I have been reading “American Saint,” a biography of Francis Asbury. I’ve discovered in reading the book that I am much more of a Methodist preacher than I ever imagined. Francis Asbury was thoroughly devoted to the disciplines Wesley instituted for his first Methodist preachers. Let me share a couple of those instructions…

I discovered that Wesley expected his preachers to rise at 4:00 a.m. on the days they were preaching, and if possible, to be preaching by 5:00 a.m. if they could get a crowd of 20 people. He expected that his preachers would be up by 5:00 a.m. on the days they weren’t preaching, and that they would spend an hour in meditation, bible reading and prayer. Well, I’m almost always up by 5:00 a.m., many times up at 4:00 a.m., and always spend at least that first hour in meditation, solitude and prayer. I am much more a Methodist preacher than I even knew!

John Wesley also expected Methodist preachers to cultivate an intensely devotional inner spiritual life. His specific instruction was “Be diligent. Never be unemployed. Never be triflingly employed. Never while away time; neither spend any more time at any place than is strictly necessary.” Okay, so I’ve never, in all my life, been unemployed. Does that qualify me for Methodist ministry? Triflingly employed? Now, that may be a different question depending on one’s definition of triflingly. I think Wesley was talking about being lazy or whiling away time in unproductive endeavors. I can’t say I have never been a bit lazy from time to time, or that I’ve haven’t wasted lots of time in unproductive endeavors (watching TV is a very unproductive endeavor), and with Wesley’s belief in staying out of bars and playing trifling games, I would suspect he wouldn’t take much of a shine to all the time we Methodist preachers spend watching, attending, or playing sports.

Triflingly employed? Hum? I’m wondering? I think it was in 2006 that Vanessa and I discovered the beach. We had never done beach vacations before. I grew up not going on vacations much, so my experieces with the beach involved Folly Beach on Lake D’Arbonne in Farmerville (can you say “WooHoo?”). Vanessa’s was such that a beach vacation meant packing up everything you needed for the beach, driving to the beach, unpacking the car, toting the bulky load across the packed parking lot and through the sand, locating a spot big enough to accomodate the ice chests, beach chairs, towels, umbrellas, sand buckets, beach balls, etc., and then after a long day of hot sun and salt water, packing it all back up and reversing the routine. They were not memories that necessarily led her to want to pack our four kids up and head to the beach every summer.

Then, in 2006, our daughters decided they wanted to take a beach vacation. They were getting older and Vanessa and I knew we weren’t going to have many more years to have these experiences, so we decided we better take advantage of it while we could. We’d always heard about Gulf Shores, so we found a rental ON the beach and made the journey. Gulf Shores was the place I discovered the value of doing absolutely nothing. I must say, if Wesley defined laying on the beach for 8-10 hours a day for three days as being triflingly employed, then I am disqualified from being a Methodist preacher.

The peacefulness of the environment, the splashing of the waves against the shoreline, the beauty of the vast open waters, and the majesty of the night sky took me to a place of deep reflection and relaxation. I literally sat for hours spellbound by the majesty of it all. The resort was located several miles away from town. The crowds were not overwhelming. The setting was serene. And, there was nothing to do but sit. Sit I did. It was one of the most renewing vacations of my life. I discovered the value of doing absolutely nothing. One can sit on the beach all day long and do nothing, because there is nothing to do, and feel absolutely justified in doing it. Sometimes, we just need to do nothing. If that disqualifies me from being a Methodist preacher, I guess I’ll just have to go be a Baptist (God help me!) because I can’t give up that experience.

As I reflect on my beach experience, I can only liken it to the countless hours the early circuit riders spent on horseback. Though not as relaxing as lazing on the beach, it provided the opportunity for Methodist preachers to be alone, to reflect, to read, to pray, which are exactly the things I found myself doing as I lay upon the beach (between naps, of course). I discovered that the times of doing “nothing” were actually times where I was reading often (which was another of Wesley’s instructions), reflecting deeply and praying profoundly. I wasn’t doing “nothing.” I was doing something incredibly important–deepening my inner spiritual life, and I think that would make Wesley very proud (well, at least he might continue me another year on my circuit anyway).

We’ve been back to the beach every year since, except this year. We planned a trip, but had to cancel due to responsibilities in the District that I had failed to note when planning the trip. We thought this Labor Day weekend we’d slip away to the beach, but a little thing called Hurricane Isaac changed our plans. Oh well, all good things must come to an end, I suppose. We’ll make our way back one day. We’ll re-discover the serenity. We’ll re-discover the peacefulness. We’ll re-discover the majesty. We’ll re-discover the value of doing absolutely nothing, and for a couple of days, we’ll re-discover the need to deepen our inner spiritual life. Yeah, I’d say I’m really a Methodist preacher.

Until next time, keep looking up…

For two days, I’ve been engaged in conversations with groups of pastors and the conversations have centered around the idea of “knowing Jesus.” More particularly, I’ve asked each group, “What does it mean for you to know Jesus?” I’ve heard some incredible answers, but I’ve also had to answer the question myself. Each time I’ve tried to answer the same way, but I discovered the answer always had a little different nuance. I hate to use the word “evolve,” but the experience made me wonder if my relationship with Jesus is still “evolving.” I hope it is! I want to go deeper and grow closer to Jesus…to know Him more. I get the sense that’s what Paul meant as he wrote his love letter to the church at Philippi:

I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. ⁸ Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ ⁹ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ.For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, ¹¹ so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!

¹² I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. ¹³ No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. (Philippians 3:7-14)

There is a phrase Brennan Manning often uses: “Jesus loves you as you are and not as you should be because no one is as they should be.” This phrase has become the starting point for me in “knowing Jesus.” Jesus loves me as I am…enough said. It does makes me ask the question, “Why would Jesus love me?” Well, frankly, I don’t know because I know me, and I know sometimes I’m down-right unloveable, but He just does! The phrase resonates with what Karl Barth answered in response to the question, “What is the greatest theological concept you’ve ever heard?” Barth’s response? “Jesus loves me this I know, for the bible tells me so.” It also echos the deep grace of the scripture that says, “For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son…” And, how can we Methodists forget John Wesley, on the evening he felt his heart strangely warmed, could write, “I felt I did trust in Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”

Plainly put, I want to know the One who loves me so. To know him is to know love. To know him is to know grace. I want to go deeper in his love. I want to grow closer in his grace. I simply want to rest in the experience of Jesus’ love. I want to know him.

From there, it gets just a little sticky for me, but that’s okay because I said it was the starting point. There is that part of me that wants to change the phrase and make it say “Jesus loves me too much to leave me like I am.” I rest easier with that phrase in my mind thinking “Yes, I’m on the way!” Today a bit further along the road than yesterday. But my life tells a different story. A word spoken in anger, a thought less pure than appropriate, a moment of pride in a sermon well preached, an action taken, not out of love for the other, but out of selfish ambition, and I’m reminded that I’m not as I should be, and I wonder if I ever will be. Yet, even in the wondering I discover grace, and I am called back into relationship with the One who loves me as I am and not as I should be. If he waits until I am what I should be to love me, he shall never love me, because I will never be as I should be. I may not be what I was yesterday. I may not be today what I shall be tomorrow. But until he comes, and I stand face-to-face with him, I will not be all I should be. So, like Paul, I simply press on to reach the end of the race and receive the prize “for which God, in Christ Jesus, is calling us.” There’s my starting point for “knowing Jesus.”

It does make me wonder, though: Where’s your starting point?

Until next time, keep looking up…

It’s amazing where the conversation ends up when you’re sitting around with a bunch of preachers–especially when there are a bunch of gray-haired old men in the room. Baldness is in our DNA I am told, so that is why some old men’s hair turns gray, and some old men’s hair turns loose (you’re not getting anymore of the conversation than that!).

Makes me wonder if our spiritual DNA is different for each person as well. The topic of conversation yesterday was our relationship with Jesus Christ (imagine a bunch of preachers actually talking about Jesus), and the specific question was “How do you nurture your relationship with Jesus?” In 6 1/2 hours of conversation I heard some pretty amazing answers from 30 different clergy, and I discovered that every one of us nurture our relationship with Jesus in a little different way. Maybe we really do have a different spiritual DNA.

There were the usual answers that we all expect–prayer, bible study, meditation, etc., but the way in which we pray, study, etc., I found interesting. Some said they pray while driving. Some pray early, others pray late, still others pray early and late. All in all, it was a great day exploring the spiritual disciplines with great colleagues and friends. It was a real spiritual conversation. Can’t believe I’m going to say, “I needed that!”

Perhaps one reason I needed these conversations was to help me clarify my own spiritual DNA. One of the ways I process things is by verbalizing them, and this gave me an opportunity to verbalize with my colleagues my routine. I would never ask a question I was unwilling to answer myself, so I had to be ready with my own answer as I listened to the conversations and posed the questions. What clarity did I discover?

I discovered that my spiritual disciplines are an eclectic blend rather than a more specific order of disciplines. My day begins with solitude (I love the solitude), but in the solitude I’m engaging with scripture, writing prayers, journaling and simply listening. It’s not an “I do this, then that…” kind of time, but what appears to me to be seamless moments of spending time alone with God. The interesting thing to me is that I may never speak a single word (which is good because I tend to talk too much, anyway). I have discovered, though, that I hear God loudest when I journal. You who read my blog are often reading my journal, for I have, since I began this blog, used this time as my journaling. Where I once wrote the words, now I type them, but in the reading and re-reading of the words, I begin to hear God’s voice out of the chaos that is sometimes my mind.

It’s the same with my prayers, too. Writing my prayers forces me to close out the distractions. I’ve discovered that if I simply close my eyes and attempt to begin a recitation of needs, joys, concerns and the like, that my prayer time quickly becomes my nap time, or I find my mind wandering to 400 different other things that demand my attention. The quiet and the writing brings focus to my prayers and to my thoughts. I think that’s okay. I sure hope it’s okay because I don’t know how to pray another way. I rather like the philosophy of Dom John Chapman to “pray as you can, not as you can’t.” There are times I verbalize prayers–when I pray with others, when I pray with Vanessa, when I lead a group. There are times that I pray “breath prayers” as a need is brought to my attention. I suppose what I’m saying is it matters not HOW we pray as much as it matters THAT we pray, and my routine of prayer will likely be decidedly different from yours, and that’s okay because we each have a different spiritual DNA.

I also discovered that worship is part of my spiritual disciplines as a way I’m nuturing my relationship with Jesus Christ. I suppose that’s one reason I love this job so much. I have the opporunity to worship with a different congregation almost every Sunday, and I am nourished greatly by the diversity of worship styles, preaching styles, leadership styles, and music styles. It is wonderful and encouraging and filling for me to see the diversity in the body of Christ in worship, and Jesus meets me there almost every Sunday. I love to worship. It feeds me.

Don’t tell anyone, but I’ve also discovered that I can’t digest large amounts of scripture reading either. It’s just not in my DNA. If you followed my blog over the weekend, you discovered it took me four days just to get through Exodus 3. It seems to me to be different when I sit down to do sermon preparation for some reason. I can read a chapter and put it in context. I can read sections of the bible and to put it in context. But when I sit to read devotionally, I can only handle a few verses at a time. I don’t comprehend it beyond that. I know there are others who can sit and read copious amounts of scripture, and I celebrate their ability to do so, but I’m not constructed that way. May I co-opt Chapman’s philosophy here, too–read scripture as you can, not as you can’t?

And, please (please, please, please) don’t tell anyone this–I’ve never felt led by the Lord to fast (John Wesley is turning over in his grave!). It probably means my desire not to fast is the very reason I should be practicing it, but I’ve just been unwilling to go there. Oh, I’ve participated in corporate fasts often times, but I did it as a commitment to the community rather than a commitment of the heart (too much confession here?) Maybe I need to pray for a desire to fast, but the Lord hasn’t really led me to do that either. Hum? Now I’m just confused!

Yesterday taught me a marvelous lesson in the spiritual disciplines. The disciplines we practice are as diverse as we are. I sense God’s grace to be real in every practice, and I’ve come to believe it’s not nearly as important how we nurture intimacy with Jesus as much as it is that we nurture intimacy with Jesus. I can’t wait for more conversations today. No telling what I might learn next.

Oh, and my hair? It’s just turning gray (quickly). I pray it never decides to turn loose! Must have something to do with my DNA.

Until next time, keep looking up…

It’s interesting that when I blog about something even a little controversial I get the most views on my page. When I write something more devotional in nature, my views go down. I’m intrigued by that, and I’m wondering what that actually means. But, since I’ve got Moses stuck on the brain this week (it might have something to do with reading Exodus again), and since I started writing about all his excuses, it only seems right to finish the story. Moses was not done making excuses with God. Listen to Moses’ third excuse in his encounter with God at the burning bush in Exodus 4:10:

But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.”

Again, the Malone translation: “That’s not my gift.” What a lame excuse!

How did God respond to Moses? Look at 4:11-12:

Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”

Listen very closely. God does not call the qualified. God qualifies the called. God provides the gifts we need to fulfill the call He places on our lives. We hear so much about spiritual giftedness, and people who are passionate about certain ministries. It is true that we serve most faithfully in those ministry areas that we feel passionate about. One of the greatest tasks we pastors have is to help people discover their passions for ministry. I’ve often employed spiritual gifts inventories to help in the process, and the process is biblical. Listen to Ephesians 4:11-12:

He is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. [12]Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ…

But more than helping people discover their passions, please understand that God already knows where our passions lie, and God is not going to call us to service in an area we’re not passionate about. God knew Moses’ compassionate heart for the Hebrew people, and God knew that Moses would be driven by that passion. God was not going to set Moses up for failure, and God will not set us up for failure. If God is calling us to service in His kingdom, he will provide the gift.

I heard the story of the minister who was leading a building campaign in his church and need to raise some additional funds. Sound familiar, pastors? One day, the minister was checking the store room (imagine, a church that actually had a store room), and he discovered several cases of bibles that had never been opened or distributed. In his Sunday sermon, the pastor asked for three volunteers from the congregation who would be willing to go door-to-door selling these bibles for $10 each to raise money for the building fund.

Peter, Paul, and Louie all raised their hands to volunteer. The pastor knew that Peter and Paul both earned their living as salesmen and were quite capable of selling some bibles, but he had serious doubts about Louie. Louie was just a small local farmer who always tended to keep to himself because he was embarrassed by his speech impediment. Louie stuttered very badly. Not wanting to be a discouragement to Louie, the pastor decided to let him give it a try.

The pastor stacked each man’s car with bibles after the service, and sent them on their way with instructions to report back in a week’s time. Next Sunday came, and the pastor was eager to find out how each man did. He asked Peter how many bibles he had sold. Peter proudly handed the pastor an envelope and said, “Pastor, I am proud to report I sold 20 bibles, and here is $200 for the building fund.”

“You’re a fine salesman, Peter, and the church is indebted to you,” replied the Pastor.

Then the pastor turned to Paul. “How many bibles did you sell, Paul?” asked the pastor.

Paul stuck out his chest proudly and responded, “Pastor, I’m a professional salesman, and I am pleased to offer my gifts to the church. I sold 28 bibles and here is $280 cash to go toward our new building.”

“Wonderful,” the pastor said. “It is great to have such willing people serve the congregation.”

Finally, the pastor came to Louie. A bit apprehensively the pastor asked Louie how many bibles he had sold. Louie just handed him an envelope. The pastor opened the envelope and to his amazement there was $3,200.00 inside. “Louie,” the pastor exclaimed, “are you saying you sold 320 bibles?”

Louie just nodded. Of course, Peter and Paul could not believe it. “We’re professional salesmen. Do you mean to stand there and tell us that you sold ten times as many bibles as we did? How could you do that?”

“Yes, Louie,” the pastor said. “That does seem a bit strange. Can you tell us how you managed that feat?”

Louie just shrugged and said, “I-I-I-I re-re-really d-d-d-don’t know f-ffffor sh-sh-shure.”

Peter interrupted, “For crying out loud, Louie, just tell us what you said when these people answered the door.”

“A-a-a-a-all I-I-I-I s-s-said w-w-w-was,” Louie replied, “W-w-w-w-would y-y-y-you l-l-l-l-l-like t-t-t-to b-b-b-b-buy a b-b-b-b-b-bible
f-f-for t-t-ten b-b-b-bucks o-o-o-or w-w-w-would y-y-y-you j-j-j-just l-l-l-like me to s-s-s-s-stand h-h-h-here and r-r-r-read it to y-y-y-y-y-you?”

God gives gifts to those he calls, because he calls them to their passion. There really are no excuses with God.

Have we heard the call of God in our lives? God’s call comes in many ways, and at many different times. There is, first of all, the call to salvation. He calls us into a continuing love relationship with himself through his son, Jesus Christ. I know you’ve heard the call. What’s our excuse for not responding to God’s call to salvation?

Then, there is the call of God to be like Christ. Ever heard that call? What excuse have you used? “Lord, I’m not strong enough to be like Christ.” “Lord, I’m having too much fun not being like Christ.” “Lord, it’s just too hard to be Christ-like.” I’ll not share with you my own personal excuse, but suffice it to say I have one.

Finally, there is the call of God to service. What ministry is God calling us to? What excuses have we used? “Lord, I will do it when I retire.” “Lord, there’s just not enough time.” “Lord, that’s not my gift.”

God’s call was never louder, nor was it ever more clear than at the cross of Jesus Christ. The cross was God’s call to forgiveness and life, to surrender and sacrifice. And the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead was God’s call to life, and that more abundantly. The resurrection was the sign of God’s power, and the Holy Spirit is the sign of God’s enduring presence with us. The call is loud, the call is clear. Let’s face it. There simply are no excuses with God.

Until next time, keep looking up…

Reading again the story of Moses and the burning bush has sparked several thoughts for me. I shared yesterday about making excuses and I guess I should continue that thought this morning since Moses wasn’t satisfied that he correctly heard God’s call. One excuse is never enough for us, nor does it exhaust God’s call upon our lives.

Moses had yet as second excuse when God was persistent in calling him. Exodus 4:1 tells the story:

But Moses protested and said, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you’.” The
Unauthorized Malone Translation has it this way: “What if they reject me?”

Humans thrive on acceptance. Teachers know how difficult it is the first day in school for a new student (and you know if you’ve ever been that new student!). The stress and fear are almost overwhelming. We pastors in new appointments are much the same way. We hope against hope that the people will accept us and our families. Perhaps for you it is the same way with a new job, or moving into a new community. We know the feeling, don’t we?

Moses was concerned that his own people would reject him. Let’s validate his fear. Remember that just before Moses fled Egypt, he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. Moses sought to break them up, but they turned their anger on Moses. Moses had already been rejected once. Moses may have been saying to himself, “Not gonna’ try that again, Lord.”

But the Lord had an answer for that excuse, too. God told Moses that He would send signs of confirmation to the Hebrews so they would believe
that God sent Moses. “Throw down your rod, Moses,” was God’s command. Moses did, and it turned into a serpent. When he picked it up again it turned back into a rod. But God said, “That’s not all. Put your hand in your robe, and then pull it out.” Moses did and his hand was leprous. God said, “Now put it back in your robe.” Moses did and his hand was healed. God said, “If they don’t believe you still, I’ll turn the Nile River to blood.”

Where’s the lesson? It is here—when we are obedient to the call of God in our lives, God will send the signs of His confirmation. How does the confirmation come for us? Not with serpents but with answered prayers. Not with leprous hands but with encouragement in the body of Christ at just the right moment. Not with rivers of blood from the Nile, but from changed lives that have been washed in the blood of Christ flowing from an old rugged cross. The signs are all around us. There are no excuses with God.

What’s your excuse? What sign is God showing of His power and presence in your life?

I figure there’s at least one more lesson from this episode in Moses’ life, but I’ll save it for tomorrow.

Until next time, keep looking up…

“Excuses,” some wise sage once said, “are like armpits. Everyone has them and they usually all stink.” I came across a news article sometime ago from long-defunct UPI (you can find anything on the internet) that listed the most absurd excuses The Metropolitan Insurance Company had received through the years from its customers who reported car accidents. Listen to some of these excuses:

An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my car, and vanished.

The other car collided with mine without warning me of its intention.

I had been driving my car for 40 years when I fell asleep at the wheel and had the accident.

As I reached an intersection, a hedge sprang up, obscuring my vision.

I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law, and headed over the embankment.

The pedestrian had no idea which direction to go, so I ran over him.

The telephone pole was approaching fast. I attempted to swerve out of its path when it struck my front end.

The guy was all over the road. I had to swerve a number of times before I hit him. (My personal favorite!)

The indirect cause of this accident was a little guy in a small car with a big mouth. (I might have been the guy in the small car)

We all make our excuses, from getting out of that unsolicited lunch date to why we didn’t finish the job we were given on time. But nowhere are the excuses more evident than when we hear the call of God on our lives, and for one reason or another, we just can’t bring ourselves to listen or accept that God desires to use us. Perhaps we just don’t want to be bothered by the requirements or by the sacrifice God might ask us to make. So we make our excuses to God.

Guess what? We’re not the first generation to make excuses with God. My friend Moses, when he was confronted with God’s call, could not
bring himself to answer, and he, like we often do, stammered around looking for just the right excuse thinking that God would change his mind. You can find Moses’ experience in Exodus 3 if you want to read the whole episode, but let me set the scene and then call your attention to Moses’ first excuse.

First, the scene. Moses was busy for forty years keeping the sheep of his father-in-law Jethro on the backside of the Midian desert. One day, Moses sees this bush that burns unconsumed by the flames and decides he must get a closer look at this phenomenon. As Moses approaches, God speaks from the flames of the bush and reveals to Moses God’s plan to deliver the Hebrew nation from Egyptian bondage. You may remember that Moses had fled Egypt forty years before with a bounty on his head after he murdered an Egyptian soldier. Moses cannot believe that he is the chosen deliverer, and when God finishes telling him the plan, Moses begins to make his excuses for why he can’t do what God has asked him to do. Look at his first excuse:

Exodus 3:11
And Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
The Lynn translation, if there were such a thing, would read thusly: “But God, you can’t use me.”

Moses had a self-esteem problem. There was no way he could ever believe that God could or would want to use him for anything as daunting as facing Pharaoh, and asking him to let the Hebrew people go from their bondage. “Lord, I’ve been living on the back side of the desert dealing with these smelly old sheep. Who am I? I’m just a nobody.”

“I’m just a nobody.” Perhaps that is the key to understanding why God would call Moses at this point in his life. Maybe it only after we nderstand how helpless we are that we become willing to look for help. When we reach the point of really understanding that we are nobody, we can then begin to depend on God, and we know that when something great is accomplished, it is God who will receive the glory because we know we could never accomplish what was accomplished. To acknowledge we are a nobody is not saying we are worthlessness, but it is rather an cknowledgement of our dependence on God.

God, however, has an answer for the excuse that we’re a nobody. Here’s God’s answer to Moses in verse 12:

And he said, “Certainly I will be with you; and this shall be a sign to you, that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.”

Hear the language of God—“I will be with you,” and “When…” See, there is our strength. God says He will go with us, and God uses the word “when”, not the word “if”. That means that God graces the person He calls with His presence and power. God doesn’t need extraordinary people. God needs willing people. There are no excuses with God.

God calls all of us to ministry through our baptism. And, the call never ceases, for God is always calling us to a new place. God is either calling us to come closer and go deeper in our love and understanding of God’s grace and mercy, or God is calling us to a new place of ministry or service. Sometimes, it’s both. Where is God calling us to next? What’s your excuse?

Until next time, keep looking up…

After sharing yesterday about why people leave a congregation (and offering my accompanying commentary), I felt like I needed to share what I believe are some legitimate reasons for leaving a church. There is nothing “official” about this list. It is simply my rumination on the subject. I suppose I should offer the disclaimer before anyone reads that I am a pastor, and pastor’s take it personally (I know we shouldn’t–because sometimes it isn’t personal) when people choose to leave. Our ego almost always colors our perspective. But, there will be occasions when we know it’s time for a person to go to another congregation (and no, it’s not when the pastor asks them to leave–although that might be a pretty good clue).

Here are my reasons, and yes, they are open for debate. Feel free to respond and add to them.

1) I moved to another community.

This is, obviously, the most legitimate reason for leaving one congregation and going to another, although I have known persons who moved and continued to drive (sometimes as much as 60 miles) back to their congregation.

2) The congregation I am attending has more than enough people with my gifts and skill set and there is another congregation in the community that would benefit from my giftedness.

Some congregations are blessed with an abundance of musicians, and many find themselves serving on a rotation (lucky congregation!), while another congregation in the community may have a lack of gifted musicians in their music ministry. A musician leaving one congregation to serve in another under-served congregation in the community I would consider an act of faithful stewardship and mission. There might be a similar situation with talented youth or children’s ministry workers, as well.

I wonder what it would look like if a family who was committed to children’s ministries left a well-established, larger congregation and moved to a small, struggling congregation in the community to serve in building an effective and meaningful children’s ministry within that congregation? Seems to me that would be a powerful statement on the unity in the Body of Christ, and if I’m remembering correctly, isn’t that what Jesus prayed for (John 17)? Unfortunately, I know too many pastors who would discourage the movement of strong, gifted members. We do worry about our attendance numbers more than we worry about building the Kingdom (but only sometimes).

3) My current congregation is forming a team to go to another part of the community and begin a new work, and I have gifts to offer the team, or I am asked to participate.

Yeah, this is a great reason, but we don’t see this happening often in the United Methodist Church. I wish we did. A healthy, vital congregation should give birth to new congregations. Disciples make disciples, and one of the easiest ways to reach new people is by creating a new place for new people to engage. This type of ministry is happening with the development of satellite campuses of large churches. It’s a great plan, and it is working well in many places, but I wonder if satellites are not more about the ego of the pastor of the “mother” church than they are about growing the Kingdom (uh oh! my cynicism is showing–I repent, Lord).

Another model that seems to be working well (depending on your viewpoint) is what is being called a “takeover.” I’m not sure I like the language, but this happens when a large congregation in one part of a community “takes over” a small, struggling congregation and infuses it with resources (both human and financial) in order to accomplish more effective ministry in the community. Well, why doesn’t the large church simply offer the resources without the take over? I suspicion it to be a bit like the Federal government…if you take our money, you will do it our way! I’m wondering if it isn’t more about control than Kingdom building (darn cynicism, again–sorry, Lord).

4) There is a genuine philosophical difference between my understanding of the mission and purpose for the congregation in the community and the pastor’s/church leadership’s, and this philosophical difference cannot be resolved in a way that allows mission to move forward by staying together (Peter and Paul at the Jerusalem Council).

Sometimes, it just happens. We pastors feel called to lead the congregation in one direction, and there will be laity who genuinely feel that the direction is not appropriate or tenable. This may be a clue that it’s time to search for another congregation in which to serve. This is not to say the pastor is wrong, or the laity is wrong. We may both be right, but through our divergent views of the mission of the congregation, God will build His Kingdom in new places and new ways. That’s a very nice way of saying God takes our disunity and moves to do a new work–God makes lemonade out of the lemons we offer.

I am remembering Acts 15, particularly. After the Jerusalem Council determines that it is appropriate for Paul to continue ministering the gospel to the Gentiles with no additional requirements for their circumcision, Paul and Barnabas are divided over the issue of John Mark going with them on their next missionary journey. The disagreement became so sharp that they decided to part company. Guess what? God used them both to grow the Kingdom. I won’t delve into all the theological and philosophical ramifications of that episode (this post is getting long enough as it is), but Paul and Barnabas had a genuine difference in the direction of the ministry. As much as we would like to believe otherwise, it happens. Give it to God and see what God will do with it.

So, there you have four legitimate (in my humble opinion) reasons for a person to leave a congregation. I’m sure there are others, but this is probably enough food for thought for such an early hour.

Until next time, keep looking up…

I wrote about the marketing of the Word last week, and over the weekend I had a conversation with the father in a young family who was talking about the possibility of his family beginning to look for another church, so I’ve been thinking (again!) about why people leave a church. The reasons the young man gave were rather standard reasons: No one our age in the congregation; music was bad; not enough engagement for the children, etc…

I wondered to myself, though, if any of those were valid reasons, so I decided to do a little research. What I found was a list from research conducted by Lifeway Resources citing the top ten reasons people gave for leaving church. What you will find below is the list with my accompanying response to each reason. I share these only in an effort to spur thought and conversation as it relates to our being “consumers” of church. If we don’t find what we want or need at one location, we simply go to another.

1. The church was not helping me to develop spiritually. (28%)

Okay, so maybe this is a legitimate reason for leaving a church. One of the priorities of the church is to be the primary place for faith formation. If that isn’t happening, first ask the question, “Am I invested in the process?” before making the decision to find another church.
2. I did not feel engaged or involved in meaningful church work (20%)

We all want to feel we are making a difference. How about rather than looking for another church to attend, I begin a ministry that I believe would have an impact in the community or world. If meaningful church work doesn’t exit in your church, begin a meaningful church work in your church.
3. Church members were judgmental of others (18%)

Yes, I understand these responses of mine can appear to be a bit judgmental toward those who go church shopping for whatever reason. I suppose that is one of the prices we pay when seeking to hold one another accountable. Oh, please! Feel free to hold me accountable, too. I’m likely to call you judgmental, but sometimes I confuse judgement with tough love.
4. pastor was not a good preacher (16%)

I am living proof that good preaching covers a multitude of sins, but because the pastor is not a good preacher is a very shallow reason to leave a church (just my personal opinion). The worship service is the most visible part of the church’s life, and preaching is central to that experience. However, every pastor has differing gifts. One may be a better preacher while another may be a better teacher, and yet another may have great gifts for pastoral care. One who leaves due to the pastor’s preaching style or ability is not very well connected to the rest of the life of the church, and discipleship extends far beyond worship.
5. Too many changes (16%)

The only constant in life is change. The church’s inability to adapt to the changing culture is one of the reasons we have failed to reach a new generation of people. A congregation that is growing is one that most likely adapted to engage new people in new places. A congregation that is reluctant to change is likely one that is dying. Moving because a congregation is changing usually means you are moving from a growing congregatin to one that is dying. Besides, “too many changes” is such a relative phrase. For some, one change is too many.
6. Members seemed hypocritical (15%)

My mother always said, “It’s better to go to church with hypocrites than to go to hell with them.” No, wait! My mother didn’t say that. Maybe it was Mark Twain. Nah! He wasn’t much on going to church. Oh, well, someone said it. We lose sight of the fact that the church is a fellowship of sinners who have been touched by God’s grace. As Wesleyans, we understand that God’s grace is at work perfecting us, even if we haven’t attained that perfection. Struggles are a part of every person’s life, even us Christians. The church is the place where we can grow in God’s grace, and develop as disciples in meaningful ways. Church is not a place full of perfect people. If you find the perfect church to attend, please don’t. You’re likely to make it imperfect.
7. Church didn’t seem to be a place where God was at work (14%)

A recent Barna survey revealed that 48% of Christians had not experienced God in church in the past year. I need to take an inward look and see where God is calling me to engage. If I think God is working in me, yet God’s working is not being lived out in the life of the congregation, I need to ask if it will be lived out in a new congregation. What I hear as a pastor in this reason is, “Why aren’t we doing what ‘Big Church’ is doing?” Honestly, if every church in a community is doing the same thing, seeking to reach the same people the same way, then some of those churches are unnecessary. God has not called every congregation to reach the same community in the same way. Just as every individual believer has gifts for ministry, so each congregation is blessed to reach certain people through the ministries the congregation develops. Ask if the congregation is simply not working in the way you want God to work.
8. Church was run by a clique that discouraged involvement (14%)

This is the one reason it is important for a congregation to continually start new groups and ministry opportunities for people to be engaged in. Studies show that a group becomes essentially closed after two years, and new people feel like outsiders. This is a legitimate reason for people to begin looking for another congregation to attend. It may not be real in the life of a congregation, but it is perceived, and for many people, perception is reality. New groups and new ministry opportunities can help diminish this reason, especially for new people.
9. Pastor was judgmental of others (14%)

Pastors? Judgmental? Never! Maybe if they’re really good preachers they can get away with it, though! Seriously, I will not argue the point that some pastors are judgmental. I’ve known a few (and I’ve been judgmental myself on occassion), but let’s not confuse conviction in the human heart with the judgmental nature of a pastor. Often, the Holy Spirit does work through the words spoken by a pastor that the pastor never intended. There are always three persons at work in any sermon–the preacher, the listener, and the Holy Spirit. I’m just sayin’…
10. Pastor seemed hypocritical (13%)

It seems to me to be a bit hypocritical for a pastor to address the issue of pastors seeming hypocrisy. I’ll only confess that pastors are people, too (ask my wife and children)! Please do not hold our humanity against a local congregation. There are too many other good things about too many congregations to let a pastor’s humanity hinder your spiritual growth. Granted, there are some valid reasons when a pastor’s humanity prevents him or her from having a legitimate voice in leadership in the Body of Christ, but Jimmy Swaggert and Jim Baker notwithstanding, most pastors are seeking to live lives of faithful discipleship just as everyone else is. Grace is greater than all our sin!

Sorry if I’ve been judgmental with today’s post, but I’ve known too many people who went church shopping because…well, you fill in the reason. We are not supposed to be church shoppers or church hoppers. That is the “consumer” mentality. Let’s go to church with the mentality that Christ has called me and gifted me to aid this particular body of Christ. Let’s go for what we can give to the church, not for what we can get from the church. I’m just sayin…

I’ll hush now. This post has gotten way too long.

Until next time, keep looking up…

Can I just vent today? It’s just the last straw and I need to process it. Maybe doing it for the whole world to see is not the best thing, but we don’t make the best decisions when we’re frustrated…so, here goes! I’m venting now!

I got a catalog in the mail. It was a catalog from a major Christian music producer. I have most often enjoyed the music this company produced, and have often heard the music in church and sang the music myself. As I thumbed through the catalog, my jaw dropped as I came across a slick two-page, full-color spread for the latest offering from this company–a NKJV study bible being marketed under the company’s logo and the founder’s name–“The _________ __________ Study Bible” (no, I’m not filling in the blanks for you–you figure it out!). The new bible is filled with devotionals written by the company founder and other “artists,” poems by the company founder, in-depth looks at some of the church’s great hymns (some even written by the company founder), and there are articles discussing the importance of hymns and gospel songs. Why, it even has a personally designed bible reading plan from the company founder. All for the low, low price of $29.95.

I’m just asking myself where will the marketing of the gospel ever end? I’m just wondering if the motivation for publishing ANOTHER study bible was the need for the bible or simply that a market for it existed. I’ve just got to believe if we weren’t buying, they wouldn’t be selling. So, it really is an indictment both against the selling of the gospel and the consuming of the gospel. Have we reduced the gospel to one more commodity to be bought and sold in the free enterprise system? Don’t shout me down. I’m simply thinking out loud (well, er…in print).

Religion, in general, and Christianity, in particular, is big business in America. From celebrity pastors with their names plastered on big screens, billboards, study bibles, devotional literature and slick book store lay-outs who hawk their latest “best-seller” with the next 8 ways to accomplish God’s purpose for your life, to “worship” leaders who lead “worship” experiences in large arenas for $25 a person (when did it ever cost anything to worship? We used to call them concerts!), to mega-churches franchising and calling it “an association.” We have embraced every strategy imagineable to get the Word out, and we’ve gotten very rich in the process.

Here’s my confession: I’ve used marketing strategies in the congregations I’ve served. I hope we all have. But, there is a difference, as I see it, in marketing with the intention of drawing others to Christ, though as I search the Scriptures, I find it difficult to discern any noteable strategies Jesus employed other than conversation and invitation (mind you, I’m not the expert on 1st century marketing strategies), and marketing Jesus (or my particular thoughts on Jesus, or the Christian life, or discipleship, or…).

My concern lies with how the market determines what gets heard. The market can be very fickle, and the market is rarely concerned with truth. The market is concerned with that which is palatable. The market is concerned with that which is self-serving. The market is concerned with that which is hip. The market is concerned with that which is the most contemporary. The gospel, however, is rarely palatable. The gospel is NEVER self-serving, and it is rarely ever hip (no matter how many t-shirts we own that say “Jesus is my Homie!).

A guy by the name of Wilbur Rees captured the danger in marketing Jesus a few years ago. Here’s how he characterized the matter:

Three Dollars Worth of God

I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don’t want enough of God to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation. I want warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please.

Those whose books sell are those who have a market already in place. That’s why we see so many mega-church pastors who develop their own celebrity. Publishers love them because they already have a market. It’s the same with Christian music. Musicians, develop your market and the music producers will likely find their way to you. We’re not going to find many books from the pastor of the small, rural congregation who is brilliantly proclaiming the truth of Jesus Christ to his/her flock, and making disciples in life-changing ways in those tiny places. There’s just not a market there. But, I tell you…we’ve got some brilliant pastors and excellent communicators right here in the Monroe District who could stand toe-to-toe with the best of celebrity pastors any day. I’ve heard them, had conversations with them, know their heart, and the heart of the matter is, they’re not seeking the spotlight. They’re just seeking Jesus, and that will generally lead them away from the spotlight.

I’m not down on celebrity preachers. There have always been celebrity preachers. There always will be. What I’m down on is the gospel message being so market-driven. Then again, it all lands on my door-step, right? Cuz’ if I’m not buying, they’re not selling.

Okay! I’m done venting now…

Until next time, keep looking up…

I am preparing to drive to Benton, LA this morning. It will be the first time I’ve been back to Benton since I left as pastor to come on the District. I didn’t think my first time back would be for the funeral of my dear friend, Carl Munyon.

Carl and I go way back in ministry. Well, I say way back. It’s only been 21 years, but for a guy my age that is way back. For a guy Carl’s age, I suspect it was only yesterday. Carl and I started our ministry journey together in November 1990, best I can remember. We were in License to Preach School together. We started License to Preach when there was a school for the northern Kingdom and one for the southern Kingdom (as in North Louisiana and South Louisiana). There were only 10 of us in the class in the northern Kingdom, and Dr. Doug McGuire was the “lead” instructor. Every Saturday for weeks (I can’t even remember how many now), Carl and I spent at Trinity UMC in Ruston with that group of young (and by that I simply mean inexperienced) pastors, learning what it meant to be a pastor in the United Methodist tradition. Carl and I had an immediate connection. He was just retiring from the U.S. Marshal’s Service and I was working for the Jackson Parish Sheriff’s Office. We became fast friends and shared stories of our experiences in law enforcement, though Carl’s were always a little more exciting than mine. Our friendship would continue over the next 21 years, and 21 + years later, Carl and I were the only two from that class remaining in ministry.

Carl was a servant who possessed a servant’s heart, and he had an incredible work ethic. Although he retired, officially I think 5 times, he never quit serving. Retirement was not really in his vocabulary. I think it was simply a word he called on whenever he felt it was time to make a transition to the next phase of life. Let’s see…he retired from the Air Force, he retired from the Marshal’s service, and he retired (3 times) from the pastorate. The last time he retired was from Benton UMC as the Associate Pastor. I asked Carl to come serve at Benton after his second retirement from the pastorate. He didn’t even have a day off between one appointment and the next. I was never more blessed than to be priviledged, after beginning our journey in ministry together, to serve together with Carl in the final years of his ministry. We reconnected in an incredible way, and shared the richness of friendship that strengthens us as men and as humans. We men don’t always like to confess our need–that’s just unmanly. But we need friends, intimate friends that know us. Carl and I, though friends through the years of ministry together, forged a deep and abiding love and respect for each other in our time together at Benton. There were many moments of laughter. There were moments of candor. There were a few moments of confession. Not a single moment of friction (between the two of us, anyway) that I can remember. That’s the type of friendships we need, friendships born out of love for Jesus Christ.

So, Carl lived out the axiom that retirement is not a biblical concept. I think Carl worked because he saw his work as service. He served his country in both the Air Force and the U.S. Marshal’s service, and he served the Lord and His people in ministry. He literally worked until he died, and I think there’s not anything that would make Carl more happy, or help him believe he could have attained anything more. Whenever I remember Carl, I will remember him as a servant…one who practiced what someone called “basin” theology. You’ve heard of “basin” theology, haven’t you? There are two types. One type is Pilate’s basin theology. In Matthew 27, as Jesus’ trial before the Roman governor of Jerusalem drew to a close, Pilate found no fault with Jesus. Pilate called for a basin of water and washed his hands of the whole matter. The other type of basin theology is that practiced by Jesus in John 13. There, when Jesus knew his hour had come, he took off his robe, wrapped a towel around himself, took the basin and began to wash his disciples feet. We can wash our hands to the needs of the world around us, or we can rise and serve. Carl rose and served. He took his cue from Jesus, and he literally did it until the day he died. That’s a pretty good model to follow. I’ll do my best to honor my friend, and in so doing, I’ll honor Jesus. I can’t do better than that.

I’ll miss you, Carl–my friend.

Until next time, keep looking up…(or Carl, keep looking down!)