Grace and peace to you from God our creator, who is with us and is the Lord of life! I send you greetings on behalf of the leadership of the Interfaith Center of the Greater Philadelphia Area. Our brothers and sisters of the Muslim, Jewish and Christian faith communities are united in prayer for healing and wholeness for all who are mourning this day. We share in a common hope of God’s providing in time of need, and we believe that nothing in life or in death can separate us from God’s great love.
The text that was read from the Gospel of John, Chapter 11, brings us into a personal, very moving tragedy in the lives of a family whose brother Lazarus had just died. We meet real people with honest concerns: “Lord, if you had only been here, my brother would not have died,” and “if this man Jesus could open the eyes of the blind, why did he not prevent the death of this brother?” Perhaps you have questions as well: “Why this tragedy?” “Why did these precious young people die?” “Where was God?” I do not know the answer. I do know that the story of the raising of Lazarus tells us all we really need to know.
Jesus, God’s son, is with us in our time of sorrow. He came to be with the family. As the Psalmist says “yeah though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for Thou art with me.” Jesus is with you at this time for comfort, for strength, for all of your needs, big and small.
Jesus feels our pain. The text says “Jesus wept.” This is the shortest verse in the Bible and maybe the most profound. Jesus knew that he would raise Lazarus but he wept anyway. Why? Because Jesus feels our pain, understands our deepest grief and cries with us. I know that Jesus wept out in the Delaware River on Wednesday and weeps with you now in your moments of pain.
Jesus reminds us that death is not the last word. Jesus is the resurrection and the life and in John Chapter 11 he restored the life of his friend. Jesus promises resurrection and hope still today! “Those who believe in me, even though they die, yet will they live.” As sure as spring comes after winter and sunrise after darkness there is life after death as we have faith.
Jesus said to Martha “do you believe this?” Jesus says to us as well: ”Do you believe?” Believe in Jesus and receive him in into your heart and you will live forever. No matter what country you are from, no matter what language you speak. This wonderful promise is for everyone. Jesus is that bridge between God and people that gives us life eternal and makes bridges of peace between people of all nations. My sisters and brothers, have faith and you will see the glory of God.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Reverse Mentoring
While visiting the Western PA Conference for the College of Bishops, we took a trip to a new church start known as “Hot Metal Bridge.” This church, on the south side of Pittsburgh has an intentional ministry with the poor, homeless, and counter-cultural community that the church at large tends to ignore. Most of the members are young and many of them are new Christians who never grew up in a church family as children. This church is a model for the new kind of church that Christ is calling forth from the people called Methodists. Reaching new people for Christ and doing outreach that alleviates suffering and alienation is the meaning of “Re-Thinking” church.
Bishop Bickerton has instituted a program in the Western PA Conference known as “reverse mentoring.” In this program an experienced, older pastor is paired with a young pastor or missioner and the young pastor teaches the older pastor about heart of the younger generation. Concern for social justice issues such as immigration, health care reform, earth care and equal rights for all people are high on the list of their interests. They want to make a difference in the world for good as well as take advantage of technology and global networking to make it happen. So far this has been a very fruitful venture in Western PA.
Why not try that yourself? If you are an older pastor or lay person, sit down with young people and ask them to explain their perspective. If you are younger take the time to share. Ultimately everyone learns from each other as there is never one-way street when two Christians share from the heart and really listen to one another.
Bishop Bickerton has instituted a program in the Western PA Conference known as “reverse mentoring.” In this program an experienced, older pastor is paired with a young pastor or missioner and the young pastor teaches the older pastor about heart of the younger generation. Concern for social justice issues such as immigration, health care reform, earth care and equal rights for all people are high on the list of their interests. They want to make a difference in the world for good as well as take advantage of technology and global networking to make it happen. So far this has been a very fruitful venture in Western PA.
Why not try that yourself? If you are an older pastor or lay person, sit down with young people and ask them to explain their perspective. If you are younger take the time to share. Ultimately everyone learns from each other as there is never one-way street when two Christians share from the heart and really listen to one another.
Monday, June 7, 2010
The Perfect Game
On May 29th Phillies pitcher Roy “Doc” Halladay pitched a perfect game against the Marlins in Florida. That means no one from the other team was able to even get to first base and every person was “out” by the time they finished batting….27 “outs” in all. This is very rare, only 20 in baseball history. It is a great honor and a thrill for any pitcher to have achieved this moment and even the Marlins were happy for him that night.
Roy Halladay has great skill for sure but notable to me was when he achieved this moment he deflected much of the credit to the catcher, Carlos Ruiz. No one is an island. Our greatest moments are really a team effort. When we all work together and do our part all of us achieve. There were no un-important players on the field that night. Had anyone not done their part this victory would never have happened.
It is what Paul means when he says that all the parts of the body are important and no one part can tell another part they don’t belong and no part can disqualify itself from body membership. (I Corinthians 12)
Roy Halladay has great skill for sure but notable to me was when he achieved this moment he deflected much of the credit to the catcher, Carlos Ruiz. No one is an island. Our greatest moments are really a team effort. When we all work together and do our part all of us achieve. There were no un-important players on the field that night. Had anyone not done their part this victory would never have happened.
It is what Paul means when he says that all the parts of the body are important and no one part can tell another part they don’t belong and no part can disqualify itself from body membership. (I Corinthians 12)
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Sea Glass
Have you seen sea glass? It is simply that…glass that somehow got into the ocean and it floats around in there for years and washes up on the beaches. When it finally washes up much of the glass no longer has sharp edges but is smooth and clear. People are collecting it, cataloging it, making books about it and some of it is made into jewelry. One of my friends gave me a sea glass necklace. It is round and smooth and pale green. Probably when it started out it was angular and sharp and a darker shade of green. With time and the relentless exposure to the sea it has changed into a thing of beauty.
Here we are once again approaching Pentecost…the birthday of the church. Once again we read the Acts 2 account of the power of the Holy Spirit blowing into the disciples’ prayer room and changing the world forever. The Holy Spirit gives us power to witness, gifts for service, guidance for the work, and comfort in times of distress. Let’s not forget the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work that takes the likes of you and I, with all our sharp edges and unrepentant habits, and slowly shapes them into the likeness of Christ. This does not happen overnight but it is the reality of the Christian life. As we continue to walk with Jesus he works on us to perfect us in love and make us in his image.
As we ordain our class of Elders and Deacons this year at Annual Conference we ask them if they are going on to perfection. They say “yes.” May we all say “yes” to the Holy Spirit as it chips away at our faults and failures and makes us, like sea glass, into beautiful Christians.
Here we are once again approaching Pentecost…the birthday of the church. Once again we read the Acts 2 account of the power of the Holy Spirit blowing into the disciples’ prayer room and changing the world forever. The Holy Spirit gives us power to witness, gifts for service, guidance for the work, and comfort in times of distress. Let’s not forget the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work that takes the likes of you and I, with all our sharp edges and unrepentant habits, and slowly shapes them into the likeness of Christ. This does not happen overnight but it is the reality of the Christian life. As we continue to walk with Jesus he works on us to perfect us in love and make us in his image.
As we ordain our class of Elders and Deacons this year at Annual Conference we ask them if they are going on to perfection. They say “yes.” May we all say “yes” to the Holy Spirit as it chips away at our faults and failures and makes us, like sea glass, into beautiful Christians.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Wet Wood
Have you ever tried to start a camp fire with wet wood? It doesn’t work very well. Once as a camp counselor in college I had to make a fire for a group of campers who were having a picnic outing in the woods. It had rained the night before and everything in the woods was wet, except for a roll of paper towels that we brought along with the food we were to cook over an open fire. We decided to set the paper towels on fire and that combustion lasted for about a minute so we ate cold hot dogs that night. Wet wood does not a good fire make.
How I wonder at the prophet Elijah who was having a contest with the priests of Baal one day on Mt. Carmel. Elijah and the prophets of Baal each made an altar and put wood on the altar and placed a sacrificial animal on that wood and they called upon their god to light the fire. The contest was to see which god was the real god: the God of Israel or the god of Baal. Whichever God had true sovereignty and power would be able to light the fire on their altar. The account of this can be found in I Kings 18:20-40. It is an all-day event with the priests of Baal going to great lengths to call upon their god to light the fire but to no avail.
Then Elijah prepares his altar by repairing an altar that had been previously destroyed, arranging the wood and the sacrificed bull on the altar and then he does this additional step of pouring water on the altar. He drenches the wood with not 1 but 12 jars of water. He even builds a trench around the altar to catch the water so this altar is as wet as it can be. The point of this no doubt was to make it abundantly clear to the wishy-washy Israelites that only a supernatural, all powerful God would be able to light fire on this altar. The story ends with God sending down so much fire that the altar is consumed, the wood, the stones, the burnt offering, the dust and even the water in the trenches were “licked up.” The people were more than convinced and fell on their faces and cried “The Lord indeed is God.” Our God can do the impossible. The power of God is able to overcome any obstacle.
In our daily lives we face difficulties, challenges, disappointments, tragedies, want and suffering. Sometimes it seems like the old phrase “when it rains it pours” and just when you think it can’t get any worse, it does. I am thinking of the people of the Gulf shore region who are suffering now from a tragedy of the oil slick. These people who lived through Hurricane Katrina and other storms have another difficult crisis. I am reminded of the people in Haiti who are going to be getting the rainy season, which will cause flooding in an island that is hardly recovered at all from the earthquake.
Sometimes in life it seems like jars of trouble are poured into our lives. That is when we realize, like the people in Elijah’s day, that it is only God that can make a way out of no way. In our own human strength we cannot overcome the many troubles on our earth. Humanity more or less has made a mess out of things and it is only the power of God that can heal and help and bring solutions to our problems. When things begin to look impossible, remember the wet wood and God’s power to light the fire. Trust in God to bring about the answers. Ask God to direct you in what you need to be doing next. Don’t be overwhelmed by hard times. See it as a workshop in faith and pray for the eyes of faith to see God’s victorious hand in the midst of it. Wet wood is no match for God’s fire.
How I wonder at the prophet Elijah who was having a contest with the priests of Baal one day on Mt. Carmel. Elijah and the prophets of Baal each made an altar and put wood on the altar and placed a sacrificial animal on that wood and they called upon their god to light the fire. The contest was to see which god was the real god: the God of Israel or the god of Baal. Whichever God had true sovereignty and power would be able to light the fire on their altar. The account of this can be found in I Kings 18:20-40. It is an all-day event with the priests of Baal going to great lengths to call upon their god to light the fire but to no avail.
Then Elijah prepares his altar by repairing an altar that had been previously destroyed, arranging the wood and the sacrificed bull on the altar and then he does this additional step of pouring water on the altar. He drenches the wood with not 1 but 12 jars of water. He even builds a trench around the altar to catch the water so this altar is as wet as it can be. The point of this no doubt was to make it abundantly clear to the wishy-washy Israelites that only a supernatural, all powerful God would be able to light fire on this altar. The story ends with God sending down so much fire that the altar is consumed, the wood, the stones, the burnt offering, the dust and even the water in the trenches were “licked up.” The people were more than convinced and fell on their faces and cried “The Lord indeed is God.” Our God can do the impossible. The power of God is able to overcome any obstacle.
In our daily lives we face difficulties, challenges, disappointments, tragedies, want and suffering. Sometimes it seems like the old phrase “when it rains it pours” and just when you think it can’t get any worse, it does. I am thinking of the people of the Gulf shore region who are suffering now from a tragedy of the oil slick. These people who lived through Hurricane Katrina and other storms have another difficult crisis. I am reminded of the people in Haiti who are going to be getting the rainy season, which will cause flooding in an island that is hardly recovered at all from the earthquake.
Sometimes in life it seems like jars of trouble are poured into our lives. That is when we realize, like the people in Elijah’s day, that it is only God that can make a way out of no way. In our own human strength we cannot overcome the many troubles on our earth. Humanity more or less has made a mess out of things and it is only the power of God that can heal and help and bring solutions to our problems. When things begin to look impossible, remember the wet wood and God’s power to light the fire. Trust in God to bring about the answers. Ask God to direct you in what you need to be doing next. Don’t be overwhelmed by hard times. See it as a workshop in faith and pray for the eyes of faith to see God’s victorious hand in the midst of it. Wet wood is no match for God’s fire.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Deacon Sunday is Coming Up
The first Sunday of June is Deacon Awareness Sunday. The Order of Deacons in the UM Church has only been around since 1996 but it is mighty indeed. Deacons are ordained ministers of Word and Service who connect the church to the world in some amazing ways. This spring I had the privilege of meeting with Deacons from both the Eastern PA and the Peninsula Delaware Conferences. They are involved in a plethora of ministries: youth, chaplaincy, teaching, counseling, hospice, music, nursing, advocacy, HIV/AIDS ministry, retirement community ministry, disability ministry, church planting, international missions, Christian Education, ministry with grieving children, etc. The possibilities are endless. Invite a Deacon to your church to share about the ministry. Encourage people who are feeling God’s call to full time ministry to explore the Order of Deacons.
Deacon Sunday Litany
Leader:
Within the people of God, some persons are called to the ministry of deacon. Very early in its history the church . . . instituted an order of ordained ministers to personify or focus the servanthood to which all Christians are called. These people were named deacons. This ministry exemplifies and leads the Church in the servanthood every Christian is called to live both in the church and the world.
All: We give thanks for the ministry of the deacon.
Leader:
Deacons are persons called by God, authorized by the Church, and ordained by a bishop to a
lifetime ministry of Word and Service to both the community and the congregation in a
ministry that connects the two.
All: We give thanks for the ministry of the deacon.
Leader:
Deacons fulfill servant ministry in the world and lead the Church in relating the gathered life
of Christians to their ministries in the world, interrelating worship in the gathered community with service to God in the world.
All: We give thanks for the ministry of the deacon.
Leader:
Deacons lead the congregation in its servant ministry and equip and support all baptized
Christians in their ministry.
All: We give thanks for the ministry of the deacon.
Leader:
Deacons give leadership in the Church’s life:
in teaching and proclaiming the Word
in contributing to worship
in assisting the elders in administering the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper
All: We give thanks for the ministry of the deacon.
Leader:
Deacons give leadership in the Church’s life:
in forming and nurturing disciples
in conducting marriages and burying the dead
in embodying the church’s mission to the world
and in leading congregations in interpreting the needs, concerns, and hopes of the world.
All: We give thanks for the ministry of the deacon.
Leader:
Deacons exemplify Christian discipleship and create opportunities for others to enter into discipleship:
In the world, the deacon seeks to express a ministry of compassion and justice,
assisting laypersons as they claim their own ministry.
In the congregation, the ministry of the deacon is to teach and to form
disciples, and to lead worship together with other ordained and laypersons.
All: We give thanks for the ministry of the deacon.
Leader:
Deacons are accountable to the annual conference and the bishop for the fulfillment of their call to servant leadership.
All: We give thanks for the ministry of the deacon.
Leader:
The deacon in full connection shall have the rights of voice and vote in the annual conference where membership is held.
All: We give thanks for the ministry of the deacon.
Leader:
Deacons shall be eligible to serve as clergy on boards, commissions, or committees of the annual conference and hold office on the same.
All: We give thanks for the ministry of the deacon.
Leader:
Deacons shall be eligible for election as a clergy delegate to the General, Central, or jurisdictional conference.
All: We give thanks for the ministry of the deacon.
Leader:
The deacon in full connection shall attend all the sessions of the annual conference and share with elders in full connection responsibility for all matters of ordination, character, and conference relations of clergy.
All: We give thanks for the ministry of the deacon.
Leader:
As members of the Order of Deacons, all deacons in full connection are in covenant with all other such deacons in the annual conference and shall participate in the life of their Order.
All: We give thanks for the ministry of the deacon.
Adapted from BOD ¶328 &¶329
Deacon Sunday Litany
Leader:
Within the people of God, some persons are called to the ministry of deacon. Very early in its history the church . . . instituted an order of ordained ministers to personify or focus the servanthood to which all Christians are called. These people were named deacons. This ministry exemplifies and leads the Church in the servanthood every Christian is called to live both in the church and the world.
All: We give thanks for the ministry of the deacon.
Leader:
Deacons are persons called by God, authorized by the Church, and ordained by a bishop to a
lifetime ministry of Word and Service to both the community and the congregation in a
ministry that connects the two.
All: We give thanks for the ministry of the deacon.
Leader:
Deacons fulfill servant ministry in the world and lead the Church in relating the gathered life
of Christians to their ministries in the world, interrelating worship in the gathered community with service to God in the world.
All: We give thanks for the ministry of the deacon.
Leader:
Deacons lead the congregation in its servant ministry and equip and support all baptized
Christians in their ministry.
All: We give thanks for the ministry of the deacon.
Leader:
Deacons give leadership in the Church’s life:
in teaching and proclaiming the Word
in contributing to worship
in assisting the elders in administering the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper
All: We give thanks for the ministry of the deacon.
Leader:
Deacons give leadership in the Church’s life:
in forming and nurturing disciples
in conducting marriages and burying the dead
in embodying the church’s mission to the world
and in leading congregations in interpreting the needs, concerns, and hopes of the world.
All: We give thanks for the ministry of the deacon.
Leader:
Deacons exemplify Christian discipleship and create opportunities for others to enter into discipleship:
In the world, the deacon seeks to express a ministry of compassion and justice,
assisting laypersons as they claim their own ministry.
In the congregation, the ministry of the deacon is to teach and to form
disciples, and to lead worship together with other ordained and laypersons.
All: We give thanks for the ministry of the deacon.
Leader:
Deacons are accountable to the annual conference and the bishop for the fulfillment of their call to servant leadership.
All: We give thanks for the ministry of the deacon.
Leader:
The deacon in full connection shall have the rights of voice and vote in the annual conference where membership is held.
All: We give thanks for the ministry of the deacon.
Leader:
Deacons shall be eligible to serve as clergy on boards, commissions, or committees of the annual conference and hold office on the same.
All: We give thanks for the ministry of the deacon.
Leader:
Deacons shall be eligible for election as a clergy delegate to the General, Central, or jurisdictional conference.
All: We give thanks for the ministry of the deacon.
Leader:
The deacon in full connection shall attend all the sessions of the annual conference and share with elders in full connection responsibility for all matters of ordination, character, and conference relations of clergy.
All: We give thanks for the ministry of the deacon.
Leader:
As members of the Order of Deacons, all deacons in full connection are in covenant with all other such deacons in the annual conference and shall participate in the life of their Order.
All: We give thanks for the ministry of the deacon.
Adapted from BOD ¶328 &¶329
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
What are you Afraid of?
Fear is everywhere. We see it on the national scene with the way politics have become meaner and even violent as protestors clash on the streets. We see it in the faces of earthquake victims and people stranded in airports in Europe due to the recent volcanoes in Iceland. We see it in our churches where there are dwindling numbers and rising costs. At a Town Hall meeting recently some people told me they came because they feared that their church was going to be closed. We experience fear personally with health issues, family relationship strife and financial shortages.
It’s been said that fear is “false evidence appearing real” (an acronym for F. E. A. R.) and indeed, much of what we fear, is exaggerated in our mind by the emotions of the anticipated calamity. It’s been said that 75% of all the things we fear never happen and 10% of it is not nearly as bad as we expected it would be. However, some things we fear are real and serious. Getting a diagnosis of cancer and seeing the spot on the X-ray film is hardly an imaginary monster under the bed.
Our faith teaches us that we can experience a difficult ordeal without fear. I John says that “perfect love casts out fear.” (I John 4:18). We have the resources of God at hand that we are not fully taking to heart when we live in fear. As the hymn writer says “Jesus knows our every weakness, take it to the Lord in prayer.” (“What a Friend we Have in Jesus”) That is good advice. The thing that the gospels record that Christ said more than anything else is: “Fear not!” It can be found 52 times, one time for every week of the year. The presence of Jesus can relieve our fear and show us the way forward. The more perfected we are in love, the more we trust and the less we fear. It is a journey of Christian perfection as we travel with Christ.
Steve Bradbury in a recent edition of “Encounter with God” (Scripture Union) describes the world of the Apostle John, who was exiled on the Island of Patmos for preaching the Gospel. “The power of the earthly emperor who demanded their worship must have seemed far more real than the power of Jesus, who had not met their expectation of returning in triumph. Wherever we are, no matter how crushing our circumstances, there are wonderfully liberating truths that we can grasp in faith. There is only one God who loves us and has freed us from our sins, whose Kingdom is already under way among the ordinary and even fearful people who serve him, who holds the keys to eternity, and who holds us securely. It is this all-powerful, all-loving God who says to us ‘do not be afraid.’” (Revelation 1:17)
The powerful Roman government has been gone for centuries. The seemingly weak church of the first century still lives on today. That is because of this powerful, curiously amazing God we serve, who works through our weakness and makes a way in the midst of our fearful circumstances to bring about God’s ultimate kingdom.
Look at your fears in light of the whole picture of God’s final kingdom and the sure promise of eternal life and the fear of our times are mere brush fires by comparison. I Peter 1: 4-7 reminds us that our “ultimate inheritance is imperishable, undefiled and kept in heaven for us as we are being protected by the power of God through faith. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
So fear not! Christ is with you! Hold on to the God’s eternal truths as you experience troubles and fears in this life. Trust God to see you through. And to our churches, who are experiencing fear due to low membership and resources, I say “Look up!” Pray for a vision for new ways to reach out to the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Turn your fears into positive energy around new mission and ministry through the power of God!
It’s been said that fear is “false evidence appearing real” (an acronym for F. E. A. R.) and indeed, much of what we fear, is exaggerated in our mind by the emotions of the anticipated calamity. It’s been said that 75% of all the things we fear never happen and 10% of it is not nearly as bad as we expected it would be. However, some things we fear are real and serious. Getting a diagnosis of cancer and seeing the spot on the X-ray film is hardly an imaginary monster under the bed.
Our faith teaches us that we can experience a difficult ordeal without fear. I John says that “perfect love casts out fear.” (I John 4:18). We have the resources of God at hand that we are not fully taking to heart when we live in fear. As the hymn writer says “Jesus knows our every weakness, take it to the Lord in prayer.” (“What a Friend we Have in Jesus”) That is good advice. The thing that the gospels record that Christ said more than anything else is: “Fear not!” It can be found 52 times, one time for every week of the year. The presence of Jesus can relieve our fear and show us the way forward. The more perfected we are in love, the more we trust and the less we fear. It is a journey of Christian perfection as we travel with Christ.
Steve Bradbury in a recent edition of “Encounter with God” (Scripture Union) describes the world of the Apostle John, who was exiled on the Island of Patmos for preaching the Gospel. “The power of the earthly emperor who demanded their worship must have seemed far more real than the power of Jesus, who had not met their expectation of returning in triumph. Wherever we are, no matter how crushing our circumstances, there are wonderfully liberating truths that we can grasp in faith. There is only one God who loves us and has freed us from our sins, whose Kingdom is already under way among the ordinary and even fearful people who serve him, who holds the keys to eternity, and who holds us securely. It is this all-powerful, all-loving God who says to us ‘do not be afraid.’” (Revelation 1:17)
The powerful Roman government has been gone for centuries. The seemingly weak church of the first century still lives on today. That is because of this powerful, curiously amazing God we serve, who works through our weakness and makes a way in the midst of our fearful circumstances to bring about God’s ultimate kingdom.
Look at your fears in light of the whole picture of God’s final kingdom and the sure promise of eternal life and the fear of our times are mere brush fires by comparison. I Peter 1: 4-7 reminds us that our “ultimate inheritance is imperishable, undefiled and kept in heaven for us as we are being protected by the power of God through faith. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
So fear not! Christ is with you! Hold on to the God’s eternal truths as you experience troubles and fears in this life. Trust God to see you through. And to our churches, who are experiencing fear due to low membership and resources, I say “Look up!” Pray for a vision for new ways to reach out to the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Turn your fears into positive energy around new mission and ministry through the power of God!
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