Vol 6 No 12 - Tale a Look Around

Over the past three days, I have been on retreat with all the appointed clergy within the Louisiana Conference of The United Methodist Church.  There were over 340 of us registered for this event, gathered at our conference center in Woodworth.

Being a good Methodist, my associates and I would arrive at the sessions early enough to find seating near the back. [Insert punchline here.]  It was a great place to sit, for we got to greet many of our colleagues who came in after us, and had a nice perspective on all those gathered for these three special days.

Tuesday morning, looking around the room at the many faces that are the United Methodist Clergy of our state, a few thoughts came to mind:

1) How many of these people would I voluntarily hang out with if we did not have the connection of being United Methodist Clergy?

2) How many of these people would I choose to be a pastor of a local congregation or a denominational executive?

3) How much would I be missing if these people were not a part of my life - those that I know extremely well, as well as those with whom I am merely acquainted through small talk in a hallway or an occasional meeting?

See, this is one of the most joyful things about the church - through Divine wisdom, God assembles the most unlikely to do Kingdom work.  People who seemingly do not have much in common, people who seeming have personality conflicts that would in other circumstances lead to deep division, people from all sorts of places, people of all demographic categories - through God's grace the Kingdom's work is done.

Walking into the office this morning, I reflected upon the fact that the same hold true for our local congregation.  When we gather as a church for worship, or fellowship, or mission, or for any other purpose, we are associating with some of the most unlikely people to do the most unlikely of work.

As you come to worship this Sunday, take a look around.  Take a look around and realize that this is God's grace in the flesh.  Take a look around, and give thanks to God for the richness that has been added to our lives by the common calling of uncommon people - the calling to participate in the Kingdom of God.

See You Sunday!

Lamar

Vol 6 No 11 - How Do You Know?

Dr. Robert Mulholland drew a half-circle on a sheet of paper and asked the graduate theological students gathered in his office for their weekly bible study what it was that was on the sheet of paper.  The automatic responses were two: a crooked line or a half-circle.  In typical professorial style, he leaned back in his chair and said, "How do you know?"

It's one of those moments that will be seared into my consciousness until I draw my last breath.

"How do you know?"  Of course, the standard response was, "I know a curved line when I see one."

He asked again, "How do you know?"  A little more give-and-take ensued, but this was going nowhere fast.

He finally said, "How do you know it's not a straight line?  I'm here to tell you it's a straight line."  More give-and-take ensured among the know-it-all graduate theological students.

Dr. Mulholland then said, "You know it's a crooked like because you have seen a straight line.  If you did not know what a straight line looked like, then you would have no clue this is a curved line."

We were studying some of Paul's writings that morning, and the point the good doctor was making was that when we are confronted with what is the proper way of Christian life (thoughts, words, and deeds) then we can allow ourselves to measure where it is we are on our Christian journey.

I get asked often, "How do I know whether or not I am living the Christian life?"  Let me ask a follow-up question, "Do you know how to differentiate between a straight line and a curved line?"

The beauty of participating in the life of the Kingdom of God through regular weekly worship is that we are consistently given a standard by which to measure our lives.  Through the regular study of the holy scriptures and participating in bible study and/or small groups, we are shown that standard.  Through the fellowship of believers, we come to share in the wisdom of God as revealed through our fellow believers.

See You Sunday!

Lamar

Vol 6 No 10 - The Game

I cannot express how much I am looking forward to this Sunday.  The ritual that comes on the first Sunday of February every year is truly an expression of how sacrifice can lead to success on the biggest stage possible.  Thinking back to how the events of this day didn't just suddenly appear out of nowhere, but are the results of years of preparation.  Looking at how people who usually have nothing in common will gather around to eat and fellowship together as their attention is focused on the actors in this huge drama.

The event celebrated on the first Sunday in February has been known to galvanize communities in ways that no one can seem to explain, but have led to some truly world-changing events.  Unfortunately, long-time friends and families have also been ripped apart (temporarily or permanently) based on their allegiances to various parties who will clash in this event.

Another thing to note about this ritual that affects everyone's life (whether they pay attention to it or not) is that you never know who will participate.  Until you show up at the party, you never know exactly with whom you will be celebrating this spectacular event.  The food and drink may be the same every time, but even then you might have a different take on it depending on the attitude you bring.

Many people who really have no idea what is happening or why will wax eloquent (or not-so-eloquent) about the keys to the contest.  While there may be some obvious clues as to why the outcome occurred the way it did, realistically most people have no clue about the things that are unseen that have led to this thing turning out as it does.

Finally, when it is all said and done, the winner will have the glory that comes with being victorious on the biggest stage.

Please accept this message as your personal invitation to join in the celebration of this big event on Sunday.  For those of you in Morgan City, as is the case every year, we will be hosting this event at Pharr Chapel (complete with food and drink - you don't need to bring a thing).  If you are in another area, I am sure there is a church in your area that will also be holding festivities to mark this special occasion.

I am speaking, of course, of the celebration of the sacrament of Holy Communion.  

(What, you thought I was talking about the Super Bowl?)

See you Sunday!

Lamar

Vol 6 No 9 - Limited Perspective

Watching the fallout from the playoff games in the National Football League this past weekend has been quite disturbing to observe.  (No, this isn't another column about the Steelers - there's not much more to be said as their play spoke for itself.)

It was during the Green Bay-Chicago game where the Bears' starting quarterback, Jay Cutler, was injured late in the first half when a Packer defender got him in the knee.  Anyone watching the game could tell immediately that he was hurt in a pretty significant way.  As the Bears, who were not playing well at all, went into the locker room for halftime, Mr. Cutler's demeanor made it obvious to all that something was clearly not right.  Long story short, Mr. Cutler came out to 'give it a go' in the third quarter, but the decision was made to bring in his backup to finish the game.

What has been so disturbing is the firestorm of criticism that was launched Mr. Cutler's way during and after the game by his colleague within the National Football League.  Evidently, Mr. Cutler did not show the right amount of heart in many people's opinion by not continuing to play even on what was later identified as a torn MCL.  Further, Mr. Cutler evidently didn't sufficiently be as involved as he should have been in 'rallying the troops' behind his replacements; rather, it appeared to many that Mr. Cutler was simply disinterested at that point and retreated into a shell on the bench.

Now, the only people who really knew what was going on there was Mr. Cutler, his coaches, and other Bears personnel.  While things may have appeared to have been as interpreted by the Twitter and blog crowd, no one offering commentary on the situation really knew what was happening.  When told of the criticism from his fellow athletes, it was reported that Mr. Cutler had tears in his eyes.

I was drawn to write about this story because many parallels could be drawn to the life of the Christian community.  Like Mr. Cutler, there are many among us who are injured.  Like Mr. Cutler, many times when we are injured, we get hammered for our reactions, even though the simple fact is that, like Mr. Cutler, we are simply doing the best we can to deal with a horrific situation.

Traveling to and from Woodworth on Monday and Tuesday, I heard a lot of chatter on ESPN Radio and NFL Radio about this situation, and at one point a host asked one of the talking head guests, "What needs to happen to make this situation better in Chicago for all involved?"

You and I both know the answer because we have been given it through Christ.  The answer is grace.  We are called to be a gracious people because we have been given grace.  Rather than shooting our wounded, let us be people who bend over backward to extend grace.  Is there a need for accountability?  Of course.  Certain situations need to be addressed with corrective behavior, and that is a biblical concept.

The fact still remains that in all of our interactions with one another what we see is not necessarily all there is going on in each other's lives.  When you see something or someone that is obviously out of sorts, rather than take shots at them, resolve to find out more, to extend grace - for more often than not, I believe you will find in these situations someone have a difficult time who needs some understanding.

See you Sunday!

Lamar

Vol 6 No 8 - More than a Meeting

One of the hallmarks of our Methodist tradition is our emphasis on connectionalism - the idea that no congregation is an island; indeed, we are all connected to each other and the larger church.  We share our ministry; what happens in one congregation happens to all.  We lift up one another's celebrations, and hold each other's hands through times of trial.  We find the roots of our shared ministry through God as revealed in the Holy Scriptures and order ourselves through the authority of the Book of Discipline, the provisions of which are administered by those ordained as elders in the church under the direction of the bishop.

Spending the past two and a half days in the office of our District Superintendent, I have been consistently reminded of the joy of this connection - seeing how the Kingdom of God is at work through so many of our local congregations.  As part of the district audit team that helps review and compile the data from the past year in each of these places, visiting with each of the pastors, I thought often of how much it means to be able to share our ministry with so many others.  From the highs we celebrated with a few, to the tears that were shed with a few, to the encouragement shared with all, it reminded me once again of the communal nature of our faith.  Where's the comfort of knowing we have a great cloud of witnesses who share our faith and tradition if we live as though each church is an island unto itself and not swept up into the larger work of the Holy Spirit that has breathed life into our movement for well over two centuries?

We cannot escape the fact that in and through Christ - his life, death, and resurrection - we are all connected to one another.  Our emphasis on connection finds its modern founding through the ministry of John and Charles Wesley, but make no mistake about it - the roots of our connection are found in the earliest days of Christianity.  Spend some time in the Acts of the Apostles and in Paul's writings where he is encouraging a particular congregation to help support a sister congregation in need, and it becomes quite apparent early on that we have a shared responsibility for our well-being.

Praise be to God we are not in this alone!

See you Sunday!

Lamar

Vol 6 No 7 - Commitment

Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner note in their recent bestseller SuperFreakonomics: 

"The people who become excellent at a given thing aren’t necessarily the same ones who seemed to be “gifted” at a young age. This suggests that when it comes to choosing a life path, people should do what they love—yes, your nana told you this too—because if you don’t love what you’re doing, you are unlikely to work hard enough to get very good at it.

It is my observation that probably the biggest issue that has faced the church from the very beginning is not external but internal.  The issue is that of commitment: Are the self-proclaimed followers of Jesus committed to living out the Christian life as faithfully and with as much excellence as possible?  Are the people of the church really ready to be consumed by God's love and the responsibilities that come in living out the life of faith?

Honestly, I don't know a one of us who does not fall short of this ideal at some point (or two, or three...).  The question we must ask ourselves is: How much do I want to be a true follower of Christ and how much am I willing to sacrifice to live as God instructs?  The fact of the matter is that faithfulness to God through Christ demands that we go "all in" in every aspect of life.

I think so often we struggle with the high calling we have been given and modeled by Christ because we aren't sure if we really love this lifestyle.  This is where Levitt and Dubner's quote resonated with me so deeply: Their words serve as a reminder that if we are really going to be working through this life committed to Christ's will being done, we should do so because of our tremendous love for the Savior.  For, no matter how much we may say we want to live as Christ calls us, until we fall madly in love with the Christian lifestyle, we are setting ourselves up to not reach the true potential Christ is put in each of us.

In other words: What is the path we have chosen for our lives?  A life of self-centered chasing our tail and every whim narcissism or a life of true devotion to God in Christ found only when we allow ourselves to fall madly in love with him?

See you Sunday!

Lamar

Vol 6 No 6 - Sunday's Coming

"Sunday's coming.  Never forget, no matter what else goes on in the week, Sunday's coming."

One of my dear friends and mentors would constantly remind me and my friends of this as we prepared to go out into ministry.  His point was to always make sure that worship preparation and sermon work never strayed far from our thoughts.  Over the past 10 years, I have thought often of his words and how much the words "Sunday's coming" put into focus and perspective all the ministry of the congregation.

Listening to those words again this past weekend as my friends and I gathered to celebrate the New Year, I came to appreciate them in a new way.  Rather than look at them from the viewpoint of "Sunday's coming" and you had better have your work done, I saw it from the perspective of, "Sunday's coming!  I can't wait!  Sunday's coming, and no matter what else has happened (or not happened) during the week, Sunday's coming, and I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for God's people this week!"

That's the beauty of being connected in worship, my friends.  Through gathering, praying, singing, proclamation, offering, affirmation, and all the other parts of worship, we connect with our God who reminds us during these times that, "It's ok.  I am God - have been and always will be - and there's nothing during your week that has more power than me.  So, cast yourselves upon me, and allow me to carry you through all of life.  You are loved not for what you do, but for whose you are - mine.  I created everything out of nothing, and love you so much I sent my Son to heal our broken relationship and will send him again to make all things new on the final day.  Let not your hearts be troubled, and let not them be afraid."

Sunday's coming!  Thanks be to God!

See You Soon!

Lamar