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 blog article to share with you as your Senior Pastor at McKendree UMC -- these past four years have come and gone so quickly (especially with two years of a pandemic thrown in)!  As most of you know, I’ve been appointed to serve as the new Senior Pastor of Cornerstone UMC in Newnan, GA, and the combined, blended worship service at 11:00am on May 29^th will be my last time of worship with you. In my May 3^rd blog post (read it HERE), I shared a number of good things that I believe God has accomplished in and through our ministry together at McKendree UMC which allow me to confidently be at peace about accomplishing exactly what God sent me here to accomplish. 

Your new pastor, the Rev. Dr. Cyndi McDonald, will be with you for worship on July 3^rd, and her first Sunday preaching will be July 10^th.  You are in for a true blessing under Cyndi’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 Cyndi... Pray that God would prepare she and her husband for the move and to give her a servant’s heart for you as God's people. Support her 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 Cornerstone UMC.  Like Cyndi here, my first Sunday "on the job" there will be July 10th.  In the meantime, we have already sold our house here in Lawrenceville, bought a house in Newnan, and Trish has found a teaching job at Evans Middle School in Newnan.  But we still have the move itself to do, along with all the headache and challenges that go with that.  So, while God is good, please still pray for us! 

3) Don't compare. Remember, just as I was not Julie Boone, so Cyndi McDonald is not Brian Germano.  So, don't compare or make hasty judgments based upon whether her ministry style is like mine or not -- it may be very different, but that may be exactly the style that God knows you need next (just as my style may have been exactly what God knew we needed for the season that I was here)!

4) While McKendree 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 Cyndi’s role as your new Senior Pastor.  As such, allow her the privilege of doing your weddings, baptisms, counseling, etc – please do not ask me back to do those things except through Cyndi’s invitation ("this is the (Methodist) way," by the way! any Mandalorian fans out there???)

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 Julie, Brian, Cyndi, 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 four years, and for the change and growth that God will bring through Cyndi, as well!  After all, McKendree is not my church, not your church, and nor will it be Cyndi’s church, either – 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 McKendree UMC, 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) 

Most of you may already know that it was announced about a month ago that I will be reappointed ("sent") by our Bishop to serve as Senior Pastor of Cornerstone UMC in Newnan, GA effective  July 3^rd this summer. While Trish and I are sad to be leaving Lawrenceville (our final Sunday here will be May 29^th), we are confident that we have accomplished what God sent us here to do, and are also looking forward to the opportunities and possibilities for ministry in the place to which we (like Paul and Barnabas) are being sent.  In addition, I strongly believe that the person God is sending to follow me as your new Senior Pastor – Rev. Dr. Cyndi McDonald -- is His choice to lead you into the next stage of your future.

Of course, 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, having multiple pastors over time helps our church to be better than if it merely had one pastor.  My grown daughter once explained to a friend that our United Methodist system of moving pastors is like building a house:  we wouldn’t want only a plumber doing all the construction work.  Instead, to have a complete home, we need plumbers, electricians, carpenters, “floor-installers”, roofers, etc., each to bring their own unique skills to the work of building the house.

So it is with the building of God’s church: over the course of several pastoral tenures (over, say, 20-30 years), a congregation led by several pastors will be more well-balanced and “complete” than one where only one or two pastors have served.  Some pastors are better speakers; some are better organizers and/or leaders; others are more people-oriented; some excel at visioning or problem-diagnosis; while others are better with evangelism, missions; discipleship, etc.  ALL of these are important to have over the life-span of a congregation, but different pastors are appointed by God through our system to bring differing skills and strengths needed by a congregation at differing seasons in its history.  

Most importantly, many of you have heard me say that 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.  While our system is certainly challenging when there are transitions, hopefully you can see that there are plenty of good reasons to have it, as well.

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

● We weathered and grew from the challenges and opportunities of the global COVID pandemic (that we’re only now just beginning to emerge out of).  While there have been many who questioned some of the decisions we made during it, I am confident that we did everything God wanted and needed us to do both to keep people as safe as possible (“do no harm”, after all, is the first “rule” of Methodist Christianity), and to help remind us of the true meaning and purpose of “church.”

For example, through it all, together we were reminded that God is not confined to a building/facility, or to “the way we’ve always done things.”  To the contrary:  we learned that we can worship God and Jesus both outside and online in our homes (like the early church!); that we can connect with one another through things like “Parking Lot Fellowship”, drive-up children’s movies, and “drive-thru Trunk-or-Treat”; how to celebrate digital Holy Communion, Ash Wednesday “Ashes to Go,” and to grow spiritually in online Bible Studies and Sunday School; our children’s, student, and music departments even learned how to do “socially distant” ministry (and we all learned what that phrase was and meant in the process!). There was truly no end to the creativity and flexibility that our staff and volunteers displayed to help us get us through the once-in-a-lifetime, unique ministry challenges of the pandemic.

● We constituted several versions of our Vision team to help us to more accurately understand and claim our church’s unique MISSION (“People. Doing Life Together. Connecting All Through Christ.”) and VISION for the future (the six strategic direction areas discerned by our ReThink Church Task Force, adopted by Leadership Council, and recently shared in worship – if you missed them, find a video about those HERE).  I am especially excited for McKendree about these six areas, as I feel like they are mini-descriptions of precisely what God has in mind for its future.  In that sense, though, I also feel perhaps like Moses who led his people out of Egypt (i.e., "the way we've always done things"), through the wilderness (i.e., the COVID pandemic), and was allowed to draw within sight of the "promised land" (i.e., our six strategic direction areas) but not to enter it.

● We were guided to form our church’s “Embracing Race Together in Christ” (ERTC) ministry team in response to the racial divisions highlighted over the past few years to help us address the continued racial and ethnic inequities in our community and world (Read more about that team HERE).  To date, this team has sponsored at least nine different projects and initiatives to do this, with more to come.

● We installed new technologies, equipment and renovations for ministry, including: new lighting and digital equipment in the Sanctuary for a better livestream experience; new equipment in our Virtual Conference Room (Room 311-312) for hybrid in-person and online meetings; installed digital video and locks on some of our doors for enhanced physical safety for our weekly staff and volunteers; selling what we called the “Brighton property” to help reduce our mortgage debt; and we renovated the Lockridge Fellowship Hall for our student ministry.

● While the challenges we’ve recently faced also meant we went through a time of spiritual and numerical “pruning”, we were reminded that God can and does work even through painful experiences such as these to help us become who we need to become for Him, and that “bigger is not always better.”

● We oversaw a reconstitution of our church’s staff, saying “goodbye” to several long-time staff members who either moved or felt called elsewhere, while also welcoming several equally talented new staff members who are just as excited to be working for God’s kingdom here.

● We provided direct leadership and guidance to several ministries (like our Stephen Ministry and Missions Council) to help them discern new directions for their future effectiveness.

● We prioritized the paying down of our mortgage debt so that we now owe about $850,000 debt on our facility.

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

● Even in the midst of two very challenging pandemic years, we welcomed 129 new members into our community of faith (61 by first-time profession of faith in Jesus!)

All of these 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 things, I ask that you please pray not only for me and my family as we prepare to move to a new field of ministry, but also for Cyndi as she prepares to arrive and begin leading you in July.

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

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 society and church are 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 our community and in and through our church’s ministries and programs.  We’ve experienced recent renewal in our worship, children’s, and student ministries, new small groups being formed, new members joining, baptisms taking place, and people making new commitments to Christ and his church.

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 either the in-person or online work of God through McKendree UMC.  You’ll be blessed when you do!  Remember that God loves you and I do, too!

2-Year Pandemic Anniversary Litany Prayer

This week marks two years since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic and our world changed forever.  Since that time, over 6 million people have died as a result of it (nearly 970,000 in the U.S. alone), with nearly 460 million infections (80 million in the U.S.).  As a way to remember those who've suffered and who we've lost, I invite you to pray this litany either by yourself or with others, anytime this week. 

It was written and first shared by Rev. Lindsay Geist on our North Georgia Conference webpage...

"We pause and name all those who have contracted Covid-19, those who have died, and all the funerals that we have missed.

We pause and name all the losses we have experienced, the tangible and the intangible.

We pause and name the hard choices that we had to make and the parts of life that will never be the same.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pause and mourn everything that stopped over the past two years.

We pause and mourn the loss of jobs, loss of dreams, and loss of relationships.

We pause and mourn that life will never go back to the “before” moment and that we are forever changed.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pause and express gratitude for all the healthcare workers who work tirelessly to care for people experiencing illness and their families.

We pause and express gratitude for the researchers that have worked collaboratively to create a vaccine to help end the pandemic.

We pause and express gratitude for the essential workers that stood in harms way to help us continue to meet our basic needs.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pause and reflect on all the time we’ve missed with those we love when we had to be apart.

We pause and reflect on all the extra time we had with those in our household.

We pause and reflect on how hard it was to crisis school our kids at home, take care of family members away from us, and still maintain our own jobs working from home.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pause and honor how tired we are still from managing and simply surviving these past two years.

We pause and honor that we made decisions even when we weren’t sure what was the right decision.

We pause and honor our resiliency, even when we haven’t felt resilient.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pause and acknowledge how worn out we are emotionally and physically from navigating this pandemic.

We pause and acknowledge how the constant pivoting and uncertainty has forever changed us.

We pause and acknowledge all the anger, sadness, and fear we felt over the past two years.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pause and appreciate all the new skills we learned over these past two years.

We pause and appreciate the adaptability that emerged within us and our communities.

We pause and appreciate that the pandemic granted us some permission to let things go that haven’t been serving us.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pause and celebrate all the new opportunities we gained from breaking with old ways and routines.

We pause and celebrate our newfound longing for community and connection.

We pause and celebrate that even when we weren’t gathering at the church building, church kept happening.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pause and give thanks that you, God, sit with us in our moments of pain and know what that is like.

We pause and give thanks that you, God, have been present during this season of uncertainty and wilderness.

We pause and give thanks that you, God, have given us glimpses of the Kingdom of God in and through people and experiences over the last two years.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

In the darkness of the last two years, help us hold in tension the grief with the moments of light and hope. That while so much of the world has changed – God, you have remained the same. We bring to you all of these prayers as well as the unspoken words on our lips and in our hearts. We offer these prayers in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen."

by Rev. Lindsay Geist, LCSW

Church Transition and Clinical Resource Specialist

North Georgia Conference of The United Methodist Church, copyright 2022

Prayers for the People of Ukraine

^"4 Jesus replied, 'Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁵ Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I’m the Christ.’ They will deceive many people. ⁶ You will hear about wars and reports of wars. Don’t be alarmed. These things must happen, but this isn’t the end yet. ⁷ Nations and kingdoms will fight against each other, and there will be famines and earthquakes in all sorts of places. ⁸ But all these things are just the beginning of the sufferings associated with the end. ⁹ They will arrest you, abuse you, and they will kill you. All nations will hate you on account of my name. ¹⁰ At that time many will fall away. They will betray each other and hate each other. ¹¹ Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. ¹² Because disobedience will expand, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³ But the one who endures to the end will be delivered. ¹⁴ This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world as a testimony to all the nations. Then the end will come" (Matthew 24:4-14).

Jesus' words in Matthew 24 remind us of the continued importance of endurance both in life, faith, and in our love of and for others.  After all, as Verse 13 says, when there is "disobedience" to God's will and way, "the love of many will grow cold."  In light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine earlier today, it's clear that "love has grown cold" in that part of the world, and there is therefore need for all of us (and those of faith there) to persevere and persist in doing God's will and way "to the end." 

So, please join me in being in prayer for not only the people of Ukraine and all those "in harm's way", but also for all leaders related to this situation to listen to potential ways where this conflict can be resolved without resorting to the easy way of violence.  Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer!

Where Faith and Science Meet

Are faith and science mutually exclusive ideas?  Or do they complement one another? Do the latest scientific discoveries about our universe, life and medicine threaten religious faith? Or confirm it?  Has science moved humanity beyond its need for religious faith (as some have proposed)?  Or is faith more important now than ever?  

Join me January 9-February 6, 2022 at all our worship services at McKendree United Methodist Church either in-person or online as we explore the relationship between science and Christian faith. 

    January 9 -- God and Galileo (Acts 17:24-28a)
        An overview of the relationship between faith and science

    January 16 -- God and the Big Bang (Psalm 19:1-6)
        All about our amazing, miraculous universe

    January 23 -- Adam and Apes (Genesis 1:20-31)

        Thoughts on the origins of humanity

    January 30 -- Body, Mind & Spirit (Luke 8:43-48)
        The connections between faith and medical science

    February 6  -- ‘New Science’ and the Future of Faith (Romans 1:19-20a)

        The impact of science on faith

(WATCH THE SERIES INTRO VIDEO HERE)

NOTE: An hybrid online/in-person discussion group will be offered each week as a follow-up opportunity for those who desire to dig deeper in each week's topics (visit our church website - linked above - to sign up or find out more)

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!

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

'Twas The Week Before Christmas

“A child has been born for us, a son given to us…” (Isaiah 9:6)

“‘Twas the week before Christmas when all through the town,
Men, women and children were running around,
Giving left signals and then turning right,
Shopping and spending much money all night.

Elbowing in at the counter of toys,
Buying up gifts for their girls and their boys.
The meaning of Christmas is clear in our city:
Mail carriers and clerks never get any pity.

Father is groaning; his checkbook turns red,
While visions of bankruptcy churn in his head.
Mother is baking cake after pie, saying
“If I see one more pastry, I think I will die.”

Only for children it can’t come too soon.
They’ll talk about next year on Christmas at noon.
With all of the holes in our nerves and our shoes,
The meaning of Christmas we almost will lose.

But then comes the strains of that music so light
And soon we are humming the tune ‘Silent Night’.
Our minds take us back twenty centuries past,
And the meaning of Christmas comes through to us at last.

No hurry, no bustle, no trees with their lights,
No honking, no hustle, no toys gleaming bright.
But Jesus our Savior, in Bethlehem born,
Becomes the true meaning of our Christmas morn.”
       [--Author Unknown, cited from an old Fayetteville (GA) First United Methodist Church newsletter]

How do you and your family experience Christmas? I pray that on you and they will make the difficult but rewarding choice to remove yourself from the stress and strain and rush of the holiday long enough both to remember and actually experience the true meaning of the season.

As part of that choice, I hope you'll join myself and your fellow church family to celebrate Jesus, "the reason for the season." at one of our Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion services, available December 24^th either online from our church’s website HERE any time after 9:30am – please have bread and juice ready for Communion; OR outdoors in our church parking lot at 5:00pm – please wear your mask if you intend to sit in a chair outside, or you can listen from your car radio at 88.1 FM.  Merry Christmas, and always remember that God loves you and I do, too! 

Wanted: The Peace of Advent

 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." (Matthew 5:9)

In the midst of all the various challenges and crises of this year, there has been a lot of frustration and discontent in our world lately over a variety of different things... all of which have sparked more and more vitriol, hatred, and division all around us.

If there's ever a time when our world needs the peace of "Advent" (the Christian season the four weeks leading up to Christmas day), it's today!  The word “Advent” itself is actually derived from the Latin word adventus, meaning "coming", and references the three "comings" of Jesus in and throughout history:

            1) IN THE PAST ...as a babe in Bethlehem.  We listen to the words of Old Testament prophets who promise a coming Messiah.

            2) IN THE PRESENT ...as the one who comes and meets us in our hearts and lives today,

            3) IN THE FUTURE ...as the one who will come again one day to make all things new and to establish His kingdom of peace and justice upon the earth once and for all.

Since Jesus came as the "prince of peace," then more than ever, Advent is a time for each of us to encourage and promote the kind of peace that is described in the words of Matthew 5:9 (above).  Peace doesn't mean we have to agree with everyone around us, but it means that we seek to listen to each other, to give grace and space to each other when we make mistakes, and (at the very least) to make it our practice not to do harm to others either through our actions or our words.  It means we seek BE the peace that we want to see enacted in our world.  It means that instead of complaining about and pointing out what others are NOT doing to promote peace, we need to first ask ourselves if we are doing things that discourage it, and ask what things we need to start doing to better encourage it.

In other words, Advent is a time for those of us who claim the name "Christian" to live by our own Master's command first to BE peacemakers ourselves. As the old hymn says, “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”

So this season of Advent (at least), rather than give in to the frustration and pessimism of our world's lack of peace, I pray that you will join me in seeking to be a person of peace yourself.  Always remember that God loves you and I do, too!

Thanksgiving - Recognizing the BETTER, Because of the WORST

“As they left, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw that he had been healed, returned and praised God with a loud voice. He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet and thanked him.”  (Luke 17:14-16)

 There are a lot of things that – before now – we have taken for granted as individuals and as a culture.  But all that we’ve experienced this year has hopefully also invited and encouraged us to recognize and be thankful for the “little” things of life (that really aren’t so little), and to recognize God’s presence in these things.

Back in March of this year, Roman Catholic author and speaker Laura Kelly Fanucci penned the following that (pardon the metaphor) went “viral” on social media without ever mentioning the source of our problems:

“When this is over, may we never again take for granted

A handshake with a stranger

Full shelves at the store

Conversations with neighbors

A crowded theater

Friday night out

The taste of communion

A routine checkup

The school rush each morning

Coffee with a friend

The stadium roaring

Each deep breath

A boring Tuesday

Life itself.

When this ends

may we find

that we have become

more like the people

we wanted to be

we were called to be

we hoped to be

and may we stay

that way — better

for each other

because of the worst."

--From Laura Kelly Fanucci’s March 2020 Blog HERE

May we never take for granted the simple things of life, even when our world and our way of living feels threatened by life itself.  Instead, let’s consciously choose to “return and praise God with a loud voice,” and then to live out our thankfulness by the way we live our lives! Happy Thanksgiving!  Remember, God loves you and I do, too!

I Sing A Song of the Saints of God...

“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)

“I sing a song of the saints of God,
patient and brave and true,
Who toiled and fought and lived and died
for the Lord they loved and knew;
And one was a doctor, and one was a queen,
and one was a shepherdess on the green;
They were all of them saints of God, and I mean, God helping, to be one too.

They loved their Lord so dear, so dear, and his love made them strong;
They followed right for Jesus' sake the whole of their good lives' long.
And one was a soldier, and one was a priest, and one was slain by a fierce wild beast;
And there's not any reason, no, not the least, why I shouldn't be one too.

They lived not only in ages past; there are hundreds of thousands still.
The world is bright with the joyous saints who love to do Jesus' will.
You can meet them in school, on the street, in the store,
In church, by the sea, in the house next door;
They are saints of God, whether rich or poor, and I mean to be one too."
                                        [--Words by Lesbia Scott, from the United Methodist Hymnal, #712]

Yesterday (Novermber 1^st) was “All Saints Day” -- 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. .

As we celebrated the “saints” of our church and the “saints” of our lives who’ve gone to be with the Lord since All-Saints Day last year, my prayer is that those of us who remain here will learn from the example of the “saints who’ve gone before” how to be people who live by the call of Christ. 

In the words of the hymn, “I mean to be one, too.”  Will you?  Remember, God loves you and I do, too!