Vol 2 No 10 - A Super Example

Sunday evening, our society will gather for one of the most ritualistic ceremonies in the modern age, and in the absurdly long two week hype leading up to this year's Super Bowl, a great deal has been made about the two head coaches involved - specifically about a characteristic that they share, but that neither had control over. Lost in a great deal of this hype (even I am tired of it by now, and I have been fortunate enough to be spared most of it) is what truly makes Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts and Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears truly unique.

It seems to be the case that not only do these two men appear differently than the other 80 coaches who have been on the sidelines for this game, but they approach their jobs differently as well. They are men who make no bones about the fact that their priorities are, in this order, faith, family, football. You will not see these men acting like two-year-olds on the sideline, ridiculing and berating their players for every little mistake. You will not see these men cursing (at all) the referees, players, or other coaches, publicly or privately. You will not see these men at their offices at 2:00AM while their families have not seen them for months. You will see men who have their lives in order, and are at the top of their professions. You will see men of class and dignity who treat one another and everyone else they come in touch with respect. At the end of the game, you will see two men embrace at mid-field, the losing coach genuinely pleased for the winning coach, both realizing something that a lot of the people watching the game will forget (or have already forgotten) - in the big scheme of things, it really doesn't matter who wins or loses this game, or even who gets there.

As you watch the Super Bowl, take note of these men and their success. They reject the norms of their profession and chose the more honorable way to conduct themselves. May we all, individually and as a community, have a similar courage to reject what everyone else considers the path to success to do what is right and honorable. May we all, individually and as a community, keep things in the proper perspective.


See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 2 No 9 - Someone's Been There Before

One of the many blessings God has so graciously given to me over the years is the right mentor in my life at that time. Whether in grade school, middle school, high school, college, grad school, and up to now, there has always seemed to appear someone who has pushed me and challenged me to grow beyond my own self-imposed limitations, and to show me new ways of looking at life. Part of what helps me be who I am is that I stay in touch with almost all of these people on a regular basis, continuing to learn and grow from their life experiences.

I think that far too often in the church, we have strayed away from the idea of growing under the tutelage of other's wisdom and understanding. Last night, the Christian Believer class was studying the empowering of the Holy Spirit, and as we delved deeper into the lesson, it became quite clear that the Holy Spirit works primarily within the community of faith - it is personal, but not at all private. It is only when we come to truly live in community and allow others to feed us and to nurture us that we can truly see depths of the work of the Spirit.

Why write about this today? This time tomorrow, I will be on my way to Canonsburg, PA to have lunch with one of the first mentors I ever had, a fellow United Methodist Elder who first put the idea of pastoral ministry as a career into my head. I haven't seen him in at least 7 or 8 years, and am looking forward not only to visiting with him, but also just taking time to thank him in person for all he did to get me where I am. Imagine if mine was a childhood where mom and dad bought into that naive notion that their children could make up their own minds as to whether or not they would go to church. If my parents had been like so many others I know, who make sure their kids are involved in everything (in the name of making sure they are 'well-rounded') but the church and its activities, I would never have gotten to know this man, and maybe not have wound up in pastoral ministry.

Parents - be sure your children (no matter how young or how old) are in the church and the youth group. You never know who is waiting to mentor them in the faith.

Children - be sure to be a part of all the church's activities - worship, youth, etc. You never know who God has waiting to make a part of your life forever.

Others - be sure to be a part of the life of the church in all areas. You never know who will cross your path needing the mentoring you can provide.

Grace and Peace!
Lamar

Vol 2 No 8 - Women of Vision

Since it's inception, the Methodist movement has placed a great emphasis on service to others - not just proclaiming the faith, but living out the faith. Throughout the years of the movement, from a small group of young Anglican priests in London to the worldwide Methodist movement of today (which The United Methodist Church is just one part), there have been individuals and organizations of Methodists who discerned God calling them to specific forms of ministry within the global community. In 1869, one of these groups came into being to combine resources to support a missionary ministry to the people of India. As time went on, this group grew into a full-fledged organization known as the Women's Society for Christian Service, with their mission being to spread the gospel and to provide a time of fellowship, study, and renewal with and for the ladies of the Methodist movement. Almost every congregation within Methodism has a proud history of this dedicated group of women.

This Sunday, January 21, we will be celebrating the ministry of what is now known as the United Methodist Women, and specifically the ministry of the Pharr Chapel United Methodist Women. The ladies, led by Georgie Bigler, have worked for several months in the planning of our worship services this week. Keeping in line with their main objective of missions ministry, Rev. Kathy Fitzhugh, director of the Abbeville Recovery Center, will be our guest preacher this week. I look forward to joining you in worship this week as we hear the Word read and proclaimed by this blessed servant of the Lord and celebrate the ministry of our United Methodist Women.

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 2 No 7 - Chaos

My deepest apologies for getting this edition of the MWM to you so late. This has been a very hectic week, and one that has reminded me once again of just how wonderful an appointment Pharr Chapel is for any pastor. I want to highlight just two of the things I have been spending my time doing as your pastor.

At the end of each calendar year, each congregation in United Methodist has to engage in what is known as the annual audit, but is actually just a statistical review of the prior year. During the second week of January, each pastor brings the reports for their appointment to the District Office and meets with the District Superintendent to look at last year and plan for the next year. Reviewing our year, I want to share with you that in almost every major statistical category, Pharr Chapel showed significant gains over 2005, and is in position to do more in 2007. We had 13 people join on profession of faith, and saw operating income that was 122% of what was projected, receiving a phenomenal 98.95% of the dollar amount pledged - what a great testimony to your faith! Also, as a result of your faithfulness to God's call, we saw a 71.5% increase in the dollar amount pledged for 2007 over 2006, and a 48% increase in the number of pledges. I can safely say that these kind of numbers place Pharr Chapel very favorably when looking at other congregations of our size and attendance.

There is a team of pastors who help assimilate all the data and verifies that all the numbers add up and are in the right spots - I was honored to be asked to take part of this team on Monday and Tuesday of this week. We are blessed to be part of a district and a conference with such fine congregations and pastors!

The other thing I want to highlight for you is that your Long-Range Planning Committee is meeting for their orientation session tomorrow night @ 6:00PM. As I shared with the church council on Monday night, we have a rich and glorious history to draw from at Pharr Chapel, but if we do not seek to be ready for the future and the ministry challenges that are facing us, we will not only have a history, but we will be history. Your church council has already taken some steps to help move towards this future, approving a budget that for the first time provides funding for our youth program and our mini-Methodist programs, among many other highlights. Please join me in prayer for the future of our congregation, and specifically for the work of the LRPC. You will be hearing much more from these men and women in the next few months.

So many things are going on that I want to share with you, but I know that I have already written too much - so let me conclude by thanking you all for your words of concern about Erin. There seem to be several things compounding the bronchitis that has taken hold, and will be facing a little longer recovery period than originally anticipated. She is slowing returning to work on a limited basis, however she is still feeling very weak. We covet your thoughts and prayers, and know that she will soon be free of this illness.


See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 2 No 6 - Running to the Light

We will be celebrating Epiphany Sunday during worship this week. As I looked to prepare for this week's message and the theme of Epiphany, I was struck by just how little we seem to realize what the Epiphany celebration is all about. Traditionally, if we know anything about it at all, we know that this is the Sunday where we remember the wise men coming from the east to pay homage to the Christ child. In addition, we probably know that this is the Sunday we sing the old hymn "We Three Kings". So what's the big deal about Epiphany?

According to Mirriam-Webster, an epiphany is "an appearance or manifestation, especially of a divine being." Searching further, one can find that in the ancient world, the word epiphany had special meaning because it was used to describe the appearance of a ruler. In other words, when we celebrate the epiphany, one of the aspects that we are celebrating is the realization by humanity of the Lordship of Christ. In the Epiphanol event, we came face-to-face with the reality that this child reset the world order. Let us not forget, however, how the magi got to the Christ child. They were led by the star in the sky - that's right, they were led. They didn't get there by charting their own course to the Savior - they were led by a more powerful force.

When you come to worship this week, indeed when you are in the midst of your daily spiritual disciplines, use this Epiphany celebration to remember that we now live as ones with a new order to our lives - an order given to us by the arrival of the Christ child. Use this Epiphany celebration to remember that, just as the magi were led by the star to the Christ child, we too must allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit to the Christ child. When we celebrate Epiphany, we reject the Oprah-ization of faith and spirituality that says you can find your own path. We celebrate, indeed we embrace, that our is a life of following the guiding light set before us by Almighty God.


See you Sunday!
Lamar