What is Next After This?

   Leslie Morris, our church's Lay Leader, spoke for just a moment on Sunday afternoon at the close of our Church Council meeting to hear and act on two very important purposes.  The first of had been accomplished when Steve Sawyer and the Council voted approval to a very solid, balanced Ministry Budget for 2011.  The budget included a great record of estimated offerings through pledges and contributions, which then allowed our church to allocate our proposed expenses across great ministries. It is a great thing to start the year with the confidence of such actions. The second dealt with nominations for leadership, and was only for information purposes.

   Leslie's comments took only a minute.  She passed out the list of Church Leadership for the upcoming year while noting the three remaining blanks that we are working on filling.  We have since received one Yes, and are hopeful for two others who have been asked.  But she made a statement that has left me thinking.  She said, 'the pace of things in the church has picked up, and every leader needs to be ready for even more in the future.'  

   How true! After six months of good work by our leaders in getting our 'house' in order, the real work is just getting started.  After weeks of number crunching, decision-making, and vote-taking by our leaders in Finance, the real work of a balanced budget starts on January 1 when we try to live into it.  For all of the tireless work done by our Staff-Parish Relations committee around shaping our staff for great ministry, the next task is to not stop.  Leadership in the church is on-going.  Leaders do not stop.  They rest, for sure.  They seek sabbath, and recharge, but they get going again.   

   I think of Mary and Joseph in the days leading up to and just after the birth of a son in Bethlehem.  For all of the effort it took to get to that place, the work had just begun.  Getting to Christmas is eternally important - but it is not the end of the story, is it?

   My desire for our church is to take some time, in these holidays, for rest and renewal.  May our celebrations be grand, may our generosity be extravagant, may our worship be great.  Then may we be ready for even more as we move forward.  Grace and Peace, Scott

A Date That Will Live On...

"Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, members of the Senate and the House of Representatives: Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, December 8, 1941

   It is one of those generational dates in history. The kind of date marking an event that everyone who was alive can remember where they were [Listen to FDR's speech at wikipedia].  Roosevelt's speech stands along with the announcement of the assassination of President Kennedy, the first images and sounds of Astronaut Neil Armstrong taking that giant leap onto the surface of the moon.  Since then, we have had the Space Shuttle Challenger tragedy, and the attacks of September 11.

   Three of these are tragic, one cause for celebration.  All of these have the common characteristic and trait of having occurred after the advent of modern communication.  Radio, then television, and now the internet allow millions of people to witness events in real-time.  This has helped, I believe, to spread more quickly the news and the commentary on events that soon become history.

   That was not the case with arguably the most significant announcement of history: the advent of Jesus in Bethlehem of Judea.  Despite the help of a host of angels, the news spread slowly about what had happened.  The commentary about the significance of Jesus' birth took even longer to develop.  Only a handful knew, most notably Mary. Yet, here we are celebrating the entrance into history the One who changed everything.  It is more than a date to be remembered, or a figure to be studied.  He is one to be worshiped.

   See you in worship, Scott

all things new

A loud voice from the throne says "See, I am making all things new."

Revelation 21:5

   I stood gazing out the window towards my favorite tree, a Japanese maple that anchors our front yard, and as I stare a single crimson leaf falls to the ground.  It catches my eye.  Then, as if on cue, another leaf is loosed and heads to the earth.  No more than a few seconds pass, when yet a third leaf falls.  All of them added to the chaos of leaves beneath the tree, which are connected the leaves in the driveway, which appear to spill into the street.  Suddenly I notice they run on from yard to yard, as if they all of the world right now is covered in leaves and straw.  It is a mess.  To top it off, the temperature outside declares it is winter weeks before our calendars make it official.

   Truth be told, all of this has nothing and everything to do with what is actually happening in the world, doesn't it?  Leaves are trivial.  The state of my front yard means nothing when compared to the state of the affairs in the world.  We watch closely as nations engage in gunboat diplomacy over issues of nuclear weapons, while others turn a blind eye to horrendous human rights violations.  Children are being taken, jobs are being lost, confidential briefs are being leaked, and tornadoes are knocking buildings and people around. To mention nothing of cancer, consumerism and the holidays, or any of the other concerns that warrant our prayers.  What part of all of this looks like 'God making all things new'?  

   Yet nevertheless, the scriptures throughout proclaim that God's singular agenda in the world is restoration.  God is about re-creation.  God is about redemption.  Jesus refers to the fact it will happen with certainty (Matthew 19).  He then says, later, that it is not for us to know the times or the seasons (Acts 1). 

   So, we are left to wait. With leaves falling and the world seemingly falling, as well, we wait.  But it is not an idle waiting.  It is one busy with anticipation.  What will God's redemption look like?  How will it come, and will we notice at first?  This is the essence of worship in Advent.  

   I look forward to seeing you in worship this Sunday, Scott

One Way to Get to Thankful

“In a time when many people only want to talk about themselves, my grandmother, who is 89, had the least to say when I asked her about herself. Instead, she wanted to share stories about her community, her friends, and her children.”

Amanda, from Tennessee

   This week we slow down a little more, eat a little more, and hopefully do a little less.  Holidays can help remind us of our place: we are created to work and to rest, and leave the 'savior of the world' role for One who can handle it.  This is the essence of the Commandment to observe the sabbath: we are not God and the world does not stop when we take time to rest (Exodus 20).  My prayer for you this Thanksgiving holiday is that you are thankful and that you find rest and peace, in the company of loved ones.

   But how does one arrive at an attitude of thanksgiving? I've recently heard about one way to get there. Listening.  What better way to grow in our awareness of a deep sense of thanksgiving, than to listen and celebrate God's work through the lives of another?

   The National Day of Listening is a new national holiday started by StoryCorps in 2008. On the day after Thanksgiving, StoryCorps asks all Americans to take an hour to record an interview with a loved one, using recording equipment that is readily available in most homes, such as computers, iPhones, and tape recorders.  Read more at nationaldayoflistening.org.

   I think this is a beautiful way to steer our spirits toward a deep thanksgiving. On a day when family and friends are often already together, we should spend some time listening. May God pour out blessings this week, and every week, upon you that create thankful hearts.

   Grace and Peace to you, Scott

A Celebration of Consecration Sunday

Sunday was great. We had a great congregation in worship with us. The music was awesome. The Rev. David Haygood’s message was inspiring, funny and right on. Finally, we had a great meal, offering the powerful encouragement that comes when sisters and brothers fellowship together around a table.  Just a few days out from Thanksgiving, we would all agree we have much for which to give thanks.

The Bible talks at length about giving and offerings. It says that every person is to give back to God. As I see it, giving is commanded by God while written commitments are desired by the church. Commitments help the church to make plans for ministry and be good stewards. Commitments can also help a person to set goals and be personally accountable. The question before us is, “How is God leading you to respond to what God is doing in your life?”  In my life, making a pledge is an important, holy moment.

Rev. Haygood was so right in making it clear that what is right for one family does not apply for everyone.  Some individuals are just starting the regular habit of giving to God’s Ministries – we were there not many years ago – while other persons and families have considered ways to move beyond the tithe.  I know for a fact that age or income level has no bearing on where a family might be in this practice.  It is of little importance what has gone on in the past.  What matters to God is the effort you make in the present.  The Apostle Paul affirms this in Scripture, 

“Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”  2 Corinthians 9:7

Grace and Peace to you, Scott

A Note Saying Thank You

   I read a while back about a fellow in Nemo, Texas, who decided to thank some people around him.  He chose garbage workers and the crews who help us keep our homes, yards, and streets clean.  He took a picture of his 20-year-old garbage can and mailed it, along with a letter of thanks, to the head of the sanitation department in Dallas.  A few days later he got a letter in response, thanking him for his letter but admitting it had caused a problem in the office.  Though they had been in operation for decades, his was the first thank-you letter they have ever received and they had no place to file it!  

   We talk about saying thanks in the church all the time. It often sounds churchy, too.  Of course, we say thanks to God, who is the giver of all good things.  We are to be thankful for life and the abundance of blessings we have and continue to receive from God.  But could it be that the concept of giving thanks might be expanded?

   There are some people around us who deserve to hear 'Thanks' from time to time.  I can think of teachers, public safety workers, nurses, and custodians.  The list is extensive.  Most of us think about those whose contributions, now, make a difference, now, in our lives.  But what about saying thanks to those who served before?

   I want to say thanks to our nation's Veterans.  For those whose service, and sacrifice, made a difference then.  I hope we are all aware that their service continues to make a difference now. For those who serve now, and for those with loved ones serving, thank you.  Truth be told, if we all wrote a letter for every moment, every instance, every milestone that we were able to experience because of the freedom given us by the Veterans of our nation's military, there would not be a building large enough to file them all.
   May we be those counted as thankful.  Grace and Peace to you, Scott

Campaign to Change The World: One New Marriage At A Time

  As I type this, polls are open across our country.  People are voting here in of Epworth, as we host our neighborhood Polling Precinct, for the first time.  But we know elections are larger than one day, with monies and months spent gaining support, getting out the vote, garnering endorsements, and even a little time spent going over the issues.  State records show that as of today, contributions of $174,125 were made to campaigns from within the bounds of our local Zip Code, 31904, alone.  

   People give money and give time to campaigns because they believe their efforts will mean something.  What if we approach other aspects of life with the same passion as political campaigns?  

   Our church, as of last month, has joined the ranks of 100 other local churches to campaign for a cause as important and critical as any in our country: healthy marriages.  More specifically, we want marriages to get started in intentional ways that lead to sustainable, great, relationships.  Because we know that the home is the very fabric of who we are.

   We have joined a local, grassroots collaborative known as Right From the Start.  In 2008, concerned community leaders came together to launch a community wide initiative designed to strengthen marriages and families in the Columbus Region.  It is based on  a highly successful model from Chattanooga, TN.  In the end, Right From the Start seeks to increase, to a substantial degree, the percentage of children being raised by their moms and dads in healthy families. If we are successful in achieving this objective, fewer children will be at risk and our communities will be safer and better places to live and work. 

   Our church is committed to this sort of campaign.  We are want couples engaged to be married to go through premarital counseling, in addition to the 2-3 sessions I expect of every couple marry, in order that they get started right.  We want to offer classes, education, and inspiration to couples of all stages of marriage to continue to do the hard work of staying in a relationship.  We do this because the scriptures tell us it is the very stuff of our souls.  Jesus reminds us from Genesis that in marriage "two become one," (Matthew 19).  Whether in singleness or marriage, we want every person to life abundantly.  We believe this is a partnership that can better help that happen.

   Grace and Peace to you, Scott

When a Thing is Right

   How do we respond when a thing seems right?  I read in the Scriptures of people rejoicing and being affirmed.  When the disciples are returning and celebrating the chance to do great ministry out in the community, Jesus speaks of the eternal significance of what they are doing (Luke 10). Later, Jesus talked about how heaven rejoices when lost things are found (Luke 15).  The Apostle Paul, throughout his letters to churches and leaders, affirms people when they are acting right and thinking right.  He encourages others to follow the people doing right, and strongly speaks against following the advice of people who get things wrong too often (Philippians 2-3).  We are to rejoice with, and to affirm people when they get things right.  Consider it holy encouragement.

   Rejoicing and encouraging are certainly my reactions to the work of our Church Council last week.  One, among many, of the key initiatives our leaders voted on is the start of partnership with the Pastoral Institute called the Congregational Assistance Program.  We know the Pastoral Institute for its excellence in providing care, teaching leadership, and supporting ministry.  I’m thrilled that Epworth is entering into a partnership that allows our congregation to tap into these resources even more intimately.

   The CAP program is a ministry that provides counseling services, life enrichment education and professional development opportunities for members of congregations and pastors through a contractual relationship with the Pastoral Institute.  Our people will now have access to Christian counseling at greatly reduced rates, and priority given when calling to make appointments.  The goal is to see congregation members within two days or even sooner.  Our church leadership saw the overwhelming asset this offers.  This is a new layer of care we have access to.  While I love listening and sharing with people, conversations will arise that call for a level of wisdom and expertise that I don’t have.  It makes sense in so many ways. 

   We have great people – our church is literally filled with the great saints of God.  But even saints have trouble.  This program increases access to care.  In addition, our fee is waived for first eighteen months, through a grant the PI received to help churches get on board.  Now, that is what I call something right!

   I want to rejoice with our church, and affirm our leadership, for consistently seeking the care for our members and live into Jesus’ vision for ministry.  This is just one of the ways we are positioning ourselves for the future.  Well done, church.

An Ancient Craft: Mentoring

  One of the great, epic stories from ancient Greece tells the story of Odysseus, trying to return home from battle but on the way faced near-impossible challenges of morals, strength, emotion, and wits.  Before  left behind a wife, Penelope, and a son, Telemachus.  But before he left, he asked a friend to take the lead in helping his son grow and mature.  That friends name was Mentor.  Around the same time our own scriptures tell how Moses, in the wilderness, receives wise counsel from Jethro in a role we would all agree today was that of mentor to learner (Exodus 18).

  Fast-forward over 2500 years to 1699, when a French novelist, François Fénelon, writes a story with the intent it could be used to help raise princes and sons.  The lead character in the novel is called Mentor.  The book was very popular for over 150 years, and it is from here that the character of Mentor is transformed into the act and concept of mentoring.  

  One of the great blessings I have is serving as a mentor to six United Methodist Ministers in our South Georgia Conference.  Along with one other mentor, I help to encourage, correct, inspire, and travel along with some of the finest ministers our Conference has.  It is a process we call the Residents in Ministry (RIM).  After three years of meeting one day a month, these men and women will go before the Board of Ordained Ministry in March to be examined for ordination with our Church.  In addition, I now oversee all of the RIM groups in the conference, which means I'm the one to recruit new mentors.  One day a month, for three years, may sound like a significant commitment to serve outside of the churches we are appointed to; but don't we know the most significant things in life call for the deepest commitments?  Isn't it true, that the best things take time?  Haven't we found that the strongest relationships, and with them the greatest influence, don't happen over night?

  I think this concept of mentoring is at the core of Paul's understanding of the Gospel.  He writes about how this looks in ministry, when he instructs Timothy and others in the church:

And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses 

entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. - 2 Timothy 2:2

  The concept of mentoring has been around forever, and finds its way into our literature and our lives.  In what ways is God calling you to teach and lead others?  May we be the place where this ancient practice is found alive and well.

Staying on Mission

I have to be careful.  I have seen my friends and even mentors in the ministry try to make a point of something they have seen out in the world, only to be misunderstood in their efforts.  But I was so dumbfounded by what I saw the other day that I feel it is worth the risk. 

I was standing in line in the busy lobby of a local business.  The line was moving quickly, and there were a dozen of us waiting in line.  It was one of those moments when everyone in the place could hear every conversation spoken because of the close quarters.  Up ahead, the gentleman who was finishing his transaction asked to purchase one more item, worth less than a couple of quarters, and presented a $20 bill for tender. 

“No.”  The clerk told him no.  I was dumbfounded.  She tried to get him to use a smaller bill, but he did not have one.  He walked away, perfectly polite, never offering a word of protest.  But I did.  From my place in line, I asked her if that was even legal.  I remembered some old rule from Citizenship class specifically stating that U.S. currency must be accepted for the payment of debts (I later looked it up and it is The Coinage Act of 1965).  But beyond that, she went on to admit that she had the change, just not much left, and she was not about to give it all to him when he could go to a bank to get change and come back!  Again, I was dumbfounded. 

What added to my confusion and later dismay was that I was standing in a United States Post Office.  Most of us know the USPS is struggling to regain profitability, long since gone with the arrival of leaner competition and the advent of email.  Their own Vision 2013 statement, in an effort to turn things around, says their first priority is to “Focus on what matters most to customers.”

What happens when a company or organization forgets its mission?  When it forgets its purpose?  I believe in the USPS, and have faith that their restructuring efforts will soon right the ship.  But the attitude that a customer wanting to buy a stamp is an inconvenience will not help them get that done.  Imagine if the church acted the same way?  None of us would be welcome, because the truth is all of us come wanting and needing.

May we never forget our mission: to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world!  Grace and Peace, Scott

Busy

   Some weeks just get busy. We held our our annual Charge Conference, last Tuesday, where we connect to the larger Connection of the United Methodist Church. This meeting called for 30 pages of forms, over 100 letters to be mailed out, and dozens of signatures. to be obtained. At the end of the week, hundreds gathered to connect with our history, as we celebrated Homecoming and our 50th Anniversary.  The speakers were awesome and inspiring, and the meal was amazing. Preparing for the celebration meant we had audio contractors in the sanctuary, work done on our sign on the street, landscaping happening out front, furniture moving up and down the halls, and thirty or more volunteering on Saturday to spruce things up. In between these two events our church stopped to celebrate the lives of two beautiful women, who have been a connected to our church for years. We also created and mailed bulletins, paid the bills, met with visitors, visited the hospitals, returned phone calls, and all of the other routine tasks of the church. Some days and weeks just get busy. 

   It is all good stuff, all worthwhile, but sometimes the amount just increases with no end in sight. We know what that is like, when needs begin to press in so close, that stress rises and feelings of inadequacy mount. What are our options? At one point, early in Jesus' ministry, similar busyness started to pile up. The word spread, and people started lining up to be healed, to be taught, and to be discipled. As followers of Christ, aren't we called to meet everyone's needs?  To get it all done?  To not let anyone down?

   Mark 1 tells the story well.  Jesus has been bombarded with needs.  One witness suggests that everyone in town came to ask something of Jesus.  How did he handle it?  When the moment had passed, and the day was over, he went off got quiet and he prayed.  Jesus never let the crush of needs of one day take him away from the larger need to find balance and stay grounded in his larger purpose. We cannot be ready for the next thing if we never slow down to rest from the previous.  I want all of the great servant leaders within our community to hear this - don't be fooled into thinking that high-gear is acceptable all of the time. Rest. Slow down. Pray. 

   Busyness happens.  What do you do when it passes?  

   May you know the grace and peace of Sabbath. Scott

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.

Well Worth It

   How do we value what we do? Popular commercials on television suggest that some things are priceless, implying that some experiences are beyond measuring in terms of cash value. I would agree.

   What about in the church? Are there some experiences that bring value above any monetary description?  For instance, can a value be put on the impact that was had on the children, families, and volunteers who were with us last week at Vacation Bible School?  Can such an experience, touching hundreds of lives, be translated into a figure?  I think we'd all agree the answer is no.
   On Monday of this week I made a 16-hour trip across the state to Epworth by the Sea and back at the invitation of our Bishop James King, to participate in a three hour thinking-session.  The topic was around how to connect ministers and laypeople even better to achieve our Kingdom work.  Upon leaving the meeting, and turning to head home, any number of us asked the obvious question: was it worth it to have 100 people drive from all over to attend?  The truth is, the answer to that is yet to be determined.  We'll know more based on how our work turns out, which might take years to develop, but the start is very promising.
   Which is precisely true in the church, as well. We work now, invest now, and spend now, all with the hope of future returns.  We prayerfully put forth energy and resources in the now because we believe in the future.  Not just with children, but with every person who enters the life of this church.  Jesus referred to the difference between treasures that can be stored here on earth versus those stored in heaven (Matthew 6).  Epworth is filled with people investing in Kingdom treasure.  Well done, church.

The Second Half of Life

When work for most people meant manual labor, there was no need to worry about the second half of your life.  You simply kept on doing what you had always done. And if you were lucky enough to survive 40 years of hard work in the mill or on the railroad, you were quite happy to spend the rest of your life doing nothing. Today, however, most work is knowledge work, and knowledge workers are not "finished" after 40 years on the job, they are merely bored.

Peter Drucker, Harvard Business Review, 1999

  This quote by Peter Drucker, easily the most influential writer about modern business management, is taken from an article titled Manage Oneself.  He is pushing us to see the bigger picture: to move beyond the now, the immediate, and instead see life as a whole.

  Surely, the same can be applied with great results to organizations beyond the profit-driven world of business.  What lessons can the church learn from such thinking?  What provocative questions for the church arise when thoughts about the second half of our life begin to appear?  Are there areas of ministry that take on added value when we are able to take time out from the now, and turn our attention to the not-yet?  How would it change our focus?  How would we act differently?  Borrowing Drucker's words, how can we stay inspired by ministry, and avoid boredom?

  I believe this week’s Vacation Bible School is one small answer to many of those questions.  Children don’t contribute to the financial bottom-line of a church’s budget, they actually take from it, but their value is far greater than dollars and sense, isn’t it?  They redirect us to the future.  They offer hope that what we are doing in the now might be carried on for God’s Kingdom purposes into the not-yet.  The ways we engage and invest in ministries of children, youth, and missions will shape the second half of our life.  And that is something worth thinking about, as our church is just weeks away from celebrating its 50^th birthday.  Grace and Peace to you, Scott

The Sound of Praise and Preparation

I was sitting in my office late in the day, when half a dozen or more folks walked past my office and said hello.  I kept about my work of learning that comes with starting new at a church.  I am listening, asking questions, and attempting to study any of a thousand aspects of the ministries and efforts of this great church.  It is mind-blowing, and thoroughly inspiring, to learn everyday of the many varied ways this church cares for its people and this community.

At some point not long after I found myself humming a familiar tune, and eventually singing the words I knew.  I realized, after a while, that my voice was literally joined by the voices of others, coming from down the hall.  Not being the smartest person in the room (I was alone) I had to think through what was happening.  I rose from my desk and soon found that the voices came from the Fellowship Hall,  Those same persons who had earlier spoken to me were now busy rehearsing for the coming Sunday's Contemporary Service.  Like their counterparts in the Traditional Service choir, they gather every week to prepare to lead others in worship.  In this case, many of these voices represented young people.  

I returned to my desk again inspired by the people of this church and their commitment.  Psalm 7 extols us to, "give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High."   The song they were singing, by the band out of Atlanta known as Casting Crowns, included these words:

I want to sign your name, to the end of this day,
knowing that my heart was true.  Let my lifesong sing to You.

Isn't that the chorus of every follower of Jesus Christ?  Our prayer is that at the end of the day, God's handiwork would be seen in the words we have spoken, thoughts we have had, and work we have  accomplished.  Let it be.

Well Done, Church

Sunday was July the Fourth.  More than a date on anyone's calendar, it is a holiday for persons and families everywhere to spend extended time enjoying the freedom that our nation has established over two centuries of defense and vigilance.  It is freedom won by soldiers, sailors and airmen, who leave behind home and family to where they are needed.  July the Fourth is a celebration.  July the Fourth is a mindset.

Sunday was July the Fourth, but thankfully, I witnessed first-hand that our congregation was right where it should have been.  I'm not talking about location or geography.  I would never dare suggest people need to be in worship every weekend.  I believe that people should be absent from worship from time to time: when away on vacation, or in town but under the weather.  But what I witnessed were the great people of Epworth extending hospitality in ways that received notice.

After worship, I spent some time with a young couple, first-time visitors to our worship at Epworth, and they mentioned repeatedly how welcomed they were.  They spoke about those sitting around them in worship, and those who greeted them afterwards.

A few years back the United Methodist Church adopted language that now appears in our Book of Discipline (¶ 122) describing "welcoming and gathering" as one of the primary tasks.  These actions were at the center of Jesus' ministry, and they are necessary of every congregation seeking to bring people into a life of growing as disciples.  Epworth put these beliefs into action.  Well done, church.

Do all the good you can, 

in all the ways you can, 

to all the souls you can, 

in every place you can, 

at all the times you can, 

with all the zeal you can, 

as long as ever you can.

Believed to have been spoken by John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, this saying captures the essence of Wesley's life and ministry.  Life, lived as a disciple of Jesus Christ, is about stewarding God's gifts for Kingdom purposes.  

Like anything, this is better captured by example and not with mere words.  This past Sunday, our church celebrated the example of these words that have been captured in a life: the life of Tommy Mayton.  

I've been intentional, in these first two weeks, to learn as much as possible about the rich history and bright future of this great church.  I have been so blessed to sit with leaders and members, listening and learning, in over fifteen informal conversations.  One of the common denominators through all of it - Tommy Mayton has been a person of influence and great compassion.  He has been an invaluable asset to this church.  He is gifted in music, in wisdom, and in offering care.

These words from others have only been affirmed in the hours of conversations he and I have.  He is a great steward of time, passion and intellect.  I'm better already for having spent time with him, and this church is forever changed for the good by his ministry.  Thank you, sir, for all the good you have done.

Long Days Getting Shorter

The days seem long, but not long enough to get it all done, do they?  Pressing needs get met, and those not-so-pressing get 'prioritized' to another day.  "There will be more time tomorrow," we tell ourselves, and there might be.  

Except of course,  daytime started shrinking this week.  With the arrival of the summer solstice, we begin the gradual shortening of days and lengthening of nights all the way to December. We all remember from science class that it occurs exactly when the Earth's axial tilt is most inclined towards the sun at its maximum of 23°26'...well, maybe some of us cannot remember that far back.  But it happened on Monday morning, at 7:48 AM.

But the truth is, we are all aware that there is so very much to do.  It is true for our personal lives, and for the church, Jesus' instruction to go and make disciples is a call to action (Matthew 28).  He told the woman at the well that the 'time is coming and is now here' (John 4). Jesus lived in the moment for sure, but also sought to orient his followers toward the coming reality of his return.  In the time in between, our commission is to lead people to grow as disciples of Jesus.

After the past century's decline, the church is returning to the truth that this happens only through relationships.  Relationships take time.  So, how are we to spend our time most wisely?  In what ways can we maximize the time we have, which seems to be growing shorter with each passing day, to achieve great things for God's Kingdom?  I believe it happens through creating partnerships, returning to old truths, and embracing new ways of ministry.  With God's help, let it be.