First Response

One of the most well known Biblical stories is Israel's flight from Egypt. A series of crazy, unexplainable, and bizarre events, the story begins with Moses encountering God in the form of a burning bush. God calls Moses to be a leader among Israel; their calls to God have been heard and God intends to deliver them.

The story's intensity escalates as God delivers a series of plagues upon Pharaoh and his people. At the same time, the drama nature of the story evolves as God further reveals Himself with each action God takes. After failing to acknowledge God, Pharaoh finally wises up and releases Israel from slavery. Israel begins their flight from Egypt when Pharaoh has a change of heart. He sends his army to retrieve the weary nation. With Pharaoh's army on their heels, Israel's hurries to escape their past when their route dead ends at the Red Sea. They nearly give themselves up when Moses stands before them and exclaims, "Do not be afraid, but stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still." (Ex. 14:13-14) What amazing words! All of have similar moments when we need to be reminded that "The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still." After speaking these words, Moses is instructed by God to lift his staff in the air, to spread his arms wide, and to command the sea be parted. We all know what happened next-- Israel passed through the parted sea on dry ground just before the waters returned crashing upon Pharaoh's army.

What a miraculous story. Not only is it dramatic and suspenseful, but it is one of the most significant events in story of God. This historic event is one of the first times that God was made known to the world. God revealed Himself to be merciful and loving, but also present and active. We all would be changed by this event, because with this special moment in history God was made known in a new, meaningful, and personal way.

There is a reason I remind you of this story today, beyond its significance as a divine act of self-revelation. Following the drama of their escape from Egypt, we hear "Then Moses and the Israelites sang (a) song to the Lord." (Ex. 15:1) Their first response to God's mercy and love, His presence in their lives, and to the divine-self revelation they had encountered was to sing a song of praise to the Lord. Their first response was to acknowledge God...something the Pharaoh struggled to do.

Throughout our lives we all experience blessings. Some of the time we experience God's mercy and love, other times we are aware that God is acting on our behalf, and then there are those very special moments when God reveals Himself to us in a unique and meaningful way. No matter what those times may be, I hope we can be bold enough to acknowledge God. I pray we will admit that our blessings have come from the hands of the Lord. This does not mean you have to always sing a song. Simply, our first response should be to praise the source of all blessings; we should acknowledge God.

Evangelism: Mission or Education?

I've been doing some work on the church budgets recently. While forming one of the budgets I decided a good first step would be to categorize the different areas of the church's ministry. I figured this would give us a clearer understanding of where we were spending out money. I came up with five categories: 1) Worship, 2) Program, 3) Mission, 4) Operating, and 5) Other. The reason for "other" is because we are United Methodist, which means we have to place "apportionment" somewhere.



With my categories formed, I began sifting through the different line items and expenses putting everything in what I believed to be their rightful place. Utilities...that goes in operating. Children Ministry...that goes in program. And, so it continued for a while until I got to "evangelism." I paused for a moment. I was confused. I could not figure out which category "evangelism" should fall under! So, I've begun to think a little on evangelism.

While I do have some sarcastic thoughts as to "why" we evangelize, I currently have two competing views:

1) Evangelism should go in the "Mission" category- We evangelize because we want to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others so that might come to inherit salvation. It is a selfless act that we perform to serve God by serving others.

2) Evangelism should go in the "Program" category- Evangelism is a service to others, but at the core of evangelism is the spreading of message. In other words, evangelism is educational. The aim is to promote/share a message that we believe to be the truth. It is, therefore, educational and should be categorized "program."

Okay, the real issue is not where the money should come from to support evangelism. The real issue is misunderstanding why we evangelize. Are we serving others? Are we promoting our belief by educating others? Is it the both or something else?

Where does "evangelism" belong?

Done and, umm, Done!

Completing a sermon with time to spare gives me such a great sense of satisfaction. It is Thursday, not even 5PM, and I'm like, "What's up, sermon? I just owned you! I wrote you in...hmmm...like 2 hours." Of course, the real satisfaction comes from the realization that I have not done much of anything except allow the HS to do its thing. When the words do come to you it is amazing because it feels like God is breathing on you.

This sermon is the last of a five week series. And, in a way, writing these sermons has been the same. I keep seeing God revealed a little more with each word I write on my notes.

For those of you who don't know I have been preaching a series on Matthew 4:1-11, "The Temptation of Jesus." We have been learning to apply Jesus' responses to our own lives. Here is the spoiler: "If you ever feel you have wandered into the wilderness Jesus urges you to respond in three ways. First, listen for God's Word in prayer and through scripture. Second, choose to remain faithful and ask God for strengthened faith not an outward sign of God's presence. Finally, continue to worship God alone and serve God always. The Good News is that there is another side to the wilderness where you will find God awaiting you."

You know what I mean?

In Need of Nutrition

I apologize that it has been so long since my last blog. Things have been fairly busy for me, but that is an excuse. I actually miss sitting down to reflect on the my faith. Reading scripture and writing your reflections can be a fun and formative experience and for that reason it is a spiritual discipline I need to better develop.

I was asked the other day why I had not updated my blog in a while and, as I said, I felt like I have been too busy. I started reading Matthew the other morning and I came to the story when the Devil temps Jesus. The Devil temps Jesus encouraging him to turn stones into bread. Jesus responds, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" I paused over this verse for a moment and it became very clear to me what is going on in my life.

The last few weeks have been busy, but they have been really fun, as well. The only problem is that I have not protected my quiet time. I have allowed my newly busy schedule to justify my failure to spend time reading Scripture on a regular basis. The majority of my Bible reading is sermon preparation. Sadly, I have not maintained a discipline of reading and praying on a regular basis.

Jesus reminds us that the words of God are nutrients for our soul; they strengthen us and they grow us. I realize writing a blog would be difficult without having spent time reading Scripture, reflecting on it, and praying. So, my goal is to be more disciplined in keeping a regular quiet time and my prayer is that the nutrients of God's word will grow me. After all, we are blessed that God is actively participating in our life and desires to be in a relationship with us. Why wouldn't we want to be filled by the nutrients of his very words?

Bloggin' about Boggin'

I have just begun a sermon series on Ephesians. The third verse reads, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places." We are all blessed. We are blessed in Christ. In him we all discover that God has chosen us to be His children. Our blessing is God. And, in some way, I believe all our blessings point us back towards God.

It is easy to overlook our blessings. Often, they are plainly in front of us. We just fail to acknowledge them. I guess it is easy to get distracted by life and the routine we have established. We get so bogged down in living that we fail to remember that we are alive. That is a shame, because life is a blessing. Life is a blessing because life is a gift from God.

While overlooking our blessings can be easily done, often times ignoring our blessings is more difficult. Today is my birthday, so I am especially appreciative for my life. I am not just blessed to have a life. I have been blessed with the specific life that God has offered to me. The other night I was reminded of how awesome a life God has given me. I was visiting with some members of the Hampton church as they celebrated their daughter's birthday. After dinner, a couple of the youth decided they wanted to go 4-wheeling. When I heard "4-wheeling" my eyes got real big. "Dang," I thought. "I want to do that!" So, I asked if I could join and was lucky to be included.

I've had a few people remark that Hampton is in the middle of nowhere. I am learning, though, that sometimes you have to go nowhere in order to get somewhere. Ephesians tells us that God has blessed us in Christ in the "heavenly places." I used to think that Heaven had to be some far off place. Like, maybe, another world away. As I said, sometimes you have to go nowhere to get somewhere. As I slowed down the other night I realized that God has blessed me again. He has tucked me away in a community that lives in a little piece of Heaven. As we went 4-wheeling through acres and acres of corn fields and bean fields I began to be taken over by the beauty and simplicity of God's creation. Whistling down long dirt roads I smelt the freshness and perfection of the world that God shaped with his hands. As we road through the woods, ducked under low branches, and road over make-shift bridges I was reunited with the adventurous spirit God breathed into me as a boy. I was reminded that I was alive in a world created by an amazing God. I remembered that with this life God has given me (and all of us) and opportunity to get to know Him simply by living and loving the lives he has given us.

Before turning around and heading back towards the house, we came to a cemetery in the middle of a field. "Seriously?" I asked the girls. "This is where you decided to take me? A little creepy...Don't you think?" We turned around and headed back towards our lives with the awareness that there is a final resting place at the end of every journey. This life is a blessing. It is also temporary. Let's not bog down in minor details or be distracted by routines. Let's choose to live it and love it while we have it.

Inherited Identity

This Sunday I will be starting a new series on Ephesians. I really enjoy this particular letter, because Paul does a good job of communicating his understanding of the Church. From the letter we are able to gain a sense of who we are in Christ, who we had been before Christ, who we have become now that we are united to Christ, and who we should strive to be as we grow in Christ. Amazing stuff!

As I have been preparing for this week's message, which focuses on Ephesians 1:3-14, I got really excited about discovering we have inherited an identity in Jesus. In verse 11, we are told that we have obtained an inheritance in Jesus. That which we have obtained is the identity as Children of God. How cool is that! We were created by God, but reconciled in Jesus we become something new. We become children of God. In Jesus we are able to know God as a son knows his father.

What is even better is that this identity gives us purpose. We learn that we have obtained this inheritance "so that we might praise his glory." As children of God we have significance. We have value. We have worth. We are purposed; we have the purpose of living in praise of God. Our life shifts with our identity and we are offered the opportunity to seek the glory of God.

What great news!

Old Letter about New Role

The other day I was looking through some files on my computer. I came across a note that I had written in divinity school. From the title and the content, I had my seminary friends and myself in mind when I wrote it. Seminary has a way of being stressful. I, apparently, responded to that issue by writing this note. I am not sure if I ever sent it off to anyone, but as I read through it I could not help but realize how appropriate a reminder it is as I start my new position at the Hampton-Varnville Charge! Though this was written with seminary students in mind, I think it is relevant to many of us today. Hope you enjoy.


Letter to Friends
10/22/2005

I lift up my eyes to the hills-
From where will my help come?
My help will come from the Lord,
Who made Heaven and Earth.
-Psalm 121:1-2

There comes a time for us to stop. There comes a time, among the chaos of existence, when we simply must cease thinking, acting, and most importantly we must cease worrying. At this moment we find God, in all his majesty, reminding us of who we are, who we will be, and more amazingly who He is. Give us the strength to close our eyes so we can see you, Lord. Let the world cease existing before us. For we know that you God, alive to us all, will be there waiting.

My friends please do not think I am writing specifically in response to something I have seen in you. The truth is the time has come for me to stop. I have, already, begun to feel a bit of peace. No, in truth I am writing to myself. Writing is the breath I exhale before I close my eyes. And, the time has come for me to close my eyes. It is the type of writings which lacks a good thesis, sympathetic understanding, and a conclusion that has a ‘so what’. No, it is the type of writing that says ‘Here it is. Take it for what its worth.’

It seems, recently, that I have heard people express the necessity for confession. I admit, this strikes me as awkward and beyond my culture. Perhaps, there is something in it, though. With that in mind, I find there is something I must confess. I have forgotten who I am, who I have been called to be, but more frightening I have begun to forget who God is. That is why I must write. I must confess that I have forgotten.

A few years ago I sat down with my pastor to share with him my concern that I had been called to attend seminary. He asked me what I intended to do after I had completed my studies. I am sure I told him a number of things, but I do remember telling him that I had considered academia. I will never forget his response. He is a serious man who has a passion for the Church. He looked at me and said, “Ross, we will always be able to find people to teach in our classrooms. It becomes difficult once we look for people to lead our church congregations.” Now, I do not mean to say that academia is for those who can not lead, or that teachers lack spiritual strength. In fact, I am continually amazed by the presence of God in the teachers I have been blessed to learn from. No, I only recall this story to emphasize the significance of our study. There is meaning in what we are learning. We have not been blessed with the opportunity to learn a knack or skill. We have, rather, been called to lead. At some point in all our lives we were called by God to serve Him in a profound way. We may end up in the parish, classroom, college ministry, non-profit, politics, medicine, or whatever. In which ever case, it remains equally important that we recognize we have been blessed by God with the opportunity to glorify Him through our service as leaders.

I was having dinner with a friend a while back. I can not remember what we ate, but I will never forget the conversation. She confessed she was angry that she was not able to know Jesus the same way the disciples did. I am pretty sure I said we can all have a personal relationship with Christ, and that relationship is transformative. My response was probably even more cliché than that. She shook her head and further explained. I understand, now, what she wanted me to recognize then. What she was trying to say was, “Ross, the disciples walked with Jesus, followed him, touched him, hugged him, kissed him, the disciples saw him and talked to him. Ross, the disciples got to sit with him and hear him say for the first time the very words that we read in the Bible every day. They saw his lips move as the words came into this world.” I guess I have considered the disciples ‘kicking it’ with Jesus. I guess I forgot that all those stories really happened.

I think of my friend’s desperate wish to have been able to follow Christ during his ministry in contrast to Simon and Peter’s calling into the ministry. Remember, Simon and Peter were fishing in the Sea of Galilee when Jesus sees them. Jesus approaches them and says, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19) And, that is just what Simon and Peter do. I am not sure if there was anything else to that conversation or if Simon and Peter had been seeking this position for some time. Scripture teaches that Jesus approaches two men, almost arbitrarily, and invites them on the most exciting adventure in History. As I consider my own calling, I wonder who I better compare to: my friend who desperately wants to be a part of Christ’s ministry or one of the care free guys fishing in the sea. Why am I here? It seems that I am constantly considering this question. My point is that for some reason God has called us. He could have chosen anyone, and there are a number of people who would desperately wish for this opportunity, yet, we received the blessing. God has blessed us with a calling to lead. We have been given the opportunity to serve God in an amazing way. And I forget to notice this. I forget to recognize the blessing. I forget to see the opportunity. What is more, I forget God, the very God I praise in worship, contemplate in class, and pray to ever day. I forget.

(I am getting tired, and I need to close my eyes, so I am going to tie this together)

I just want to say that I am pressed by the thought that we are at an incredible point in our lives. We have the opportunity to learn so much about our Lord, our Church, our Faith, and our existence. I have, recently, fallen to the competitive nature of humanity. I forget what I am studying and why I am studying it, only to concern myself with the prideful need to surpass you in scholastic standing. I am not sure why any of us are here. I do believe God knows why we are here. Psalms 121 says, “I lift up my eyes to the hills- From where will my help come?” I can see the hills before me: 3 years of school papers, books, relationships, financial aid, field ed, and the all important question, “What will I do in the name of Jesus?. But, should I focus on those hills? Maybe if I lifted my eyes a little further I would see God waiting for me. The hills might not seem so bad then. They might not even matter.

My friends there is one last thing we must recognize. God has called us together. Each of us has been plucked from our distinct place in this world. We come together with different experiences, understandings, cultures, ages, sexes, races, and scholastic background. All called together to serve. We have all been given this blessing, this opportunity. Perhaps, we could join together in an effort to make God known. Perhaps, we could lead together. Perhaps, today we could recognize that God has placed us together for a reason. Perhaps.

Seek to Glorify.

Hello Hampton!!!

This past Saturday I visited Hampton for their annual Watermelon Festival. We went early on Saturday so that we could attend the annual parade. I'm still not sure about getting around Hampton. This was my fourth trip to the area, but I've not learned any of the short cuts. Driving into Varneville, we were stopped by a sheriff's deputy. He was about one block from the main road between Varneville and Hampton, where we could see parade floats and cars beginning to enter the parade. When I told him I was trying to get over to Hampton, he point me down a side road and told be to take it until it dead-ends and then hang a left. So, Ginny and I started making our way down the side road with Adrian and Michael following us in their car. It was not too long before we were at the end of the road and turning left. As we did, I noticed there was another Sheriff's deputy before us. I stopped this time, not pulling all the way up to the intersection. I began to motion for him to come over to the car, but this gentleman was not having it. He scowled at me and motioned for me to come to him. We repeated the exchange one more time before I eased on up to him. I told him I was trying to get to the Methodist church. With eye brows furrowed, he said, "Well, ya done missed your turn now. Ya should have turned right there," motioning to the street where I had just been stopped. I let it go, after all, I don't want any police mad at me. Everyone knows I need to keep them as close to me as I can. He continued to think about how I could get to Hampton UMC from where we were. I could tell the hamster was running the wheel in his head. Poor man! Eventually he said, "Awe, shucks! Just turn here, but take it slow will ya." So, I listened to him and eased into the intersection and turned right.

I've always wondered what it was like to have a grand interest. I've see clips of musicians and movie stars walking through crowds of people and I think how awesome that must be. I think it must be so cool. Well, I found out that it's not. It's kind of awkward, actually.

So, we ease onto the road, when Ginny and I look up and see that the road is lined with people on both sides. Ginny looked at me and said, "Oh my goodness, Ross! We are in the parade." And, it was true. We had entered the parade route. Hampton Watermelon Festival Parade 2010 was unofficially being led by the new Methodist pastor. As I eased my truck down the road people were starring from both sides of the road with very confused looks, as if they were trying to discover the particular driving down the parade route. About 6 blocks later we ran into the state police. They were not happy. In fact, they very directly and adamantly ran us off the street. And, I was relieved.

Well, I said it was going to be interesting Hampton! I'm coming and (apparently) in a big way!

Story Time

I feel like I've heard a lot about "stories" the last few days. Several times in the last week someone has made referrence to the significance of "story." Whether it be telling a story or possessing a story, people seem to be talking about stories. I thank my friend, Jenn, in large part for all of this...she seems to be captivated with Donald Miller's newest story, "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" which tells the story of the making his life story into a movie.

I'm working on my homily for the Pinewood and Summerville Baccauleate services, and I can't seem to shake stories from my mind as I write this homily. In fact, my homily has become a story about part of my personal story. I'm talking about what it means to have an identity-who you are.

My story of faith began when I discovered that I was a child of God. My story began with discover of my true identity.

In John 1:12-13, we are told, "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."

God wants relationship. I get nervous saying what God wants, but claiming God desires relationship is one thing I am comfortable saying. God wants to know us, but more importantly, God wants to be known by us. The extent of that truth is powerfully expressed in Jesus Christ, the one in whom we are reconciled to God.

We have all been created by God, formed by His hand, and shaped by his Spirit. When we discover God, we discover our true identity. We discover that we are Children of God. Our identity is made real and our story really starts to be lived out. Our story becomes alive, because, united to God in Christ, we begin to live in God story, where true life can only be found.

The Right Action

This morning I was reading from the Gospel of Matthew. There is a familiar verse in the 25th chapter that reads, "Truly, I tell you, just as you did it to the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me." As I came across verse 40, I could not help but stop to consider its significance.

The words of Jesus in verse 40 are part of a larger narrative. Jesus has begun to inform his disciples of what to expect when the Son of Man comes in all His glory (25:31-46). There is a place in Heaven for the righteous, a place that was established at the foundation of the world. But what makes them righteous? Jesus lists a number of actions that will be performed by the righteous...actions that convey their love for God. Those actions are 1) giving food to the poor, 2) giving drink to the thirsty, 3) welcoming strangers, 4) clotheing the naked, 5) caring for the sick, and 6) visiting the imprisoned. These actions, it would appear, are the actions of the righteous.

Reading this narrative reminded me that our actions communicate our identity. Simply, we live what we think. We act what we believe. We are what we do. The righteous were not made righteous by their actions. Their actions communicate the love they have for God. A love that comes from knowing God's love for them.