Vol 3 No 40 - The Need for Affirmation

...[S]pirituality is not a self-generated
achievement but a gift given to us by God.  

This gift sets us free to see life in a new way
and to live life as God intended, 

in union with the purposes of the
Creator and Redeemer of the world.

Dr. Robert Webber -
The Divine Embrace: Recovering the Passionate Spiritual Life

As many of you are aware, this Sunday marks the beginning of a new season of life in our congregation, a season where we will spend the next several weeks exploring our faith as it relates to the vows of membership we take when we join a United Methodist congregation.  In preparing for this season, and our worship during it, I came across the above from Dr. Robert Webber while reading his book and saw this entire season crystalized within these words.  In an age where the spiritual leaders of our society (Oprah, Dr. Phil, etc.) lead us to believe that spirituality and truth are found within ourselves, and that we must determine the truth by which we will pattern our lives, Dr. Webber reminds us that spirituality, like life itself, is a gift from God.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I heard one person tell me yesterday as I was talking about all this.  "You and I both know this is all about the money and a different way to approach what is ultimately about money."  No need to be sneaky or coy about this - indeed, part of our Reaffirmation Sunday service will indeed include us making written commitments about how we will uphold our vows, and this will include us making our financial commitments for 2009.  However, to think for a minute that any of this is simply about money would be a huge mistake, for anything that we do within the life of the church, from reading this e-mail, to serving on committees, to participating in worship, to fulfilling a financial commitment, is first and foremost a product of our spirituality.  To go even further, anything we do in life, period, is a result of our spirituality.  The question we must answer is, "From where does our spirituality come?"

Does it come from within, as a result of our own efforts, understanding, and desire?  Or does it come from beyond, as a gracious gift from God as a tremendously extravagant gift, a gift that is to be lived from the perspective of a grateful recipient?

As we pursue our conversation about prayers, presence, gifts, and service, let us be perfectly clear: yes, indeed, the concentration on and renewal of our vows is related to our congregation and its immediate future.  But let us be equally clear that our commitment to our vows is, whether we want to admit it or not, a reflection of how we view our faith.  As your pastor, I challenge you to take advantage of this season to fully re-examine your perspective on the origins of your faith; I am looking forward to doing the same myself.  What a great opportunity to grow together!

See You Sunday!

Lamar