Preparing for Sunday, May 3rd

Beginning this Sunday,I am leaving the lectionary to focus on Spiritual Gifts.
This week, we begin a series of sermons concentrating on our call to ministry and the spiritual gifts God grants all Christians. We begin by considering our own call. Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul:

26Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, 29so that no one might boast in the presence of God. 30He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31in order that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 1 Cor 1:26-31

By baptism, all Christians are called to ministry by God. What does it mean to be called by God?

What do you find surprising in God’s call on your life? What would others find surprising?

Have you ever taken time to consider your own call?

We used to speak of finding one’s vocation—a word which means “calling.” Now, we speak of careers. What difference, if any, would it make in your life, if you were to think in terms of calling instead of career? Would it change your attitude toward your daily work? Would you feel any need to change your work or your lifestyle?

Just some things to consider this week!

UM Constitutional Amendments Part II

I plan to continue sharing views on the amendments as I find them. So here is a video by Bishop Scott Jones in favor of the amendments.


And a Wesley Report response.

On a similar vein:Another perspective on the amendments

Let me add that none of these views are necessarily mine (in some cases I still haven't decided). And I have discovered that is generally easier to find the opinions of those who oppose the amendments than those who support them. Obviously, since they passed General Conference, this may not be an accurate picture of the support for the amendments.

If you know of other articles, please let me know.

UM Constitutional Amendments

This year at Annual Conference, we will be voting on 32 amendments to the United Methodist Constitution! 32 amendments can be rather overwhelming. Luckily, there are fewer actually issues at stake. However, there are a number of issues at play that are not obvious to those of us who are not knowledgeable about the different factions fighting for control of the denomination.

So today, I will share a variety of links to thoughts on the amendments. I am not sharing any particular point of view and if you know of some others please let me know. I'm gathering these primarily for my reflection and prayer and that of New Life's Lay Member to Annual Conference (this is her first Annual Conference!), but thought I'd share with others what I have found. And hopefully you can share with me what you have found.

So here they are--in no particular order:

Overview Article from The Interpreter

West Ohio Conference gives an overview of the amendments and their rationale

Dan Dick on Amendment 1 and the Temple of Doom

Maxie Dunnam on Amendment 1

John Meunier on how paragraphs 4 and 214 are different.

Maxie Dunnam on the 23 amendments relating to the World Wide Nature of the UMC

Robert Sparkman's (Hartselle First) position paper on the amendments.

Steve West's (Grace) position paper on the amendments

Eddie Fox, world director of evangelism for the World Methodist Council,on the worldwide nature of the church. You can also find a video here.

Bishop Scott Jones on why he supports the world wide nature of the Church amendments.\

A Report from the Council of Bishops and the Connectional Table to the General Conference

The Nicene Creed and the Worldwide Nature of the UMC

Article by Linda Greene on considering a new church structure

Good news article on Amending Away our Global Church

Rationale to oppose

Methodist Thinker articles: here and here

Rainbow Christians In favor of amendment 1

On extending voting rights to Local pastors, provisional and associate members. (But not to all--I confess I'm concerned about some having the right and not others)


Well this should get us started!

Eclectic Echoes--April 24th

Planning a men's retreat any time soon? Check out Dr. Awesome's Manly Men Retreats

Bono's post-Easter reflections. Check it out even if you aren't a U-2 fan.

Adam Hamilton asks "What's Your Purpose?"

Bishop Willimon on a faith based on the testimony of women.

Dan Dick asks "Do United Methodists Really Want to Be Disciples?" and the answer is disturbing!!!

The Silence of the Lambs--why isn't the Church speaking out on issues of race?

Shakespeare was wrong! A rose by any other namne would not smell so sweet! Check out this interesting research on the impact of gendered words on our experience of the world!

The Well-meaning Bad Parent

Roger Ebert reflects on why he neither believes nor disbelieves in God.

Preachers and Misfits, Prophets and Thieves: Why you should pay attention to ministers in Southern Fiction

Cartoon: Jesus please don't take the wheel!

Jon reflects on Calling Someone Anointed

Earl Freeman has a new blog and reflects on the challenge that his wife, his daughter and Jesus bring to his understanding of ministry.

A Challenge for Public Speakers

Reflections on Earth Day

The Susan Boyle Narrative

If you are going to Panoply tomorrow, be sure and check out Faith Rising at 6:30!

You! are my next sermon illustration

Speaking of which--here is this week's laugh (another one from Hospital Church)

Mama's Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Pastors

So it's been one of those months . . . And a conversation I had recently with someone who informed me that " . . . some people have REAL jobs" is still echoing in my mind. And quite honestly there are days when I do wish I had a "real" job. A real job with regular hours (and perhaps only 40 of them!). A real job where you most often know what to do next because everyday isn't a new challenge. A real job where you have the authority to do what you feel is right without having to convince a hundred or more (or a thousand or two) people that this is the right move while they threaten that they or someone else (usually nameless and faceless) will leave. A real job where you get merit raises and awards for doing the job well.

All that to say that some days I miss having a "real" job!

One of the most annoying things for me about some folks who object to women pastors is that they seem to think that we might dream up a need to be a pastor. Only people who have never been a pastor or part of a pastor's family could ever think such a thing! Why would anyone in their right mind chose this life? (Reminds me of a friend who said that the UMC requires psychological testing for candidates for ministry to ensure that we are crazy enough to do it!)

However, truth be told, I wouldn't/couldn't do anything else. Despite the frustrations and the bad days (weeks, months . . ), God has called me to this ministry and I am privileged to have a front row seat watching God at work in the world and in people's lives. And when folks say, "I just don't know how you can go to the hospitals and the funeral homes," I realize that they don't understand how powerfully God is at work in those places and times! When they say, "I don't know how you can stand up there and speak," I realize they don't know that I failed at every public speaking attempt in my life prior to ministry! My ability to simply stand and speak in front of a group is a result of God calling and empowering me to do it! For the past 10 years, I've found myself time and time again in my car going to do something I didn't particularly want to do and was scared to death I couldn't do because God called me to go. And the amazing thing is every time I do, I find God went ahead of me and enabled me to do whatever I was called to do-despite myself.

Strangely, funerals, hospitals, and counseling are not the things of ministry that make me want to pull out my hair and run away. Generally, it is the much more mundane tasks that wear me out: meetings, meetings, complaints, whining, and did I mention meetings? Nonetheless, God is also at work in all those things too! And when I listen, I learn and I am changed.

And I am grateful to God that I have a calling rather than a "real" job. (NOTE: I believe ALL jobs can be callings! Being a pastor just happens to be my calling!)

But it has been one of those months, so I truly appreciated Lillian Daniel's article at Faith and Leadership and most especially enjoyed the video she shared:

The Difference a Teacher Can Make

With three kids aspiring to be teachers, I am aware more than ever of the difference good, passionate teachers can make in the lives of children.

And in the wake of Susan Boyle's inspiring debut at age 47, my heart is warmed to see a teacher helping children achieve their dreams much earlier! So I couldn't wait until Friday to share this great video of music teacher, Gregg Brainberg and his PS22 chorus. As Eugene Cho says in his blog;

“Why wait till 47 - a la Susan Boyle.” Invest in kids. Believe in kids. Love on kids. Build them up. I was reminded of a quote from Frederick Douglass: It is easier to build strong children than it is to repair broken men (grown-ups).

For more of PS22's music, check out their blog.

Easter 2

Ants in the Pants of Faith

Off to See the Wizard

We are on our way to Birmingham to see Wicked.

Eclectic Echoes-- April 16th--After Tax Edition

So grab a cup of coffee or tea--or your teabag if you prefer--and check out these items from the worldwide interweb.

What's in a word? I do believe my daughter is a textrovert!

Shoutin' Methodists This reminds me of Nanny, who used to point out whenever the opportunity came about, that the "other side" of her granddad's family were shoutin' Methodists but we were most definitely not!

What's your NPR name? I had a hard time figuring out the smallest foreign town I have been to -- Sherilla St. Catherine

Tradition! Tradition!

Faith in God helps Anxiety
Teleprompting Prayers

15 Film Production Credits Explained--I always wanted to know who the key grip was!

Star Trek Jokes For Craig!

Thinking, Learning, and the Future of Christian Education

Why aren't your people inviting people to your church?

Busy Mom's Balance Family and Faith

Finances--What would Wesley Do?

The inspiring story behind the Scottish Church Lady

Reverend Billy's plan to strengthen local banks

Reflections on UMC
Lowest Common Denomination
Studying the Bible as Wesleyans (this is a podcast of Bishop Willimon's presentation)
Getting Back to Wesleyan Basics
Are there Wesleyan Basics Worth Reclaiming?


Reflections on Scripture
Do you love Jesus or are you merely fond of him?
Christ is Risen! Run Away
Limping and Praising
Bishop Willimon on the God who refuses to be done with us

And for the laugh of the week--something you don't expect--the Spanish Inquisition!

Preparing for Sunday, April 19th

This week we continue the season of Easter by reflecting on one of the resurrection appearances of Jesus. This is the story of poor Thomas, nicknamed “Doubting Thomas” by generations of Christians. However, I like Thomas and think he gets a bad rap. What do you think?

In John’s account of Easter morning, Mary runs into Jesus in the garden who then goes and shares the experience with the disciples. Apparently, they don’t believe her because Jesus finds ten of the disciples locked up in an Upper Room.

19When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” 24But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
26A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” 30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. John 20:19-31

•Why do you suppose Thomas wasn’t with the disciples when Jesus first appeared?

•The ten didn’t believe Mary and only believed when Jesus showed the disciples his hands and his side.
o Why do you suppose that Thomas is called the doubter when he only asked for the same evidence the other disciples had received?

•Jesus’ words to Thomas, “Do not doubt but believe” could be better translated, “Don't be unbelieving. Believe." (The Message)
o Is it wrong to have doubts or to ask questions about the faith?
o Is there a difference between doubting and not believing?

•Jesus doesn’t admonish Thomas for asking to see and to touch. Given the tense of the verbs in his words to Thomas, he appears to be more concerned with what Thomas does about believing in the future than he is with the past. What does the life of a believing disciple of Jesus look like? How would it be different from the lives of other people who don’t believe?

•What do you think Jesus wanted the disciples to learn from his appearance on that
first Easter Sunday?

•What do you think Jesus wanted Thomas and the disciples to learn from his second appearance a week later?

Preaching Blues

Yesterday, I read an article that really resonated with me: I Got the Preachin' Blues. In the article, Chris Jackson speaks of the Monday morning (or Sunday afternoon) discouragement that often follows preaching. Although for me, it often starts long before Sunday morning as I look at a manuscript that seems dead and lifeless. A friend of mine calls this a "ka ka" moment--the point in which you hate your sermon. This is generally followed by many prayers that God will somehow turn my watery sermon into wine. And much to my surprise, God does seem to work through my preaching and I am sure it is despite me!

Granted I don't feel this way about every sermon and there are those weeks when I know I've hit it out of the building (and goodness knows that is always my prayer that the words of the sermon will have an effect outside the walls of the church!). But for the most part, I really don't know the impact of the sermon. After all, a sermon isn't necessarily good simply because you are told "good sermon, pastor" as folks walk out the door. It may simply have been entertaining! Or they may just say it to be polite. And I generally feel that I really have struck out when someone says to me, "That was a great sermon. There are some folks who needed to hear that message!"

One of the advantages of preaching every week is that you can't focus on the Monday preaching blues for very long--because next Sunday is coming. Furthermore, the feeling that each and every sermon must be a home run is lessened by having the opportunity to hit the ball again (and soon). As an associate, I was always felt extreme pressure about preaching for a couple of reasons. First, since I only preached every few weeks, I couldn't build on previous sermons (after all who remembered them?!). Second, you couldn't build the relationship with the congregation that allows for occasional less than stellar performances. Third, there was always this sense that you had to earn the right to preach.

Nonetheless, I still feel the pressure. After all, folks are giving you something precious--their time and hopefully their attention. And some folks actually come to hear a word from the Lord by way of preaching! In fact, according to "Listening to the Listeners" most worshippers expect a challenging sermon! And it is only right that preachers do their best to be faithful to their call!

So perhaps it is right that we question and critique our sermons. (After all we do it to other's sermons!) And maybe Saturday night doubt and Monday morning blues are a way of keeping us humble and encouraging us not only to continue to hone our skills but, more importantly, to return again and again to God for assistance.

Every week before each of our services, someone prays for me. And they generally pray that I will die to self so God can speak through me. I think that is an excellent prayer! So perhaps the Monday morning blues are also a way of reminding us preachers of just who is in charge anyway!

Easter at New Life

When the End is the Beginning

Gossip

Someone complained to me recently that thanks to a Bible study lesson the other night, someone refused to gossip with him--and he tried really hard!
Anyway, I couldn't wait to share this!

Easter in the Midst of Real LIfe

This has been a strange Holy Week at our house. Laura has a job working as the Easter Bunny’s helper, so she’s worked almost every evening. Laura had a paper due and Phillip has a test. Buckhorn held their Jr/Sr Prom on Holy Saturday. And in the midst of the silence and contemplation of Good Friday, a tornado created havoc in Grant. Not exactly the sort of set apart holiness one expects of Holy Week.

And yet . . . isn’t that just what we celebrate on Easter? In the midst of daily life, God comes. The first Good Friday featured an earthquake so on Easter Sunday there must have been many cleaning up the mess. And while I doubt the local shul probably didn’t have a prom, I suspect there were student learning the Torah, young men preparing for their bar mitzvahs, and young girls preparing for weddings. And in the midst of the ordinary joys and suffering, God did a new thing!

So maybe this year, we didn’t need a quiet, contemplative Holy Week. Perhaps we (I!) needed to be reminded that God most often comes when we least expect him—in boring ordinary events like tests and papers, in exciting events like proms and weddings, and in our shared sufferings. But when God comes everything takes on new meaning and all things are made new!

"It was a tornado . . ."

Grant was shaken by a tornado yesterday. One of our members, who lives on Preston Island, has lost her home. Yet another member was evacuating elderly grandparents by water. The hail broke windows and windshields. And many are without electricity. (In fact, I received an e-mail saying the electricity went out in Grant just as we were leaving the church after last night's service.) Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt. However, there is a lot of clean up to be done. Please keep those who have lost homes in your prayers!

Here is a short video of some of the damage on Preston Island.

Preston Island tornado damage

Eclectic Echoes--April 10th

Monday, I had the honor of being one of the preachers in the "First Evangelists" Holy Week services at Trinity UMC (Tuscaloosa). And last night, I observed my first Maundy Thursday with the congregation at New Life. We celebrated communion, reflected on Jesus washing the feet of the disciples, and stripped the altar. The stripping of the altar was a new experience for them and I believe they were surprised by how moving it was especially when we lowered the lights and left the draped cross in the spotlight. Tonight, we are observing a Service of the Nails. They are not accustomed to worshipping on Good Friday and the weather is supposed to be bad (albeit not earthquake and darkness) so hopefully some will show up!

Here are some of the highlights of what I found on the internet this week.

Slow down, you move too fast: The Slow Parenting Movement

Visitors: Losing Them Out The Back

Speaking of Visitors--Best way to get more visitors is for folks to invite them!

Rush of Fools to play at Annual Conference this year (a big improvement over seeing the Bishop and me on stage)

Who Will Be Saved? As usual, I don't have a spot on the scale!

Funny Words and Suggested Usage

Churches Adjust to Challenging Times: Do More Good

Why I Stay Methodist

Religion and Science: No Fight Club Here

Read to Save Your Life

If your church closed today, what difference would it make?

Where did the Easter Bunny Come From?

Reflections for Holy Week
An American Passion
How Could It Be Good Friday?
Blind Faith in An Age of Darkness
Morality in the Movies vs Poetic Injustice
Easter for Leaders
NT Wright on Easter
Maundy Thursday
The Way of The Donkey

It's Friday, but . . .

Preparing for Easter Sunday

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. 5As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 6But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. 7But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” 8So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. Mark 16:1-8

This week we will explore Mark’s telling of the resurrection of Jesus. This version (like most of Mark) is brief and to the point and ends rather abruptly. Strangely, the oldest versions of the Gospel of Mark in existence end right here without the additional verses that we find in our Bibles.
• Why do you think the original manuscript might have ended so abruptly?
• Why do you think someone felt it important to add to the story?
• Why do you suppose the women reacted the way they did?
• Why do you suppose Jesus went ahead of the disciples into Galilee rather than meeting them where they were?
• What would it mean for your faith if Jesus had died on the cross but had not been raised to life?
• What difference does the resurrection of Jesus make in your daily life?

Image from the Visible Kingdom

Eclectic Echoes -- April 6, 2009

I am officially waaaay behind on everything! So much so that I just marked 1000s of items on my google reader as read without even looking at them. But here are a few things that caught my attention this past week:

We had two great Palm Sunday services! And I confess I really enjoy watching the kids play with the palm branches even though I was tempted to yell, "You'll poke your eye out!" So I especially appreciated this blog on Using your Palm Branch as an instrument of mass destruction!

Metaphoraging--Guiding metaphors for churches

Larry continues to share his wonderful Sunday School lessons: Who are you cheating?

So we've all seen the same old bulletin bloopers again and again. For a laugh, check out these typographical terrors.

Thanks to the wonderful folks at the Institute for Clergy Excellence, I got to hear Phyllis Tickle yet again! Here is a good interview with her.

How important is your little toe?

U-2's Profoundly Spiritual Vision

The Dangers of Easter

Tearing Down the Church Together

Eugene Cho's Absolute 10 essential books for Christians

Bishop Willimon on Sinners

10 Broadway Musicals Based on Books (We're seeing Wicked in two weeks!)

Mark Covington on UM Constitutional Amendments

Dave Fergunson on Dashboards--seeing how the church is doing. And the North Alabama Dashboard is now on-line for all to see!

And the big conversation this week is the UMC ordination process. Here are some interesting reflections on the subject by those going through the process as well as some serving on boards:
Ordination in the UMC, after (sorta)
The Board of Ordained Ministry: The Unofficial Guide for Candidates
Reverend-Elect: My Experience with the Board of Ordained Ministry

And now for this week's laugh of the week:

Preparing for Palm Sunday

This week we will look at two passages. The first is Mark’s description of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday:

When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. 3If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’” 4They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, 5some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. 7Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. 8Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. 9Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,
“Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
10Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
11Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. Mark 11:1-11

And the second is part of Jesus’ prayer for his disciples on the night before he went to the cross:

After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, 2since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. 5So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.
6”I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; 8for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. 10All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.
11And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. John 17:1-11

For the disciples, Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem must have been a dream come true! Three years of traveling, teaching, feeding, healing, and argument after argument over Jesus’ identity and authority culminated in this one great moment when it felt like everyone recognized Jesus as the Messiah! Jesus had tried to prepare them for what was to come, but they really didn’t understand and so they watched in horror and amazement as the week progressed from the beautiful moment of triumph to increasing opposition to Jesus’ strange words about bread broken and wine poured to Judas’ betrayal. Moreover, it was about to get worse as they too abandoned Jesus in his hour of need.

On Palm Sunday, the crowds and disciples cheered and on Good Friday they either cried for Jesus’ death or (perhaps worse yet) they were frighteningly silent.
• Why do we who celebrate God in the good times abandon God in the bad times? Are we that fickle? What kind of faith and trust must we have in God to follow him in the good times and the bad? What kind of faith must we have to follow him to the cross?

On the night of Jesus’ last supper with the disciples, he tried to prepare them for what was to come. As part of that preparation, he prayed passionately for them. This scripture only gives us part of the prayer and ends with Jesus’ request that the Father protect Jesus’ followers “so that they may be one, as we are one.”
• What does it mean for Jesus’ followers to be one with each other?
• History shows Jesus’ followers have done a poor job of staying unified with each other. People often look to Jesus’ words and bemoan the proliferation of denominations and other Christian sects. However, I believe that the focus on the bigger picture of the church distracts us from the harder question. What does it mean for a congregation to be one with each other? Does it mean that we all think alike and act alike? What unifies us? What should unify us? And what would that look like?

This Sunday, we will celebrate Holy Communion. We will encircle the Sanctuary and sing of being tied and bound together as usual. We will also remember our unity as a congregation as we serve one another communion in which we pray, “By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world.” May that unity strengthen us as we seek to follow Jesus to the cross!

See you Sunday!