The Greatest Non-Showman: Jesus

   A friend took my brother and me to the movies last week to see The Greatest Showman. Featuring Hugh Jackman and a really talented cast of actors, the movie is sped along by catchy tunes with great lyrics, and inspired me to see the gospel good news at numerous points. Before the week was out I had seen it again, this time taking friends with me to share the joy.
   It is very loosely based on the larger than life story of P.T. Barnum, who lived in the 1800's and is best known for the circus company he started. While he never actually said the quote about suckers born every minute, he did say his personal aim was "to put money in his own coffers." He did a lot of good, in the end, but the movie title gave me pause to consider how Jesus would compare. A similar movie title about Jesus might be The Greatest Non-Showman. Now, lean in for this. Many people who only know the high-points of the Gospel stories might take exception, but I think the evidence is strong. Consider:

• Jesus' 'career' only lasted three years, by his choice
• Jesus rarely traveled outside the circuit of small country-side villages
• Jesus would change locations whenever the crowds would seek to elevate him to something he was not (rebel leader against Rome, etc)
• Jesus instructed his followers that generous acts are to be kept secret from even your other hand
• Jesus' messages were so challenging, crowds got smaller over time
• Jesus' message was about sacrifice, submission, forgiving, humility - the opposite of an attractive show
• Jesus chose to basically not speak in front of the crowds at his trial and instead submitted to the will of God

   Jesus was the opposite of a self-promoter. In John 5 he says he does not testify about himself, but lets God take care of that. Opting not for self-promotion, Jesus chose the way of humility and submission. It led to the greatest story ever told, and retold!
   Grace and peace, Scott

Caution, Bridge Ices Before Road

  I had no experience of driving on ice until my second quarter of college. I was living through my first winter in the far-up-north world of Atlanta, after spending the first nineteen years of my life in sunny South Georgia. It was twenty-five years ago this past week, and classes were out for the MLK holiday. Headed back to campus after having breakfast with friends, I had just pulled out onto the many lanes of Peachtree Street as big flakes of snow fell all around. I hadn't traveled a quarter of a mile when I realized the tires of my Chevy Blazer were not pointed the same way as the steering wheel. I looked up to see that one-hundred yards in front of me a delivery truck was completely stopped in my lane. Time actually slowed down, and I pumped the brakes repeatedly, praying that rubber would connect with road and I would slow down. I didn't. Instead, I ran into and under the elevated liftgate of the truck going no faster than 25 miles an hour. The front of my car was smashed, with the engine block being push up to the windshield. The truck I hit wasn't scratched.
   I learned so much in the hour that followed. First, I learned that that section of Peachtree Street is actually a bridge over Interstate 85, and therefore ices before the rest of the road. I learned that the truck was stopped because it was the third car in a chain-reaction crash that had happened some time earlier. I became the fourth. I also learned that law enforcement can opt to not write up an accident if they are busy, as the Atlanta City Police Officer drove off and told us to work it out among ourselves. My parents and my insurance did not like that part of the story. Most of all, I learned that living in Atlanta for six weeks without a car was not much fun.
   I am still learning. At the time, I considered it a terrible hardship, resulting in more meals on campus and many more miles walked on foot. It is funny what we think constitutes suffering in our youth. Kids today believe the absence of wi-fi is cruel and unusual punishment. If I am so fortunate, what I will look back on in another twenty-five years and recognize was not as difficult as it seemed at the time?
   Grace and peace, Scott

Praying Forward for Good

   This Sunday marks the beginning of a week of concerted prayer for United Methodists across South Georgia. We are being invited to pray for our global church, God's work in local churches, and specifically for the United Methodist Church’s “Praying Our Way Forward” initiative, which launched January 1 and kicked off seventy-five weeks of focused prayer. Each annual conference around the world will take one week to pray for the mission of The United Methodist Church to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world and for the work of the Commission on a Way Forward. You can read daily prayers at https://www.sgaumc.org/prayingourwayforward
   This is something many in our church have been keenly following and lifting up in prayer for some time, even before our town-hall meetings in the fall of 2016. The Commission, created at the 2016 General Conference, was asked to bring proposals for how we might move forward as a denomination, especially concerning matters of biblical interpretation and human sexuality in the midst of broken trust by lay and clergy persons, and explore options to maintain and strengthen the unity of the church. Bishop Lawson Bryan, who was our guest speaker in September, mentioned in his invitation, “We are called to a posture of prayer, praying for God’s leadership to guide us effectively in fulfilling the mission of the church. All persons – clergy and laity, conferences and congregations – across the denomination are invited to pray for God’s guidance.”
   I was included in a group discussion with one of the members of the thirty-three person Commission a month ago, and heard early sketches of possible proposals that General Conference delegates would vote on in thirteen months. I felt good about their work, and believe that God is making a path. I heard options that allow most of the church to remain together, while giving some a graceful exit based on their convictions.
   There is much spiritual warfare being battled on this topic within every local church and denomination. We would be wrong not to join in or double-down on our efforts of praying for God's will to be done. As your pastor, I remain committed to seeking God's leading in ways that draw people in our community closer to God and with each other. Let us pray. Scott