Sunday, June 15, 2008
New Item on the Blog!
You may notice at the link to your right is a list of sermons on podcast. I will upload this each Sunday I preach (not next Sunday!). If you are interested. Let me know what you think of having this option available.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Love the Sinner - Hate the Sin? How's that Working for Us?
Kudos to Mr. Bill Mefford, director of civil and human rights of the General Board of Church and Society! And may God continue to bless him as he gives voice to the multitude of silent people who simply want to live for God in God's love and sharing that love with others. He wrote the article, "Love the sinner, detest what they do? Not a proud moment for this evangelical" for the UM Reporter. He is also a self-proclaimed evangelical, people I generally shy away from for the very reasons he stated in his article. Specifically,
Way to go Mr. Mefford! For too long we have stood behind the theological and poliltical labels that woeful fall short of describing the beauty that God created in the divine image and called "good." To paraphrase Galatians 3:28: There is no longer conservative or liberal, there is no longer evangelical or progressive, there is no longer democrat and republican; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.
The truth is, if any of us was as all-fired perfect as Rev. Eddie Fox seems to be, then there would have been no need for Jesus to come, because apparently there are other Messiah's already here! My question for Rev. Fox is what sins do you hide in your closet? "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." (Rom. 3:23) Where would we be if we needed to be perfect before we could go to church, serve in the church or go into the ministry.
Don't you think its about time we quit the bickering and began reaching out with the love of Christ?
The truth is that too many evangelicals deny the power of Christ to redeem and transform all of us who have fallen short of God's glory, by denying homosexuals the right to fully serve and contribute in the United Methodist Church. The truth is that too many evangelicals do not love homosexuals and do not wish to see homosexuals experience the love of Christ. Otherwise, they would view homosexuals attending and serving in the church as an exciting opportunity and not as a threat.
Way to go Mr. Mefford! For too long we have stood behind the theological and poliltical labels that woeful fall short of describing the beauty that God created in the divine image and called "good." To paraphrase Galatians 3:28: There is no longer conservative or liberal, there is no longer evangelical or progressive, there is no longer democrat and republican; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.
The truth is, if any of us was as all-fired perfect as Rev. Eddie Fox seems to be, then there would have been no need for Jesus to come, because apparently there are other Messiah's already here! My question for Rev. Fox is what sins do you hide in your closet? "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." (Rom. 3:23) Where would we be if we needed to be perfect before we could go to church, serve in the church or go into the ministry.
Don't you think its about time we quit the bickering and began reaching out with the love of Christ?
Hats Off!
Last night the ladies from our church had a "hat party" for a friend who is going through chemotherapy treatment. I thought it was a fabulous idea! Some of them have been hitting me up about having a Sunday in which we all wear hats to church. I have been trying to go through my mind on ways this applies to scripture...probably in some way other than the "helmet of salvation," although that could work....
My girls and I thought surely there would be duplicates, but apparently God came through on the various shopping experiences. There were floppy sun hats, baseball caps, bucket hats, cozy snug beanies to keep her head warm, and even a beret. But my favorite hat came from Hats of Hope. Inside the bill of the hat is the word "h o p e." And on the inside are several sayings, my favorite being "Sigh. Sob. Scream. Laugh. Repeat." It just sounds like something I would do!
It was a time for us to come together, for a time, and laugh at the ugly things in life while we go about trying to prettify them. I was a little worried that it would become a morbid thing (and I think my daughter thought that as well, as she is asking if we were just going to sit there and look at her open all the packages), but it wasn't. The guest of honor handled it with grace, and it was really a lot of fun. I would recommend it if you know someone going through treatment.
My girls and I thought surely there would be duplicates, but apparently God came through on the various shopping experiences. There were floppy sun hats, baseball caps, bucket hats, cozy snug beanies to keep her head warm, and even a beret. But my favorite hat came from Hats of Hope. Inside the bill of the hat is the word "h o p e." And on the inside are several sayings, my favorite being "Sigh. Sob. Scream. Laugh. Repeat." It just sounds like something I would do!
It was a time for us to come together, for a time, and laugh at the ugly things in life while we go about trying to prettify them. I was a little worried that it would become a morbid thing (and I think my daughter thought that as well, as she is asking if we were just going to sit there and look at her open all the packages), but it wasn't. The guest of honor handled it with grace, and it was really a lot of fun. I would recommend it if you know someone going through treatment.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Rainy Days on Mondays
Okay, so now that the power is back on, I can get back online. The power went out Sunday evening around 7:30 p.m. I figured it would be back on pretty soon, but by 10 o'clock, I decided sleeping through it would be better. Only, it wasn't back on the next morning, and by that time, the phone was out as well. Ugh!!!
Since there was no power or phone, I decided it would be a good day to run errands somewhere there was power and phone, so off I went to Enid. While I was gone, my girls began playing board games. By the time I got home, they finished "Lord of the Rings" Monopoly. They pulled me into the games and we played Parcheesi and Trivial Pursuit. By the time that was finished, the power was back on...something like 22-23 hours later.
We are so dependent upon electricity, it isn't funny. But if we are given the chance to have no internet, no television, no telephone, just family. We seem to get along pretty well, and have a great time. Oh sure, we had the obligatory, "I'm bored," but over all we had a great time.
Why do we have to have a power outage, to take time apart for our families. To stop, slow down, and read a book, play a game, think about life.
I know everyone wasn't without power, but I would invite you to turn off the computer, the cell phone, the television, and spend some time with your kids, your spouse, yourself, your God.
Since there was no power or phone, I decided it would be a good day to run errands somewhere there was power and phone, so off I went to Enid. While I was gone, my girls began playing board games. By the time I got home, they finished "Lord of the Rings" Monopoly. They pulled me into the games and we played Parcheesi and Trivial Pursuit. By the time that was finished, the power was back on...something like 22-23 hours later.
We are so dependent upon electricity, it isn't funny. But if we are given the chance to have no internet, no television, no telephone, just family. We seem to get along pretty well, and have a great time. Oh sure, we had the obligatory, "I'm bored," but over all we had a great time.
Why do we have to have a power outage, to take time apart for our families. To stop, slow down, and read a book, play a game, think about life.
I know everyone wasn't without power, but I would invite you to turn off the computer, the cell phone, the television, and spend some time with your kids, your spouse, yourself, your God.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Back from Camp!
I know it has been awhile since my last post, but between Annual Conference and JH District Camp, I am pretty much wiped out! I had a great time at camp, and I think all our campers did too...okay, most of them did! I got a chance to see some amazing things in their lives, that I otherwise would not have the opportunity to see. What a blessing!
I really didn't start out having a great time though. I have an old injury (broken ankle) that can cause me a lot of pain and this is the reason I haven't worked District Camp since it happened. (Elementary Camp has a lot slower pace!) Anyway, I thought that maybe it had been enough time since the injury (6 years) that maybe I could hang in there and keep up. I was wrong. The first day of camp I twisted that ankle and the resulting pain made me...well....a bit grouchy. In any event, I swore off ever going back to camp after this week was over.
Now, I told the camp deans that I had this injury prior to agreeing to work and they went out of their way to accommodate my needs. But unless you have had an injury like this that is chronic, you really don't think of how it completely and totally alters your life. Particularly when you see someone like me who refuses to allow such an injury to rule their life. (I tend to "fake it" a lot, and few people outside of my family know how much it really does stop me from doing things I would really like to do, or causes me pain when I do them anyway, which is quite a bit.)
The morning communion worship was in what is known as Serenity Canyon, which isn't too far away, but having to walk on anything not paved is EXTREMELY tedious for me, and by Tuesday morning (when I was in grouchiness from pain) I was less than serene. I was also less than moved by God's inspiring words pouring forth from the speaker. I was pretty much withdrawn into myself and my pain. I felt worthless and broken and crippled, both physically and spiritually. Worst of all...I felt old. And I'm really not, but these kinds of injuries age you quickly, because suddenly you do not have the physical ability of most people your age, and most people of all ages do not understand why you don't, even if they know. An injured body part wreaks havoc on the rest of the body which is trying to compensate for the injury and is causing stress on the rest of the body not made for or not accustomed to this extra duty.
Things did get better for me at camp. I took a nap Tuesday afternoon and I greatly needed that time for my body to heal (as much as it can during a nap) and my spirit to be renewed. I also began to get rides to Serenity Canyon which alleviated that stress. Of course, the general pace of the week was exhausting and to a degree painful. By the time I got home both ankles were extremely swollen, but after laying around last night and keeping them up the healthy ankle is back to normal and the other one is working on it.
But through this I learned a couple of important lessons: First, I would not consider someone with a physical disability to be of no worth and value, but immediately that is the place I go myself. I just have to do what I can. I can teach and share the love of God, which is of great value, especially to those kids who might not otherwise feel love at all. And if someday the camp deans get tired of accommodating me, I will find another way to connect with the youth and share God's love.
But the second lesson I learned was very important to us all. We are the body of Christ, when one of us hurts, we all suffer. When one body part is incapacitated, stress is put on the rest of the body. Sometimes this stress can be absorbed easily and we can learn to accommodate. Sometimes the injured part cripples the whole body and we are limited in our ability to carry out Christ's commission to go and make disciples. But in working together, being refreshed when we need to, allowing God to give us divine strength, we can continue on.
I cannot speak from the point of view of the body that would just stop doing these things altogether, because this is not my personality. I might have had to change my life because of this injury, but I did not stop living, nor did I really stop doing things I want to do, like work camp. I might have to make a few accommodations, as do some of those around me, but I do not stop doing things like working camp.
I do not know how the body of Christ could simply choose to lay down and quit being the body, or to choose to quit serving those whom Christ came to serve, to quit making disciples, but I suppose that concept is possible. Have we as the body of Christ been so crippled by the pain, division and factions carrying on in the body that we are no longer useful as the body of Christ? What are your thoughts?
I really didn't start out having a great time though. I have an old injury (broken ankle) that can cause me a lot of pain and this is the reason I haven't worked District Camp since it happened. (Elementary Camp has a lot slower pace!) Anyway, I thought that maybe it had been enough time since the injury (6 years) that maybe I could hang in there and keep up. I was wrong. The first day of camp I twisted that ankle and the resulting pain made me...well....a bit grouchy. In any event, I swore off ever going back to camp after this week was over.
Now, I told the camp deans that I had this injury prior to agreeing to work and they went out of their way to accommodate my needs. But unless you have had an injury like this that is chronic, you really don't think of how it completely and totally alters your life. Particularly when you see someone like me who refuses to allow such an injury to rule their life. (I tend to "fake it" a lot, and few people outside of my family know how much it really does stop me from doing things I would really like to do, or causes me pain when I do them anyway, which is quite a bit.)
The morning communion worship was in what is known as Serenity Canyon, which isn't too far away, but having to walk on anything not paved is EXTREMELY tedious for me, and by Tuesday morning (when I was in grouchiness from pain) I was less than serene. I was also less than moved by God's inspiring words pouring forth from the speaker. I was pretty much withdrawn into myself and my pain. I felt worthless and broken and crippled, both physically and spiritually. Worst of all...I felt old. And I'm really not, but these kinds of injuries age you quickly, because suddenly you do not have the physical ability of most people your age, and most people of all ages do not understand why you don't, even if they know. An injured body part wreaks havoc on the rest of the body which is trying to compensate for the injury and is causing stress on the rest of the body not made for or not accustomed to this extra duty.
Things did get better for me at camp. I took a nap Tuesday afternoon and I greatly needed that time for my body to heal (as much as it can during a nap) and my spirit to be renewed. I also began to get rides to Serenity Canyon which alleviated that stress. Of course, the general pace of the week was exhausting and to a degree painful. By the time I got home both ankles were extremely swollen, but after laying around last night and keeping them up the healthy ankle is back to normal and the other one is working on it.
But through this I learned a couple of important lessons: First, I would not consider someone with a physical disability to be of no worth and value, but immediately that is the place I go myself. I just have to do what I can. I can teach and share the love of God, which is of great value, especially to those kids who might not otherwise feel love at all. And if someday the camp deans get tired of accommodating me, I will find another way to connect with the youth and share God's love.
But the second lesson I learned was very important to us all. We are the body of Christ, when one of us hurts, we all suffer. When one body part is incapacitated, stress is put on the rest of the body. Sometimes this stress can be absorbed easily and we can learn to accommodate. Sometimes the injured part cripples the whole body and we are limited in our ability to carry out Christ's commission to go and make disciples. But in working together, being refreshed when we need to, allowing God to give us divine strength, we can continue on.
I cannot speak from the point of view of the body that would just stop doing these things altogether, because this is not my personality. I might have had to change my life because of this injury, but I did not stop living, nor did I really stop doing things I want to do, like work camp. I might have to make a few accommodations, as do some of those around me, but I do not stop doing things like working camp.
I do not know how the body of Christ could simply choose to lay down and quit being the body, or to choose to quit serving those whom Christ came to serve, to quit making disciples, but I suppose that concept is possible. Have we as the body of Christ been so crippled by the pain, division and factions carrying on in the body that we are no longer useful as the body of Christ? What are your thoughts?
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