Joy to the World!

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; Break forth into joyous song and sing praises.… Make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.” (Psalm 98:4 & 6)

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; 
Let every heart prepare him room, and heaven and nature sing, 

and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and heaven and nature sing. 

Joy to the world, the Savior reigns! Let all their songs employ; 

While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains repeat the sounding joy 

repeat the sounding joy repeat, repeat the sounding joy. 

No more let sins & sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground; 

He comes to make his blessings flow Far as the curse is found 

Far as the curse is found Far as, far as the curse is found 

He rules the world with truth & grace & makes the nations prove 

The glories of his righteousness, And wonders of his love, 

And wonders of his love, And wonders, wonders of his love.”

[–“Joy to the World,” by Isaac Watts, 1719] 

My hope and prayer is that the true joy of the Christ-child has been yours this Christmas, and that that joy will continue with you into the new year! Remember, God loves you and I do, too!

Giving Thanks for God's Saints

“To the church of God that is in... [Gwinnett County], to those who are sanctified in  Christ Jesus, called to be saints...” (1 Corinthians 1:2)

          “Rejoice in God’s saints, today and all days; 

a world without saints forgets how to praise.

           Their faith in acquiring the habit of prayer, their depth of adoring, 

           Lord, help us to share.

 

           Some march with events to turn them God’s way; 

            some need to withdraw, the better to pray.

            Some carry the gospel through fire and through flood; 

            our world is their parish; their purpose is God.

 

 Rejoice in those saints, unpraised and unknown, 

who bear someone’s cross or shoulder their own. 

They shame our complaining, our comforts, our cares; 

 what patience in caring, what courage, is theirs!

 

 Rejoice in God’s saints, today and all days, 

 a world without saints forgets how to praise.

            In loving, in living, they prove it is true: 

            the way of self-giving, Lord, leads us to you.”

                                           [--Fred Pratt Green, from the United Methodist Hymnal, #708]

Each November 1^st is “All Saints Day” on the church calendar -- a day for God’s people to celebrate and remember the lives of all God’s “saints”: those living now who call Jesus their Savior; and those who’ve gone on to be with the Lord this past year. 

I pray that you will join me this Sunday (November 7^th) as we celebrate and remember the lives of all God’s “saints,” including those of our church membership who’ve gone on to be with the Lord this past year. Remember, God loves you and I do, too!

Greetings... By Name!

 

“Peace be with you. Your friends here greet you. Greet our friends there by name.” (3 John 15, emphasis added)

What’s in a name?  In Bible times, a name told a lot about a person, including their family identity, reputation, and character.  And as the scripture above from 3 John illustrates, one of the key characteristics of biblical hospitality was the practice of God’s people greeting each other by name.

Today, calling people by their name is equally important, because it lets them know that we don’t view them merely as some nameless, impersonal being among the masses of people that we see and interact daily with in public. Instead, it subtly conveys that we see them as someone who is special and unique both in our eyes and in the eyes of God, who created and knows “the hairs on our heads” (Luke 12:7).

As a church of Jesus Christ, we at McKendree U.M.C. seek to value each and every person touched by our ministries, whether in person or online.  But because we are such a large membership congregation, it’s often difficult to know and call people by name unless we have some kind of regular interaction with them. This challenge has become increasingly more profound in the last few years as we’ve experienced a turnover of active members – some have either moved away or been called elsewhere, while many others have moved or been called here to begin or continue their spiritual journey with and among us.  Either way, the result is that it’s increasingly challenging to be able to greet each other by name in our worship services and other church events because we just don’t know each other!

I’ve therefore become more and more convinced that we as a congregation need to return to the wearing of nametags when we are present for in person services and events, and -- if we’re attending events online -- to ensure that our name appears accurately on our Zoom or chat screen.  We did this as a congregation in the 1990s, but it’s time for us to do it again! 

So, starting September 19^th and thereafter, I want to invite and encourage every McKendree UMC member and friend to wear your nametag whenever you come to the church facility for in person services and/or events, and (if you’re online) to change or add your name (if needed) to the Zoom or chat screen when you arrive online. We’ll provide nametags for all McKendree members and friends in the Narthex when you arrive in person, but it will be up to you to create a new habit for yourself in order to remember to bring and wear it each week.

Some might ask: what about the need for anonymity, especially for newcomers and guests?  It’s true that people today often come to church (especially at first) to be anonymous – to have space to “check things out” before committing to a community of faith or to its people. Consequently, we’re not going to require visitors or guests to wear nametags.  But we will have them available for when they are ready to allow us the privilege of getting to know them.

Remember that nametags (and the online equivalent) won’t create intimacy or personal connection in and by themselves – that takes additional work practiced over time. However, they can be a good starting point for the fostering and development these. After all, a good relationship begins at the very least with us being able to call the person who we want the relationship with by name, and it’s hard to do that if we don’t even know their name!

So, please join me in wearing your nametag to in person events at church (and include your name online, too), so that, together, we can follow the advice of 3 John 15 to “greet our friends [new and old] by name.”  Remember that God loves you and I do, too!

Called to Serve September 12 - SERVE SUNDAY

 

“Learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend

the orphan, plead for the widow....” (Isaiah 1:17)

 

One of our tasks and callings as people of faith is to touch and make a difference in the physical and material lives of people around us in our community and world.  We’re called to follow the example of Christ by serving others, not simply be served ourselves.  Growing up, I remember singing the words to one hymn that put it well:
 
“Look all around you, find someone in need,
Help somebody today
Tho’ it be little – a neighborly deed,
             Help somebody today!
 Help somebody today, somebody along life’s way;
 Let sorrow be ended, the friendless befriended,
             Oh help somebody today!
                [--“Help Somebody Today” (Cokesbury Hymnal #67), by Frank Breck, 1932]
 
The founder of Methodism John Wesley is said to have encouraged something similar nearly 200 years before when he wrote the following:
    “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can,
     In all the ways you can, in all the places you can,
     At all the times you can, to all the people you can,
     As long as you ever can.”
 
That’s why on Sunday, September 12^th from 9:00am-12Noon, our church will be doing something different by sharing in something called “Serve Sunday” – an opportunity for our entire church family to participate in various projects that make a difference in the lives of others by serving in various ways.
 
That day will include a combination of several mission events and projects that we’ve participated separately in in the past on separate days:  Great Day of Service; Rise Against Hunger; UMCOR projects; and others.  This year, we will worship on that day by SERVING others through the various in person or online projects that we’ll have.
 
While you can certainly just “show up” and do a project that day, your chances of being able to work in the project you want improve if you SIGN UP!  So here is where you can do that…
 

SIGN UP FOR SERVE SUNDAY PROJECTS HERE

 

I hope you’ll join me that day (again, either in person or online) to make a difference in the lives of others on this special day!  Remember, God loves you and I do, too!

Why I Choose (Again) to Wear A Mask

WATCH THE VIDEO

{UPDATE 8/3/21: in the short time since I posted this video/transcript on 7/30/21, our church COVID protocols have changed yet again -- read the latest at www.mckendreeumc.org.  However, while the result of this is that some of the protocol information mentioned here is now incorrect, the rationale for why I feel it's important to be wearing a mask at this time is the same}

Transcript found below:

With the spike in COVID cases from the Delta variant, most of you are probably already aware of the CDC’s recently updated recommendations that vaccinated people should continue to wear a mask while inside buildings to protect both themselves and others.  I hope you also already know that in light of this, our church updated its COVID protocol to be line with this recommendation.

This change has relieved some of you, and has caused frustration for others of you.   But while our new church protocols still leave it up to you to make the best choice, I want to share with you why I’m choosing again to wear a mask inside while around groups of people.

My decision has nothing to do with politics, fear, or lack of faith.  Instead, since the data is inconclusive about whether or not vaccinated people can spread the virus, I choose to err on the side of caution in seeking to protect our children, vulnerable adults, and even those of us who are fully vaccinated from the potential spread, and (hopefully) am also putting at ease those of you who might otherwise not feel comfortable approaching me with a spiritual or pastoral need.

Over the last year and a half, I’ve heard people talk about asking others to wear a mask as something that infringes on their “rights” and freedom to choose.  For me, Christian faith is NOT about asserting my rights, but about choosing to give up my rights for the sake of the good of others.   That’s what the Bible calls “agape” love – love that sacrifices itself for the sake of others. 

Remember Jesus’ words in Luke 22:42 when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane, where he said “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.”  That’s kind of how I feel about wearing a mask.  I’d prefer not to wear one, if I don’t have to.  But for the sake of keeping others (and myself) safe from this Delta variant, I’ll sacrifice my comfort.

Also remember another example from 1 Corinthians 8, where Paul addresses the question of food sacrificed to idols.  There, he says that idols don’t really have any power, so all food should be okay to eat.  But he goes on to say that some people don’t know or understand that, and therefore it may cause them to stumble if they see a person of faith eating such food.  So, in Verse 13 he concludes by saying, “if food is a cause of their failing, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.”  The point he’s making is that there are times when faith invites me to do something that I may or may not need to do, but I choose to do it because it can protect others from harm.

Again, in the end, YOU are the one who has to choose to do what you feel is best. But I wanted to share my reasoning for why I’m doing what I’m doing, at the very least to give you something to think and pray about.  Regardless of your choice, please know that I value being your Pastor, that I’m here for you, and that I love you as God loves you!  Please let me know how I can help and support you!

He Came Singing Love

“Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; There you will see him, just as he told you” (Mark 16:6-7).

Just as we read in Mark’s account of the resurrection, inherent in the message of Easter itself is the call to each of us to “go and tell” others that “[Jesus] is going ahead of us” and will meet us wherever we are and through whatever we experience in life, good or bad.  In the words of an anonymous Christian poet,...

“He came singing love. 

 He lived singing love. 

 He died singing love.

 He arose in silence. 

 If the song is to continue,

 WE must do the singing.”

You see, as glorious and joyful as our celebrations of Easter are, we’re not supposed to keep the good news of Jesus’ resurrection and life to ourselves.  Instead, we’re to share it with others through our words, our deeds, and our care. 

I invite you to join me this Easter season as we not only celebrate our risen Savior, but also as we share that good news with others: our friends, our relatives, our neighbors, workmates, and schoolmates.  Remember, God loves you and I do, too!

Introducing: Voices of Lent Worship Series

Who am I? Where am I going? How does God fit into my life? How can my relationship with God help me through tough times?  These are a few of the questions we’ll be exploring in a new worship series called “Voices of Lent.”  

Shared through both our online and in-person worship services February 21-March 28, we’ll explore how God sustains and empowers us in our daily lives through some of the spiritual themes of the Christian season of “Lent.” 

February 21 -- The Voice of Belonging (Mark 1:9-11)

Discovering our identity in Christ

February 28 – The Voice of Faith (Mark 8:27-30)

                                 Claiming our faith in Christ

March 7 -- The Voice of Awe (Exodus 20:1-20)

Discovering the purposes of God’s law

March 14 -- The Voice of Salvation (John 3:14-21)

Claiming our salvation in and through Jesus

March 21 -- The Voice of Forgiveness (Psalm 51:1-17)

Discovering the power of forgiveness

March 28 (Palm/Passion Sunday) -- The Voice of Challenge (Mark 15:34-39)

Learning to trust God through difficult and trying times

(While it won't "officially" be part of the series, Easter Sunday's message "The Voice of Triumph" on April 4th will also follow up on this Lenten series with similar themes)

Paris Syndrome

"If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7, The Message)

For about a dozen Japanese tourists a year, a visit to Paris, France, is followed almost immediately by a visit to a psychiatrist.  Dubbed the "Paris Syndrome," this well- documented phenomenon sometimes leads to serious psychoses. For instance: one man became convinced during his Paris visit that he was Louis XIV; two women came to believe their hotel room was bugged as part of a French plot against them; and another woman was convinced she was being bombarded by microwaves. Apparently, all these people were fine until they went on vacation.

According to the Reuters news service, the syndrome results from culture shock or, more specifically, from a clash between expectations and reality. Expecting the fabled "City of Light," the tourists apparently discover instead a city that doesn’t match their expectations, finding Parisians to be much less charming and romantic than they had imagined, and certainly less polite.

Now, I have been to Paris (as I’m sure many of you have, too), so I can understand something of what “Paris Syndrome” is all about. But even if you’ve never been to Paris, there are many people right here in our community who may experience something like this every single Sunday when they worship with us, either online or outdoors in our parking lot service.  In a manner of speaking, we have our own “tourists” of sorts, and they can also be rather fragile. For that matter, in today’s context I would argue that there are even some church members who fit into this category!

Let’s call it the “Church Syndrome.” Some people come to worship expecting certain things that we just don’t live up to -- some are disappointed, not just with the preaching or music or the fact that it’s happening outside, online, or just “not in a church building,” but sometimes even with the humanity that they see and/or interact with.  Expecting the glories of heaven, they find instead fallible people just like themselves, or they expect things to be like they have been for years and year and years before a global pandemic -- and they were hoping for much more than that.

Clearly, to expect perfection of other people is to set oneself up for disappointment, whether on vacation or with the church. However, no matter what our dreams might be, in the end we all need to remember that the only Paris there is, is the Paris that IS, and the only church there is ... is YOU AND ME. And we aren't perfect!

There are, of course, some significant differences between the Paris and Church Syndromes. As far as I know, the citizens of Paris do not profess to be going on to perfection, while we in the church are actually audacious enough to say we're reaching for the heavenly in our earthly lives. But we do this because we're traveling with a Savior whose love embraces us as we are, and whose Spirit helps us close the gap between human frailty and holy ideals.

So, if you worship with our church or any other expecting perfection (whether online or – for the time being, until it’s safe – outdoors), you will more than likely be sorely disappointed.  But, if you 're looking for the trip of a lifetime, the church (in spite of its imperfections) has Paris beat hands down!  Remember, God loves you and I do, too!

Let Peace Begin With Me

“Be subject to rulers and authorities, obedient, and ready for every good work;… speak evil of no one, avoid quarrelling, be gentle, and show every courtesy to everyone.” (Titus 3:1-2)

“Live in harmony with one another;… do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.  If it is possible, so afar as it depends on you, live peaceably with all…. Never avenge yourself, but leave room for the wrath of God;… Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:14, 16-19 & 21)

Political violence is not new.  Whether it was the assassination of Julius Caesar by Brutus in 44 BCE, the violent overthrow of the French Monarchy in 1792, the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln in 1865 or JFK in 1963, or the brutal intimidation tactics of Hitler’s S.A (or “Brown Shirts”) in the early days of his rise to power in pre-Nazi Germany, people have been using violence to try and advance their view of politics since the beginning of recorded history. 

So, given the dangerous rhetoric that’s been encouraged and allowed to circulate unchecked over the last few years, what happened yesterday in the hallowed halls of our national Capitol is not entirely surprising – intensely disappointing and angering, but not surprising.   The good news is that the mechanisms of proper government in our country were not so easily intimidated or halted by bands of thugs or mobs.  The sad news, of course, is that these types of groups exist at all, highlighting the great work that still needs to be done to address the prejudice and fear entrenched in the minds and hearts of many around us.

In many ways, this kind of prejudice and fear is illustrated in the biblical story of Pilate asking the crowd to choose between the releasing either of Barabbas or Jesus (read this story in Matthew 27:15-23, Mark 15:6-15, Luke 23:18-25, or John 18:39-40).  While Pilate may have literally been asking them to choose between two men, he was metaphorically and symbolically also asking them to choose between two ways of dealing with political views that were different than their own:  the way of violence and hate (represented by Barabbas); and the way of love and compassion (represented by Jesus).  In many ways, this same choice haunts us today when we are faced with views and politics that differ from our own, and challenges each of us to ask ourselves, “What part am I playing in enabling compassion, peace, and respect, and love to win out over prejudice, hate, and violence?”  No, not all of us are physically violent when we don’t get our way.  But if we allow mistrust, prejudice, hate, and fear to exist within ourselves in any degree, then the seeds of eventual violence are already there, just waiting for the right spark to unleash them, as happened yesterday with the insurrection in our national Capitol.  The advice the Titus 3 passage reminds us to “Be subject to rulers and authorities, obedient, and ready for every good work;… [to] speak evil of no one, avoid quarrelling, be gentle, and show every courtesy to everyone” (Titus 3:1-2).

The plot of the 1986 movie The Mission highlights this choosing between the way of love or the way of violence, and how – just as with the crowd’s choice on Good Friday – too often we choose the latter (or at least allow its seeds to germinate within us). The very last scene of the movie shows a 18th-century religious leader in Paraguay who had ordered the removal of missionaries by force questioning those who carried it out why the brutality and slaughter that ensued 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 be people of peace, respect and love, we first need to look deep inside ourselves and ask what we are doing to help foster and encourage these, and to make sure our actions (or inactions) are not the inadvertent cause of strife and hatred in the world around us. The text above from Romans 12:18 puts it this way: “If it is possible, so afar as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”  And the words of a famous hymn reinforce this by saying:

 "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]

My prayer for each of us and for our world is that we would all continue to seek to choose the ways of Jesus (the “prince of peace”), and encourage others to do the same.  Always remember that God loves you and I do, too!

New Worship Series - You're Invited!

Pandemics, violence, accidents, and natural disasters… do you sometimes wonder where God is in the midst of these?  If He is good, then why does He let bad things happen?  When we pray, is God really listening?  How does God really work in our world?  Do you ever just wonder WHY?  If so, then there’s a light at the end of the tunnel for you!  

Join me at McKendree UMC January 10-February 7 in both our online and outdoor worship services as we share in a new worship series called “Where is God When...?” exploring questions for God in the midst of suffering, tragedy and evil.

January 10 -- Pandemics, Cancer, and Car Wrecks (Disease and Accidents)

January 17 -- Tornadoes, Hurricanes, and other “Acts of God” (Natural Disasters)

January 24 -- 9-11, Gun Violence, and The Holocaust (Human Violence and Evil)

January 31 -- When Prayer ‘Doesn’t Work’ (God’s answers)

February 7 -- How God Really Works In Our World (the nature of divine Providence)

Each Sunday:

--Online services available after 9:30am at http://www.mckendreeumc.org 

--Outdoor/Parking Lot services at 11:00am (weather permitting)

WATCH THE SERIES INVITATION VIDEO HERE