All Things New

Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? Isaiah 43.19

There are new things happening all around us. Many people have just graduated from High School or College. There are others that are getting married during these summer months. We are celebrating the birthday of our country, which represents a new year to appreciate our freedom.

But there is one other “new thing” that is definitely going to affect my family more than any of these. In fact, most of you reading this will also be more affected by the fact that you have a new pastor than the other new things. It goes without saying that there are things for us all to learn and adjust to, but here are some of the new things that we can celebrate and anticipate together.

• We can all (perhaps, especially me) look forward to learning, stretching and changing in many ways. I am coming to Argos from a two-point charge. That means that for the last ten years I have been the pastor of two churches. Both of those churches are smaller than Argos UMC. Here is where we stretch. I have to learn to be a pastor in a larger church. Likewise, you will have to put up (at least initially) with my “country boy ways.”
• We can look forward to some awkward times of change and growth. I am thinking of this as a courtship. We have to get to know each other. I know that there are things that I will want to do differently than you are used to. I need to learn your traditions and stories. We will have to be patient with one another as we learn to get along.
• We should anticipate God working in our ministry together. I have learned to expect God to work in wonderful, marvelous and uncomfortable ways. He has asked me to do things that I have never wanted to do. Together we should plan on God pushing us to places that we have not been before and asking us to do things that will change us for eternity.
• We should expect God to change lives. I am planning on seeing God at work in Argos United Methodist Church. I know that he wants to be involved in our “new thing” together. I believe that I will grow in my relationship with him, that many people will begin new journeys of faith with Jesus and all of us will be challenged and transformed by his presence.

2 Corinthians 5.17 says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” I am excited to see who Jesus is going to make new in our church. God will call someone into full-time ministry. Many people will be called to deeper levels of commitment, faithfulness and life in Christ. I can’t wait to see who will become a new creation.

God is infinitely creative. He is always making things new. I am looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Ash Wednesday V

So here it is again. This is the fourth Ash Wednesday that I have written in this blog. It was on Ash Wednesday that I began writing here and so it seems appropriate that I would contribute something on this day again.

With that being said, let me share some thoughts that are in my mind this Ash Wednesday.

• Ash Wednesday begins the Christian season of Lent.
• Lent is the 40 days that precede Easter, excluding Sundays. Sundays are not included because they are little celebrations of Easter itself.
• We celebrate Lent for 40 days because of the 40 days that Jesus was tempted in the wilderness. He fasted and confronted Satan for that time period.
• Ashes are imposed on the first day of Lent to symbolize the mourning that we have when dealing with death. "We are ashes, and to ashes we will return."
• The ashes are obtained by burning the palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday worship service.

This evening we had a worship service to celebrate the imposition of ashes. In addition to confessing our sins, praying, being pardoned and reading the Scripture, I was able to share a few thoughts about Lent. This year I am going to focus on giving for Lent.

• Giving up things. Many of the traditions of Lent have to do with sacrificing or fasting certain items. Some people give up chocolate, or meat, or pop. We do need to make sacrifices to begin to understand Christ and his gift to us.
• Giving up. There are things that you are doing in your life that you need to stop. You need to give up, to surrender. God wants something better for your life.
• Giving up control. One of the great paradoxes of the Christian faith is that humans long to be independent and in control. Following Christ, however, requires that he be in control of our lives.
• Giving. To be truly Christian we must be gracious and generous, welcoming and loving to all people. That means that we should be open, that we should share and that we should contribute as often as we can.
• Forgiving. We have all been hurt or taken for granted. For Lent this year we should all focus on those who have wronged or taken advantage of us. After all, our bitterness only hurts us.

Join me in this season of Lent by being a "Giving Person," won't you?

A Difficult Thing

I am just muddling through life. I mess up on a regular basis. If I were to keep track of my mistakes, I am sure that I would need counseling. I am not as good as people think I am and I get lost, confused and unhinged regularly.

There are some days that I do nothing right. I hurt people's feelings with my words. I offend others with my actions. There is a whole group of people who I neglect all together. Meanwhile I am in near financial ruin because of poor choices. My family is struggling because of my deficient leadership. I feel hopeless and directionless.

The bottom line: I don't know what I'm doing.

Life is a crap shoot. You give it your best shot and you hope it works. But sometimes it doesn't. My life isn't always bad, or difficult, or confusing, or pointless, but when it is it stinks. That's when I am reminded that no matter how hard I work at it, I don't get it.

So I pray. I pray because I don't know what I'm doing and God might. He might have an idea where I have gone wrong and what I can do to improve things. He might be able to help show me what I need to do, where I need to go.

Ultimately, no matter what, God cannot make my mess any worse than it already is. Even if he doesn't care and can't do anything, praying to him can't hurt.

But, I don't believe that. I think that God is interested. I believe that he is powerful, caring and involved. I think that he knows my situation and can fix me and my problems. Not only that, I believe with all my heart that God knows what he is doing. I'm going to give him my problems. He will know what to do with them.

Ash Wednesday IV

If you go by the calendar today is nothing significant. February 17 is just a few days after Valentine's Day, two days after President's Day (this year) and a month ahead of St Patrick's Day. We are right in the middle of the Greeting Card time of the year. It is cold outside. There will be snow on the ground for several more weeks and I need a break.

A trip to somewhere warm would be good, but that is not going to happen anytime soon. Thankfully summer is on the way, but until then there is Lent.

Today is important because it is Ash Wednesday.

Personally, today marks the anniversary of this blog. For three years I have been writing, reflecting and ranting here. There are over 500 entries- most of them important only to me. This blog has been helpful, meaningful and a grounding place for me.

But more importantly, and universally, today is Ash Wednesday. This is the day that Christians all around the world receive the sign of the cross in ashes to symbolize our repentance and identification with the sacrifice of Christ.

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. Lent lasts for 40 days leading up to Easter. We observe Lent for 40 days because Jesus fasted for 40 days when he was tempted in the wilderness. During these 40 days we sacrifice, or fast, something to draw closer to Christ. Many people will give up chocolate or coffee or soft drinks. Some people will give up a certain meal during the week. Others give up television, or the internet, or something like that. Many Catholics famously fast meat on Fridays. (This is why we always had fish in our school lunches on Friday.) Whatever you choose to sacrifice, remember that the purpose is to remind you of the sacrifice of Jesus and help you get closer to him.

If you check the calendar, there are more than 40 days in the season of Lent. That is because Sundays are not included. Every Sunday is supposed to be a reminder of the resurrection of Christ at Easter. Sundays during Lent are "little Easters." You might choose to not fast on Sundays.

Many people choose to spend more time in prayer, Scripture study or worship during Lent. I encourage that. Join a group of others who are focusing more of their attentions, hearts and lives on being a part of the Jesus movement. Pray every day during this season. Read the Bible regularly. It will change your life.

The Practices of a Christian: The Lord's Supper

The Lord’s Supper, also called Holy Communion or the Eucharist, is one of two sacraments in the United Methodist Church. Other denominations recognize other practices as sacraments, but UMs hold that in Baptism and Holy Communion God’s grace is especially present and significant. To begin with, of all the practices and procedures that are considered sacraments- including last rites, confession, foot washing and others- Communion and Baptism are the only ones that Jesus specifically instructed his followers to practice. We are to be baptized and receive communion.

In communion God works in a very wonderful and mysterious manner. He speaks to us as he enters us. He is present, literally, as we take the bread and cup. Many like to think of communion as an “outward sign of an inward grace.” I do not like that definition. It is true in as far as it goes, but it does not go far enough. Communion, or the act of eating and drinking, is not merely a sign. It is in the eating and drinking that Jesus is present. His grace is given and received as we eat and drink. When we take the bread into our bodies, we are taking Christ into our lives.

There are many controversies surrounding communion. Most of them are ancillary to the importance of what God is doing.

• Where is Christ? This is a very divisive issue. Many Christians believe that the bread and cup actually become Jesus’ body and blood. They hold that the communion must be cared for in special ways because it is literally Christ. Others hold that the bread and cup are “elements,” or that they represent or symbolize taking Jesus into our lives. I prefer the middle ground. When we eat and drink, we are literally receiving Christ, but the bread is not Christ.
• Intinction or not? Many are concerned about the method of receiving communion. There are several different practices among Christians and churches. Some like to drink from small cups. Others prefer to dip bread into a cup. Still others use wafers and drink from a common cup. There is no right way. God’s grace is available and active in every situation and circumstance. Each person and congregation has its own favored way of celebrating.
• Wine or Juice? Some groups use wine because that is what Jesus used at the Last Supper. Others use non-fermented juice. Again, I see no difference. I prefer to use juice so that no one is offended by wine, but God’s grace could work in communion if we used Pepsi and Oreo cookies.
• How often? Many Christians celebrate the Lord’s Supper, or Mass, weekly. Others do so less frequently. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was an advocate for celebrating communion at every gathering of believers. One argument against frequent communion is that people will take it for granted and the practice will begin to lose its significance. I do not believe that is necessarily the case, but care should always be taken to never lose sight of the work of God.
  

There are some people who do not participate, appreciate or enjoy communion. My suggestion to all followers of Jesus is to always receive the gifts of the Lord at every opportunity.

Practices of the Christian Faith: Fasting

In the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, there are dozens of references to fasting. In the Old Testament there are calls to fast and pray for specific times and seasons. In the New Testament it seems as though fasting is a regular part of the life of the faithful. Jesus says to his disciples, “When you fast (Matthew 6.16).” There is no indication that fasting is an option. Jesus did not say “If you fast.” Fasting was a fact of life.

So why is it that people in the 21^st Century do not fast? Why is it not even a consideration for our spiritual health? Our physical health?

The first answer- maybe the only one- is that we are selfish. It is easier to eat than not to eat. Eating is comfortable, fun, and even good for us. Fasting is hard work. We must overcome temptation, exercise self-discipline and focus to fast. Jesus expects it of us, but it is difficult. Our culture does not help this either. In fact, if you are involved in a fast you may be tempted to keep it quiet. We don’t want people thinking that we are weird fanatics, after all. No one else is doing, we reason, so why should I?

A spiritual fast is one where the person fasting makes a sacrifice of a particular item, usually food, for a designated period of time. There are various lengths of fast, from a meal to a total fast for several days. There are also fasts that eliminate only meat, or grease, or something else from the diet. Another variation on fasting is giving up one meal each day, or each week.

The most important part of fasting, however, is not what you stop eating, but what you do with the time and energy that you are not using to eat. If I sacrifice my lunch to God’s will, then I should spend my lunch time in prayer, in study, in meditation. As I deny my physical appetites, I should focus on filling my spiritual appetites and growing in my relationship with the Lord.

And now we are faced with the season of Lent. There are two admonitions that Christians are faced with during Lent’s forty days. We are asked to “Take Up” something from Christ. Traditionally we focus more on prayer, spiritual disciplines, study or attendance at worship. In addition, we are asked to “Give Up” something. In many circles (notably Roman Catholics) Christians give up, or fast, meat on Fridays. Others fast another food item for the entire season of Lent.

The question for all of us who follow Jesus is this: What will you take up? What will you give up?

Anticipation

Sometimes I get discouraged, wondering why it seems that God never speaks to me. I am here. I haven't gone anywhere. Where is God? This is even more troubling as I see God working in the lives of people all around me. Why should I not get to hear his voice? Why is it that I am not seeing miracles?

Some would say that the difference is a lack of faith. I think that this may be part of it, but I am not ready to concede that it is all. I know that there are times when God does something we do not pray for or desire. He is God. He is sovereign. He is not bound by our wishes regardless of our level of faith. God is God and will be God no matter what.

I believe, rather, that the single greatest factor in hearing God's voice, or seeing God's hand, is in anticipating it.

• We should expect God to speak and work in our lives. I believe that miracles will not happen unless we are expecting them to. God will not burst in on us and do things that we do not expect. If he did, God would be a bully, pushing in where he is not wanted or welcomed.
• We should anticipate God speaking and working in our lives. When we anticipate, or look forward to God doing something it is more likely that he will, and more likely that we will be prepared for it.
• We should pray and ask God to speak and work in our lives. If we do not ask for the presence of God, we can be pretty sure that we will not have the presence of God.

The people who are always hearing God are the ones who are listening for him and believing that he will speak. I do not believe that they are more faithful, or that God speaks to them more than to the rest of us. I do believe, however, that they are more prepared to hear.

It is time for you and I to anticipate, expect and pray for the miraculous, the work of God. Now and always.

Personal Ghost Town

At first I was not interested in seeing Ghost Town. The film looked too much like things I had seen before. There were dead people trying to communicate important information to the living (much like Ghost), there were living people who were able to see dead people (just like the Sixth Sense) and of course there was comedy and romance just like every other movie you have seen in recent years.

But Ghost Town surprised me. Ricky Gervais was very funny (as usual). Greg Kinnear was his usual self, giving us more a conflicted corpse than we should ever expect. And Tea Leoni turned in another fine supporting role. The story was not terribly original. Kinnear plays a husband killed too soon. He is struggling with his guilt over cheating on his wife, Leoni. He manifests his guilt by trying to protect her from a suitor who he believes to be unworthy. That is where Gervais comes in.

Dr. Bertram Pincus is a self-absorbed, difficult, insular dolt who likes no one, and consequently, no one likes him. When introduced to the beautiful widow, Bertram blossoms- and falls in love.

But here is the surprising part. Bertram changes. Or rather, Gwen changes Bertram. In the process of falling in love, Bertram learns some valuable lessons. He works to assist several ghosts on their quests to complete 'tasks' before moving to the 'other world.' Bertram learns to be selfless, and that selfishness and love cannot co-exist in the same person.

This film is not religious in any way. There is no talk of heaven, hell or judgment. God is mentioned very little, if at all. None of the characters, living or dead, display any faith. And yet, this film is one of the more spiritual that you will see. There are some new age trappings here, but do not lose sight of the fun the movie creates and the lessons on love, redemption and caring for others that you can learn.