Last week was our denomination’s Annual Conference. It is always great to see friends, experience great teaching and worship, and do the business of the church.

In preparation for the event, each of us receives a journal with all of the necessary information, including all of the action items for our time of business, details of the budget, and general information about our time together. Additionally, we are given a time to gather prior to the event to review the information together, receive clarification, and ask lots of questions. There is also plenty of time to reach out to others to become better informed.

In spite of all of the preparation time and options, there are still people who come expecting to hear about, and understand, the information after arriving at the conference. After nearly 30 years of attending these conferences and being a person who invests the time in reading and asking questions, I am always a little annoyed by those who don’t prepare, but more importantly, I feel bad for those who are trying to navigate all of the details at the last minute.

Unfortunately, too many people approach their faith in the same way. Life gets busy with many distractions. It becomes all too easy to coast through the week and then try to get close to God and grow deeper in faith by attending church services on Sunday. Just like procrastinating for an exam, it is hard to make it work by cramming things at the last minute, and just like those late night cramming sessions, what you gain is often lost quickly after the exam.

Being Christian is more than just going to church services. It is more than a lifestyle. It is a way of being that finds its identity in relationship to Jesus, and its purpose in loving and serving others. Worship is central to our daily lives, as are prayer, study, and reflection. Acts of compassion and concern for the world flow out of our relationship to its Creator. We do not merely go to church, we are the church, the body of Christ in the world.

We certainly need to be in community with other Christians. We were never meant to be islands; Lone Ranger saints who live without one another. The Psalmist reminds us, “How good it is when sisters and brothers dwell together in unity. We need the rootedness that comes from belonging to a connection with others. In that relationship there is a place for building one another up, offering compassionate correction, and growing together in God. We can live successful Christian lives on our own.

Yet, we cannot live successful Christian lives in relationship to one another and the world, if we do not nurture our faith in our everyday lives. An ongoing passion for a deeper relationship with Jesus, and a greater fire of the Holy Spirit burning within us, leads us to more mature, whole life in relation to others.

Of course we should gather as the church to worship, pray, and study, but that experience should come from the overflow of the Spirit nurtured in our daily walk with Jesus. Instead of coming to a worship service to get what we need to get through the coming week, we might better come to share out of the abundance of a week lived in the passionate presence of the Savior. Instead of looking for what we can get, we come to give out of what we received to build one another up, so that together, we can go forth to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

The deeper we go in our relationship with God, the richer and fuller our lives will be, and the greater the impact those overflowing lives will be for our communities and the world. We must pray for the passionate fire of the Holy Spirit, saturate ourselves with the truth, and make ourselves available to be conduits of God’s love for the world. We are blessed to be a blessing. As our roots grow deep in God, we become a tree that bears much fruit for the sake of the world and the glory of God.

May your week be richly blessed as you go deeper in your relationship with Jesus.

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Prior to his crucifixion, Jesus went to the temple in Jerusalem. There he found, not only worshippers, but people exploiting the spiritual needs of many who were there by using that experience to make a high profit. The faithful were not permitted to pay the temple tax in the common currency of the day. Instead, they were required to exchange it for the currency of the temple. It was at the point of this exchange that people would be gouged with an unfair exchange rate.

Seeing this travesty, Jesus turned over their tables and declared, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a robbers’ den.” It is one of the few times we see Jesus angry, and there is no mistaking his concern. Clearly, the money changers missed the point of worship and were exchanging the gift of God for the trappings of profit.

In our journey of faith, we too can miss the point. We may not be hurting others for our profit, but we can lose sight of the real gift of being the Church of Jesus Christ. We can replace an intimate walk with the Savior and with the world, for ritual and routine. We can replace the “house of prayer for all nations” with the “house of getting my needs met,” sacrificing the call for our comfort.

We are meant to be the church for the sake of the world and to the glory of God. Prayer and ministry for our community, region, and the nations of the world is at the heart of our identity. Called to lift Jesus high we need to come in low, as John the Baptist did saying, “I must decrease that he might increase.”

The good news is that when we embrace our true calling as the body of Christ we find the blessing of God. Like the child who learns to appreciate and value the gift more than the packaging, we discover that the valuable gift of God is found beyond the trappings of religion. In our faithful embrace of God’s vision for his church, we find the joy of a personal relationship with Jesus, the beauty of community, and the power of a dynamic relationship with the world.

Let’s not settle for the box and paper, but search deeper for the real gift of God. Let’s be the house of prayer for all nations and see the world transformed by the love and power of Jesus Christ!

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Occasionally, people would erect standing stones, large stones placed in an upright position that made it clear it was done by human hands. At other times, piles of stones would be made for the same purpose. This way, along with creating places to remember the mighty acts of God, symbols were established that helped encourage the telling of the story to future generations. As people traveled, a child or new member to the community might see these altars and stones and ask, “What happened here?”

For me, one of the most significant parts of these symbols was their redemptive focus. Instead of merely being remembrances of events, they were places to remember God’s activity in the midst of human experience, even in the face of painful circumstances.

Today, many of us will gather in worship and remember. We will remember God’s activity in our lives. We will remember the saving act of Jesus Christ and the acts of so many followers of Christ that made the Good News known throughout the world. We will remember our corporate and personal history with God and give thanks for God’s activity in our story. And, being the tenth anniversary of the tragic events of September 11, 2001, we will remember those images and stories as well.

It is important for us to remember significant days of our journey, even days of great pain, but as we remember, we must keep in mind that we are a people whose trust and hope is in the Lord. We can reflect on the tragic loss that occurred that day, on those who lost their lives, and on those who gave of themselves to respond. We can pause to ponder the brokenness of our world, the horror of violence and the pain of devastating loss. We can do all these things, but as people of faith, we do them as a form of sacred remembrance.

We do not remember to sensationalize the past, nor is our recollection just an expression of patriotism. We certainly do not remember for the sake of anger and hatred. We are a people who do not grieve as the world grieves. We remember so that we, like all those who went before us, can affirm God’s activity in our past and in our present. We look back, so that we can look forward, believing in God’s promises for our future.

This does not mean that we are not filled with deep emotion, or that we deny our feelings. Rather, we own those emotions and feelings and present them to God. We allow our pain to become a passion for change. Where we would be tempted to embrace anger, we choose to take hold of peace. Where we would want to fracture relationships, we seek to build them instead. We choose to look for God in the midst of our story, so that we can tell God’s story in the face of our adversity.

None of us who recall the images and events of that day, will likely forget the fear, pain and emptiness we felt. Hopefully, we will not forget the images of compassion and service we saw that day as well. Hopefully, we will not lose sight of what held us together and Who holds us in the palm of his hand today as he did that day. Then, as those who remember, not just events, but the actions of God and people who demonstrated the heart of God, we can work for a better world. We can choose to be people who demonstrate divine love, compassion and peace.

Today, we remember, but then it is time to go to work and be the people of God and seek God’s will in our day. It is the time to be the city set on a hill that cannot be hid, a beacon of light to a darkened world. It is the time to demonstrate by word and deed that there is another way, a way that leads to life. May our sacred remembrance lead us all to holy actions that future generations may look back and remember what God did to bless the world through us.

Peace be with you, with the world and with us all.

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Whenever significant changes occur in such public ways, there are always many questions and many assumptions. This news is no different and the discussion even made its way into our van as we came home last night. My son began talking about who could replace Jobs and where Apple would look to find someone. This provoked some interesting conversation, but a key point I raised in our discussion was that any company looking to successfully navigate a change like this would be wise to look for someone within the company who understood the company’s DNA. My wife and son agreed then they said, “but it won’t be the same.”

They are right. We all know that when leadership changes, something significant shifts. Even though we talk about the power of an institution to follow its design, we know that leadership plays a significant roll in how the vision is put into practice and how people are willing to follow.

The Apostle Paul wrote the Corinthians, “Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1) He understood the importance of leadership to shape others, and he also understood that the good leadership involves being a good follower.

Leadership is a popular theme in the world, and it is in the Church as well. It seems everyone wants to be a leader. Those in charge are highly valued and respected and many aspire to be in someone else’s position. It is almost like an adult version of King of the Hill. The best leaders, however, are not just those with the right degrees, background or connections. Great leadership comes from following a great model and then modeling those same great behaviors for others to follow.

This is why Paul could tell his listeners to follow him, for he knew that he was following Christ. He sought to model his life after the life of Jesus and invited the Corinthians to do the same by following him to Christ. We should do likewise.

Jesus invested tremendous time in his disciples, helping them understand the kingdom of God through his words and actions. On the night of his crucifixion, he began his last meal with them, by taking on the role of a servant and washing their feet. Then he told them that they should do as he did, following his example.

 Jesus is our example. We need to follow him, and then we need to be Jesus with flesh on for the world around us. When people look at us they should see the One who we follow in us, in our words and in our actions. It should be clear that we belong to him.

Thankfully, our leader will never resign, so there is no concern over his replacement, but as followers, we can help others follow as well. If we follow the model set before us, and allow him to dwell within us, then we too, can encourage those around us to follow us as we follow Christ. We need to be good followers first, then we can begin to think about becoming leaders.

May the eyes of our hearts be on the Leader so that we can be followers worth following.

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Sometimes, it seems as if the nature of this call upon the church is lost behind a myriad of programs and good ideas. If we look carefully, it seems that we are more inspired by the classic Field of Dreams quote, “If you build it, they will come,” than we are by Christ’s call to, “Go into all the world.”

We wait inside our building, our services and events for people to come to us. We make our buildings larger, more accessible and more attractive so that people will notice and come running to join us. Sadly, when they do not come, we tend to blame them or the culture, but we rarely consider that we may be the problem.

King Solomon wrote,

“Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square; on the top of the wall she cries out, at the city gate she makes her speech.” (Proverbs 1:20-21)

The wisdom of God calls aloud in the public square, on the top of the wall and at the city gate. It is vocal, reaching out to others, and it is certainly not meant to be kept to ourselves. Our experience of God is immensely personal, but it is never private. Our faith is meant to be shared. The Gospel is meant to be proclaimed, not only within the walls of our churches, but in the midst of the daily lives of others.

Jesus’ very ministry reflected his view of the Great Commission. Most of his ministry recorded in the gospels did not take place in the synagogues or the temple. Rather, he was found teaching on the hillside, conversing with people on the streets, near the shore, and even beside community water wells. Jesus made himself available to people wherever he was, and clearly proclaimed, “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

There is certainly a place for church buildings, worship services, and special events. We need Sunday School classes, Bible studies, and fellowship. But, the call upon our lives is not to live within the walls, waiting for the world to come and visit. Instead, we are to go into all the world and share the Good News of the love of God and salvation in Jesus Christ.

Today, let’s take up the call of Christ to go; to get out there. Let’s go out to where broken, lost and hurting people are and be the city set on hill that cannot be hidden and the light that is placed in the open so that everyone can see. Instead of waiting for others to find us, let’s go to find them so that we can share the gift of God in Jesus Christ and see the world transformed through him.

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Too often, we reduce our Sunday morning Worship Service to something that resembles a play or a concert. We go to observe and listen; to sit in our seats and have the drama of the service unfold before us. We may share a concern, offer our tithe and sing the praise songs and hymns, but do we come with an expectation that something great is going to happen?

Even as the pastor, there have been times when I’ve come to worship expecting very little (thankfully, not as often now). For many people, church services have become, well, boring. Nothing unexpected happens, and nothing really significant is expected. It is easy to go through the motions and miss the meaning, but when we begin to realize what worship is, it can transform our experience.

In Luke 19:46, Jesus makes the simple, yet stunning declaration, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.” This statement is nestled in Jesus’ rebuke of the money changers at the temple. The drama of Jesus’ anger and his overturning of their tables is so interesting, that we miss these important words. Jesus is not just condemning their behavior, he is challenging his listeners to understand the importance of worship and prayer.

The temple was not a place to make a profit on people’s needs, nor was is merely a place for dutiful attendance. It was a place of prayer, a place of communion with God. It was a place to encounter the Holy and be made holy by the experience. It was an experience of transformation that would lead to the transformations of families, cities, and nations. It was a place of prayer for, “all nations.” The same is true for our churches today.

When we gather together, it is not just to see our friends, sing our favorite songs and feel better about ourselves when we leave. Rather, we gather to encounter the dynamic presence of God, who challenges and encourages us to be who we are meant to be in Christ. We come to be changed and made new, so that we can go forth to do the same in the world. Most importantly, we come before the throne of Grace to carry the needs and concerns of our of our families, our communities, and the world to God. In intercession, we ask God to move in our world and to put things right, to make the kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

Maybe today is a good day let go of our expectations of the common, the ordinary, the boring, and embrace the awesome plans of God for us and for the world. Just imagine the possibilities.

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Yesterday, I met with a friend who offered his consulting services to our church. We spent a couple of hours looking at ways to enhance the audio/visual system in our Sanctuary. We discussed difference between projection systems and LCD flat screens. We discussed video editing, computers and software for managing our presentations. We even looked at ways to begin live streaming our Sunday Services. It was a wonderful time spent looking at incorporating modern technology into our ministry.

Today, I am awaiting a shipment of materials including a portable altar set and a processional cross. Both items are part of the traditional representation of our faith. As I pondered this position over breakfast, I thought about how wonderful it is to bridge connections between our past and our future and the words of Jesus came to mind, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.” (Matthew 13:52 NIV)

I realize that Jesus was not referring to PowerPoint and processional crosses, but the theology of how and why we worship, along with how and why we share the Gospel message, are deeply connected to his words. There are wonderful possibilities awaiting as we embrace the future and it’s tools for communication and ministry. There is also a depth of richness to be found in the teaching and traditions of our past. As we learn to draw both treasures from the storehouse, we make our spiritual life and ministry sing with the words and images of our infinitely creative God.

Along this Lenten journey we, “remember that we are dust and to dust we will return.” we remember our brokenness and the wounding of our Savior. We draw on powerful words and images of the past to understand our place in the present. Yet, as we make our way, our hearts and minds begin yearning for the future, for words of justification and restoration, for signs of divine love and for opportunities to embrace the “new thing” God is doing in our day.

It is a strange and wonderful juxtaposition, but should really expect anything less when we travel this path with God? Is it surprising that the God of possibilities would weave something beautiful from ancient and future treasures? If we will let the Spirit enliven our senses and clarify our vision, we will see ever more of God’s revelation in our lives, our ministry and the world.

May your eyes, physical and spiritual, be open to God’s presence in your past, present and future, and may you celebrate each and every treasure along the way.

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We enjoy our celebrations, but we do not want to miss them, or the space between them in a mad rush to get to the next one. There is something special about taking the time to fully enjoy the celebration that is before us, before moving on to something new. The frantic pace of business and culture makes savoring these moments more difficult and it has even made its way into the church.

November 28th, we enter the season of Advent, a season of preparation and expectation. It is the time when we anticipate the celebration of our Savior’s birth and look forward to his return. It is a season meant to increase our sense of wonder and our excitement over what is yet to come. In four simple, yet special weeks, we prepare ourselves, our families and our community for the joy of Christmas. Meanwhile, the world around us is already celebrating Christmas. The baby is already in the manger surrounded by shepherds and the wise men have already come. By the time Christmas arrives, the celebration is nearly over, when it should be just beginning.

We cannot stop the world from celebrating too soon, but we can be sure to take our time. We can be patient, allowing the expectation to build, and like Mary, ponder these things in our heart. This Advent season, I encourage you not to rush too quickly to Christmas, but enjoy this time of preparation and anticipation. It is only four weeks and will be gone before you know it. So before I wish you Merry Christmas, I say to you, “Have a blessed Advent!” It is a great season – don’t miss it.

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After the outdoor portion of the program was over, we went into the Fellowship Hall to share in some food and games. I cleaned up the back of our van and made my way to the indoor festivities. As I walked in, there were people gathered in groups all around the hall, and the room was filled with conversation. The evening was filled with laughter, smiles and great fellowship.

One of the women who came to the event commented that her family (which is quite large) enjoys using our hall for their special gatherings, then she added, “It feels like that tonight, just like a large family gathering. Maybe this is an opportunity for people who don’t know the joy of family to find it here.”

Of course, the comment made me smile, and I pray that the people there felt like family, but her thoughts started me thinking that we often talk about the Christian community as the “family of God,” but is that what we experience and share when we are together?

I know that even in families their can be challenges and dysfunctions, but shouldn’t the church be more than just a gathering of like-minded people. As United Methodists, we claim a mission to, “make disciples for the transformation of the world,” but making disciples is more than making members. It is more than simply increasing attendance. Making transforming disciples involves being real community – a place where real people can interact with authenticity all under the banner of the love of Jesus Christ.

Last night, was one time we got it right. Now my prayer is that we can continue to recreate experiences like that until that is the norm. I want it to be our DNA to be authentic community based on real relationships and the Spirit of God. I know that as imperfect people, we will always have room to grow, but I pray that we can be a living example of the living Christ.

We need the church to be the church, and so does the world. That is a prayer worth praying and a goal worthy of our work.

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“I like that I can be anonymous,” he said, “It is nice to be able to slip and out on Sunday morning and not really be noticed.”

I must admit that his response was very unexpected and gave me much to think about. I wondered if that level of isolation was really what God intended. Either way, it was clear that this gentleman chose to worship in a place where the DNA allowed anonymity.

The church I serve is not that church. In fact, our DNA is significantly different. We are a church that embraces the opportunity to be family and to connect with each other and our community. As our current slogan declares, we are a place where you can, “Come in and be loved.”

Last year, I met with a couple who was considering attending our church. They shared some of their interests and asked many questions about our beliefs and activities. Near the end of our time together, the husband said, “Well, I think we will just slip in a few times and check things out before we make a decision. Will that be okay?”

I said, “No.” I could tell my response shocked him and after he recovered, he asked if I meant they could not visit before they made a decision. I smiled and explained, “Oh no, you can visit as soon and as much as you desire. What you cannot do is just slip in. Not because it is unacceptable, but rather because it is impossible to do. You see, this is a very loving church and you will not make it to your seat without someone visiting with you and bye the time you leave, many of our people will celebrate the opportunity to simply love on you. There is no way to just slip in here.” After their first visit, they made a point to tell me I was right.

Now I know, like a parent with their children, I am more than a little biased, and I also know that the congregation I serve has its own areas for growth. Yet, I celebrate that our church family makes a point of sharing the love of God actively with one another and with those who visit us. I continually remind them not to let go of this gift, but to nurture it and help it to grow even more.

The Church of Jesus Christ should be a place where everyone experiences the love of God. That involves more than hearing about God and God’s love and it is certainly more than just being nice. Sharing the love of God involves receiving his love; celebrating that love in our own lives, and then giving that same love away to others. People do not need cool programs, the best PowerPoint presentation, or the biggest building. People need a personal experience with the transforming love of Jesus, and we can help them have that experience when we live authentic, loving and grace-filled lives.

We are challenged to live our lives in such a way that others will see us and give glory to God. It is a challenge worth accepting and the results are worth our commitment to it.

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