Fields of Plenty

In my final year of seminary, I took my proclamation courses.  I was richly blessed to learn from a great preacher (Dr. Stacy Minger) the art of proclaiming God's Word.  One of the things that she taught us was to always "think sermonically."  In other words, she challenged us to live our lives with our ears and eyes wide open.  We were continually to be on the look out for sermon illustrations, ideas, and ways that we could include contemporary issues and problems into our message.  We were to allow Scripture to invade our society and set us on the path of making Christian teaching, doctrine, and life applicable to a 21st century Church.

This past week, society has placed itself in the midst of my thinking.  Without even trying, thinking sermonically has integrated itself into my vision of what God is doing.  I want to share with you two news reports that the Holy Spirit has led me to this week.

First, from USA Today there was an article this past week discussing that Americans are losing their faith.  According to the article, there has been a rather large increase in the number of Americans (especially younger Americans) who choose the "none" category when it comes to religious affiliation.  To see the entire article go here: USA Today Article

Second, on one of our local news stations, it was reported today that we have several children living below the poverty line in our area.  What really surprised me was that our parish has the highest poverty rate in the area; hovering at approximately 39%.  To see the entire article go here: KTXS Article

Image taken from CLASP webpage

As I've been thinking about these two stories, several things have come to mind.  Those of us who claim Christ need to do more than just talk.  We need to quit worrying about political correctness, what others think about us, and our bank accounts.  We need to reclaim our Christian identity as found in Scripture and Tradition.  People no longer want to be associated with organizations of any kind that don't do anything.  Meeting once a week, talking about the good ol' days, and feeling good about ourselves simply isn't enough. We need to be so ingrained in the community where we minister that if we don't show up then people notice.

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In the gospel of St. John, there is a marvelous story of Jesus meeting the woman at the well in Samaria.  When the disciples discover Jesus has been talking to the Samaritan woman, they are flabbergasted.  They can't believe that he would stoop so low.  But he replies to them, "I am fed by doing the will of the one who sent me and by completing his work.  Don't you have a saying, 'Four more months and then it's time for harvest'?  Look, I tell you: open your eyes and notice that the fields are already ripe for the harvest."-4:34-35

It seems to me that the harvest is getting larger every year.  It also seems that there are fewer workers every year to harvest the fields.  But when I read articles like these, I get really excited.  I begin to think about ways that we can rise up as harvesters and get to work.  I think about the children in poverty who surround my local church and I try to visualize what God is calling us into.  Because when we work with these kids, it gives us the opportunity to love them and their families.  It gives us the chance to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ in a tangible way.  It gives us a chance to live out our faith so that those who checked "none" on their cards take notice and wonder why we bother.  And perhaps as we tackle the child poverty problem, the "none"s will decide to join us.

I have no doubt that God is in the midst of all these things.  He is calling us to be "fed by doing the will of" our Father.  He is giving us every opportunity to step out in faith and to follow his guidance.  The question is, are we willing to open our eyes and notice the fields ripe for harvest?  Until next time...

"Only in heaven will we see how much we owe to the poor for helping us to love God better because of them."--Mother Teresa

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Thanks Be To God

"Helloooooooooo, Dustin"

These are two words I will never hear again.  At least, not in the way that Wallace Cox said them every Sunday morning for the past year at 9:30 on the dot.  You see, Wallace passed away last week.  He was a man much admired in our church community and within the wider community of Haskell.  Wallace was one of those people who made you feel welcome, important, and loved.  He was easy to visit with and always had time to let you bend his ear.

Wallace's passing gave me the opportunity to reflect back on the past few years.  When I first received my calling into full time ministry I suppose I didn't really know what that would mean.  If I had, I'm not sure I would have been emotionally ready for it.  When my family and I moved from Muleshoe to Wilmore we had to leave many friends and family behind.  We left a community that we knew and that knew us.  We left people who have been important in my life for as long as I can remember.  We left the comfort and security of the known for a new life that was foreign.

First United Methodist Church, Muleshoe, TX

After we arrived in Kentucky, we slowly settled in and made new friends.  We adopted our Sunday school class as our new faith community where we could grow spiritually with brothers and sisters in Christ.  We got used to the colder temperatures and the extra rainfall.  We really fit in and we loved it.  But, once again, we were called away from a place we had made home.  It was time to leave and to move on with the mission that God had placed on our lives for his namesake.

Estes Chapel, Asbury Theological Seminary campus

So we have been here in Haskell right at a year.  I have continued to learn and grow in my own spiritual life and we are doing everything we know to do to make Haskell our hometown.  But honestly, it is getting harder to do that.  Because I know that my family will not be in Haskell forever.  A part of the Methodist system is that you agree to go where you are sent.  I have a lot of respect for that and I continue to trust the leadership of our conference with those decisions.

First United Methodist Church, Haskell, TX

I know that no matter how long we stay in one place that God is with us.  I know wherever we go that God is already there.  I know wherever we are sent that there are men and women we will grow to love, just as we have here.  I also know that even as hard as it is to say goodbye to people, for whatever reason, that the love and the joy I have gained from knowing these people far outweighs the pain.

At the end of 1 Corinthians 15, St. Paul makes this statement, "Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."  I strive to remember these words from St. Paul as I continue to walk the path that the LORD has placed before me.  I seek to continue to labor for his glory, even if it means the painful reality of loving people only to move on again.

When we left Muleshoe, a good friend of mine dedicated this song to me and my family.  It is a song I have come to cherish when it's time to say goodbye.  And so now, as I finish my farewell to Wallace, I play this song for my brothers and sisters in the faith who I have had to leave.  I am a better man and a better Christian for knowing each one of you.  And even though I miss you, I also know that we continue our relationship through the Communion of the Saints empowered by the Holy Spirit.



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Washing Spoons

"Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin?"

"Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as your Lord, in union with the Church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races?"

"According to the grace given to you, will you remain faithful members of Christ's Holy Church and serve as Christ's representatives in the world?"

"As members of Christ's universal Church, will you be loyal to The United Methodist Church, and do all in your power to strengthen its ministries?"

"As members of this congregation, will you faithfully participate in its ministries by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service, and your witness?"

In just a few days the confirmation class 2012 of Haskell UMC will take the vows stated above in front of our local congregation.  This is no small undertaking.  These vows are important.  They represent a commitment that is becoming less and less common in our self-centered culture.

It seems as though our society has forgotten what it means to save, to follow through, and to focus on the good of the community instead of personal gain.  I saw this posted on Facebook the other day:

I found this to be an interesting commentary on our consumerist society.  So many people today think that if it is easier on them individually then it doesn't matter what the cost is in the long run.  But Christianity doesn't teach us to think this way.  According to the teachings of Scripture we are to place others in front of ourselves.  For example, in Ephesians St. Paul states that we should "submit to each other out of respect for Christ"(5:21) and he says in Galatians that we should  "...be guided by the Spirit and you won't carry out your selfish desires.  A person's selfish desires are set against the Spirit, and the Spirit is set against one's selfish desires.  They are opposed to each other, so you shouldn't do whatever you want to do."(5:16-17)

So as a counter cultural move and in response to their calling, our confirmands will have to agree to the vows of the church.  My prayer is that they will do so with sincerity and conviction.  My prayer is that they will do all they can to continue to build their faith in Jesus Christ.  My prayer is that our local congregation will continue to commit to these young people and to one another out of devotion to God.  And my prayer is that each person who claims Christ as his or her master will learn the lesson of putting others ahead of ourselves.

But the amazing thing about faith is that we are not left alone to uphold these vows.  The phrase I love in these vows states "according to the grace given you..."  Even in the midst of taking vows and making promises, God's grace abounds.  Even when we do fail to be an obedient Church, God's grace flows through in order to convict us of wrongdoing, help us repent of our failures, and reinstates us as his sons and daughters.

God's grace is enough.  It is wondrous, marvelous, and timely.  It never ceases and continually calls us to be grace-filled so that we can extend grace to others as we have received.  Even though God's grace is freely given, it cost him greatly.  That's why it is so important to never cheapen grace...that's why we must cooperate with God in order to fulfill his calling in our own life.

This Sunday, as these young women and men take their vows, I will renew my own.  I will continue to strive to fulfill the vows I have taken to the Church as both a member and as a pastor.  But most of all, I will remember that without the grace given to me, none of my Christian life would be possible.  And as I grow in God's grace, perhaps some day I will be mature enough to remember to wash the spoon.  Until next time...

+May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you.



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