Vol 2 No 43 - "Bible" Study

One of the most mysterious and maddening things about being part of any congregation in the Christian community is that there are so many different approaches to life and learning that it is hard to provide things that will meet everyone's needs (both felt and actual). What one person or one group of people respond to is totally different than what resonates with another.

Sitting through the first sessions of the Eat This Book group discussions I have been reminded that far too many of us do not realize all the ways in which 'Bible Study' occurs. A perfect example of this came in two separate conversations I have had over the past 24 hours concerning those who have and who have not chosen to participate in these groups. The gist of the conversation came down to me hearing that there is sentiment among some that when 'a real Bible study' or a Bible study where we just 'go through the book' is offered, then some others will check it out. It was slightly amusing because of reaction I have gotten from some of the participants in the current groups that they did not realize just how much the Bible is used as a basis for the study we are in, and how it is indeed the cornerstone for what we are studying, even though it is not a 'straight Bible study' where we just 'sit down with the text.'

I must tell you after ruminating long and hard about this that I have been sorely tempted to offer a 'straight' Bible study wherein I would purchase for the participants a Bible with no notes, no study guides, no maps, no nothing, and get down to a straight 'reading of the text' and the group chewing on it for an hour or so. But then it hit me - what happens when I come to those parts in Paul's writings where women are told to go home and wait for your husbands to explain it all to you? Do we then excuse the women from the study? After all, it's right there in the text, correct? What about the parts in the Old Testament where people get stoned for stuff that we wink at today? These are things to think about that help us realize that even the most 'straight' of Bible studies rely on extra-Biblical materials to help us get a better hold on what is happening in the text.

However, it might be good for those of us who do not have a bent towards what we would see as 'Bible study' to have a more traditional Bible study. So, beginning on Thursday, October 11 @ 5:30PM, we will have "TBS" (Thursday Bible Study) that will be a more 'direct' study of specific portions of the Bible. The first section of the study will last 8 weeks and cover the 'Prison Letters' (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, & Philemon). Designed more for those who are not already in one of the other study groups and those of you who desire 'straight' studies, all of you are encouraged and welcomed to be a part of this journey through some of Paul's more unique writings.

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 2 No 42 - transFORMation

Hurricane Humberto made an historic landfall earlier this morning in Texas. Given what all we have seen over the past few years, it's hard to imagine that a simple little Category 1 hurricane could be considered historical, but Humberto did the job by going from a 35 mph Tropical Depression to a 85 mph Hurricane in less than 15 hours.

This week's MWM is a little later than usual because of various schedule changes that have happened in my life this week that have led to schedules being changed quicker that I would expect. It is very easy for us to make plans and to assume that things will go according to how they have in the past. When presented with a change in conditions or thought or perspective, it can be hard to shift to looking at things in new ways. Last night when I went to bed, I assumed that Humberto would be a 'simple' tropical depression with a lot of rain and not much else. I was very surprised to see that it had developed into a hurricane when I awoke this morning.

Similar things can happen in the life of a church. Just when we assume that things are going to go in the same ways they have in the past, new variables, new people, and new resources come along to change the discussion. I had the honor and privilege to meet with your church council this week at our regular business session. Among other things, we discussed the report (attached to this e-mail) of the Long-Range Planning Committee that will be presented to the charge conference. It is a truly scary thing to dream big and to look at a future that is not the same as our past, but it is also foolhardy to think that we worship a God who would allow us to get in a rut of doing the same things over and over. The devotional I presented to start the council meeting was about Christ's words concerning those who take a treasure that is given to them, bury it in the ground, and then bragged that nothing happened to the treasure. Christ's message to us through this parable is that we cannot allow ourselves to be in a position to receive the treasures God bestows upon us but then be afraid to use them to further the Kingdom of God.

Just like Tropical Depression Humberto's transformation in a short time to Hurricane Humberto, do not discount the possibility that this congregation (or yourself) can be transformed into something powerful in a short amount of time. God is ready to do some major things in the life of our congregation - the question we all must ask ourselves is: are we ready for God to do powerful things in the life of our congregation?

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 2 No 41 - Role With It

Tonight begins another fascinating season in the life of our congregation, for tonight your Committee on Lay Leadership will be meeting to begin the process of nominating people to serve as officers and committee members for our congregation in 2008. This is the only committee that the pastor chairs with full voting rights, and is one of the most strategically influential in any congregation. The men and women who make up this committee are given heavy responsibility to ensure, through prayer, discernment, and conversation, that God's will is done through the process.

As you pastor, it is a neat time to look around the people who make up the congregation and to starting thinking about what the leadership of the congregation might look like. Any congregation our size has many different personalities and philosophies to consider; we indeed are blessed to have such a wonderful group of people from which to select. My hope and prayer is that you will join me in praying for this committee as they go about this awesome task, and that you will prayerfully consider serving if asked by the committee.

I met with the District Superintendent last Friday to present my plan for ministry for 2008. As Roger and I talked, I emphasized to him how much Erin and I have been blessed to be here. Preparing for this Committee on Lay Leadership meeting tonight has once again reminded me of how true that statement is - for I am overwhelmed when I think about all the possibilities that God has laid before us through you.

In several of his writings in the New Testament, Paul writes at length about the Body of Christ and how no one part of the Body of Christ can get along as it should without the others. He writes about each one in the Body of Christ has a unique role to play and brings their own set of gifts to the table to be used within the context of the community to bring about the glory of God here on earth. His thoughts are just as true today as when they were written. May you come to realize and accept that your role is just as important as anyone else's and that your service is vital to us fulfilling God's will for this congregation

See you Sunday!
Lamar