Camp Sunday

This coming Sunday, we are changing a couple of the things we do at Haskell UMC.  On April 15th, we are celebrating Camp Sunday.  Now when I was a kid, we didn't go to church camp.  The particular denomination I belonged to didn't have camping as a part of their ministry so church camp was a new idea to me when I became a United Methodist.  

This particular ministry is one that I have quickly come to appreciate.  The Northwest Texas Annual Conference, our conference, is blessed to have two great camps for our kids to attend each summer.  One of them is Ceta Canyon and is located in the northern part of our conference.  The other is Camp Butman and is located in the southern part of our conference.  This year our local church has several kids who are old enough to attend camp.  As their pastor, I am excited to see what God has planned for these kids who will be attending camp this summer.

I was first introduced to church camp a few years ago when my eldest daughter went for the first time.  Anyone who knows her quickly discovers that while she can be reserved around adults she is really the kind of kid who wants to try new things and looks forward to an adventure.  From the first time she set foot on the church camp property, she was hooked.  

Like I said, I have never attended camp.  However, over the years there are a few things I have learned that go on at these camps.  I understand that they sing silly songs...

I understand that they have time to act like kids and have fun...

And I understand that for an entire week, kids who normally are bombarded with secular ideas and worldly influences are able to get away from that and to focus on their spiritual growth.  Time after time, I have heard testimonies from people who went to church camp.  Those testimonies always include the above mentioned items.  But I'm always touched when I hear that a child is finally able to get out of the world long enough that God breaks down barriers and calls that person by name.  I love it when I hear counselors talk about the tiring, but exciting week they spent with the kids.  

So as we near summertime, maybe your church will begin to plan for kids in your congregation to attend camp.  Because of the rise in cost of everything, church camp has gotten more expensive every year.  If you are able, please consider sponsoring a scholarship for a kid to go to camp.  When you help a kid go to camp you are truly making an investment in a child's chance at being a kid and in a child's spiritual growth.  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 all.

Print Page

Holy Saturday

Today is Holy Saturday.  It is the day between the intense emotion of Holy Week and the excitement of Easter Sunday.  It's a day that I'm still coming to terms with in my own spiritual development.  I'm really not sure what to think of this Holy Day.  I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do.

Scripture doesn't give us much of a clue on what was going on this day during Passion week.  We're all familiar with Palm Sunday with it's waving branches and songs of Hosanna.  We're all familiar with the week following Palm Sunday with the readings of the trial (or mistrial) of Jesus.  We know the stories of the soldiers' mockery and the flogging of Christ.  We are told of the Via Dolorosa as Jesus made his way up to the hill of Golgotha.  And we know about the women's devotion, Joseph of Arimathea, and Nicodemus.  We know all of this...an yet what happened on Holy Saturday?

In 1 Peter, there is an interesting passage that some people have interpreted as being what was going on during the hours between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday.  He states, "For Chirst also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God.  He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water...For this is the reason the gospel was proclaimed even to the dead, so that, though they had been judged in the flesh as everyone is judged, they might live in the spirit as God does."--1 Peter 3:18-20; 4:6.  Well, thanks Peter...that really helps!

So even with this brief passage, I still don't know about Holy Saturday. Maybe part of my problem this year is that it has been a really busy week for me.  We had two funerals at the church this week and we had a Tenebrae service on Good Friday.  Maybe I'm just tired.  Or maybe I've been so busy this week that I feel anxious that I should be doing something.

Source: Dominicana

When I woke up this morning I knew that I needed some time with God by myself.  I left the house and went outside of town a few miles to a piece of property that I discovered last summer.  I'm not sure who owns the land, but I firmly believe that for this time in my life, it is there for me.  I parked by truck on the empty dirt road and I read Scripture.  I walked down the winding road that divides "my" property in half and I enjoyed the spring wildflowers, the songbirds, and the gorgeous greenery that surrounded me.  I prayed for my friends who are going through a time of transition and for parishioners who are dealing with various issues.  I prayed for my congregation, my family, and myself.  And when I was finished, I felt much better and refreshed.

Maybe that's what Holy Saturday is all about.  We can't always see what is going on.  We can't always understand what is happening between the highs and lows of our faith journey.  Maybe we're not supposed to know what happened on Holy Saturday.  What we have to do is trust God and remember to give him time to take care of things.  We have to remember that ministry is not always about going and doing, but it is also about being still.

In one of my favorite quotes from Oswald Chambers he states, "Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work."  That's what Holy Saturday is for me this year.  It is the greater work.  It is the time between our greatest tragedy and our greatest glory.  It is the lull of the sadness of Good Friday and the excitement of Easter Sunday.  It is a time for God to work and for us to wait.

So today, spend time in prayer.  Wait patiently.  Allow God to do what needs to be done.  Trust in the LORD.  Take time to be holy.  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.






Print Page

Can I Get A Testimony?

The last couple of weeks have been very busy.  Between meetings, school activities, and spring break, it has been difficult to get everything done.  But it has been good.  Recently, I looked back over my time in Haskell and it amazed me how active God has been in the life of our congregation.  We have ministered to others, loved our brothers and sisters through some difficult times, and remained faithful to God as his children.

One of the texts that I studied for this week's sermon is found in Jeremiah.  In this promise, God declares through the prophet that a new time is coming.  The people God called turned their back on him and his Law. They refused to allow the Law to penetrate their hearts.  Because of their unfaithfulness their hearts were as stone cold as the tablets that the 10 Commandments were written on.

So God's promise is of a new covenant.  Through that covenant God says, "I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."  Of course, this promise was fulfilled through the only Son of God, Jesus Christ.  He came and taught, modeled, and witnessed to the love of God that inspires and ignites people to go forth and to testify to the amazing transformative love that comes to people through the Holy Spirit.

In the early days of Methodism, it was common for there to be a testimony time during the weekly worship service.  One of the questions the Methodists were asked in their small groups was "How goes it with your soul."  Part of the meaning behind that was how have you seen God active in your life recently.  These people were willing to get up in front of others and tell how God had been putting his law within them.  They were excited about God writing his law on their hearts.

For some reason we have lost this aspect of our history in our church.  Most churches no longer allow a regular time of testimony from the people and most people are hesitant to get up and testify about how God has been active in their life.  Maybe we are afraid of what the Holy Spirit will do in our midst.  Perhaps we don't want to lose control of the service.  It could be that we are afraid of becoming vulnerable in front of others.  But whatever the reason, we simply don't do it much anymore.

But this past week in our Methodist Beliefs class, several of the ones who attend the class volunteered to give a testimony of God's activity in their life.  As their pastor, I sat back and listened with great pleasure to my flock's stories.  There were some tears and there were some shaking voices, but everyone simply sat and listened.  When the testimony was over, there were "amens" and many smiles around the table.  I was truly moved and blessed during our time of sharing.

One of the keys to evangelism and faith development is the testimony.  People can doubt Scripture.  People can refuse to believe in God.  People can even make fun of us for our beliefs.  But the one thing they cannot do is discount our testimony.  I know without a shadow of a doubt that God has been active, caring, and encouraging.  I know what he has done in my life and how he has transformed me from a hate-filled, repugnant, know-it-all.  I know where he continues to work in my life.  And I know that God's love has penetrated my heart.

In St. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, he talks about ministers.  He states, "We are fools for the sake of Christ..."  I have learned that he is describing me.  I am a fool for the sake of Christ.  But I've also learned something else.  I'd rather be a fool for the sake of Christ than to be the person I was before God's love penetrated my evil heart.

So I encourage you to go forth and tell your story.  Testify to God's activity in your life.  Don't be afraid of being honest with people.  Be truthful.  Be genuine.  But most importantly, testify to God's love for you and his desire to work in the lives of everyone.  Until next time...





Print Page

Take Up Your Cross

This week we continue our Lenten journey.  Our Scripture focus is found in the gospel of St. Mark where Jesus plainly teaches the crowd and his disciples the implications of being his followers.  In opposition to many contemporary sermons on prosperity and gaining a worry-free life once you sign up for Christianity; Jesus tells the reality of being his disciple.

He tells them "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it"--8:34-35.  That doesn't sound much like fun and games to me.

But Jesus was simply being honest with them.  The life of a Christ follower is not always easy.  In fact, it can be down right hard.  It's not easy to stand against the pressures of a society that wants you to look, think, and act a certain way when our Lord and master says we cannot.  Its not easy to resist temptations to compromise our beliefs and faith.  Its not easy to continually ask the Holy Spirit to examine us and to prune away the unfruitful segments of our life.

One of the hardest things I have ever had to do was to say yes to God.  When he called me into the ministry I was living a life in a town I had chosen to live in.  I owned a home that I wanted to own.  My children went to the school that I wanted them to attend.  I was a member of a church I loved.  But that all changed.  It had to.

You see, what Jesus was saying is that our Christian walk is not about us.  It is about a relationship with the Father, through the Son, by the Holy Spirit.  He was saying that salvation is not some future promise.  Our salvation compels us to do the things we see Jesus do.  In this passage, we hear the words of Christ and we realize that Christian living is about sacrifice, self-denial, and bearing a burden for another.

Desert Father praying.

While I was preparing for this week's message to my church, I came across a wonderful story that I had not heard before.  It's the story of a man named St. Telemachus.  Sometime in the late fourth or early fifth century a monk named Telemachus was fed up with the church.  Like many others, he decided to traverse into the desert to live away from the hypocrisy of the church around him.  One day while he was in the middle of his daily prayers he felt convicted that he was being selfish.  He realized that instead of loving God that he was simply living his life how he wanted to.

So prompted by the Holy Spirit, he began to walk to Rome.  He made his way across the miles from where he had been living to the Imperial City.  When he got there, he heard a great cry from the Colosseum.  He followed the shouts until he reached the arena.  Much to his horror, there in the middle of this "Christian" city was a fight to the death.  What Telemachus realized was that here were men in the midst of fighting who Jesus Christ had died for.  And worse yet, here were men and women shouting for their deaths.  He jumped over the barrier and began to plead with the gladiators to stop fighting.

Of course, the crowd was furious.  They began to shout for him to move so they could watch the death battle.  He refused.  The crowd then began to throw stones at him so that the games could continue.  After they had killed him, they realized what had happened.  The crowd was convicted of their actions and the games came to a sudden stop.  Shortly after that episode, the games were permanently cancelled.

St. Telemachus intervening in the games.   Foxe's Book of Martyrs

I found this story to be fascinating.  Here was this man who was called forth from God to go into the world to love humanity.  When he did, he was killed for it.  Because of his death, others were saved and people turned away from sin.  It sounds a lot like St. Telemachus took up his cross.  He truly lived the gospel of Jesus Christ.  That is the call of every true follower of Christ.  Until next time...




Print Page

Ashes to Ashes and Dust to Dust

Today marks one of the more interesting days in our Christian year.  Today is a day set aside for penitence, prayer, and fasting.  It's a day set aside in order for us to move from the "ah ha!" of Epiphany to the "huh?" of Lent.  It's a day where we begin our descent to the holy city of Jerusalem in order for the God of the universe; the King of kings and the Lord of lords to be...killed.

For many years Lent was ignored by many Protestant churches, including the UM church.  I guess they thought it was too "Catholic" (whatever that means).  But it seems as though Lent is making a comeback.  Much like the season of Advent, we are in a waiting game.  Lent beckons us to remember the strange truth of the Gospel.  It recalls for us that humanity could never get to God, so God came to humanity.  Lent forces us, especially us in the Western world, to face our mortality head on.  In these days of eternal youth, Lent tells us that "from dust you came and to dust you shall return."

There is a bit of judgment in this season of purple, prayers, and fasting.  We are reminded that we have not been as faithful as we should be.  We are told to repent; to turn away from ourselves and to turn towards God.  We are reminded that Christ will return and when he does it will be as judge and king.

I suppose that's why some churches, and many people, downplay this season.  We like the lights and gifts of Christmas.  We love the triumph and excitement of Easter.  But one thing I have come to appreciate about this season is that without a Lenten walk, Easter does not mean much.  Without this season of self-denial and self-examination, Eastertide is not much more than eggs and a bunny.

This evening, my congregation will begin our Lenten journey together.  We will have a service of confession, admonition, imposition of ashes, and Holy Communion.  Collectively, we will join our voices in repentance.  Our focus will come together as we make our way towards the cross of Christ.  We will bear one another's burdens and we will lament together.

Whether you are a part of a tradition that gathers for Ash Wednesday or not, I invite you to hear these words from the book of Joel and remember how truly gracious our God is.

"Yet even now, says the LORD, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing.  Return to the LORD, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing."--Joel 2:12-13




Print Page

Naaman Enounters God's Grace

This week's Old Testament lectionary reading focuses on 2 Kings 5.  This is one of those interesting stories that we vaguely remember hearing in Sunday school, but it really doesn't get much press outside of that.  This is the story of Naaman going before Elisha to be cleaned up from his leprosy.

You might remember that Naaman is a "mighty warrior" serving under a Gentile king.  In some unknown way he contracts leprosy (any number of skin diseases).  He really wants to get rid of it.  However, leprosy is one of those diseases that was next to impossible to cure of in ancient times.  A Jewish servant girl working in Naaman's home recommends that he seek out a "prophet who is in Samaria" who could cure him.  Naaman eventually makes his way to Elisha's house to find out how to get cured of his disease.

When he arrives, Elisha will only yell at him from inside his house.  He won't allow Naaman in and he won't come out to greet him.  The instructions are simple, "Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean."  These instructions make Naaman mad.  He begins to rant and rave about how dumb this entire expedition was.  Why didn't this "prophet of God" come out and say something?  Why didn't this Elisha come forth and chant an incantation or wave his hands over the spot in order to banish it?  What kind of cheap prophet is this anyway?

As Naaman is stomping away mad, one of his servants boldly approaches him.  He says, "if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it?  How much more, when all he said to you was, 'Wash, and be clean'?"  Naaman gets the man's point and goes to the Jordan to wash.  Lo and behold, the prophet was right and Naaman was made clean.

Naaman made clean.

One thing this story does is illustrate that sometimes we choose to make things more difficult than they have to be.  We want some big act.  We want to be commissioned on a great journey in order to encounter God and his divine mercy.  We want to be entrusted with the Labors of Hercules.

But instead, all we are told is to live life.  Jesus Christ sends us out into a world full of people, problems, and daily living.  We are told to witness to what God has done in our lives.  We are told to love people as God loves people.  We are told to care for those who cannot care for themselves.  I wonder if there is a little bit of Naaman in all of us.  We don't want to visit the nursing home, we want to prophecy in the name of the Lord.  We don't want to hold the hand of a dying woman, we want to cast out demons.  We don't want to feed the hungry, we want do mighty deeds of power.

What we fail to understand is that God has nothing to prove.  God is God.  His ways are higher and greater than we can understand.  It is only through service that we can begin to understand him.  Jesus came to serve and since he is our master then we should serve too.  Only after we have died to pride like Naaman had to can we fully grasp the amazing power and authority granted to us as God's children.

One of the things I love about the story of Naaman is how it ends.  After Naaman is cured from his leprosy, he returns to Elisha's house to offer him money.  Elisha refuses and then Naaman declares his allegiance to the LORD God.  He places his faith in this amazing God who has transformed his life.  The real miracle in the story is not the physical healing.  The real miracle lies in the fact that a proud man has been humbled.  And through his humility a Gentile worships the God of Israel.

Naaman comes to realize that he is nothing compared to God.  Even though he is described as a mighty warrior and had high favor with his king, he came to understand that until he knows God and is known by God he is without merit.  That's the way each of us are...we are nothing until we encounter the true love of God.  That, my friends, is grace.  Naaman found it; we have it; it is our duty to spread it.  Nothing more...nothing less.  Let's not make our task more difficult than it has to be.  Until next time...

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






Print Page

Hurry Up And Wait

The LORD our God does not think like humans think.  As people, we look around us and we notice those who are nice looking.  We pay attention to those who are muscular, well-built, and physically fit for activity.  It is easy for us to appreciate people who are talented athletes.  If the most athletic players are on our favored team, then all the better for us!

But in Isaiah 40, we are reminded that even these people are only human.  Even the most healthy looking, muscular, well-built men and women have to rest.  They cannot continue to perform at 100% all of the time.  They too will eventually wear down.  Their bodies require food, refreshment, and rest.  But not God.  Here's how Isaiah states it, "Have you not known?  Have you not heard?  The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.  He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.  Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint"  (40:28-31).

The same is true in our spiritual life.  As children of God, we are sent out to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to a broken world.  We are to continually be witnessing, teaching, and loving a world that does not know God.  But like athletes, we too must rest.  We cannot do the tasks at hand without the strength of the LORD.

As a human, Jesus too got tired.  He too got weary.  He too had to take time away from the constant pressures of ministry.  He found his rest in his Father.  He found his strength through prayer.  He was renewed  for his calling through his relationship with God the Father.

The longer I am a pastor, the more I realize how important my own spiritual growth is for the sake of the community I serve.  If my cup dries up, then I have nothing to share.  If my body becomes weak, then I am unable to help those who are in need.  If my mind is unfocused, then my teaching becomes slack.  So the words of Isaiah have rung true in my own life.  I am still learning to wait on the LORD so that he shall renew my strength.  I am still learning to rely more and more on his power so that I may not faint.  I am learning to lean on his strength so that I am empowered through his Holy Spirit.

Here is a song that I first heard a few years ago.  Periodically, I will play this song when I feel discouraged and tired in ministry.  The lyrics of the song always remind me not to rely on my own strength but to lean on God and his great power.  My greatest desire is to serve God and to set the world on fire.  But none of us can do that alone.  May this song bless you and strengthen your spirit as you continue in your own ministry to the least of these.  Until next time...





Print Page