Spring: Signs of New Life

“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.” (Mark 13:28)

If you’re like me, apart from the pollen, Spring is among my most favorite times of the year. Plants begin to bud, trees and flowers start to bloom, there is a warmth in the air, and everywhere one can see signs of new life springing up after the cold and apparent deadness of winter.

This is, of course, why springtime is often used as a metaphor for the Christian season of Easter (which is not just a day but an entire season lasting for 40 days after Easter Sunday!).  During this time, we celebrate the new life that Jesus spent with his disciples following his resurrection.

But Spring is also a metaphor for our own personal lives – for the fact that every one of us has “winters” from which God’s power can wake us up and bring us back to life through the warmth and new life of his “Son” Jesus.  For some of us, those “winters” take the form of grief, job loss, pain and hurt from the severing of a relationship, financial insecurities, and other things.  But the resurrection of Jesus can give us not only hope for a better future, but actually begin in us a new life in that hope, as well.

Yet, I believe that Spring is also a fitting metaphor for what our church here at McKendree UMC is experiencing this year, as well.  While we certainly have a strong past to celebrate, this Spring we are also seeing signs of renewed life and vitality in and through our church’s ministries and programs.  If you were around for Holy Week, you know that we experienced very meaningful and moving services on Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday. But in addition, we also saw over 1100 people in worship on Easter Sunday itself, we welcomed 30 new members into our fellowship on April 28^th (including 19 youth confirmands!), we’ve experienced increased financial giving in April, are already having great response to signs up for our upcoming children’s Vacation Bible School, summer camps, and Fall 2019 Preschool program, and our church’s Vision Team continues their good and fruitful work on our behalf to discern God’s future for all of us.

As with Spring and Jesus’ resurrection, all of these things are indicators that something good is happening here at McKendree, and that even greater things are still to come!  So, wherever you find yourself in your own personal spiritual walk with God, my prayer is that you will use this season of Spring as a time to re-engage and re-connect with the God’s work through McKendree UMC.  You’ll be blessed when you do!  Remember that God loves you and I do, too!

Christ Is Risen!!!

“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen!” (Luke 24:5)

“Christ is risen! Shout Hosanna! Celebrate this day of days.
Christ is risen! Hush in wonder; all creation is amazed.
In the desert all surrounding, see, a spreading tree has grown.
Healing leaves of grace abounding bring a taste of love unknown.

Christ is risen! Raise your spirits from the caverns of despair.
Walk with gladness in the morning. See what love can do and dare.
Drink the wine of resurrection, not a servant, but a friend;
Jesus is our strong companion. Joy and peace shall never end.

Christ is risen! Earth and heaven nevermore shall be the same.
Break the bread of new creation where the world is still in pain.
Tell its grim, demonic chorus: 'Christ is risen! Get you gone!'
God the First and Last is with us. Sing Hosanna everyone!”
       [–Brian Wren, from The United Methodist Hymnal, #307]

What appropriate words! After all, isn't that the message of Easter?... that suffering and pain and death and evil are never the last word? All the sacrifices of Lent, and all of the tragedies and struggles of life merely lead us to the new life of Easter, just as Christ's own sacrifice and suffering led him to the victory of the Resurrection.

So remember, no matter what you're facing today, Easter has come to tell us that through faith in Jesus, God's victory can be ours, as well! So along with the hymn-writer, this Sunday our hearts all join to sing: “Christ is risen! Shout Hosanna! Celebrate this day of days!”

All of these things should help enable us to focus more on the reason for the day: Jesus Is Risen! Alleluia! Alleluia! Remember, God loves you and I do, too!

Remembering Our Brokenness

“Have mercy on me, God, according to your faithful love! Wipe away my wrongdoings according to your great compassion! Wash me completely clean of my guilt; purify me from my sin!” (Psalm 51:1-2, CEB)

This Wednesday (March 6, “Ash Wednesday”), Christians around the world will begin our annual journey towards Easter with 40 days (not including Sundays) of spiritual preparation.  Known as “Lent” (from the Anglo-Saxon word lencten, “spring”), it’s a season in which we are reminded of how – like springtime bringing life back to the deadness of winter – the “winters” of our spiritual lives can be brought back to life through Jesus Christ.

As such, one of the major themes of this season is the remembrance of our brokenness and inclination toward sin and wrongdoing as human beings.  In the words of one traditional liturgy for the receiving of ashes, we are asked to “remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”  All of this invites us to confront our own mortality, and to confess our own sin and shortcomings before God within His imperfect community of faith, the Church.

When we recall this reality, it tends to put all of our prideful human wisdom and knowledge into proper perspective.  In our human divisions, no longer can we arrogantly proclaim that our “side” has all the “answers” to life, or holds the one and only “correct” view about truth or God’s kingdom.  It reminds us of Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:1-5 about the dangers of judging others of the unrepentant sin in their life before we first judge ourselves for the unrepentant sin in our own – “first take the log out of your eye, and then you’ll see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother’s or sister’s eye,” Jesus says there.

The reality, you see, is that none of us as broken and imperfect human beings is worthy of the love of a holy and perfect God.  Consequently, a major message of Lent is that we ALL stand in need of prayer, repentance, and God’s healing and forgiveness.  And the good news is that Lent is also a recognition of God’s power and ability (and desire) to do all of these in our lives!  The ashes that we place on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday are a way of God saying to each one of us, “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18).  The entire Lenten season, in fact, is God’s way of saying that our human brokenness – though significant and deep – is never the end of the story… that His power through Jesus overcomes even our human brokenness and sin.

So, I don’t know what you stand in need of forgiveness from God for in your life today.  Perhaps it’s a spouse or family member who has hurt you that you are holding a grudge against.  Perhaps it’s something you did or said that you know you shouldn’t have done or said.  Perhaps it’s the way you treated a workmate, schoolmate, or fellow member of your church.  Perhaps it’s a feeling of despair or even anger over the recent General Conference decision.  As for me (while much improved)… I still am in need of healing from a hardness of heart I allowed to develop within me from my experiences at a previous church – that is my brokenness.

But whatever it is for you, this Lenten season, I encourage and invite you to allow God to bring you His healing and forgiveness, so that you may be whole once again.  Remember the words of Psalm 51 at the top of this post – God always has “faithful love” and “great compassion” towards us, and that it’s that love and compassion which enables Him to “Wipe away [our] wrongdoings…”, to “wash [us] completely clean of [our] guilt” and to “purify [us] from [our] sin!”

Yes, you and I (and all around us, in the church and outside it) are broken human beings.  However, through Jesus Christ, we can be forgiven, healed and made whole again!  During these next 40 days of Lent, will you claim his wholeness for you? Remember, God loves you and I do, too!

Results of General Conference 2019

"With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love…" (Ephesians 4:2-3)

I

As most of you may now know, 864 delegates (half lay, half clergy) from United Methodist churches all over the world met for a called special session of General Conference in St. Louis, MO through yesterday afternoon (February 26) to discuss and act on the report called the “Commission on a Way Forward” relating to the matter of human sexuality.   After passionate debate, two efforts to pass what was known as the “One Church Plan” failed by small margins, and the delegates instead passed what is known as the “Traditional Plan” by a vote of 438 to 384 (52% approval rate).

This plan essentially leaves intact the current denominational policies that do not allow ordination of LGBTQ clergy candidates, and which do not allow our clergy to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies.  However, it also adds new mandatory accountability structures for clergy who violate these policies.  While it’s unclear how constitutional these new structures will end up being, the intent was clearly to uphold and better enforce our current policies regarding human sexuality.  A minority report petition on “disaffiliation” also passed, which would potentially allow graceful exits from the denomination for clergy and churches who disagree.  (For a more complete article on the results, read HERE, or also find a variety of result links from our North Georgia delegation HERE).

II

In light of this decision, some UMs are ecstatic and have a great sense of satisfaction. Others are in great shock, anguish, and deeply hurt by what transpired.  Regardless of where you are personally, please know that I am praying for you -- that God would be with you wherever you are, and will use this decision to bring about a more perfect and faithful church, even while using broken and imperfect people like you and me to do it.

To those who hold traditional views, I would invite and urge you not to gloat or feel smug in this decision, which was by no means a mandate (the Traditional plan passed by a slim 54 votes; nearly half of the delegates did NOT vote for it). Instead I encourage you to exhibit humility in what transpired, and invite you to reach out and extend biblical charity and comfort to your brothers and sisters who have felt deeply hurt and betrayed by this decision. Practice the words of 1 Corinthians 12:26, “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it.” You may not agree with them theologically, but they are still your sisters and brothers in Christ.

To those who feel hurt, I would likewise urge you not to do anything rash, but instead to trust that God is working even now to bring about a greater good that we can’t yet see -- God always has a way of doing that through the biggest and most painful disappointments in our lives!  Please remember, too, that 2/3 of American United Methodists do not and did not support the plan that was adopted – its support came from a coalition of 1/3 of the American delegates and almost all of the international delegates (who make up 40% of our denomination’s membership).  Also, we do not really yet know how this decision will play out (or if it will):  the adopted plan (or parts of it) may be ruled unconstitutional by our denomination’s Judicial Council at its meeting April 23-25;  there are also rumors of a new denomination that may emerge to more faithfully represent a different vision for the UMC.  My point is that since God is bigger than this decision, you do not need to fear the present or future -- He will be with you and us all!

III

On a personal basis, I feel it important to share full disclosure that I am among those who are deeply disappointed by this decision. …not because I am “progressive” in my views of human sexuality – in general, I am not.  No. I am disappointed because the approach taken by the Traditional Plan, in my opinion, lacked charity and a gracious spirit in failing to acknowledge or even allow for the reality that deeply committed Christians can, do, and will continue to hold differing views on this and many other subjects, and yet still be faithful, deeply committed, biblical followers of Jesus Christ. 

The adopted plan mandates that all United Methodists must think exactly the same on this particular subject, with no room for any contrary opinions – a view which I believe is not only unbiblical, but inconsistent with a truly Methodist vision of Christianity.  In his 1771 sermon “Catholic Spirit,” the founder of Methodism John Wesley once wrote “although a difference in opinions or modes of worship may prevent an entire external union, yet need it prevent our union in affection? Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion? Without all doubt, we may. Herein all the children of God may unite, notwithstanding these smaller differences. These remaining as they are, they may forward one another in love and in good works” (Paragraph 4 of his sermon Intro; Read the entire sermon HERE). 

Some have tried to frame this debate in terms of biblical authority – as if one “side” is based on scripture and the other is not.  But nothing could be further from the truth. In my humble opinion, this debate was not (and still is not) about biblical authority but about biblical interpretation -- both conservatives and progressives claim the Bible to be God’s authoritative word.  What’s under debate is not the authority of scripture, but what exactly that means.  Wesley’s words above illustrate that for centuries, Methodist Christians have felt it possible to have a gracious spirit that allows for differences of biblical interpretation, while still holding to the fundamental authority of scripture itself.

What I fear that this decision will do is embolden some (as others already have done) to create within the church a pharisaical atmosphere similar to the one that Jesus experienced in his own ministry -- one where genuine, prayerful, Spirit-led dialogue and debate is not only discouraged, but is at times ruthlessly silenced (we’ve seen that multiple times throughout church history, in fact).  Such an environment stifles the God-created, God-inspired diversity found in holy scripture, and is inconsistent with the diversity of our God who is “three in one” and “one in three” (the Holy Trinity).  Consequently, I believe that adoption of this plan will not really “settle” the debate, but may instead actually inflame and invigorate it even more (which may be a good thing).

From a legal standpoint, in mandating prescribed punishments for clergy who violate its rules, the plan deprives offenders of due process -- something alone which may be ruled unconstitutional in April by our Judicial Council. 

Finally, contrary to scripture itself, I believe this decision has sent a signal to the world -- however unintentionally -- that truth is indeed more important to us United Methodists than love, and that the legalism of the Pharisees (holding to the “letter” of the law) is more valuable to us than the gracious spirit of Jesus (holding to the “spirit” of the law).

So yes, I am hurting for my more “progressive” friends and colleagues who hold a different view than my own, and who (I fear) think that their voice and presence in the church is not  welcomed or important.  Consequently, I still dream of a church where people can honor and respect one another’s differing views without the need question their fidelity to scripture or their faithfulness to God’s word. Unfortunately, this is not what was adopted yesterday.

IV

Despite all that I have said, however, I do need to point out that while the adopted plan will not change our current official UM view that marriage is between a man and a woman, and that LGBTQ persons cannot be ordained as clergy, it nevertheless also continues to affirm (paragraph 161(G) of our Book of Discipline) that…“All persons are individuals of sacred worth, created in the image of God. All persons need the ministry of the Church in their struggles for human fulfillment, as well as the spiritual and emotional care of a fellowship that enables reconciling relationships with God, with others, and with self. The United Methodist Church does not condone the practice of homosexuality and considers this practice incompatible with Christian teaching. We affirm that God’s grace is available to all. We will seek to live together in Christian community, welcoming, forgiving, and loving one another, as Christ has loved and accepted us. We implore families and churches not to reject or condemn lesbian and gay members and friends. We commit ourselves to be in ministry for and with all persons.” Consequently, we will still accept LGBTQ persons into church membership and engage in ministry with them – this decision does not change that reality, even for my Traditionalist friends.  After all, Jesus did not come to call people to their need for a particular sexual orientation, but to their need for a Savior. As Gods church, we should do no less.

As to where we are headed as a denomination generally (and as McKendree UMC specifically), at this point it is really too soon to say.  There are many things still be worked through from this decision.  I and other clergy and laity throughout our North Georgia United Methodist Conference will be meeting with our Bishop, Sue Haupert-Johnson on March 21, and will be with others in our Atlanta-Emory District on March 24 to debrief about what happened and talk about “next steps.”  After that, I should hopefully be in a better position to answer specific questions about where all this will take us.  In the meantime, I urge you to stay the course!

As I was writing this, I was inspired by a very helpful, pastoral, and affirming video message from Bishop Sue that I encourage you to watch HERE.  She ended with words that I feel are very important to remember:  "At the end of the day, the most important thing is our life together as followers of Jesus Christ, and the mission that we share together" of making disciples for the transformation of the world. I couldn't have said it better myself!

Regardless of who or where you are in all of this – whether you are lesbian, gay, straight, bisexual, conservative, traditionalist, evangelical, centrist, liberal, progressive, or anything else you can label -- I want you to know that as your Senior Pastor at McKendree UMC, I love you, care about you, and if you’ll allow me the chance, I want to honor and respect what you feel God is calling you to in this matter, even if or where it may not be my own. As always, my “door” is open if you want to talk with me about what you are feeling or struggling with related to this or any other subject.

As we continue to prayerfully discern where all of this takes us, most importantly let’s also continue our work and ministry together here in Gwinnett County, seeking to be God’s “nurturing community, connecting all through Christ.”  And please never, ever forget that God loves you and I do, too (I mean that!)

United Methodist Called Special General Conference

“Surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans...  to give you a future with hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

As many of you already know, our United Methodist Church’s top legislative body will be meet later this month (February 23-26) in St. Louis, Missouri for a called, special session of General Conference.  The purpose of this gathering will be specifically to address our denomination’s approach to the issue and experiences of human sexuality.

For those who may not be aware, General Conference (GC) is the only body that can speak for our entire United Methodist Church in matters of organization and belief, and is comprised of an equal number of both clergy and laity delegates.  As we are a representative system of church government, we at McKendree UMC are represented at GC through the 22 North Georgia Conference delegates that our local church helped to elect.

Regarding the content of this month’s GC, you may remember that this past Fall, we hosted
a series of “Finding Our Way Forward” sessions in which we shared and discussed the three major proposals that will be presented.  If you missed those, you can read a brief summary of these (plus several others) HERE or HERE, or you can also read the complete, detailed 99-page report that’s being presented HERE. All of these proposals are grounded in different interpretations of God’s holy scripture, and they each have their merits and challenges. However, since it’s unlikely that any one of them will be adopted unanimously by all delegates, there will probably be much discussion as delegates seek to prayerfully discern God’s wisdom regarding a possible decision to guide us in addressing these issues and experiences.

In the meantime, I invite you to join Pastor Ryan and myself in doing several things:

1) BECOME KNOWLEDGEABLE about the topics and proposals about human sexuality that are being voted on. You can find a variety of resources to help with this through our North Georgia Conference’s General Conference 2019 page HERE.

2) STAY INFORMED with correct information.  As with most gatherings of this kind, the controversial nature of the topics being discussed often cause debates and decisions to get mis-reported by the secular press.  So, please get correct information before you form personal opinions about what did or did not happen.  You can do this by subscribing to follow GC’s daily proceedings HERE (check “General Conference Updates” at bottom of page). You can also live stream General Conference sessions HERE.

3) Most importantly, please PRAY for the delegates and their work and deliberations... that God's will would be done through them in a spirit and way that both honors Him and draws others to Him.

When GC2019 is completed, I’ll share more about how their decisions may or may not affect us locally at McKendree. Meanwhile, always remember that God loves you and I do, too!

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!