Speaking Jesus in an Information-blasted World

You can see just about anything on TV these days. I'm on Facebook and Pinterest almost every day. When I do research for sermons where there used to be one, maybe two websites dedicated to Biblical interpretation, there are now literally hundreds (I stopped counting after 400) of websites to read. My inbox is filled up with messages demanding my attention. I'm overwhelmed and I feel like I can't keep up with all this STUFF. Blogs, instagram, current research on church leadership and church growth, and current scholarship on the Bible, including archaeological finds and anthropological studies. I feel like I'm barely treading water. Yet, I want to do the best I can to be an accurate interpreter of the Bible, a well-read person and the best pastor I can be. So, what's a pastor to do ?
That train of thought made me think about how we communicate the gospel in this information saturated age. Church specialists tell us we have to have a web site, AND a Facebook page, AND a twitter account, AND the latest research is that most young adults are on instagram and tumblr.  So I faithfully keep up with as much as I can there. Still, I think the best way of giving the good news of Jesus to the world is through one-on-one contact. People don't just automatically look for the church on the web, Facebook, or other social media. There are many who are disillusioned with the church, and have left on purpose. There are many for whom the church is a foreign concept. We must step up, my friends in Christ, to the challenge to "Go, and make disciples of all nations..." How?
Our demeanor must be Christlike all the time. So, when we're cut off in traffic, dealing with an inept employee, or standing in line at the grocery store, we must ooze the Gospel from our very pores NO MATTER WHAT! It doesn't matter to God if we meet someone antagonistic, mean or unreasonable. We must still "Love the Lord [our] God with all [our] heart, mind, soul, and strength, AND love [our] neighbors as [we] love [ourselves.]" We lead the way in agreeing to disagree with only love and respect for the other. We lead the way in being the first to apologize, even if we feel we did nothing wrong. (Something about "turning the other cheek" comes to mind!) We are the first to give up our "rights" for the good of the Gospel and the Body of Christ, his church. Is it better to be right, or to be holy? In the words of Han Solo in Star Wars, "Let the Wookie win!" Because as a matter of fact, we don't know it all. In fact, we see only dimly (I Corinthians 13:9, 12). All we have to offer is Christ, and him crucified, dead, and resurrected. As my preaching professor used to say, "Speak a good word for Jesus."
So, instead of all those info sources that "have" to be read, I need to focus on all those human beings that "need" to be loved. I tell myself all the time, "Speak a good word for Jesus, and leave the rest to God." No debating the agnostics or athiests. Just gentle loving manners and holy living before them, and kind words and actions toward them. And if we feel like we're being picked on because we're Christians, just remember...Jesus was crucified for the way he lived. The disciples were persecuted. Believers were thrown into the coliseum with lions. You think you've got it bad? Thank God that you are only being verbally persecuted! We are still called and equipped to go out in the name of Jesus and make disciples of all the world!
As I go about my life this week, I'm going to intentionally focus on keeping the main thing the main thing - Jesus is love and wants me to love in his name.

Powerless

As I watched the television reports of the devastation in Oklahoma and other parts of the world, I felt badly. I felt sad. I felt powerless to do anything about it. Powerlessness is akin to hopelessness, and often they come together into our consciousness. To be powerless is to be "devoid of strength or resources, lacking the authority or capacity to act." (Merriam-Webster Online) Then I watched more in-depth interviews showing the people of Moore, Oklahoma as they began life after the tornado. They were moving on. No one was having a pity party - at least, no one they interviewed. Even a man whose daughter was killed had a smile on his face as he told the reporters how he would remember her. Neighbor helped neighbor. Stranger helped stranger. And inside me, some kind of switch was thrown, and I realized that if they weren't powerless over their situation, then neither am I!

Lydia Lunch, a singer, poet and activist, put it this way: "Sure you're powerless, sure you're just one person, sure you can't change anything...but you don't have to be miserable about it as well." Those people in Oklahoma did NOT "lack the authority or capacity to act." They took action, in spite of all the devastation. They got busy. They are already beginning to see the results of their faithfulness. They are giving each other the one thing that will ZAP powerlessness: hope.

Our source of hope as Christians is not our talents and abilities and attitudes. Our source of hope is Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:6 (NLT) "When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners." It is when we are most vulnerable and feeling powerless that we finally let go and let God. God knows we feel powerless. God knows we don’t like it. And God also knows we think we have power. We talk about personal power and power struggles, etc. In His wisdom, God allows us to keep on trying in our own power. Then, when we finally turn to him, he comes to us in a mighty wind, and fills us with His Holy Spirit of power. We find that as we let the Spirit direct our lives, being powerless is the best way to be! I don’t like the situation of the citizens of Moore, OK. I, Caren Morgan, am powerless over it. However, my God is all powerful, and he places His spirit in my heart to guide me into using the power available to me.

I can use this column to make people aware of ways they can help. (Call or text the Red Cross) I can send supplies and goods through my church’s channels, and know that joined with all the other Methodists in the world, I can make a difference. I can pick up the phone or go online myself and give a donation. I can help put together emergency response kits, and get them to the Mission Response Center for distribution to those in need.

I believe that God weeps with those who weep, and cares tenderly for those who need Him. I believe the promise God made through the prophet Isaiah: “He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.” (Isaiah 40:29, NLT) I believe that with God nothing is impossible. I believe that even in my darkest hour, God goes with me, is by my side caring for me, and, if God deems it necessary, intervenes on my behalf. I believe that God is not only all-powerful, but also all-loving. And I believe God can and will bring the people who suffer strength, hope and power through the holiness that lies within each of us.

Where is Love?

Today I read a story about the Virginia woman whose actions led to Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev finally being buried. Her actions have been maligned by officials in her town, some cemetery neighbors, and online. The AP report quotes her as saying she has no regrets.
     "Any time you reach across the divide and work with people that are not like you, that's what God calls us to do." (AP, Doswell, Va., Friday May 10, 2013) Tsarnaev was buried quietly at a small Islamic cemetery in rural Caroline County. He was buried May 9. He died April 19. Cemeteries in Massachusetts and other states refused to accept the remains. This lady was in Starbucks when she heard the news. "My first thought was Jesus said love your enemies...I thought someone ought to do something about this - and I am someone." She worked with Islamic Funeral Services of Virginia, who arranged for the burial plot. "Nobody is without sin," she said, "Certainly this was a horrific act, but he's dead and what happened is between him and God. We just need to bury his body and move forward. People were making an issue and detracting from the healing that needed to take place.
     Wow. This really moved and motivated me. When someone wrongs us, is our first thought Matthew 5:43-44? "You have heard the law that says, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!" It was for this lady. Christians are under attack and persecuted all the time, and we have been for centuries! Jesus was pretty clear about how to handle that. He taught us things like: "If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also." (Matthew 5:39b) Or "I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me." (Matthew 25:45) And then there's the great commandment: "You must love the Lord your God with all you heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37-40) Finally, John 15:17 tells us some of Jesus' last words to his disciples: "This is my command: Love each other."
     Jesus often aligned himself with those who were left out. He ate with sinners. He hung out with lepers and tax collectors and people with less-than-stellar reputations. I think if we ask ourselves in every situation, "What WOULD Jesus do?" we might live a little differently. We are all sinners, trying to get better. Some people say the church is full of hypocrites. So was the "church" of Jesus' time. Paul wrote letters to many of the churches, trying to settle them down and learn how to "love each other" even though they came from different backgrounds, cultures and religions. Isn't that what we are faced with now? The church is struggling to learn how to get along with our Islamic neighbors. We are sinfully ignorant of their beliefs and culture. Things like refusing to bury an Islamic extremist make Christians look prejudiced, judgmental and hypocritical. Jesus called out the hypocrites of his day and challenged them on issues of race, gender, immigration - all still hot topics today.
     What would Jesus do? He would offer them love. The command didn't say "Love each other inside the church." Or "Love each other just within the Christian community." No, he said "Love each other." Period. Even when we are in shock and horrified by what we see around  us, we are still called to offer love. We are still called to be the hands and feet of Christ. We are still called to minister to the least of these. And sometimes that means burying a terrorist. Jesus calls us to do the right thing for the right reasons - even in the face of sure persecution. Jesus calls us to be willing to die just because we are his followers.
     I'm proud to relate that the woman who stepped up and buried Tsarnaev was a United Methodist! I'd like to say that I'm a woman of faith who just might have done the same thing. I hope and pray I would have had the courage to do so. "I thought someone ought to do something about this - and I am someone." Those words are deep in my heart. There is hunger right here in Waxhaw. Someone ought to do something - and I am someone. There is homelessness right here in Waxhaw.  Someone ought to do something - and I am someone. As we live our lives, there are people all around us who need to know they are loved by someone. And we are someone....

Godly Play

I am now, and always have been a good student. I have excellent study habits. I take good notes. I make good grades on most of my sermons. For many years I saw this as the only way to do ministry - to be constantly reading and studying and trying to "make the grade" among my peers. Recently, however, I have found a fatal flaw to that line of thinking about and doing ministry. It disconnects me from my people and my community. I would venture to say that almost no one I preach to has a Master of Divinity. They wouldn't know a periscope from a hermeneutical triangle. I discovered I had to get out of the books and out of the office and find out what was going on in the "real" world!
The apostle Paul knew this instinctively. In 1 Corinthians 9:19-23  he explains how we are to include the world as a part of our "research":

Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ.When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law.  When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ.  When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some.  I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.

I need to get out more. Enjoy people and get to know them. Find the ones who need a friend. Find the things they are passionate about. Find the things they are worried about. I need to play with them. It helps so much in finding the context in which I am called to preach.
There's more to it, though. I found that as I went out among strangers to make friends, something in me changed. I became more relaxed and friendly. I learned how to let down and just be me. In trying to reach others for Christ, I found myself easily sharing my story with strangers. Now, I'm an introvert, so just talking to someone I don't know is hard for me. Yet, God worked on me and changed me as I introduced myself to various people in the community. I found a holy boldness that I have never had! In attempting to bless others, I am the one who was blessed! People shared their stories with me. Strangers shared their faith and their doubts with me. We prayed together for the needs of ourselves and the community. And I felt blessed.
I don't know if my little "field trip" will improve my sermons, but I DO KNOW it has improved my walk with Christ. I pray that God will continue to guide me out of the office and into the world that needs to know Jesus loves them. My dad used to always greet anyone on his path with the words: "God loves you and I love you!" And he meant it. And people would often respond in like kind. Or some people just kept on walking. But the seed was planted....

Scripture and Scrapbooks

I am an avid scrapbooker. My husband would say I'm a rabid scrapbooker. I say I'm just passionate about what I do. I have scrapbooks for each segment of my life. I have one that covers all the churches I've served. I have one with pictures and mementos from all the musicals I've been in. I have one for my daughter's first year, one for her graduation, and one for her years at Salem Academy. I have one for my husband's family, one for each of the kids and one for the grandkids. I have a wedding scrapbook, and one of all the houses I've lived in. I just completed one for my mother's 80th birthday - and she was thrilled.

One thing I've learned over the years is that scrapbooking is a process. When you first start out, your layouts are fairly simple, and your pictures need cropping and lots of embellishments. As you get into it, you begin to take better pictures and pay attention to more detail in the printing process. At first, you just want to get the pictures in the book. As you grow, your layouts become more complex. At first you try to put as many pictures as possible on a single page. As you grow in your knowledge of the artistry and beauty of scrapbooking, you begin to build a whole page around a single picture.

As I prepared to teach my two Bible studies this week, I found myself comparing Bible study to scrapbooking! (Imagine that!) My two favorite things - scrapbooking as a metaphor for Bible study - how awesome is that? You see, some students come to the Bible as I did to my first scrapbooks. They jump in and try to read as fast as they can so they can say they've read it all. Their interpretation is often just a soundbyte type of blipvert, taking pieces of the Bible out of context. Their understanding is simple, and needs lots of trimming and embellishments: a Bible dictionary, a Bible commentary, a good Sunday school, a mentor, a pastor. All these and more can help our understanding of what we read.

As we grow, we begin to get a better picture of the Bible as a whole. We begin to pay more attention to the margin or footnotes. We remember sermons, songs, or classes we've taken. Our understanding becomes multi-faceted as we grow in the knowledge of the history and peoples of the scriptures. We change our focus, open our hearts and look to the Holy Spirit to guide us as we approach the Bible. Just as a scrapbook page has many layers, so the Word of God is layered with meaning that we receive in different ways depending on where we are in our own spiritual growth.

2 Timothy 3:16 tells us "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right." So, where ever we are on the continuum of learning the Word of God, it is just important that we keep on studying, learning the lessons there and correcting our lives accordingly. Then, as we progress, deeper and stronger truths seem to jump out at us. Story gives way to understanding and faith is fed as we study the Holy Bible. Where are you in your Bible reading?