I am SECOND!

I am Second!

What place are you? I am shooting for second place! NOT!

The first trophy I ever got was for placing 2nd in the Ruston Peach Festival Bicycle race. I was NOT happy to be in 2nd place, I’ll tell you. I was riding my sparkly purple bike with a psychedelic “flower power” banana seat and those handle bar streamers. Even those streamers were sparkly! That was an amazing bicycle! And I was amazing ON the bicycle! Have you ever been in a competition in which you were in the lead until the very last minute? Just when you think you’re going to pull off the victory, ZOOM!, someone else powers past you? Yeah. That was my story. I was pumping my little legs, and was ahead of the pack until the very last few yards, and this girl on a fancy-smancy 10-speed bike zoomed past to take the coveted 1st place trophy. I went right home and started making plans to get a 10-speed. So much for beauty. I was in it for SPEED now! I wanted to be NUMBER ONE!!!

I’ve been thinking this week about being 2nd. Who wants to be SECOND? Well, after thinking about this, and praying even, I’ve decided that it would be best if I were just that: SECOND… or maybe even further down the line. What would our lives be like… how would our lives be different if we all decided to be 2nd? What I mean by this is: What would our lives be like… how would our lives be different if Jesus Christ were always No. 1?
Can you imagine your daily schedule? How much time would you spend in prayer? How much time would you spend reading and studying scripture? Would you join a Sunday School class? Or maybe regularly attend a Bible Study? Or ALWAYS go to worship services on the Sabbath? Would you be God’ “Yes Man”… always saying “yes” to God, no matter what and no matter when? Would you honor your tithe before that credit card? Would you raise your children differently? Would you have a different work ethic? Would your daily life be filled with compassion and deliberate efforts to bless others?

Okay, I give up… I WANT TO BE SECOND!!! How about you?

“Catholic Spirit”

“If your heart be as mine, then take my hand.”

from “Catholic Spirit”, a sermon by John Wesley

This is one of my favorite quotes EVER. The quote is actually from 2 Kings 10:15, and reads this way in Wesley’s translation:
“Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? … If it be, give me thine hand.”

The sermon was a response to questions being asked about differences between Catholicism and Protestantism, or specifically between the Roman Catholic Church and The Church of England. In Wesley’s day, without today’s forms of media, the “Larry King Show” and “Bill O’Reilly” were played out in pamphlets published and handed out on street corners, and sermons delivered in churches, and, in Wesley’s case, out in fields or standing in the town square. or on a tombstone even.
These kinds of questions and arguments, while invigorating, frustrated Wesley quite a bit, because it really was a waste of time and energy. Wesley wanted to focus on our scriptural understanding of God, and our lives with God, as modeled and taught by Jesus Christ. Wesley thought, as do I, that we will all have differences in opinion, which invariably lead to differences in how we prefer to worship, or in our doctrine, but these kinds of differences are inconsequential in relation to the living of our salvation. These differences should not get in the way of our love for one another, and our unity in Christ Jesus. I love how Wesley explains this point. He says the scripture does not mean to “be of my opinion” or to “embrace my modes of worship”, but it does mean “first, love me”. He goes on to describe beautifully what kind of love this is. It is not a love that simply tolerates, but is a love that is tender and kind, compassionate and patient. It is a love that encourages and inspires, that “covereth all things; that never reveals either my faults or infirmities, --that believeth all things; is always willing to think the best, to put the fairest construction on all my words and actions.” Isn’t that beautiful?
I’ve been preaching this Summer on 2 Samuel, and the stories of David coming into his kingship, and his life as king. I’ve been highlighting the relationship David had with Nathan, and will really focus on that this next Sunday. Nathan plays a remarkable role in David’s life, not because he agrees with David about everything, but because he disagrees sometimes, and he is not silent. Even so, the love and respect David and Nathan share, allows for the sharing of frank honesty, without schism. The key to this relationship, is their devotion to God. Both of them hear and are convicted by God. They are joined at the heart because their hearts are united in God, and therefore, they join hands in the living of their days. What a glorious model of relationships. I’ll explore this more in coming weeks, so...

See you at church!

Leading Ideas: A Resource for Church Leaders

Leading Ideas: A Resource for Church Leaders

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I Shall Taunt You a Second Time

So, this Summer, I'm challenging myself to preach on the 2 Samuel readings from the lectionary. I often do this kind of thing whenever I find myself steering away from something, or saying something like "no way I'm doing that". If it is the "hard thing", that's typically what I choose to do. Thus, the 2 Samuel sermons.
For those of you who know my sermon prep process, you know that I begin by reading all of the lectionary readings for the season, and see which ones connect with me or speak to me. (if any do... if none speak, then I just have to depend on God to lift up the scriptures for me to preach on.) Earlier this Summer, I was reading, and immediately said "well, I'm not preaching on the 2 Samuel passages." Yeah. Famous last words.
Last week, the sermon title was "I Shall Taunt You a Second Time". If you're not a Monty Python fan, that's a quote from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". For some reason, the taunts that the Jebusites were hurling at David (in 2 Samuel 5:1-10) reminded me of the scene in that movie where the French soldiers were hurling insults over the castle walls at King Arthur. like... "Your mother was a hamster and your father smellt of elderberries. Now go away, or I shall taunt you a second time." There were some other pretty funny ones, but they might be considered inappropriate here.
You see, David was attempting to take Jerusalem from the Jebusites, in order to create the seat of his rule over all the lands of the tribes of Israel. The Jebusites say that even the "blind and lame" can fight off David's army. There are a couple of verses that are troublesome, because David refers to either a "gutter" or a "water pipe" as a means of getting to the "blind and lame", or as a place to throw the "blind and lame." The "blind and lame" are refered to as David's enemies, and we're not quite sure why.
I tend to go with the belief that David had insulted the Jebusite gods (statues), saying they had eyes, but could not see, and feet but could not walk. (thus... blind and lame) There is also the statement that the "blind and lame" will not enter the palace, or courts.

What the heck do we take from these scriptures? We recognize this passage as the culmination of David's long journey to achieve the promised position of King of Israel. Okay... God is true (as always) to God's promises, and the ways that God makes those promises come to fruition are varied, and unexpected. WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING THE PROMISES COME TO BE! God is fully capable of making that happen. (Like God's promise to me that I would have children.... and I marry into a culture that shares their abundance of children, and now I am the mother of 4 boys... 2 of which still live in Tonga.) So, that's the first thing to take away... but we already knew that... right? "Gimme something new", you might be saying.
Okay, try this on... David is a precurser for Jesus... he is referred to as the great shepherd and the tribes pledge to be his flesh and bone (uh... like the church is Jesus' flesh and bone!). So, imagine now that it's Jesus saying, "The blind and lame shall not enter the kingdom." Not only must our eyes be opened to spiritual things, but our feet must not hold fast to a pedestal as a statue, but be about the work of Christ's flesh and bone... sharing the way of salvation in all the world... caring for the poor and the widows (those who cannot care for themselves). Maybe it's not so much our feet, but our BOTTOMS that need to get freed from the pews to get out in the world. For me... that'll preach.
The new "rethink Church" campaign of the United Methodist Church has a key slogan of "What if 'Church' was a verb?

Folks... we, the church, have been blind and lame for far too long. Jesus wants to heal us. Let's take him up on that! (or I shall taunt you for a second time!!!!)

cya in church!
RevB

Things We Learn at Summer Camp

By the time you’ll be reading this, I’ll have (hopefully) survived Summer Church Camp! None of our youth were going to camp at Caney, so I decided to accept an offer to serve as a counselor at Lakeview Church Camp in Texas. It’s a family affair this year. My brother is a youth minister at a large Methodist church in the Houston area, and he is serving as the camp director. He asked Sione and I if we’d like to serve, and bring kids from our churches (or just Johnny & Poni), and after checking w/ERUMC youth about their interests, we decided to take him up on the offer. You may be asking, “Why in the world would anyone do such a thing!?!?!?”
Here’s why… to learn. Don’t you learn things when you hang out with young people? (sometimes, what we learn, we’re not really sure we WANTED to learn! And some things, we wish we HADN’T learned!) I hope to learn more about today’s young people, and “what’s new” with them these days. I hope to learn what other churches are doing in their youth groups and to minister with and to youth and their families. I hope to learn more about my own giftedness where youth are concerned, and I hope to translate all of that into ideas for our ministries at ERUMC.
Now, when I went to Summer Camp the first time, I learned that some people are pushy about trying to get other people “saved”, and that if you pee in the pool, something happens to your bathing suit and everybody knows. I never did really see what they were talking about, but I believed them, so I made sure not to make that mistake! I also learned that I’m an excellent shot with a 22, and a bow, that riding horses at Pappaw’s is more fun than camp, because we can make the horse run at Pappaw’s, and I think scarey stories around the campfire are stupid.
Perhaps one of the most important lessons we learn at Summer Camp, is how much we love and miss our family. My first time away at camp, my big brother was on the other side of the camp with the boys, and I pined for even just a sight of him. I think I wrote my mother and father every single day. I remember crying myself to sleep on my bunk in the “Sunshine Cabin”. Being shy, as I was, perhaps I wasn’t quite ready for camp, but I’m glad I had those experiences. I think Summer Camps helped me grow up and figure out who I really was. I discovered things I liked about myself, and learned things maybe I wanted to change about myself.
What about you? What helped/helps you learn those things about yourself? What kinds of things help us as a church to know what we like and what we maybe want to change about ourselves? Like at camp, we may find out things about ourselves that others don’t really like… and it may be important to us as a church to know what kinds of things we could change.
I’ll let you know what I learned! See you at church!

Young Clergy?

Well, I don’t consider myself a “young” clergy person. At almost 46 (next month), I qualify as middle-aged, but I continue to be included in mailings and groups with the title “young” attached. This is a good thing, right? It means I’m perceived as one still clinging to the energy and attitudes of youth. Either that, or I’m perceived as immature. Actually, that’s probably the more accurate assumption. Regardless of the perception (accurate or not!) I’ve been participating in a group on Facebook called “UMC Young Clergy”, and praying daily for 40 days during this season of Annual Conferences. We are praying for the United Methodist Church to be renewed, revived, and refreshed. We are praying for a return to the scriptural understanding of the church and her mission. We are praying for an evangelistic flame to burn in our ministries. We are praying that we become again a church that cares more about others, than ourselves… a church that reaches out to the lost with hearts and hands that love like Christ loves. We are praying that we become a church that boldly addresses justice and stewardship of the Earth and its inhabitants, and actually stands up and leads the way in acts of mercy and loving-kindness. We are praying that our whole denomination will begin to re-think “church”. We are asking… do we really have ‘Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors’? Really? I wonder. We have been working at opening our hearts, and opening our doors… now it is time to open our minds to a new understanding of Christ’s definition of “CHURCH”.
Here is a portion of one of our daily prayers. You might wish to join us:

Gracious God, we confess to you that, in so many ways, we have fallen short of who you would have us be. As individuals we allow ourselves to become wrapped up in our own wants and desires, we become increasingly concerned about our own security and future, and in pursuit of our own comfort we turn a blind eye to the pain and injustice suffered by others.
Corporately we have failed to live your calling as well. In many cases our churches tend to perpetuate the status quo because it is safer, because it is comfortable, because we want not to rock the boat.As United Methodists in the United States we are aware of the ways that our brothers and sisters around the globe continue to make disciples in radical and risky ways... Forgive us, God. For our self-centeredness and shortsightedness, forgive us. For our complacency and maintenance of the status quo, forgive us. For the ways in which we have failed to live your call, forgive us.God, we know that you love us, as individuals and as your church, exactly the way we are. Yet, at the same time, we have a sense that you don’t want us to stay that way, that you have a greater hope for us, that you are calling us into a future beyond what we can imagine. Open our eyes, our ears, our hearts, and our spirits to who you are calling us to be. Amen.
submitted by Rev. Jeff Clinger, Kansas-East Conference

Is your mind open enough to re-think how we “do” church? See ya in worship!

Personal Holiness

So... long time, no post! Here's what's on my mind today:

Personal Holiness…

Do those words mean anything to you? Do they make you yawn? Do you roll your eyes and say “ugh!”? OR… what would really make ME happy is... do those words peak your interest?

If you have done any studying or reading on what it is to be a Methodist or a Wesleyan, then you already have an idea of what “personal holiness” includes. For brothers John and Charles Wesley, personal holiness was an intentional way of life that brought about revival. Remember that the Church of England was woefully in decline in the 1700’s, and while in school at Cambridge, the Wesleys formed a small group of friends who met regularly to read, study, and discuss their personal journeys in discipleship. They were open and honest about their struggles, and held each other accountable for spiritual growth.
As time went on, and the Wesleys matured in their faith and ministries, they recognized that these kinds of small groups were a key part of the answer for revival in the Anglican church. And thus, the Wesleyan movement began, leading eventually to the establishment of the Methodist Church in the United States, and now the worldwide United Methodist Church.
In the United States, this kind of accountability group has fallen by the wayside, for the most part. We tend to want to live and let live, and not question or challenge anyone in anyway religiously. There are many who believe that this fear of involvement and accountability has led to the church’s decline. A vicious cycle then begins when we grow more fearful of driving people away, because we are desperate for members. As we all know, however, “membership” does not equal “discipleship”. (As was the case in John Wesley’s day in the Church of England.)
John Wesley eventually grew to understand true discipleship as a holistic way of living, which involved achieving a Godly balance in our spiritual being, our intellectual being, AND our physical being. In other words, a holy lifestyle meant the pursuit of holiness in body, mind and spirit. He also believed that there is an unmistakable connection between our physical health and well-being and our spiritual and intellectual health and growth.
Therefore… setting that little history lesson aside… as for you… what is the definition of “Church Membership” and how does that relate (or not!) to your understanding of “Christian Discipleship”? Are you finding yourself in an unbalanced, or even unhealthy, way of life? Is there a particular area in your life that needs exposure to Christ’s healing touch? Are you struggling with an addiction? Depression? Ill health? Weight issues? Not exercising enough? Over-work? Stress? Anxiety? Anger? Or maybe even just bored or “blah” about your life these days?
Well… I am! Since my hysterectomy over a year ago, I’ve really packed on the pounds, and I’m tired of being out of balance. I know that I grow spiritually and intellectually when I am taking care of myself physically… and I’ve been holding myself back. How about you?
If any of this is striking a chord with you, I’d like to invite you to join me on Wednesdays in May. (and only May, for now!) We’ll have 2 groups, one at Noon, and one at 5:30, for the purpose of study, discussion, and accountability with love. We’ll call them “Wesley Groups”, and see how they go. The desired outcome of these groups is deeper relationships with each other, improved health and well-being, and most importantly, stronger devotion to God.
Whatever you want to work on: quitting smoking or drinking, eating better, eating less, exercising regularly, taking your medications to stay on top of health concerns, working more, working less, reading the Bible or praying more, really ANYthing, please let’s help one another. If you know of anyone who might benefit from something like this, invite them, or better yet… bring them! We start the Wesley Groups the first Wednesday in May! Until then….

Cya in church!

-Rev B