I received a letter from myself in the mail this week. It was a manifesto I wrote while on a retreat called "Courage To Lead." It was an exercise to help me clarify what I long for in my life. A manifesto is "a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of it issuer (Merriam-Webster.com)." It occurs to me now that we Christ-followers are baptized into the manifesto of the Kingdom of God. On that day we declare that "we renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of our sin." We "confess Jesus Christ as our Savior, put our whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as our Lord." We "accept the freedom and power God gives us to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they take." We promise to be Christ's representatives in the world and support his work through the Church by our prayers, presence, gifts, and service.
Jesus, when asked by followers of John the Baptist whether he was the Messiah replied, you might say, with his living manifesto. "Tell John the baptist what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them (Matthew 11: 4-5)." His living manifesto broke the healing Kingdom of God into time! As followers of Jesus, the baptismal manifesto and the living manifesto Jesus sent to John become our manifestos. We'll be talking about this Sunday at my church in Sanford. You can also catch the sermon online or find out more about how we seek to live this out on facebook.
Retreat Manifesto
*Run when you want to, especially in the rain.
*Write in season, out of season, when there is a why and where there isn't, just because you can and want to and need to and, best of all, because it gives you pleasure.
*Be thrilled and scared swimming in mysteries you don't understand, and don't wait for those on the shore who think they have the answer or those on the other shore too afraid to ask.
*Stop worrying how everything will turn out. Stop trying to manage your life as though you could keep it. While scrambling to assemble it the way you want it will have already passed by, surprises and all.
*Be mindful of your departure day and the gifts of clarity it will bring about what's important...love in family and community, joy in food and breezes, satisfaction of good work, and looks that tie one soul to another.
*Refuse to run the world's race. Life is gift not conquest. The spoils are to the walkers, the meanderers, those who savor, reflect on, and soak in the full taste of what is in their mouths. There is no need for more when goodness has been fully appreciated.
*Learn the patient patterns of the seasons, feel them, smell them, don't insulate yourself from them. Let the cold run through you like a sword and the heat melt you like wax. Be refreshed and hopeful in the changes.
*Play, especially when you're tired and grumpy.
*Rest when you're tired. You don't need anyone's permission.
What is your manifesto?
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
When God Says "Shut Up!" (Luke 1: 67-79)
I know, I know! It’s rude to say “Shut up!” to anyone. And, no, God did not literally say, “Shut up!” But he may as well have! Zechariah, a priest fulfilling his service to God in the Temple, had been praying that his wife Elizabeth would be given a child. As Zechariah was burning incense at the altar, God sent an angel to tell him that Elizabeth would soon be pregnant and give birth to a son who was to be named John. Instead of leaping for joy and singing songs of praise, Zechariah, like any person who is realistic, said, “How will I know this is true?” That’s when God might as well have said, “Shut up,” because the angel closed Zechariah’s mouth until the time John would be born as a sign and, apparently, as a consequence to Zechariah’s unbelief.
The God who shuts up is also the God who opens wide! Upon John’s birth, Zechariah became a prophet, telling of all that God was about to do through John and, more importantly, through the savior, Jesus Christ, who was soon to be born. Zechariah and Elizabeth had hoped for years for a child. The people of Israel had hoped for generations for God to send a savior, and this broken, conflicted world has been hoping from the moment of Adam’s sin for healing and wholeness to come from God who alone has that kind of power. God sent John, Zechariah says, to “go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of peace (Luke 1: 76-79).” God opened Zechariah’s mouth to say to the world, “all you have hoped for and believed would come is on the way in my son Jesus, the savior.”
What are you waiting and hoping for when Jesus returns again to bring the fullness of his Kingdom to earth? Talk to God about that in prayer, and keep your eyes open, believing that Jesus is still in the business of bringing salvation!
I welcome you to join our church in Sanford over the next 4 weeks leading up to Christmas as we try to find biblical answers to the question "What Difference Does This Baby Make?" Check out our videos or follow us on facebook!
The God who shuts up is also the God who opens wide! Upon John’s birth, Zechariah became a prophet, telling of all that God was about to do through John and, more importantly, through the savior, Jesus Christ, who was soon to be born. Zechariah and Elizabeth had hoped for years for a child. The people of Israel had hoped for generations for God to send a savior, and this broken, conflicted world has been hoping from the moment of Adam’s sin for healing and wholeness to come from God who alone has that kind of power. God sent John, Zechariah says, to “go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of peace (Luke 1: 76-79).” God opened Zechariah’s mouth to say to the world, “all you have hoped for and believed would come is on the way in my son Jesus, the savior.”
What are you waiting and hoping for when Jesus returns again to bring the fullness of his Kingdom to earth? Talk to God about that in prayer, and keep your eyes open, believing that Jesus is still in the business of bringing salvation!
I welcome you to join our church in Sanford over the next 4 weeks leading up to Christmas as we try to find biblical answers to the question "What Difference Does This Baby Make?" Check out our videos or follow us on facebook!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Plenty To Share
Last week we discussed the truth that God gives us plenty of time to do what God wants us to do and that, often, we feel we don't have enough time because our expectations of what we think should be done are out of line with God's. We talked about being stewards of the time that God gives us, choosing by faith to use it to live more fully in God's Kingdom of love and to help others find salvation in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3: 20-21). And we talked about how following Jesus means walking with him, not rushing with him. Here is the link to the video many of you enjoyed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17ZrK2NryuQ.
This week we will hear how our abundant God gives us plenty to share. You will hear the story of the disciples responding to Jesus' call for them to feed the crowd of 5,000 people late in the day by saying, "With what?" And you will hear Jesus say, "Let's start with what you've got!" You will hear the story of a couple who realized through Financial Peace University the power of being good stewards of what God gave them and what a difference they could make in the world through their generosity.
We will be asking our Sanford church family to prayerfully consider how they will offer themselves generously to God's ministry of gathering, growing, and sowing the love of Jesus in 2011 by filling out an "Estimate of Giving" card in person or online. Next week, November 21, we will present them to God as we share that God gives us plenty of reasons to celebrate our life in Jesus Christ!
I encourage you to view this message series: "Abundance: Plenty of Time, Plenty To Share, and Plenty To Celebrate!" on our video site or you can keep up on facebook and our website.
This week we will hear how our abundant God gives us plenty to share. You will hear the story of the disciples responding to Jesus' call for them to feed the crowd of 5,000 people late in the day by saying, "With what?" And you will hear Jesus say, "Let's start with what you've got!" You will hear the story of a couple who realized through Financial Peace University the power of being good stewards of what God gave them and what a difference they could make in the world through their generosity.
We will be asking our Sanford church family to prayerfully consider how they will offer themselves generously to God's ministry of gathering, growing, and sowing the love of Jesus in 2011 by filling out an "Estimate of Giving" card in person or online. Next week, November 21, we will present them to God as we share that God gives us plenty of reasons to celebrate our life in Jesus Christ!
I encourage you to view this message series: "Abundance: Plenty of Time, Plenty To Share, and Plenty To Celebrate!" on our video site or you can keep up on facebook and our website.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Plenty: God's Life Of Abundance
“I don’t have enough time…I don’t have enough money…If only I had “x,” then I would…” What if these statements really aren’t true? What if what we have been given is plenty to do what God wants? And what if it’s our expectations that are out of whack? Join us the first 3 Sundays in November as we learn about the abundant life God gives us through Jesus Christ. We will learn that God gives plenty of time, plenty to share, and plenty of reasons to celebrate. You will hear real life stories from people like you about God’s great work in their lives. You will hear about God’s work through Lakeside United Methodist Church. You will be encouraged to open your eyes to see the many gifts the Lord has given generously to you,and you will be asked to prayerfully consider God’s call on your life to generously share in God’s work of gathering, growing, and sowing the love of Jesus. So come, invite your friends, and enjoy the abundant blessings of God! If you can't make it in person, catch the video or keep in touch via facebook. This week we will learn how God gives us plenty of time to do what God wants us to do!
"Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90: 12)."
"Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90: 12)."
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Laughter As A Spiritual Discipline
"Spiritual Disciplines." Sounds a bit like going to the principal's office or being pulled over by the police doesn't it? Christian spiritual disciplines are really practices that God uses to grow us more into the likeness of Jesus Christ. I've been wandering through the wilderness of some tough issues lately and today had this thought go through my head, "What you really need to do is read some good jokes." Those of you who know me realize that, at times, I am "joy challenged." I lean pretty far toward the serious side of things and could use as many opportunities to laugh as possible. So today, I logged on to the Prairie Home Companion website where they have a joke section. I took some time scrolling through the jokes. Some were good, and some were downright bad! All in all, though, a chuckle here and there brought me to a place with a brighter perspective on my day.
Ecclesiastes chapter 3 reads, "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven...a time to weep, and a time to laugh (NRSV)." When Sarah heard the angel tell her husband that she would have a son even though "it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women." she laughed, and her son was named Isaac which means "he laughs." Sarah said "God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me (Genesis 21: 5, NRSV)." Jesus says in Luke 6:21, "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh." Apparently laughter is not just about being suprised or joyous, it is a sign of our hope and trust in the God who heals, restores, and saves. We might say that laughter in the face of impossible obstacles, even in the face of death, is a sign of our faith in our resurrected Lord for whom death was powerless to stop from giving his saving love!
The best funeral I've ever been to was filled with laughter. I knew the old man being eulogized, and I knew that he was tough and mean and, at times, narrow-minded, yet, the church sanctuary was packed with people. Maybe it's because he admitted his struggle to be kind, to express his caring side. Most likely, though, it was because he learned that humor could round even the hardest edges of his life. One Saturday evening he decided that he would gather all of the beer cans he could find and scatter them in the pastor's yard so that when the pastor came out to get the paper in the morning he would stumble all over them. Then the whole neighborhood would wonder just how much alcohol that pastor could handle! The pastor at the time, who also was doing the funeral, then recounted all of the pranks he used to "return fire" on his parishoner. The whole church was filled with laughter and tears, a great release of sadness, joy, wonder, and hope that God could take a tough person and file down his edges with laughter on his way toward loving like Jesus, on his way into the Kingdom beyond death.
Stressed? Worried? Weighted down? Read some jokes. it's a good spiritual discipline! By the way, what do you call a dog with no legs.........................................................................Don't bother because he won't come anyway!
Join us at our Sanford church or on facebook as we start our series on the "Abundance Of God" or check it out on video.
Ecclesiastes chapter 3 reads, "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven...a time to weep, and a time to laugh (NRSV)." When Sarah heard the angel tell her husband that she would have a son even though "it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women." she laughed, and her son was named Isaac which means "he laughs." Sarah said "God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me (Genesis 21: 5, NRSV)." Jesus says in Luke 6:21, "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh." Apparently laughter is not just about being suprised or joyous, it is a sign of our hope and trust in the God who heals, restores, and saves. We might say that laughter in the face of impossible obstacles, even in the face of death, is a sign of our faith in our resurrected Lord for whom death was powerless to stop from giving his saving love!
The best funeral I've ever been to was filled with laughter. I knew the old man being eulogized, and I knew that he was tough and mean and, at times, narrow-minded, yet, the church sanctuary was packed with people. Maybe it's because he admitted his struggle to be kind, to express his caring side. Most likely, though, it was because he learned that humor could round even the hardest edges of his life. One Saturday evening he decided that he would gather all of the beer cans he could find and scatter them in the pastor's yard so that when the pastor came out to get the paper in the morning he would stumble all over them. Then the whole neighborhood would wonder just how much alcohol that pastor could handle! The pastor at the time, who also was doing the funeral, then recounted all of the pranks he used to "return fire" on his parishoner. The whole church was filled with laughter and tears, a great release of sadness, joy, wonder, and hope that God could take a tough person and file down his edges with laughter on his way toward loving like Jesus, on his way into the Kingdom beyond death.
Stressed? Worried? Weighted down? Read some jokes. it's a good spiritual discipline! By the way, what do you call a dog with no legs.........................................................................Don't bother because he won't come anyway!
Join us at our Sanford church or on facebook as we start our series on the "Abundance Of God" or check it out on video.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Suffering And The Way Of Christ
"...that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead (Phillipians 3: 10-11)."
One of my college psychology professors once stood up and told the class, "All upsets happen because of one simple fact; we aren't getting what we want." It's true from the time we are born until the time we die! These days there are many versions of "Christian" faith that teach Jesus is solver of all of our problems, the way to getting the life we want, and the way to our personal prosperity. I often wonder how those who hold these beliefs hold onto Jesus when he leads them into more problems than they had before or to the life he wants them to have or when he asks them to pick up their cross and follow him into sacrificial service.
Jesus has given me tremendous freedom and joy because he has forgiven my sins. He has also given me comfort and direction in times of struggle and joy in the awareness of his many gifts. But I am sometimes upset because he doesn't always give me what I want! Times like those remind me that he meant what he said, "He who loses his life for my sake will find it."
This all becomes very real when Jesus calls us, his followers, to go and serve an upset universe where relationships are broken, living things suffer, and things aren't the way they are supposed to be. It is upsetting. It is tempting for us to run away from the pain, but there, in the middle of it, is Jesus, beckoning us to share in his sufferings so that we may also share in the joy of his resurrection. Thankfully, suffering is not an end in and of itself in the graceful hands of Jesus. In his saving presence and through the power of his resurrection it becomes a sign that new life is being born. Suffering as a sign of death becomes a sign that new life is on the way.
Gracious and all powerful Jesus, teach us how to resist the temptation to run from suffering when you call us into it. Give us your power to engage it and your presence through which resurrection comes.
"It has never been either practical or useful to leave all things and follow Christ. And yet it is spiritually prudent (The Monastic Journey, Thomas Merton)."
One of my college psychology professors once stood up and told the class, "All upsets happen because of one simple fact; we aren't getting what we want." It's true from the time we are born until the time we die! These days there are many versions of "Christian" faith that teach Jesus is solver of all of our problems, the way to getting the life we want, and the way to our personal prosperity. I often wonder how those who hold these beliefs hold onto Jesus when he leads them into more problems than they had before or to the life he wants them to have or when he asks them to pick up their cross and follow him into sacrificial service.
Jesus has given me tremendous freedom and joy because he has forgiven my sins. He has also given me comfort and direction in times of struggle and joy in the awareness of his many gifts. But I am sometimes upset because he doesn't always give me what I want! Times like those remind me that he meant what he said, "He who loses his life for my sake will find it."
This all becomes very real when Jesus calls us, his followers, to go and serve an upset universe where relationships are broken, living things suffer, and things aren't the way they are supposed to be. It is upsetting. It is tempting for us to run away from the pain, but there, in the middle of it, is Jesus, beckoning us to share in his sufferings so that we may also share in the joy of his resurrection. Thankfully, suffering is not an end in and of itself in the graceful hands of Jesus. In his saving presence and through the power of his resurrection it becomes a sign that new life is being born. Suffering as a sign of death becomes a sign that new life is on the way.
Gracious and all powerful Jesus, teach us how to resist the temptation to run from suffering when you call us into it. Give us your power to engage it and your presence through which resurrection comes.
"It has never been either practical or useful to leave all things and follow Christ. And yet it is spiritually prudent (The Monastic Journey, Thomas Merton)."
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Side By Side
Who is alongside who? It's a simple question. It's a sharp question whose blade can cut through every outer layer of fashion and skin to reveal what is on the inside. It is another way of asking, "Who is in charge here?" which is yet another way of asking, "Who is God?" If I ask God to come alongside me, then I have set the direction; I have chosen the road; I have chosen the speed and means of travel. I am asking God to bless my efforts and be my companion while I do things my way.
But if it is God who calls me alongside him, then I must stop what I'm doing; I must go God's direction; I must go on God's road; I must go at God's speed. If God is God and I am not, then God must lead, and I must follow. I am God's companion. My work and my life must be a response to God's invitation and initiative.
"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11: 28-30)." There is the invitation to come alongside Jesus as he walks in the Kingdom quality of life. How is what I'm doing right now a response to Jesus' invitation to live side by side with Jesus?
But if it is God who calls me alongside him, then I must stop what I'm doing; I must go God's direction; I must go on God's road; I must go at God's speed. If God is God and I am not, then God must lead, and I must follow. I am God's companion. My work and my life must be a response to God's invitation and initiative.
"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11: 28-30)." There is the invitation to come alongside Jesus as he walks in the Kingdom quality of life. How is what I'm doing right now a response to Jesus' invitation to live side by side with Jesus?
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Sports Crazy
The orange dust cleared out, but not before the shouting began. First it was the umpire yelling, "out!" Then it was my coach rushing the plate, "You must be blind!" Then it was a coach from the other dugout screaming, "You're crazy, he was out!" I was seven, and all I knew was that my coach told me to run, I ran, my knees were bleeding, and all of these grown ups were really angry. At that moment I wasn't sure whether I wanted to continue my first season playing baseball.
Unfortunately, every season there are children left wondering why they are playing ball when it doesn't seem to be much fun and why a game makes so many "grown ups" behave so badly! It's not only baseball that elicits the poor behavior of adults. This behavior can be found in any youth sport. The questions this kind of behavior raises in me are, "Why are these games so important to these adults?" and "Why is there so much pressure on kids to win?"
Now that my son has begun playing baseball, and my family and I are learning to juggle 2 practices and a game per week, I'm also wondering how much is too much when it comes to youth sports. Other parents at my church in Sanford, Florida have told me how their kids are required to practice 5 days per week and spend their Saturdays at the football field. Really? Do we demand our kids spend that much time on their homework or their spiritual lives? Does this time bring our families closer together or pull them further apart? All of my questions lead into one big one: "How important are youth sports anyway?"
I love sports as much as, if not more than, anyone. I love the life lessons about the importance of practice and team work, about the joy of accomplishment, and about learning how to win and lose in life. Yes, I love winning and hate to lose. But somewhere amidst the shouting matches and the overscheduling of our kid's lives I have begun to feel like we are taking them too far. Surely, I am not alone. Yet very rarely have I heard anyone question why we place such a heavy emphasis on youth sports. Do that many parents truly believe that their little Johnny is going to make the pros and supply them with retirement cash and prestige? Is that Little League win really going to be reviewed by the college scouts? And do we really believe that if we don't push our kids to give so much of their time and ours to these sports during the fleeting days of childhood that, no matter how talented they are, they will miss out on their only opportunity to make it big in the sports world? The truth is that very few kids will ever make the college or pro levels. The other truth is that kids pretty much enjoy sports because it is fun, they make friends, and it feels good to learn something new.
There is an old word that may be useful to reclaim as we consider the role of sports in our world: recreation. It is true that sports teach us many valuable life skills, but the sports themselves are not life or death issues. Sports are opportunities for re-creation, times to be renewed, refreshed, to have fun and to break from work. Doing surgery, caring for the hungry, educating the next generation, raising children, these are life and death issues. Maybe when we get a more clear perspective on the role of sports, we'll question why it costs so much to buy a ticket to the game, why we're willing to spend so much of the precious time we're given watching the games, why athletes get paid as much as they do, and why so many adults find themselves yelling at the youth fields. I think we're pushing the kids too far. What do you think?
Unfortunately, every season there are children left wondering why they are playing ball when it doesn't seem to be much fun and why a game makes so many "grown ups" behave so badly! It's not only baseball that elicits the poor behavior of adults. This behavior can be found in any youth sport. The questions this kind of behavior raises in me are, "Why are these games so important to these adults?" and "Why is there so much pressure on kids to win?"
Now that my son has begun playing baseball, and my family and I are learning to juggle 2 practices and a game per week, I'm also wondering how much is too much when it comes to youth sports. Other parents at my church in Sanford, Florida have told me how their kids are required to practice 5 days per week and spend their Saturdays at the football field. Really? Do we demand our kids spend that much time on their homework or their spiritual lives? Does this time bring our families closer together or pull them further apart? All of my questions lead into one big one: "How important are youth sports anyway?"
I love sports as much as, if not more than, anyone. I love the life lessons about the importance of practice and team work, about the joy of accomplishment, and about learning how to win and lose in life. Yes, I love winning and hate to lose. But somewhere amidst the shouting matches and the overscheduling of our kid's lives I have begun to feel like we are taking them too far. Surely, I am not alone. Yet very rarely have I heard anyone question why we place such a heavy emphasis on youth sports. Do that many parents truly believe that their little Johnny is going to make the pros and supply them with retirement cash and prestige? Is that Little League win really going to be reviewed by the college scouts? And do we really believe that if we don't push our kids to give so much of their time and ours to these sports during the fleeting days of childhood that, no matter how talented they are, they will miss out on their only opportunity to make it big in the sports world? The truth is that very few kids will ever make the college or pro levels. The other truth is that kids pretty much enjoy sports because it is fun, they make friends, and it feels good to learn something new.
There is an old word that may be useful to reclaim as we consider the role of sports in our world: recreation. It is true that sports teach us many valuable life skills, but the sports themselves are not life or death issues. Sports are opportunities for re-creation, times to be renewed, refreshed, to have fun and to break from work. Doing surgery, caring for the hungry, educating the next generation, raising children, these are life and death issues. Maybe when we get a more clear perspective on the role of sports, we'll question why it costs so much to buy a ticket to the game, why we're willing to spend so much of the precious time we're given watching the games, why athletes get paid as much as they do, and why so many adults find themselves yelling at the youth fields. I think we're pushing the kids too far. What do you think?
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
What Do I Say Now?
I communicate for a living. That's a scary thought given some of the things that come out of my mouth. My wife, who is a speech therapist, catches me sometimes when I say something stupid. She then makes her eyes go different directions, twists her lips sideways, and pokes fun at me by saying, "I am a communications professional!"
In 16 years of ministry, 4 years at the church in Sanford I currently serve, I have noted how dog-gone hard communicating is. I want to vary your literary diet here on my blog, so today I am giving you one of my poems about the challenges of communicating. It came to me during a "discussion" I was having with my wife one evening. I was having trouble expressing myself so I stepped away, gave myself a time-out, and this came to me. Enjoy it!
In 16 years of ministry, 4 years at the church in Sanford I currently serve, I have noted how dog-gone hard communicating is. I want to vary your literary diet here on my blog, so today I am giving you one of my poems about the challenges of communicating. It came to me during a "discussion" I was having with my wife one evening. I was having trouble expressing myself so I stepped away, gave myself a time-out, and this came to me. Enjoy it!
What Do I Say Now?
There are things I want you to know,
But I cannot speak them, only feel them.
Words don't adhere well to these emotions.
Like weak magnets slide off the fridge they go,
Unable to define the margins that make
Reason useful to feelings.
So my tongue flops like a dying fish,
Making a slimy, bloody mess on the floor,
Where we stand together for now.
I don't know what to say.
I dont' know how to say it.
I feel deeply but don't know what, why, or how.
So I look away, lost in the deeper pools of myself,
Away from you and the mess I have made.
Hopefully, if I swim for a while here,
Breathing fully in the water,
I will revive and understand
How all I've done and been and felt
Tell me what I'm missing
And where I do and do not want to go.
Then I may return to you
With feelings that have grown the handles of words,
With hope of making peace,
You knowing me fully,
Me, empty, but full of you.
Cameron Lashbrook January 2, 2010
This week's sermon will be about a man named Jeremiah who was a master communicator. This week he communicates about having faith in spite of circumstances. You can keep up with Lakeside Fellowship United Methodist Church on Facebook as well!
Joy on the journey!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Holding It All Together
Integration. This word has always interested me. When something is integrated it has parts that are pulled together into a seamless whole. We get the word "integrity" from it. A person of integrity is a person who has their social, emotional, physical, mental, spiritual parts working together in one direction. In Biblical language we might say that a person of integrity is a person who is experiencing "salvation." Salvation is when a person's relationships to all things (God, others, and all creation) are rightly connected with justice, grace, mercy, and love. When that happens a person and all they are related to experiences peace. In the Christian worldview, we believe that salvation is a gift from God given through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, a gift received and put into action by faith.
Lately my eyes have become more open to some ways in which our American culture dissects us into many individual parts without a clear concept of how those parts need each other for good living. Our medical system often approaches healing by trying to isolate the troubled parts of a person's body so that those isolated parts are treated. Thus we have developed a wide range of specialists who have are proficient at treating parts of a person but sometimes struggle to articulate how the disease and treatments affect the whole person. Our politics are frequently paralyzed by so many special interest groups who fight for attention and resources, while the whole of society suffers because little thought is given to how one part affects another or how one part depends on another. Families face greater struggles to stay together because technology draws our attention away from each other to focus on distant relationships and global issues, because our work pulls us away from the home, because our recreation is individualized, and because we travel for just about everything. Finally, our economy has become dependent on big businesses operated by people who often lose awareness of the effects their business has on local communities and local ecology. And we wonder why we often don't feel close to our neighbors, we often feel like a number to the businesses we support, we often feel squeezed for time, and we often struggle to hold ourselves and our families together. Like a thin napkin soaked with water on a table, we feel softened, torn, and pulled apart. We try to find wholeness, integration, indeed, salvatin in our lives, but we find it increasingly difficult to "hold it all together."
I point this out not because I wish to be a pessimist but because it has helped me understand some of the larger issues behind the malaise I see in people I work with and in my own life. If you really want to read some penetrating social criticism I encourage you to read an author by the name of Wendell Berry. Art of The Commonplace is a book of his essays that really clarified for me the effects of some of the social forces we face in American culture. I point this out because I am trying, with God's grace, to creatively find ways in which I can tie back together the things that are disconnected to be more integrated again, to find greater wholeness. Here are some things I'm learning:
1. Trust in the grace of Jesus to make me whole. I can't do it on my own. I need forgiveness and the strength of the Holy Spirit to be saved. All creation needs the grace and strength of Jesus to be saved!
2. Give priority to local relationships, starting with my family, including patronizing locally owned and operated businesses.
3. Buy locally grown food.
4. Find ways to network people and businesses together locally.
5. Be an interested, involved, and helpful neighbor.
6. Find ways for my local church in Sanford to be the center of building relationships in our community through worship, recreation, education, business, and service.
7. Learn about the history of the community I'm living in.
Jesus said in John 10: 10b, "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." How do you "hold it all together?" What ideas do you have?
If you want to learn more, try looking at the latest sermon series or facebook.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Jesus And Other Religions
Ok, here we go...You knew we had to get into the sticky, gooey, messy issues sooner or later didn't you? There is a church in Gainesville, Florida that, unfortunately from my point of view, is getting world-wide press because they are sponsoring an event to burn as many copies of the Koran as possible on September 11th. I have been getting asked about this at my church in Sanford Florida, so I think it is time for me to begin addressing the issues presented here.
This event raises many questions. How should people who claim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior relate to people of other faiths? What are the differences between faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and other faiths? How should people relate to each other when they disagree about their fundamental views of reality? There's no way I can tackle all of that here and now, but I want to give you a few thoughts to chew on, and then I'll look forward to reading your responses (I think).
Because there is often a slippery, non-commital approach in America to truth, and because we live in a time when people are often creating their own religions by borrowing a little of their faith from one religious website and a little more from another religious website, it is important for me to say that truth matters. There are right beliefs and wrong beliefs, beliefs that lead to good life and wholeness and beliefs that lead to death, confusion and destruction. What we believe as true directs the decisions we make and the quality of lives we experience. Some people believe it's true that their God is pleased that they fly planes into buildings, killing thousands of people. Some people believe that it's true that their God encourages them to amass great wealth while ignoring the poor and weak of the world. Some people believe that their God will be pleased if they attack other religions and burn what is sacred to them. Interestingly, these beliefs can be found in all different kinds of religions, including Christianity. Truth matters!
Here are some basics of what I believe. Though I have not studied all of the details of every other religious faith, what I have studied and been exposed to has led me to believe that salvation (wholeness of self and everything created) is through the life, death, resurrection, and return of Jesus Christ. Furthermore I believe that as I learn to live in and for Jesus Christ and his Kingdom, I will be made whole, and I will be more fully living a life that will help others find wholeness in him. That is the truth that I am pursuing. This God who loves his creation so much that he is willing to die so that it can live is who I understand to be the one true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
So how should I and other people who believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior relate to people of other faiths? What record does the Bible put forth regarding this? As I read and understand the Bible, God emphasizes the importance of God's people remaining completely faithful and devoted to God alone, being living examples (witnesses) of God's way of life, and challenging/inviting others to embrace the one true God from whom all life comes. The emphasis is not on actively pursuing and destroying other faiths, it is on finding life in the one true God. Even in the Old Testament where there are troublesome instances of "Holy War," the emphasis seems to be on keeping God's people pure in their devotion to the one true God, not on actively pursuing and destroying other faiths.
In the New Testament, Jesus is shown eating with, healing, teaching, exorcising, and inviting into his Kingdom the pagans and prostitutes and vulnerable of the world. Any time Jesus is harsh and judgmental is when he addresses his own people! Even if some people go beyond being different to being our enemies, Jesus commands that we love and pray for them so that the world might see the same love the Father has for us (Matthew 5: 18-38)! Jesus instructs his followers how to deal with people outside of the faith when he reveals the reason he came "not to condemn the world but to save it (John 3: 16-17)." Finally, Jesus says, "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them (Matthew 7: 17)." These are some strong clues about how Christians are called to relate to people of other faiths!
Early Christians, like Paul, are shown to be actively sharing their faith that salvation is through Jesus Christ with people of all other faiths or no faith at all by preaching, teaching, inviting, and living in such a way that the quality of their lives reveals the one true Kingdom of God. Yes, conflict ensues because their understanding of truth opposes what others believe. Christians are even put to death. But in witness to the belief in the life-giving power of the resurrected Christ, Christians aren't shown actively seeking to destroy other faiths, they are shown witnessing to the truth that Jesus is the living, resurrected Lord who has conquered sin and death and evil. Christ-followers are called to live differently, teach differently, and invite people to find life in Jesus.
Because this is how I view God's teaching to Christians about how to relate to people of other faiths, I have a hard time accepting the burning of the Koran as a practice consistent with Jesus' way of doing things. It makes more sense to me that we host open forums to foster peaceful understanding of other faiths or find ways to work together with people of other faiths to promote peace and wholeness in our communities. In the context of these relationships we can present our differences and give an invitation to people of other faiths to find life in Jesus.
Today, if those of us who call ourselves Christians spend more time and energy on following Jesus by feeding the hungry, releasing the captives, helping the blind to see, caring for the poor and widows, and proclaiming good news that salvation is through Jesus and less time burning what is sacred to others, I wouldn't be surprised to see more people drawn to the new life of forgiveness, reconciliation, peace, love, and service that Jesus came to bring. May God give us grace to live differently, teach differently, and challenge and invite people to find salvation in the love of Jesus.
I'm still learning and growing too, so I welcome your comments and thoughts.
To see and hear more on other topics, visit my video sermon archives.
To stay up to date on what's happening at the church in Sanford, Florida, see us on Facebookwww.facebook.com/lakesidefellowshipumc.
This event raises many questions. How should people who claim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior relate to people of other faiths? What are the differences between faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and other faiths? How should people relate to each other when they disagree about their fundamental views of reality? There's no way I can tackle all of that here and now, but I want to give you a few thoughts to chew on, and then I'll look forward to reading your responses (I think).
Because there is often a slippery, non-commital approach in America to truth, and because we live in a time when people are often creating their own religions by borrowing a little of their faith from one religious website and a little more from another religious website, it is important for me to say that truth matters. There are right beliefs and wrong beliefs, beliefs that lead to good life and wholeness and beliefs that lead to death, confusion and destruction. What we believe as true directs the decisions we make and the quality of lives we experience. Some people believe it's true that their God is pleased that they fly planes into buildings, killing thousands of people. Some people believe that it's true that their God encourages them to amass great wealth while ignoring the poor and weak of the world. Some people believe that their God will be pleased if they attack other religions and burn what is sacred to them. Interestingly, these beliefs can be found in all different kinds of religions, including Christianity. Truth matters!
Here are some basics of what I believe. Though I have not studied all of the details of every other religious faith, what I have studied and been exposed to has led me to believe that salvation (wholeness of self and everything created) is through the life, death, resurrection, and return of Jesus Christ. Furthermore I believe that as I learn to live in and for Jesus Christ and his Kingdom, I will be made whole, and I will be more fully living a life that will help others find wholeness in him. That is the truth that I am pursuing. This God who loves his creation so much that he is willing to die so that it can live is who I understand to be the one true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
So how should I and other people who believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior relate to people of other faiths? What record does the Bible put forth regarding this? As I read and understand the Bible, God emphasizes the importance of God's people remaining completely faithful and devoted to God alone, being living examples (witnesses) of God's way of life, and challenging/inviting others to embrace the one true God from whom all life comes. The emphasis is not on actively pursuing and destroying other faiths, it is on finding life in the one true God. Even in the Old Testament where there are troublesome instances of "Holy War," the emphasis seems to be on keeping God's people pure in their devotion to the one true God, not on actively pursuing and destroying other faiths.
In the New Testament, Jesus is shown eating with, healing, teaching, exorcising, and inviting into his Kingdom the pagans and prostitutes and vulnerable of the world. Any time Jesus is harsh and judgmental is when he addresses his own people! Even if some people go beyond being different to being our enemies, Jesus commands that we love and pray for them so that the world might see the same love the Father has for us (Matthew 5: 18-38)! Jesus instructs his followers how to deal with people outside of the faith when he reveals the reason he came "not to condemn the world but to save it (John 3: 16-17)." Finally, Jesus says, "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them (Matthew 7: 17)." These are some strong clues about how Christians are called to relate to people of other faiths!
Early Christians, like Paul, are shown to be actively sharing their faith that salvation is through Jesus Christ with people of all other faiths or no faith at all by preaching, teaching, inviting, and living in such a way that the quality of their lives reveals the one true Kingdom of God. Yes, conflict ensues because their understanding of truth opposes what others believe. Christians are even put to death. But in witness to the belief in the life-giving power of the resurrected Christ, Christians aren't shown actively seeking to destroy other faiths, they are shown witnessing to the truth that Jesus is the living, resurrected Lord who has conquered sin and death and evil. Christ-followers are called to live differently, teach differently, and invite people to find life in Jesus.
Because this is how I view God's teaching to Christians about how to relate to people of other faiths, I have a hard time accepting the burning of the Koran as a practice consistent with Jesus' way of doing things. It makes more sense to me that we host open forums to foster peaceful understanding of other faiths or find ways to work together with people of other faiths to promote peace and wholeness in our communities. In the context of these relationships we can present our differences and give an invitation to people of other faiths to find life in Jesus.
Today, if those of us who call ourselves Christians spend more time and energy on following Jesus by feeding the hungry, releasing the captives, helping the blind to see, caring for the poor and widows, and proclaiming good news that salvation is through Jesus and less time burning what is sacred to others, I wouldn't be surprised to see more people drawn to the new life of forgiveness, reconciliation, peace, love, and service that Jesus came to bring. May God give us grace to live differently, teach differently, and challenge and invite people to find salvation in the love of Jesus.
I'm still learning and growing too, so I welcome your comments and thoughts.
To see and hear more on other topics, visit my video sermon archives.
To stay up to date on what's happening at the church in Sanford, Florida, see us on Facebookwww.facebook.com/lakesidefellowshipumc.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Have You Enjoyed Your Work Today?
As I was heading out the door, children grumbling about school, stumbling into their mother's car, my computer case bashing into the side of my car as I fell in, I heard my wife say, "Hope you have a busy day today!" I know it was intended as "a productive and fruitful day," but I pondered that all of the way to the office. Hmmm...a busy day...is that anything to wish upon a person? I think people in our culture often equate busyness with productivity and productivity with value. In other words, you are a more valuable person to our society the more you produce. So, whether we are being productive or we have passed the point of diminishing returns, we'd better look busy so that we can feel important and valuable. "Quick, look busy, the boss is coming!" What we miss in this equation is the conversation about what constitutes quality work, good work, work that makes a life-giving, life-sustaining difference for people, creatures, and the environment we live in, work that allows you to sit down for dinner, give a great sigh of satsifaction, and know that what you did was good!
Genesis records that God's favorite thing to do after his work of creation was to stop and say, "It is good!" It's as though God pulls his chair back from some great banquet, satisfied and pleased. Work, for God, is creative, life-giving, and downright joyful! And since we are made in the image of God, we too are called to work creatively in ways that promote good life and that give us joy. So what happened?
The minute Adam and Eve messed up God's order of creation, even work began to be a joyless drudgery. "Cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground...(Genesis 3: 17b-19a)." Human sin has even messed up our work, go figure!
Since Jesus came to restore us to the fullest quality of life God originally intended, it makes sense that his followers, by grace, begin to do work and experience work differently. We look for ways that our work sustains or restores good life to people and the creation we live in. We work hard, with passion, creativity, and love. We work as an act of worship.
Now look, you'll find me mumbling and complaining about my job some days too. I, like you, work in a damaged world with a mixture of wonderful and broken people who struggle with greed, addictions, hopelessness, and downright meanness, but I ask Jesus to give me eyes to see ways in which my work works with his work of salvation, restoring wholeness, peace, love, and joy to his creation.
How do you find satisfaction and joy in your work?
If you don't what can you do differently that may help you find it?
I'd enjoy hearing from you. Check out the messages at my church in Sanford, Florida, watch the video series, or check out more on facebook.
Genesis records that God's favorite thing to do after his work of creation was to stop and say, "It is good!" It's as though God pulls his chair back from some great banquet, satisfied and pleased. Work, for God, is creative, life-giving, and downright joyful! And since we are made in the image of God, we too are called to work creatively in ways that promote good life and that give us joy. So what happened?
The minute Adam and Eve messed up God's order of creation, even work began to be a joyless drudgery. "Cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground...(Genesis 3: 17b-19a)." Human sin has even messed up our work, go figure!
Since Jesus came to restore us to the fullest quality of life God originally intended, it makes sense that his followers, by grace, begin to do work and experience work differently. We look for ways that our work sustains or restores good life to people and the creation we live in. We work hard, with passion, creativity, and love. We work as an act of worship.
Now look, you'll find me mumbling and complaining about my job some days too. I, like you, work in a damaged world with a mixture of wonderful and broken people who struggle with greed, addictions, hopelessness, and downright meanness, but I ask Jesus to give me eyes to see ways in which my work works with his work of salvation, restoring wholeness, peace, love, and joy to his creation.
How do you find satisfaction and joy in your work?
If you don't what can you do differently that may help you find it?
I'd enjoy hearing from you. Check out the messages at my church in Sanford, Florida, watch the video series, or check out more on facebook.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Sabbath: Enjoying Life
So I've been thinking lately about rest and hurry. My two week vacation in the mountains of North Carolina and Georgia fishing, hiking, reading, and playing really calmed me, refocused me, and reminded me that life is a gift. It also bubbled up a question,"Why was I in such a hurry all of the time back home?" This is kind of a stupid question that only gets asked on vacation. The answer is self-evident. My job requires me to be responsible to hundreds of people and on call. I have two small children. My wife runs her own business. And modern life not only spreads us out in many directions but our gadgets keep us continuously "plugged in." There is never a day when I go home with my task list all checked off the blackberry, rarely a day when I say to myself, "Well, what do I do now?"
I read this book over the summer called, Living The Sabbath: Discovering the Rhythms of Rest and Delight by Norman Wirzba. A key theme that grabbed me was the point that God set apart a Sabbath day for rest and delight! DELIGHT! So much of modern life in America is so full of so many good things, yet so many people seem so discontent, often, including me. So I've been struck lately by the importance of taking the time to rest and simply open my eyes to all of the good gifts that are around me. I've been practicing the art of enjoyment!
At Lakeside Fellowship United Methodist Church in Sanford, Florida where I pastor, I started a sermon series last Sunday called, "Rhythms of Sabbath." Last week we learned what Sabbath is from Genesis 2: 1-3. Sabbath is a day God sets apart for rest, enjoyment, and refreshment in relationship to his creation. The next three weeks we will tackle these questions: How is the Sabbath Holy? What is the relationship between work and Sabbath? How is Sabbath a taste of the Kingdom of God? For more information on the series, please visit http://www.lakesidefellowship.org/ see the video of the sermons on http://www.lakesidevideos.com/ or visit us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/lakesidefellowshipumc.
In the meantime, I would like to hear from you. What do you do for rest? What is your understanding of the Sabbath? How do you take time to practice the art of enjoyment and the praise of God?
I read this book over the summer called, Living The Sabbath: Discovering the Rhythms of Rest and Delight by Norman Wirzba. A key theme that grabbed me was the point that God set apart a Sabbath day for rest and delight! DELIGHT! So much of modern life in America is so full of so many good things, yet so many people seem so discontent, often, including me. So I've been struck lately by the importance of taking the time to rest and simply open my eyes to all of the good gifts that are around me. I've been practicing the art of enjoyment!
At Lakeside Fellowship United Methodist Church in Sanford, Florida where I pastor, I started a sermon series last Sunday called, "Rhythms of Sabbath." Last week we learned what Sabbath is from Genesis 2: 1-3. Sabbath is a day God sets apart for rest, enjoyment, and refreshment in relationship to his creation. The next three weeks we will tackle these questions: How is the Sabbath Holy? What is the relationship between work and Sabbath? How is Sabbath a taste of the Kingdom of God? For more information on the series, please visit http://www.lakesidefellowship.org/ see the video of the sermons on http://www.lakesidevideos.com/ or visit us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/lakesidefellowshipumc.
In the meantime, I would like to hear from you. What do you do for rest? What is your understanding of the Sabbath? How do you take time to practice the art of enjoyment and the praise of God?
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