Vol 2 No 48 - Grace Personified

Erin and I just got home from our annual Pharr Phest celebration - it was great to see the kids and adults have a time of fun and fellowship in a safe environment. The highlight of the evening for me came near the end, when one of our young people asked us about the origins of Halloween and we were talking about how Halloween is derived from All Hallow's Eve - the day before All Saints Day, traditionally observed on November 1. Each year All Saints Day is a very special and emotional day for me, as I think long and hard about those people who have come before me, those people who I have been blessed to have as a part of my life, influencing who I have become, and All Saints Day usually finds me full of joy and sadness (grateful for these people but missing them very much).

As we approach All Saints Day (and I am aware that most of you will get this message on November 1), I want to encourage you all to take a moment as you read this message to stop and offer a prayer of thanksgiving for all those who have helped influence who we are and have gone on to the next phase of their eternal journey. I do miss many friends and loved ones, especially those whom I never met (such as my maternal grandmother and the six children we have lost due to miscarriage and other pregnancy issues), but am comforted by the reality that I have done nothing to deserve anyone, and that these people's influence on who I am is nothing more than a reflection of God's grace at work in my life. As I mention at almost every funeral I officiate, there is nothing that I can say or do to take away the pain and sorrow that we feel upon the loss of a loved one, and I am not about to try; our challenge when we face the loss of a loved one is to be constantly mindful that the only reason we have people we love and care about in our lives is solely because of God's grace.

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 2 No 47 - A Statment of Faith & Community

What a great Sunday we were a part of this past week! I cannot tell you how much I am proud of our congregation for responding to God's grace, mercy, and love by investing in the future of this congregation - making the statement that we have much to do and that we are behind that work being done. Our charge conference showed the true strength of this congregation by engaging in the issues of the church - we even had people who were not voting members of the charge conference show up and offer input on the issues we will be facing in the next few years. As your pastor, I cannot express the emotions that I felt as we truly came together to form consensus on where it is that we feel God is leading us. A church that has people interested enough in it's future to show up, ask questions, debate (in a Christian manner) various points of view, and find common ground - this is one of the marks that the people of the congregation are ready to engage in the work of God in and through us.

Even though charge conference was the highlight of Sunday (since what can be better than the people of the church taking ownership of what is upcoming in the church's life), we also had another event that I want to report very preliminary results on - our Consecration Sunday. Thank you for your graciousness and hospitality towards Rev. Danny Gleason - it was a joy to have him with us and to see you interact with him. To have over 110 in worship, with most staying for the wonderful meal afterwards, was a delight. Oh, and to be a part of a congregation where there was, just in the first day alone, a 23% increase in the amount pledged (making it a 103% increase in 2 years!) and to see that of those pledging on the first day that 66% of the people turning in their pledge cards increased their pledge from 2007 -- what a statement about your faith and trust in God. I remain truly humbled at how you are responding to God, taking seriously the idea of growing towards the tithe.

Thank you again for the honor of being your pastor - I can't imagine being in a better place right now to see what God will do in this ministry,

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 2 No 46 - The Truth About Tithing

On Monday night of this week, members of your Church Council & Finance Committee were invited to a supper featuring our guest speaker for this Sunday, Rev. Danny Gleason of St. Francisville UMC. Your leadership was reminded of something that we all must remember as we go into this Sunday's worship - namely that when it comes to the business of tithe (returning 10% of your income to God), our Lord God gives us a direct challenge. Rev. Gleason reminded us that we are told by God to test him; test him with the tithe - if we get serious about the discipline of the tithe, we will receive blessings beyond anything we can imagine. Mind you, this is not necessarily material blessings, but blessings that can come only from God.

One other thing that Rev. Gleason told us of is that he has never met a former tither. Once you get into the habit of tithing, it becomes second nature. The hardest thing about the tithe is getting started. Making that initial step of faith is one of the most terrifying and most satisfying things that you will ever do in your Christian journey. Terrifying because it means taking a significant portion of your income out of your account, and satisfying because it is a tangible way to put our faith in action. After all, why would God call us to do something that would cause us harm?

The final thing that Rev. Gleason reminded us of, and the final thing that I want to share with you this week, is a reminder that Christ didn't discuss the tithe. Rather, Christ told people to give it all to the poor and to follow him. Does that mean for you to dump everything you own in order to be a Christian? If what you have is what is foremost in your life and gets in the way of your relationship with God and the community of faith, yes. It also means that we must be in the position to be willing to give it all up if that is what it means for the will of God to be done in our lives. How does the tithe work into this? By engaging in the discipline of the tithe, we are reminded on a weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly basis that in order to return the 10% to God we must realize that what's at stake is not what we do with that 10%, but what we do with the 100% from which that 10% comes.

Please know that I am in prayer for you and for our congregation as we go into this wonderful Sunday of worship and fellowship (don't forget about the catered meal from Harbor Seafood that we will have immediately after worship).

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 2 No 45 - Now and Then

You have read in our church newsletter and in this weekly e-mail about our upcoming charge conference on October 21 @ 3:00PM. Churches across United Methodism hold these annual church business meetings during this time of the year. I had the chance to attend another charge conference last night and was reminded once again about the different perspectives people have on their congregation. It is a very neat thing to look at the ministries various congregations have and how various things are important to different people. The charge conference is an opportunity for the community to gather and talk about what all has happened in the life of the church over the past year and to look forward to the future.

Pharr Chapel's charge conference has the potential to be an historic one, for we will be formally presented with the Long-Range Planning Committee's report (which we have all had the opportunity to review by now and has been unanimously endorsed by the Church Council). Through the hearing of and adopting of this report we will not only be committing ourselves to a course of action over the next couple of years, we will also be making the statement that we firmly believe in the future of our congregation, and our belief that God has great things he will do in our midst.

My hope and prayer as your pastor leading up to October 21 as we observe Consecration Sunday and Charge Conference is simply that we, as individuals and as a congregation, believe that the God who has brought us through so much in our lives and the the life of the community sees a great deal of potential for us to make a difference for the Kingdom of God. Further, that we not only believe this but put this belief into action through our thoughts, words, and deeds.

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 2 No 44 - A Matter of PERspective

Since I have had the opportunity to be your pastor we have seen a number of changes in the life of our congregation, and it has been a time of growth and challenge for all of us as we seek to discern what God's will is for us as a congregation and as the individuals who make up the congregation. A question I have been asked often since I arrived in Morgan City is: "How do I know whether or not I am being faithful to what God is calling me to do?" The follow-up usually involves: "We hear so much about God wanting us to be totally devoted to the Divine will being done in our lives but how do we really know?" Unfortunately, in many areas of our lives it is hard to discern what this means for us, and we are left to simply do the best we can with what we have.

However, one thing that God has been working on in me that I want to share with you is that as I read God's word more and more and pray about this issue is that while so many things are left unanswered in this pursuit, there are two things that God has revealed to me to help measure my trust and faith. They happen to be two of the hardest things for us to accept as the reality of living the Christian life: Tithing and Sabbath-keeping. These are also two of the things that we choose to regularly and deliberately ignore, using excuses to justify our non-obedience to God's commands. The question that keeps coming to me as I deliberate on these matters more is not, "Is God REALLY serious about these issues?", but instead is, "Why are we so arrogant as to think that we cannot do these simple things?"

As I mentioned to you during last year's stewardship campaign, I firmly believe in the discipline of the tithe and will be happy to show you my contribution statements to the church to prove that I am not asking you to do anything I am not doing.

Last week, though, during my time away visiting family and preparing for my sister's wedding, I was confronted with the reality that I have not done enough to observe a true sabbath, taking one day a week to observe the sabbath and keep it holy by setting aside the daily routines of life. Like so many, I have been of the mindset that I have too much to do to 'take a day off.' I have paid a high price physically, spiritually, and emotionally for this attitude, and came to an important realization: Is observing the Sabbath 'taking a day off', or is it taking a day to focus on what is truly important, the God without whom I have nothing and am nothing. Could it be that by trusting God enough to observe the Sabbath I can take advantage of the opportunity not only to put my focus where it belongs and to put the stuff that is not really important in the big scheme of things, the stuff that I am using now as a crutch to not observe the sabbath, in proper perspective?

See you Sunday!
Lamar