Vol 2 No 34 - Precious Memories

Looking through the headlines delivered to my newsreader program this morning, one stuck out to me: "Thanks for the Memories...Whatever They Were." From wired.com, this article goes on to talk about a report in the latest Journal of Psychiatric Research that talks about a group of scientists from Harvard & McGill Universities who have done very limited trials involving a drug that might help you be able to forget the bad and unpleasant memories of life. I have enjoyed reading some of the things that Wired puts out, because they are not only a technology magazine, but also dabble in technological ethics. The writer of the piece, Tony Long, notes that, "The pain and sorrow of life, and how you deal with their effects, is part of what fuels your humanity. It's part of what lets you continue growing throughout that life, part of what gives you wisdom in your old age."

In one of our study sessions on worship this week, we had a lively discussion about where all we learn about God, and the fact that as Wesleyans we believe that God is revealed to us in Scripture, but we use tradition, reason, and experience to reflect upon and interpret the Scriptures, as well as experience and live out the Christian faith. Every one of you reading this message has gone through the highest highs and lowest lows of life in your own way, and every one of you, if you are honest with yourselves, will admit that those experiences help make you who you are today. As those of the Methodist tradition, we do not subscribe to the idea that everything that happens is a direct result of God's action (that is, God doesn't sit around and decide that your life shall become a living hell; rather, the things that happen in life are a result of living in a post-Genesis 3 world, a world not as God intended it), but we do believe that the way that we respond to the many dangers, toils, and snares of life are a reflection of our faith.

This is one of the most perplexing questions that people have for those of us in pastoral ministry, 'Why?' And what really is hard is that the truthful, honest, answer - and the one that any pastor should give you is, quite bluntly, "I don't know." What I do know, however, is this: Without all the memories of my life, good, bad, and indifferent, I would not be who I am today. If, God forbid, a cruel disease comes along that saps my memory, that is one thing, but I would hate to voluntarily get rid of any of my memories - for I would not be who I am, or who I am to become.

The challenging thing for us is not to eschew the painful memories of the past, but to celebrate that we have a God who redeems us from the past to prepare us for a glorious future that will be fulfilled only when the Son of God returns again.

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 2 No 33 - Why Are We Here?

In many cases, when the time of year rolls around where the committee on lay leadership starts to meet to nominate the church officers and committee chairs for the next year, people will come to the pastor or those in the discussion and start making cases for and against certain people and certain situations. This situation really kicks into high gear when a pastor is in their first year of appointment to the congregation and doesn't have a handle yet on the various political factions within the church (yes, unfortunately, they do exist in the church). My standard response in those situation is that it is naive and rather foolhardy for me as the new pastor to question the wisdom of previous years' charge conferences, since they knew more about what was going on here than I do. In the past 7 months, I have seen my trust in the charge conference validated by the discussions that we are having in the Long-Range Planning Committee. The insight and discernment these men and women have for our congregation leaves me astounded pretty much every time we meet - for each meeting is a learning session for me and just when I think I have something figured out, a new piece of information comes through that totally changes the discussion and/or makes me examine my thoughts and actions, along with the reasons for these thoughts and actions.

We met this past Tuesday evening, and one of our committee members looked at me and point-blank asked me, "OK, what's your goal here? What is it that you want to see happen around here?" This person won't know it until they read this e-mail, but I have wrestled with this question pretty much constantly ever since. My answer to this question was that my hope, my goal, my wish, and my prayer for this congregation is that we get serious, individually and as a community, about having the Triune God as our number one priority in life. To expound further, whether or not we spend another dime building or remodeling our current buildings, whether or not we have 20 people or 220 people in worship, whether we have 4 ministries or 40, one service or five, I firmly believe that all the Lord requires of us as the people of God is to have the fulfillment of the Divine will as our number one priority in life. This is not to say that every member has to be at the church facilities every time the doors are open, but that in all that we do, we can truly say that it is not our will, but God's, being done.

Friends, this is why God put us here. This is why God sent Christ to redeem all of creation, reconciling a fallen world to its Creator. We were given the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us because God cares so much for us that we were not about to be left to our own devices to live this life of faith. There is no denying that God is doing many great and mighty things through this congregation not because of us, but in spite of us, and our challenge is to be more intentional (communally and individually) in pursuing the divine will. When we put God first, and ourselves way back in the pecking order, even greater things will happen.

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 2 No 32 - Destiny

I think it rather serendipitous that the fourth day of July falls on a Wednesday this year, since I send out this weekly pastoral messages on Wednesday and in the churches located in the United States, this is one day where we get to see the true tension between the message of the gospel and the message of our society, especially as it relates to where our ultimate allegiance lies. Of course, far better for this day to fall on Wednesday rather than Sunday, when it can truly get ugly if we do not watch out.

Why is it so hard to look at the fourth of July holiday as a Christian? Well, for one thing, it is referred to as Independence Day. Looking back at history, this is not a bad thing, for King George III had definitely been a bit unreasonable when it came to his demands for the colonies of North America. Political independence is fine, and needs to be celebrated. After all, it is far easier to worship our Lord when we don't have to worry about our lives being jeopardized just for proclaiming the gospel, right? Along those lines, it is easier to follow our Lord when we live in a society where we have the freedom to worship as we choose, right?

When I was talking about this yesterday with one of my colleagues, he related to me that this past Sunday, he asked his congregation to write down what was the best thing about living in this country. As he looked over the cards, he shared with me that the most common answer was "The right to control my own destiny." As we talked further, we came to the conclusion that this is very scary for us in the church - for the question then becomes, "OK - what destiny are you choosing?"

This is the question I think we need to face today, and every day that we think about how wonderful it is to live in this country (even with all its faults in the past, present, and future). What destiny are we choosing? I think the truest way to answer this is to look at what motivates our direction in life. Are we more concerned about having the political freedom to choose our own destiny or about having the absolute freedom from sin given to us (by God through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit) to live in a way that says, to paraphrase Paul, that we live no longer according to the standards of this world but instead are transformed by the renewing of our minds?

Do you want to truly honor the traditional ideals under which this country was founded? Let's get serious about not focusing on celebrating the political freedom to worship as we choose, but get around to living the transformed life that comes from freedom in Christ. Let's get serious about realizing that we are called to live a life where our ultimate goal is nothing more and nothing less than God's will being done in our lives. Let's get serious about realizing that if we do not allow ourselves to live lives that are centered first and foremost on the Triune God, then what good is all this political freedom that is being celebrated today?

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 2 No 31 - The Final Word?

Given that over the next two days (Thursday and Friday) we will be celebrating the lives of two beloved ones who have gone to their eternal reward with the Lord, I have been thinking a great deal about life and how we are to live, and what is it about certain people who touch us in special ways due to how they lived their lives. There is nothing in the ministry of the church that is more of an honor than being with one another in times of grief, loss, and sorrow. To see the people of the community of faith rise up in such supportive ways as we support families and friends who gather near and far is something that I never take for granted as your pastor. This is one of the ways that we help define who we are and how we live - in our response to brothers and sisters in Christ who are going through the pain of losing a loved one.

One of the things that gets me thinking at times like these is to hear the stories of the friends and families who gather to celebrate these lives. Hearing again, or for the first time, family stories, inside jokes, and all the other wonderful things that are shared between loved ones is so richly rewarding. That is why I want to ask you as you read this to consider a question that I hope you have thought of before: When your friends and families gather to celebrate your life, what will your story be? I want to challenge you to do everything you can to make sure that your life's story is a life of faith, a life lived solely for the glory of God.

I know you may read this and think that you know this already and this may seem like a 'yeah, I know that' message, and I want to encourage you if this is your reaction to pause for a moment and realize that we cannot take this life we have been given for granted. We cannot allow ourselves to just assume that we live a life of faith because of what we do - we must be vigilant about making sure that we live a life of faith because of who we are: new creations in Christ Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God.

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 2 No 30 - Congregational Prayer

Further down in this message, you will see a new section added to the weekly e-mail. You will be given two or three areas within the life of the congregation to lift up on a regular bases in this section called Prayer Emphases. So often, it is easy for us to start taking this community that God has given us for granted. We can allow ourselves to become detached (physically, spiritually, or emotionally) from our true home in the family of God. It is my hope and prayer that by getting now twice-weekly prayer reminders (once in the bulletin and now in this e-mail) you will be encouraged to pray not only for those individuals and situations that we mention, but also for the Pharr Chapel family.

God is doing amazing things in the life of this congregation. As I mentioned during worship last week, looking back over my first year as your pastor it is absolutely humbling and awe-inspiring to see where divine grace has brought us in this short time we have had together. I do not believe in prayer as a tool to manipulate God or as an ATM machine to get what we want, but as a discipline given to us by God to allow us to see more fully God's will for us. Through this emphasis on praying specifically for the ministries of the congregation, it is my hope and prayer that we will come to realize more of what God's intention is for us in these areas.

As we go along in this exercise, please e-mail me with suggestions for ministries to be lifted up that I may have missed. I will do my best to hit all the areas of our congregation, but know that with all that God is doing in our midst it may be hard for me to keep track of everything.

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 2 No 29 - Hard Words

By now, you all should be aware of the Favorite Scriptures of Pharr Chapel sermon series that I will be starting this Sunday. This week's requested scripture is Ezekiel 36:26, and in order to put it in it's proper context, the passage we will be looking at is Ezekiel 36:22-32. It is my experience that whenever you study the prophets of the Old Testament, you can't help but be touched by the fact that these guys were put in a seemingly impossible position. Here they were, in many cases minding their own business, when God reaches down and says that you will be the messenger for the Divine, and you will get to deliver a message that they are going to be driven out of their land, endure crushing hardships, be mocked and ridiculed by the world. Oh, and anything good that comes of it comes not because of your actions or attitude, but because of what God says and does. Let me ask you, how fast would you sign up for this job?

Speaking of difficult messages to deliver to the world, the youth of Klein UMC did a FANTASTIC job during their presentation last night. A musical drama, their message spoke to all of us who are a part of the church. It helped put in perspective the lives of youth in today's world, and reminded us of all the challenges that they face every day - challenges that people in school even 15 years ago never dreamed of. These youth reminded us, much as our youth do on a regular basis, that our kids face so much pressure, from so many avenues, that what we can do most for them is to pray for them, and to be there for them. Instead of spending so much time worrying about what is wrong with the world and the perceived wrongs of the next generation, we should be people who step out with a hand to help them through the difficulties they face. Rather than give them pithy sayings or 'back in the day' stories, we need to be actively involved in their world, and get to know them on their terms. The young man who delivered the closing monologue and prayer spoke to so many - I want to thank those of you from Pharr Chapel who showed up to support the 60+ kids and 14 adults who accompanied them. I can safely say that each of us who were honored to be there will not soon forget the enthusiasm and energy, but most importantly the message, that was conveyed to us on this special occasion.

The prophets of the Old Testament & the young prophets of today's church - both delivering messages that not everyone wants to hear. The prophets of the Old Testament & the young prophets of today's church - both having the courage to step up and speak hard truths that we don't necessarily want to think about. The prophets of the Old Testament & the young prophets of today's church - both realizing that what it takes to deliver a hard message is nothing more and nothing less than supreme confidence that God is with them.

What keeps you from delivering the hard truths (in love, of course) of life to the church and the world? Join us Sunday to explore this more.

See you Sunday!
Lamar

Vol 2 No 28 - Connectionalism

I have been out of the office most of this week attending the 2007 session of the Louisiana Conference of The United Methodist Church. Over three-and-a-half days in Baton Rouge, almost 1000 clergy and laity from around the state gathered to hear reports about the ministries of the people called Methodist in Louisiana. Most important to me was not the business sessions, but the time spent in Christian conferencing and worship. The memorial service on Sunday night was truly memorable - it was nice to see Bishop Dan Solomon back in Louisiana again as he was the preacher for this service. As usual, Bishop Hutchinson brought his "A" game on Monday night during the ordination service; his was a notable message about having our hands up instead of out in relation to God. Another benefit of gathering with the larger church is the chance to catch up with old friends, colleagues, and parishoners, as well as meet new friends and colleagues. I want to commend your delegate, Dana Blanco, for her enthusiasm and attentiveness in attending her first conference. Look for Dana to give us all a brief report before worship on Sunday morning.

Speaking of connectionalism, we will be fortunate at Pharr Chapel this week to experience this uniquely Methodist tradition not once, but twice. As was announced in our newsletter and in worship last week, we will be observing Missions Day this Sunday. Rev. Larry Norman, Director of the Volunteers in Mission program for our conference, will be our guest preacher. I look forward to worshiping with Rev. Norman as he brings us the message. Prior to worship, Larry will be visiting with my Sunday School class. All of you are invited to join us at 9:00 AM to hear more about ways we can fulfill that which we say is important to us, fulfilling the great commission. Larry has been a friend of Pharr Chapel for many years and I cannot wait to join you in welcoming him to our family.

The other opportunity we have to celebrate our connectional nature as United Methodists will come on Tuesday night. We have the privilege and honor of hosting the youth choir from Klein United Methodist Church in Spring, Texas. Around 60 youth and 14 adults will be spending the week at First United Methodist Church in Franklin, LA, putting on their Vacation Bible School program in the mornings. To help raise funds for their ministry, their youth choir performs at area churches during the evening. Please make every effort to join us on Tuesday night at 7:00 PM to host these servants of God as they perform a wonderful dramatic interpretation of Scripture for us. Also be sure to invite friends and family from other churches and the community.

Look at these two events as not only special times on our church's calendar, but also an opportunity to realize once again that for those of us who are in the Christian faith, church goes far beyond the borders and rolls of the local congregation and into the entire world. What a great time to testify to the fact that we are a part of something much bigger than ourselves.

See you Sunday!
Lamar