The Joy of Bible Study

One of the neat things about being a pastor is that you get to do a lot of different things. However, if I had to choose one part of the job to do exclusively, I think I would just teach Bible studies. The Bible is the most transformative pieces of writing ever created. As a church, we tend to just sort of poke around in it, picking out little pieces and ignoring most of it. I find when people really dig into it, explore it and engage it, lives are changed.

While individual study of the Bible is important and rewarding, group Bible studies are amazing. The dynamics learning and understanding are taken to a whole new level when people of different backgrounds gather around the text. People are able to hear and understand the message in whole new ways through the experiences of others. As a group leader, it is occasionally awe inspiring to give a group a little guidance and background and then let them turn them loose with the text. The insights and revelations they produce in groups rival the most impressive thinking of top theologians and Biblical scholars.

Right now, I am actually teaching two Bible studies, Disciple I, (the picture up top is from one the sessions of that class.) and The Bible from Scratch, The New Testament for Beginners. These two classes are some of the best hours of my week.

If you have never engaged in a real, in depth Bible study, I hope you will consider it. I will be offering another group study soon. Watch the blog for more info.

peace,

will

This Week's Sermon

Sunday's sermon is posted for review.

Sermon #18- Choosing Something More


peace,

will

Sunday Preview

Here is what is in store for worship this Sunday:

Scripture: Mark 8:31-38

Sermon Title: "Choosing Something More"

This Sunday we will take a look at one of those slightly odd and troubling exchanges in the Bible. Jesus is telling his disciples about what is on the road ahead. He tells them about his coming rejection, death and resurrection. Peter doesn't like this much and starts to reprimand Jesus. Jesus stops him in his tracks and says one of the harshest things Jesus ever says in the Bible, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."

This is more than just a harsh reprimand; it is the beginning of another explanation of what is at the core of Gospel and the temptation we have to make it something else. It is a temptation that we all face as individuals and as a church. I hope you will be there Sunday as we continue our journey through Lent and explore this text together.

Remember that throughout these remaining Sundays of Lent, the Labyrinth will be available from 4:00-6:00 p.m. in the Grace church fellowship hall. A brief communal service will also be provided in the sanctuary each week beginning at 5:00 p.m.

See you Sunday!
peace,



will

Has anyone seen Will?

In case anyone has wondered where I have been, I spent most of the week in Kerrville. Monday and Tuesday I was at Mount Wesley in Kerrville for the annual Bishop's Convocation. In case you are wondering what a convocation is, it comes from the verb convoke, which means to cause to assemble for a meeting. Basically, the Bishop's convocation is an opportunity for all the clergy (pastors) of the Southwest Texas Annual Conference to gather to worship, study, meet in small groups and share fellowship. It is one of the only times that we all get to see each other since we are spread out from the valley, to Austin, to San Angelo and everywhere in between. It was nice to see some of my colleagues that I haven't seen in a while. Bishop Sharon Christopher of the Illinois Great Rivers Annual Conference also did a great two part presentation of the need for spiritual vitality among clergy.

I spent Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday at my Covenant Connection meeting. I didn't get back in town until last night. Sometimes I get frustrated when I have to be out of town a lot. However, it is truly a blessing to be a part of the United Methodist Church. Gatherings like these remind us that we are not alone as pastors or as a church, but are working together with churches all around the world. Together, we are able to do a lot more for God's kingdom than we can on our own.

I hope to see you Sunday!

peace,

will

Leadership and Vision

I had the true blessing of spending this past Saturday with the leadership of Grace United Methodist Church at our annual leadership retreat. I was so pleased that so many (I think we had around 50) of our leaders willingly gave up their Saturday and spent it considering the life, ministry and future of Grace United Methodist Church.

We spent the first half of the day working through a program called Developing Discipleship Systems, created by Dan Glover, Director of Discipleship at Greenville Evangelical United Methodist Church in, Greenville, Ohio. The program made it clear once again how important it is for us to be a place of radical hospitality. We must send a clear signal to everyone who even comes near our doors that they are welcome at Grace! Dan’s program also reminded us all about how, as a church, we need to be intentional about helping our members grow and develop in faith and spirituality. In order to truly help people to become disciples of Jesus Christ, we need to do more than simply get them busy doing the work of the church. We need to continue to provide opportunities for people to grow in their faith in small group ministries that attend to their educational and relational growth.

We spent the second half of our day thinking and praying about the future of Grace. Pastor John got us started by sharing a piece of his vision and then we all spent some time absorbing the beauty of creation at the Berry’s Lonesome Dove Ranch and listening for God’s gentle whisper of guidance.

Grace United Methodist Church is a vibrant, loving, dedicated community of faith. Churches like Grace can’t help but grow, but growth can be a difficult thing. If we are going to be truly open to the abundant possibilities that God may place before us, we will have to make plans that allow room for more ministries, more missions and a lot more people.

I hope you will ask some of our church leaders about what they learned and discovered in our time together. Their vision and excitement along with everyone’s faith, trust and hope will pave a future greater than even we can imagine.

peace,

will

The Gospel vs. H.R. 4437

I want to share an interested editorial piece from this mornings New York Times. Wherever you are on the issue of immigration, it brings up some interesting issues on our roles as citizens and our roles as Christians.

The Gospel vs. H.R. 4437

As always, I love to hear your comments.

peace,

will

Settling into Lent

We had an amazing turnout at our Ash Wednesday service last night. I don't know that I have ever seen the sanctuary that full. If you were there, I hope that you found the service meaningful and I hope it will add to the meaning of the entire season of lent.

Don't forget that all through Lent we will be offering a special Sunday evening experience Journey to the Cross from 5:00 to 5:45. It will be a time for prayer and meditation as well as an opportunity to walk a labyrinth, an ancient means of prayer in the Christian tradition.

There is more information about Journey to the Cross as well as a lot of great information about lent in this week's newsletter.

peace,

will

This Week's Sermon

This Sunday's sermon has been posted. You can read it here:

Sermon #17 - Come and See

If you read my sermons online, you will probably find a number of typos and mistakes. You may also find some minor or major differences between what was said on Sunday and what you read. I really like to get the sermons posted as soon as possible and if I wait until I get it perfected, it will probably never get done.

I have turned off comments on the sermon page itself. If you have any thoughts or questions, just come back to this post to comment.

peace,

will

Remembering to Rest

I am constantly talking about our need for sabbath, our need to take time to rest our bodies and be in God's presence. (Read my post - Sabbath? Is that Really a Commandment?)

My dogs take me pretty seriously, but sometimes I don't even get it right.

Jesus tells us in Mark that:

"The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath."

Jesus showed us that we shouldn't be too legalistic about sabbath rest. He healed on the sabbath and he let his disciples gather food when they were hungry. This was technically breaking the religious laws of the time, but he knew some things were more important.

We can be too legalistic and we can also go too far the other way. If we try, we can always find something to do and never find time to rest with God. This week I am a little out of balance. I gave up my regular sabbath on Friday to preside at a funeral of a woman who had no church of her own. I think that was a valid reason to give up my day of rest. But then, I spent today at a meeting in San Antonio. Tomorrow is Sunday, so there will be little rest. Then, the week starts over.

Sabbath, for me, is like any other discipline. Once I get out of the pattern, it is really easy to stay out of the pattern. My challenge for the week will be to find some real time to rest in God's presence. I hope you find some time as well.

peace,

will

Worship this Week

For those of you who don't get the e-mail, here is the worship preview for this Sunday:

Scripture: John 1:43-51

Sermon Title: "Come and See!"

Have you ever invited someone to church? Most people never have because it seems like such a complicated issue. In John's gospel, a man named Philip makes the simplest invitation on record. He says to Nathanael, "Come and see." Simple, yet effective, because Nathanael follows Philip to see Jesus. This Sunday we will talk about that "come and see" invitation and also what we, as a church, need to do in the event that people actually take us up on it.

Remember that the United Methodist Men will be ready to serve you and your family a tall stack of pancakes this last Sunday of the month, with plenty of butter and syrup to go around.

See you Sunday!

will

More from Mexico

Here is a shot of the library nearly done. This is from day 2. You can tell by the extra layers of clothes. It was quite chilly. The roof is on and the windows and doors are in. The guys are just finishing up some trim while everyone else cleans up the site.

Picture number two is our group in front of the completed library. Our local help, our mistros are also in the photo. They were a huge help is showing us what to do and also doing the really difficult parts of construction. Right there next to Kathy is also our wonderful cook!

This building will be finished off by the folks at DIF. It will be painted and stuccoed before the books are moved in.

Mexico - First Look

Thank you to Robert for getting me some photos so quick! Here are some pictures of the first day of one of the building projects. This team was building a library at Sistema Nacional para el Desarrollo Integral de la Familia (or DIF for short). DIF is the equivalent of a child welfare services. This library is to be part of the facilities that offer food, health services and education for children and families in need.

What you can see in the first picture is a stack of cinder blocks being loaded onto the slab. We took the blocks and assembled walls on day one. You can see the walls going up in the second shot.

I will post some more photos and details soon!

peace,

will

Back from Mexico

The whole crew is safely back from Mexico. We had a really great trip. I think it might be interesting (and actually possible) to take the laptop and the camera next trip and blog each day from Mexico. (Yes they do have internet in Mexico, it is just a little trickier to get online.)

If you are a faithful weblog reader, were on the trip and took digital photos, please e-mail them to me so I can post them here.

I will post some more details of the trip once I get some photos to go with them. Basically though, we had a very successful trip. Our teams built two small houses for families and one decent size library for a community center in Rio Bravo. We had decent weather (though everyone was a bit chilly on Saturday). We even have great food, especially the folks on the library project who ate better than they did at home.

I will share more as I have time and photos. I hope the trip was a blessing to the residents of Rio Bravo, it certainly was a blessing to those who went.

peace,

will

Off to Mexico

I have been slacking a bit this week in my blogging. I am trying to get ready to leave tonight for Mexico for Grace's annual Mexico Mission Trip. I wish I had more time to write about the trip and what we will be doing, but I have been putting together my part, the worship for the weekend. Most of our trip will be building small houses and a library in the small town where we will be staying. But, we will also have lots of time for worship and prayer and reflection.

I look forward to writing more about the trip and experience on my return.

peace,

will

This little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed home, this little piggy glowed in the dark

If you have ever lost your pig in a dark parking lot at night, you will certainly be relieved to hear this. Scientist in Taiwan have bred fluorescent pigs. They have added genetic material from jellyfish to pig embryos to breed a pig that glows in the dark.

The point of this was not that we are in need of glowing pigs. It is an attempt to better understand genetics in hopes of helping to cure and prevent disease in humans. Anything we do genetically does, of course, cause us to pause momentarily to think about the moral, ethical and theological implications of such a thing and consider how far we should take such endeavors. But, in the meantime, enjoy the wonder of pigs that glow.

The full article is available here.

Taiwan breeds green-glowing pigs

peace,

will

This Week's Sermon

This Sunday's sermon is posted and ready to read.

Sermon #16 - "Servants of Christ: First Steps, Next Steps"

Your thoughts and comments are always welcome.

peace,

will

Newsletter Column

The following is my column from this week's newsletter. I am posting it here for those of you who don't get the newsletter or think paper is "so 1900s."

This Sunday marks the final week of our emphasis on stewardship of service. As I said in my sermon on Sunday, the point of this time is not to find volunteers to fill all the jobs around the church. Just as we see financial stewardship as a spiritual response to the freely given grace of God, this is about considering the way in which we use our hands and feet to serve in the same way. We give to God in response to what God gives to us and then we trust in God to transform what we give into things greater than we could ever imagine.

Not only does our service hold the promise of transforming the world in God’s name, it can transform us as well. It is my experience that people who find ministries of service that connect their God-given gifts and talents with the needs of the world are forever transformed and drawn closer to God.

The very day I was baptized, I was asked to by a member of my church to help out with the Sunday School program by becoming the Sunday School Superintendent. All I had to do was collect attendance sheets and offerings and make sure all the children’s classes had graham crackers and icewater. I was terrified! I thought for sure I would some how mess it up. That first service opportunity turned out to be one of the most important things I have ever done. Not only was it important because it follows Jesus’ instruction to care for the little ones (see Matthew 18) it was also important because it drew me closer to God and helped me to better understand my role as a servant.

I really want to challenge you this week to think about what God is calling you to. I believe that every member of Grace can turn in a commitment card this week, whether you are stepping forward for the first time to try a new ministry or simply committing to continue in a ministry you are already involved in. If you are already involved in ministry at Grace, maybe you will consider taking on something else. Might I suggest that if you are serving in a ministry within the church (reaching in), you consider trying one outside of the church (reaching out)? If you are serving outside of the church, perhaps you will consider something inside the church.

I am really excited about this Sunday. I am looking forward to the number of people who will step up in ministry. I am looking forward to how God will transform our commitments and truly help us to bring God’s love to the people who surround us. I am looking forward to how we will be transformed as well!

peace,

will

Sunday Music

Our praise band did a great song during the offering in 9:45 worship this week. It is a song they were working on and I asked if they might do it during our stewardship of service emphasis. It is not typical worship song since it is somewhat confessional nature. It asks the question, if we are truly the body of Christ, why aren't we doing more?

For those of you who attend 8:30 or 11:00 service, or those at 9:45 who didn't quite catch the lyrics, I am posting them here.

CASTING CROWNS- If We Are The Body
Album : Casting Crowns (2003)

It's crowded in worship today
as she slips in
trying to fade into the faces
the girls teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know
farther than they know

But if we are the body
why aren't his arms reaching
why aren't his hands healing
why aren't his words teaching
and if we are the body
why aren't his feet going
why is his love not showing them there is a way
there is a way

A traveler is far away from home
he sheds his coat
and quietly sinks into the back row
the weight of their judgmental glances tell him that his chances
are better out on the road

But if we are the body
why aren't his arms reaching
why aren't his hands healing
why aren't his words teaching
and if we are the body
why aren't his feet going
why is his love not showing them there is a way

Jesus paid much too high a price
for us to pick and choose who should come
and we are the body of Christ

But if we are the body
why aren't his arms reaching
why aren't his hands healing
why aren't his words teaching
and if we are the body
why aren't his feet going
why is his love not showing them there is a way

Jesus is the way


peace,

will

This Week's Sermon

This week is week two of our emphasis on stewardship of service. At Grace we will be talking about stewardship all year and talking about it in every form. Sometimes stewardship is limited to speaking about financial giving. However, when we join the United Methodist Church, we promise to support it with our prayers our presence our gifts and our service. Throughout the year, we will focus on each on each aspect.

You can read the sermon here:

Sermon #15 - "Servants of Christ - Reaching Out to Serve"

peace,

will

The End of an Era STOP

I guess the era was pretty much over since I had never actually sent or received one, but I was sort of sad to read today about the official end of the telegram. After 145 years, Western Union has stopped sending telegrams.

If you want to read more, there is an article on LiveScience.com.

It is not surprising. With cell phones, pagers, faxes, e-mail, instant messaging, fedex, ups, and a billion other ways to communicate instantly, it is hard to see where there would be a market for the telegram. I just always thought it would be cool to get a telegram. Had I known they were going to stop, I might have sent one to myself. STOP

peace,

will

Private Prayer and Home Worship

I was working on a devotional yesterday and I ended up getting completely sidetracked and thinking about private prayer and home worship. I started thinking about the fact that the corporate worship that we gather for on Sundays was developed with the assumption that those who attend spend some amount of time in personal prayer. In the Didache, believed to be one of the earliest set of written instructions on Christianity, Christians were instructed to prayer the Lord’s prayer three times a day. There are still Christians who follow this practice. There are other Christians who, while not being that rigorous or specific, take time for daily prayer. There are also Christians who are even more rigorous in their prayer life than those original instructions specify. Some pray for extended periods several times a day.

However, I know from experience dealing with Christians of different ages and at different stages of the journey that there are a quite a few people for whom personal prayer is not a part of their life. I have heard on more than one occasion from people who are faithful church members, people who come to worship nearly every week and who even have leadership roles in the church, statements like, “I only really pray when I need something.”

Now I am not writing this in an attempt to tell people to pray more (though that is a good idea). I was thinking about this in the context of the assumptions under which our model of corporate worship was developed. The things that we do on Sunday morning, the prayers, the music, the sermon, and the order of the whole thing are based in the historical tradition of the church. The way we worship was developed based on the assumption that most people had a serious prayer life.

Let me add something else to the mix. I was looking at my copy of the 1965 version of The Methodist Book of Worship, the predecessor to The United Methodist Book of Worship on which we base our worship services. The thing that was most noticeable was that the full name of the ’65 book is actually The Book of Worship for Church and Home. What is a little less noticeable is that within the pages of this book are resources for families to worship together, including “A Form for Family Prayer or Worship in a Small Group” and “Table Graces”. This book assumed not only private prayer, but family prayer and worship. Think about standing in a congregation and asking three questions. First, a show of hands for those who pray privately outside of worship. I bet there would be a lot of hands for that one. Second, a show of hands for those who pray as a couple or as a family. I guarantee there would be fewer hands for that one (especially if the pastor promised to close her eyes.) Third, a show of hands for those who worship as a family (as in read scripture, sings hymns and pray together.) Of course there might be some, but not a lot of hands for that one.

There may be a problem with the fact that since we still do worship basically the same way we have for years, we still assume that most people are doing those things. I think that this puts and awful lot of pressure on worship. Think about it. If Sunday is the only time that many people are worshipping and praying alone and as families, Sunday worship carries the whole weight and responsibility for the development of people’s relationship with God. All of that in one hour. Perhaps that has something to do with the fact that worship issues are so emotionally charged. Large arguments and even church splits happen over the specifics of worship, which makes a lot of sense if people consider that time their only time with God. If Sunday morning were my only time with God, I would want it to be perfect too!

Well that is more than I have to say in my average blog post. But I hope it will get you thinking about your own personal and family prayer and worship life. Perhaps it will get me thinking about more ways to help people be more intentional about their relationship with God the other six days a week.

peace,

will

Wireless in Austin

I have been out of town for a few days. I flew up to Buffalo to get my father and drive him to Austin. He is in poor health and he can get better care down here. So, I flew out Friday morning to Buffalo, left Friday night by car from Buffalo and got into Austin last night. Now I am waiting on a plane to fly back to Corpus and hopefully take a nap.

Just in case you keep track of these things, Austin's airport is probably the best place to wait for a plane. They have gourmet coffee, world class bbq and wireless internet. If it weren't for the security screening, it would be a pleasant place to hang out.

See ya back in Corpus.

peace,

will

Easily Offended? Some More Reading

I think people who are easily offended miss out on a lot of stuff. We all have certain areas that we are a little touchy about. In those areas of my life, I miss opportunities to broaden my perspective because I am too sensitive about the issue. For a lot of folks, religion is just such an area. There are certain boundaries that once people cross, our defense mechanisms kick in and we stop listening. What we miss out on in the realm of religion is the opportunity to see our faith from another point of view and perhaps deepen and strengthen our beliefs.

This is all a long way to get to talk about the latest book I have read Lamb, The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal, by Christopher Moore. It was a Christmas gift from my wife Alisha and it was recommended to her by a close friend. Let me start with this: based on what I started this entry with, if you are easily offended about issues related to religion, Christianity or anything faith related, perhaps this book is not for you. Christopher Moore is not a religious writer, nor is he trying to write about religion. He says clearly in his "afterword",

The book you have just read is a story. I made it up. It is not designed to change anyone’s beliefs or worldview, unless after reading it you’ve decided to be kinder to your fellow human beings (which is okay), or you decide you would like to try to teach yoga to an elephant, in which case, please get videotape.[1]

That aside, this is one of the funniest books I have read in a long time. However, it isn’t just humor at the expense of Jesus or Christianity. Moore takes a lighthearted guess at what Jesus younger years might have been like. He did some great research to try and make an educated guess based on what we do know about that time in that part of the world (he does a really great job with the different factions of Judaism present during Jesus’ time), but from there he just makes stuff up. Whether he intended to or not, he ends up doing some great theology. If you can read this book through non-sensitive eyes you might start to see some truth about Jesus in a new way. If nothing else, you will probably laugh out loud quite a bit.

If you have read or do read the book, I would love to hear your thoughts.

peace,

will

---

[1] Christopher Moore, Lamb, The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal, (New York: Harper Perennial, 2002-2004) 438

Updating the Profile

A couple people have pointed out that our new pup Violet was left out of my weblog profile on the right. It has been corrected. Thank you for noticing and no, I am still not going to change my picture.

peace,

will

A Day Off, Sort of...

Thank you to the United Methodist Women for leading worship in honor of United Methodist Women's Sunday. It was nice to sit back and participate in worship (mostly - I did have a few small parts.)

As a pastor, my opportunities to be in worship that I am not leading are limited, but there are some. When I go on retreat to Mt. Wesley for Covenant Connection, we have two worship services, each led by another member of my commissioning class. (I have to lead in a couple of months.) I also get worship at the monthly District Professionals Meetings. Pastors are very aware of their limited worship opportunities, so almost every gathering we have, administrative meetings, continuing education, etc. has a worship component. It is always very refreshing and it also opens my eyes and ears to new possibilities of worship.

I hope you are having a great week!

peace,

will

Will there be plenty of parking in the Kingdom of God?

Someone told me today that she had met a woman who had tried to come to church at Grace once. The woman said that she pulled into the parking lot but there was just nowhere to park, so she left. She hasn't come back and hasn't found another church yet. Often when I share stories like that, church people say, "What a great problem to have!" I understand where that comment comes from. With many churches and denominations shrinking, it is encouraging that we are dealing with not enough space. However, I do not think that this is a great problem to have. In fact, it is a really bad problem to have.

I feel like I say it all the time, but I did not find God in my life until I was 27. God reached out to me before I even knew it, but it was within the life and walls of the church that I truly began to allow God into my life. I choose my first church because I saw their sign on the street. I stayed because I felt welcomed and accepted. There was a place for me to park (a visitor spot right up front, which I didn't use because I didn't wanted anyone to know I was a visitor). There were plenty of seats in the back. There was room for me. Had there not been, I may have just gone home.

I believe God wants a relationship with every person on the planet. The church can be a vehicle for that relationship. For that to happen, the church must truly say, in word and deed, "Welcome, we have a place for you." No place to park sends the opposite message.

This post is a spontaneous reaction to the story I heard today. I don't know what we need to do to make more parking. (Though I am sure that could be figured out with some money.) What I am wondering at this moment is, even without more parking spots, what could we as individuals do if we really embraced how important it is that no one be turned away by a lack of place to park? I imagine we would be creative. I imagine more of us would park on the grass lot in the back. I bet some of us would carpool or ask our neighbors for a ride. I bet we would make some room.

Just a thought.

peace,

will

Busy Season

I realize that when asked, I tend to refer to the weeks following Christmas as sort of a down-time. I think I have told a number of people that it is a time to refresh and regroup after the busy Christmas season. I realize that there is actually very little truth to that. January is always busy.

The first few weeks of the year are actually some of the most important weeks in the life of a large church like Grace. Now is the time when we set the momentum for the whole year. If, in January, we fail to make plans and help others embrace those plans, the momentum of the year just catches up with us and we have trouble making new things happen

It is not that there is anything wrong with the old things. It is just that there is always more to do. There are always opportunities for people to train and inspire others to start new ministries, or hand off current ministries to new hands so that we can start new ones.

Our next big emphasis at Grace, starting in just a couple of weeks will be a focus on getting every member of the church involved in ministry. I say it over and over, Christianity is not a spectator sport. However, as a pastor, I never do a good enough job of helping people get connected to ministries that connect their gifts and passions to true human needs. When that connection gets made, ministry happens. I hope you can get connected, or reconnected this year!

Personally, I am taking seriously a challenge from one of my colleagues. He reminded me the other day to lead from my strengths. One of my greatest strengths is in the area of teaching, so starting in February, I am offering a four week course called, "The Bible from Scratch - The New Testament for Beginners." This is one of my favorite short-courses to teach because it is specifically designed for people who haven't done adult Bible study before. Watch this space and the church's newsletter for the details.

I am really excited about this new year and all the ministry possibilities at Grace. I hope you will be too!

peace,

will

Monday Greetings

Today is officially Martin Luther King day. I am out of the office today, but not properly celebrating the holiday, but rather just catching up on some stuff I haven't had time to get done over the last few weeks. You know, the stuff we all look forward to: straightening the garage, running errands, etc. Fun, fun, fun.

Whatever you are doing today, I hope we all have a chance to, at least briefly, consider the dream of peace, justice and equality Dr. King had.

peace,

will

My Job Workshop

I am spending most of today getting ready for the Corpus Christi District "My Job Workshop" this Saturday here at Grace. This is an annual training event for church leaders. It is set at the time of the year when committee leaders and members are moving into their new roles. Some of the sessions are directed toward specific committee functions, such as worship or trustees, some are more general, such as the session on conflict resolution.

I am leading a session called "The Ministry of Worship – How To Be in Partnership With Your Pastor.” The basic idea of the session is to look at what lay people can do to help their pastor create excellent worship.

You don't have to be on any committees to come to the event. Everyone is welcome this Saturday morning at 8:45. It is all free. Here are some of the other topics of some of the sessions: Becoming a Church of Irresitible Influence, Conflict Resolution for the Enlightened Amateur, PPRC/SPRC, Trustees, Disaster Preperation, Response and Recovery, Youth Ministry, Older Adult Ministry, Finance, Godly Play (Children's Ministry), Starting an Endowment Fund and two session offered by Conference Board of Church and Society: In Search of Security and Hot Topics in the Social Principles.

I hope to see you Saturday!

peace,

will

This Week's Sermon

I am back from Mt. Wesley and finally had time to make to text version of my sermon more like the one I actually said aloud. Sometimes there are very few differences. Others, like this week different words come out. For some reason (hopefully a Spirit led reason) I added a section in the middle and dropped what had been the end. Anyway, here it is:

Sermon #14 - Broken Glass and Wisemen

Your comments are always welcome.

peace,

will

Is it time already?

I am back off to Kerrville this morning for another Covenant Connection retreat. (If you missed the post about what that it, you can find it here.) I haven't finished editing my sermon from Sunday yet. It turned out quite a bit different from my original manuscript. I will try to post it when I get back tomorrow.

peace,

will

Italian court to decide, about Jesus?

Don't worry, no matter what the Italian court decides, God has the final say. This is an interesting article:

Did Jesus exist? Italian court to decide

peace,

will

Worship This Sunday

Here is what is going on this Sunday

Scripture: Isaiah 60:1-6
Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon Title: Broken Lights and Wise Men

Are you still celebrating Christmas? As I walk through my neighborhood, I see a lot of Christmas trees out at the curb. Some people take down their decorations early because they just like to get them put away. For others, the celebration of Christmas is cut short by the realities of life. However, Christmas is not over. This Sunday, we rejoice in the final Sunday of the Church’s celebration of Christmas, The Epiphany of the Lord.

The celebration of Epiphany is actually older than Christmas. It originally focused on the nativity, incarnation and Baptism of Christ. In the modern church, it mostly focuses on the coming of the three wise men or magi who brought gifts to the Christ child. The story of the wise men is fairly well known, but there is more to it than most of us know. I believe that in it, is a word of hope that holds true even when the joy of Christmas is interrupted by the harsh realities of life.

I hope you will join us as we celebrate one last day of Christmas together.

peace,

will

Happy New Year Part II

So, did you make any New Year's resolutions? People who survey these sorts of things say that losing weight and getting in shape top the list of resolutions this year. Quitting smoking has been on the top of the list for years, but since the prevalence of smoking has gone down 47 percent between 1965 and 2002, the number of people to make that resolution has gone down significantly.

Statistically, people have a lot of trouble keeping resolutions, but that is no reason not to try, as long as your expectations are realistic. I have fallen into a pattern of making the same resolution every year. For the last few years I have resolved to work on deepening my relationship with God. How much success I have with that varies from year to year, but I still think it is a good resolution. If you think about it scripturally and theologically, it is a resolution that encompasses almost any other good resolution you might make. If I am truly working to deepen my relationship with God, even without resolving to, I will think about my health since I will remember that my very life is a gift from God. I will probably lose weight, because I will remember, from time to time, that my joy comes from God, not from donuts. (Though I do love a good donut.) I will find time to volunteer to help others, since love of neighbor is a natural extension of love of God. I will spend time trying to improve my finances, because stewardship of my own money makes it easier for me to give money for God's purposes. I will recycle, because I will remember what a unique gift from God this planet is and I will want it to last.

I imagine, if you think about it, whatever resolution you have made will fall under deepening your relationship with God. So, where to start? Coming to church can help, although it isn't the only way, nor is it enough. You can read scripture. The Upper Room has some ways to help you with that. You can take time, every day to pray. There are lots of ways to get at that, one of my favorites is Sacred Space. If you like their website, they also have a book out. If none of that works for you, go outside and spend some time just being in God's presence of stay inside, find a quiet place and just practice being quiet. You be surprised what God might have to say to you if you could just be quiet long enough.

I wish you much success on all your New Year's resolutions and peace and joy for a new year.

will

Happy New Year

It occurs to me that I haven't posted to wish everyone a Happy New Year. It is all the rage in the blogosphere (I didn't make that word up, yet it isn't in the dictionary yet. It refers to the global collection of weblogs.) to post some year ending or year beginning thoughts. My friend Jen listed all the things she was thankful for in 2005. Many have written about their resolutions for 2006. I am not going to do either. It is not that I am not thankful or that I don't have any thoughts about the coming year. It is just that as I look back over the postings for the last few months, I see I have already done my share of philosophizing and if you go to the sermon page, you can find plenty of preaching. Therefore, I will just wish you a very happy and blessed New Year full of the knowledge and love of God.

peace,

will

Getting some reading done

I said I was going to find some time to read this week. It mostly happened today. I finished Donald Miller's Searching for God Knows What. Some people are more familiar with Miller from his book Blue Like Jazz. That book is also on my stack, but I haven't read it yet.

I really liked this book, but it was challenging. I can't say I agree with everything Miller says, but I am really inspired by what he is trying to do and how is going about it. If I had to describe the author in one word, it would be "unpredictable." He comes from a conservative evangelical background. What makes him unpredictable is how he holds on to some conservative and evangelical ideas while rejecting others. That is what makes this book so interesting. With a lot of Christian authors, you can easily label them as liberal or conservative a know where they are going to go in the book. Miller doesn't let himself get so easily labeled. If you consider yourself religiously conservative, he is likely to offend you. If you consider yourself religiously liberal, he is likely to offend you. I like that. It makes you think.

That all fits with what it seems he is trying to do. Miller to trying to make and argument against formulaic religion and for relational Christianity. Like a good preacher, he makes relating to God much less complicated and much more challenging. He starts in a great place as well, back in the Garden of Eden.

If you do opt to read this one, read it with an open mind and a critical mind. You don't have to agree with everything he writes, even if he writes it well. I don't particularly agree with his thoughts on authorship of some parts of the Bible. But, in the end the book was certainly worth reading.

As always I love your thoughts. If you read the book many months from now, feel free to just e-mail me and let me know what you think.

peace,

will

Silly Putty

In an effort to thwart any attempt to guess what might appear on this blog...

Did you know that you can buy Silly Putty in bulk? If you don't remember, Silly Putty is the super versatile, if not completely useless, clay like substance that can be formed into any number of shapes and can also miraculously copy cartoons right out of the Sunday funnies. When I was a kid, it came in a little plastic egg. It still does but know you can buy it in bulk! The stuff in now available in 5 pound bulk packs. You can also buy a case of 100 of the little plastic eggs.

For many, this may beg the question, "so what?" or the more thoughtful, "who needs that much Silly Putty?" Both are valid questions and I currently have no answers. Some of us are just mesmerized by things that come in large quantities. You know the type whose jaw drops in Sam's Club at the idea of buying 500 roles of toilet paper or a five pound bucket of dishwasher detergent.

If a little plastic egg full was fun, 5 pounds must be off the charts. This type of fun is not for the stingy like myself though. Five pounds of original goes for $76.99 and if you want the fancy new kind that changes colors, get ready to cough up $152.99. Shipping is free though! If you just can't help yourself, here is the link:

Silly Putty Store at CrayolaStore.com

peace,

will

This I Believe

National Public Radio is doing a series called "This I Believe" which invites people, celebrities and others to reflect on their faith. I have really enjoyed listening to and reading these and I wanted to share two of them.

"How Is It Possible to Believe in God?" by William F. Buckley, Jr.
"Be Cool to the Pizza Dude" by Sarah Adams

If you go to either essay, you can link to the rest of the essays in the series and enter your own if you like.

peace,

will

Taking a breath...

Many pastors take vacation the week after Christmas. It is a good idea. The weeks before Christmas can be quite exhausting. It is not just preparing for Christmas services, although that can be quite a bit of work. The fall of the year in the church is one of the busiest times. Here at Grace it seems like a pretty straight run from the pumpkin patch right to Christmas day. Fall also brings some extra work for pastors in our commitment to the larger connectional church. We have to get ready for our annual Charge Conference and there are evaluations from the district that must be completed.

Whether a pastor chooses to go on vacation, or stick around the office like I am doing, the week after Christmas is a week to take a breath. For me, it is about looking over some of the things that just didn't get done over the last couple of months. There are things I can go back and do, and others that I will just have to let go of. It is also about getting some reading done. It is a very important part of my life and work to keep reading. As a pastor, if I don't input new things into my brain, I will eventually run out of meaningful things to say.

I know that a lot of people are worn out. Fall and the Christmas season can be overwhelming for lots of reasons. There is the stress of too much to do, too much to buy and too many places to be. For some, Christmas holds unique stresses related to family and friends who are either too far away or too close.

Here's hoping that we can all find some rest and peace.

blessings,

will

Christmas Day Sermon

It was a very short one...

Sermon #13 - Christmas Day - "Rejoice"

A wonder filled Christmas

I haven't had a chance yet to reflect on the Christmas Eve or Christmas Day worship. John and I were overwhelmed by the turnout. I don't have the exact numbers, but I believe we had around 580 on Christmas Eve alone. We were really pleasantly surprised by the group we had Christmas morning. We really thought it would be a small group, but the sanctuary was full for worship!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, some churches opted to close on Christmas day. I really think that was a mistake. Certainly there are people who will come on Christmas Eve and spend Christmas day with their families, and that is perfectly alright. But obviously there are some people who wanted to begin the day by praising God and celebrating Christmas in worship.

Here is the next question. What do we do next year. This year, we had the unique situation of Christmas Day on Sunday. Next year, Christmas Eve will be on Sunday. Will people want to come on Christmas Eve morning for Sunday worship and then come back at night for Christmas Eve service? Fortunately we have a few months to work that out.

As always, I love to hear your thoughts.

peace,

will

Settling in..

Violet is settling in nicely. She likes her new home. (She has kicked Bodhi out of his bed.)

New addition...

If you read the Caller Times you may have seen Violet in Friday's paper. She was displaced from a shelter when Katrina hit. She is now living at our house. We will officially adopt her next week. She is as sweet as can be and she and Bodhi are getting along fine!

I will have some more photos once she settles down a little. (Moving day excitement makes it hard to get a focused picture.)

peace,

will

On a lighter note...

Why is it that dogs hate hats so much?

More Working, Less Blogging

This week before Christmas has kept me away from the blog. It really has been a busy time. Christmas Eve services always take a lot more time to prepare than other worship services. If you notice, most worship services at Grace follow a particular pattern. A lot of preparing the service involves filling in parts of that pattern with things that are appropriate for the season, the scripture and the sermon. If you are here on Christmas Eve, you will see that we have changed the pattern quite a bit because of the unique nature of the Christmas Eve services. What is unique about it? First of all, the narrative telling of the Christmas story is central. (Don't be thrown by the word "story". I am not implying anything, it is just how to I refer to the words that describe Jesus' birth.) In the case of these services, you will see that everything liturgically and musically focuses on that. Second, a lot of people who come on Christmas Eve are coming for the first time or coming after some time away. Even more so than on other Sundays, we want to reflect in every thing that we do, that they are welcome and that we have made a special place for them.

I hope YOU join us!

peace,

will

The Sounds of Christmas

I was blessed last night to hear the Christmas Cantada performed by the Grace UMC choir with a wonderful prelude from the handbell choir. I mentioned during worship yesterday and before last night's performance that there are a number of ways that we hear the message of Christmas. We hear it in the reading of scripture. We hear it differently in the words of sermons and devotions about those scriptures. We also hear the message in our traditions. Often, when we look to the root of the traditions surrounding Christmas, we realize that they are ways to retell the story in actions instead of words, or make the message tangible through physical means. (That's what gift-giving is all about.) As I mentioned in a post a couple of weeks ago, our decorations, in that case the nativity, can be a retelling of the stories without words and a sharing of the message. Many of us most clearly hear the message of Christmas through music. Music has the amazing power of speaking directly to our hearts, helping us to understand something that we can't quite grasp with our heads.

I will never forget, as a young boy, standing outside in the freezing cold of a Western New York winter in front of the United Methodist Church down the street from my home. My oldest sister was singing "Silent Night" as part of what I think was a live nativity. I remember being moved by the sounds I heard, but not knowing why.

Music is one way that we can shed that impulse to think we must understand something for God to be moving in us. As United Methodists, we believe in prevenient grace, that idea that long before we go searching for God, God is reaching out to us, seeking to draw us close, just waiting for us to reach back. As I think about that moment and that music, I sense God's wonder in it and consider how that worked in my heart for decades before I reached back and accepted the love that God had always offered me.

It is a humbling thought as John and I prepare for Christmas services. We will plan and fuss over all the words and what order to put them in. We will consider every last detail, hoping to share the glorious message of Christmas and God will gently whisper through it all reaching out for people in ways we just can't imagine.

peace and Merry Christmas,

will

Getting Ready For Christmas

Are you falling into that last minute rush toward Christmas? I feel especially calm this year but there are still parties to prepare for, gifts to wrap, services to plan and a sermon to write. Online shopping has certainly taken a lot of pressure off of present buying. Although I often have a last minute thought, my shopping is pretty much done.

Pastor John will be preaching Christmas Eve and I will be preaching Christmas morning. It is taking me a while to think about how to plan Christmas morning. I know most of our regular worshippers will come on Christmas Eve and spend Christmas morning with their families. Others will be out of town. As I am thinking about the service, I am thinking about who might be there and what message God might have for them.

I remember when I first became a Christian, I was living by myself. I had family in the same city but we weren't planning on getting together until Christmas dinner. Begin a new and excited (and naive) Christian I thought I would get up Christmas morning and go to church (it wasn't on Sunday that year). I was somewhat taken aback that not only did my church not have service, I couldn't find any church that did. When your church family is your family, it seems sad not to spend Christmas with them.

This is not an attempt to guilt you into going to church on Christmas morning. Christmas Eve will certainly suffice. I am just saying, I am glad that we will be here for those who want to be here.

peace,

will

(by the way, on Christmas morning, we will have one service at 10:00)

Poll Finds Most Americans Believe God Exists

Gallup just released a new survey that shows that 94% of Americans believe that God exists.

You can read about it here:

Gallup: Poll Finds Americans' Belief in God Remains Strong

I haven't seen the text of Gallup's release, but the article uses "believe in God" synonymously with "think God exists." I don't think those are necessarily the same. It may sound nitpicky, but it is something to think about. Is it possible to think God exists and still not believe in God? I think so. I think I spent much of my life in that place. If pressed, I certainly would have said I believe God exists, however, I was not ready to believe in any picture of God that was presented to me.

One of my seminary professors defined an atheist as one who had yet to be presented with an image of God that they could accept. I believe atheists would disagree with that, but it makes a good point. 94% of Americans think that God exists, but yet 14% of Americans do not follow any organized religion. That means there are more Americans who don't follow an organized religion than there are United Methodists, Episcopalian and Lutherans combined.[1]

It seems that our goal then, in reaching out to the unchurched is not about getting people to believe that God exists, but to see an understanding of God that makes them want to believe in God, to put their trust in God.

Just a thought. In a related statistic. God still believes in 100% of us.

peace,

will

[1] Cathy Grossman, "Charting the unchurched in America," USA Today, 2002-MAR-7, at: http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/110249542.html?

This week's sermon

This week's sermon "C is For ?" is now posted at gracesermons.blogspot.com.

Feel free to post comments here. This sermon was really a joy to preach. I never know how well it will translate when read, but I know that not everyone can be in worship. I hope you are able to get something from it.

Just a reminder, weekly sermons (John's and mine) are available in the glassway here at Grace each week.

peace,

will

Church on Christmas

It doesn't happen very often, but this is one of those years that Christmas falls on a Sunday. We will have four services on Christmas Eve but only one on the Sunday of Christmas morning. I was reading in The New York Times this morning that some churches has given up on Christmas day all together.

When Christmas Falls on Sunday, Megachurches Take the Day Off

I would be interested to hear what you all think about this.

peace,

will

Home For Christmas Cards

Note: This will be in this Sunday's bulletin, but I wanted to post it here as well.

will

Home for Christmas Initiative: Together, We Can Extend a Warm Welcome

Help us invite people to “come home for Christmas” here at Grace on December 24.

Research shows that more people visit a church for the first time on Christmas Eve than at any other time of the year. That makes Christmas Eve one our best opportunities to help connect people with Christ and the grace he bestows.

During the worship services this Sunday, December 11th, you are invited to provide us with names and addresses of at least three households that do not regularly attend any church. We will mail these families personal invitations to the Christmas Eve services here at Grace. Please note: we will not use your name in any way in the invitations we send.

However, if you feel comfortable doing so, you may hand deliver or mail our beautiful Home for Christmas postcards located in the glassway. This second contact of a personally signed card often accomplishes what the less personal invitation from the church could not. Research shows that 85 percent of people who attend church visited the first time because someone they knew invited them

Whether or not you choose to send personal invitations, please come prepared to give us some names and addresses to go on the church’s invitation list. They can be neighbors, friends at work or school, relatives, people with whom you socialize, people you know in school or community organizations and clubs, customers and clients. (Do not include names of our own inactive members; we already have those.)

Please include the people you are submitting to our invitation list in your daily prayers. Ask God to use our invitation as an effective outreach to your friends. By working together we can get the word out to the largest possible number of people that “there is room at the inn” this Christmas Eve.

I think they made a movie about this...

According to Guardian Unlimited from Great Britain, there is a giant asteroid hurtling toward earth that could crash right into us in just 31 years.

You can read the article here:

It's called Apophis. It's 390m wide. And it could hit Earth in 31 years time

I am not all that alarmed, mostly because 31 years is a long time from now. What I find compelling about this is the fact that we know about it. If you know anything about astronomy (which I know exceedingly little) you know that it is quite miraculous that we can even see something just 390 meters wide this far away and it is almost unbelievable that we can make a guess about where it might be going.

If you don't know much more astronomy or space in general, let me put it in perspective. We are not exactly sure how many planets are in our solar system. If you don't believe me, see Solar System Surprise: A New View of What's Out There at Space.com.

Space is really, really big and really hard to figure out, so I am quite impressed that someone has figured out that an asteroid might run into us in 31 years. But, I am still not worried about it.

Speaking of space, I am worried about this: According to an op-ed piece by Nicolas D. Kristof in Monday's New York Times, about one-fifth of Americans still think the Sun goes around the Earth. (See The Hubris of the Humanities) (This is posted on Times Select subscription service, but there is a copy of it posted here - though I make no warranties about what else in on that site) By the way, let's be clear, the Earth and the other planets do revolve around the Sun, we are pretty sure about that.

Enough about space, back to working on this week's sermon. I promise it won't be so "spacey."

peace,

will

Some More Light Reading

A while back, I promised to post something about every book I read. I haven't forgotten, I just haven't been getting through books as fast as usual.

I just finished Bill Bryson's masterpiece A Short History of Nearly Everything. The title is more descriptive than you can imagine. Bryson takes a scientific stroll from the beginning of the universe to the present day with stops along the way to give the reader a basic understanding of physics, chemistry, paleontology, genetics and I am sure a few more sciences I have forgotten. Bryson is not a scientist, he is a writer and that is what makes the book so fantastic.

What I kept thinking throughout the book was, "I sure wish he had been my high school science teacher." Bill Bryson has a knack for making anything interesting. If you are a fan of any of his other books, you may know what I mean. (In his book A Walk in the Woods he made his failed attempt to hike the Appalachian trail fascinating.) He does more than share the facts, he tells stories, a lot of stories about the quite peculiar people he have discovered some of the most important things in our history.

A couple of words of warning about this book. First, Bryson is attempting to share an overview of the scientific understanding of the history of our planet. He is not thinking at all about theology. There is no mention of God's part in creation, not even a fleeting wondrous mention. He also states some pretty clear views on the creation of the universe and evolution. If you are easily offended by this sort of thing, this might not be the book for you. It would be easy to argue with some of his points on a theological basis, but I don't know that I would want him to argue with my sermons on a scientific basis.

Second, this book may have the consequence of making you feel amazingly small, but that sort of thing happens when you consider the total of all creation.

Happy reading.

peace,

will

A Little "Holiday Spirit"

Evidence that I am not a total scrooge. While it is true that I don't have 15,000 lights not a waving Santa on the roof, there are now lights at the parsonage. If you look closely you will also see an inflatable reindeer on the porch.

peace,

will

Oh, by the way...

For those of you who were getting the impression that I am a total scrooge, Alisha and I got our Christmas tree yesterday and most of the lights are up in the yard. I will post some pictures.

peace,

will

More Christmas Thoughts

I have been absent from the blog for a few days, a little under the weather. I came across this in the New York Times this morning.

This Season's War Cry: Commercialize Christmas, or Else
By ADAM COHEN

You may not agree with Cohen's tone or all his points but he may cause you to stop and think. There is a lot of outcry right now about retailers saying "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." Personally, I am less worried about what Target is doing about Christmas and more worried about what the church, whose mission isn't retail, but rather changing lives in the name of Jesus, is doing.

Just something to think about.

peace,

will

Nativity Sets?

I invite you, before reading the rest of this post to read the story of Christmas, according to the author of St. Luke:

Luke 2:1-14, New Revised Standard Version

I don’t have a nativity set in my house. My lack of clarity and decisiveness on the matter of buying one is the subject of some amount stress for my wife. I will occasionally find the perfect set and tell Alisha I am going to buy it and then I don’t. When she asks me why, I usually say, “Because it misses the point.”

When I decide to buy one, I am thinking about one of two things.

One is that looking at a beautifully crafted set reminds me of the joy and mystery of the gift of Jesus. When I see one that is handcrafted, I am moved by the gifts of the artist and how she used those gifts to lovingly craft this re-presentation of this wondrous scene.

I also think about the fact that people are learn differently and are moved differently. While some may begin to understand the grace of God through words of scripture or the words of a sermon, some may get the message of grace much more clearly by looking at the scene of Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus.

When I was a child, my only hearing of the Christmas story was setting up the nativity scene and asking my Mother what all the pieces meant.

When I decide not to buy the nativity scene, I am thinking about something else. When I consider not just the birth of Jesus, but the life of Jesus and the death of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus and the ascension of Jesus and the promised return of Jesus, can I imagine that Jesus would wish me to respond by buying an expensive collection of plastic, wood, resin or clay?

I am caught in the tension between celebrating and sharing the gift or just trying to simply live it out. Perhaps I will buy a nativity set this year, but perhaps instead of being made of plaster and wood, it will be made out of insecticide treated bed nets that will help Africans prevent the spread of Malaria or maybe it will be made out of food to feed refugees of the latest earthquake. Perhaps it won’t be on my mantle reminding me about the meaning of Christmas, it will be out in the world showing others God’s love through simple acts of human love.

In reflecting on the story of Christmas, Ted Wardlaw, president of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary recently wrote, “We often want to spray shellac over this story and treat it like an artifact that we place on our shelves with all the other curios and memorabilia. But if this story becomes too timeless—too hermetically sealed, too untouchable—then it loses its ability to surprise us, and thus to invade our lives until it touches each one of us.”[1]

Whether we have a nativity set or not, whether it is new and represents another way to remember and celebrate or it is old and holds with it memories of Christmases past, I think it is important to remember what it is and consider why we have it.

And as we share the stories of Christmas, I think it is important to not see them as artifacts, but as living words that shape not just our holiday decorating, but our very lives.

I invite you to pause for a moment and read again Luke’s Christmas story, this time from Eugene Peterson’s The Message. Let it come alive in you and then, in the silence, think about how it may be alive for you this year.

Luke 2:1-14, The Message

peace,

will

---

[1] Ted Wardlaw, “Luke 2:1-20”, In This Season, 2005 Advent Reflections from the Austin Seminary Community

This Week's Sermon

Here is the sermon from this past Sunday.

Sermon #11 - What Are We Waiting For?

As always, your thoughts and comments are always welcome!

peace,

will

And So This is Christmas Pt. II

Now with live video.

And So This is Christmas

A few images of the season... All courtesy of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel of Black Friday shopping at the Sawgrass Mills Mall.

Happy Thanksgiving

I want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving and share a little thought about the day from Ben Franklin from The Compleated Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin.

It seems that Thanksgiving was originally proposed as a day of fast, not of feast. You can thank "a farmer of plain sense" that you are enjoying a table full of food instead of spending the day hungry. The idea is still the same, taking a day to remember where all our blessings come from.

peace,

will

The Real Story of the First Thanksgiving
By Benjamin Franklin (1785)

“There is a tradition that in the planting of New England, the first settlers met with many difficulties and hardships, as is generally the case when a civiliz’d people attempt to establish themselves in a wilderness country. Being so piously dispos’d, they sought relief from heaven by laying their wants and distresses before the Lord in frequent set days of fasting and prayer. Constant meditation and discourse on these subjects kept their minds gloomy and discontented, and like the children of Israel there were many dispos’d to return to the Egypt which persecution had induc’d them to abandon.

“At length, when it was proposed in the Assembly to proclaim another fast, a farmer of plain sense rose and remark’d that the inconveniences they suffer’d, and concerning which they had so often weary’d heaven with their complaints, were not so great as they might have expected, and were diminishing every day as the colony strengthen’d; that the earth began to reward their labour and furnish liberally for their subsistence; that their seas and rivers were full of fish, the air sweet, the climate healthy, and above all, they were in the full enjoyment of liberty, civil and religious.

“He therefore thought that reflecting and conversing on these subjects would be more comfortable and lead more to make them contented with their situation; and that it would be more becoming the gratitude they ow’d to the divine being, if instead of a fast they should proclaim a thanksgiving. His advice was taken, and from that day to this, they have in every year observ’d circumstances of public felicity sufficient to furnish employment for a Thanksgiving Day, which is therefore constantly ordered and religiously observed.”

Promises to Keep

One of the things I miss about living in Austin was how easy it was to see fascinating people speak. Between three seminaries, a giant university, the state capital and a bunch of funky bookstores, there was always an opportunity to see authors, theologians, politicians and self-proclaimed philosophers sharing something.

Of course, this happens in Corpus Christi as well, you just have to look a little harder to find it. We had Paul R. Dirdak, from the UMC General Board of Global Ministries just this week. And on Sunday, December 4th at 7 p.m., another great opportunity presents itself. St. John's UMC (5300 Alameda - between Airline and Ennis Joslin) is presenting a talk from Holocaust Survivor Ernest Michel.

Mr. Michel spend six years in some of the Nazi's most notorious concentration camps. He also served as a special correspondent at the Neuremberg War Crimes Trial and is now an author, lecturer and community leader.

This will be worth the short drive. I hope to see you there.

peace,

will

Bishop's Thanksgiving Service

Thanks to everyone from Grace who attended the Bishop's Annual Thanksgiving Service at First UMC. It was a great worship service and it was wonderful to hear from The Rev. Paul R. Dirdak, deputy general secretary of the General Board of Global Ministries. He spoke about all the amazing things The United Methodist Committee on Relief is doing throughout the world.

Although I have been accused of talking about UMCOR too much, most of us don't know a lot about the relief efforts they are involved in throughout the world. UMCOR is a well respected, well run humanitarian agency and we all should be proud of their work.

Check out the work they are involved in at The General Board of Global Ministries Website.

peace,

will

Intelligent Design? The Vatican Weighs in Again

You may have read earlier in the month ("Now how about that...") A post about a Catholic cardinal coming out in support of Darwin's Theory of Evolution. Well now another Vatican official weighs in on the issue:

Vatican Official Refutes Intelligent Design

What I find most exciting about this is that we seem to be getting a rare glimpse into the Vatican's discussion of this issue. If you do a google news search on the topic, (let me point out, if you know how to do a google news search, you are a geek, welcome to my club) you will find that there have been a number of news stories about statements from a number of high ranking Catholics sharing some views that are not entirely compatible. That is wonderful to watch. Say what you want about the Catholic church, they have some of the greatest theologians of our age and it is a shame when they we don't get to hear their views because they are shielded behind the publicly released opinion of only the Pope.

This may sound terribly boring to some, but this is really important stuff. How we think about creation, how we think about evolution, and how we consider God's role in all this can greatly affect how we do science and how we treat our world and each other.

peace,

will

Charge Conference Tonight

Tonight is Grace UMC's annual Charge Conference. For those of you who aren't Methodists or just haven't heard about his aspect of the life of this denomination, a brief explanation. The United Methodist Church is a connectional church. Although each church is a fairly independent unit, we are all part of the national church. One way to see this is to think of non-denominational churches on one hand, who are not necessarily responsible to anyone other than themselves (and God of course) and, on the other hand, the Catholic Church which has a very top-down administration. United Methodists are somewhere in between.

One way this connection is shown most clearly is in the appointment of pastors. John and I are appointed by the Bishop of the Southwest Texas Conference and that is who we technically work for. We are not hired by the church, though the church does get a lot of say in what kind of pastors it will get.

The other way the connection is visible is in the annual Charge Conference. Every year each United Methodist congregation is required to call a Charge Conference and it is required that the District Superintendent is present. She (in our case Rev. Barbara Ruth) represents the Bishop and the Annual Conference at the meeting. There is certain business that can only be done at the Charge Conference. Most of the really big decision of the church must be voted on in the presence of the District Superintendent or her representative. These include buying of selling land, building new structures, and setting the salary of the pastors (who technically work for the Annual Conference, but are paid by the church.)

Some of this might just be too much information. But I encourage you, if you are around to come by. Only the Church Council votes at this meeting, but anyone is welcome. A lot of this stuff can seem pretty mundane, but it is how our church works and all of this is necessary business so our church can carry out is mission of worshipping and serving God and loving and serving each other.

And I always love questions about how the church works, feel free to ask.

peace,


will

Will the real Goliath please stand up?

I was just sent a link to an interesting article on MSNBC about a little biblical archeology.

Scientists find ‘Goliath’ inscribed on pottery

enjoy,

will

Sermon Posts - A Little Easier to Navigate

Thanks to a wise suggestion, I have made some minor changes to the page where I post the sermons. It is now a lot easier to navigate, though I am still working on making it easier to print.

http://gracesermons.blogspot.com/

peace,

will

This week's sermon

Is now posted here.

The sermon was a little different at each service. If you were at 9:45 you will notice that there is quite a bit of stuff in the manuscript that you didn't hear. I had to cut quite a bit for time.

You comments are always welcome.

peace,

will

Blessing of the Animals

Here is a photo of Pastor John laying hands on Pat Pike's dog (I am sorry I don't know Pat's dog's name) during the blessing of the animals.

We had a much larger turn out than expected and it was a wonderful time. If you didn't get a chance to come, don't worry. We are already planning for next year.

peace,

will

Now how about that...

I just came across this in the news...

Evolution in the bible, says Vatican

It is a very short article and worth the read.

peace,

will

Biblical History in the News

For graduates of Disciple I, those taking it now or anyone as fascinated by Old Testament history as I am, you may find this article from Reuters India interesting.

Israel agrees not to convert 'lost tribe' in India

It is too tempting to see the scriptures of the Old Testament dry and irrelevant, but the history and theology of the scripture are still at work in our world today.

(and how cool is it that we can read news from India as easily as we can read news from Corpus Christi?)

peace,

will

Getting ready for Sunday

It has actually been a few Sundays since I last preached. It was just a calendar thing. There was no sermon for our celebration Sunday and then we had Reformation Sunday and All Saints Sunday, two days that John really gets into. Of course the Senior Pastor gets to preach on his favorite days and I am quite alright with that. It actually works out well for John and I. John really loves the special Sundays in the life of the church. He loves things like All Saints and World Communion Sunday. I, on the other hand, really like the "ordinary" Sundays. I like the Sundays that have nothing particularly attached to them. I love starting my worship planning with no real idea of what the message is going to be about. For me, on most Sundays, the message I start hearing in the scripture for that day begins to shape not only the sermon, but the hymns and the prayers and the liturgy. Of course, we do the same thing on "special" Sundays, it is just that we start those with a theme already in mind.

This week, the scripture that is forming Sunday's worship is Matthew 25:14-30. It is the parable of the talents. This is a very unnerving sort of parable for some. Over the last week, I have been wrestling with it quite a bit trying to see what message it might have for us this week. You will have to check back to see how it goes.

peace,

will

Blessing of ALL the animals...

Bodhi was so inspired by the Blessing of the Animals today at Grace, that he tried to pass the love of God along to a skunk in the backyard. The skunk, not realizing that Bodhi was attempting to share the love of God, thought it was simply being chased by a big dog and did what skunks in that position very often do. The skunk sprayed Bodhi. And Bodhi smelled very, very bad. This is him after a very, very, very long bath that involved several gallons of dog shampoo, some peroxide, baking soda, dish detergent and everything else we found under the sink that we thought wouldn't harm him.

We are feeling (and smelling) much better. Remember, skunks are God's creatures too. Just stay away from them anyway.

peace,

will

Back to Kerrville

I took a couple of days off after post 100. Thanks for the comments! Don't forget to tell your friends.

I am off again on Monday to Kerrville. In case you missed the post about why I go there every six weeks, you can read it here.

I will probably need to pack some warm stuff. It gets pretty cold up there in the fall and the heat in the rooms is fairly non-existent. Perhaps my sunburn from Friday's day at the beach will keep me warm.

peace,

will