Reaching People Under 30: Part 2

Here it is, the second installment of Reaching People Under 30. Before going any farther into this topic I must remind us there is nothing more important than building solid relationships. This is not only true for people under 30, however if authentic relationships are not part of your ministry practice reaching people under 30 will be nearly impossible. There are some aspects of congregational life that help cultivate and environment for these relationships to flourish, here are a few.

Worship Matters
For many years the thought was if you want to reach the elusive young people all you need is a really good band playing hip new tunes. Many worship services were reworked and designed around a non-traditional style of worship with a concert atmosphere. New songs were played, words were projected and an edginess was welcomed. With the redesign or worship many of the rituals and rites of the past were left aside in the name of being contemporary and modern. In the end worship become more about a production and less about an encounter with the Holy, and there were no more young people in attendance than before.

The reality is connecting with people under 30 is not about style, it is about content and integrity. The content of worship needs to have value beyond "the way we have always done it" to connect with the deeper reason of why we are doing something. This means keeping the creeds of old, only being sure to connect the creed with the relevance to our faith today. Sing the hymns of old, remembering to connect them with an experience of the Holy. This brings me to integrity. The integrity is to who we are called to be as the church. The very purpose of the church is to be the gathered people who journey together experiencing and embodying the Kingdom of God. First and foremost worship is about relationship to God through the love and grace of Jesus Christ. When worship becomes about holding on to style preference over connection with God, our integrity with God is what is at stake. If a church is going to connect with people under 30 the content has to have connection and integrity to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Mission Matters
The refrain has been uttered by many good church folk over the years, "Young people just are not as committed as we have been." To be fair that may not be the exact quote however it is often the sentiment. The reality, to put it bluntly, is not about commitment, it is about the missional value of the commitment. People under 30, or under 50 for that matter, are not real excited about helping to serve the church dinner to raise money for the budget. Excitement comes when we are engaging in mission that changes the lives of those involved. If there is solid evidence the latest church supper has actually resulted in the growing a disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world getting people involved might become easier.

Like many generations before, people under 30 want to make an impact on the world. The desire is high to know their time and effort has made an actual difference in the lives of the people around them. A key difference is that engagement will not happen out of duty and obligation like previous generations. Duty and obligation do not care enough weight and force to keep engagement high, there must be clear missional reason for engagement. Supporting the structures of the church, which people under 30 are suspect of to begin, will not engender engagement. An invitation to transformation through missional living will make all the difference.

In the next installment two more aspects of reaching people under 30 will be explored. We will look at what it means to move beyond consumerism, and engaging justice.

Reaching People Under 30: Not All The Same

Through a non-scientific poll I learned people are interested in hearing more about how to reach people under the age of 30. Writing about this comes with some challenges for me; First, it has been a few years since I have been under 30. Second, there is no "secret" or magical formula. Therefore what follows are the ramblings of someone who has experienced connection with those under 30 in the past.

Not All The Same
The word here is monolithic. A great tendency exists to treat various groups of people as all the same. We live in a world that thrives on labels, conservative, progressive, older, baby boomer, millennial, and so on. While it is helpful for conversation and description, something significant can be missed. As long as there are people involved it is impossible to apply monolithic labels. Our friends at Dictionary.com offer a definition of monolithic as consisting as one piece, solid or unbroken, among the listed definition.

Principle #1 for reaching people under 30 is to remember not all people under 30 are the same. Just as this is true of any label we apply, people under 30 defy monolithic definition. When reaching people under 30 is talked about it is easy to get a mental picture of the person attempting to be reached. Our challenge is the image created has elements that are accurate while also being incomplete at the same time.

So how do we navigate this? Investing in relationships is the primary path. However, the relationship cannot be only a learning expedition. Utilitarian relationships are always found out, and cause greater distance and hurt. There must be a willingness to build relationships for the sake of relationship and the learning is a byproduct of a healthy relationship.

The reality is a majority of the effort in reaching people under the age of 30 is the same as reaching any person, relationship building. Having stated that, there are some understandings of being the church that will help create an environment to build healthy relationships. Over the next couple of entries additional principles will be explored with the understanding that treating people under 30 as all the same will not result in healthy relationships or congregations.

Returning to Our First Love

I am not sure if it is because the calendar shows it is Holy Week, or if God is once again stirring me to write my thoughts but for the first time in almost a year here I sit typing. As I write my heart and mind are filled with gratitude for almost five years in the ministry role of coming alongside congregations and leaders across New York and other places. I pray God and the Bishop allow me to share in this role for years to come.

During the time in this ministry I have had opportunity to visit hundreds of congregations and visit with thousands of leaders. It has been a joy to hear the stories of the congregations along with the stories of the leaders. I have felt the hurt and pain as both struggle to make their way in the current landscape of culture to be vital and growing. As you might guess some similar stories and concerns have emerged. The reality I find is deeply connected with the Scriptures, and not a portion that is often at the forefront of increasing the vitality of congregations.

The Book of Revelation is filled with all kinds of images and messages I do not fully understand. There are however a few items that seem very clear to me. The words of Jesus given to John from chapter two seem relevant,

"These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. (Revelation 2:1-5 NIV)"

It feels too simplistic to be a real solution. After all we are highly educated through schools and life, we should be able to figure this all out. There has to be more to increasing the vitality of the church than returning to Jesus. There are certain systems and practices needed, however there is nothing more important to the future of the church than to return to our first love. I fear that we have forsaken Jesus!

Some will begin the debate at this point about what that means. Debate will rage about who Jesus is and was. Others will argue over what it means to turn to Jesus, or what version of Jesus are we talking about. The fact that we would rather debate than repent reveals the challenge Jesus is offering the church in Ephesus and to us today. All too often I want to sanitize Jesus so that he will fit into my paradigm or life. Great effort is given on my part to define and shape Jesus into an artifact of faith that affirms my beliefs and desires. Repentance has me give up pursuing Jesus created in my image and begin the work of conforming my life to the life Jesus is calling me toward. A return to simply following after Jesus instead of complicating the journey with all my thinking and rationalizing.

Whether terms like conservative, progressive, centrist, or any other problematic label are applied, churches that are centered on the person of Jesus Christ and invite others to join them in the journey of being centered in Jesus, vitality shows up. Theological ideology has replaced and relentless pursuit of Jesus, we have forsaken our first love.

As I urge the cursor across the screen with letters we are on the edge of the single most important remembrance of the Christian church. Today we remember when Jesus gathered for the meal we now celebrate as Holy Communion. Tomorrow we remember Jesus giving his life on the cross so that we could experience forgiveness of sin and have a full relationship with God. Sunday morning we celebrate the crowing moment as the tomb could not hold Jesus, Resurrection. May this resurrection be more than a calendar celebration. May this resurrection be a repentance moving us to return to our first love.

The Articles of Religion Revisited-- Part 12: The Judgment and the Future State

It is normal to go almost a year between posts right? Not at all, so the three of you who read this I hope that you are blessed. I will be continuing the series that was suppose to take a few weeks that is now over a year, on revisiting the Articles of Religion from the United Methodist Book of Disciple.

So here we go, Article 12:

Article XII—The Judgment and the Future State

We believe all people stand under the righteous judgment of Jesus Christ, both now and in the last day. We believe in the resurrection of the dead; the righteous to life eternal and the wicked to endless condemnation.

Nothing like jumping back in on an easy statement! Today in the Western world there is a high value of equality for all people. Regardless of your heritage, background, lifestyle, sexuality, gender identity, or any other quality by which people find an understanding of who they are, there is a desire to have everyone be treated the same. This Article of Religion shares the idea that we are all treated the same by Jesus. Everyone of us sits under the righteous judgment of Jesus. It is great to see it highlighted that this is not something locked away in some future many have long given up on arriving. No, the judgment we are under is a present reality as well as a future appointment. In other words we are not living for some great future, we are accountable to the life we are living here and now.

Judgment is not a topic I particularly like to think about. The mere thought of sitting under the judgment of Jesus makes me more than a little uncomfortable. This discomfort comes from two places. First, I do not like anyone to hold a measuring stick up to my life. I am far from perfect, yet having an external measure of my righteousness seems unfair. Second, I know that I do not measure up to the fullness of life offered to me through Jesus Christ. I know that as judgment is rendered in the here and now, I fall short. With these two primary reasons in hand, it might be easier to simply skip over the topic and move right to the next Article on Public Worship.

However we cannot simply skip over this matter, because it matters. In the book of Judges, the very last words of the book shed light on why judgment and the future state matter. "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit. (Judges 21:25)" For as long as there has been people, people have struggled with being judged, especially when our righteousness hangs in the balance. If we do not have judgment in the equation we constantly find ourselves at the point of Judges. 

My struggle is once we start down the road of judgment there becomes those who are in and those who are out. The words I just typed might be the most offensively true statements of our day. Article 12 is clear about this, there are those who move into life eternal, and those who move into endless condemnation. That just seems wrong by every value of the modern, western world. Clearly God must have had this one wrong, or at a minimum we are not understanding God correctly. The God of love and grace would never create such a differentiation. Right?

The reality is all of us are sinning and fall short of the glory of God. If you have a pulse and are taking respiration, sin is part of the equation of life. It is impossible to flee from all sin, we are too good at finding it. The issue of judgment is not about whether we are sinful, it is about how we respond to our sin. Do we seek forgiveness and ask for ongoing grace to change our ways, to be transformed, or do we simply conclude we can and should live however we see fit?

Judgment is an inescapable part of life. We must take care to remember that it is Jesus that holds us accountable. It is ultimately God who is the one who determines our righteousness. We are not to sit in the seat of the judge. Our role is with love and grace enter into accountability with our fellow travelers so that we may all experience the fullness of life offered to us both here, and now, and in the future. The way we respond to judgment today has a direct impact on how we will respond to judgment at the final resurrection. Our primary question is not whether there is judgment, rather it is whether we will respond to the present judgment with obedience and submission, or will we continue the resistance and rebellion? Will it be written of us, they did was they saw fit?

Articles of Religion Revisited -- Part 11: Sanctification and Christian Perfection

Article XI—Sanctification and Christian Perfection We believe sanctification is the work of God's grace through the Word and the Spirit, by which those who have been born again are cleansed from sin in their thoughts, words and acts, and are enabled to live in accordance with God's will, and to strive for holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Entire sanctification is a state of perfect love, righteousness and true holiness which every regenerate believer may obtain by being delivered from the power of sin, by loving God with all the heart, soul, mind and strength, and by loving one's neighbor as one's self. Through faith in Jesus Christ this gracious gift may be received in this life both gradually and instantaneously, and should be sought earnestly by every child of God. We believe this experience does not deliver us from the infirmities, ignorance, and mistakes common to humanity, nor from the possibilities of further sin. The Christian must continue on guard against spiritual pride and seek to gain victory over every temptation to sin. A person must respond wholly to the will of God so that sin will lose its power over them; and the world, the flesh, and the devil are put under their feet. Thus they rule over these enemies with watchfulness through the power of the Holy Spirit.

With the days of Annual Conference still ringing in my head I am drawn to a couple of my favorite times of the session. Ordination if my ultimate favorite time. Second is the time of the Historical Questions. For those who have not shared in the journey that is the United Methodist Historical Questions, this is a time when the Bishop asks those who are about to be ordained questions that have been asked of the ordained throughout the life of Methodism. They revolve around the theology and practice of ministry that are the hallmarks of Wesleyan theology. During the questioning all the people are asked if they are moving on toward perfection, and if they hope to achieve it in this lifetime. 

This is the question of sanctifying grace. Sanctifying grace is the grace of God that continues to work in our lives as we grow in our love and response to the work of God in our lives. In this we find that we are not simply done as a Christian once we give our lives to Christ and are born again to use Wesley's language. Once we are justified through the grace of God in Christ Jesus our journey is by no means over. In fact it is just beginning in many ways.

Until the moment that I breath my last the work of sanctification will be ongoing. There will not be a day when I can simply sit back thinking I have mastery over sin and do not need to remain vigilant. Further, I will constantly be growing in my ability to live the life that Christ has shown me, as empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Through it all we find a faithful Christian to be one who is on a quest not one who has figured it all out. Constant reaching and striving for more of who God is and who God is calling us to be in requires the grace of God. Sanctification and the pursuit of Christian Perfection remind us there is always more to learn and practice as we follow Jesus. Also, we are reminded the grace of God is present with us every step of the way.

Am I moving toward perfection, with help of God. Do I expect to achieve Christian Perfection in this lifetime, again with the help of God. The commitment of my ordination, more importantly the commitments of a person trying desperately to follow Jesus Christ.

Articles of Religion Revisited--Part 10: Good Works

Article X—Good Works "We believe good works are the necessary fruits of faith and follow regeneration but they do not have the virtue to remove our sins or to avert divine judgment. We believe good works, pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, spring from a true and living faith, for through and by them faith is made evident."

The relationship between faith and works has been explored and debated for centuries and I am confident the post will not end the discussion. My hope is that it adds to the discussion in some meaningful way, and that it instigates conversation among you the readers. 

At the root of the faith and works discussion is whether or not we can earn a right relationship with God, or if it is something that is given to us. More plainly, can we earn our salvation? A quick review of the previous posts and the Scriptures reveals that there is only one way to experience justification and regeneration(salvation), at that is through the acceptance of the offer of grace through Jesus Christ. There is nothing we can do to earn that which God is offering to us through no effort of our own.

Still there is a danger in this understanding. It is easy to accept what God has done in Christ Jesus for us and think that is the end of the story. What if salvation is not the end of the the story but the major turning point of the story? The goal of following Jesus is not salvation, the goal is to be fully the person God has create and called us to be. For me, and perhaps for you this requires significant growth, especially after accepting the grace of God finding justification and regeneration. My natural or normal way of being in the world does not always reflect the life of the One who has called and restored me. As I grow in faith and understanding, however, my life, my works hopefully begin to reflect God more.

Our good works do not instigate regeneration, not at all, they are a product of a life that is forever different because of the work of God in our lives through Jesus Christ. Management of sin and elimination of judgment are not the goal of good works. Good works are the evidence that our lives are no longer driven by our sinful nature or lived in the fear of judgement. The works are proof that God is active in our lives, and it is no longer sin but it is Christ that is alive and at work in me.

May we be people that cultivate a relationship with God that producing good works. May we avoid doing good works hoping that it will produce a full relationship with God. I pray that my life and good works show evidence of a great God who by love and grace offered in Jesus Christ is in the business of transforming the hearts of all people.

Articles of Religion Revisited--Part 9 Justification and Regeneration

Today we continue to look at some of the theological underpinnings of the United Methodist Church as we revisit the Articles of Religion.

Article IX—Justification and Regeneration: We believe we are never accounted righteous before God through our works or merit, but that penitent sinners are justified or accounted righteous before God only by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. We believe regeneration is the renewal of a person in righteousness through Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, whereby we are made partakers of the divine nature and experience newness of life. By this new birth the believer becomes reconciled to God and is enabled to serve him with the will and the affections. We believe, although we have experienced regeneration, it is possible to depart from grace and fall into sin; and we may even then, by the grace of God, be renewed in righteousness.

This article feels like a direct continuation of the previous on reconciliation through Christ. We are reminded that it is only through our faith in Jesus Christ that are counted as righteous, not by good works. Further, that our reconciliation with God through Christ transforms who we are. The power of the Holy Spirit works in our lives to transform the way we think and behave in the world. We move from being self-focused to being focused on the the transforming grace and love of Jesus Christ which brings about hope, love and justice for all people in all places.

It has become commonplace to hold the claim of reconciliation with out showing the evidence of regeneration. Claims are made to be justified and reconciled yet the way we, note the we, struggle to live into the new creation that we are because of Jesus. The life of a follower of Jesus is not as much about being "saved" it is about the transformation of our lives to reflect the reign of God in our world. Understanding that our ability to live the transforming life requires our decision to receive the gifts of God's grace and love in Jesus Christ. To be justified thought Christ and reconciled to God through Christ. However, this is not the end of the story of God. The story of God in the world and in our would continues today as we live transformed. 2 Corinthians 5:17 reminds us, "Therefore is anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; the old has gone and new has come." This begs the question that Steven Curtis Chapman asks in the above video, what about the change?

I so struggle with this. All too often I struggle to live a changed life. The level of commitment and intention is constant and can feel overwhelming. Yet when I do remember to stay connect with Christ, and that in Christ I am a new creation doors open for me to live the change. My movement is not in perfection rather it is toward perfection and only by the ongoing grace and love of God as shown in Jesus Christ can I continue to grow in my ability to live a transformed life. I am so grateful that the grace of God is never-ending. That even though I have begun the work of regeneration and fail, God's grace remains.

May we all embrace the love and grace of Jesus. May we open our hearts and lives to the transformation of the Holy Spirit that the reign of God would be experienced in and through us.

Articles of Religion Revisited—Part 8 Reconciliation Through Christ

Thanks for digging in for the next installment of this series on revisiting the Articles of Religion from the Evangelical United Brethren that became part of the United Methodist Church in 1968. We have now reached the eight article of 16. Yup that puts us at the halfway point. I am hopeful and covet your prayers that I will get back to more regularly posting. Not only so we can complete this series, but so another series can begin. Before jumping into today's post I want to invite everyone to check out another blog that my wife Sarah and I have started, www.cultivatingmarriage.blogspot.com it is our devotional journey through the year.
Article VIII—Reconciliation Through Christ
"We believe God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. The offering Christ freely made on the cross is the perfect and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, redeeming man from all sin, so that no other satisfaction is required."

This is one of the shortest of the Articles, and in some ways the most simple. At the same time this is one that is most intensely struggled with. I remember back to the days in seminary when there was great discussion about atonement. All the different theories of atonement were, and are, often enough to create sharp differences and intense discussions. It seems particularly interesting to have this discussion in light of Wesleyan theology, and in respect to the Articles of Religion considering the language that is used. The Articles do not use the language of atonement, rather the focus in on reconciliation, that all people are reconciled with God through the free offering of Christ on the cross. Further, that no other satisfaction is required to be part of this reconciliation. So, for today the conversation will not be about atonement, rather it will be about journeying to a full and whole relationship with God.

As I see it this means a few important things. First, God is at work in the reconciliation. Not only is God at work, but God is the director of the work of reconciliation. There is an intense and passionate desire by God to have a complete and whole relationship with individuals and all creation that something had to be done to deal with the sin present in creation. It is completely possible God could have continued the patter of destruction and exile we find in the Old Testament. However, that is not the course of action God chose. Instead there is a path of reconciliation, and that path must run through Jesus Christ.

This leads to the second thought. It is through Jesus that all creation finds reconciliation. Throughout time, and currently, many have proposed a many paths to God understanding. To some extent I agree with this and by saying to some extent I am also saying there are aspects of the sentiment that I do not agree with. The best way to sum up my understanding on Jesus as the path for reconciliation is this. Jesus is the only way to a full relationship with God, and there are many paths to Jesus. In other words there is no one set way by which we come to Jesus, yet no matter the path to Jesus we must journey through Jesus to get to the fullness of God.

The final thought is to remember that nothing more than Jesus is needed for reconciliation. As we will see in coming posts, when we connect with the reconciliation offered by Christ to all creation we are never again the same. We begin to embody the way of life that Jesus modeled during the earthly pilgrimage. It is more than a matter of saying I have Jesus so who cares how I live. Reconciliation is not the end point of faith, it is a turning point. Perhaps better said, reconciliation is the point of reorientation of our mind, heart, soul and strength so that we may in greater ways embody Jesus teaching to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself." Mark 14:30-31.

All the works of the faithful are important and are part of the re-oriented life found in Christ, however be clear it is only through Jesus that we are reconciled to God not by works.

A challenging question for me and whoever would engage it. What are the things other than Jesus am I trying to find my reconciliation with God? In the days of old we would call these things Idols, perhaps we can still call them that. As we move into the new year, I invite us all to lay down the idols of our lives and run to Jesus.

Revisiting the Articles of Religion-- Part 7 Sin and Free Will

So it has been a few months but I am back with the series of revisiting the Articles of Religion as passed down through the Evangelical United Brethren. Today's stop is the topic of sin and free will. Sin is thought to be one of the most difficult topics in Christianity. Lets see what the article says, then chat about it.

 Article VII—Sin and Free Will
We believe humanity is fallen from righteousness and, apart from the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, is destitute of holiness and inclined to evil. Except a person be born again, they cannot see the Kingdom of God. In their own strength, without divine grace, people cannot do good works pleasing and acceptable to God. We believe, however, people influenced and empowered by the Holy Spirit is responsible in freedom to exercise their will for good.

I am sorry if you have already had a rough day and this is one of the first things you are reading. This is some heavy stuff that on the outside does not seem very encouraging. In many traditions, this is where there is a discussion about original sin. While that would be a fun debate, as to whether there is original sin or not, the point is that if we go back to Adam and Eve, or to this morning we can find evidence for the fallen or broken nature of humanity. Regardless the form it takes, let's just call it good to say that sin is a part of the equation for all humanity. Tragically the established church likes to spend countless hours and dollars focused on sin. Every attempt is made to figure out what is sinful and what is not. Included in this is the gradation of sinful activities, apparently some sin counts more than other sins and therefore some is acceptable and some is an abomination. I cannot help but wonder what might happen if we focused more on the love and grace of Jesus Christ and pointing people to fall head over heels in love with Jesus.

This brings us to the free will side of the topic. Our lives are chuck full of choices. Before we are fully awake for the day we begin the process of making decisions, one snooze push or three? While it feels like there are more choices before us, choice is certainly nothing new to humanity. The greatest challenge and opportunity of our relationship with God is found in that we are free to make choices. It is the greatest opportunity because we can choose to live lives that show evidence of following

Jesus marked by grace and love. This really can only be a choice, we cannot demand it. This means we also have the choice to live however we see fit no matter what we might feel the teachings of Christ and the Scriptures have for us. God's love does not demand that we choose God, we can make another choice. At time God longs for us to choice a life that is faithful to the call of God. It appears that God has opened the door for one of the all-time greatest risks, leaving our faithfulness and embodiment of love and grace to choice.

More often than I'd like to think about it, I have made this choice poorly. There are also times when I have made a choice that allowed me to more fully experience God's love and grace as offered through Jesus Christ. You see that is the Good News of the Gospel. Our sin is not the end of the story, we can choose a different ending. Each person, each day, each moment is given the opportunity to exercise their free will and choose a life of forgiveness, love and grace. What is more, even when we blow it in the choice, we can still make a different choice.

Though the language is dated and archaic in many ways the concept is true and accurate. Sin is part of the equation for all people. We, the church would be much further a head is we stopped trying to quantify and qualify sin and simply pointed to Jesus. In fact many turn away from Jesus because we in the church spend so much time managing the sins of humanity that we cannot do anything about outside the grace, love and forgiveness of the God through Jesus Christ. What would happen if the people of God in the church chose to highlight the grace and the joy in choosing to follow Jesus more than the sin that we see in another person. I wonder if the Bride of Christ, the church, would once again become radiant.

Revisiting the Articles of Religion Part 6-- The Sacraments

Today we turn to part six of our journey through visiting the Articles of Religion that are from the Evangelical United Brethren church and were formed as part of the UMC constitution.

Article VI—The Sacraments: We believe the Sacraments, ordained by Christ, are symbols and pledges of the Christian's profession and of God's love toward us. They are means of grace by which God works invisibly in us, quickening, strengthening and confirming our faith in him. Two Sacraments are ordained by Christ our Lord, namely Baptism and the Lord's Supper.
We believe Baptism signifies entrance into the household of faith, and is a symbol of repentance and inner cleansing from sin, a representation of the new birth in Christ Jesus and a mark of Christian discipleship.
We believe children are under the atonement of Christ and as heirs of the Kingdom of God are acceptable subjects for Christian Baptism. Children of believing parents through Baptism become the special responsibility of the Church. They should be nurtured and led to personal acceptance of Christ, and by profession of faith confirm their Baptism.
We believe the Lord's Supper is a representation of our redemption, a memorial of the sufferings and death of Christ, and a token of love and union which Christians have with Christ and with one another. Those who rightly, worthily and in faith eat the broken bread and drink the blessed cup partake of the body and blood of Christ in a spiritual manner until he comes.

For many years of my journey the idea of Sacraments was present. The value they held for me was very low. In fact when I was in process of ordination one if the challenges I had was the importance of the Sacraments. If I was going to be an Elder in the UMC, the Sacraments would need to have a fairly high value. I wrestled through and was ordained and I have been celebrating the Sacraments of the church for many years now.

Most helpful to my understanding is viewing the Sacraments as an outward sign of an inward grace. To use the language from the Articles, they are symbols that show the work of God's love and grace found in Jesus Christ. Sacraments are a primary example of inside out living that we are called to as followers of Jesus. Jesus Christ transforms our inner life to the point that the external changes. The Sacraments give us a visible and tangible reminder of this process. 

First is baptism. Whether it is through the sprinkling, pouring or immersion in water, baptism marks an outward sign that we belong to God through Jesus Christ. Jesus himself was baptized, and would continue to encourage the baptism of others. In fact it is named are part of the Great Commission in Matthew 28, that we are to go and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Whether it is an infant, child or adult, baptism represents initiation into the family of God, and into the care of the church. For those who are able, this initiation is also associated with a public declaration of being part of the family of God by becoming a follower of Jesus. This outward sign of water and the spirit reveal an inward decision made through the grace of God. Holy Baptism is one of the most important and sacred moments in the life of the church.

Second is the Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion. Again this is one of the practices that Jesus himself ordained and instructed for followers to continue. In the celebration of God's grace we remember the suffering and sacrifice Christ made on our behalf as well as remembering Christ presence with us currently in a real and tangible way. 

Deeply rooted in the celebration of Holy Communion is the celebration of the Passover Seder. We are reminded of how God has been in the practice of moving people from captivity to sin and slavery for centuries and our present celebration is the continuation of God's grace and faithfulness. It is with joy that we offer an open table, meaning that anyone is welcome at the Holy Table. Further, the celebration of Holy Communion is what John Wesley called a saving ordinance. Meaning it is possible for someone to decide to follow Jesus from simply by sharing in the celebration of Holy Communion. 

In it all, the Sacraments have become so much more than a dilemma or empty religious activity. For this follower of Jesus, the Sacraments have become vital to my life and journey. There are few greater joys than celebrating baptism, and there is almost nothing more sacred and important than the celebration of Holy Communion. The deeper I engage my journey with Christ the more their importance grows. 

My prayer is that as we develop new ways to celebrate these sacraments. As we use varied methods and materials, may we never forget or become disconnected from the deep meaning and presence offered to us in them. My we continue to be quickened and stirred by God in such ways that we need to show through signs and symbols who God is working with in us.

Articles of Religion Revisited Part 5 -- The Church

After an extended break, I will now return to the regularly scheduled posting of my revisiting the Articles of Religion.

Article Number V-- We believe the Christian Church is the community of all true believers under the Lordship of Christ. We believe it is one, holy, apostolic and catholic. It is the redemptive fellowship in which the Word of God is preached by people divinely called, and the sacraments are duly administered according to Christ's own appointment. Under the discipline of the Holy Spirit the Church exists for the maintenance of worship, the edification of believers and the redemption of the world.

I have become fond of thinking about the church as a glorious mystery. At its best there is not other organization or collection of people like it on the face of the planet. At its less than best, it can be just like any other organization that is fully human and obtains a huge capacity to not live to its capacity. Yet, we are left with the church, the "institution" that Jesus initiated through his life, death and resurrection. The quotation marks are necessary because I am not convinced Jesus intended another institution to enter the world. The church can most easily be put as the people of God who are committed to following Jesus, while inviting others to join in the journey. Before getting to that, the first stop is remembering the connection of the church with Jesus. Before worship, discipleship, and evangelism come into focus, first and foremost the church begins with Jesus Christ. As Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus reminds us, Jesus is the Head of the church and all things grow up into him who is the head. The life of Jesus showed the church how to live, the death of Jesus opened the door for the grace-filled reconciliation of the church with God, and the resurrection of Jesus invited the church into new life. If we remove Jesus Christ, and a wholehearted focus on Jesus from the church, then we do not have the church at all it is simply a group of people gathering around an ideology, also known as religion. Not to be lost in this, is the concept of the Lordship of Jesus. Simply put the Lordship of Jesus is remembering that Jesus is over all things, and ultimately we submit ourselves to him.

Once the relationship to Jesus Christ is appropriated, attention can be turned to the actions, or functions of the church. The Article is pretty clear on this, the maintenance of worship, the edification of believers and the redemption of the world. All of this is done through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Worship can happen in many forms, styles, places and times. All of them are important, and all of them need to connect with at time of corporate worship where the church gathers as the body. It is impossible to live a full life of discipleship outside of the community gathering for worship and other functions of the church. Care must be taken to understand the form and presentation of worship will vary from context to context and from time to time. We must not worship the style, only God to whom we direct our worship. Also the work of edification is needed. This is the ongoing work of transforming our lives to be more and more like the life of Jesus. In order to move in this direction, the gathered people learn and grow together through the Scriptures, prayer, serving and simply doing life together. The church is there to oversee, assist and encourage this growth. Finally the church is in existence to spread the message of Jesus Christ to the very ends of the earth. The language of redemption of the world can be off putting because of the baggage centuries has added to it. Perhaps it is more simply put, the church is about extending the invitation to live in the grace and love of Jesus Christ. For others to join the journey that leads to life.

Before closing, it is important to note what is not a part of the church. It is not a political entity. Yes saying that you are not political is a political statement. However, the church is not in existence to further one political ideology or another. In present terms the church is not a Democrat or Republican, it is not defined by policies and right thinking about hot button issues such as guns, immigration, sexuality and poverty. Certainly these, and more, are all a part of our world and our relationship with Jesus should inform our interaction with them. Yet, the primary role of the church is not ideas and policies rather it is the transforming grace of Jesus Christ being lived in community that worships, grows and invites.

Articles of Religion Revisited-- Part 4: The Bible

Article IV—The Holy Bible
We believe the Holy Bible, Old and New Testaments, reveals the Word of God so far as it is necessary for our salvation. It is to be received through the Holy Spirit as the true rule and guide for faith and practice. Whatever is not revealed in or established by the Holy Scriptures is not to be made an article of faith nor is it to be taught as essential to salvation.

Approaching the Bible has long been a delicate and essential activity of those who are in pursuit of God. Essential in that it is impossible to fully understand God, our ourselves without the Scriptures. At the same time it is delicate because of the great harm that has been done in the name of the Bible as well as the challenge of interpretation. We might recall the times when the preacher makes fervent claims being sure to add, "According to the Bible...." For some those words bring comfort, while for others they strike fear and anxiety to the core of their being.

For many years now it seems there has been two options, we either embrace the scripture from to a near literal point, or we minimize the message shared to the point of near irrelevance. Like most things there has to be a middle ground. Some places a middle ground is supported, however it seems with the Bible the middle ground is considered only a holding point until we gravitate to the appropriate ideology. Still the middle ground appears to be the most appropriate place to reside.

Let's be clear, the Bible, Old and New Testaments, contains all truth needed for all of humanity. This includes truth needed for salvation as well as for the ways to live as people of the Kingdom of God. The struggle comes in that we, humanity, do not have the ability to mine all of the truths from the Bible accurately or completely. Without the Bible we are lost as a people, however we cannot think that we understand all the Bible has to tell us. God as found in the Scriptures is some much larger than what our minds can discern or define. The end result is we often make claims about life and how to live it that are biblical in connection and in nature that might not be the complete picture of the bible.

The Bible contains all that we need, and nothing that is needed for life and salvation is found outside of the Scriptures. Too often we add to the scriptures the ideas we wish were there so we could live as we desire. In doing this we make ourselves higher than God, and create a limit to God. An issue with doing this is that we cannot possibly limit God. Or said another way, when we allow our desires to be greater than the desires God has for us we enter into idolatry. The Bible, and the way we interpret and apply it, can easily become the very thing it teaches us to stay away from, an idol. 

In it all, the Bible is the primary source of life for those who follow after Jesus Christ. It sets the boundaries of our lives and calls us to fulfilled Kingdom living. We must be on the lifelong quest to be in relationship with the Bible in such a way that our God is constantly expanding rather than shrinking. We must also be willing to subordinate our desires and ideology so that we can find all of God as possible in the words and pages of Scripture. The key is not to be rigidly fundamental, nor is it to be dismissive of the Bible's authority. Rather there is a middle way that has us in a dynamic relationship with the Scriptures as learners above all else.

Articles of Religion Revisited-- Part 3 The Holy Spirit

So here we go with the third installment of a journey through the Articles of Religion once again. Today we complete our look at the Trinity by looking at The Holy Spirit.

Article III—The Holy Spirit
We believe in the Holy Spirit who proceeds from and is one in being with the Father and the Son. The Spirit convinces the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment, and leads people through faithful response to the gospel into the fellowship of the Church. The Holy Spirit, comforts, sustains and empowers the faithful and guides them into all truth.

The first struggle I had with this article was not directly about theology or understanding. It was found in attempting to update the language some to be more balanced from a gender standpoint. My struggle was not in working to be more balanced, the challenge was to do so while not reducing the personhood of the Holy Spirit. Using pronouns such as he or she, do not help reach for balance, however, they can reduce our ready understanding of the Spirit as more an it.

With that said, the Holy Spirit is certainly not an it, rather a person, the very person that is God. With humanity as the ongoing presence of God as promised by Jesus during his ministry, the Holy Spirit is God's continuing work in us and in the world. You know that little voice that can encourage or convict? You know those situations when you "just have a feeling"? That quite possibly could be the work of the Holy Spirit.

If we view God as the creator of all things, and Jesus as the light of the world, then the Holy Spirit is the power of God made manifest. One of the last conversations Jesus has with the disciples is found in Acts 1:8 where the followers are reminded that they will receive power to be Jesus' witnesses when they receive the Holy Spirit. Shortly after that on the Day of Pentecost, the Spirit comes upon the disciples and the world is never the same.

Over the centuries much has been made of the Holy Spirit. Of that understanding, as with all understandings, there are some elements of truth and some elements of invention. Bottom line, for this writer, the Holy Spirit is God revealed to us in an ongoing relationship offering us power to witness, gifts for service, conviction for holy living, and comfort through the trial.

Strangely, most followers of Jesus can all too often live as though the Spirit is not real, or active. We can live as Francis Chan stated it, with a Forgotten God. The person of the Spirit is with us, ready to be our advocate, and ready to led us to greater connection with God. The question is of our willingness to connect.

Articles of Religion Revisited Part 2: Jesus Christ

Thanks to all those who took a few moments to read through the first part of this series. I pray that the journey through the Articles of Religion are providing direction and passion for being a Follower of Jesus. I know I have already had my journey strengthened. Here we go with the second installment:

Article II—Jesus Christ
We believe in Jesus Christ, truly God and truly human, in whom the divine and human natures are perfectly and inseparably united. He is the eternal Word made flesh, the only begotten Son of the Father, born of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. As ministering Servant he lived, suffered and died on the cross. He was buried, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven to be with the Father, from whence he shall return. He is eternal Savior and Mediator, who intercedes for us, and by him all people will be judged.

As I write this we are on the doorstep of Christmas. In a little over 24 hours the congregation I serve will be gathering for our Christmas Eve celebrations. The idea of Christmas has become some many things to so many people. It is possible that folks who gather for worship on Christmas Eve will be a part of what the Huffington Post shares is up to half of Americans that see Christmas as a non-religious holiday.

Meaning that for half of the people around you what is seen at Christmas is more about trees, shopping, family and time off from work than it is about Jesus.

The implications of this reach further than Christmas Eve services. Especially in light of revisiting the Articles of Religion. It seems that in the late fifties through the early eighties the descriptions offered in the Articles of Religion regarding Jesus were considered offensive to some. Even in the life of the established church, the understanding of Jesus offered was considered dated, non-enlightened, or even harmful by some. These views are still present in the church today, and furthered by the clergy of the church.

Here we are in the year 2013 and the issue is not whether folks see the description of Jesus as dated, or offensive, or wrong. Fact is most people don't even care. In their minds Jesus has become irrelevant. It would be easy to blame "the church" for the state of Jesus in our culture. It might be equally as easy to blame a society that has seem to erode the importance of Jesus in day to day life. The reality is that responsibility belongs not to the church or to society, rather to individuals. 

Over the past couple of days I have been wrestling with Jesus. I do not have to look too hard to find people telling me who Jesus is. Some would say that Jesus is the advocate for the poor and oppressed. Others would say that Jesus is the one who judges the sins of society. I am amazed at the number of people who are quick to declare how Jesus would act, talk and be among humanity. At the same time what I find convicting in my own soul is how I struggle to embody the life of Jesus. All too often I am willing to settle for talking about how I think Jesus should be portrayed rather than doing the hard work of conforming my life to look like the life Jesus lived and calls me to live.

I wonder if people no longer see Jesus as relevant, even at Christmas, because I live my life in a way that renders Jesus irrelevant? What would happen if I began to live my life in such a way that people could see Jesus as truly God and truly human, in whom the divine and human natures are perfectly and inseparably united. Don't you just love the why that is phrased, divine and human natures perfectly and inseparably united.

What might happen if I lived my life in such a way that others would see and know a Jesus that,  is the eternal Word made flesh, the only begotten Son of the Father, born of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit? Or if people could understand Jesus as one who is a  ministering Servant he lived, suffered and died on the cross. He was buried, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven to be with the Father, from whence he shall return?

Is it possible for me to live my relationship with Jesus in such a way that the people around me will not read, He is eternal Savior and Mediator, who intercedes for us, and by him all people will be judged, with fear but as an invitation to wholeness and full living?

My struggle with Jesus is not that the church is failing Jesus, or that society has lost its way. My struggle with Jesus is that all too often I make many things more important than Jesus. I am working toward the day that people can read the words of Article 2 of the Articles of Religion and experience it in my life. I am called and am working toward being a person that helps the world around us, and the church, see Jesus as not only relevant, but as the life which gives life to all things. 

Articles of Religion Revisited Part 1: God

For the better part of my life I have been a part of the United Methodist Church. Through that journey I have seen some interesting things take place and have witnessed trends that are less than encouraging. It seems we  in the church are good at reproducing rhetoric, division, hurt and decline. What many have struggled with is reproducing Followers of Jesus Christ. We have often chosen ideology over incarnation and morality claims over ministry with. In it all I see the church at a decisive crossroads.

What I actually have found is a church that is no longer familiar to me and one that I wonder if I have a place in.

So part of this pondering has brought me to the point of revisiting the base tenets of the Church I call home, and have labored to see be a Church God can use to develop disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Over the next several weeks I will be looking at each of the Articles of Faith offered to the UMC from the Evangelical United Brethren. Each one will be adapted from the UMC Book of Discipline.

So, let us begin; Article 1-- God  "We believe in the one true, holy and living God, Eternal Spirit, who is Creator, Sovereign and Preserver of all things visible and invisible; Infinite in power, wisdom, justice, goodness and love, and rules with gracious regard for the well-being and salvation of all people, to the glory of the name of God. We believe the one God is self-revealed as the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, distinct but inseparable, eternally one in essence and power."

This seems like a good starting point, not only because it is labeled number one but because this is the foundation of all that follows. In the beginning God... begins the text of our relationship with God. Before there was form and order to the cosmos, before there was plants, animals and people, there has been God. The God who creates all things. However, creation was not the end of the relationship, God continues to be an active part of creation.

As the many understandings of God are listed in the article I am aware that there is more to the story than I can readily see or perceive. God is the God of all things, those I can see and interact with as well as the things that I cannot see. Often I limit God to my experience and understanding, quite simply this is wrong thinking. There is no limit to God except that which I attempt to impose.

Through it all we find the promise and desire of God revealed. God desires for the well-being and salvation of all people, it could be argued all creation. This means our lives are not a series of random events to which we react to. Rather, our life is a dynamic relationship with God in which our choices have consequences. All the consequences, whether we interpret them as good or bad have one aim, to connect us with the God in the deepest way possible that we may experience salvation here and now, and fully in the culmination of time as we understand it.

Wanting to use everything possible to connect with humanity, God self-reveals in three distinct persons to us. Father, the ultimate in parent that is just, holy, gracious, compassionate and loving. God that creates and rules over all creation. Son, God stepped out of eternity and into our world that we may know what it is to walk as Kingdom people, and to have the offer of grace and salvation offered.

Holy Spirit, the ongoing presence of God in our life and in creation that continues to call us, lead us and convict us toward a life that we have been created to live.

In all of this I wonder what it would be like if we were to seek after God on God's terms rather than our own. This is no easy task as we cannot possibly separate ourselves from ourselves. Still, I am committed to seeking the God in whose image I am made, rather than the God whose image I have made. A God that does not always agree with me and my understanding of the world but challenges me to a holiness and righteousness that is beyond my created ability.

In Keeping With Repentance

So it has been a while since I have written. Perhaps I have been too busy, too lazy or simply had little or nothing of value to write. It could be all or any of these things. No matter. This morning I was struck by a particular passage. You know one of those all stop moments when you were not really expecting it. I was reading through Matthew chapter 3 and thinking I knew what it was saying. Then it happened, I read verse eight and it was like the world stopped for a moment. The NIV shares Matthew 3:8 like this, "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance." Two words that change this passage greatly are in keeping. John the Baptist is being quoted as speaking these words to the Pharisees and Sadducees, the religious leaders, or better understood the church people. As a base understanding of John is repentance has taken place. Almost as if John is giving them the benefit of the doubt in regards to their relationship to God. Then this admonishment of verse eight comes. In keeping with repentance. Live a life that is consistent with the life change you have claimed.

The reason this passage stopped me was the challenge it stirred in me. Is my life producing fruit in keeping with the repentance I claim in Jesus Christ? My life is nothing like it was before my encounter with Jesus where I found life after death. Yet, the process of change continues. Over the last few years I have had an increased interest in Gardening. I love the idea of putting in the effort and producing our own food. Not to mention the taste of the food is much better than the mass produced mess from the grocery store. One of the things I have learned is in order to produce what I intend from the garden it takes time and effort and each year the work produces better fruit.

Producing fruit in keeping with repentance means the need to constantly and consistently anchor our lives with Christ. Reading the rest of the chapter John says, please allow a loose translation, being a part of the church will not really produce the fruit alone What matters is living a life that had been transformed for the sake of Jesus Christ. Imagine the horror of finding out you have been religious and faithful as a church member only to find out come cutting time you end up in the fire. This is not about church membership, it is about thinking church membership alone will produce the fruit in keeping with repentance. We are called to live our lives in such a way that the work of repentance made possible through Jesus Christ is evident. That our actions, thoughts and simply our way of being are producing fruit that is a result of having an ever-deepening, head-over-heels in love relationship with Jesus Christ.

Friends in our world to day the church does not have a membership problem, it does not have financial problems. It, we, have a Jesus problem. We talk about Jesus, but we do not live lives that produce fruit in keeping with repentance. It starts with repentance, turning our lives from our own understanding to a life that follows after Jesus Christ with reckless abandon. I believe all the smokescreen challenges we produce in the church would be cleared up if we would humble ourselves, repent and live lives that produce fruit in keeping with repentance.

If you are still reading you might be wondering what gives me the right to say these things. Nothing. I write these words out of being personally convicted by the Holy Spirit. I know I have so much growing to do if my live is going to produce fruit in keeping with repentance. I guess I was hoping I am not alone and could find others who might feel the same way.

The Show

After a long break, I thought I would post something today.

““Why this frenzy of sacrifices?” God’s asking. “Don’t you think I’ve had my fill of burnt sacrifices,  rams and plump grain-fed calves? Don’t you think I’ve had my fill of blood from bulls, lambs, and goats? When you come before me, whoever gave you the idea of acting like this, Running here and there, doing this and that—all this sheer commotion in the place provided for worship? “Quit your worship charades. I can’t stand your trivial religious games: Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings—meetings, meetings, meetings—I can’t stand one more! Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them! You’ve worn me out! I’m sick of your religion, religion, religion, while you go right on sinning. When you put on your next prayer-performance, I’ll be looking the other way. No matter how long or loud or often you pray, I’ll not be listening. And do you know why? Because you’ve been tearing people to pieces, and your hands are bloody. Go home and wash up. Clean up your act. Sweep your lives clean of your evildoings so I don’t have to look at them any longer. Say no to wrong. Learn to do good. Work for justice. Help the down-and-out. Stand up for the homeless. Go to bat for the defenseless. “Come. Sit down. Let’s argue this out.” This is God’s Message: “If your sins are blood-red, they’ll be snow-white. If they’re red like crimson, they’ll be like wool. If you’ll willingly obey, you’ll feast like kings. But if you’re willful and stubborn, you’ll die like dogs.” That’s right. God says so.”  --Isaiah 1:11-20 (The Message)

Have you ever gone through all the right motions, done all the right things, and still not gotten the results you were hoping for? My guess is this happens to many of us on a regular basis. Whether it is at work, school, with family, at church or with God, we do all the things we think to be right and it seems we continue to come up short. In our relationship with God this is very easy to have happen. We invest our time in making sure we read our Bible. We make sure to be at church almost every Sunday. We make sure we do the right things in the worship service. We might even rearrange our schedules once in a while to do something that seems like something God would appreciate. We do almost anything hoping that it will please God, and make God happy with us.

            Israel in the days of Isaiah was very active in fulfilling all the regulations of God. They brought their sacrifices, observed all the religious holidays and festivals. They were good church folks. Yet as we read from Isaiah 1, God does not seem very pleased with them. They are doing all the right things but there seems to be a problem. The issue restated later in Isaiah a little differently, “The Lord says, “These people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote.” (Isaiah 29:13) In his ministry Jesus would quote this passage when referring to the Pharisees, the religious leaders of his day. The issue is the people were doing all the external things of worshiping God without any impact on their hearts.

            This has made me wonder how God views worship as it takes places in churches today. Do we put on all the trappings of the show without having our hearts available to God? Do we simply put on a good show hoping that it will please God? The troubling words of Isaiah 1 should haunt us in appropriate ways. God does not desire a good show on Sunday morning where we make sure all the pieces are perfectly in place. God desires that our hearts would be available and stirred to the point where we live as people who have been infected by the grace and love of God. That we would be known as followers of Jesus because we work for justice, help the down-and-out, stand up for the homeless and go to bat for the defenseless. With all respect to Altar Guilds everywhere, I am not sure the importance is on whether the right colored paraments are presented.

            It seems that our relationship with God is not seen best in the ceremony and celebration, the observance of the festivals and Holy Days. To understand the relationship someone has with God through Jesus Christ the best place to look is their heart, and the ways in which a person lives their life. Do we seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God as Micah calls us to, or do we simply want to make sure we have a good show?

Acceptable Idols?

It says more about me than anything else the amount of time I spend thinking and praying about the state of the church in the United States today. Sad as it may be, a good amount of my time is spent consulting with God through prayer and thought about how the Body of Christ can once again get focused on the making of disciples once again. Along the way I have had more conversations than I can count with clergy, lay persons, and those outside of the church to try and find some direction. Through the conversations I have heard all kinds of reasons for the situation of the church today, economy, hypocrisy, theological liberalism, theological fundamentalism, not to mention the changes of our culture and values of the world around us.

Does it seem strange to anyone else that we in the church are very good at looking outward to find answers  to our problems but we try to function intensely in turned?

The long list of reasons given for the state of many churches, let's remember one blogger could never represent all of anything, matter, however none of them and all of them are the root of the issue. All kinds of spit and polish can be put to it, however the core of our issue is we place other things ahead of Jesus Christ in our communities. There is this wonderful Old Testament word for placing things ahead of God in our lives, idolatry. No matter what it is, no matter how good it is for our lives, whenever we place something in higher value than God in our lives we are in an idolatrous relationship.

Now in most cases we are not talking about idolatry like in the hard core biblical examples. There is not collection of gold for the creation of a calf to worship. In many cases the idol is more of what we consider an acceptable idol, or shall we call it a tolerated idol. Funny thing, idolatry is a lot like being pregnant, there is no such thing as being kind of pregnant. There is not such thing as a little idolatry. Much less things that are acceptable idols.

Take a few moments and think about the things that are more important to you than the relationship you have with God through the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Is your financial security more important? Is your personal comfort? The new car, job or house? How about the things and stuff of faith like the Bible, the church building, the way of doing church? It is especially dangerous when  our idols are so draped in God that we can get confused. We cannot have a full relationship with God without the Holy Scriptures, however we must not elevate the scriptures above God. It is extremely useful for the people that make up the church to have a space for worship, mission and ministry but is the physical space more important than the God who calls and loves us? Are we so tied to our ways of doing things that we miss what God is doing in our midst?

No one is exempt from idolatry. It seems that we all have things in our lives that become acceptable idols. At the same time we all have the same Good News available, we can lay down our false gods and return the One True God to the rightful place in our lives. When the people of the church begin to do this, to return the focus, direction and hopes of their lives to God above all things, all the reasons given for the struggles of the church will melt away. As a people we have been called to order our lives in certain ways. Jesus Christ is the first and foremost. This includes the call of Christ to go and make disciples. This includes the idea that to gain we must lose everything.

Friends, the time has come to refocus our lives, and put away all the idols, including and especially the acceptable ones.

The Collision of Theology and Ideology

One of the great joys I have in my journey with God is to be a part of this things called the United Methodist Church. While there are others out there who see it as the most troubling of denominations, thanks Tony Jones, I find the amazing complexity and diversity that can gather under the banner of United Methodist. It is true this complex diversity comes with some challenges and some downright ugly times in the life of the church. Reality check, whenever human beings are entangled with the works of a Holy God, things are going to get messy.

Nonetheless, here I find myself in a denomination where many are focused on making sure the way they see God will be the dominate view.This has caused me to wonder if the tension at hand is about theology as has been put forward, or if it has more to do with ideology. At first blush contrasting the two might seem like an exercise in splitting hairs. There is much in common between the two, however I think there is a vast difference.

Over the past few years I have decided to go from being vocal about any of the positions available to spending more time listening to all. Through this process I have found some things that might be helpful to highlight. The following are the common points I have heard from many in the conversations:

• God of love. No matter what angle is being taken to which discussion point I have heard people talking about how loving God is. Further I hear in the conversation that God has unending love for humanity.
• God of grace. Through it all I hear folks not only taking about the grace of God but they are excited about the access we as humanity we have to the grace of God through Jesus Christ. Like with the love of God, I find across the board the grace of God is available to all humanity.
• Celebration of community. Another common thread to in the conversation is the importance of the community of God, the church. In the complex diversity I have not found voices ready to abandon the community, rather voices longing for the community to be whole.
• Justice. In all the listening I have yet to find a voice claiming God's support of injustice. It seems apparent to those I have listened to the Scriptures call for the people of God to be Holy and walking in justice.
• Christ Centered. The pursuit of a Christlike life is what I have heard in all the narratives as I have slowed down enough to listen. There is an earnest effort underway to embody the way of Jesus by all. 

There were other common points, however these were the ones that were the most prevalent. It is important to get clear each of these common points were carried out differently by different people. Yet at the heart of the different actions there is a common quest at the center. This difference in action and core is the place where theology and ideology meet. Contrary to what I have heard many suggest there is actually a very small theological difference in this glorious mystery called the United Methodist Church. There is however, a significant difference in ideology. This is not new to the Church, not just the UMC. Since the day Christ empowered humanity to carry out the community of God, there has been a clash of ideology. Whether it was when Peter had the vision in Acts 10, or the debate about circumcision in Acts 15. We find over and over in the Scriptures people who remain focused on God, and the ways God is at work in the lives of humanity, yet they embody this in different ways. Still here in 2012 there is a prevailing thought in the UMC that we need to all think, act and believe exactly the same way. As I am fond of telling my congregation, when a group of people think, act and believe exactly the same claiming God at the center and on their side it is called a cult not the church of Jesus Christ. Even the people Jesus called around him during his earthly pilgrimage were very different people. Jesus called together a vast diversity that thought differently, acted differently and even believed differently. Yet at the center was not getting one ideology to win over the others, it was the pursuit of embodying the community of God here on earth as we ready for the return of Christ setting all things are God designed. 

So church, UMC and others, the time for repentance has come. For far too long we have chased ideology more than we have chased God. For far too long we have tried to get the rest of the world to see things the way we see them instead of seeking the face of God above all other things. Many of  the things that divide us   are things that are not of the highest level of importance. Is there injustice in the world, you bet, just remember yours is not the only way to address it. Is the Church of Jesus Christ broken, absolutely, again remember there is more than one way to get us back to focusing on Jesus. Anytime we think our way is the only way of following God we have lost sight of our theology and settled for ideology. May we be a people who focus more on God and the ways God is in relationship with all creation, than on how we think this ought to look.

Sex, Money and Power in The Church

Last week mercifully the General Conference on the United Methodist Church finished its two week meeting. For those who are not familiar with General Conference it is a gathering held every four years for the United Methodist Church. The design is to be a time of worship and community where the delegates define the parameters by which we will live together as Followers of Jesus in the United Methodist tradition. What actually happens, well that is a different story all together.

In my short time with the United Methodist I have followed a handful of General Conference sessions. Each time I have heard with great passion that the world is watching. First, I am not sure that much of society really cares about what we as Methodists decide, could be due to our irrelevance for too long. Second I wonder if the people making the passionate claim of the world watching have processed that in light of the words they are speaking. As I have reflected and prayed about the happenings of General Conference, I wondered what is it the world would see as the people gathered?

My thoughts are tragic in some ways. The casual observer could think the church is all about sex, money and power. Hours were spend in formal and informal settings on the battle around these three things. I do mean battle, as there were sides chosen, a game plan put forward, and a hope there would be winners and losers. There were impassioned speeches saying that unless the church changes the way it relates to people living a homosexual lifestyle we are not being faithful to Jesus. At the same time there are those who say if we change the way the church relates to homosexuals we are not being faithful. What if neither side of the issue is being faithful? Jesus never directly addresses homosexuality, however Jesus does address matters of sex. He has a call for purity, never fully defining what that means. The focus for Jesus is not the sexual relationships, rather it is the purity in our relationship with God and letting that guide all of our earthly relationships.

Nonetheless, from the outside looking in, it might be seen that winning the battle about sex is more important than letting Jesus lead our lives. I wonder what it would be like for the watching world to see Jesus before they see the argument about sexuality? I wonder what would happen if the watching world could see a people who were madly in love with Jesus Christ and still did not agree how that gets lived out?

Sex was not the only hotly debated issue of General Conference. There was a whole lot of discussion about money. Where it comes from and who gets to spend it on what. Just like any other multi-national business the church was seen to be arguing over money that is not theirs, it all belongs to God, while the people of most need are ignored. I wonder about all the money spend on the battle mentioned above regarding sexuality. There were millions of dollars spent to print material, have  people present at the write times and to make sure people knew the right way to vote. More of God's money spent on a church squabble. What would happen if the same people who spent all the propaganda money matched it dollar for dollar with fighting malaria? Or taking on the challenges of indigenous people around the world being displaced for economic gain of a few? No, the question is which agency of an inward turned institution would get the money.

So we have covered sex and money, now we move to the root of it all, power. As I tuned in the the slow motion train wreck called General Conference what I witnessed was the battle for power. Who would be the ones who controlled what happened in the church. There were the voting blocks where people we demanded to vote the same, not because it was best for the Church of Jesus Christ, but so those who hold the power could maintain that power. No matter how many times it was proclaimed to the contrary, it was a two week turf war with the extremes looking to claim more ground from the other. Again the losers were not the people present at the meeting, rather the people in the churches across the world and more importantly, the people who desperately need the church to be about the work and mission that is Jesus Christ while we are busy claiming power.

So as the world is watching I think they could see how broken the church is. They could see the focus on sex, money and power. However, this is not what the church really looks like. There are extremes on either end of the spectrum. As is often the case the extremes get the most press and air time. Also no surprise the two extremes tend to talk passed each other in an effort to win the debate. If I had to put a percentage on this I would say each end of the spectrum is 10-15 percent of the church. That means there is 70-80 percent of the church that lives somewhere in the middle trying to keep the focus on being the church of Jesus Christ.

So how do we move past the extremes being the voice of the church? How do we get passed the issues of sex, money and power no longer controlling the efforts of the church? Where is the middle ground? Here is an idea that may seem radical or undesirable to some. What if the extreme ends of the church simple went their own way to have their own denominations? I have become convinced there is no middle ground where the two extremes will sit together in harmony and unity. If the extremes would go do their thing, server God as best they feel they can around their special interests, the rest of us could be about the work of Jesus free of all the rhetoric and propaganda. It is hard enough to journey together as the community of the church, but it might be a little more possible if the extremes allowed for a middle majority to have room to move. This is not about power to the majority or any of that. Simply, I think most people are more interested in following Jesus above the issues of sex, money and power. There are a majority of people who look to live in the state of grace that keeps in proper alignment personal holiness and social holiness. There are a majority of people who want to see scriptural holiness lead to more than arguments about who loves Jesus more.

There is no doubt the world is watching. Further the watching world is only seeing a church that fights over its own self interest. I wonder what might happen if a watching world looked at the church and saw the very face of Jesus? What would  happen if the watching world looked at the church and saw the followers of Jesus focus on life more than being right or winning the battle?

So, perhaps it is time for some to go their way and follow Jesus as best they can in other expressions. Perhaps the path of most integrity is to stop trying to get the other extreme to follow Jesus the way we want them to, and get about the business of following Jesus as best we can where God has placed us. I hope, pray and dream of a church that is not so focused on sex, money and power. I hope and dream of a church that is focused on connecting people with Jesus Christ, even when that means we sacrifice ourselves. I believe this dream and hope can be a reality and I invite others to join the prayer and journey.