The Pastorate - Eight Months Check-In

As I reflect on the first eight (8) months as a part-time UMC pastor (part-time LOL), I realize that seminary doesn't offer a practical view or seminar on the pastorate.  As I thought back to my first year of seminary in 2001, there was an orientation seminar about "So you have been called to Pastor".  I took the seminar because I knew God had called me to the pastorate.  Wow, it has taken 11 years but God opened the door.

 As I journeyed through seminary, I forgot about the seminar and when I returned to my home church, the pastorate was so far from my view.  I thought I didn't hear God right when God called me to pastor.  Since I saw nothing was changing in my local church, I started working on my craft: preaching, teaching and writing.  Although I'm a tech geek, I didn't integrate technology into proclamation.  I've read books about revitalizing the church and how our spiritual gifts are used in the building of God's Kingdom on earth.  

During my waiting period I kept educating and positioning myself to be in places where I could learn even if I was not taught. In the areas where I had influence in leadership I was able to be pastor.  I counseled, prepared a budget, created presentations, raised funds for ministry in addition to preaching, teaching, stewardship and missions.  What I learned by asking, watching and reading helped me to be prepared for the pastorate.  

Being pastor has it challenges.  There will be people who will find fault with the pastor because they can't control the pastor.  There will be people who will catch the vision and move because they are ready for growth.  There will be people who will not appreciate the gifts the pastor brings into ministry.  Being pastor is more than taking our ideas, visions and dreams and making them the churches ideas, visions and dreams.  When the pastor and people work on the common areas there will be some exciting times in ministry.  There will be days when you can breathe easy because of the support.  

I'm glad I have colleagues in ministry who gave me great advice, books to read, workshops to attend and a listening ear.  I'm proud to say that since I've listened to God on this journey, I've been focus on what God want from the ministry more than what I want.  Keep focusing on God and listen to the cry from the community then the branch of Zion will meet the needs of the community.  The key is for us to be a light in our communities.  In order to do that we need to be united as one and welcome the world in the church and be apart of the change agent outside the church.

 

God's Gifts of Grace

God's Gifts of Grace
Romans 12:3-5

God has a way of just showing up unannounced in our lives.  So many times we believe God must announce when divinity will manifest in humanity.  When God does announce and use angels in the case of Jesus’ mother Mary, we are shocked and feel unworthy.  God is showing us we may feel unworthy but we can be used for God’s glorification.  When we reflect on the goodness of God, we recognized God’s awesome, majestic and wonderful power in full glory.  The song says in Christ there is no failure and in scripture it says God’s word will not return void.  When we seek to be more important in life than we believe we are, we have isolated and regulated God to our human box which renders God’s word void.  Because of this box we pride ourselves in saying all I’ve accomplished with my own hands and no help from God.

How can we say God didn’t give us the help?  We must remember that God knew us before we were born, God know the number of hairs on our heads and God provided for us when we couldn’t see a way out.  This causes so many of us to live a life of arrogance.  We are arrogant about what God has called us to do in life knowing it was not what we wanted.  We are arrogant about the gifts and talent God has given to us, so much that we think no one else has the same gift.  Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but the gift God gave was not for you.  It was intended for us to share with others so they can see God at work in us.  The gift of God ought to shine and reflect the love of God.  God’s gift cannot be imitated, copied or even duplicated.  Have you noticed when people try to mimic the gifts of others it doesn’t work out the way it works for that person?  The reason why it didn’t work was because the gift was intended for that particular person.

Remember, the gift God gives is given based on our ability and measure of faith through the Holy Spirit. 

Breathe In Us God

Acts 2:1-13

 

This Sunday is the fiftieth day after Easter, the day of Pentecost has been marked as the birth of the Christian Church because of the out pouring of Holy Spirit.  Before Jesus ascending into the clouds, he told his disciples to remain in Jerusalem and wait for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.  While they waited, the Jewish harvest festival that is the fiftieth day after Passover was being celebrated.   As we see there were two celebrations taking place.  The newest celebration gave new hope, assurance, testimony and life to those Jesus Christ left behind.  Pentecost allowed each person to understand each other in their native tongue and language which caused a shift in the atmosphere.

There was an awakening of their dry, weak and brittle spirit.  Now they testified and preached with the assurance and boldness of the Holy Spirit to those gathered in Jerusalem for the festival.  Too often we dismiss the action of the Holy Spirit and leave it for the Pentecostal and Holiness denominations.  When we realize the Holy Spirit is preparing us to meet God, we will testify about the spirit God has placed in us because God is breathing God’s breath in us.  When God breathes in us, we become more fruitful because we’ve stayed connected to the tree of life.  When God breathes in us we are giving another chance at life. 

The key is we allow the Holy Spirit to transform us so we will grow and mature spiritually without having to tell people to look at our good deeds.  Allow the spirit of God to take charge of you and you will bare good fruit.  Therefore, when the Holy Spirit rest on us like the dew rest of the morning grass we are assured that God keeps breathing in us.  Breath on us precious Lord, fill us with your Holy Spirit so we can be salt and light to the world.

Thursday Meditation - A Second Gift

Acts 4:5-12
 
God often gives us gifts that will benefit us individually and collectively.  The problem with some gifts we get, we don’t appreciate it even if we prayed to God for it.  We will complain that the package isn’t right, the style is all wrong or it’s not our kind.  Some gifts are given to compliment, challenge or change us.  We can complain to God but God knows what is best for us.  Let us be kind to the gift given because the gift was given out of love.  When the gift is not what we expect, don’t abuse, mistreat or discard it as worthless. 

If you feel it’s not what you need individually or collectively, re-gift it to others who need what you have rejected.  What is happening in life today, we have discarded or trashed the gift God has given us that another individual or group sees the treasure in it.  Once the treasure is nurtured, loved and affirmed it will flourish and grow.  When we see it again we may not recognize the gift at first but when we do we want to get it back.  Then we are reminded it is too late, it is gone. 

However, the story doesn’t end there.  God will give us another chance with another gift.  Humanity was given the gift of Jesus Christ and they crucified him.  Therefore, God has given humanity another gift called salvation through the resurrected life of Jesus Christ.  So what will you do with this second gift today?
 

Thursday Meditation - Reflection on 9/11

Reflection on 9/11

This morning as I thought about what to write for the Thursday Meditation, I thought about the 10^th Anniversary of 9/11.  Like many of you I remember where I was when this happened.  This was a time when I was sitting in my office at work.  Not in a home office or on a client site but in my actual office at work getting my day started.  I was eating breakfast at my desk and a friend working at the Research Triangle Park, NC location ping me on IM.  That ping with a link to CNN changed my day and my perspective on human mortality.  As I was in disbelief, I headed to the crash pad to watch the news on the television and the reality of seeing the first tower fall and then the second I sprang quickly into action.  I was immediately on the phone calling my sister in Hawaii to let her know what was going on.  I write all this to say this was the start of my seminary journey.

Ten years ago during the week of 9/11, I started seminary.  We, the class of 2004, did not know what to expect.  We were all excited about this journey and connecting with people we had met just a week earlier during orientation.  Now this and why now God?  This has been the question that shaped us for ministry in a major way.  The class of 2004 has been a witness to 9/11, the DC snipers and the start of the war in Iraq.  Now we are people living in a state of fear, we are terrified when we see Muslim brother and sisters get on planes or in places we frequent.  We judge them based on their name and their appearance.  We target them because our country and others are fighting a war on terrorism.  The fighting continues but it doesn’t bring back those lives that have been lost.  As ministers of the Gospel we must wrestle with this and more. 

Today’s meditation is a reflection and a few questions for each of you to answer truthfully. 

Are you ready to start the healing process in the community so we can openly discuss what keeps us apart as a community?  9/11? Racism? Homosexuality?

How do we help heal a community that is fearful of people who don’t look, talk or act like us?

What will it take for us to be honest with ourselves for the wrongs we’ve done as a nation to all people?

How can we love our neighbors when our neighbor is a reminder of tragedy in our lives?

When we are really honest with ourselves God can start the healing process in us, the community, the land and the world.  We can not blame God for all that has happened in life.  No we can not blame the devil either.  There are consequences in the decisions we make in life.  It is up to us to make this life better for the next generation to come.