Obedience and Freedom

   Reading through a little book by Frederick Buechner, organized like an encyclopedia of topics on faith, I came across an entry for Obedience. It simply said, see Freedom. Going to that entry I found:

Freedom:  We have freedom to the degree that the master whom we obey grants it to us in return for our obedience. We do well to choose a master in terms of how much freedom we get for how much obedience. 

When we follow God, that Master is love. Buechner goes on to say in his definition of Freedom,

...to obey Love itself, which above all else wishes us well, leaves us the freedom to be the best and gladdest that we have it in us to become. The only freedom Love denies us is the freedom to destroy ourselves ultimately.

What a timely word. Still alive, Buechner will turn 90 years old in two weeks. I don't have any reason to think that he was thinking about the Fourth of July. Yet, the truth is the freedom we celebrate this weekend, won through the heroes who volunteered to serve and sacrifice for our country, points us back to the God who has created us free. May we respond to the freedom that God has given to us with obedience to him.
   Grace and peace, Scott

++++++++++++++++

   I don't hear anyone these days saying, "Turn up the heat?" But, what if God allowed that very thing to happen? It happened for Jesus; after spending forty days in the wilderness, hungry, tired and miles from his home, Satan arrives to test Jesus. On most days most adults can resist most temptations. What about on our worst days? And, what is the worst that the devil can throw at us? 

   Join us in worship July 10, 17 and 24 to learn how to beat the flames of "you know where".

Clean our your mind and your heart

“The greatest need of our time is to clean out the enormous mass of mental and emotional rubbish that clutters our minds and makes all political and social life a mass illness. Without this housecleaning we cannot begin to see. Unless we can see, we cannot think.”

– Thomas Merton, from Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, written in 1966

   If it were for not the fact that the book was written in 1966, or that Merton died tragically in 1968 at the age of 53, this quote could easily be attributed to any wise person viewing the ongoing political scrum or tuning into the news on any given night. 

   Merton's prescription, for how to go about purging the rubbish that clutters our minds, concludes with, "The purification must begin with the mass media." Fascinating, right? Think about this: CNN was still year from being introduced, and Facebook and Twitter were decades away, but Merton seems to be pointing directly at any and all of them. But, where do we go to get away from the non-stop barrage of noise and criticism, opinion and spin? I have bad news; there are 134 days from this Sunday until election day on November 8. And, do any of us think that the angry, soul-draining, mind-numbing crush of the 24-hour news cycle will cease on that date? No, none of us think that. What can we do? Scripture offers this:

• Romans 12: - Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is - what is good and pleasing and mature.
• Philippians 4:8-9 - From now on, brothers and sisters, if anything is excellent and if anything is admirable, focus your thoughts on these things: all that is true, all that is holy, all that is just, all that is pure, all that is lovely, and all that is worthy of praise. Practice these things: whatever you learned, received, heard, or saw in us. The God of peace will be with you.
• Hebrews 3:1 - Therefore, brothers and sisters who are partners in the heavenly calling, think about Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession.
• 2 Timothy 1:7 - God didn’t give us a spirit that is timid but one that is powerful, loving, and self-controlled.

May we renews our minds, stay focused on what is true and lovely, seek out Jesus, and know that we have a powerful spirit that, with God's help, can overcome the rubbish that would make a home in our hearts. Grace and peace, Scott

Violence, Fear and the Opportunity to Save Our Country

   I join with so many who are praying for peace and comfort to the families of the victims of the shooting in Orlando. I pray for a sense of safety and protection for others who feel threatened based on their race, or religion, or location, or orientation. It is not okay that people are targeted and killed, for any reason.
   I offer these words, as our response moves beyond prayers for peace. Addressing the US Congress in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln said,

It is not "can any of us imagine better?" but, "can we all do better?" The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise - with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.

One of the dogmas Lincoln was referring to certainly included slavery. I cannot help but think he also had in mind the violence that turned a nation's disagreements into a national war that tore families apart and spilled more blood than any other conflict in our history - roughly 2% of the population, an estimated 620,000 men, lost their lives in the line of duty during the Civil War. Violence is not the way of Jesus; we must disenthrall ourselves from the evil grip of violence.
   Violence starts in the heart. Jesus re-interpreted the Old Testament prohibition against murder, found in Exodus 20:13, as having its origins in the internal emotion of anger toward a brother or sister. Read Matthew 5:21-26, again. There is a better response than anger or violence. It is submission to the kindness that leads to forgiveness. People do harm to each other all of the time. It is not okay, but responding with violence to something you see, or hear, or receive is never the way of Jesus. Instead, Jesus said, "I say to you that you must not oppose those who want to hurt you. If people slap you on your right cheek, you must turn the left cheek to them as well," in Matthew 5:39.
   Redemption starts in the heart. The heart is most shaped and affected by the nurture of the home. We must do more to shine the light of Jesus into the homes around us. We must teach adults how to parent well. We must speak against the cycles of abuse, of neglect, and of abandonment, and address the underlying causes of such devastating environs on the lives of children. We must return to being a church that is reformed away from arguing over practice or policy and back to being all about transforming society one changed-life at a time. Remember, every act of violence is acted out by someone who was once an innocent child.
   Grace and peace to the families of the Orlando victims. Grace and peace to people who live in fear, and to our country and world as we seek to live anew. Grace and peace to you and me as we struggle to live in the non-violent, counter-cultural way of Jesus. Scott

Annual Conference: Then and Now

John Wesley, founder of Methodism

   In the very beginning of Methodist history (the 1700's) there were no local Methodist churches, only Methodist preachers who traveled from place to place preaching to crowds a message of repentance and good news. Methodist preachers would then organize small groups for the new believers to stay connected and learn both to study the Bible and make offerings to support ministry. Eventually local churches were started and, within a couple of decades, Methodism came across the ocean and spread like wildfire across the American colonies. Back then, Methodist preachers met annually at a conference with leaders, like John Wesley in England and Francis Asbury in the colonies, to give reports of their ministry, to be held accountable, and to be inspired. Conferencing is one of the cornerstones of how we Methodists practice our beliefs. We remember Jesus' promise to be present with us when we gather (Matthew 18:20).
   The first annual conference in America was held in 1784. Ever since then, regional groups of Methodists have gathered every year for Annual Conference. The South Georgia Annual Conference meets this week, Wednesday through Saturday, at the UGA Conference Center in Tifton, Georgia. Laypeople and clergy from every charge are represented. We begin each day with a Bible Study, hear reports, take votes, and pause for worship a couple of times a day. We will also celebrate Bishop King's eight years with us, before he retires in August.
   The best stuff of conference is not in the legislative action, as most actions taken by the 'body' will be expected and the unexpected ones will be talked about for a few days and then be forgotten. The best stuff is often in between every session and around every meal when the 1500+ persons in attendance exchange fellowship, encouragement, and grace. I am especially anticipating a few events, in particular. On Thursday,  I will make a couple of reports on behalf of the Board of Ordained Ministry, for the last time. I have served on this team of 60+ clergy and lay for the past eight years, and rotate off this week. On Friday, I will have the honor of introducing our own Caroline Gowan to share in front of the Conference about our Loads of Love ministry; it would be awesome if other churches adopted something similar! On Saturday, my family will sit proudly for the final worship service where my brother, Kirk, will be commissioned as a Provisional Elder this year, along with a great class of other pastors being commissioned and ordained.
   Finally, the very best moment of Annual Conference will happen on Saturday when Bishop King sends our family back to serve as your pastor. I want that to happen every year for a long time!
   Grace and Peace to you, Scott

One (important) Mission of the Church

   Crash! Julie and I saw it happen a couple of weeks ago at the traffic light here in Bonaire when one car was trying to pull across two lanes without looking. Bumpers smashed, paint damaged, egos fractured; thankfully no one was hurt.
   Not every crash is damaging, though. Think about what happens when two particles collide in a reactor. When done correctly, they produce enough energy to power a corner of the state. There are lots of examples of good things happening when two things are brought crashing together.
   We think this is one of the most fundamental reasons that the church exists; to bring Jesus and children. This is really what our church has been doing for a long time. Once upon a time the church was helping to raise up boys like Cullen, Jon, and Stuart. Our church played a role in helping Linda, McKenzie, Kylie, and Doris. We want to be even more intentional about claiming our place at the intersection of two great influences in the world: the church and families.
  Orange is one of the great ways of thinking about doing church. It is based on the idea that the mission of the church is to focus heart of the family (red) on the bright, shining light of Jesus (yellow). Orange is the result of this happening well. Jessi Marlow has already been doing an awesome job of teaching about this to our volunteers. There is more to come. Our church is going to swap rooms around, paint some walls, and invest even more deeply into the lives of families so that children are surrounded by the love of Christ.
    Vacation Bible School is coming. We want every child in this community to know they are welcome here and we want every child here to meet Jesus (some for the first time) and to be so excited about what is happening here that they beg their parents to come back on Sunday.
   Grace and peace, Scott