevik take-over of Russia in the early 20th century, said, “A lie told often enough becomes truth.”
If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.
Whoever is perpetuating the Obama lies is counting on voters exemplifying the opinion stated this spring by a United Methodist General Conference delegate in the Church & Society legislative committee: “Facts don’t sway me none.”
On the same day, I read a news report on the sixth inauguration of Robert Mugabe as president of Zimbabwe. Mugabe lost the first round of elections, changed the results to “prove” his competitor did not win 50% of the vote, arranged for the slaughter of dozens of his opponent’s supporters, forced the withdrawal of his opponent, claimed victory in the runoff, then condemned his opponents in his inaugural address.
Again on that same day, the news reported the United States has ramped up covert operations in Iran. The covert operations in that troubled country would include spying and supporting rebel groups in order to generate turmoil. Meanwhile, Israel, Vice President Cheney and dozens of members of Congress continue to issue insane threats to bomb Iran, a course of action that would lead to another war.
Inquisitiveness and enthusiasm for learning are crucial whether it has to do with world affairs or our faith.
The Ohio voter doesn’t know how to separate fact from fiction. President Mugabe changed the facts to suit his purposes. Vice President Cheney and his colleagues are unwilling to face the facts.
Life can be difficult and confusing. At times the truth is hard to get at. I believe it is incumbent upon each of us to be aware of the world around us. Inquisitiveness and enthusiasm for learning are crucial whether it has to do with world affairs or our faith.
I keep a ridiculously high stack of books on various topics on my bedside table. I love discovering new insights in scripture and perspectives on theology.
Too many people have a kindergarten faith. They learned a few scripture passages in Sunday School and know little else. One pastor told me she led a Bible study that included background to the historical and social circumstances taking place during a period of Jesus’ life. A participant in the study told her: “I just like to read the words of Jesus. I don’t really want to know all this information.”
Too many people have a kindergarten faith.
You may have heard about Jay Leno’s survey of members of the Tonight Show audience. None could name one of the 12 apostles, but everyone knew the names of the four Beatles.
It always amazes me when I meet people who obviously don’t pay attention to what is going on in the world, but are nevertheless eager to express their opinion. At the same time, I know that many others feel beaten down, disheartened by the course of life. Too often, they are hungry, poor and sick. Many feel powerless and disenfranchised about life.
There’s no easy answer to these sad realities. Once you know something about the injustices surrounding you, failure to act is irresponsible.
The citizens of Nazi Germany learned that the hard way. After the war, millions claimed they didn’t know what was happening in their own country. They may have been fearful. They may have tried to ignore reality, but they knew something bad was happening — even with Goebbel’s masterful lying.
Disease, poverty, war, violence, hunger, racism and other social ills confront us. Don’t bury your head in the sand. Seek the truth. Pay attention, please. Follow Jesus and get to work. Date: 8/1/2008 12:00:00 AM©2005-2008