Nothing Has Changed--a Pastoral Letter from Michael on the State of the Church before General Conference 2020

Apparently our United Methodist Church is in the news alot lately. That's not unusual. When disaster strikes an area in the forms of hurricanes, tornadoes, or flooding it is UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) that is one of the first responders on the ground to be offering help and hope to those affected. When there is a crisis in a small town or a big city it is United Methodist pastors and laity who are among the first to reach out and offer support. When there are tough issues to be addressed with love and compassion, it is the members of United Methodist Churches around the world who step and do what needs to be done.

I love my church.

But our latest stints on national and local news channels are not for any of these wonderful things. It is not for our unity, it is our division. I would like to thank my youngest daughter's boyfriend for letting me know about this CNN article:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/03/us/united-methodist-church-split-proposal/index.html
And there are more like this, just Google "UMC split".

Since there has been a resurgance lately on this topic of the UMC splitting up, or dissolving completely, all because of our seeming dis-unity on this one topic, I felt the need to offer my input on this as your pastor.

Nothing has changed.
Let me say that again, nothing has changed.

Yes, our General Conference meets this coming May (for more info on what "General Conference" is read this: https://www.umc.org/en/content/general-conference). And in that meeting the delegates from around the world will once again discuss and vote on the United Methodist Church stance on homosexuality, same sex weddings in UM church buildings, and the ordination of gay clergy candidates, just as has been topics of General Conference every 4 years since 1972.

Our current stance is that same sex weddings can not be conducted in our churches or officiated by UM clergy, and that gay persons can not be appointed as UM pastors. For a full statement on the United Methodist Church doctrinal position from our Book of Discipline read this: https://www.umc.org/en/content/what-is-the-denominations-position-on-homosexuality

There are several different petitions that will be presented to the delgates of General Conference to vote on this May, and most of them involve some sort of split in the church. While this breaks my heart, I am beginning to understand. I know pastors and laity whom I love who support the full inclusion of all LGBTQ+ peoples in the life of the church. I know these people love Jesus and love the Church. And I know pastors and laity who I love and believe that homosexuality is not God's plan for his creation and believe that tehe current doctrinal statement of the church in this regard is accurate and biblical truth. I know these people love Jesus and love the Church.

And yet there is a divide among us. I have been OK with this for years. There are plenty of things we all don't completly agree on as United Methodist Christians.
What happens at the moment of death? I know some UM's who believe that immediately at death you are either in heaven or hell. I know some UM's who believe that you sleep until Jesus returns.
Or what about the "rapture"? I know some UM's who believe that one day some people will vanish from this earth, being taken on to heaven while there will be others who will be "left behind". I know other UM's who believe that to be "taken" is a bad thing, and to be "left" is actually good, since the context of this passage is Jesus talking about the flood in the days of Noah.
My point is that there are many important things that we disagree on, yet we have remained "United".

In May at General Conference is it possible that the decision of the voting delegates will be to seperate in some way. And at this point maybe that wouldn't be so awful. Months ago I would have said we should stay together at all cost. But if the cost is our Christian witness, if the cost is that we are spending millions of dollars on this one topic at the expense of being the Church in the world offering hope and reconciliation to those in need, then the cost might be too high.

But here's what I know for sure today:
Nothing has changed.
Let me say that again, nothing has changed!

We are still the United Methodist Church. Sure, there might be a vote to split in May. There might be a vote to dissolve in May. There might be a vote to remain the same in May. Jesus might even come back before May 2020 and all this won't even matter!!

But if He doesn't, and if we come into General Conference 2020 and votes are imminent, then my prayer is that we vote in love, and that we vote in truth. And if we must part ways (and even Paul and Barnabus felt they could reach more people if they split up--https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+15%3A36-41&version=NIV) then we do so graciously and know that we will be spending eternity together.

If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.- Romans 10:9

Telford United Methodist Church and Asbury United Methodist Church will have meetings scheduled after General Conference takes place, and before our Holston Annual Conference in June. I will help keep you up to date on what is happening, and offer space for you to share your thoughts as well. 

But until then I would like to remind you of one thing:

Nothing has changed.

Let me say that again, nothing has changed!

And let me leave you with this, one of my favorite passages of Scripture:

Grace & Peace,
Pastor Michael

Divine Interruptions

It’s December. And things are gonna get busy. And that’s good. I have some wonderful things planned on my calendar for this month. Lots of church activities, most of my children coming home for the holidays, parades, and decorating, and parties.

            Of course we have extra Advent and Christmas worships services planned in the two churches I serve as well. December is busy.

            But in all the business and caroling and coming and going this month, don’t miss the people. Jesus never did, even when things got crazy busy in His life. People are the reason He came in the first place, so people were always at the core of what He did.

            This intentional people focus carried over (at least initially) into the earliest ministries of the apostles. One of my favorite healing stories in the Bible is found in Acts 3:1-10. The story is that Peter and John were going to the temple at 3PM (a designated time of prayer) and they come upon a man who is lame laying at one of temple gates begging for money. He had the modern day equivalent of his cardboard sign with his ailments listed, and Styrofoam cup for change to be dropped in. And the people kept passing by, maybe a few dropped a coin into his cup. This was his life, day in day out, day after day. Laying there because he couldn’t get up. Laying outside the temple because he wasn’t allowed to go in. Laying there asking for money because that’s what he thought he needed. Laying at a gate called “Beautiful”, even though his situation in life was far from it.

            And then “one day” (verse 1) everything changed. One day that seemed like it would be just like any other day. Just another day of begging from people as they were headed into the temple. Just another day of being carried to the temple, then being carried back home. But this “one day” would be like no other day.

            “Peter looked straight at him, as did John” (3:4). I love that intentionality, Peter and John looked at him. Maybe you’re thinking, ‘well, of course they did, they saw him so they had to look at him’. But I wonder how often we over look other people. Maybe it’s not even intentional, though at times I believe we do choose to look away from the cardboard holding-Styrofoam cup beggars that we walk by. Jesus always saw the people, seeing their needs, and having compassion on them in love. And so Peter and John really “sees” this unnamed man at the temple gate. And they stop. While all the other people stroll on by, Peter and John stop and look straight at him. I love this because it’s an interruption to what Peter and John had scheduled. They’re on their way to church. Most people I know don’t want any interruptions in life, especially when they’re on their way to church (usually because they’re already running late!).

            Be aware of the divine interruptions God gives you this month.

            And so after offering this man healing in the name of Jesus, Peter took “him by the right hand and helped him up” (3:7).

            I know that it was the healing work of Jesus that allowed this man to walk again. But Peter helped him up, and then after being helped up, “the man’s feet and ankles became strong” (3:7).

            This month maybe we can look for the interruptions in our regularly scheduled activities as opportunities rather than distractions. Perhaps we could focus on seeing all the people as Jesus sees us, and when a divine interruption presents itself, maybe we could help someone up by reaching out our hand and taking their hand in ours. I think that’s a beautiful image of what the church is called to be, an image of who we are called to be; trusting God, looking for opportunities to share His love and grace, and helping others up who don’t even know that they can stand on their own yet.

I watched a grave digger at work today

I watched a grave digger at work today.

            I have seen many graves dug over the years, but today I stood on the front steps of Asbury United Methodist Church as I watched this man work. He was meticulous, and careful.

            I watched as he set the chairs in place, taking the time to sit in several of them, for just a few seconds each, but long enough to get a feel for the chair and the view that proceeded from it. I wondered if he thought about the people who would sit in those chairs in a few hours. It seemed as if he did.

            I watched a grave digger at work today.

            I watched him set out the small pieces of green “carpet” around the grave and covering the large pile of dirt that would later fill the hole that he had dug. He would place a piece of the carpet and then step back and survey the angle, walking around the tent that covered the chairs to see his work from different angles.

            I watched a grave digger at work today.

            As he moved his truck away from the grave site he pulled in behind some trees, a place out of the way, and out of sight for the family that would be arriving. The machines and equipment that he used hidden behind the trees that lined the graveyard.

            And then one last time he walked around the grave he had prepared, the tent he had placed, the chairs he had set up, and the green carpet he had paid down. He stood and took it all in as I watched him from the steps of the church. It was probably only seconds, but seemed like such a long time. I wondered if he was praying for the people that would stand around the tent he had placed, for those who would sit in the chairs he had set up, for the one who would lie in the grave he had dug. It seemed as if he did.

            He was finished with his work for now. When the funeral home arrives it will be my turn. I will walk in front of the casket as it is brought into the church. I will walk in front of it as it is taken back out, and then one last time as it is carried by friends and family up to the place prepared by this man that I had been watching work.

            I don’t know him. But I am thankful for him. For the care that he took in his preparations, for so many little things he had done that no one else would even notice, or would have just taken for granted.

            When I shared this my wife, Heather, she reminded me of what the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Colossae, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 3:23-24)

            I am thankful that I watched a grave digger today.  And I am thankful for all the ways that we have an opportunity to care for each other in this life. Whether it is those who assist in the birthing process, those who care for us throughout our lives, those who walk with us into the valley of death, or those who dig the grave for the final earthly resting place of our physical bodies, it is a tangible reminder for me that when we do these things, we are reflecting the God who is Emmanuel, always with us.

            I pray today that I can be the servant that this man is. We all have a part to do in this life, and parts to do for one another. Sometimes maybe it is in seen and appreciated, or perhaps it will be a necessary deed that is taken for granted or overlooked. But every deed we do for another is important, if it is done in love and for the glory of God.

            Some people might dig graves because that is their job. But maybe there are some who dig graves because they are doing something incredibly beautiful for a family facing the mystery of death, and because they are doing the Lord’s work. May we all be so faithful.  

             

           

A Good Death

I’ve been thinking a lot about death this week.

                I know, that probably sounds a little morbid, perhaps just plain weird to you. So, let me explain.

                As I am writing this it is the first week of November, which in the church where I serve as pastor means All Saints Day. The first Sunday in November we celebrate this day by sharing together in Holy Communion, recognizing the Communion of the saints around us, and name those saints who have moved on to heaven this past year. The word “saint”, by the way, means “holy” or “different”, which is what we are all called to be as followers of Jesus. All Christians are, because of the forgiveness of sins and the holiness given us by Christ Jesus, saints.

                So I have been thinking about the saints who are no longer physically here.

                November also marks the 2 year anniversary of my mom moving to heaven, so I’ve been thinking about that.

                And in my planning for All Saints Sunday, and in thinking about all these saints,  I have been working on a sermon entitled, “Dying a Good Death”.

                I think that’s important, that idea of “dying a good death”. Maybe you’ve never thought about that, or maybe you don’t even want to think about that. I get it. I really do. But death is an inevitable part of life here on this planet until Jesus returns. And death is not a final ending event.

Death is more….transitional.

 In death we move from earthly life to eternal life, from our temporary home to our heavenly home, from mortal bodies to eternal bodies.

                Jesus said, “I have come that (you) may life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10b), and later says, “unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds (life)” (John 12:24-25).

              

                I hear a lot of talk about living a “good life”, like that’s the goal of this life here on earth. And mostly when we talk about living a good life we talk about things: a good job, a big house, a nice car, a good marriage, a reliable income, a solid retirement. Stuff.

                Sometimes maybe we mention family and friends as being important in “the good life”.

                All of these things are good, and can be important. There is nothing wrong with having a drive for achievement, unless the drive for achievement has you.

                But maybe living a good life is really found in being able to die a good death.

                I’m not being morbid again, bear with me.

                John Wesley, the man who is named as a father of the Methodist movement, is reported to have said, in his last words on his death bed, “And the best of all, God is with us.”

                That’s pretty impactful, especially to those who were gathered around him as he took his last breath in this life and his first breath in eternity.

                And do you remember Stephen from the book of Acts? When he was being killed for his faith, stoned in the streets by people who claimed to be the religious ones of the day, Stephen looked up to the skies and said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. Lord, Jesus, receive my spirit. Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:56, 59b).

                Maybe in dying a good death we can see what is truly important in life. Maybe in dying a good death we can offer forgiveness of those who wronged us because we really understand how much forgiveness that God has offered to us. Maybe in dying a good death we can ask God to be merciful to others, because we realize how much mercy has been shown to us. Maybe in dying a good death we will see the heavens opened, and our Lord Jesus waiting on the right hand side of the throne of God the Father, ready to bring us safely home.

                And maybe if this is a good death, then that helps us to have the right perspective to live a good life. Maybe in thinking a little about death in the right way, it will help us live life the right way as well.

                                 

Delivered from "fear"

I love how all the Psalms are written from real life experience. Some of them we know the situations that were happening in the lives of the writer, others we are simply left with a beautiful verse of praise and adoration, or a heartfelt questioning of wondering and asking.

            This morning I read Psalm 34. There is quite a story behind this psalm! You can read it in 1 Samuel 21:10-15. It is a psalm of David, and one that I think we could talk about for days.

Why don’t you grab your Bible and let’s read it together, ok?

There are so many amazing verses in here, imagery that is painted by David’s skillful artistic use of words as he reflects on a time when God heard him and God saved him.

We have all had times like that. Probably more than we even realize. But one verse really stuck out to me today.

“I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears” (verse 4).

First David sought the Lord. That might seem obvious, but I think it’s important to say. We seek after many things in life, even on a daily basis. And while God should be the primary object of our seeking, the reality is that on some days we can get distracted by many other things. In fact there are many other things, even right now at this very moment that I am writing this and this very moment that you are reading this that are vying for our attention and our focus.

There is a beautiful promise from God that is tucked away in part of a letter that the prophet Jeremiah wrote to the exiles living in Babylon after the Babylonian king Nebuchannezar destroyed Jerusalem and took Judah captive, and it reads, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with your whole heart. I will be found by you”, declares the Lord’. (Jeremiah 29:13-14a)

Not just sort of seeking God, not just seeking God when you close your eyes to make your request in prayer, not just seeking God in the minutes spent in the morning reading your Bible, but a life spent seeking God, first and foremost and above all things.

That’s why Jesus said, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33a).

So, Davis did that, he sought the Lord, earnestly and intently, and with his whole heart.

And then God answered David.

That’s what the Lord promised Jeremiah, that He would be found when He is sought.

God is not hiding, He is simply waiting for us to seek Him completely.

But here is the most compelling part for me today, the last part of that psalm verse says, “he delivered me from my fears”.

Fear.

If you read the background from the psalm that is found in 1 Samuel there is plenty that David needs to be delivered from, in particular from Achish, the king of Gath. And the background of that scenario is that David is also fleeing from Saul, the king of Israel.

Yet David does not thank the Lord for delivering him from Saul, nor from Achish. He says that he sought God, and that his prayers were answered, and that he was delivered from his fears.

I wonder what fears the Lord would like to deliver you from today. What fears are you facing that, perhaps is even preventing you from fully seeking the Lord with all your heart, and from fully loving the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving your neighbor as yourself?
            There is another psalm that says, “Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you” (Psalm 66:3).

Fear is an enemy of God, and fear cowers before the Lord God of hosts because God is love and perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18).

And while there were plenty of things (and people!) that David needed delivered from, he needed delivered from his fear at this moment in his life so that he could fully move in direction God was leading him, so that he could fully seek God with his whole heart, and so that he could fully praise God with his life.

May you seek God fully this day. May He answer you. And may your fear be cast aside so you can be fully delivered from its hold and bondage. And may you believe, not in a spirit of fear but rather in the spirit of power in which you have been clothed in the name of Jesus, that while “the righteous person may have many troubles, the Lord delivers him from them all” (Psalm 34:17).

#Unveiled

            One of my favorite short stories is “The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. He is probably more remembered for “The House of Seven Gables” and “The Scarlet Letter”, but this Black Veil short story was my favorite of his.

            If you’ve never read it you can read it for free online through many public domain sites, or grab a copy of an anthology of classic American literature and you will probably find it in there.

           (Or, if you're OK reading a classic like this online rather than without the warm musty book in hand, you can here: https://www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/nh/mbv.html)

            The story is about Rev. Hooper, a well loved and kind parson who one day shows up in town with a black veil over his face. The townspeople were confused as to why Rev Hooper would do this, and they all talked much about it amongst themselves, but no one asked him. Perhaps, they thought, this is some odd idiosyncrasy that will end at some time in the near future.

            But it did not. Day after day and week and week and month after month and year after year Rev Hooper wore the black veil every day. Reports were that he never took it off, and even slept in the horrid black veil, seeing every minute of his life and every person he encountered through the shadow of the dark cloth.

            And while the speculations grew about what Rev Hooper could possibly have done to warrant in his own mind to cover his face in shame with the black veil, no one asked, and he continued to don this most disgracing display.

       (Ca you guess who's under the mask in this French film portrayal of Hawthorne's classic?)

   

  I won’t tell you the short story ends, you need to read it yourself. But I will say that it is a parable, and there is a biblical connection to Hawthorne’s story.

            Exodus 34 tells us of Moses going up Mt Sinai to meet with God regularly, and that when he came down from the mountain to where the people were gathered his face was shining, literally glowing, with the glory of God. Being in the presence of God changed Moses’ expression. But the people were scared, this was a strange thing happening to Moses every time he went up the mountain, so in a merciful gesture toward the Israelite people, Moses wore a veil over his face to cover up the glory until it faded away.

            Later, in 2 Corinthian chapter 3, the apostle Paul references this event and how Moses covered his face with a veil to hide the glory of God, but Paul uses this to say that there is a veil that covers many people today, and that “whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away”.

            Here’s my point with all this for us right now. I think that many people still wear a veil to cover up what they don’t want others to see. Maybe it’s from a feeling of shame for what you did in the past, or perhaps what was done to you. Maybe it’s because of a perceived short coming that is in your life today. Whatever it is, we often try to hide this. Even in church.

            Maybe we put this veil on right before we see people, or maybe we have worn it so long that we don’t ever take it off, like Rev Hooper.

            Maybe we can’t take it off. Maybe that’s the point Paul is making in that Corinthian passage, when he says it is “only in Christ is it (the veil) taken away”.

            Here’s what I want to encourage you to today: take the veil off. If you are wearing something that is covering up who you are, or trying to cover up a past experience because that seems easier than doing the hard work of dealing with it, trust that “in Christ” the veil can be removed. And when that happens, when the Holy Spirit has this opportunity to work in and on you, then you will reflect God’s glory, even on your face for others to see!

            Sometimes we spend so much time on what was that we miss what is and will never experience what will be.

            By God’s grace, may you reflect God’s glory today with unveiled faces through a bold hope in Jesus. And after you read Hawthorne’s short story, pair that with Paul’s message in 2 Corinthians 3:12-18.

            Today be #Unveiled!

Stuck in a Loop

Last month Heather and I went to see “Yesterday”. It’s a movie about a struggling singer/songwriter named Jack who just can’t get a break in his musical career. And then through a strange cosmic time-warp event the world is moved into a parallel universe where the Beatle’s never existed. So, Jack begins singing Beatles songs as if they were his own, and then records them and becomes the biggest singer/songwriter in history (until he can’t live the lie anymore and comes clean and goes back to his job as a teacher, married and living happily ever after).

            The point I want to make today is that when Jack was recording all these Beatles hits he had to sing them, then play all the instruments, and then record the background tracks. This is a recording process called looping. Looping is where you record a track and just let it play over and over, and then add something new (like vocals or percussion) over top of it to create a new element to the song.

            Here’s how I think this relates to us spiritually. We can get stuck in that loop, that same rhythm that just loops over and over and over and over. If we could add something new to it we could change the tune completely, we often don’t.

            Maybe there was an event that happened in your past where you were hurt, or betrayed. And that event becomes the defining aspect of your life. You’re stuck in that loop.

            Or maybe it was the death of a loved one, or a divorce, or an end to a career that you didn’t anticipate or even see coming and you were caught off guard, knocked for a ‘loop’, or completely deflated of any desire to trust or to be engaged with others again. You’re stuck in that loop.

            Or maybe it was a diagnosis that left you reeling and confused, where were the answers to all those prayers for God’s healing? You’re stuck in that loop.

            The Hebrew people knew this as well. Exodus recounts the stories of God’s miraculous and amazing deliverance of His people from captivity in Egypt. He guides them on their trip to this new “promised land” where He would fulfill His promise to Abraham to make them a great nation, as numerous as the sand on the seashore. And when they get to the edge of the promise, they stop.

            The people who live in this land are like giants, and we are like grasshoppers compared to them! (Numbers 13).

            So, the people revert back. They lament and wish they were still in Egypt as slaves (we tend to live with a captive mentality most of the time). They even talk about how much being better being in slavery was than the situation where they were in at the time. They went back to their loop, and they were stuck (again!).

            Sometimes even the loop might have started out as a good routine, But maybe now your day is that you get up, read your Bible, go to work, come home, watch TV, go to bed, get up, read your Bible, go to work, come home, watch TV, go to bed, get up…..

            And you’re stuck in a loop.

            Loops deprive us of the joy of life. Loops keep us circling the same path when God is calling us to check out a new direction He has for us. Loops keeps us focused on how things are, or even how things used to be, rather than seeing how things could be or what God is already doing now!

            In fact, hear these words from Isaiah (this passage was written for the people of Judah as they were preparing to be sent into Babylonian exile):

This is what the Lord says—he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. (Isaiah 43:16-19)

            How do you get out of a loop? You can’t change the loop that has been playing, that is in the past. But you can allow God to add in a new melody overtop of it. God says he drew you out of that past. So don’t dwell on it! God is doing a new thing. Not will do. Not might do. He is doing it, making a path, providing a provision, showing a new way, adding in a riff….

            Do you see it?