Let Peace Begin With Me

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21)

“Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.” (Psalm 34:14)

From the October 20^th killing of one of our own Gwinnett County Police Department officers, to last week’s mail-delivery of pipe bombs around the country, to the 11 victims slain this past Saturday at a Pittsburgh synagogue, the recent news has yet again been filled with stories of hatred and violence.

If you were at worship yesterday, you heard me condemn these senseless acts, and stand in solidarity with our Jewish brothers and sisters in prayer against the continued prejudice and violence of our world.  As followers of Christ, there is simply no room in either our words or our behaviors for anti-Semitism or other forms of bigotry, racism, or prejudice -- anything to the contrary clearly demonstrates a lack of understanding of the true ways and teachings of Jesus found in the Bible.  In his care for and ministry with Samaritans, “ladies of the night,” lepers, and even Gentiles, Jesus reached beyond the established racial and social customs of the day and sought to love everyone.  As his followers, we are called to do the same.

And yet, even if we know and understand this call, the love and peace of Christ is nevertheless sometimes elusive because there are forces within ourselves that are, at times, vying to be heard. For example, the biblical story of Pilate asking the crowd to choose between releasing either Barabbas or Jesus metaphorically also asks them to choose between the way of violence and hate (represented by Barabbas), and the way of love and compassion (represented by Jesus).  Read this story in Matthew 27:15-23, Mark 15:6-15, Luke 23:18-25, and John 18:39-40. In many ways, this choice haunts us today, and challenges each of us to ask ourselves, “What part am I playing in enabling peace and love to win out over prejudice, violence, and hate?”

The plot of the 1986 movie The Mission highlights this choice between choosing the way of love or choosing the way of violence, and how – just as with Jesus – too often we choose the latter.  The very last scene of the movie shows a 18^th-century religious leader in Paraguay who had ordered the removal of missionaries by force questioning those who carried it out about why they felt that the brutality and slaughter that was used was necessary.  One of them replies, “You had no alternative, your Eminence. We work in the world, and the world is thus.”  The religious leader replies, “No, Señor Hontes. Thus have we made the world….  Thus have I made it.”

So, before we go around complaining about what someone else is not doing to bring peace and understanding, we need to first look deep inside ourselves and ask what we are doing to help foster them, and to make sure our words and/or actions are not the inadvertent cause of strife, prejudice and hatred.  The words of a famous hymn say it well:

“Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me;

 Let there be peace on earth, the peace that was meant to be.

 With God our creator, children all are we.

 Let us walk with each other in perfect harmony.

 Let peace begin with me; let this be the moment now.

 With every step I take, let this be my solemn vow:

 To take each moment and live each moment

            in peace eternally.

 Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”

            [--Words by Sy Miller and Jill Jackson (1955), 

                    cited from the United Methodist Hymnal #431]

May this be our prayer as we struggle in our world to choose the ways of Jesus (the “prince of peace”).  Always remember that God loves you and I do, too!

NOTE: Find more resources for confronting and responding to violence HERE, and a response from the UMC Bishop of the Western Pennsylvania Conference in light of the synagogue shooting HERE.

Rice to Diamonds

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,and with all your soul, and with all your strength,and with all your mind.” (Luke 10:27)

A long time ago, a beggar had begged for rice and had gone to the city gates to cook a meal of it. While he was making the fire, he heard a caravan coming.  He quickly moved towards the travelers.  “Alms, alms!” he cried, and more loudly when he saw that it was the prince. The prince said to the beggar, “What have you to give me for the alms I might give to you?” The beggar fingered his 25-30 grains of rice and offered three grains to the prince.  The prince took the three grains of rice and held them for a moment.  Then he took the beggar’s hand, carefully laid the three grains of rice in the moist palm, and folded the beggar’s fingers over them. He left the beggar and entered the city.  As the beggar walked back, he opened his hand.  To his surprise and amazement, there lay three brilliant diamonds.  He gasped and then wept, “If only I had give all! If only I had given all!”

Quite often, God asks of us as Christians, “What will you give?” In response, we too often give Him the money we think we can spare, the abilities that we can easily give, and the “left overs” of our time that we don’t really need anyway.  Yet, God wants and invites us to make Him our priority, giving generously of our time, talents and money out of a grateful and cheerful heart.  After all, the Bible teaches that the person who can share generously with others will discover and know life’s true riches (Read 1 Timothy 6:18-19, and 2 Corinthians 9:6-7).

This month during our annual stewardship journey, we’re all invited to consider how we can grow in our generosity towards others as we celebrate God’s generosity to us. This theme of “Climbing Higher: Taking the Next Step in our Life with God” will be a time for us all to focus on individual and collective progress along our spiritual journeys of faith:  to prayerfully consider growing as God leads towards greater levels of faith by becoming either a first-time giver, intentional giver, growing giver, a tither, or perhaps even an extravagant giver; and to prayerfully ask ourselves “Lord, where do you want me to be in my giving?”

Each Sunday in October, you’ll hear inspiring and creative ways that our theme impacts us in daily life, and be lovingly challenged to consider how to grow your faith through these.  Then, on October 28^th (“Celebration Sunday”), each of us will be invited to share our response to God based on His love and grace towards us. Through our commitments of time, talent and money through God’s church, not only will we be “climbing higher” in our love for Him, but will also be surprised to discover “diamonds” of blessing from God in our personal lives, as well.

So, I challenge us each of us to prayerfully consider becoming more generous in our “grains” of response to God through His church for 2019!  Remember that God loves you and I do, too!

What's Your Dream For McKendree UMC?

“Where there is no vision the people perish…” (Proverbs 29:18, KJV)

Vision is essential if any person or group (including a church) is to ever achieve its fullest potential.  Having, sharing, and implementing a biblical Vision gives us a direction in which to travel, a goal to shoot for, a unity and efficiency in the Holy Spirit, and can harness God’s energy and power to get us to where He wants us to be.  And as the scripture above indicates, the lack of Vision can effectively destroy us.

To that end, most of you probably know that for the last few years, our church has prayed, studied, learned our history, and listened to the needs of our community and world, leading up to the adoption of our church-wide VISION of “Nurturing Community, Connecting All Through Christ” back in 2015.

At that time, an implementation plan was also adopted which laid out a series of ideas and objectives to help us live out and live into this Vision.  Since then, many of these objectives have been accomplished, others are not yet complete, and some have been modified or deleted to fit current realities. We celebrate the many things that this Vision has helped us to do already!

The time has come, however, when we as a church need to be thinking and praying about what God wants next for our church through this Vision.  Specifically, what “next steps” do we need take?  Are there one or two “big ideas” or “signature ministries” around which our “next step” could be organized and articulated?  Whatever these end up being, they would be things that – by their very nature – would be big enough to capture the hearts, minds, energy, work and (yes) finances of our entire 2000+ members and friends.

That’s why we need your help!  Coming up this month, our church leaders will be sponsoring a series of four identical “Vision Input TOWN HALL Meetings” where anyone from our church is invited and encouraged to share their thoughts and input about the dreams YOU have and needs YOU see for McKendree UMC over the next 2-10 years. These thoughts and input will then be shared with our new Strategic Visioning Team, whose work will begin in January 2019 to discern and recommend that proposed “next step(s)” to our church leadership for adoption and implementation.

These Town Hall meetings will be held on the following dates and times in the church Fellowship Hall:  Thursday, September 13 at 7pm; Sunday, September 16 at 9:30am; Sunday, September 16 at 11:00am; and Wednesday, September 26 at 6:30pm.  In the meantime, please know that we need your input and feedback in these guided times of discussion so that your church leaders can begin to hear from God what He desires us to be doing next. So, please mark your calendar for those events and plan to attend the one of your choice.  If for some reason you can’t be present for any of these, please feel free to mail or email your ideas to the church office.

Until then, thank you for continuing to help us be about “Nurturing Community, Connecting All Through Christ” here in Gwinnett County!  And never forget that God loves you and I do, too!

Back to School... Back to Church

“Return to me and I will return to you, says the Lord of heavenly forces.” (Malachi 3:7b)

Within the next week or so, our children and teenagers will be heading back to school to start a new school year.  This should be a reminder to the rest of us that it’s also time to start back to church if we’ve gotten out of the habit over the summertime!  And just so everyone feels welcome and “at home”, here are some special new things we’ll be providing this Fall:

--Cots will be placed in the Narthex for those who say ‘Sunday is my only day to sleep late’

--Steel helmets will be provided for those who say ‘The roof would cave in if I ever came to church!’

--Blankets will be furnished for those who say the church is too cold, and fans will be given to those who think it’s too hot.

--We’ll have hearing aids available for those who say ‘the preacher talks too soft’, cotton for those who think that he talks too loud, and a few “Slow Down” road signs for those who think he talks too fast.

--There will be TV dinners for those who say they can’t go to church and cook lunch for their family at the same time.

--We’ve renovated part of our Sanctuary to have grass and trees for those who feel closest to God in nature, and part of the grassy area will have a putting green for those who think that Sunday morning should be for golfing.

--We’ve turned some of the pews to face backwards, so that those who say ‘I’ll come to church when I get my life turned around’ will feel at home without ever having to do that.

--We’ve also built several small, private rooms connected to the Sanctuary for those who say that they worship God at home alone, by themselves.

--And finally, the Church will be decorated with both Christmas poinsettias and Easter lilies for those who have never been to church without them!

Okay, I admit it… we’re not really doing all of these things.  But it does highlight some of the many silly excuses we use for not coming to church.  This Fall as our children and youth head back to school, why not put away your excuses and renew the habit of coming back weekly to the place where you can meet and grow with God, fellowship with people who care about you, and find a sense of purpose and meaning to life. “Seven days without worship make one weak!”  I hope that won’t apply to you! 

And as an added incentive, we CAN look forward to a number of special things that ARE happening here at McKendree church this month (read about most of these elsewhere in this week's "Happenings" eBlast):

--8/5: Back to School Blessings of Teachers, Administrators, Students and our recently packed school mission backpacks
--8/19: "Connect Groups" Kick-off Sunday
--8/22: "Back to School" church and community-wide Parking Lot Party and Cookout
--8/29: Wednesday Night Supper and Programs start up

In September, look for several Vision Town Hall Meetings for an update and to solicit input and feedback for use of a major financial gift our church received in the last few years.

Also late this Fall (probably November), look for an open Information Session where we'll share an overview of the recent work of the United Methodist Church's "Commission on A Way Forward" and next February 2019's called special session of the UMC General Conference (read more about this HERE).

As you can see, there are a lot of great things happening in the life of McKendree Church as we seek to carry out our Vision of "Nurturing Community, Connecting All Through Christ."  This corporate Vision and calling from God is more important than any individual agenda or personal excuse.  So, I encourage us all to make worship and ministry with and through God's people a priority this Fall in our lives! 

Remember, God loves you and I do, too!

Faith-Bits Welcomes McKendree UMC!

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may now that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13)

I’d like to welcome members and friends of my new congregation (McKendree UMC in Lawrenceville, GA) to  “Faith Bits,” my blog about life and faith in the 21^st-century.  Although I use this this forum primarily to host my Pastor’s articles for our church’s newsletter, you’ll also find here some of my personal thoughts and musings on life, faith and Christian living relating not only to our local church, but also to our local, state, national and world community at large. 

Over the course of time, within this forum you’ll find words and stories of inspiration, information, challenge and humor.  I encourage you to subscribe at right (i.e.,"Follow My Blog By Email") to receive all posts as they appear, remembering that I will sometimes post articles here that will not appear in our regular church newsletter.  And, as I designed this to be an interactive online forum (where my articles are merely discussion-starters), please feel free to share appropriate comments as you feel led (click on the “comment” link at the bottom of each post), and/or share them with a friend via email or social media.

Finally, on this blog you’ll also find “Links to Life” websites that can help resource you in your walk of faith, as well as resource links to a few of my sermons (and other materials) that address common questions of faith and spirituality that I’m often asked or that I hear.

In the same way and spirit as the apostle Paul writing letters to his congregations (letters that we today call “Epistles” in the Bible’s New Testament), my hope and prayer is that this blog -- “Faith Bits” -- will become a connection point not only for life within our faith community at McKendree UMC, but will also provide each of you with an important and trusted source (and resource) for your own personal walk with God.

Remember that God loves you and I do, too!

God Gives The Growth

"What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth." 

(1 Corinthians 3:4-7)

It's hard to believe that this will be my last newsletter to share with you as your Senior Pastor -- these past three years have come and gone so quickly!  As most of you know, I’ve been appointed to serve as the new Senior Pastor of McKendree UMC in Lawrenceville, GA, and the combined, blended worship service at 10:30am on June 17^th will be my last time of worship with you. In the May edition of the FLAME, I shared a number of good things that I believe God has accomplished in and through our ministry together at LaGrange First UMC that has allows me to confidently be at peace about accomplishing exactly what God sent me here to accomplish.

Your new pastor, the Rev. Dr. John Beyers, will begin ministry with you on June 21^st, and the combined 10:30am worship on following Sunday (June 24^th) will be his first service with you.  You are in for a true blessing under John’s ministry and leadership!  But before I leave, let me ask you to do several things to help make this pastoral transition a smooth one:

1) Pray for and support John. Pray that God would prepare him for the move and give him a servant’s heart for you as God's people. Support him with your openness, friendship, presence, attitude, and enthusiasm.

2) Pray for Trish and I… that God may prepare to use us in a great way at McKendree UMC.

3) Don't compare. Remember, just as I was not Harold Lawrence, Greg Porterfield, or Gil Watson, so John Beyers is not Brian Germano.  So, don't compare or make hasty judgments based upon whether his ministry style is like mine or not -- it may be very different, but that may also mean that it's better suited to LFUMC’s present needs (just as my style may have been exactly what God knew we needed for the season that I was here)!

4) While LaGrange First will always hold a special place in my heart, please remember that I will no longer be your Pastor. While there's nothing wrong with keeping in touch with Trish and I as friends, please respect John’s role as your new Senior Pastor.  As such, allow him the privilege of doing your weddings, baptisms, counseling, etc – please do not ask me back to do those things except through John’s invitation (this is the Methodist way, by the way!)

5) Finally, let me encourage you to read carefully the scripture at the beginning of this article and remember that it is GOD who grows a church -- not Brian, John, or anyone else. “God gives the growth,” so we should give GOD the glory for the change and growth that has taken place over the last three years, and for the change and growth that God will bring through John, as well! After all, LaGrange First is not my church, your church, or John’s church – it is GOD’s church, and God is the one who causes it to grow.

As I close, let me leave you with some of Paul's words to the church at Philippi that accurately reflect the feelings that Trish and I have for you at LaGrange First, as well:

“I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. ...This is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God. I want you to know, beloved         that what has happened to me has helped to spread the gospel!”                                                                                                                                            [--Philippians 1:3-6,9-12]

            Above all,... never, ever, ever forget that God loves you and I do, too!

Thoughts on "Being Sent"...

"The apostles and the elders... agreed to send some delegates chosen from among themselves to Antioch, together with Paul and Barnabas." (Acts 15:22)

If you were at worship on April 22, you'll know that it was announced that I will be reappointed ("sent") by our Bishop to serve as Senior Pastor of McKendree UMC in Lawrenceville, GA beginning June 21. While Trish and I are sad to be leaving LaGrange, we feel that we have accomplished what God sent us here to do, and are also excited about the possibilities for ministry in the place to which we (like Paul and Barnabas) are being sent.  In addition, I am confident that the person God is sending to follow me as your new Senior Pastor – Rev. Dr. John Beyers -- is His choice to lead you into the next stage of your future (read more about John in a separate article in the May 1, 2018 issue of the FLAME newsletter).

Most of you know that the process of moving (or "reappointing") pastors every so often (called the "Itinerancy") is one of the unique qualities of being a United Methodist pastor and congregation.  Based on the early church model of "sending/appointing" leaders, while it’s often  difficult when there is a pastoral transition, it does mean that our churches don't need to have "search committees" or hire interim pastors, and pastors don't have to go "sell" themselves on the "open market" in order to find a new church.  Instead, "no church is ever without a pastor," and "no pastor is ever without a church." 

What's more is that since no single pastor possesses all the leadership qualities necessary to lead an individual church, over the course of several pastoral tenures (over, say, 20-30 years), a congregation led by several pastors will be more well-balanced than one who's had only one or two in that time, since each pastor will bring to them differing leadership skills:  some pastors are better speakers; some better organizers; some are good visionaries; others more people-oriented; and some better with evangelism or missions; etc.  While all of these are important, each pastor brings differing strengths to a congregation needed at differing times in its history.

Most importantly, when our Itinerant system works properly, it encourages congregations to be built around the people, rather than around a particular pastor.  In doing so, it lessens the likelihood that church members turn the pastor into an idol by becoming merely a "cult following" of that pastor.  So as you can see, while our system is challenging when there are transitions, there are plenty of good reasons to have it.

That said, there’s been a lot that has been accomplished in my tenure as your Senior Pastor that I want to celebrate with you.  For example, together, we have…

● Discerned and articulated a more accurate understanding of our church’s unique MISSION (“Christians Serving with love, Caring with compassion, and Sharing with boldness”) and our almost-adopted new VISION (the first draft of which was shared by our Long Range Planning Committee at the recent Town Hall meetings).

● Overseen a reconstitution of our church staff to be better equipped for future ministry, and fostered a healthier sense of staff teamwork and camaraderie.

●  Re-started ministries vital to any healthy church such as Disciple Bible Study, Stephen Ministry, an intentional Congregational Care ministry, a collaborative Worship planning team, and increased volunteerism (“every member in ministry”).

● Helped to bring our annual budget more in line with current giving patterns, resulting in savings that has enabled us to pay off our line of credit and fund most of our upcoming HVAC system upgrade capital project.

● Introduced church leadership to the healthier and more biblically sound process of decision making by Consensus.

● Engaged the church in more intentional Missional and Evangelistic initiatives such as Church on the Hooch, increased partnership with our El Salvador ministry, annual Rise Against Hunger meal-packing events, and Operation Christmas Child.

● Put our church back on LaGrange’s “ecumenical map" through our participation in and leadership of things such as the community Easter Sunrise Service at Sweetland Amphitheatre, the Lagrange Clergy Fellowship, Racial reconciliation events and services, and partnership opportunities with Warren Temple UMC, the Korean UMC of Lagrange, and the Gideons.

●  Helped our LaGrange Korean UMC church finally to be able to purchase and transition to their own ministry facility here in town.

● Led us to embrace essential 21^st-century ministry tools such as Online Giving, “Text-to-Give”, Direct Deposit for staff payroll, a redesign of our church website, and use of newer technologies as aids to/in worship.

● Helped our Safety & Security ministry to address pressing issues with new safety and security protocols.

All of these (and more) are just a few reasons that I can with confidence say I feel that I’ve accomplished what the Lord sent me here to accomplish with and among you.  But even as we celebrate these accomplishments, I ask that you please pray not only for me and my family as we prepare to leave, but also for John as he prepares to arrive and begin leading you in late June.

Always remember that God loves you and I do, too!

Disturb Us, Lord

“Thus says the Lord,... Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old.  I am about to do a new thing; Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:18-19)

“Disturb us, Lord,

 When we are too pleased with 

     ourselves,

 When our dreams have come 

     true

 Because we have dreamed too little,

 When we arrived safely

 Because we sailed too close to the shore.

 Disturb us, Lord,

 When with the abundance of things we possess

 We have lost our thirst for the waters of life;

 Having fallen in love with life,

             We have ceased to dream of eternity

 And in our efforts to build a new earth,

 We have allowed our vision

 Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord,

To dare more boldly,

To venture on wider seas

            Where storms will show your mastery;

Where losing sight of land,

We shall find the stars.

We ask you to push back

The horizons of our hopes.

And to push us into the future

In strength, courage, hope, and love.”

[--Attributed to Sir Francis Drake, 1577]

This month our church’s Long Range Planning Committee will be unveiling the first draft a new VISION direction for our church for the next 5-6 years. The committee spent all of 2017 working, praying, researching, brainstorming, and discerning God’s guidance in understanding what this Vision might include and entail. And soon, our entire congregation will be invited to attend two “Town Hall” meetings where we’ll all be able to hear where the committee has landed thus far, and to give input, feedback, and suggestions for “next steps.”

Consequently, while we still have a few more church-wide steps to take before our Vision can be adopted and begin to be implemented, it will eventually become a framework/standard that will guide our work and direction as a body of Christ into the foreseeable future as we seek to be “Christians SERVING with love, CARING with compassion, and SHARING Christ with boldness.”

So, as we here at LaGrange First UMC begin to think about where God is leading, my prayer is that we would be open to being “disturbed” a bit out of our comfort zones in order to hear and understand God’s call and Vision for us as a church!  I’ve heard it said before, “if God’s going to be our partner, then we better be prepared to have some big plans!”  May that be true for each of us, both corporately as a church and individually in our personal lives, as well.  Remember, God loves you and I do, too!

Message from our Bishop in Response to Florida School Shooting

In response to last week’s school shootings in Parkland, FL, please join as you feel led to this action step from our Bishop of North Georgia Methodism Sue Haupert-Johnson to address issues of mental illness, gun violence, and the protection of 

our children.

"I invite the churches of the North Georgia Annual Conference to join the Florida Annual Conference and others in a letter-writing campaign to our legislators to prioritize the safety of our children.  I know this is a difficult and polarizing issue, but I pray we can carry out our Lenten focus of having crucial conversations with hearts at peace regarding mental illness, guns, and the violence of our culture.  Below is a link with Bishop Carter's suggestions for action.  I am praying for all our churches as we grieve and lament this Sunday.  I yearn for the day when our flags are not flying at half-mast after such a tragedy.  ---Bishop Sue

Bishop Carter Invites Local Churches to Remember Victims

Read a statement from Bishop Ken Carter to the Florida Conference

The Power of Surrender

“…Not my will but thine be done” (Luke 22:42)

February 14^th marks the beginning of the spiritual season known as “Lent.”  During the 46 days of this season (40 days of Lent plus 6 Sundays in Lent), one of the spiritual tools that we as Christians are invited and encouraged to use is “surrender”, or (closely related to it) “fasting.”  It is the voluntary giving up of earthly things in order to focus more intentionally on spiritual things/things of God.  Jesus showed us the fullest example of this practice in the Garden of Gethsemane when he prayed “not my will but yours be done” in reference to his own upcoming suffering and death. 

Yet, both the Bible and Christian history are full of other examples of God’s people willingly surrendering their own wants and desires so that God’s will and plan could be accomplished through them.  One of these was the founder of Methodism John Wesley.  Listen to words of admonition he wrote to his Methodists in 1755:

"In so giving yourselves to the Lord...Let Him appoint you to your work. Christ has many services to be done; some are more easy and honorable, others more difficult and menial. Some are suitable to our inclinations and interests; others are contrary to both. In some we may please Christ and please ourselves, as when he requires us to feed and clothe ourselves. Indeed, there are some spiritual duties that are more pleasing than others; as to rejoice in the Lord, to be blessing and praising of God. These are the sweet works of a Christian. But then there are other works, wherein we cannot please Christ but by denying ourselves, as in bearing and forbearing, reproving men for their sins, withdrawing from their company; witnessing against their wickedness; confessing Christ and His name, when it will cost us shame and reproach; sailing against the wind, swimming against the tide, parting with our liberties and accommodations for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

     (--From Wesley's “Covenant Renewal Service", 1755)

Twenty-five years later, he re-wrote his very popular New Year’s Covenant Service and ended it with a prayer that has come the illustrate the power of surrender for many Christians even today.   

"I am no longer my own, but thine.

Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.

Put me to doing, put me to suffering.

Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,

Exalted for thee or brought low for thee.

Let me be full, let me be empty.

Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and heartily yield all things

To thy pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

Thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.

And the covenant which I have made on earth,

Let it be ratified in heaven. Amen."

            (--The “Covenant Prayer” from John Wesley's Covenant Service, 1780)

So, whether it’s giving up watching TV or social media time so you can spend more time reading your Bible, in prayer, or with your spouse and family, OR whether it's giving up money that you’d normally spend on coffee each day and contributing it to our “Change the World” Lenten collection for “Rise Against Hunger,” OR giving up dessert and replacing it with time spent in exercise at the gym, OR something else, my hope is that you will use Jesus’ simple prayer or one of Wesley’s to inspire you to find something unique about yourself that you can surrender to God.  You’ll find power in doing so!  Remember that God loves you and I do, too!

Online Monthly Newsletter is Here!

“...And the gospel must first be published to all nations...”_ 

(Mark 13:10, KJV)

For over 2000 years, Christians have sought to find effective ways to communicate the “good news” of the gospel with those around them.  In the earliest days this took the form of in-person, word of mouth communication to and with individuals and groups.  But even in these early days, there was always a need to communicate to those who were not directly present. That’s why early evangelists like Paul and Peter wrote letters to express their thoughts and feelings to Christians in churches and places far away -- the “Epistles” of our New Testament (books like Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, 1 and 2 Peter) are all examples of this kind of communication.

Much later, Christians in the Middle Ages used stained glass windows in cathedrals to communicate Bible and church stories, ideas, and theology to multitudes who were illiterate.  With the Renaissance, however, came a resurgence of literacy, along with the invention of the printing press, allowing for the mass publication of papers, books, and tracts to share news of the gospel.  Along with the printing of scripture, churches soon also started printing news of what God was doing in their midst -- printed congregational announcements, if you will.  By the 20^th-century, these “announcement bulletins” morphed into what we today call church “newsletters” to let folks know what was going on in the life of a congregation. And now, nearly twenty years into the 21^st-century, many are experiencing the next stage in this story of gospel and church communication: electronic communication, including online and emailed e-newsletters. 

Most of you probably already know that starting with this issue, our church’s “FLAME” newsletter will only be printed and mailed once per month, and that during the interim of each month, we will increasingly do more communication electronically. 

We’re not doing this to leave anyone out – we know that we have a significant number of members who either are not online at all, or who still prefer to receive printed content from the church via snail mail.  So, we’ll still have print copies available and mailed out. However, we also recognize that the majority of people today have the capability of receiving information online and/or via email.  Therefore, we’ll be adding email addresses to our current e-distribution list, as well as encouraging you to sign up to receive the FLAME electronically (to do this, visit our church's website and click on the red "Sign Up for Email Updates" box at the bottom right of the homepage).

This change not only reflects how most of our culture now processes information, but allows us as a church to be better stewards of our resources: it be more efficient from a resources standpoint; more importantly, it will help us “get the word out” more quickly, as well as allow us to provide more information than before. For example, in addition to the current content, we’ll have new monthly church calendars, regular column articles from ministry areas that we’ve not had regular columns from before, and other new items.

And while we won’t be adding weekly e-updates at this time (we don’t want to junk up your email box!), do be on the lookout for occasional emails during the month when there is important information we want to communicate with you about church activities and/or opportunities.

We pray that this new monthly format with occasional emailed updates will help you stay better connected with the work of Christ here at LaGrange First UMC as we go about fulfilling our mission of being “Christians… SERVING in love, CARING with compassion, and SHARING with boldness.”

For questions, comments, or suggestions about this transition, contact our Administrative Assistant Dodie Patterson via email or call her at the church office. In the meantime, we pray that you will enjoy this new way to keep in touch with the work of God through our church!  And remember, God loves you and I do too!