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

 

Who Am I? Let me ask a mirror!

   Can you state your name and date of birth, please? How many times is this question asked in a modern American hospital on a daily basis? A hundred times? Not close. Easily many thousand times, considering it is required before any medicine or medical procedure is offered. Just the other day I heard one patient exclaim they were most exciting about being discharged to go home in order, "so I don't have to tell people my name and birth-date all day long."
   The truth is, more than just in hospitals, check-out lines, or the airport, the world is regularly asking us to verify our identity. Who are you? Where do you call home? What do you stand for? But, do any of us know the truest answers to these questions on our own?

   Saint Clare of Assisi, who lived in Europe as a Franciscan Sister from 1194-1253, wrote frequently about living in the world but not becoming of the world. Like us, she knew that we must spend time with God, apart from the busyness of the world, in order to stay grounded in our true identity. Of all of the ways of describing the best practice for living this out, she found the mirror to be the most helpful illustration for what. She would advise others to place themselves in front of the mirror, to let the light mirror you, and to look upon the mirror of perfect love each day.
   It sounds like a Disney fairy tale, but we are not able, on our own, to see clearly about ourselves. We are always wavering between being too kind or too harsh with ourselves. Instead, we really do "find ourselves through one another eyes," as Richard Rohr put it.
   We cannot do life apart from the company of others and apart from the the true, clarifying light of Jesus Christ shining into the world. Jesus said, “The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light" (Matthew 6:22). It is all a matter of learning how to see who we truly are and it takes much of our life to accomplish it.
   Pray for God to lead you into deep relationships where the truth can be told in love. Pray to God to speak to you in moments of silence, that you might hear of your own Belovedness. Pray about joining one on one discipleship, and allow the Word of God to work in your life as a mirror.
   Grace and peace, Scott

A Big Tent: Reflections on General Conference

My contribution to an Exhibit about
what is great about my local church!

   I've been in Portland for seven days now. General Conference is still working and news and rumors are happening around me, even now, as I sit and write this during a plenary session. Elected as a reserve delegate, I've been included as a voting delegate at six different sessions, so far. One of the days I've been seated in the legislative committee that is at the epicenter of conversations around sexuality and gender and on another handling petitions about the local church. I've observed the large meeting sessions, sat near the small committee groups as they've worked, had meals with great folks I've not known before, and been inspired by music and some great preaching. What I've experienced in these days prompts these reflections:

• Everyone here means well, though not everyone agrees on how to interpret the Scriptures. I have witnessed kindness from all sorts of people. This has been a blessing and a reminder of our shared humanity and need for grace.  
• We are a worldwide church. We all know this, but sitting alongside delegates and guests from every corner of the world drives it home. Going forward presents challenges in working as a global entity, but affords us such advantages in witness and reach.
• The Central Conference delegates from around the world are sharp. They arrive prepared and engaged. They will continue to rise as leaders of direction and vitality in our connection.

   The Rev. David Watson, a United Methodist professor in Ohio, wrote in an article last month a word of reminder: the United Methodist Church is a 'big tent' denomination. John Wesley made room for people of all sorts of theological bents. Instead of arguing incessantly, he spent his energy laser-focused on raising up leaders and people to grow in grace and act in obedience to God. Even the merger of two denominations that formed the UMC in 1968 allowed for lots of people along a spectrum to gather in one large place. This is one of the very best things of our connection: everyone is welcome and, on our best days, we are intentional to not do harm to those sitting next to us who might think differently. I pray that we are all led by the Holy Spirit to pursue Scriptural Holiness.
   I am so very thankful for my family who has allowed me to travel and to the church and staff who have covered for me; I believe our service here has sought to serve God faithfully.
   Grace and peace, Scott

The World is not ending today...can you see it?

   The year was 1493. The world was massively changing. In just the year before, Columbus set sail from Spain to find a new passage across the center of the Atlantic Ocean going west. Fifty years earlier, Johannes Gutenberg had quietly invented the printing press. It was this invention that prompted the printing of the The Nuremberg Chronicle in 1493. It was the first book to successfully integrate illustrations and text. It contained illustrations from around Europe and also from the Holy Lands, along with history lessons that followed the story of humanity as it was told in the Bible. This was a really big deal. This should have been cause of celebration, as the new technology of being able to print rapidly, compared to copying by hand, could help change lives through offering information to thousands of people. This was great...except the author, Hartmann Schedel, only saw the tragedy and suffering around him. He finished the book with a very pessimistic outlook on the world. Then, he literally included a few blank pages at the end for people to use to record the remaining days and moments of history, because he was sure the world was doomed! I guess he was wrong on his outlook of things. Think about all the changes that someone born in that same year would live to see...

• the first newspaper published
• massive contributions in the world of art, music, sculpture
• the Reformation of the Church led by Luther and Calvin and others
• the invention of the watch, enabling coordination of people and advances in science
• use of new lenses in telescopes that allow for tremendous increases in observing deeper into space

Rabbi Edwin Friedman wrote about this when he said, "In order to imagine the unimaginable, people must be able to separate themselves from surrounding emotional processes before they can even begin to see (or hear) things differently." God wants to do a new work around us. God wants to restore and redeem the world. Read it in Isaiah 43:19.

   We must pray to God for God's Spirit to lift from us the fog that our own fears and worries and lack of clarity allow to cover over the good that is happening around us. God is at work. This is true for the world, for the church, for our families, for our selves.
   Grace and peace, Scott

General Conference and Bonaire UMC

   The United Methodist Church does not have a Pope, or President, but it does have a legislative body, like the American Congress, that writes rules and amends our policies. Grounded in what is best about Methodism, it is made up of both laypeople and clergy, with each getting equal representation. General Conference meets every four years and is the only entity that speaks for The United Methodist Church. The 2016 General Conference of The United Methodist Church gathers May 10-20 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon.
   During the 11-day session, the delegates will revise The Book of Discipline, which regulates the way local churches, annual conferences and general agencies are organized. They will also revise The Book of Resolutions, a volume declaring the church’s stance on a variety of social justice issues. In addition, the assembly approves plans and budgets for church-wide programs for the next four years and elects members of the Judicial Council, which is our equivalent of the Supreme Court.
   All of this is important to United Methodists everywhere, but takes on an even different perspective because of last summer. At Annual Conference in June 2015, the week before moving to Bonaire, I was elected to represent the South Georgia Conference as an alternate delegate at the 2016 General Conference. This was humbling and a surprise. South Georgia sends four clergy and four laity delegates, along with two clergy alternates and two lay alternates. In addition to General Conference in May, we will serve as voting delegates at the Jurisdictional Conference held at Lake Junaluska, NC, July 12-16. We will meet with prospective candidates for Bishop before delegations from all 13 conferences in the Southeastern Jurisdiction vote and elect the five new Bishops. Bishops are elected to serve until retirement, and are appointed to conferences four years at a time. Our Resident Bishop, James King, will retire after eight years in South Georgia, at the end of August.
   I covet your prayers for these eleven days, in so many areas.

• For my family, as school winds down. 
• For the church, that people stay healthy and that things stay great. 
• For the Conference itself, that the women and men gathering in Portland would be led by the Spirit, be grounded in God’s love, and be clear in their witness to the world - for the world will be watching. 

Grace and peace, Scott

Celebrations and Concerns: Join Me In Prayer

   What a blessing for each of us to witness the young people before us on Sunday, confirming their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and moving forward in growing as disciples:

Maxx Anthony Bass

Jacob John Broome

Luke Jeffery Elliot

Lucas Rye Mathis

Hannah Marie Wood

   And, these were not the only ones who took part. We had a great group of other students stand in front of the church and re-affirm the covenant they've made with God. I am proud of each of them, and Matt and I said as much to each of them as we prayed with them two weeks ago following their decision to say Yes to Jesus.
   My prayers for the church, everyday, include these young people and their families. I specifically pray for our members and the visitors who worship with us. I, also, have written on my prayer pages a reminder to pray for the visitors who've not yet attended Bonaire, but who one day will walk through our doors. I want us to be a church where those who've already said Yes and those who have yet to commit feel the love of God.
   There is so much going great at Bonaire Church. We are discipling each other, we are serving our neighbors, and we are generous with the world - water wells and mission trips and more. Yet, indeed, we've got places of concern. We want our worship to be great, regardless of the style we are offering in that hour. We want our children - from birth through the school years - to be included, to be cared for, and to be offered every chance to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ in a way that works for them. I promise you that the staff who work here and the countless lay people who serve alongside are working on these very things every week. We fall short all of the time, but we also rely on God's grace to make up the shortfall. Join me in praying for more great Sundays like this past weekend, where people of all ages are able to say Yes to Jesus.
   Grace and Peace, Scott