Built to Last

   Henry Ford is famous for founding of the Ford Motor Company and for developing the assembly line process of mass-production.  His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry.  Ford is counted as one of the great visionary companies of all time, and is widely studied for its longevity and legacy.
   Did you know that Henry Ford did not start the company because he thought the Model T was a great idea?  In fact, he did not develop that model until 1908 - five year after the company was started.  First he rolled out Models A, B, C, F and K.  Ford Motor Company was actually one of 502 companies started between 1900 and 1908 to build automobiles!
   Jim Collins, best-selling author of great business and leadership books, has found that some of the most enduring companies were founded long before they figured out what their 'great idea' would be.  The great ideas often come later.
   None of us know exactly what was going through the minds of those few dozen who gathered on Rosemont Drive on September 25, 1960.  We have no records of grand visions, or elaborate strategies.  Probably because there were none.  They simply intended to start something that would help them, and help others.  They set out to start a Methodist church in this neighborhood, because that is how they were led.  I'm glad they did.  For this church has touched the lives of thousands, through our worship, our study, our service, and our presence.
   Despite the great 50 years we celebrate this week, I believe we are an example of an enduring organization that has not yet figured it all out yet.  We are impacting lives and doing great ministry, but we remain a work in progress.  I love that about this church.  We are willing to move forward, without all of the answers.
   Happy Birthday Epworth United Methodist Church.  May we all continue growing in God's grace.

Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in

   Robert Frost once wrote, “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.” While Frost was referring to a fictional character, returning to a familiar place to spend his last hours, I believe the same truth applies to us in the real world for the whole of our lives. 

   The home I'm thinking of is not a place bound by geography.  Home is larger in scope and significance.  Home, for many, is more defined by a feeling.  The word I use is peace.  Home should be where peace is found.  For many of us, home is also defined by people.  For example, both sides of our family gather on any number of occasions throughout the year at any number of places.  When we get together, the location is not nearly as important as the people.  Home is not about a place or an address.  Home is bigger than that.
   What is interesting is how silent the Hebrew Scriptures are concerning the idea of home.  Of course, they refer to homes, and folks have homes, but it is never a central theme.  Once into the New Testament, home does play a role in Jesus' life, but ironically its significance is more about the fact that Jesus did not have a home.  Throughout the Gospels, people are trying to figure out where Jesus is from? (John 9:30)  And at one point, Jesus says that he does not have a place to lay his head (Luke 9:58).  Before it is all over though, we are told what sort of eternal significance home will have.  We get some clarity on home.  In Revelation 21:3 a voice from the throne declares, "the home of God is among mortals."  
   How often, in our songs, our stories, and even our teaching, have we professed that our eternal home is some place else?  Yet here, the final word seems to indicate that heaven comes crashing into earth.  God's Kingdom, finally come, will be here on earth.  The eternal reign of God, where peace and mercy and justice and love prevail, will be here, with us, where we have always been.  
   As we approach Homecoming, with the thought that God's home will one day again be here on earth, what sort of preparations should I be taking now?  If Revelation tells of God's Homecoming to earth, and God's peace will reign, should I begin living in ways compatible with that?  I believe that is the message of this church.  Grace and Peace to you, Scott

Our History is More than What and When

   Standing before those gathered, he starts by referring to the past.  He begins to retrace history, talking about the whens and the whats of the past.  But anyone with ears to hear, listens as more than just dates are being given.  The leader weaves into this history some of the whys that go with whens and whats.  Each turn in history, east twist of fate, is offered with a unique perspective of why that event is significant today.  And before he is through, the past has been brought to the present, and the present is made important because of the impact it plays on the future.
   This well could describe the speech given by any corporate leader standing before shareholders, presenting the company's latest plans for expansion.  It could easily be the military general, addressing the gathered troops on the eve of their campaign.  It could be the patriarch and oldest of the generations of family, sitting around the table after the meal, holding forth for all who will hear.  Or, it could be the prophet from ancient scriptures, bringing back the people to their destiny.  I'm thinking about Moses or Joshua standing before the people about to enter the Promised Land (read in Deuteronomy 27).
   Doesn't it also resemble the words spoken by the preacher on Sundays where Holy Communion is celebrated?  The liturgy of the church recalls not just God's saving acts throughout history, but also makes clear the reason why God has acted with such power and might: His great love for us.
   But this specific instance actually happened this past weekend at a baptism.  I was privileged to stand before a congregation in Statesboro and hold my niece, Wesley Diane Hagan, and talk about how God's grace in the past will change her future, for good.  That very moment brought full circle events that had happened in that very place over 70 years before.  Our God is amazing.
   This is the very essence of why our church gathers every week for worship, and even every year for Homecoming.  To hear again our history, more than What and When, but also the Why.  We are here to change lives, make disciples of Jesus Christ, all for the transformation of the world. 
   Grace and Peace, Scott

Getting the Answers Right

   Jay Leno, who debuted for a second time as host of the Tonight Show, has again made popular the concept of a roving sidewalk-reporter. His 'Jaywalking' sketches feature easy questions that draw crazy responses from the average gal or guy on the street. On the few occasions that I'm still up that late, I find these hilarious. But despite the humor, we know that we are not best measured by words, are we? For as funny or serious, or right or wrong, our words can be, we know actions to be much truer indicators of who we are.
   Every congregation will make statements about their love for children, and the value they place on having children involved. Think about the place Jesus gave them in Mark 10:14.  What about our actions? One of the great blessings our church is in the midst of experiencing is the growing presence of children every Sunday morning. Their energy, and the hope that accompanies them, are great encouragement for us all. How do we give the right answer, beyond mere words, when asked about how we value children? 
   We teach them right from wrong, and show them the love of Jesus. We listen to their silly stories, knowing that they are watching how we live out our own life-stories. We have fun with them in play, and give them room to be serious, too. Each of those moments happens best when adults, in groups of two, are working with small groups of children. This very formula helped create a great week of Vacation Bible School.
   Committed adults stepped forward this week for training in new ministries that will allow these very things to happen.  Volunteers are also trained and abide by our Safe Sanctuaries protocol, because we will do whatever it takes to protect our children and our leaders. These are leaders willing to use gifts to teach, serve, and play with kids. 
   Every time a leader stoops over to be present in the life of a child, they are giving answers that speak volumes - sometimes without ever saying a word.  That is how right belief leads to right action. Grace and Peace, Scott

I Loved It So Much...

  Do you remember Victor Kiam's famous phrase, "I loved it so much I bought the company"?  He was referring to his first Remington electric shaver, which his wife bought for him years before. This was the tag-line in commercials throughout the 80's. He liked the product so much, he literally bought the company. That is what I call taking ownership!

  That is the thought I had earlier this week as I looked out the door of my office to see Susan Snider, our church's administrative assistant, pushing a dust mop down the hall. Nowhere in her job description is housekeeping mentioned, but she thought the floors at the entrance needed a little attention right before the funeral in our church that same afternoon. That is what I call taking ownership!

  I've seen it before from Susan, in these first couple of months since I arrived. She goes the extra mile, communicates with everyone who needs to know, checks after things that need checking, and does the little things that go to the heart of what it means to think like an owner, not just an employee. I had countless folks tell me upon my arrival that Susan is one of the best assets our church has, and I've now seen it firsthand.

  Of course, the church is not something to be owned.  With Jesus as her leader, the church is larger than any person, be they listed on staff or in ministry from the pews.  The church stands across the centuries, and partners with God into the future.  Yet, there is something to be said for folks who see their role as more than filling a spot, or punching a clock.  In his best-selling leadership book, The Fifth Discipline, Peter Senge says leaders within great organizations are “connected and bound together by a common aspiration.”  This is one of the wonderful truths about this church: people are connected through a sense of ownership about how things go, and how we dream they can go.  It is ownership, in the best form of the word.  Susan Snider gets that, along with countless others within this great church.  Well done church.

I Was Wrong

   A few weeks back, I opened the teaching in worship with an illustration about an over-priced mansion in Door County, Wisconsin.  I said that it would be a tough sell anywhere in this housing market, but the fact that the $23 million estate was located in Wisconsin made it doubly hard, despite the pet mausoleum that came with the property!  I went on to suggest that this was anything but a destination for celebrities, vacations or retirement.
   I was wrong.  My friend Katherine, who sat there quietly that morning and listened, dropped some information on my desk later that week about any number of resorts there, a great community for the arts, and some of the other reasons that make Door County the ‘Cape Cod of the Midwest.’  Who knew!  I want to apologize to everyone from the Door County Chamber of Tourism…  But seriously, this vacation destination suffers from what many worthy groups already know – if people do not know about you then they will most likely never visit.  It is all about visibility.
   The same is true for the church, but with a twist.  Tens of thousands in this community know things about Epworth – they just don’t know you are a part of Epworth.  They know you attend church, and practice living your faith in your daily walk, but not that your faith is being shaped constantly here in worship, study and service.  They know you, but don’t know you are Epworth.  I love it when folks within the church introduce me as their pastor – but I hope people are talking about their church just as much or more when their pastor is not around. 
   Our location here in the tall trees of this great neighborhood makes visibility for our church a challenge.  It is a challenge that our leadership talk about regularly.  But our best assets – not buildings or property – are visible every hour of every day in front of the most important people in the world – our neighbors.  You are our best asset.  You are worth coming to see.
   Grace and Peace, Scott

The Need for Urgency

   The world is not right.  It has not been right for a long time.  And for as true as those words are, most people spend inordinate amounts of energy denying them.  They deny them with their behavior, their attitude, and recruit others to deny them, too.  The world is not right, but most folks keep on living as if everything were copasetic or very satisfactory. 
   It extends beyond the world.  There is brokenness found in our companies, our social groups, our churches, our homes, and in our lives.  Yet, there we are again, working tirelessly to keep things the same.  Why is that?
   From the deep truths of Scripture, we read of a time when things were right, before the Fall (Genesis 1-3).  Our free will changed that – we choose to embrace half-truths and laziness and selfishness.  The rest of the Scriptures tell of God’s work to put things back together, and redeem all of Creation.  God is not at work alone, though.  From the beginning of time, God has partnered with humanity to care for what was created, and to even do a little creating and re-creating of our own.  From Noah to Nicodemus, Moses to Mary, even Pharoah to Pilate, God is working to make things right again.  One New Testament writer suggests that Jesus’ ministry could best be described as putting all of Creation back together (Ephesians 1:10). 
   If God has seen fit to deploy his best to bring about change, what is our roadblock?  Here we are living as things were acceptable.  Nature is suffering and nations are warring.  Around the corner from us, people are hurting and some are dying.  But we spend all day just trying to get to the next day.  Most folks have reached a place where there is little urgency to change things.  While we might not like things the way they are, we eventually choose to allow them to remain. 
   List to your self the things you most recently have felt urgent about?  How many of those would you be willing to admit to someone else?  Or, did many of them seem trivial, silly, or even selfish.  What would happen if we regained a sense of urgency around things that matter?  (see John Kotter's work on urgency in bringing about change).  What if we spent our days working so the next day was significantly better, for us and for others?  Could there be such a thing as holy urgency?
   Grace and Peace, Scott

It's A Team Sport

   If you knew a little about baseball, and had walked up on Saturday to see the final three outs in the bottom of the last inning, you'd be scratching your head at Randy Morris' decision. His team was leading by a very comfortable margin and the opponents from Toccoa were down to their last out. It was the championship game to crown the best Little League team in the state of Georgia, and up to now it had lived up to expectations. It featured two really good teams giving each other their best.  Large crowds forced people to park some length away and walk, only to find the seating standing room only. One of the key differences was in the quality starting pitching, which has been abundant this summer for Northern. 

   So, with Jacob Pate having pitched the entire game up to that point and only allowing four hits Coach Morris walks out and pulls his pitcher. This is an interesting turn, to say the least.  What everyone then figured out was that Pate had reached the prescribed 85 pitch limit that is imposed on these young players to prevent them, or their coaches, from pitching them so much that they could be hurt.  

   So, Zac Cravens comes in, makes a couple of pitches, and the game is won.  It was a team win and in that regard the ending could not have been more perfect. 

   For me, one of the most critical pieces of Scripture in putting together God's plans for how we will be saved in Christ Jesus comes at the end of the classic chapter in Hebrews 11.  It begins by defining faith as something not seen, then goes on to describe the greatest heroes of that faith throughout history.  Only then it takes an interesting turn and tells how God links multiple generations together in order for a person to receive the promise coming to them:

"Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect." 

Hebrews 11:39-4 

   Now I truly do not know how this works exactly, but according to Scripture is seems God has shaped salvation, won by the death and life of His son Jesus, in such a way that we are all in this together.  Maybe we could think of it as a team sport.