What does that Cross mean?

   We are United Methodist, the largest denomination or branch within the group of Wesleyan churches within Christianity. There are approximately 75 million Wesleyans in the world today: United Methodist, Free Methodist, Salvation Army, African Methodist Episcopal, Nazarenes, AME Zion, CME, etc. Each traces their roots back to the Rev. John Wesley, a priest in England who formed the movement that would later bear his name.
   One of the distinctive characteristics to being a Methodist or Wesleyan is that we (or we are supposed to) build our lives and our church upon a specific foundation of truths. Another way of saying it would be that what we do, what we say, and how we pattern our lives is based on four critical sources: Scripture, the tradition of the church, reason, and our experience. We believe the primary source by which God uses for our direction is that of God's Word, contained in the Holy Bible, and the other three support it. All of this leads up to answer the valid question, "Why does a Cross hang in our Sanctuary?"
   Scripture - All four Gospel accounts of the life of Jesus explicitly mention the Roman execution device upon which Jesus died. Jesus used the cross as a symbol of what it means to follow him when he said, ""If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." The Apostle Paul would later write that the cross was evidence of Jesus' humility and obedience and was the very method that we receive reconciliation back to God, and that upon the cross we were to nail our self-centered desires (Galatians 5:24).
   Church Tradition - From the earliest times, the church adopted the cross as a symbol to remember the sacrifice of Jesus. History shows that one early church Bishop, Clement of Alexandria, who lived in the second century, regularly used the phrase the Lord's sign to mean the cross. In the third century, one leader believed she found remnants of the very cross that Jesus died upon; pieces of it soon traveled Europe to be included in sanctuaries there.
   Human Reason -  Symbols are important ways that we draw meaning and are reminded of matters of importance; the cross is no different.
   Our Experience - The cross, mounted in front of us, reminds us of sacrifice and the grace of God. For me and many others, it carries a deep and abiding sense of God's overwhelming love for all of us. It is both a thing of the past and a call to live faithfully into future.
   Grace and Peace, Scott

Bring your soul before the Lord

I read this passage over the weekend in a devotional book written for the Christian year. It is from the writings on prayer of Theophan the Recluse, who lived from 1815 to 1894 in Russia before the rise of Marx and Lenin. He was ordained a priest, became a monk then a Bishop, and was deemed a saint in part because of his writings on the spiritual life and on passing down the faith to your people. It is my pray you will find it helpful to you, as well.

   "How should you order yourself inwardly so as to enjoy peace of soul? Secure for yourself inner solitude. But such solitude is not a mere vacuum nor can it be gained simply by creating complete emptiness in oneself. When you retreat into yourself, you should stand before the Lord, and remain in His presence, not letting the eyes of the mind run away from the Lord. This state of standing before the Lord is something that supports and maintains itself. To be with the Lord is the aim of our existence, and when we are with Him we cannot fail to experience a feeling of well-being; this feeling naturally attracts our attention to itself, and through this, to the Lord from Whom the feeling comes.

   It is good to withdraw from distractions under the protection of four walls, but it is even better to withdraw into solitude within oneself. The first without the second is nothing, whereas the last is of the utmost value even without the first.    It is an excellent thing to go to church, but if you can accustom yourself to pray at home as if in church, such prayer at home is equally valuable.
   Just as a man sees another face to face, try thus to stand before the Lord, so that your soul is face to face with him. This is something so natural that there should have been no need to mention it specially, for by its very nature the soul should strive always towards God. And the Lord is always near. There is no need to arrange an introduction between them, for they are old acquaintances."

A humble beginning

   I spent the day with our two boys and Julie's father in the heat of a South Georgia summer day going about an important task. Some people would call it playing a round, and they'd be right. Some people would call it crazy, because of the heat, and they'd surely be correct.
   When I was about 14 years old and my brother was 11, our Grandfather Carlton carried us out to a golf course, gathered up some used clubs for us to call our own, and proceeded to begin teaching us about golf. He was a saint. If you've ever helped someone else learn a hobby or take on a new challenge as difficult as hitting a golf ball, you know what a burden of love it is. His son, my uncle, would pick up his love of golf and turn it into a career; my Uncle Wade is a member of the PGA and operates a great golf course down in Brunswick. I would guess that close to half of all the rounds of golf I've played in my life were with my grandfather.
   I was thinking about my grandfather today, who passed away in 2006, when I was driving out to the course and talking through some of the basics of the game with the boys. I bet I uttered 1000 of the same things he said to us probably 100,000 times over the years. It brought back memories. I was humbled to take on the mantle of teaching golf the right way, like I had been taught at the same age.
   I texted my uncle as we got started and sent him a note about what we were doing. We were an hour in when he responded. The heat was getting to us and nerves were getting thin. The boys were getting tired of listening, but also frustrated that it was taking longer to master it than they thought it should. That is when my uncle replied to my text. He said, "Make sure they enjoy themselves. I hope everyone is smiling when you are having ice cream upon finishing." I stopped in my tracks. I was humbled again. His words rang so true. I was losing sight of the main objective of the day: it should not be that the boys would perfectly apply the rules of golf, or that Jack would grip the club right, or that Sam would keep his head still on his backswing. My goal for the day should be that they enjoyed it enough to want to go play again. I changed my tone and changed my focus from that very moment, and it stayed that way through the ice cream I bought for everyone when we were done!
   I think we can lose sight of the main thing sometimes in our lives away from the golf course, too. We get so focused on the people around us doing the right thing that we forget we want people to feel the right way, too. People need to feel like they are loved. There will be time to teach rules and make corrections. But, if they are turned off the first time they meet us, we might never get a second chance. That goes for life, and especially goes for how we treat our families, right?
   May you be ever aware of what the highest goals are each day and may you always know you are loved. Grace and peace, Scott

Your Four Life Legends

Four Living Legends: Bench, Aaron, Koufax, Mays (l-r)

   Known as the Midsummer Classic, the game between the best of the National League and the best of the American League dates back to its inauguration in 1933. The greatest of all time have made up the rosters since. This week's game was  no different in that regard, but did feature something additional. In the moments before the ump yelled "Play ball" at Tuesday's All-Star game, the past met the present at midfield in a special moment of recognition. After twenty-five million votes were cast, the four greatest living players were introduced to the fans gathered in Cincinnati. Titled the Four Living Legends, the list included the pitcher Sandy Koufax, catcher Johnny Bench, and outfielders Willie Mays and Hank Aaron - the true Home Run King.  Now, if you have ever been a fan of baseball in your life, you can appreciate how difficult compiling such a list would be. But, I have to say that they probably got it right. Mays and Aaron are shoe-ins, and Bench and Koufax played the game right and at a high-level for years.
   The thought of narrowing down legendary performers into a small list started me thinking about some of the people who have performed at high levels in my life. Who are the four people to have had the greatest impact on who I am? Which prompts the next question; what are the measures or qualities I value the most in my relationships?
   What about for you? Who are the four or five or six legends in your life? Maybe it comes back around to grace and peace. Who are the  people who have offered you grace and peace most consistently? Who are the people who have told you - with words and acts - that you are valued, accepted, and a joy in the eyes of God? Who have helped you embrace the peace in the right now that God offers?
   The truth is, my life has been made of up of a truly All-Star roster of family, friends, mentors and teachers who have offered me grace and peace. May we all draw closer to those who are still living, and cherish those who have passed on. Grace and Peace to you, Scott

The quiet way of God

   I love trains. My dad's father was a depot operator for the Savannah to Atlanta Line nearly a century ago. My grandmother grew up with those tracks in her front yard. I have grown to have a deep appreciation for what they mean to our nation's history and how they continue to serve our country's economy. They are pretty impressive. Lately, we've been most impressed with how loud their horns can sound from a mile away. And, I am impressed with how cautious the drivers engineers are when approaching a crossing. Of course, we live a few hundred yards from two crossings, so we are often alerted to their presence in our community. Which is, at least, three times around midnight every night! Despite my sarcastic tone, I really do want them to blow their horns loud every time, so drivers can hear and take heed. 

   There have been many times in my life that I wish God was more like a locomotive engineer: you know, more deliberate at getting my attention. That is rarely God's way. The Bible includes a few instances of God taking the loud approach - Noah and the flood, Pharaoh and the plagues, Daniel walking from the lion's den, or Paul on the Damascus road. Generally speaking, hearing from God is more like the experience of Elijah in the wilderness. The story from 1 Kings 19 begins with Elijah fleeing for his life from the evil Jezebel. He ends up on a mountain and is told to listen for God speaking. It says:

"Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him..."

The voice was in the silence. This is how God often speaks to us, still today: when we turn down the noise of the world and are silent ourselves. 

   I want to hear from God, not just as a pastor, but also as a husband, parent, and friend. Sometimes it is because the train is bearing down and I'm in harm's way. Mostly, it is because God's voice reminds me of who I am: a child of the King. 

   Join me this week in taking an extra ten minutes every morning to sit quietly in order that God might speak. Grace and peace, Scott

I grow better in light than darkness

   I walked by some flowers earlier this week that caught my eye. I snapped a photo of them that you might appreciate their beauty, as well. God's creative ability is amazing. I regularly marvel at the colors that are found within nature. Just think of the million different hues and tints of colors that can be found on flowers alone, each created by a slightly different reaction to water, soil, nutrients and their own unique chemistry. Just the science of how flowers are adorned causes me to worship the greatness of God. Jesus used flowers to teach against worrying when he said in Matthew 6, "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these." He saw what we see; flowers are evidence of God's handiwork. 

   But, the flowers I saw caught my eye for something else. I couldn't help but notice the direction they were facing: they were bending toward the sunlight. The very thought of that captured my heart; oh, that it would be that easy for me.   Instead of bending my life perfectly toward the light that nourishes, I so often choose to twist and contort toward the shadows and darkness. When I gossip, worry, fail to forgive, hold a grudge, fixate on money, or get too busy to pray, it is like a flower choosing to bury it's head in the shadows and turn away from the very thing that gives life. 

   We were made for better. I think this is exactly what 1 Peter 2 was talking about when it encourages:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

   May we grow in grace by turning into the light that shines brighter than any other: the love and grace of God offered to us though Jesus Christ. Amen!

   Scott