Pastoral Postulations

Lessons Learned

    Transitions teach me a lot of things. I don't always want to be taught knew things (I'm only 31, but I'm kind of a old soul). I've learned, for example, that no matter how organized you are during a move, you still won't be able to find anything when you're unpacking. Incidentally, if anyone knows where I put the toenail clippers, that would be splendid. I've also learned that one can, in fact, live without many of the things once thought to be indispensible. Going a week without cable or internet proves that point. A great lesson that I've learned is that no one is too much of a stranger for you not to say "hello". Neighbors are basically the same everywhere. It matters to be friendly.
     God uses the situations of our lives to teach us. Indeed, I believe every moment is a potential teaching moment. God knows this and is always using that truth to His advantage (especially when it comes to me). These days, I take comfort in the words of St. Paul in Romans 8: "God works for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purpose in Christ Jesus." Even in the great times of change, transition, doubt, and confusion God is at work to bring about good. This means that even when we are consumed with fear, anguish, grief, or despair, God is still working in the midst of those things to bring about good. Never is there a time in which God is not working in this world to bring good.
     I was visiting with a farmer and his wife recently. They were experiencing the effects of a long drought. He told me that he prayed everyday that God would bring rain, and the rain just didn't come. In a bold moment (that is a bit uncharacteristic of me, I'll admit), I asked him why he thought we deserved the rain instead of other needy parts of the world? There is a finite amount of moisture in this world, after all. Are we more deserving? He puzzled over that for a few moments, then said, "I suppose in spite of the drought, we still have enough. We've cut back on things, but we still have plenty. I guess there's a lesson in it all."
    I do not mean to suggest that every situation is so clear. I know of so many families who have loved ones suffering (and even dying) from cancer. It is hard to find a lesson in it; it is hard to find God working in the midst of it to bring about good. A saintly lady once told me, after losing her husband suddenly, that she learned in her grief how valuable each moment of our lives is; that our time together is a gift from God that we should treasure. That is a lesson we would all do well to learn, however difficult.
     My friends, every day, God is providing us the opportunity to learn and grow. Sometimes that growth is easy, and sometimes it comes slowly and begrudgingly. Whatever the case, take comfort in knowing that God indeed does work for good everyday and in every life.

Grace and peace,


Pastor Barry

Baccalaureate Sermon

So, I don't normally post my sermons on here. I just don't feel like the written versions pack the same punch as the verbally delivered versions. Still, some have asked about it, so I thought I would share. Enjoy!

Be Strong

A Homily

Guymon Community Baccalaureate

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Joshua 1:6-9

Good evening. It is good for me to be here with you tonight. On behalf of the Guymon Ministerial Alliance, I welcome you. In the name of our God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – may you all find peace in the grace of the risen Christ. I have this wonderful privilege tonight – Seniors – to see your faces. You are all together and eager for the days ahead. On Friday, all I will see are the backs of your heads while you’re sitting at the stadium. Are any of you the least bit excited for what’s coming next? It’s ok to say so.

One thing I want you all to know, from the outset, is that I am going to keep it short tonight. I know you are excited and eager to get to the Senior Video. You are even more excited to get to Friday. So, I will promise you that this won’t take too long. But in this short time, let’s be agreed that it is a right, good, and joyful thing to pause together as a community of friends and family to reflect on the things God has done, is doing, and will do in your lives.

I myself am about to make a change. For the past six years I have had the opportunity to watch you grow up through Jr. High and High School. Now it’s time to go. We all have anxiety about what this means. Be strong. God is not through with you yet. It is only the beginning.

There’s this great story from the Bible. There was a young man by the name of Jacob. Jacob had grown up in a very religious family. He himself was pretty indifferent to it. He wasn’t necessarily against all the religious stuff his mom and dad were into; he just didn’t follow it himself very strongly. Jacob was a lot like all of you. He had dreams; passions; and a lot of hope for the future. But Jacob just couldn’t bring himself to think very far outside of himself. His whole life was a very self-centered existence. It was always, “Jacob gets what Jacob wants.”

One day, he had a pretty big blow up with his family. He stole something that was very important to his brother Esau, so much so that Esau wanted to kill Jacob. Jacob ran away from home to get free from all of it. At first, Jacob thought that he had really made it – away from home and able to live his life how he wanted. No more religious stuff from mom and dad. No more fighting with his brother. No more expectations. Jacob finally got what he thought he wanted. He thought he was being strong.

He made a lot of mistakes in that time. He met a lot of girls. Did a little partying. Had to find a job. In all of that “life stuff” Jacob just got angrier and more afraid and more anxious. He kept thinking, “any day my brother is going to show up to beat me up or even kill me.” He started a family of his; he did his best. But there was never peace; never true happiness. It was all because Jacob thought being strong meant being the best or being wealthy or having the hottest spouse or the most security. He thought that being strong meant being able to walk all over anyone that got in the way of the things he wanted. He thought being strong meant taking what he wanted regardless of who it hurt. Being strong – as far as Jacob was concerned – meant putting his desires ahead of all others. And it was killing him. It was tearing apart his soul.

Anxiety, fear, no direction, a troubled heart: do any of these things sound familiar? Have you ever been there, Seniors? Are you there now? We tell you to be strong, but what does even mean? Jacob had to be confronted with the truth. Having strength, as it turns out, is less about what you can gain for yourself and more about what God is able to do in spite of you.

So the story goes on: Jacob one day found himself all alone. He was traveling with his family, but he just felt like he needed to be alone. Sometimes, we all just need time alone. He sent the kids and everyone on ahead. He was standing at a little creek out in the middle of nowhere, and it was starting to get dark. Jacob was at a low point in his life. The guy who had run away from home and run away from faith was standing in the dark all alone – his soul wrenching from the agony of fear. He couldn’t put his finger on what the problem was, only that he was trying to be as strong as he possibly could. Out in the distance, in the darkness of that place, what appeared to be another man started walking towards Jacob. The other man didn’t say anything; he just grabbed hold of Jacob and wrestled him to the ground. They fought all night long. As the sun was about to rise, the stranger dislocated Jacob’s hip and told him, “From now on your name isn’t going to be Jacob anymore. It will be Israel, which means ‘the one who struggles with God.’” With that, the stranger disappeared, and Jacob knew that he had been wrestling with God all night long.

Jacob’s life changed forever after that. He realized for the first time in his life that his own strength was worthless. His whole life he had been fighting with everybody – taking what he wanted and living how he wanted. And, still, even with that version of strength, Jacob was nothing. He had nothing. He was vulnerable. His heart was sick with the years of sin and dark doubt and despair. “Oh my God,” he cried out. “Save me. Save me from a life of vanity and self-centered pride.” As it turns out, my friends, when we tell you to be strong, we are not telling you to be like Jacob. In fact, we are telling you to submit to the one who is stronger than any of us. 

Here’s the funny thing about strength. We as Christians don’t believe that it is physical strength that ever wins the day. Sure, you may win a fight or two along the way, but really our strength comes from the one who created us. Paul, in the New Testament (hundreds of years after Jacob), put it this way: “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight  in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions,  in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Jesus himself told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, they must first deny themselves. For the first will be last and the last will be first.”

This doesn’t seem right. The world around us has taught that you TAKE what you want; that strength is about what you can GET not what you can give. We Christians make this remarkable claim that our weakness is our strength, and it’s all because we worship a God who submitted himself to live the life of a servant and even to suffer on behalf of others. This is how the world is conquered: through submission, service, and sacrifice. Your strength comes by way of your willingness to give your life away for something so much bigger than yourself. That is the strength of Almighty God.

It is so true that you can go out into this world and take it. You can own this world on your terms. You can get more stuff. You can make money. You can walk all over your neighbors and hurt many people. You can do all of this while getting every pleasure your heart desires. That’s the thing about this world. It provides at one and the same times everything you want and nothing that you need.

Be Strong. God is bigger than all of that. Be the kind of person you were created to be. Be strong – not in the way the world talks about strength but in the way God designed it. Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Your class Scripture comes from the book of Joshua.” Be strong; Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged; for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” It’s all about God and what God is doing in your life, even if you don’t realize it. Some of you are full of fear and doubt and maybe even anger. God is bigger than that. Some of you don’t know what direction you are going. But God is bigger than that. Some of you are sure of the future and desire to take hold of it. God is bigger than even our understanding. I say to all of you, then, to trust in the God who called you according to his purpose and you will know what an abundant life – a life of complete joy – can really be.

The hard truth is that we cannot begin to truly live until we let go of everything. I think we have an ongoing problem with thinking that God will always desire the things we desire. We wrongly assume that because we want to be wealthy, successful, and well-thought of, that God must want those same things for us. The truth is, we don’t know what living is until we quit trying to live for ourselves. True life, Jesus tells us, begins in submission – in the denial of yourself. To lose your life for God’s sake means that you will gain it. You will find strength for the journey, not from anything you have done for yourself but from what God has done and is doing for you.

 Following Jesus into this world– even in the day to day – in that every day, walking around life – is nothing short of consuming. At least, it should be. We behave as if God is very small. But God is bigger than anything I could ever ask for or imagine. God is the source of our strength, and the way of God will  take you to places you never could have imagined before. With Jesus, we find the power of God that is capable of overcoming any of our hindrances, hesitations, and hang-ups.

Sister and brothers, be strong. Be strong in the Lord your God who has called you to his eternal purpose, and that purpose is to find faith, hope, and love worked out every day. Find strength in the God who gave himself up for you and me. THIS LIFE – you make take. But you’ll never truly live until you let go and let God be the source of your strength. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lover

Derek Webb is one of the greats. My ipod was on shuffle this morning, and this song came up. Imagine it's Jesus singing this song, and it will make some sense. I've put the lyrics below and also a link to a video of the song. Enjoy! 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0b7Ys4K5OU

 

 

Like a man comes to an altar I came into this town
with the world upon my shoulders and promises passed down
and I went into the water and my Father, he was pleased
I built it and i'll tear it down so you will be set free

But I found thieves and salesmen living in my Father's house
I know how they got in here, and I know how to get 'em out
I'm turning this place over from floor to balcony
And then just like these doves and sheep, you will be set free

I've always been a lover from before I drew a breath
some things I loved easy and some I loved to death
because love's no politician, it listens carefully
of those who come i can't lose one, so you will be set free

But go on and take my picture, go on and make me up
I'll still be your defender, you'll be my missing son
and i'll send out an army just to bring you back to me
because regardless of your brother's lies, you will be set free

I am my beloved's and my beloved's mine
so you bring all your history and I'll bring the bread and wine
and we'll have us a party where all the drinks are on me
then as surely as the rising sun, you will be set free

A List of Misses

As I prepare to move to El Reno, I am finding that there are many things I will miss deeply about Guymon and Victory Memorial. Here is a highlight list (not in any particular order):

1. The Urban Bru
2. Sunsets
3. Variety Show and Cake Auction
4. Music on Main Street
5. Taco Shop
6. Novak Fresh Eggs
7. Soccer Games
8. Every Morning is Easter Morning
9. Repairing the Bus (again)
10. "May the Lord Bless You and Keep You..."
11. Horses
12. Outreach Committee Meetings
13. Keilbasa with Coach
14. CLEW Camp
15. Late Night Coffee at J & Js

This is only a small list of the things I will miss. The full list is much longer and growing, but these are some of the highlights. What would you put on the list if you were moving?

Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus

This video keeps popping up all over the place, and I've seen many people give positive comments/feedback.

As I watched it, I was frankly pretty appalled. I hear arguments like this all the time and almost always from people who have no idea what they're talking about. I was ready to write up a rather scathing review, deconstructing the rapper's entire argument, but then a colleague of mine in Kansas City - Scott Chrostek - posted the following link on facebook. The link is to another blog written by Alan Combs (yet another UMC pastor) who pretty well summed up everything I wanted to say. So, here you go.

http://shrove.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/ill-communication-about-religion/

The Smartest Man on Television

I have long said that Stephen Colbert is the smartest man on television. I really believe it. It takes a very sharp mind to do satire the way he does. Jeremy Smith, on Facebook, linked an article in the New York Times about Colbert. I've put the link below. But here is my favorite portion, when he reflects on loosing his father and two brothers in a plane crash when he was 10 years old:

“I’m not bitter about what happened to me as a child, and my mother was instrumental in keeping me from being so.” He added, in a tone so humble and sincere that his character would never have used it: “She taught me to be grateful for my life regardless of what that entailed, and that’s directly related to the image of Christ on the cross and the example of sacrifice that he gave us. What she taught me is that the deliverance God offers you from pain is not no pain — it’s that the pain is actually a gift. What’s the option? God doesn’t really give you another choice.”

The full article can be found here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/magazine/stephen-colbert.html?pagewanted=1&_r=3

Down Syndrome, Choice, and Moral Joy

A dear friend wrote this article. Dana, of course, is a brilliant up and coming Catholic moral theologian. I have learned a lot from her over the years. I hope you will too.

http://catholicmoraltheology.com/noahtarget/

Young People - Do We Want Them?

I like reading studies, however insufferable they can be at times. Still, I find this one rather relevant to the condition of the mainline church. I hear these myths often about young people leaving the church. I hear them even from people who have worked with young adults for many years and should know better. The troubling thing, for me, is that we don't seem to be able to do anything about these realities. I've known these myths have existed for years; I've even preached on some of them over the years. Now, I should say, in full disclosure, that I pastor in a church that has a remarkably large number of young people involved. I am also in a community that has an above average number of  young people in it. Still, I feel like even in Guymon we are ignoring realities. Ten years from now, will there be anyone under 40 who cares about the Church? Or under 50 for that matter? Anyway, the link to the study I'm going on about is below.

http://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/534-five-myths-about-young-adult-church-dropouts


Also, I've been reflecting on a few things Lovett Weems has said. Get this:

-Giving in the United Mthodist Church (in the US) has reached a plateau and is now declining

-34,000 congregations and $6.5 billion in annual giving (in the US); yet we cannot net even 1 new disciple in a year

-Clergy as a whole are less concerned about reaching young adults than the laity as a whole are

-Laity as a whole are unwilling to make the changes to worship and budgets required to attract these young adults

This is quite a situation. Still, I am not one of those doom-and-gloom types. Nor am I one who thinks we need to just get the right program in place or listen to the right church growth guru or built a tower to heaven in order to turn the ship around. I've been reading Kenneth Collins' book John Wesley: A Theological Journey. It's pretty much a standard historical account, but I always find tidbits worth remembering. He recounts Samuel Wesley's advice to his son when John decided to seek Orders with the Church of England. Samuel wrote to John and told him that all of his goals and activities in ministry should grow out of three main points. "The glory of God, the service of His Church, and the edification and salvation of our neighbor." That should be John's motivation for ministry, according to his father.

I wonder what the church would look like if clergy ran their course in ministry with those three points always firmly in mind. It really isn't about me, after all. It's not about my future appointments, even (I know what future I have in God, and that is enough). It's about glorifying God, serving the Church, and shepherding people into salvation.

With this in mind and recognizing the myths of young adult dropouts, I can't help but think that the only think keeping the Church from entering a new day in America is...well...us. That is a sin I am willing to coffess. I hope others would coffess it as well.

Generational Narcissism - A Few Brief Thoughts

Found this today. Thanks to Padraic Ingle for sharing it originally.

http://www.immersejournal.com/immerseblog/whats-your-theology-of-development/

A very good article. In my own ministry, I have certainly found this to be case. I preached last Sunday, not on the issue of narcissism, but particularly on the issue of entitlement. Perhaps they are two sides of the same coin. My assumption has been for many years that current teenagers/young adults did not start developing an undeserved sense of entitlement (or narcissism) on their own. It's not as if this started somewhere around 1990 out of the blue. They've been taught this behavior. I have found one of the best ways to combat these issues is not by whining about it, but by structuring ministry in such a way that it doesn't feed into the narcissistic/entitlement tendencies. You have to say, regularly, "This is not about you!" Most important, I believe, is that you don't build little kingdoms of young people. I was at a church a while back with absolutely wonderful space in their facilities for Youth. I'll admit, I was a bit jealous. The youth of that church had an entire wing to themselves! Who wouldn't want that? I'm not so sure it's healthy, though. I had the opportunity a few years ago to pursue building a new youth facility across the street from the church I currently serve. I rejected that proposal because I didn't think giving the youth that kind of separation would be healthy for their development. Instead, we ended up remodling space inside our main building. Our current Youth Room is fantastic, but it also requires our youth to be engaged with the rest of the congregation. Multi-generational ministry is critical. A healthy youth ministry will always bleed into a larger program of life-long formation. Young people grow into more responsible adults (and are more willing to take responsibility) when they are forced to interact with people older than them. As an interesting caveat to this, the current generation of millenials tend to get along really well with elderly folks. Is it because they have similar views on what it means to belong to something? To serve? To give? For whatever reason, mentoring possibilities are very rich when paring these two generations together.

Reflections on Steve Jobs

So I readily admit that this came out a bit cheesier than I had envisioned in my head. I think I would recind this entire article, except I'm sure it's already on it's way to print, so I might as well make it official and post it for all to see. So, yeah, I made a knee jerk comparison between Abraham and Steve Jobs. Yes, I realize now that he was a Buddist. What can I say? I should have shelved this one for a few hours before hitting send. Enjoy.

I was saddened to find out this week that Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple Computer, had died of cancer. He was 56 years old. I have no idea if he was a man of faith (though I generally assume people in positions like his are not), but I think there is something quite faithful about this man as exemplified in his life. Admittedly, I’m a bit sentimental about his passing. I feel like I grew up with Steve Jobs, alongside the personal computer, the internet, cell phones, and mp3 players. There are a couple things I take from the life of Steve Jobs that I think really do intersect with the Christian life in positive ways.

            Firstly, Steve Jobs was a visionary. Lately, I’ve been reading through the book of Genesis again. The story of Abraham is a fascinating one in which a man of unexceptional means is raised up to be a part of something so much bigger than himself. God spoke to Abraham and said, “Look up at the stars and count them. As many stars as there are in the sky, so shall be the number of your descendants.” The Christian life is very much about dreaming big dreams. We do not look upon the world simply as it is, but we look upon the world as that great work that God is doing. We are going someplace, and the dreams that we have in relationship to our God are so much bigger than anything else we ever could have dreamt alone.

            We need to dream big and see the possibilities for the future. There is so much brokenness in this world today; it is easy to simply throw up your hands and say, “I’m done! I have nothing to offer here!” With the hunger, war, violence, and deep-rooted sin that infects all of humanity, what can we possibly do? The number of Christians continues to decline in this country, and we are under greater and greater pressure to do more with less. But much like the prophets of old, there is a vision of a new day, a better world in which darkness truly turns to light and salvation is realized in our midst.

            So, yes, people like Steve Jobs can teach us something in this regard. Dream big dreams, not small ones. Look up at the stars, and try to count them. The possibilities are endless. The visionary, Steve Jobs, showed us how to find that imaginative spirit given to us by our creator and use it to inspire countless millions to strive for the greater things, to love the beauty of the infinite, and to never settle for good enough.

            Secondly, Steve Jobs showed us how to accomplish great things through the everyday and simple. Various people over the years have reflected on how intelligent Steve Jobs was, but always with the addendum that he surrounded himself with people even smarter than him. His real genius was in his ability to organize other people. If there was a job to be done, he never believed he was necessarily the one to do it, but his job was to find the person who could do it better than anyone else. He was an expert organizer who knew how to work in the midst of people in the everyday, common things. He built relationships; he encouraged young minds; he put teams together; he saw the simple, daily tasks as paramount to the overall mission of the company.

            So, too, we Christians know that it is most often in the simple and the mundane that we find the fruit of our mission. St. Paul reminds us that we are gifted individually yet for the interworking of the entire body. And through our daily labors, the Spirit of God is pulling us together to accomplish that goal which is in Christ Jesus. It doesn’t take a burning bush to change the world. It takes faithful people who are willing to engage in the simple things, everyday with conviction and commitment.

            I believe that the world lost a great figure in Steve Jobs. My prayer is for the repose of his soul that he may find the light of eternity. May we all give thanks to God for the gifts of vision and simple work.

Grace and peace

Some Thoughts on a Barna Study

The following is my article for the church and community newspaper. I reflect a bit about a recent study by Barna on obstacles American Christians struggle to overcome in their spiritual journeys.

Spiritual Obstacles

            Today’s article is a reflection on a recent study released by the Barna Group. You can find the study online at www.barna.org titled “Self Described Christians Dominate America but Wrestle with Four Aspects of Spiritual Depth”

            George Barna (that guru of contemporary surveys and cultural observations) has recently released the findings of another study that does not reflect well on the American Church. The study sought to find obstacles in the American Church that people struggle to get past. They came up with four.

            Firstly, according to the study, American Christians struggle with Commitment. They found that 81% of self-identified Christians have made a commitment to Jesus Christ. (I could probably write a book about the remaining 19% who self-identify as Christian but have made no commitment to Jesus). 81% sounds pretty good, but the findings show that only 18% of them are actually committed to growing in their spiritual lives. Growth, it seems, is an obstacle to contemporary American Christians because they simply do not see the need.

            A second obstacle was not surprising to me. They call it simply Repentance. 64% of self-identified Christians, says Barna, have confessed their sins. It doesn’t say how long ago that was, only that at some point in their lives they have confessed their sins. Only 3% reported that through confession they have come to submit their lives fully to God. Only 3%! My preaching lately has taken to speaking a lot about submission to God. I have recognized this as a great obstacle in the church today. Christians do not think God desires much more of them than what they are currently giving, and that giving is very minimal. Transformation of a life into the image of the Creator cannot happen without submission, of which true confession will be a mark.

            Barna calls the third obstacle “Activity” by which he means the religious practices we commonly engage in to find spiritual depth. They found that 39% of Christians engage regularly in Church worship, prayer, and reading the Bible. Barna sees this number as pretty good. As a pastor I see 39% as abysmal. It gets worse. Less than 10% engage in deeper practices of self-sacrifice, service, fasting, meditation on Scripture – in other words, practices that will lead you forward in your relationship with God. American Christians tend to keep a simple check list in their minds: read the Bible? Check! Took 30 seconds to pray? Check! Read a verse or two from the Psalms? Check! We tend to think that as long as we cover the checklist, then we’ve done our religious obligation, and God will reward us with riches and good health. American Christians don’t so much want to grow in their faith as much as just appease the gods so they’ll leave us alone.

            The fourth and final obstacle is about Spiritual Community. A majority of self-identified Christians claim to feel comfortable in their faith communities. However, only 1 in 5 believes that growing into spiritual maturity requires a deep connection to a community of faith. They further do not believe that they need to be held accountable for their daily practices by their churches. The reality for the spiritual life is quite simple: you cannot grow in your faith if you are not willing to submit to God and the guidance of his Church. There is no Christianity without community. There are no Lone Rangers to this faith. God makes us responsible for one another, but Americans don’t want to be vulnerable to each other. We build up walls instead to keep others out.

            In their conclusions, the Barna Group noted something very telling. Most churches do encourage their people to engage in spiritual activities as a means of growing. The problem is that most church members confuse the purpose for growing. Instead of growing into the image of God, exemplifying the attributes of our Lord (let’s look at Galatians 5:22 for what some of that might be), Americans are seeking to grow into greater wealth, health, security, and fame. In other words, Americans actually think that if they just do a few little spiritual exercises once in a while, then they will be rewarded with material gain. They don’t want to go deeper because that would challenge them to let go of their material idols.

            My friends, this does not have to be the case. We were created in the image of God, and because of our sin we have fallen very far from God, far from the true place of blessedness, peace, and joy. Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, came and invited us to follow him, to deny ourselves, to take up the cross and go with him into the world. This requires submission. It requires confession. It requires seeking out deeper spiritual practices that will challenge our everyday idols. It requires giving yourself to a community of sisters and brothers who are on the very same journey. This journey is what we call “Salvation” in its fullest sense. Never be satisfied in your spiritual life. God is endless – without beginning and end. For the sake of our souls, we must dive deep into the soundless depths of God’s being. Only there will we will find a new life, a transformed life, a holy life.

Thoughts on the Call to Action

The United Methodist Council of Bishops is leading forward on the "Call to Action" which is an attempt to move United Methodism out of the statistical doldrums. Since 1968 we have lost around 3 million members. There is a lot of conversation surrounding the Call to Action. Below is a link to a conversation on this topic that took place at Duke Divinity School recently. There are also links on that page to the Call to Action document itself.

 http://divinity.duke.edu/news-media/news/20110906calltoaction

The Crumbs Beneath Thy Table:

Reflections on Exodus 16 and Matthew 20

This is an abridgment of a sermon I preached a few weeks ago on Exodus 16:2-4, 10-16 and Matthew 20:1-16. A further abridgment of this will be in the newspaper this week. They are actually the lectionary texts for the upcoming Sunday, September 18th.  The original title of the sermon was "When Grace Falls". 

         

          The people of Israel were wondering around in the wilderness with Moses at the lead. Imagine this wilderness – this desert place. This was not a comfortable place for the people of Israel to be. Recall that prior to this time of travel they had been slaves in Egypt. They had been a settled people, not nomadic people. They had been city dwellers and construction workers. They were not a traveling kind of folk. They were not like the pioneers, venturing out and fending for themselves, making a life in the harshest of conditions. These Israelites had never had to do this before. So even though the wilderness is a difficult place no matter who you are, for these Israelites it was the hardest of times. It was so difficult that they began to think about the good old days when they were just slaves in Egypt. Oh those were fine times, weren’t they? Everyone had food to eat; it was simply grand to be a slave. We all at times look back at the “good old days”. The grass was always greener back then, wasn’t it? We fool ourselves into believing that we have it so bad, when in fact the blessings abound (we just don’t see them clearly).

          But complain they did, and God was quite unsettled by it. As the story goes, God did not dismiss the complaints, but in fact heard them. God caused bread to fall from the sky and quail to appear each day. By God’s own provision, the people had their fill of food (and they didn’t even have to work for it).  I would like to say that this was the only time they complained. It was not. Complaining is something that seems to go alone with human living.  

           And, yes, we will all find something to complain about. It’s all a bit trite; a bit cliché. Don’t complain. Count your blessings. Be content with all you have. Those are wonderful platitudes, but perhaps the scripture today has something deeper to say to us than just the typical old sayings.
          Almighty God – the one who created the universe out of nothing; the same God who stretched the heavens, who crafted you and me in his very own image; the Sovereign Lord over all at whose very name the mountains tremble – this God called Israel together to follow him out into the world: to serve Him, to worship Him, to keep His commandants and live as a holy people. God then made a covenant with Israel that He would forever and always be with them.

Try to put yourself in the story. Imagine yourself there and the wonders you beheld. You saw with your own eyes the plagues that fell upon Egypt. You walked on the dry land across the Red Sea. You heard the voice of the Lord God speak! From Exodus 16:10, “And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. And the Lord said, ‘I have heard you.’” The voice of God is not a small thing, but even more, God rained down bread for the life of the people (Exodus 16:14).

            Grace is so abundant you can almost pick it up off the ground. Everywhere that God is, there is grace to be had. Grace is, very simply, the undeserved presence of God among us. God’s very presence is grace, and it brings with it forgiveness and the strength to live day to day in the face of hardship. God’s presence is active; it’s not just God residing out away somewhere; God is doing stuff in your life! God is speaking to you, guiding you, preparing you for the future. God’s grace brings out of us repentance and a desire for reconciliation. All of us are unworthy so much as to gather the crumbs beneath God’s Table. But, remember, grace is the undeserved presence of God among us. Wherever God is, there is grace to be had. It falls upon us, and you can almost just pick it up off the ground.

In my experience we tend to have at least two problems when it comes to grace. On the one hand we don’t trust that God’s grace is available. On the other we act like we’re entitled to it when we’re not. On the matter of not trusting in the availability of grace, simply look at the Israelites. They took one look at this bread from heaven said “What is it?” (the Hebrew word for “What is it” is Manna). We so often do not comprehend that God is active in our lives even though God promised to be. I’ve heard it so many times: “I just don’t feel like God is in my life. I don’t feel God near me. I used to feel the presence of God, and now I feel nothing.” When did being Christian become all about feelings? There are days I don’t feel like following in the ways of God. And yet, there are other days when I know with certainty that God is speaking from the cloud. Still, on those other days when the mountains do not tremble and the cloud does not portray to my liking the glory of God I must still trust that God promised to be present always – that God’s grace will still fall abundantly.

We also struggle on the other end of the spectrum, I’m afraid, with thinking that we deserve God’s grace, even perhaps more than others. There’s this story from Matthew’s Gospel where Jesus tells a parable of a landowner who goes out early in the morning looking for workers. He finds some day laborers who agree to work all day for a typical day’s wage. As it turns out, there was a lot of work to do that day, so the landowner went back out at 9 o’clock and again at noon and still again at 3 in the afternoon. Each time he gathered and hired more workers. He went out the last time at 5 o’clock and hired the last bunch. When the day was finally over (at about sun down), all the workers from the day lined up to receive their wage. The landowner paid them one by one, beginning with the ones who started working at 5 and went on down to those who worked all day. In a twist, the landowner paid everyone the same wage. He paid them all for a full day’s work. Didn’t the workers who had been there all day deserve more than the ones who arrived late? The landowner simply tells them that he can do what he wants with his money. It’s his after all! So it is with God’s grace: you don’t get to decide who gets it; you don’t get to decide how much; and you don’t get to horde it all for yourself. It’s God’s to give, and he just lets it fall from the sky so that everyone has the opportunity to live. 

My sisters and brothers, hear the Good News. Our ancestors ate manna in the desert. God graced them with the promise of himself. God’s grace is abundant and free, and it is here to be received for the sake of your very life. It is for you, for your neighbor, and for all who are in need of God. Will you receive God’s grace today? Will you share it? In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Thoughts on 9/11

I write a weekly article for the church that also gets printed in the Guymon Daily Herald. This is my article from last week reflecting on 9/11.

When the World Changed

            I was in college when the twin towers fell. I remember so many people filled with fear. I also remember being confused about what it was supposed to mean. So many times since then I have listened to people talk about how the world changed on September 11, 2001. I suppose that’s true. Every time I go through an airport, I find some of those changes. But I wander if it is good for us to see 9/11 as the great defining moment of our lives.

April 11, 1995, means a lot to me. That was the day the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building blew up in Oklahoma City. My mother grew up in Oklahoma City, and she insisted on going to witness it for herself. I remember her tears as we went downtown. In a way, life changed after that. It certainly left an indelible mark on me.

I sat at a table with a group of older women a while back. One of them started speaking about her late husband. She got to talking about when they were young and courting. They were happy and careless in those days. Then her voice got quiet and her face drew long. “That’s when they bombed Pearl Harbor,” she said. I remember my grandmother telling me once how everything changed when “the big one” hit (meaning World War II). My grandfather never spoke much about that war and his experience fighting in the Pacific and in Germany (he served in both theaters), and I don’t blame him. I think it changed him in ways that no one else in the family could ever really understand.

            Tragedies force us to change. A loved one dies, a house burns, a tower falls; change is simply in the nature of human experience. We get awful romantic about “the way things used to be.” Even I like to think about more innocent days before mandatory seatbelt laws, a Wal-mart on every corner, and genetically enhanced meat. I am only 30 years old, but I have come to appreciate how we mark the passage of time with celebrations and remembrances which help us stay connected to the important aspects of these previous ways of life. We develop customs and ceremonies to help keep cadence with change. And, yes, we cling to the tragedies as the most important and life-shaping. September the 11^th is often seen as the worst tragedy ever to happen in our national life. It is a grave and solemn remembrance.

Abraham Lincoln once remarked, “My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.” Lincoln knew about tragedy. He lost a son and led the country through its bloodiest war ever. Having lived in the American South, I can say with some authority that the Civil War is still seen as the great American tragedy, and it still draws on people’s emotions and fears. I wonder, though, if it is appropriate for Christians to look upon national tragedies as the most life-forming events. Did the world really change that much after 9/11 or April 15, 1995, or December 7, 1941, or even 1861?

We Christians have a slightly different narrative. We believe that the world changed forever during those confusing three days when our God – who we murdered on a cross – was being gloriously resurrected . Ultimately, every event in human history from then on has been viewed through the lens of Christ’s death and resurrection. I often say that if we were to put together every despicable act humanity has inflicted upon itself – the concentration camps, the wars, the violence, and the death – still it would not compare to what we did to Jesus. Even the horror of 9/11 does not compare to the bleeding, suffering God dying on Calvary.  We did that. We tried to extinguish the light of the world because we loved the darkness so much. The Good News, however, is that there is no tragedy that cannot be redeemed through the Christ who rose from the dead.

Remember, Jesus died and rose so that tragedies like 9/11 would not be the end of the story. Jesus went through this great ordeal so that our suffering could be redeemed into resurrection. Jesus came out of the tomb so that no one would be left without the hope of a new day. We rightly remember the tragedies and the horrors of our time. Yet, we must be ever committed in our proclamation that “neither death nor life, nor angels nor demons, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

I wonder what kind of world it is when Christians look upon every tragedy in light of the triumph of Christ over death. As I often say to myself when I am facing a difficult situation, “Just remember, Jesus is still risen. Christ has overcome the world.”  I will never forget where I was or what I was doing when the towers fell. Those images are burned into my memory. But, I pray that God will never allow me to subvert the most important act in human history as the true agent of change in a world of lost sinners. May we continue to pray for our enemies, honor our dead, and live the lives of love and peace to which Christ calls us.

Grace and peace

Ellen Davis is one of my heroes. She has a way with words that I envy, I'll admit.

http://www.faithandleadership.com/sermons/ellen-f-davis-radical-trust?page=0,0

I've decided to go back to blogging. Internally, I suppose I feel I have something to say. I'm a preacher by trade, and so, understandably, I always seem to have something to say. Externally, I am never really sure if what I have to say is of any value to anyone else. As I read that previous sentence, I can't help but hear the voice of Stanley Hauerwas screeching in my ear: "People don't have values! Used cars have values!" Notwithstanding, people don't have to suffer to listen to anything I communicate. That's the reality of this late modern world, namely, that we have reduced everything to a choice. I can choose this or that. I can choose to suffer the preacher on Sunday or else make a very serious point to drown out all voices but my own.

All that being said, I have decided to go back to blogging. Maybe it is because I am so thoroughly a product of my generation that I desire to join in the cacophony of voices abounding over, under, and around us. Is that arrogance? Or perhaps it is simple wishful thinking that I could join in such a cloud of voices. Richard Lischer wrote a few years ago about coming to the "end of words," (in a book by the same name). He writes,

"Preachers continue to follow Jesus' example but in a culture that is suffering a certain exhaustion with words. Mass violence overrides the significance of language. The centralization of the means of communication only ensures that everyone thinks and talks roughly the same. The first causualty of the information age is truth. Passion and beauty have become expendable virtues." (Richard Lischer, The End of Words, William B. Eerdmen's Publishing: Grand Rapids, 2005).

I hope that I speak the truth. I hope that in this theologically watered-down age of narcissistic self-worship I do not waver from passion and beauty in my quest to be a truth teller. Indeed, is that not the sum of Christian ethics - to be truth tellers?

In summary, I am back to blogging. I cannot promise I will always be diligent in the work, but I suspect I will be truthful and full of charm and wit. I'll close this post, then, with a little bit of Charles Wesley.

Forth in thy name, O Lord, I go
My daily labor to pursue
Thee, only thee, resolved to know
In all I think or speak or do.

The task thy wisdom hath assigned
O let me cheerfully fulfill
In all my works thy presence find
And prove thy good and perfect will

Thee may I set at my right hand
Whose eyes mine inmost substance see
And labor on at thy command
And offer all my works to thee

For thee delightfully employ
Whate'er thy bounteous grace hath given
And run my course with even joy
And closely walk with thee to heaven

All Saints Below and Saints Above

In my ongoing engagement with the matter of real presence and so forth, I keep going back to the "Hymns on the Lord's Supper." Historically for Methodists (particularly outside the United States), the hymns were the primary means of catechesis. Unfortunately, the "Hymns on the Lord's Supper" was not generally the hymnal most Methodists used (obviously because it was an issue specific hymnal). The standard hymn book used by the Methodists in Wesley's day was his "Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists." They supplied other supplementary hymn books that focused on particular points of doctrine or times of the year (for example, the "Hymns on the Trinity" or the "Hymns on the Lord's Supper" or the "Hymns on the Nativity" and so forth). At any rate, in my own theological and liturgical reflections, I keep coming back to the notion of how it is that we receive Christ in the Eucharist who is the paschal lamb who is at the same time offered "once for all". Classic protestantism found this to be irreconcileable. I, however, don't think so, and the reason is connected to the notion of time in relation to eternity. What does it mean for Christ to be an "eternal sacrifice"? Liturgically (and I suppose this is a bit more eastern, maybe in connection with the liturgy of St. Chrysostom), time and space seem to suspend while the altar becomes the axis mundi of reality. Therefore, we see the very Paschal Lamb slain on Calvery, while at the same time we behold the glorified and risen Christ with whom we are joined as "a holy and living sacrifice." Where do I support this "time suspension" theory scripturally? I look at Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4. I contend that the prophet Isaiah and John of Patmos are beholding the very same scene: Christ crucified, glorified, and almighty ( pantocrator). With this in mind, the classic protestant critique that Catholics re-sacrificed Christ (or attempted to) is false. Yes, it is Christ crucified, but because in the context of worship, time and space are suspended and the entirety of God's economy converges at the altar (vertically) and disperses out into and among the people (horizontally) (this is why we talk about the Eucharist as the sacrament of sanctification and indeed the greatest of the sacraments). Ok. Why am I going on about this? I pulled out the "Hymns on the Lord's Supper" and all this that I had been ponduring over the past many months about time/space and real presence seemed to be summed up in one hymn. Here it is:

Let all who truly bear
The bleeding Saviour's name
Their faithful hearts with us prepare,
And eat the Paschal Lamb.
Our Passover was slain
At Salem's hallowed place
Yet we who in our tents remain,
Shall gain his largest grace.

This Eucharistic feast
Our every want supplies;
And still we by his Death are blessed,
And share his Sacrifice.
By faith his Flesh we eat,
Who here His Passion show,
And God out of His Holy Seat
Shall all his gifts bestow.

Who thus our faith employ,
His sufferings to record,
Even now we mournfully enjoy
Communion with our Lord.
And though we everone
Beneath his cross had stood
And seen him heave, and heard him groan
And felt his gushing blood.

O God! Tis finished now!
The Mortal pang is past!
By faith his head we see him bow
And hear him breath his last!
We too with him are dead,
And shall with him arise;
The cross on which he bows his head
Shall lift us to the skies.


By the way, the line "At Salem's hallowed place" is in reference to Melchizidek. He was the king of Salem in Genesis 14 who offered bread and wine to Abram. Now, this hymn focuses more on the Sacrifice of Calvary than anything else, but there is this sense of time/space suspension that Wesley is conveying. We see Christ crucified, and it is the very Christ offered by Melchizidek. How is this possible, except that we are drawn into the enternity of God through the avenue of divine worship. It is Christ sacrificed "once for all" because is the very same event at Calvary that we behold each time we celebrate the Eucharist. Furthermore, this is why the Sursom Corda (Up hearts! or Lift up your hearts) is so important to the liturgy. We affirm that we are "lifted up to the Lord", that is, we are entering into God's eternity where the contraints of time and space are meaningless. This is why the offering of the sacrifice is necessary, though with the corralary that we are offerred in union with Christ's one offering. I could probably go on and make a further argument using both Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4, but this is already long. Anyway, that's enough reflecting for today.

Peace

Barry

I Like These Type Things for Some Reason

You scored as Neo orthodox. You are neo-orthodox. You reject the human-centredness and scepticism of liberal theology, but neither do you go to the other extreme and make the Bible the central issue for faith. You believe that Christ is God's most important revelation to humanity, and the Trinity is hugely important in your theology. The Bible is also important because it points us to the revelation of Christ. You are influenced by Karl Barth and P T Forsyth. Neo orthodox 96% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 89% Roman Catholic 82% Emergent/Postmodern 57% Charismatic/Pentecostal 43% Classical Liberal 29% Reformed Evangelical 29% Fundamentalist 18% Modern Liberal 14% What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com

Bible in One Hand; Remote Control in the Other

So TV has come back into my life. We were seperated for quite a while, trying out new things...you know, just taking a break from each other. I was pretty happy without TV, but you know how TV is; just can't seem to live without me. I figured, hell, give it a couple weeks and see if we still love each other. Well, I don't want to sound all sentimental, but I think I'm going to ask TV to stay.

I've rediscovered a couple things since I got cable again. First, "Cheap Seats" is brilliant. I love this show. If you've never watched this show regularly, then you should be pistol wipped. Second, there's this new show on FX (otherwise know as soft-core for primetime) called "It's Always Sunny in Philidelphia." Wow. Just wow. This show is wrong in many ways. I would never recommend it to my parishioners (well, most of them anyway). But it's a very intelligent show. Demented, but intelligent (3 and 3-quarter stars). Finally, I get to watch reruns of Futurama every night. This is one of the top three greatest cartoon shows of all time. I hear that's it's coming back. We should all be so lucky to have TV in our lives (I can just see the faces on my former Iredell housemates).

Kal-El is Ka-Razy!

Superman Returns. I give it 3 and a quarter stars. The acting was generally good. I like that guy who played Lois Lane's husband (he's from Oklahoma you know). I really liked how they spliced in footage from Marlon Brando's performance of Jor-El from the original movie. Kind of creepy, though. It's kind of like TuPac. Anyway, it was a decent take on an seemingly tired character. But, I will say with confidence that I enjoyed the movie. One question, however. So, uh...Superman and Lois had a kid together (shock. surprise). It's not so shocking if you saw the love scene (well...assumed sex, anyway) in Superman II. It makes sense that Lois may have gotten knocked up at that point. But, still...um, how do I put this? Ok, so Superman is so strong that he literally carried an entire island into space. That's pretty strong. It's almost a kind of strength that one could...easily loose control of. So, fine. He had sex with Lois. Big deal. But Lois should be dead, right? He should have shot right through her! (Lord I hope none of my parishioners read this). It's not a new question, sure. I know I'm not the first guy to wonder. But, ok, he is Superman, so maybe he has crazy control over himself. Anyway, besides that...well done film. I liked Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, although...well it's a movie thing. The movies never really treated Lex Luthor like the comics. In the movies he's almost an insane comic relief to Superman's ever-serious boy scout-ness. So Spacey was well in line with Gene Hackman's interpretation. Still, the Luther as billionaire business giant (he's the epitomy of Big Business) or even as a mad scientist bent on ruling the world (a part of his character that kindly disappeared by the 1980's), the movies never really treat these aspects too seriously. The special effects were great, and I even enjoyed all of the allusions to Jesus (I, even I, thought it was thought provoking). It kind of reminded me of Mark Waid's "Kingdom Come,"this god complex that comes with being earth's mightiest hero. Of course, I think that there was something a bit shady going on with the telling of this story. Now, this is just me, but, the thing about Superman is that he was always the best of the best. This is classic DC storytelling, right, that the hero will always triumph over evil because the hero is the embodiment of all that is good, right, and moral. The hero is the archtype of the (dare I say) superman. It's German triumphalism. The heroes of Marvel, however, were different. As Stan Lee is constantly saying, "They have flaws." Even Captain America, big boy scout that he is, has a flaw - he is a man out of time. Anyway, my point is that in this Superman movie, the writers took a cue from the Marvel universe and decided that Superman needed to have real flaws to his character. He can't (literally) get the girl this time. What's Superman without Lois Lane? Also, there's this thing about him abandoning the people of earth for five years. He has this internal struggle about what his responsibilities are to humanity. The only thing missing was them jacking the classic Spiderman line "with great power comes great responsibility". I'm not at all pissed about this raping of the Marvel paradigm, because I think it makes Superman more interesting a character all around. But, still, I wonder where it came from. Okay, that's enough about that. Superman Returns. Liked it. Go see it.