Revive Us Again!

Yesterday we began our fall revival at Seddon UMC. Now, many people believe the traditional revivals are archaic rituals of the past, and I must admit that I would have to agree (with some qualifications). If you are talking about a revival as the sole evangelistic event of a church, then yes they are outdated. However, if you are speaking of an event that can motivate the church to leave behind the walls of the sanctuary and invite people to a relationship with Jesus Christ, then no revivals are just what we need.

On the day of Christ's resurreciton he returns to the disciples and breathes on them telling them to "Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22). It is a simple and straighforward statement: "Receieve the Holy Spirit." So often we make ministry so complex with forms, studys, assessments all of which can be valuable tools. However, without the Holy Spirit ministry becomes lifeless and void of meaning. If that's not a reason for revival in our pressumed "post-modern" world that yearns for meaning I know of none better.

"Renew Thy Church, her ministrieis restore
Both to serve and adore.
Make her gain as solt throughout the land,
And as light from a stand.
'Mid somber shadows of the night
Where greed and hatred spread their blight,
O send us forth wtih power endued:
Help us Lord, be renewed!"

--Kenneth Lonre Cober

Christian Missions

It 's inevitable, whenever some one says "Christian Missions" another person usually rolls their eyes and says not again. I must confess, there was a time when I was like this. I grew tired of cross-cultural missionaries (what use to be known as foreign missionaries) act as if local ministry was sub par to going to Afria, Asia, or South America. Then about my junior year at Asbury College I realized that some people are just jerks. And that my “anti-mission” attitude was no better than their attitude towards ministry in the United States. I began to really understand that God has called us all to unique ministries in diverse places.

But what is our approach to missions (both in our backyard and around the globe)? For many, we think we need to meet all the physical needs before we share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. After all, if we talk about Christ being the bread of life, but can't hear the message because of the rumble in our stomachs there is a problem. James talks about this in Chapter 2 of his epistle. If some one is hungry and cold we must do more than bless them and send them on their way; we must clothe and feed them.

However, something stuck me today as I was reading a daily devotional book by Dr. Denis Kinlaw, This Day with the Master. He said the soul aim of Christian missions is evangelism. Meeting physical needs are secondary because there will never be an end to physical needs. In other words, if we wait until all the physical needs are met, we will never tell people about Jesus Christ. Evangelism must be two pronged: meeting physical and spiritual needs, but the spiritual needs are the greater of the two. If we are not sharing how Christ saves us from our sins, we are just a humanitarian group doing good things, but not saving souls. John Wesley said to his preachers, “You have nothing to do but save souls, go and be spent in this work.” Our primary task to “make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28.19). We must live a transformed life and share the freedom that Jesus brings through the power of the cross and his resurrection. Anything else is just a secondary issue.

Keep Christ at the Center

Isaiah 51.1: "Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness, you that seek the LORD. Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug." (NRSV)

It's hard to keep Christ at the center of my life. For the past 15 days I have been at Ruggles Camp, a United Methodist Camp near Tollesboro, Ky. During this time I helped with two youth camps, attended camp meeting, and closed out the time with a meeting of area United Methodist Men. My life has been blessed by this experience, however I am left wondering how I keep Christ at the center of everything I do. It is very easy to keep Christ at the center when you are "away from the world," but now I am back and faced with the same problems that I left a couple of weeks ago.

Now you might think that being a pastor it would be easy to keep Christ at the center of my life, but I struggle with it all the time. Sometimes I wonder if pastors should struggle with this issue more because our job can appear more Christ-centered on the surface but in reality can be just as empty and self-serving as any vocation. It reminds me of a quote that I came across one time that said: "Nowhere is a soul more in danger than the pastor's study." This may sound odd but I see the truth in this statement. Pastors are often busy doing "ministry" that they forget about keeping Christ at the center. Ministry in our world often entails the latest business techniques, leadership strategies, setting goals, learning how to measure your achievements, and the list goes on. Is this ministry? Is this what it means to be a part of the Kingdom of God?

In our stressful, high performance world, Isaiah 51.1 reminds us that we need to go back to the source of our faith. Christ needs to be at the center of all that we do. Camp meeting is but one way God helps me to realign my life and put him back at the center. Are you looking to the rock from which you were hewn? Keep Christ at the center.

A Picture is worth a Thousand Words.....

Yesterday afternoon, the United Methodist General Conference voted to retain our stance on homosexuality being incompatible with Christian teaching. It was a very scary time for me. I was not certain how thing would turn out. I was praying all afternoon that we would not change our position. I stayed glued to my computer for over four hours watching and praying. Now, some might argue that this was not a good use of my time, but at a United Methodist minister, it not only have affected me but my congregation as well.

However, what I surprised by the pictures used int he United Methodist News Service (UMNS) article on the decision. Look at the bottom picture. This how they started the news article. What were they trying to suggest? And now look at the top picture. This is Eddie Fox the person giving the minority report (which was adopted) What message is UMNS trying to suggest? I think we dodged a huge bullet yesterday as a denomination, but I know we are not out of the woods yet. It will be interesting to see is the General Superintendency (Bishops and District Superintendents), and Judicial Council uphold our Discipline. I know one thing, I cannot stand passively by anymore.

A Call to Prayer and Discernment

I start this new blog on the day that the 2008 General Conference begins in Ft. Worth, TX. In the next 10-days, many United Methodist (particularly UM pastors) will have their eye on the issues surrounding this meeting. (I hope I won't get into too much trouble with this blog unlike my last one. We shall see.)

There are some who have a positive outlook on the future of our denomination. They believe that homosexuality issues will not be at the forefront of this General Conference. I wish I had there naivete. The question of whether homosexuals should be members of local congregations and ministers has been an issue raised every four year since 1972 in the UMC, and to think that it won't be an issue this year is keeping your head buried in the sand. Regardless of whether you think this is right or wrong, my prayer is that this year a definitive decision will be made.

We cannot keep putting this issue on hold, left wondering what will change in the next four years. Will I stay, will I go? This is not healthy for the laity nor the clergy to live in the land of limbo. Each quadrennium the wording in the Discipline seems to get stronger (slanted for those of us who are more conservative), while the practice of the leadership seems to ignore the wording. I just wish we would accomplish something one way or the other. Instead , I fear we will continue this awkward dance that we keep fumbling through year after year, while our congregations continue to dwindle and we are left with the form of religion without any power!

However, there is Good News today! I am reminded that God did not come to earth as an institution or organization, but as a human being--a Jewish man form Nazareth, Jesus Christ. Christ did not die on the cross for religion, but for a relationship with you and me. It is in Jesus Christ that I find my identity, my hope, and my salvation. I do NOT live for a denomination, nor for an institution, but I live, move, and breath for Christ alone in my life.