Intentionally Under The Wing ?

As one who occasionally "blogs", and "posts", I hope to engage others in reading and commenting on what I write in hopes that others might be encouraged. In some small way, I want to do my part in the creation of authentic community; even when it is an on-line community. Those who by intention monitor and occasionally comment on a blog or post have a name in the cyber-world: "followers". I find this ironic. The post-modern-world-wide-web-universe plunders a word: "followers", which is as old as 1st century Christianity, and in reality even pre-dates Jesus' followers.

                                                   

                                                  

As the new year looms on the near horizon I am reminded that the followers of Jesus do not become followers by accident. Someone extends Christ’s love to us. Someone takes us under the wing and nurtures us as disciples - that is, by intention, others assist us in becoming life-long, obedient, followers, learners, and servants of Jesus. Life-long suggests that discipleship is a process more than a destination. The primary role of a disciple is to....follow. In many circles today this intentional sharing of the journey is referred to as “mentoring”. The church is called to intentionally practice this nurturing – or mentoring in discipleship. The word used in the New Testament is “equipping”.

Author, Leonard Sweet gives us some insights as to why this should be important for us today.

We tend to forget…that the twelve disciples Jesus calledto found his movement were all lay people. Jesus had threeyears to save the world. How did he choose to spend thosethree years? Founding a mega-church? Launching a massmovement?? Building a temple??? Starting a new religion????He chose to spend what time he had training a small cell ofdisciples…….

The purpose, as noted by the Apostle Paul is simple:

 ...(so that) we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:15b-16

Obviously I welcome "followers" of my blogs and posts, but the more significant issue is this: 

Who am I intentionally helping to become a follower of Jesus? 

Who am I willing to take under my wing and nurture in the way that is Jesus' way? 

New Year's resolutions will fail to make this happen. But I believe the same Spirit Who is active and visible in Jesus, is at work in me, making this calling a real possibility.

In Christ,

Jon(the methodist)

                                                    

The Beloved Thief ?

"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."   Matthew 24 (NIV)

                                                                       

To an audience of frightened and weary followers Matthew wrote his gospel. His first listeners were people just like us. As one  Christian writer imagines, ‘they wanted to know whether Jesus’ delay in coming was part of a master plan, or whether he was missing in action? Was he  coming back to pull them from the edge of the abyss, or were they just going to hang there (white-knuckled) until their fingers gave out, and they fell onto the mounting pile of bodies at the bottom of the abyss?' It is to these 1st century followers, and to all of us, that Matthew recounts  Jesus’ warning: "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come."

One might wonder if Matthew realizes there are only 12 shopping days left until Christmas? And that includes today! There’s eating, and drinking, and even weddings to celebrate, with poinsettias arranged just so……There’s work unfinished. So let’s finish putting up the tinsel, and make sure all the lights are burning on the tree.  Wreaths need to be hung. Crèches wait to be arranged. This Advent there are way too many items to check off our long lists of Christmas to-dos….

Now we who live between the Advent of His first coming and his coming again….wait…  Maybe this is why he comes to us unexpectedly, as if under the cover of darkness. The unexpected beloved thief.  Maybe he will find a crack in the door, a window unlatched, the alarm system mistakenly switched “off”. Then We will discover why he is to be loved; this one who comes not to take, but to give; who fills our lives with so much more than we can ever attain through our own plans and devices. 

To us this One says:  “KEEP WATCH”....“STAY AWAKE!” And maybe, just maybe, our watching will help us – not to keep the intruder out, but to welcome him in. 

Still In ONE Peace,

Jon (the Methodist)

                                               

Capital District Christmas Offering For Hispanic/Latino Ministries

"The image (below) is about the self-empowerment, creativity and determination of the Hispanic/Latino people to create a new reality for the church and all creation. From countryside to urban centers, and from within the canvas (meaning from within the community), it depicts the dreams of our people, who are painting a vision of God's children"

The vision of the National Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministry is that of a growing, dynamic, and inclusive church as United Methodist responds to the opportunity presented by the increasing Hispanic/Latino population of the United States. To be such a church, God need disciples who are faithful sowers of the Gospel in our world.

Our district has formed a Hispanic/Latino Ministries Team which seeks to encourage and empower every congregation to live into this vision. The Reverend Edith Salazar Veliz (Luz Del Pueblo: White Plains UMC Cary) serves as our Team Chair. Edith may be contacted via e mail @   edithsalazarv@yahoo.com

The National Plan For Hispanic/Latino Ministries is something each congregation should dedicate time to explore and understand. The plan is available for your review at the following web address.

http://new.gbgm-umc.org/plan/hispanic/strategy/index.cfm?i=27985   

The Capital District has established a special Hispanic/Latino Ministries Fund. These monies enable us to assist our Hispanic/Latino pastors in leadership development and education, summer and after school programs for children and youth, and the support of infrastructure for ministries in our district. This year we partnered with The Heritage District to purchase a used passenger van to help in transporting 30 Hispanic children to a ministry near Bailey -

La Estrella Resplandeciente (The Shining Star). Several of our Capital District congregations are supporting this mission with volunteers. Take a peek at what this ministry seeks to accomplish with our help. http://heritagedistrictnc.org/la-estrella-resplandeciente/    Please contact The Reverend Lucho Reinoso to discover how your church can partner in this hands-on ministry. 

His cell number is 919-495-2115

Will your congregation receive a special offering during Advent/Christmas this December to help expand our work among our Hispanic/Latino brothers and sisters across the Capital District ? Your generosity will help us to do together what no one church could ever accomplish alone. Your church's remittance to the Conference Treasurer should be earmarked: Capital District Hispanic/Latino Ministries. 

A few weeks ago I watched the video, "The New American Reality". 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQnhuj11zIg       This eye-opening animation is only 2 minutes 51 seconds in length, but it will change the way you see. Please watch it, and then share it with leaders in your church and with your neighbors and friends. 

Felice Navidad,

Juan (El Methodista)

Struck Dumb By Silence?

What if the primary call of the Church of Jesus Christ, on planet earth, this December is sharing God's gift of silence??? Sharing silence..... with a world, and a Church that is often bent on filling the silence with noise. Have we become uncomfortable with the gift of silence? Do we work diligently to fill every moment of time with something, or can we be still.....and wait......and listen for The Coming One?

In, When God Is Silent,  Barbara Brown Taylor helps us to ponder the gift of silence, writing:  "....silence is as much a sign of God's presence as of God's absence - the divine silence is not a vacuum to be filled but a mystery to be entered into, unarmed with words and undistracted by noise - a holy of holies in which we too may be struck dumb by the power of the unsayable God."

Philips Brooks, an Episcopal clergyman, and later Bishop of Massachusetts, penned the verses of, "O, Little Town Of Bethlehem" after returning from a trip to Palestine in the late 1800s. We can hardly imagine an Advent or Christmas in which we wouldn't sing this hymn. At the dawning of Advent 2013, this is the verse, in particular, that the Church seems called to embody and proclaim. Will we dare to share God's gift of silence ? .....

                                 How silently, how silently,
                                   The wondrous gift is given;
                                 So God imparts to human hearts
                                   The blessings of His Heaven.
                                 No ear may hear His coming,
                                   But in this world of sin,
                                 Where meek souls will receive Him still,
                                   The dear Christ enters in.

Still In ONE Peace,

Jon(theMethodist)
                      

Movements and Museums

Last Saturday I wandered off the beaten path - just a wee bit  - to visit one of my favorite spots on terra firma. It happens to also be a site from my early days of pastoral leadership - Hebron UMC near Oakville, N.C. Now I know that address may not leap off the page, so let me be a bit more specific. Hebron UMC, or as it is now known, "Historic Hebron", is located in Warren County, NC near Lake Gaston. The congregation which once gathered in this place dated back into the late 1700s, and is mentioned in the journal(s) of Bishop Byrd in his circuit-riding adventures across the Roanoke River into the Carolinas.

In the early 1980s  Hebron was still a vibrant center for weekly worship, but had already transitioned from a people in mission together to a place of significance. The Greek revival architecture employed by builder, Jacob Holt, was completed in 1848. Windows of hand-blown glass provide clear vistas to the world of "Six Pound Township"; but oh how that world has changed in over 200 years.

Now the building is on The National Register Of Historic Places. A couple of times each year the trustees of Historic Hebron (all friends of mine) open the doors to the public. Author, Reynolds Price, was raised only a few scant miles away in Macon. He included Hebron in one of his writings about a Christmas Candlelight Service he attended as a child. That tradition continues - even today - the Wednesday before Christmas.

Last Saturday I peered through the hand-blown glass to get a glimpse of a place that holds significance for me. I gazed at the pulpit I stood behind twice per month as the people endured the cutting of my homiletical teeth. I saw the framed placard which has hung behind and above that pulpit for generations: "Lord Teach Us To Pray". I remembered how the initials of two young people in love had been carved beneath one of the pews; straight-backed and made of heart pine - termite proof, but not relic proof.

I remembered conversations between a young, idealistic pastor and leaders of his congregation; discussions of expanding worship schedules (which were thwarted) - of the need for fellowship space (with indoor plumbing) - of a nearby lake community which would one day transform the declining population with an infusion of "new blood". Though I was loved and respected and encouraged beyond measure, I could not lead that flock of God's sheep to new pasture. Though we actually grew the flock in number and baptized a child or three, the congregation whose roots were sprouted beneath a brush arbor never got over locating themselves in Jacob Holt's artwork. Once the last window pane was installed their ability to see diminished; a form of macular degeneration set in.

Movements share a central common characteristic - they move.  Museums, on the other hand, are static, immovable and demand that we come to them. Movements serve others. Museums demand the price of admission. Movements are adaptable. Museums focus mostly on preserving the past. How ironic - to think that the "Methodist Movement" in England spilled across the sea to America and expanded beyond anyone's wildest dreams on the emerging frontier. And in the case of Hebron UMC.......became a place to visit rather than a launching pad for transformation..................

Still In ONE Peace,

Jon(the Methodist)