Can you believe that Thanksgiving is almost here? And that means that Advent and Christmas are close behind. I was shopping in Kohl’s the third week of October and saw a couple of sales associates putting up Christmas tinsel. Doesn’t it seem that the Christmas shopping season comes earlier every year? It still “officially” begins the day after Thanksgiving, but I guess the stores just want us to get in the shopping spirit earlier than that.
Speaking of Thanksgiving, did you know that the first post-Revolution Congressional Thanksgiving proclamation was in 1782, and it asked only for a one-time observance to be done on Thursday, Nov. 28 of that year? Congress at that time did not consider it had the authority to mandate holidays, so the proclamation only recommended that the States observe the day as requested.
The Congressional proclamation said that the day was to be one of,
… solemn THANKSGIVING to GOD for all his mercies: and they do further recommend to all ranks, to testify to their gratitude to GOD for his goodness, by a cheerful obedience of his laws, and by promoting, each in his station, and by his influence, the practice of true and undefiled religion, which is the great foundation of public prosperity and national happiness.
Who can argue with that?
It was not until 1939 that Thanksgiving was set as the fourth Thursday of November. Since Lincoln’s day it had always been the last Thursday of the month. In 1939 that day fell on Nov. 30.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt was still grappling with the Great Depression and decided to move the date to the fourth Thursday so that – you guessed it – consumer spending for Christmas would have an extra week. Congress did not approve this decision until 1941. And so Thanksgiving has been set as the fourth Thursday ever since.
This is a good time to remind everyone that our Community Thanksgiving Service will be held on Nov. 26 at 7 p.m., here at Sango UMC. We join every year with the good people of Bethel Cumberland Presbyterian Church, just a couple of blocks away, to “testify to their gratitude to GOD for his goodness,” just as the 1782 Congress recommended.
Brother Tom Wilkins, pastor of Bethel, will preach that evening. I hope everyone reading these words will come, remembering that our Christian faith “is the great foundation of public prosperity and national happiness.”
Let me advise you as well of the church-office schedule for Thanksgiving week. We will be open Monday-Wednesday, Nov. 24-26 and closed Thanksgiving Day and the day after.
As we look ahead to December, please mark down to come to our Hanging of the Greens service at 7 p.m., Dec. 7.
The Chancel Choir will perform a cantata during both services on Dec. 14. The children’s musical will be on Dec. 17. The youth-group Christmas party will be Dec. 21. And finally, our Christmas Eve service will be held at 5 p.m. on, well, Christmas Eve.
A word about the Israel trip: Our Israeli tour director, Ari Marom, will be here at Sango to give information and answer questions on Nov. 11 at 6:30 p.m. If you have the slightest interest or hope of going on this trip, please come on Nov. 11 and feel free to invite others. The dates of the trip are June 19-28, 2009.
My closing thought is from the Psalms:
Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me. – Psalm 50:14-15
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Reflection for October
“Be still, and know that I am God,” says Psalm 46:10. There is something about activity that forms an obstacle to spiritual growth and knowing God.
It is so easy to confuse activity with productivity. I’ve known people who weren’t satisfied unless their calendars were crammed full. “See how busy I am? I must be doing some good!” We all agree that we have to tend to business, but we’ve made a false virtue out of tending to busyness.
Jesus never made that mistake. The Gospels record that from time to time Jesus “went private,” escaping the pressing demands of his very public ministry in order to be still and stay in close communion with God.
It takes time to be holy. It takes spiritual discipline and self discipline to be still and know that God is God. Every pianist knows that virtuoso performances can’t be done by thinking about playing. It takes practice! (You know the old joke about a tourist in New York who got lost and asked a hotel doorman, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" And the doorman answered, “Practice, practice, practice.”)
Likewise, the Tennessee Titans have to practice their plays over and over before they dare run them during a game.
Should we expect spiritual growth to be different? John Wesley admonished the people called Methodist that we are to “move on to perfection.” This process of being perfected in Christ is called sanctification, meaning to be made holy. It’s no coincidence that our denomination’s governing book is called the Discipline. Growing in holiness takes discipline, but not that kind imposed from outside. It must come from within.
Aristotle defined virtue as excellence made habitual. Spiritual growth and maturity are like that, too. Paul wrote of our need to move from being spiritual infants to grownups. This can only happen when we make spiritual self-discipline matters of habit rather than matters of exception.
And habits, as I am sure you know, dominate how we spend our time every day. So the Scriptures admonish us to make being still to know God a matter of habit, not exception.
John Wesley said that the discipline, or habits, of Christians should fall into two broad categories: works of mercy and works of piety. The former includes witnessing and evangelism, the latter is the personal reformation within oneself by the power of the Holy Spirit. Dr. David Lowes Watson explained it this way:
Works of mercy consist of acts of compassion, which are usually private and personal, and acts of justice, which are usually public and social. Witnessing is done in both contexts.
Works of piety consist of acts of devotion, meaning private or small-group prayers and devotions, and acts of worship, meaning Sunday services and especially receiving the sacraments whenever offered.
Individuals and churches alike get out of balance spiritually when they over-emphasize one or two of these disciplines.
A church that overemphasizes piety so much that witnessing and mercy are shut out becomes insular and self-focused. Its end is the same as the old monasteries that were found everywhere in Europe by the late Middle Ages – decline and disappearance. (Quick! Name three active, growing monasteries today.) To focus mostly on piety is in fact to decide to close.
A church that overemphasizes witnessing or good-deed-doing so much that the spiritual growth and health of its people are shut out becomes fleeting and impermanent. People are brought in only eating spiritual baby food, as Paul put it, but soon hunger for spiritual meat and drink. If the church won’t help them grow in discipleship, they’ll go elsewhere.
Like so many things in life, balance is the key. I hope you will ponder what the best balance is for Sango UMC so that we may become and do all that God wishes for us.
It is so easy to confuse activity with productivity. I’ve known people who weren’t satisfied unless their calendars were crammed full. “See how busy I am? I must be doing some good!” We all agree that we have to tend to business, but we’ve made a false virtue out of tending to busyness.
Jesus never made that mistake. The Gospels record that from time to time Jesus “went private,” escaping the pressing demands of his very public ministry in order to be still and stay in close communion with God.
It takes time to be holy. It takes spiritual discipline and self discipline to be still and know that God is God. Every pianist knows that virtuoso performances can’t be done by thinking about playing. It takes practice! (You know the old joke about a tourist in New York who got lost and asked a hotel doorman, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" And the doorman answered, “Practice, practice, practice.”)
Likewise, the Tennessee Titans have to practice their plays over and over before they dare run them during a game.
Should we expect spiritual growth to be different? John Wesley admonished the people called Methodist that we are to “move on to perfection.” This process of being perfected in Christ is called sanctification, meaning to be made holy. It’s no coincidence that our denomination’s governing book is called the Discipline. Growing in holiness takes discipline, but not that kind imposed from outside. It must come from within.
Aristotle defined virtue as excellence made habitual. Spiritual growth and maturity are like that, too. Paul wrote of our need to move from being spiritual infants to grownups. This can only happen when we make spiritual self-discipline matters of habit rather than matters of exception.
And habits, as I am sure you know, dominate how we spend our time every day. So the Scriptures admonish us to make being still to know God a matter of habit, not exception.
John Wesley said that the discipline, or habits, of Christians should fall into two broad categories: works of mercy and works of piety. The former includes witnessing and evangelism, the latter is the personal reformation within oneself by the power of the Holy Spirit. Dr. David Lowes Watson explained it this way:
Works of mercy consist of acts of compassion, which are usually private and personal, and acts of justice, which are usually public and social. Witnessing is done in both contexts.
Works of piety consist of acts of devotion, meaning private or small-group prayers and devotions, and acts of worship, meaning Sunday services and especially receiving the sacraments whenever offered.
Individuals and churches alike get out of balance spiritually when they over-emphasize one or two of these disciplines.
A church that overemphasizes piety so much that witnessing and mercy are shut out becomes insular and self-focused. Its end is the same as the old monasteries that were found everywhere in Europe by the late Middle Ages – decline and disappearance. (Quick! Name three active, growing monasteries today.) To focus mostly on piety is in fact to decide to close.
A church that overemphasizes witnessing or good-deed-doing so much that the spiritual growth and health of its people are shut out becomes fleeting and impermanent. People are brought in only eating spiritual baby food, as Paul put it, but soon hunger for spiritual meat and drink. If the church won’t help them grow in discipleship, they’ll go elsewhere.
Like so many things in life, balance is the key. I hope you will ponder what the best balance is for Sango UMC so that we may become and do all that God wishes for us.
Friday, September 5, 2008
September will be a great month for our church!
We will enjoy the preaching of the Rev. Diana Dewitt for our days of spiritual renewal beginning at 7 p.m. Sept. 21. Diana is associate pastor at Hermitage UMC. I look forward to the fresh perspectives she will bring to how we may serve as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.
I urge you to make the evenings of Sept. 21-23 your top priority!
Then on Sept. 28 Tennessee Conference Bishop Dick Wills preach at the morning service. There will be only the 11 .m. service on Sept. 28. Bishop Wills is beginning his fifth year as our bishop.
As you know, I have been emphasizing in recent weeks two things. One is responding to the altar call for prayer during the closing hymn at our worship services. I have been deeply moved at your prayer devotion in recent weeks. Let us never be self-conscious about coming forward as you are able to pray for oneself, others and our church.
The other thing I have been emphasizing is our twin charges from Christ to carry out both his Great Commission and his Great Commandment. As I have said before, the people of Sango UMC take a back seat to no one in loving one another and our neighbors in fulfilling the Great Commandment. “By this shall people know you are my disciples” said Jesus, “that you love one another.”
Yet we are not so strong in carrying out the Great Commission, to “go and make disciples.” We warmly welcome all who come, but on the whole do not seek out people specifically to bring the Gospel to them. Yet Jesus’ command was not “wait for people to come to you,” but “go” to the world in his name.
Wouldn’t it be great to become the Go United Methodist Church? Think about what it would take to become the Church of Go!
The best way to begin is for us to continue to study and learn our Spiritual gifts. Discovering one’s spiritual gifts is the most liberating and most empowering things a Christian can do! I will lead a single-meeting discovery session on Sept. 14 from 2-5 p.m. We will meet in Fellowship Hall.
A deacon in a Baptist church recently wrote something both simple and profound. He said, “God is preparing us for what God is preparing for us.” Read that again, slow. God is preparing a wonderful future for any congregation that will follow where he leads.
Jeremiah prophesied, “ For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:11-13).
Let us seek God with the whole heart of our congregation! God is preparing us for what God is preparing for us!
So as we try to discern anew how to carry out the commandments of Christ, here is a theme that I use to focus my prayer life and pastoral ministry:
But we must be willing to be tilled! Let us then open ourselves to the Holy Spirit, be devoted in worship, ceaseless in prayer and earnest in our desire, individually and congregationally, to call upon God, to seek him with all our hearts. For we have his promise that we will find him then.
But only then.
We will enjoy the preaching of the Rev. Diana Dewitt for our days of spiritual renewal beginning at 7 p.m. Sept. 21. Diana is associate pastor at Hermitage UMC. I look forward to the fresh perspectives she will bring to how we may serve as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.
I urge you to make the evenings of Sept. 21-23 your top priority!
Then on Sept. 28 Tennessee Conference Bishop Dick Wills preach at the morning service. There will be only the 11 .m. service on Sept. 28. Bishop Wills is beginning his fifth year as our bishop.
As you know, I have been emphasizing in recent weeks two things. One is responding to the altar call for prayer during the closing hymn at our worship services. I have been deeply moved at your prayer devotion in recent weeks. Let us never be self-conscious about coming forward as you are able to pray for oneself, others and our church.
The other thing I have been emphasizing is our twin charges from Christ to carry out both his Great Commission and his Great Commandment. As I have said before, the people of Sango UMC take a back seat to no one in loving one another and our neighbors in fulfilling the Great Commandment. “By this shall people know you are my disciples” said Jesus, “that you love one another.”
Yet we are not so strong in carrying out the Great Commission, to “go and make disciples.” We warmly welcome all who come, but on the whole do not seek out people specifically to bring the Gospel to them. Yet Jesus’ command was not “wait for people to come to you,” but “go” to the world in his name.
Wouldn’t it be great to become the Go United Methodist Church? Think about what it would take to become the Church of Go!
The best way to begin is for us to continue to study and learn our Spiritual gifts. Discovering one’s spiritual gifts is the most liberating and most empowering things a Christian can do! I will lead a single-meeting discovery session on Sept. 14 from 2-5 p.m. We will meet in Fellowship Hall.
A deacon in a Baptist church recently wrote something both simple and profound. He said, “God is preparing us for what God is preparing for us.” Read that again, slow. God is preparing a wonderful future for any congregation that will follow where he leads.
Jeremiah prophesied, “ For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:11-13).
Let us seek God with the whole heart of our congregation! God is preparing us for what God is preparing for us!
So as we try to discern anew how to carry out the commandments of Christ, here is a theme that I use to focus my prayer life and pastoral ministry:
No plan but prayer.We should commit ourselves to a period of preparation by God before we try to plan projects for the church. I think God is “tilling the soil” of Sango UMC at this time, and will plant our Spirit-led future in a time to come.
No agenda but Jesus.
No desire but the Kingdom.
But we must be willing to be tilled! Let us then open ourselves to the Holy Spirit, be devoted in worship, ceaseless in prayer and earnest in our desire, individually and congregationally, to call upon God, to seek him with all our hearts. For we have his promise that we will find him then.
But only then.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
A spiritually enhancing summer ahead!
My, how time does fly! Already a year has gone by since I first stepped behind the pulpit inside our sanctuary. Cathy and I have been looking back over the last year with great fondness for the people of Sango church and the Sango area of the county. We feel well rooted here with you and our neighbors. Again, we thank you all for the wonderful hospitality you showed us after we arrived.
Speaking of hospitality,the UMC's Igniting Ministries says that,
A great summer is coming up for spiritual enhancement. We have Vacation Bible School's Beach Party Surfing' through the Scriptures coming up July 7-11. The VBS crew always does a splendid job with the material and the kids. Last year we had almost 200 kids participating!
On Sunday, July 13, one or more of our youth will deliver the message for the day, and some of the VBS kids will offer songs of praise.
Spiritual Gifts Discernment will be led by the Rev. Loyd Mabry on July 20 and 27. Loyd is the director of connectional ministries and congregational development for the Tennessee Conference. A former district superintendent, Loyd will lead a spiritual gifts discernment workshop on those two dates at 2 p.m.. Please note that this is one workshop on two dates. If you wish to attend, then you should plan on attending both days.
I believe that discerning our spiritual gifts is the most important thing we can do for the spiritual health of our church and its future. To learn more, read one (or all!) of the following:
Speaking of hospitality,the UMC's Igniting Ministries says that,
Studies have shown that visitors make up their minds in the first 11 minutes whether or not they’re coming back to a church. Those 11 minutes are the time usually spent finding a parking place, locating the proper entrance, being greeted, and finding a seat.What is your personal "welcoming quotient?" Take IM's short quiz to find out! Tom Bandy, one of America's foremost experts on church life and trends, says that there is nothing more important week to week than hospitality to newcomers if we are to grow our church.
A great summer is coming up for spiritual enhancement. We have Vacation Bible School's Beach Party Surfing' through the Scriptures coming up July 7-11. The VBS crew always does a splendid job with the material and the kids. Last year we had almost 200 kids participating!
On Sunday, July 13, one or more of our youth will deliver the message for the day, and some of the VBS kids will offer songs of praise.
Spiritual Gifts Discernment will be led by the Rev. Loyd Mabry on July 20 and 27. Loyd is the director of connectional ministries and congregational development for the Tennessee Conference. A former district superintendent, Loyd will lead a spiritual gifts discernment workshop on those two dates at 2 p.m.. Please note that this is one workshop on two dates. If you wish to attend, then you should plan on attending both days.
I believe that discerning our spiritual gifts is the most important thing we can do for the spiritual health of our church and its future. To learn more, read one (or all!) of the following:
- 1 Corinthians 12 (click here),
- My sermon, How to stop doing what you think you ought to do . . .,
- The UMC's own web site devoted to the gifts (click here),
- Bible.org's web page on the gifts (click here).
Bishop Wills to preach Sept. 21. Dick Wills, bishop of the Tennessee Conference, will preach at Sango at 11 a.m. Sept. 21. On June 15, the church council voted to consolidate our two services that day. Please plan on coming to hear his special message!
Spiritual Renewal Week begins that day, Sept. 21. That evening we will be blessed to welcome the Rev. Diana DeWitt for three evenings of spirited worship! Diana is associate pastor at Hermitage UMC and is an energetic proclaimer of the Word of God.
Daytime Bible Study will begin July 15 at 9 a.m. Our first topic will be, "Job, Jonah, Jesus and the Problem and Good and Evil." This study will correspond (perhaps fairly roughly) to my sermon series beginning July 27 on the same topic.
Anniversary Sunday will be August 17 with the Rev. Willie Lyle preaching. We will have one service that day at 10:30 a.m. with food and fellowship beginning at 9:30.
I pray everyone will stay safe this summer in travels and activities. It's a great time to be part of the Sango family! Spread the Good News!
And remember, whatever we do that is worthy to lay before the Lord will be done, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts.”
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Bishop Wills to preach here Sept. 21
Our Bishop, Dick Wills, will preach at Sango on Sept. 21. However, he will preach at one service, not two. Sango’s witness team will recommend to the church council on June 15 whether we should hold just one, combined service that day. If we conduct both services, the bishop will preach only at 11. We’ll let you know what the council decides.
I have asked Bishop Wills to preach because he once asked a group of ministers, including me, to imagine that the legendary blues guitarist, B. B. King, moved in next door to my house. Every afternoon B.B. would walk onto his patio and play his famed guitar, Lucille, for an hour. Then imagine, said the bishop, that after a few days you got up the nerve to ask B.B. to teach you to play guitar.
B.B. agrees, so for the next year you spend an hour every day taking guitar lessons from B.B. King. At the end of the year you go to a big family reunion and one evening you take out your guitar and tell everyone you want to play a couple of pieces. Your relatives may scoff - when did you every learn to play guitar? - but they politely assent to your impending embarrassment and wait with not-very-high expectations for you to begin.
But your playing simply astounds them. When you are done, there is a short silence in the room, then your cousin exclaims, “Wow! You sound just like B.B. King!”
And why wouldn’t you? After all, you’ve spent the last year learning guitar from the King of Blues himself, in person.
What would it take for someone to say about each of us when we speak, “Man, you sound just like Jesus?” Or, “you act just like Jesus?”
Would it not take time spent with Jesus, being instructed by him personally? How do we do that?
Bishop Wills knows how to do that. So please come to church on Sept. 21 to hear him explain.
Moving on, please remember that June 22 is FRAN Sunday, a day we wish to specially welcome your Friends, Relatives, Acquaintances and Neighbors to our church. Worship services will take place as usual that day, as will the nursery and children’s Sunday School. We are asking all adults and youth to gather in the CLC during the Sunday School hour for fellowship and to welcome newcomers to our church. If your group has a display (such as the ones used on Anniversary Sunday), please set it up in the CLC.
Another thing I wish to emphasize is the Rev. Loyd Mabry’s preaching and teaching on July 20 and 27. Loyd is the Tenn. Conference’s director of connectional ministries and church development, as well as a former district superintendent. His subject will be discovering our spiritual gifts. He will lead a discovery workshop on the afternoon of both July 20 and 27. Please note that this is one workshop conducted in two sessions. The discovery process requires attending both sessions. Please make this workshop your priority for those days!
I have asked Bishop Wills to preach because he once asked a group of ministers, including me, to imagine that the legendary blues guitarist, B. B. King, moved in next door to my house. Every afternoon B.B. would walk onto his patio and play his famed guitar, Lucille, for an hour. Then imagine, said the bishop, that after a few days you got up the nerve to ask B.B. to teach you to play guitar.
B.B. agrees, so for the next year you spend an hour every day taking guitar lessons from B.B. King. At the end of the year you go to a big family reunion and one evening you take out your guitar and tell everyone you want to play a couple of pieces. Your relatives may scoff - when did you every learn to play guitar? - but they politely assent to your impending embarrassment and wait with not-very-high expectations for you to begin.
But your playing simply astounds them. When you are done, there is a short silence in the room, then your cousin exclaims, “Wow! You sound just like B.B. King!”
And why wouldn’t you? After all, you’ve spent the last year learning guitar from the King of Blues himself, in person.
What would it take for someone to say about each of us when we speak, “Man, you sound just like Jesus?” Or, “you act just like Jesus?”
Would it not take time spent with Jesus, being instructed by him personally? How do we do that?
Bishop Wills knows how to do that. So please come to church on Sept. 21 to hear him explain.
Moving on, please remember that June 22 is FRAN Sunday, a day we wish to specially welcome your Friends, Relatives, Acquaintances and Neighbors to our church. Worship services will take place as usual that day, as will the nursery and children’s Sunday School. We are asking all adults and youth to gather in the CLC during the Sunday School hour for fellowship and to welcome newcomers to our church. If your group has a display (such as the ones used on Anniversary Sunday), please set it up in the CLC.
Another thing I wish to emphasize is the Rev. Loyd Mabry’s preaching and teaching on July 20 and 27. Loyd is the Tenn. Conference’s director of connectional ministries and church development, as well as a former district superintendent. His subject will be discovering our spiritual gifts. He will lead a discovery workshop on the afternoon of both July 20 and 27. Please note that this is one workshop conducted in two sessions. The discovery process requires attending both sessions. Please make this workshop your priority for those days!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Confirmation and baptism
As I write this column, Confirmation Sunday is only five days away. Two days ago, I held the last Confirmation class with Sango’s 10 confirmands. They are Hayden Welch, Jake Hopkins, Rachel Dowlen, Ian Pope, Hunter Blake, Rebecca and Bryce Navarre, Sam Irwin and Sara Keel.
I am very impressed with the level of religious knowledge and education these young men and women exhibited. They began the classes at a level frankly considerably above all Confirmation classes I have led so far in my ministry. This speaks very well of their parents, the teachers at our church and Sango‘s congregation as a whole. You should be proud of these confirmands and have confidence that the future of our church is well placed in their hands.
Did you know that Confirmation is really an affirmation of baptism? It is a time when the confirmands confess for themselves the faith in Christ that was professed on their behalf when they were baptized as infants. Those not baptized earlier will be baptized during the service.
The United Methodist Church does not “re-baptize” people. We say that while the motions of baptism - the application of the water and the recitation of the liturgy - are carried out by the pastor and the congregation, the actual work of baptism is done by the Holy Spirit. Since the Holy Spirit makes no mistakes and leaves no element undone, re-baptism is never necessary.
However, baptized persons may and should reaffirm their baptism. As we grow and mature in our faith, we come to understand more deeply the significance of our baptism. Baptism is the portal to a sanctified life, the beginning point of “moving on to perfection.” John Wesley said that baptism is an “instituted means of grace,” meaning that its practice for Christians was initiated by Christ himself when he accepted baptism from John the Baptizer. Through our baptism, we receive a particular gift of grace that God makes available in no other way. While there are innumerable means of grace, only though baptism are we inaugurated into the body of Christ.
The Methodist doctrinal statement on baptism says that baptism is “the initiatory sacrament by which we enter into the covenant with God and are admitted as members of Christ’s Church.”
One is never too old to be baptized, so if other teens or adults who hold Christian confession in their hearts but have not been baptized, I urge you to speak with me about accepting baptism. The decision to do so is always an individual choice, but is so important to Christian growth and spiritual health. Likewise, the baptized are invited to affirm their baptism from time to time in a manner much like the Confirmation litany of April 6. I’ll make a time available for affirmation during a service later this spring.
I am very impressed with the level of religious knowledge and education these young men and women exhibited. They began the classes at a level frankly considerably above all Confirmation classes I have led so far in my ministry. This speaks very well of their parents, the teachers at our church and Sango‘s congregation as a whole. You should be proud of these confirmands and have confidence that the future of our church is well placed in their hands.
Did you know that Confirmation is really an affirmation of baptism? It is a time when the confirmands confess for themselves the faith in Christ that was professed on their behalf when they were baptized as infants. Those not baptized earlier will be baptized during the service.
The United Methodist Church does not “re-baptize” people. We say that while the motions of baptism - the application of the water and the recitation of the liturgy - are carried out by the pastor and the congregation, the actual work of baptism is done by the Holy Spirit. Since the Holy Spirit makes no mistakes and leaves no element undone, re-baptism is never necessary.
However, baptized persons may and should reaffirm their baptism. As we grow and mature in our faith, we come to understand more deeply the significance of our baptism. Baptism is the portal to a sanctified life, the beginning point of “moving on to perfection.” John Wesley said that baptism is an “instituted means of grace,” meaning that its practice for Christians was initiated by Christ himself when he accepted baptism from John the Baptizer. Through our baptism, we receive a particular gift of grace that God makes available in no other way. While there are innumerable means of grace, only though baptism are we inaugurated into the body of Christ.
The Methodist doctrinal statement on baptism says that baptism is “the initiatory sacrament by which we enter into the covenant with God and are admitted as members of Christ’s Church.”
One is never too old to be baptized, so if other teens or adults who hold Christian confession in their hearts but have not been baptized, I urge you to speak with me about accepting baptism. The decision to do so is always an individual choice, but is so important to Christian growth and spiritual health. Likewise, the baptized are invited to affirm their baptism from time to time in a manner much like the Confirmation litany of April 6. I’ll make a time available for affirmation during a service later this spring.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Why does Easter’s date vary from year to year?
Falling on March 23, Easter this year is almost as early as it possibly can be. The date of Easter is the Sunday following the first full moon after March 20.
But the full moon we’re talking about is not the astronomical full moon, but the Paschal full moon. The Paschal full moon’s possible dates were calculated by Christian astronomers in AD 325, when the Julian calendar was used and when the first day of spring was March 20. When Europe changed to the Gregorian calendar in the 16th century, the Church continued to use the Paschal full moon tables to determine Easter’s date.
The aim of dating Easter this way is ensure Easter always falls on a Sunday, the day of the week Jesus’ followers discovered he had risen, and to maintain for each Easter Sunday the same season of the year and the same relationship to the preceding astronomical full moon that occurred at the time of Jesus’ resurrection.
Before 325, Easter was simply celebrated on the first Sunday after the Jewish Passover or on or just after the first day of the Jewish Passover, which wasn’t necessarily a Sunday. Different Christian communities used one or the other, so Easter in one city might always be on a Sunday while in the next town it might fall on a Tuesday one year and Wednesday the next.
Because the first day of Passover is fixed (the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan), the original relationship of Jesus’ crucifixion to Passover has been lost in the last 2,000 years. This year, Passover begins at sundown, April 19. Passover’s date is much more “mobile” than Easter’s because the Hebrew calendar is based on lunar cycles, not the solar cycle as the dating of Easter is.
The 40 days of Lent, preceding Easter, commemorate the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness in prayer and meditation just after he was baptized and just before beginning his ministry. Because every Sunday, not just Easter, is a celebration of the resurrection, the 40-day count excludes Sundays. Lent is intended to be a time for spiritual self-examination and devotion.
But the full moon we’re talking about is not the astronomical full moon, but the Paschal full moon. The Paschal full moon’s possible dates were calculated by Christian astronomers in AD 325, when the Julian calendar was used and when the first day of spring was March 20. When Europe changed to the Gregorian calendar in the 16th century, the Church continued to use the Paschal full moon tables to determine Easter’s date.
The aim of dating Easter this way is ensure Easter always falls on a Sunday, the day of the week Jesus’ followers discovered he had risen, and to maintain for each Easter Sunday the same season of the year and the same relationship to the preceding astronomical full moon that occurred at the time of Jesus’ resurrection.
Before 325, Easter was simply celebrated on the first Sunday after the Jewish Passover or on or just after the first day of the Jewish Passover, which wasn’t necessarily a Sunday. Different Christian communities used one or the other, so Easter in one city might always be on a Sunday while in the next town it might fall on a Tuesday one year and Wednesday the next.
Because the first day of Passover is fixed (the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan), the original relationship of Jesus’ crucifixion to Passover has been lost in the last 2,000 years. This year, Passover begins at sundown, April 19. Passover’s date is much more “mobile” than Easter’s because the Hebrew calendar is based on lunar cycles, not the solar cycle as the dating of Easter is.
The 40 days of Lent, preceding Easter, commemorate the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness in prayer and meditation just after he was baptized and just before beginning his ministry. Because every Sunday, not just Easter, is a celebration of the resurrection, the 40-day count excludes Sundays. Lent is intended to be a time for spiritual self-examination and devotion.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
New Years Resolutions
Happy New Year!
I am looking forward to 2008! I think it will be a great year for our church!
The New Year’s celebration has traditionally been thought of as a time of new beginnings. Spiritually, what will be new for us this year, either individually or collectively?
Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Last I checked, slightly less than half of Americans make written resolutions. I have to confess I am one of those who have not made it a habit. There are a fairly few number of things that are centrally important to me, and I’ve never felt the need to write down, “do better about them.”
Yet I also remember Lee Iacocca’s admonishment, “If you have an idea and can’t write it down, then you don’t have an idea.” So in that sense, I am writing four resolutions that all the friends of God at Sango UMC might adopt for the coming year:
1. Find a Sunday School class and join it if you have not already done so. If an existing class doesn’t seem quite right for you, then start a class! That’s what Cathy and I did in Virginia back in my layman days. You’ll be surprised at how many people, like you, are probably looking for something new and different.
2. Make worship a priority. Worship is the most important thing a church does, thus the most important thing a church’s people do. Striving to form spiritually enriching worship is my highest priority as pastor. Congregations that lose a dynamic, common worship time together lose the lifeblood of the community of faith. Make worship number one! It undergirds everything else!
3. Pray! Our bishop, Dick Wills, teaches a method of prayer and Scripture study he calls by the acronym, “SOAPY.” I resolve that this month I will invite the bishop to come to Sango to tell us about it. But we don’t need to wait for that to be a people of prayer.
4. Invite! Did you know that the majority of the people living within a “Sunday commute” of our church do not attend worship services more than once or twice per year, and very many not at all? Consider your friends, relatives, neighbors and acquaintances. Are they part of a congregation? If so, be glad! If not, offer to bring them here! Study after study shows that pastoral evangelism is the least effective form of evangelism for local churches. Lay evangelism or outreach is crucial to a church’s health!
Let’s work, pray and worship together to make 2008 a wonderful year!
I am looking forward to 2008! I think it will be a great year for our church!
The New Year’s celebration has traditionally been thought of as a time of new beginnings. Spiritually, what will be new for us this year, either individually or collectively?
Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Last I checked, slightly less than half of Americans make written resolutions. I have to confess I am one of those who have not made it a habit. There are a fairly few number of things that are centrally important to me, and I’ve never felt the need to write down, “do better about them.”
Yet I also remember Lee Iacocca’s admonishment, “If you have an idea and can’t write it down, then you don’t have an idea.” So in that sense, I am writing four resolutions that all the friends of God at Sango UMC might adopt for the coming year:
1. Find a Sunday School class and join it if you have not already done so. If an existing class doesn’t seem quite right for you, then start a class! That’s what Cathy and I did in Virginia back in my layman days. You’ll be surprised at how many people, like you, are probably looking for something new and different.
2. Make worship a priority. Worship is the most important thing a church does, thus the most important thing a church’s people do. Striving to form spiritually enriching worship is my highest priority as pastor. Congregations that lose a dynamic, common worship time together lose the lifeblood of the community of faith. Make worship number one! It undergirds everything else!
3. Pray! Our bishop, Dick Wills, teaches a method of prayer and Scripture study he calls by the acronym, “SOAPY.” I resolve that this month I will invite the bishop to come to Sango to tell us about it. But we don’t need to wait for that to be a people of prayer.
4. Invite! Did you know that the majority of the people living within a “Sunday commute” of our church do not attend worship services more than once or twice per year, and very many not at all? Consider your friends, relatives, neighbors and acquaintances. Are they part of a congregation? If so, be glad! If not, offer to bring them here! Study after study shows that pastoral evangelism is the least effective form of evangelism for local churches. Lay evangelism or outreach is crucial to a church’s health!
Let’s work, pray and worship together to make 2008 a wonderful year!
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