Revolution

This Sunday I am preaching on Judges 2:6-13. Joshua has just died, and now God's people are drifting away from everything Joshua worked so hard to instill in them. The Israelites, we are told in these verses, were faithful during Joshua's leadership, but then almost as soon as Joshua died they began to worship other gods. We specifically are told that the children of the generation Joshua led did not follow in their parents' footsteps. It seems like the children of the supposed faithful are guilty for going astray. But I think that this sudden drift away from God might not necessarily be a problem with the youth as much as it is a problem with the parents. Were the parents raising their children in a Godly home? Were the parents passing on their love and knowledge of God? Were the parents holding their children to the same expectations that Joshua had held them to? Where was the community of faith to fill in where parents did not teach, did not pass on, did not show? If the faithful generation was so faithful, then what went so wrong with the children of the faithful? I think if the faithful were really faithful in and with everything then such a drastic and dramatic drift from God by the children of the faithful wouldn't have happened--shouldn't have happened. 

Today we, the faithful generation of the church of the past want to blame the children, youth, young people of today for the the state of the church. But what have we given them to inherit? What kind of faith have we passed on? What kind of love and knowledge have we instilled in them? How have we embodied our beliefs for today's generation? Maybe instead of asking, "What's wrong with these kids today?!", we need to look right at ourselves, and not others, not them, not the young people…but where did we, the faithful, fail in passing on our faith that has led to the current state of the church? Yes, our culture has had a significant influence on our young people, and yes, times have changed and this generation coming up now is different than my parents' or grandparents' generations.  It's much easier to point out what exterior corruption has caused our children to drift from the church. And it is definitely easier, less offensive and much less convicting to sit around and talk about how we can change "them"--that is the 30s and under. But, again, perhaps we need to begin to change us, the church, and how we communicate and pass on our love and knowledge of God in relevant ways that speak to the children, youth and young people of today. Maybe a little repentance needs to happen for the ways we have failed our children. 

I went to Revolution 2013 this past weekend with two of my youth. For the past several years, the SCUMC Annual Conference has sponsored a Revolution weekend in Columbia where literally thousands of UM youth 7th to 12th grade descend upon Columbia for worship, fellowship and service. It is an awesome experience to see 2,000+ youth worshiping and participating in service projects together. The youth this weekend sang "I'll Fly Away" and "O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing" and other familiar hymns, but to tunes and rhythms that had 2,000 youth clapping, jumping, waving their hands, shouting out, dancing around---all for the glory of God. They also rapped along with Christian rappers rapping about Jesus' love; they moved to the beats, and pumped their fists and danced--all for the glory of God. They heard a message about sin and our need for a rescuer, grace and forgiveness, and having faith and standing up for our beliefs. At the end of the weekend, 200+ youth gave their lives to Christ for the very first time, and almost every other person recommitted their lives to following Jesus. This was definitely not your "normal" church experience. The music was different. The delivery of the sermon was a bit different. But the message of Jesus Christ was the same, and hundreds were moved by the gospel wrapped in such a "different" church experience than has been passed on to them. Revolution is testimony to the faithful generation effectively passing on our faith in a way that will not result in drifters, but in dedicated disciples. Such worship events will inspire a revolution among the youth and young of today.

I don't know about the other adults, pastors, and youth leaders there, but this weekend gave me such hope for the future of our church. I was in awe taking in 2,000 young people pumped up for Jesus Christ, and even more so when hundreds were moved to come forward to commit their lives to Christ. You would have thought we were gathered at the Carolina Coliseum for a basketball game or a concert or some other event that usually elicits such energy and enthusiasm. I heard more people say, "I get to go to Revolution again this year!" than "I have to go to Revolution." The youth wanted to be at church, wanted to learn, wanted to sing, wanted to serve, wanted to meet other youth who were fired up about God, wanted to be fed. 

It's not that our youth and young people lack the desire to know God, nor is there absent the search for God. It's there; that was evident this weekend. It was a very hopeful weekend for the church, but in that same hopeful feeling, I also experienced a little bit of heartache because I can't help but think about what kind of church and to whom are we sending most of these youth back to after such a mountain top experience that was Revolution? I certainly hope and pray that youth leaders and pastors can engage their youth so that they can continue to learn, worship and grow in the faith. It is, after all, up to my generation, my parents' generation and my grandparents' generation to provide an environment where children can be instructed by the faithful, where youth can express their faith in a variety of ways, where young adults can ask questions and be a part of change in the church. It doesn't have to be go-big-or-go-home with bright lights and loud music to the scale that Revolution was, but I would say our local congregations do need to look into ways that they can make worship more relevant and engaging to and with the under 30 crowd. This kind of environment where children, youth and young adults can be nurtured and grown in the faith might look very, very different from the environment you or I were nurtured in the faith. We who have always known and experienced church a certain way must swallow our pride and be ok with church looking a little bit different. Because it is our job as the faithful to pass on the faith--whatever music, worship style, or small group experience that may be or look like. We're called to cling to our faith...not the manner in which we learn our faith, celebrate our faith and live our faith. We must remember that the "traditions" we inherited as far as music, worship style, etc have evolved over time. The message has always been the same. Today we are in the middle of a revolution, and so the delivery of the same message we learned as children must be radically different if we the church is going to be relevant and effectively raise up a generation of faithful disciples. It is up to us--those who call ourselves "the faithful"--to either raise disciples or drifters.

Revolution 2013 Video Clip:

U GET 2

Hard work: you don't have to; u get 2.

A few weeks ago I went up to Charlotte to take the USATF (USA Track & Field) Level 1 certification class with my dad. Besides being a preacher, I also coach high school distance runners which is a ministry in and of itself--but that's a story for another day. One of our instructors for the level 1 class was Lori Shepard who after years of her own outstanding T&F career and then coaching NCAA T&F, now owns a personal training business in Florida called U Get 2 Fitness. Lori tells her clients like she used to tell her collegiate athletes: "You don't have to do anything; you get to."

This is not only a good coaching principle, but a good principle for life that can especially translate to our life together as church people. Too often among regular church goers there is an "I-have-to" attitude. Really, like Lori says, you don't have to do anything. What if we approached being church together and all that encompasses--from worship, prayer, bible study, fellowship suppers, mission projects, teaching Sunday School, tithing, visiting the homebound, singing in the choir, to even cleaning out the church kitchen refrigerator, changing light bulbs, mowing the grass, raking leaves--what if we approached church not with an attitude of "I-have-to", but I get to? I get to go to worship. I get to lead a bible study. I get to say the opening prayer. I get to sing in the choir. I get to visit the homebound. I get to rake the leaves. When we transition from I-have-to to I-get-to church suddenly doesn't seem like an after thought, a people and place we give whatever we have left over be it time, energy, or money. Church doesn't seem like burden we have to reluctantly and begrudgingly carry. Rather just that little change in our thought process and attitude completely changes how we approach church, how we come together to be church, how we give of ourselves to God and his holy church.

Jesus has called us to go and make disciples (Matt. 28). We don't have to. But think about it this way--we get to. God has chosen to partner with you, with me, with us, with humanity in kingdom building. We get to be a part of building God's kingdom in this world! We get to choose to participate in the building of God's kingdom...or not. God gave us freewill, so we don't have to do anything. But I consider it a privilege to get to partner with God in the here and now in the building of his kingdom. No matter the hard work, the frustrations, the set backs, the discouragements, the difficult people, the endless forms, at the end of the day it is all worth it because I get to work with God in making God's presence known in our world known; I get to be a fisher of people for God. What a privilege to get to work with our Creator in his here and now work among us! So, just remember, church, when you start hearing yourself say, "I have to," remember that you get to! And you get to for God! May this be your mantra as you carry out God's work in all you think, say and do: U Get 2!

Sitting at the Feet of Jesus

Rooting Life in Scripture, Worship, Prayer

"Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things;there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’" Luke 10:38-41

Today is Ash Wednesday, and it is tradition to give up or take something on. In other words, to add one more thing to our overly scheduled and demanding lives in the hopes that that something will draw us closer to God. I've already heard people say, "I'm going to do such and such for God," or "I'm going to do such and such for others." We church people have become convinced that doing makes us better Christians, that doing is our outward sign of an inward grace, that doing is a mark of our salvation. We do a lot as a church, but can we honestly say that all our doing is making us better disciples, or even making new disciples? In part, I hope our doing is growing and nurturing people in discipleship, but I'm not fully convinced that much of our doing is doing anything. Perhaps it's time to trade in some doing for being; to give up doing in place of simply being fully present before God. 

Today as I think about Ash Wednesday I am reminded of the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10. I confess that I am a doer; I am a Martha, and I have to work at being a Mary, work at simply being fully present and attentive before God. But I've been thinking about Mary and Martha a lot lately as I reflect on my own spiritual practices and watch the busy-bee doers of my church. There is certainly a time we need to be Marthas, but I think too often we expect people in our church--and ourselves--to be Marthas all the time. If we aren't doing then we aren't being church. Perhaps in a world--even and especially outside of the church--that is consumed by lives of doing, doing, doing, we, the church, need to offer a place to simply be, to listen, to pray. A people and a place to be Marys who stop doing and simply sit at the feet of Jesus. Jesus essentially told Martha that what Mary did--her seemingly doing "nothing"-- did more for her life, her soul, her walk with God than all the doing she could have been doing. 

One Sunday afternoon I was leading a Bible study, and a faithful family of our church came up to church to mow the grass and do the bulletin boards during bible study. This family were faithful Marthas of our church, always volunteering to do anything we needed. I always greatly appreciated all they did. But they never attended bible study. When I approached this family about putting down the lawn mower and the paints for just an hour to come join us in bible study, they said, "We don't have the time. This is how we give to God and the church. When will all this work get done if we go to bible study instead?" My heart broke. I remember thinking, "They just don't get it. What could be more valuable than time with Jesus and his people?" 

Unfortunately I see this all too often. People choose to attend and go to and volunteer for the things that involve a lot of doing rather than those opportunities of spiritual formation--opportunities to pray, read the bible or simply sit at the feet of Jesus.  If only we could see that such time spent with Jesus would better inform and direct the doing of the church. 

So, this Lenten season, maybe we all need to practice and commit to being more like Mary. We've been conditioned and trained and expected to be people that do and produce and never sit for a moment. Just typing that makes me feel so exhausted. What if we were to give more time to simply sitting at Jesus' feet than doing? What if the church during Lent were to cut some programs and offer opportunities for people to come and sit in silence and pray? What if we were to gather more often to read and talk about God's Word rather than doing some of the others things we fill our daily schedules? 

Even Facebook Must Change...

Actual picture and article from The State newspaper.

The world around us is forever changing. For goodness sakes, even new, modern phenomenons such as Facebook must change!!  Change can be hard because it takes us away from the familiar and comfortable to something new and unknown, forcing us to step out of our comfort zone into a season of learning and adjusting.  There is plenty testimony to this via Facebook posts every time Facebook makes changes.

The two stores I frequent on a regular basis are Publix and Target, and well, right now both my local Publix and Target are going through major changes. Both are having total face lifts on the inside and out. So, when I run in to grab something very quickly, it isn't so quick because I no longer know where anything is! It can be very frustrating and irritating when I am in a hurry. I almost don't even recognize these stores; it is all so unfamiliar and just doesn't feel like my Publix and Target I once knew and loved! I know that sounds silly, but be honest, we get comfortable and used to the way things are. But when I have the time to meander down the new aisles and discover the new changes, I can appreciate the changes being made. The changes are good, and in the end all the changes are going to help costumers have a better shopping experience and be able to find things much easier. 

Change just takes time to adjust to, but we humans like to rush and hurry through adjustment periods--or we're so resistant to change that we live in a state of frustration and irritability because we've decided we're just not going to change even though change is happening all around us whether we want it to or not. Such attitudes prevent us from seeing why changes are happening and why they are necessary and how changes are going to be better overall for everyone.

This is where we are as a church--not just United Methodists, but the church universal. Church is not what it used to be; what it once was and had been for centuries. Church is losing its place as the moral and spiritual center of society. It is not the church of our grandparents, and yet it seems it is going to largely be up to our grandparents and parents to birth a new church in these changing times. According to the United Methodist Church, the average age of people in our pews is 57. I just learned at our district clergy meeting last week that 3/4 of all UM clergy in the South Carolina Annual Conference will be eligible to retire in 2017. I have more hope for the church than to assume that should all these clergy retire in 2017, we would be ok because the church is dying at such a rate that we will not need as many pastors. I refuse to believe that, and so this statistic worries me along with the age of our average church goer. If the church isn't  willing to change--really change not just technically, but making adaptive changes--not only will we have no church members, but we will have no church leaders either. Lovett Weems is right to predict a death tsunami ever threatening the life of churches. 

I can't say that I know how or what exactly needs to change in the church. There is no one-size fits all prescription that will fix the mess we are in overnight; we didn't get here overnight. It's going to be trial and error and knowing your specific context and working within that context. I do know that if that elusive something doesn't change, if we don't "rethink church," our grandparents and parents will have no church to pass on to future generations. I do not think the church will ever cease to exist. God is everlasting, and as Christ's body in this world the church will never fade into oblivion. But if we don't change, can we say honestly that we're being very good disciples of carrying out Jesus' commandment to make disciples--to be fisher of people? It is time to cast our nets on a different side of the boat. What we are doing is not making new disciples, and to continue to work hard doing the same the old thing, the same old way will produce the same results: empty nets. Church, let's take a cue from Facebook--if even Facebook must change to be relevant in this every changing environment, then so must we. After all don't we exist for a higher purpose than Facebook?  

Ash Wednesday

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 13. That is not too far away, and it is not too early to start thinking about Lenten practices of letting go and taking on. Lent is a 40-day preparation period before Easter. This period of intentional preparation is a time of spiritual examination, fasting, repentance, moderation and discipline. The purpose of the season of Lent is to refocus our whole lives on Jesus--the way Jesus lived and died sacrificially for us--a life we, as Christians, have been called to embody in all we think, say and do. Usually verses from Joel 2 are read on Ash Wednesday. The heart of these verses from Joel 2 are verses 12-13, "The Lord says, 'Return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, with weeping, with mourning…rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord, your God, for God is gracious and merciful.'" So, the 40-day season of Lent can be called a season of return.

The season of Lent is the beginning of our return to the Lord in those areas of our life that have lost touch with God. It has been church tradition to choose something to give up or take on that will deepen our relationship with God. Many people today give up things like chocolate and soda. Those aren't necessarily bad things to give up since we live in a world of overconsumption and greed where many of us do not honor God with our bodies as temples of God (1 Cor. 6:19). But the habit today is to usually refrain from things such as chocolate and sodas for 40 days, and then return to old habits of overconsumption and greed. That is not the purpose of Lent. Lent is the practice period for real and permanent changes that will not only draw us closer to God during the season of Lent, but that we will develop spiritual practices of moderation and discipline that will draw us closer to God beyond the weeks of Lent. God does not want us to return to him for just 40 days only to return to old habits of self-indulgence, greed and overconsumption. Rather God desires that the 40 days of Lent will cause our hearts to return to him for good. 

So, as this Lenten season approaches look at your life and examine those places you need fasting, repentance, moderation and discipline--those places you need to return or give over to the Lord. Think about giving up or taking on practices that will lead to permanent changes in your life, so that your life will better glorify God even beyond the season of Lent. After all the purpose of all of our lives, no matter our occupation or hobbies, is to glorify God in all we think, say and do. Ask yourself (and be honest): Where in your life could you better glorify, serve and deepen your relationship with God? "The Lord says, 'Return to the Lord, your God, for God is gracious and merciful.'" Blessings on your journey of return!