Fall Ball

Fall is in swing and this year, we're even a little more busy than we have been before.  In August, we signed Ben up for his first baseball season.  He's one of several four-year-olds playing in a 5/6 coach-pitch league.  We're very proud of him and he's got some solid potential to be a much better ball-player than his dad.

Ben's an Ola Bulldog.  He's practicing once a week and playing games twice per week.  He's one of the few kids that hits more of the pitches the coach throws and uses the tee less.  He's got some decent power too, which is a good thing, especially since he runs like his dad (SLOW!).  

Earlier this week, Ben was presented with the game ball.  He had a night that he hit 3 for 3 and drove in a couple of runs.  His coaches decided he should take the game ball home and I have to say, it goes on the list of my proudest moments.  

To top off the great play, Ben's made me proud with his ability to show good sportsmanship.  He's competitive, but never gets down when he doesn't get a hit and encourages the other players around him too.  He's out there having fun - which I believe is the most important thing, especially at his age.

Now, I know there are parents out there who are saying, "I don't think so.  Winning is the most important thing."  I want to go on record and tell you that if you believe that winning is worth sacrificing your integrity and your character, then you disgust me.

Ben had a game this morning.  I left disgusted.  Not because Ben's team lost, but because of the attitudes of the adults in the bleachers and in the dugouts.  Early in the game, there was a dispute over when the ball is dead and whether the runners were allowed to advance or not.  An umpire changed his call at the insistence of the other team's coach (a mistake NO umpire should make), opening the door for one of Ben's coaches to protest.

Because of the protest, three of the parents for the other team verbally threatened Ben's coach.  "You better have your buddies with you when you head to your car after the game," they said.  Explicit language was used.  The young umpire, intimidated by the situation, did nothing to move things in a positive direction.

Thankfully, the threats were idle ones.  No fights broke out.  No property was damaged.  No more words were spoken.

But I still left shaking my head and asking to myself, "Really?  Who were the children at the ball park?  The short ones or the tall ones?"

Sadly, this isn't something new.  One of the leaders in my church once worked as an umpire for all levels of amateur baseball.  Bill has told me that his least favorite to umpire was little-league.  Not because the game moves slower and there aren't that many exciting plays, but because parents just don't know how to behave.  Threats and unnecessary language are a regular part of the job.  More ejections take place in little-league than in the other leagues, by far.  Misbehaving adults have prompted zero-tolerance policies to be put into place, resulting in lifetime bans for parents and coaches that get out of control.  I'm trying to understand why this is even necessary.  I'm at a loss.

We go to church.  We read our Bibles.  We hear about things like sportsmanship, love, kindness, and grace, but we act like competition transcends these things and brings out our animal-instinct and our sinful nature.  

I lament the fact that every day I see ads on TV and in the mail for our upcoming mid-term elections that do little to promote any candidate, but strive only to bring down the opposing candidate.  I'm saddened by the fact that all politicians want to do is tear each other down and tell us what's wrong with the world.  We know what's wrong with the world, we don't need to be told.  Instead, why not act like the good person you claim to be, rise above the fray and make the world a better place through sportsmanship, love, kindness, and grace?

I'm depressed when I read blog posts by pastors who are being attacked by other pastors.  Ministers stand in their pulpits and degrade the church down the road simply because they do ministry from a different philosophy (and usually because the other church is drawing and affecting more people - penis-envy for churches).  Whole churches refuse to communicate with each other or, heaven-forbid, work together to be Christ's representatives to the world.

Why can't we behave?  

Our bad behavior puts a bad taste in the mouths of people that watch from the outside.  It causes us to lose the respect of the world, and it damages younger generations.  There's a lot wrong with the world.  Last time I checked, the only ones to blame were ourselves.  We can blame, we can fight, we can take an eye for an eye, but the world won't be any better, we'll all just be blind.

Go Bulldogs!

The Honey and the Money

As I entered into ministry a few years ago, I was given some odd, yet insightful and memorable, words of wisdom.  United Methodist Pastors, for generations, have enjoyed a "guaranteed appointment" system, wherein we are guaranteed a job and our churches are guaranteed a pastor.

For generations, it's been hard to lose your credentials as a pastor.  Those words of wisdom spoken to me: "Stay away from the honey and the money and you'll be here for a long time."  Yet every year, we hear about pastors and staff members who just can't stay away.  They have extramarital affairs or they misappropriate/embezzle church funds.

Since becoming a pastor, I've witnessed the exodus of 4-10 pastors per year from our annual conference, most for "the honey."  In the last year, I've seen two staff members, one that I used to work with and one that I used to be friends with, get caught with their hand in the cookie jar - both will likely face criminal prosecution for embezzlement.

It's sad that all Christian leaders can't have more integrity than this, but we have a long history of ministers, staff members, and lay leaders caught with their pants down or helping themselves to church funds.  When these things happen, the betrayal usually hurts dozens, if not hundreds, of people.  The physical ramifications are bad enough, but the emotional and spiritual damage goes very deep, destroying people's trust and fracturing relationships.  These acts will stunt the growth of any church, both in the relationships within the congregation and between the church and the community. 

If you're a pastor, staff member, or lay leader within a local church, beware of the honey and the money.  Churches are trusting places and opportunity abounds to make poor decisions.  Should you find yourself dealing with those temptations, don't look away, don't walk away, but RUN AWAY!  Find accountability with someone you trust and let them help you avoid the opportunities that will be your downfall.

Most pastors who have extramarital affairs aren't caught the first time they do it.  Usually once the truth is revealed a trail of prior relationships emerges, usually affecting multiple churches. 

As for those who steal from churches, both of the people I mentioned above absconded with thousands of dollars.  Both started with small amounts and gradually took more and more.  One took more than $30,000 over the course of 8 years. 

I believe that both are addictions, much like drugs and alcohol.  There is a high involved - a feel good moment - followed by the need to do it again.  Each time gets bolder and bolder and most people don't stop until they are forced to stop.

So I say again, if the temptation is there, just saying no isn't going to cut it.  Find a strong friend to hold you accountable and to keep you on the right path.  And avoid the opportunities.  I never meet with someone alone and I handle as few funds and possible, always with someone looking over my shoulder.

If you do get into the honey or the money and you think you're getting away with it, you may be for now, but you will be caught.  The outcome will not be pretty and will likely affect the rest of your life in horrible ways, not to mention cause massive destruction for others.  The consequences are much greater than the gratification you may be getting in the moment.

So what about the victims?  What should we do if someone commits these acts against us or our church?  I believe there must be a balance between grace and accountability.  I believe that there is a need for forgiveness and also for prosecution.  We strive to forgive others because that's what Christ taught and exemplified for us - it's our model for life.

However, we often neglect the fact that the church is much greater than our own local church.  If we choose to forgive and forget, the violator is free to gain employment in another local church and commit the same acts again and again, never facing consequences.  When we call for a person's resignation without attaching any sort of asterisk to their resume, we tell the fox to stop raiding the hen house, send him on his way, and hope that he becomes a vegetarian.

If we become too vigilant, we risk our own salvation.  If we are too forgiving, we become complicit when the would-be felon strikes again.

The bottom line is this: stay away from the honey and the money.

Bodies

I know that I haven't posted since May 3rd.  I also know that I spend way too much time apoligizing for not writing more on this blog.  My goal this year was to post at least once per week, but once May hit, I found myself nearly speechless.

Early this month, Erin and I got to go on a date with two good friends of ours.  We took the day and went to Atlantic Station in the city to see the Bodies exhibit and take Erin to California Pizza Kitchen.  We also took the opportunity to walk through Ikea and John and I tried out all the chairs.

The Bodies exhibit was really amazing - if you're ever near it, I'd recommend it.  Having grown up with a mom who is a nurse and other family members in the medical field, then becoming a pastor who frequently visits church members at the hospital, I feel like I've learned a good bit about the human body.  I've always found our systems facinating and a good insight into the character of God. 

If you've never heard of the Bodies exhibit, their website explains it this way:

This Exhibition--which features actual human specimens--allows people of all ages access to sights and knowledge normally reserved only for medical professionals. Take the opportunity to peer inside yourself, to better understand how your elaborate and fascinating body works, and how you can become a more informed participant in your own health care.

The first room you enter begins by displaying our skeletal system.  The plaques and posters on the walls give bits of information on everything you see.  The next area shows off the muscles of the body.  Then the nerves and brain, the veins and arteries, the heart, the reproductive system, and so on.  They actually found a way to remove the nerves from a human body intact.  Likewise with our blood vessels. 

As we walked through, I couldn't help but think how magnificently and intricately God has created us.  The way that our organs all work together and the capacity of each to do its job is unfathomable.  In the midst of so much science, it was undeniable that our phisiology is no cosmic accident, but the work of a Supreme Craftsman.

Then I was reminded that, though we are beautiful and a tribute to God's love, we are not perfect.  Just three days later (a day after my last post), on May 4th, I watched a 36-year-old husband and father of two lose his fight against metastatic malignant melanoma.  For a year and a half, I witnessed his efforts to go through medical trial after medical trial, then chemo, and finally heavy doses of narcotics, all to try to fend off this unconquerable foe.  Jason's form of melanoma is considered incurable so far.  Some people have recovered from it, I know one of them, but those occurrances have never been able to be explained by doctors or researchers - they were true miracles. 

Early on May 4th, I went to see Jason at one of our local hospice centers.  They had stopped all treatments and the goal was for hospice to treat his breathing for a few days and send him home with 24-7 hospice care.  The end wasn't supposed to come that soon, and even at that point, we expected to still have a few more days, if not weeks, with Jason.  It wasn't so.  In just hours, he went downhill quickly and we witnessed him breathing his last just before four in the morning.

I've been asked by more people than I care to remember just how God could let this happen.  Why do such horrible things happen to people, especially those still in the prime of life?  Having wanted to shake my own fist toward the heavens, I needed to ask that question for myself.  I knew the answer as firmly as I know that 2+2=4, but grief is rarely that rational and explanations aren't always the best consolation.

The fact of the matter is that though our bodies are works of art, molded by the Potter, and set into motion with incredible internal timing, our bodies are still imperfect.  They fail, they slow down, they stumble, the fall, they fall apart, and eventually, they all die.  We are succeptible to cancer, viruses, and cholesterol.  None of that means that God loves us any less.  In fact, because of that, we are able to see God's love more clearly.

You see, God isn't even the cause of these things.  No, he didn't need one more angel in heaven.  Jason's work certainly wasn't done here.  It wasn't the wrath of God and God didn't have other plans for Jason.  His time wasn't up.

These things are a part of the reality we live in.  To blame God is to deny that his heart was broken too.  I believe that the God of love who created each of us with such grace is not a smiter or afflictor.  I think we do enough of that to ourselves.

So where was God in all of this?  He was by the side of Jason Capes.  Every step of the way, though none of us could feel what Jason was feeling, God could.  Though no one else could find the right words to say, God knew Jason's heart.  God doesn't cause bad things to happen to us, but because God is who he is, we never have to endure those things alone.

Now, God is walking beside Jason's wife, son, daughter, parents, sister, and everyone else that mourns his death.  We are not alone and we have certainly not been forsaken.

Do Something

I met yesterday with a candidate for ministry.  Now that I've been ordained for nearly two years, I'm expected to mentor the occasional candidate and help them develop/discern their call to ministry.  I have to admit, it is a little strange for me, nearly 30 years old, to mentor a candidate that is looking at a second career in ministry, whose children are my age, and who has more years of experience in the church than I do.  Though the experience is a little odd, it's still rewarding.

Yesterday we talked about the gifts and graces we have for ministry.  God calls EVERY person to do some sort of ministry - there are no spectators in the Kingdom of God.  For each person he calls, whether to lay ministry or ordained ministry, he equips them with certain gifts and graces to do the job.  Yesterday, I got to share again my story and how I feel that God has gifted me.

In just a few years of ministry, I've had extensive experience.  I've preached, taught, prayed, visited, built, raised money, baptized, counseled, served, moved, mentored (discipled), administered, initiated conflict, made peace, stumbled, picked others up, married, buried, and grown wiser through it all.  I can say that all most of it has been a joy and some experiences have humbled me while others have inflated my ego.  I can admit that some have crushed my spirit and brought a tear while others have energized me and put a smile on my face.

Of everything I've done in ministry, both before and after ordination, the one thing that energizes me more than anything is serving others.  Though God has gifted me in many ways, I know that God has wired me to serve.  I've been on countless mission trips as a participant and as a leader.  I've gone abroad to places like Jamaica (somebody had to do it, right?) and Honduras and I've worked for others in my own back yard.  I've led VBS lessons in English and Spanish, built and repaired homes, churches, and chicken houses, served food, and shared my faith in word and deed.

I've been gone anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks.  Each time, I return home physically exhausted and sleep better than any other time.  Though my body is tired, my spirit is renewed and charged up.  In fact, when I've gone more than a year without participating in some sort of mission project, I can feel my spirit dragging behind me, begging for a change of scenery.

When I head out on mission trips, I secretly watch those who have never been on a trip before.  I watch to see how the week is affecting them - as the culture shock sets in, God's word takes on a whole new meaning for them, and they go through a transformation.  I have yet to see someone not changed by serving God and serving others.

I know that I'm wired this way.  I know that God has created me do be dependent on these sorts of experiences.  I believe it's not just me though.  I read passages like Matthew 25:31-46 and see that our lives now, as well as our lives to come, depend on how we offer life to others. 

I'll run the risk of turning off all of the Glenn Beck fans out there, but we'll call it social justice.  When we make the world a better place by helping the helpless, holding the hands of the lost, and encouraging the downtrodden, there is a justice that "rolls on like a river."  Not only are those who receive the help blessed, but those who give the help are blessed (sometimes more than those receiving it). 

Four years ago, I helped a group of students re-roof a house.  It wasn't the first time I had done that, not even the 20th time.  We worked in the Georgia heat for 3 days, tearing off three layers of old shingles, replacing decking, laying felt and carefully placing shingles.  The students took turns visiting with Ann, the woman who lived there. 

Ann was grateful for the free roof and for the company.  The first day at her home was clearly awkward for the kids - they didn't realize people were living like this in their own town and they weren't quite sure how to interact with Ann.  By the third day, each one was covered in sweat, grit, and tar and were sharing hugs with Ann as if they had known her for a lifetime.  The last night, we gathered the kids around and asked them about how the experience had changed them. 

They were hooked - not because they (the have's) had helped others (the have-not's), but because they had done something that pleased God that stretched far beyond shingles and nails.  The Spirit had moved in that week in the hearts of those students as they connected with Ann and saw a different side of someone they may have avoided before the experience.

There are still more Ann's out there than I can reach, even with that great group of students.  There are many mouths to feed, backs to clothe, hands to hold, and people to lift up.  While we see devistation in Haiti, Chile, and Turkey, we sometimes forget that there are people in our own backyard that we can help today without having to buy a plane ticket, learn a language, or go through training.  Sometimes it's as easy as dropping off dinner or calling to say a prayer.

Do something.  Too many Christians will live a lifetime without doing anything about their faith.  Too many churches are so inactive in their communities that the churches are dying with those neighborhoods.  Heed the Great Commission.  Move and see if God doesn't move you.  Make a difference in the world and see if there's not a difference in your life.

Grace for All

Don't worry, I haven't given up blogging for Lent, though the season and the lead-up to Easter can be pretty hectic.  At Mt. Bethel, we've just started a new sermon series entitled "24 Hours That Changed the World" based on Adam Hamilton's book by the same title.  It's proving to be an intriguing look into the last day of Jesus life, from his time in the upper room with his closest friends to his dying moments, alone on the cross.

Last Sunday we kicked off the series by looking at the Last Supper.  This was a traditional Passover Seder meal that Jesus and his followers shared.  It was, and is, a celebration of God's providence for his people and how He carried them out of Egypt and gave them freedom.  Jesus, that night, enjoyed this meal with his disciples and transformed this ritualistic meal into the Eucharist (Holy Communion) that we celebrate today. 

Jeremiah 31: 31-34 tells us about how the Israelites broke the covenant that God made with them in the Exodus and how there will come a day that God makes a new covenant with his people, one that will last and will be on the hearts of each person.  In his last meal on earth, Jesus instituted this new covenant with all of humanity.  He broke bread and offered a cup, both symbolic of his sacrifice on the cross and the medium by which God would draw every man, woman, and child to him.

Interesting about this whole night is that at one point, Jesus declared that he would be betrayed.  Of course, each of the disciples denied it, but Jesus knew that Judas would sell him out, that Peter would deny him three times, and that the other 10 disciples would desert him, leaving him to endure suffering and death all alone.  I'm sure that Jesus also knew that every person that ever chose to follow him, for that matter, every person who ever lived, would do just the same.  Each of us, at some point denies, deserts, and betrays Christ in word or deed.

Despite Jesus' knowledge of this, he went on to break bread with these men.  He went on to spend his last hours with those who would fall short.  He went on to wash their feet, to pray with them in the garden, and even to recieve a kiss from Judas, the one who would trade his life for 30 pieces of silver.

If anyone needs a definition of grace, this is it.  Out of love, despite ourselves, God loves us and sacrifices everything for us.  I'm grateful for that grace.

I'm also led to reflect on my own gracefulness. 

Ministry is hard.  The old rule is that polite company never discusses religion or politics.  Well, when you're in ministry, faith is a constant conversation and sometimes politics enter the conversation as well.  People have differing opinions.  Feelings get hurt.  People choose sides.  Lines are drawn.

I have served four churches in the last 12 years.  I can revisit those congregations and tell you who has stepped on the back of my head rather than helping me up and I can admit that I've harbored some unhealthy resentment toward some people.  Revenge is never far from the mind (or the heart) when you've been hurt, and I've had to learn to temper my own feelings when I come into conflict with others.

I ask myself though, how much Christlike grace do I show others when I've been denied, deserted, or betrayed?  Though I may literally turn the other cheek by not retaliating and I may take an outwardly pacifist approach to these conflicts, what's going on inside?  I'm guilty of having set limitations on how much I would do for someone who has hurt me.  I'm guilty of allowing my feelings to taint any future relationship I may have with those people. 

The very act of harboring those ill feelings is a betrayal of what Christ has done for me and for others.  It hinders my personal life and it hinders my effectiveness to minister to others.

For Lent, my prayer is that I may be as grace-filled as Christ.  If we all learned to be gracious, how different would the world be?

Finding Favor With God

Do you know anybody that reminds you of Eeyore* from Winnie the Pooh?  Somebody who's down on their luck and wants everybody to know it?

I'm around people like this on a regular basis and I've learned that their condition tends to be contagious.  When you start to talk to them about their faith, you typically get a statement like, "God hates me" or "God doesn't know I exist" or "God doesn't care about me."

This time of year it comes out a little bit more and when we retell the story of Gabriel appearing to Mary (Luke 1: 26-38), I almost always get the question, "What made Mary so special that the angel told her she was 'highly favored'?" 

The answer...nothing in particular and everything altogether.

Later, as Jesus gathered with tax collectors and "sinners" and the Pharisees began to scrutinize Jesus' companions (Luke 15), Jesus told a series of three parables: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son.  The lost son, also known as the prodigal son, gets a lot of airtime and it's one I point to that illustrates John 3:16 very well. 

Some people read the story and see it from the older brother's perspective - the father is showing favoritism for the younger brother.  Some read it from the younger brother's angle - I was lost, but now am found.  Some from the father's vantage point - I love my sons, both of them.  Thank God this one has returned home.

God sees us from the father's viewpoint.  Neither son is favorite, better, more loved, or more distinguished. 

Just like Mary, each of us has been created by God, in the image of God.  Each of us is a part of the world God sent the Son to save.  Each of us has worth and each has God's favor, even when God doesn't have ours.

Even in our worst moments, when we are most unworthy, God has deemed us worthy and redeemable.  That proves God's love for us - that his arms are always open to us, as the father's were to the lost son, and he desires to use our lives for great things, just like Mary.

I have a friend that has expressed to me that he feels disconnected and distant from God for the things that he has done.  What a shame that we have allowed people to think they can be unforgiveable. 

Our greatest gift at Christmas each year is Christ.  It's not the New Year or our resolutions that allow us to make a fresh start - it's the baby, born in a stable, and the life he lived, death he endured, and resurrection that was, that gives us a fresh start.

Mary was favored by God...but so are you!  Tell that Good News to everyone you can.



*On a side note, I discovered last week that the man who does the voice of Eeyore, also did the voice for Optimus Prime, both in the cartoons from the 80's and the two movies from recent years.  Just some more pointless knowledge for you to accumulate.

(Brief) Encounter With the Klan

I'm coming to realize that when something big is happening at the church on a given Sunday, something out of left field is going to happen.  Call it coincidence, call it Murphy's Law, call it what you will - but SOMETHING is going to happen.

Yesterday was Charge Conference.  I was nervous enough simply because my District Superintendent was in the building.  Running around to make sure I had everything in order, I encountered a young man in the hallway just before Sunday School.  I shook his hand and welcomed him in.

In his early to mid-twenties, this man seemed a little timid and reluctant to come in, but said he was looking for somewhere to worship.  He qualified his statement by informing me that he was a member of the Christian Identity Church, which was a church I was unaware of until yesterday.

He was working on becoming a pastor and had visited other churches in the area, only to disagree with what was taught and preached and to leave.  I asked him to tell me a little about what he believed and the church he was a part of, so he pulled me aside, out of earshot of some of the others, and laid it on me.  He is a member of the Ku Klux Klan and Christian Identity is the church of choice for white supremacists. 

Didn't see that one coming...

I did the pastoral thing and welcomed him in anyway.  After all, what has the greatest chance of helping him to see the light, kicking him out or welcoming him in?  So I welcomed him in and immediately went into prayer mode.  This was a volatile situation - Mt. Bethel has members that are African-American, Hispanic, and Asian.  What would happen?  Would I give this man a chance, just to have to kick him out when he said or did something unacceptable? 

After about 5 minutes, he stood up, indicated some displeasure to me, and left...and I started breathing again.

I've done some research since then and Wikipedia has an article on Christian Identity as a movement and as a church.  Read more HERE.  Basically, they believe that only white people have souls and everyone else cannot be redeemed by God.  There's also the belief that Jewish people decended from Cain and that Europeans were the true Israelite nation because there were ten lost tribes of Israel expelled to Europe by the Assyrians.  As far as I can tell, there isn't a logical thread that can be found in their theology and, if placed on water, it would have so many holes in it that it would sink to the bottom in record time. 

Unbelievable.  This movement claims to have between 2,000 and 50,000 adherents in the US alone (yes, the gap in guesses is that wide).  A lot of these wackos are easy to spot with swastika tattoos and hate paraphernalia.  The groups are growing too, according to researchers and the Department of Homeland Security.

I don't understand anyone who would want their life to be defined by hatred.  I don't understand anyone who can claim to know Christ and not grasp the concepts of grace and love. 

Here's the kicker, I see a lot of it in mainline Christians.  Anybody want to venture a guess as to how many anti-Obama emails I've received from "Christians" in the last two years?  I've asked several people to keep those beliefs to themselves.  How many of you saw the YouTube video about Barack Obama being the Anti-Christ?  Watch it HERE, but be sure to follow up with this ARTICLE from Christian Post.

Do I believe that Barack Obama is perfect?  No.  Do I believe he's the best president in the history of the US?  Probably not.  Did I vote for him?  Do you really think I'm going to answer that question - it's none of your business.

But does any political decision or stance deserve hatred?  ABSOLUTELY NOT. 

Is it limited to our President?  Definitely not.  The shock of a few people when our new African American church member turned out to be better educated and more articulate than most other church members was almost palpable a year and a half ago.  Thank God for the strides we're making in becoming more diverse as a local church - I think it makes us look more like God's family.

In a world where we strive for racial, gender, age, and other equalities and groups like the KKK operate deep within the shadows, many of our regular folk still don't get it.

Do the world a favor, study your Bible more than you study your email.  Stop letting people tell you what to believe and when you are told something, study to see if it's valid.  Stop reading just the parts of your Bible that make you feel good - read the whole thing.  When you read the words of Christ and the stories of what he did, ask yourself why he did them. 

The Jesus I know came to the Jewish community, God's chosen people, as a fellow Jew.  He worked hard to teach, heal, and offer salvation to many Jews.  He also went out of his way to include Samaritans, Roman citizens, and others outside the fold.  Inclusive, not exclusive.  He loved, he offered grace, he sacrificed, and he gave very specific instructions for us to do the same.  Yet we still build our churches and pay our pastors so that we can be served, instead of building and paying to be able to serve others.

I think many of us can look at the young man that came to church yesterday and say, "Well, at least I'm not as bad as that guy."  (See Luke 18: 9-14) I get the feeling that God sometimes watches us with his head in his hands saying, "They still don't get it."  Guard your words and your actions.  More importantly, guard your minds and hearts.  The world will have you believe that it knows the mind of God.  You really don't have to go far to find someone that will pervert the Gospel for their own profit or benefit.  Paul spent time writing to many of the churches to guard against this same thing. 

Thank God for the grace that he's shown you, even when you weren't deserving - then GET TO WORK!

Jeremiah

Tonight marked one of my favorite nights of the year.  I piled into an auditorium in Athens, Georgia with a few thousand other people to witness a milestone for several people called into ministry.  Tonight, being the first night of annual conference, was the night of the ordination and commissioning service for the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church.

I love this service.  Last year was my year - Bishop Davis and other fellow bishops laid hands on me and instructed me to take authority as an Elder in the church.  My lay leader asked me tonight how well I remember last year and I told her that when I'm old and my mind is gone (I really hope not) there are a few events that I will remember and that is definitely one of them.

Tonight, I watched two of my very good friends, Stephen Walters and Geoff Grubbs come to the kneelers and the same authority was conveyed to them by the grace of God.  I'm excited for both of them, as well as the other friends and colleagues that took up this call to ministry and God's authority tonight.. 

As meaningful as witnessing this was, it wasn't the most meaningful part of the night for me.  Bishop Wandabula from the East Africa Conference delivered the sermon and despite his broken english, the message was clear and went straight to my heart.

The text that our bishop, Bishop Watson read and Bishop Wandabula preached was from Jeremiah 1.  This is the text that has challenged me and inspired me for the last two years and it's the call story from the Bible that I most associate with my own call to ministry.

You've either read my posts about Mt. Bethel, or if you know me, you've heard me talk about it at length.  This church is at what I would consider an important juncture in it's history (but what moment in the life of the church isn't of the utmost importance?).  As we stand at the crossroads, I see two distinct possibilities for this church:  one involves greatness - reaching the lost and caring for the least and seeing God's church prosper - the other involves defeat - continued complacency and eventually the agony of death.  While I would love to see the former and not the latter and while I would love to be the next Mike Slaughter or Kevass Harding, I know that the best I can do is to do what God tells me to do and say what God tells me to say (Jeremiah 1:7).

I find hope and comfort in the way that God called Jeremiah.  Never did God call Jeremiah, or anyone else for that matter, to do what he asked alone.  Simply put, God asks to use us as tools for transforming the world, one life at a time - the actual transformation and change is God's responsibility.  When I forget this, the pressure of ministry is crushing and the desire to see success is overwhelming. 

I was reminded of this tonight in the ordination service and also earlier by another good friend.  Stephen's brother, David Walters was asking me about Mt. Bethel.  I told him that I wasn't sure how things are going, but that I know I'm hearing from God and that I'm being faithful to what I'm hearing.  Without hesitation, he reminded me that my faithfulness was all that mattered (thanks David).

So I will continue to be true to my calling.  I truly believe that, like Jeremiah, God has appointed me "over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant" (Jer. 1:10).  I don't know yet what needs to be uprooted, torn down, destroyed, or overthrown.  I don't know yet what will be built or planted, but I'm anxious to see.  I continue to be hopeful and to pray that others will hear God's leading and pursue his plans for Mt. Bethel and for the world.

It is clergy and laypeople that are faithful and obedient that are changing East Africa right now.  It is the obedient that will change the world through God's power.  It is the faithful that will see the Kingdom come and not just recite some words about it when they pray the Lord's Prayer.

Some things have already been broken down and uprooted at Mt. Bethel.  New things have been planted and plans are being drawn up to build new things.  I don't know how people will respond when it gets down to the nitty-gritty, so I don't know how things will turn out, but I know where I stand and why I do what I do.

How are you answering the call?  Have you answered it at all?  God has a great plan for us, but the eventual outcome is most definitely up to YOU!