Christ the King

I sort of miss the rhythm and pattern of the Revised Common Lectionary and the intricacies of the church year. I do believe that the thematic series that define the year on both the north and south campuses are the most effective way to live out the preaching ministry at University. However, I still have tremendous respect and appreciation for the rhythm of the liturgical year. At University, we don't completely ignore the liturgical year. Of course, we still observe Advent and Christmas, Lent and Easter. But you won't hear much about Christ the King Sunday or Baptism of the Lord Sunday. You won't likely notice when we are in the fifth Sunday of Epiphany or when it is Trinity Sunday. You may notice that our stoles change color with the seasons of the church year: green for ordinary time, white during Easter, blue for Advent - but we don't talk about it much.

I miss these things not out of sentiment but out of my call to teach. These seasons, I believe, were developed as a teaching tool to connect us to the overall story of salvation and redemption. The rhythm helps us to find focus and to continually return to some of the essential parts of the story. I was thinking about this this weekend which was, by the way, Christ the King Sunday.

The following is from my sermon on Christ the King Sunday which I preached at Grace United Methodist Church in Corpus Christi in December of 2007:

The Christian calendar is a little different than the secular calendar.As the world begins seriously winding down the year we, as Christians are starting a new one. This week marks the final week on the Christian calendar. We start a new “liturgical” year next Sunday as the first Sunday of Advent. As Christians, there are certain ways we set ourselves apart from the world and our understanding of time is one of those. As the world is still counting down to the end of the year, we will already be beginning a new one. But like the rest of the world, as we come to the end of the year, it is good to reflect on the year that has passed. That is sort of what Christ the King Sunday is all about.

Over the years, I have learned to love Christ the King Sunday. Here is why: It has become, for me, a Sunday of reflection about the Christian year that is ending. Next week is the first Sunday of Advent. In Advent, we prepare ourselves for the coming of God into our world in Jesus Christ.

While television and retail outlets are telling us it is time to sing “Joy to the World.” While we will still be singing “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus” and “O Come O Come Emmanuel.” Advent is the time when we prepare our heart and minds, our churches and our homes for the arrival of the new born King.

Before we enter into a time of looking forward, as we end this one year and prepare to enter another one, have we yet figured out who this king is? During another Christian year we will celebrate the birth and sing,

Hark the herald angels sing, “glory to the new born King”

But what does that mean? We will see Jesus praised by the wise men and treated like royalty,

Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain. Gold I bring to crown Him again, King forever, ceasing never, over us all to reign.

But why?

We will stop thinking in kingly terms when we hear of him calling his disciples and teaching and healing. He will look more like the leader of a rag-tag revolution as we are led up to his confrontation with authority and his arrest and crucifixion. Then the kingly image will seem more appropriate as he is raised from the dead. Royal yes, but king implies a kingdom to rule over. His resurrection will cause us to look back at what he said and did. His ascension will remind us of that he reigns with the Father and Holy Spirit now and always. And then we will end up right back here, at the end of the year, ready again to prepare our hearts for the promised coming and will we yet know what kind of king we are expecting?

If you want to think more about that last question and consider the Kingship of Jesus as you prepare for Advent, that complete sermon and another sermon on the same topic are available in my sermon archive here:

Christ the King Sermons - Pastor Will's Sermons

Blessings of Grace and Peace,

will

Anticipation

I am not very private about it but, in case you don't know, our son Joshua came to us as a foster child about three years ago. We adopted him over a year later. Foster parenting and adoption are strange and wondrous things and I would never give up the experience. One of the strangest things for me about foster parenting and adoption is how radically different the experience is from that of parents who go through pregnancy and childbirth. There is a lot of pregnancy and childbirth that I can't speak to because I have never been through it even as an observing husband. But, I do know this: expectant parents have an anticipation calendar. I have walked alongside enough friends, family and coworkers to see a glimpse of this. The parents see it coming and life begins to change as the date gets closer. (Women who have given birth will, of course, say that this is a bit of an understatement.) I have watched life begin to change with each month as the moment gets closer and closer.

Alisha and I had a different experience. Training, home-study, interview, paperwork, sign-here, "we will call you." "Are you free Friday? We have a ten month old boy." I remember saying at a staff meeting that I was going home early because we were getting a child tomorrow. It is all very abrupt.

So I guess in normal terms, we are feeling a little pregnant. We have re-certified as foster parents and we are just waiting. We don't know when or exactly what we might expect. I just have to keep my phone in case we suddenly have a baby.

I would say, "I will let you know" but I might not mean it. Foster care comes with its appropriate amount of privacy. So, the web is not a place I tend to share much about who will live with us. But if you pay attention, you will figure it out.

peace,

will

Focus Focus Focus

I recently finished Larry Osborne's Sticky Church. There are plenty of reviews out there so I am not going to give it a full treatment here. I am still wrestling with the book because it has some very specific recommendations for ministry that lead in a different direction from the vision we are currently following. However, the book is great and full of wisdom. While it may not fall in line with our current process for making disciples and taking disciples deeper, it is still a good process. Any church who does not currently have any process or has a process that is not working, should give it a read.

I do want to focus on one section of the book that does relate to some of the struggle that we face here at University. In chapter 12 "Overcoming the Time Crunch," Osborne writes a section on cutting the competition. The plan of ministry that has been effective at Osborne's church, North Coast, is sermon-based small groups. In order to create an environment for those groups to flourish, the church has had to work to eliminate ministries that compete with the core ministry. I can guess that for some readers of the book and, at this moment of this blog, that line of thinking in unnerving. We don't see ministries as being in competition with one another, right? All ministry in the name of Jesus is good ministry, right? Well, yes... but. It is a matter of focus. There is a great sentence in the chapter: "We also know that if given the choice, many people would pick the ministry they enjoyed the most, not the ministry they needed the most." (p. 93)

This line really fits in with our thinking on The Pathway to Discipleship. Under the old model of thinking the idea was to connect new people to anything you could because connected people would stick around. But that doesn't necessarily play in a society where people come to us often with no relationship with Jesus, no understanding of the most fundamental parts of what it means to follow Jesus, no familiarity with the Word of God in scripture, no skills in reading the Bible on their own, no prayer life and no instruction in the practice and discipline of prayer, etc. When that person comes to us, if we consider all ministries to be equal and they are invited to the cafeteria line, why would they not choose the ministry they enjoy the most? If someone likes to sing, why not join the choir? The choir is an amazing ministry of worship. The choir offers praise to God and leads the people in lifting their hearts to God. It is a great place to meet people. However, if new Christians jump right to the choir, where will they connect to the Gospel? Where will they learn to read the Bible? Where will they learn to pray?

My friend Cynthia very helpfully compared it to life in college. Colleges typically require some core courses and then allow for a certain number of electives. They do that for a reason. They know that many students, if given total freedom of choice, would just choose classes that sounded interesting or even fun. The students would likely miss out on some of the necessary fundamentals.

This is why we encourage our new members to jump into The Pathway to Discipleship a number of core courses that offer them the chance to have a Jesus meeting (to understand their own need for a relationship with Christ, the hear the Jesus message (understand the news about Jesus) and listen for their mission from Jesus (consider their own call to be in ministry.)

Whenever I go down this path, I get push back from folks who think this sounds way too authoritarian, as though we know what is best for you and are going to force you to do it. That is overstating it a bit. Although pastors and church leaders must humbly admit, we don't have all the answers, we are charged with leadership. Elders in the United Methodist Church are called from among the laity and ordained to a life of word, service, sacrament and order. We are charged with being spiritual guides to lead and facilitate in the lives of those seeking God. And while we are called to be bold in encouraging people, we are never forcing anyone to anything.

peace,

will

p.s. I always love comments but I have made a change on the way we comment. There are some places where anonymous comments are appropriate, but this blog can be a conversation and conversations require context so I want to know and I want others to know who is writing in response. If you want to comment but not for every one's eyes, just send me an email at will@uchurch.tv

Fearless

Still catching up writing about my vacation reading. I had a chance to read Max Lucado’s latest, Fearless, Imagine Your Life Without Fear. I have always liked Lucado’s writing but I have never considered it earth-shattering. However, I am willing to say that this book is important. Max Lucado has always had a way to make important theological truth accessible to everyone and he has landed on an exceptionally important and timely theological truth.

We are afraid of everything and even worse, we base our decisions and our very lives on this fear. Fear has become a commodity in our society with media and marketing playing to our deepest and darkest fears to get us to do things and buy things that might not otherwise match our values and worldview. And here is the worst part: each breath of fear is a mark of disobedience. The author reminds us that Christ’s most common command was against fear:

His most common command emerges from the “fear not” genre. The Gospels list some 125 Christ-issued imperatives. Of these, 21 urge us to “not be afraid” or “fear not” or “have courage” or “take heart” or “be of good cheer.” The second most common command, to love God and neighbor, appears on only eight occasions. If quantity is any indicator, Jesus takes our fears seriously. The one statement he made more than any other was this: don’t be afraid. (pgs. 10-11)

This is a very relevant book to review on this weblog about discipleship because one of the biggest modern barriers to discipleship is fear. We cannot become what God is calling us to become when our lives are rooted in fear instead of love. If you want to live a life free from the spirit robbing specter of fear, give this one a read.

peace,

will

Surprised By Hope

You might not like this book. I believe N.T. Wright to be one of the most gifted theologians of our time but he tends to make lots of people angry. Wright has found a shady spot between conservative evangelical Christianity and liberal mainline Christianity. It is a spot that tends to drive everyone crazy.

In Surprised By Hope, Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church, N.T. Wright takes on and amazingly hot topic: heaven and the afterlife. It doesn’t seem like a hot topic but it is. Here is the deal: it is not a hot topic as long as you don’t challenge people’s personal beliefs about it. And challenge personal beliefs, Wright does.

Every week, in Christian churches around the world, the people speak the words to the Apostles Creed,

I believe in the Holy Spirit;

the holy catholic church;

the communion of saints;

the forgiveness of sins;

the resurrection of the body;

and the life everlasting.

But, when you ask people about that “resurrection of the body” thing, you find some muddy answers. For Wright, this is not an odd addition to our belief; it is at the center of Christian hope and belief. Starting with an amazing contextual overview of the belief systems surrounding the time of Jesus, the author call us to consider what we believe about Jesus, his resurrection, ascension and final return and at the same time consider what we believe about our own duty as Christians, our own final destination after death and our own role in the present and coming Kingdom of God.

I am not going to review Wright’s work point by point for a few reasons. First, this book has been out a couple of years so there is plenty to read online in terms of reviews and rebuttals. Second, Wright is infinitely smarter than me, so his work can stand just fine without me meddling in it. Third, you really should just read the book. A fair warning about that: I believe that N.T. Wright writes in a readable, accessible way. However, this is some dense stuff. A lay person may need a theological dictionary to get through some terms like eschatological dualism and parousia. But even thought the text gets dense at times, the key messages are clear and readable.

I really think this may be required reading for Christians who are serious about understanding what they believe, especially in terms of life after death. Even if you set the book down disagreeing with Wright’s premises, it will force you to get a better handle on what you believe, how you live those beliefs out every day and how you share the hope within you with others.

peace,

will

Just One Question

If you live in my neighborhood, you may have seen me out a bit more lately. Our new dog, Goliath, needs lots of exercise so he and Violet get a long walk nearly every night. I love long walks, they give me time to reflect and to listen to music, two things that often go together. As I was walking last night with my iPod on shuffle (I am too lazy for playlists) Joan Osborne's "One of Us" came on. I really like the song though it's theology is a little fuzzy. For those of you who are unfamiliar, the first few lines of the song go like this:

If God had a name what would it be?
And would you call it to his face?
If you were faced with Him in all His glory
What would you ask if you had just one question?

In my combination of walking, reflecting, praying and listening to music, that last line really stuck. If you were faced with God in all His Glory, what would you ask if you had just one question? I played with the thought for the rest of the song and tried out a number of questions. What would you ask?

Here is what I came up with: "What do you want me to do?" I reflected on that for a bit and have been thinking about it ever since. The more I think about it, the more I like it. Now, of course, this doesn't work in every situation. If I meet God at the end of my life, it might be more like, "What's next?" but if I get a chance today to chat with the Almighty, I will stick with "What do you want me to do?"

Part of my theology and rationale behind how I do ministry is this idea that every person is created with a unique set of gifts. When those gifts are used for the glory of God, they bring great joy to the person and bring great goodness to the world. I truly believe that the more people who connect their gifts to the work of God, the more this world resembles the Kingdom of God. This is why we do The Pathway to Discipleship at University. It is a pathway because it leads somewhere. We invite everyone to meet Jesus, hear the message of Jesus and then begin to hear their mission from Jesus - what gifts has God given you and how is He calling you to put them to work in the church, in the community, in the world. In the mission phase of The Pathway to Discipleship, we are asking that one question, "What do you want me to do?" This is a question we can ask now. We don't have to wait until we are standing face to face with our creator. It is just a matter of prayer and discernment.

If you haven't asked the question yet, get connected to the pathway. These questions are often best asked in community where others can listen with you.

peace,

will

Leaving Church

I took Barbara Brown Taylor's Leaving Church with me on my mini-vacation to Western New York a couple of week's back. I am not going to post a thorough review because this book has been out long enough that there are plenty of great reviews on the web.

It may have been that I read a lot of the book on the front porch of my childhood home, overlooking the grape vineyards where I spent seemingly most of my childhood, but this book really went straight to my heart. Taylor is an exceptional author (that is an understatement) and she weaves a beautiful story of her call to ministry, her life in ministry and her eventual calling to leave ministry. In it, we hear the glorious joys of the life of a pastor and the many stresses, pitfalls and dark valleys of the life on ministry.

I want to go out on a limb and say this one ought to be required reading: for pastors - that they might hear their own joys and struggles reflected so beautifully and look for the warning signs that lead to the end of a life in the church; for those who love pastors - that they might get a glimpse inside the life, the parts you see and the part you don't see; for those who work with pastors - church leaders, pastor advisory committees, pastor parish relations committees, etc - that they might better walk alongside the one appointed to lead the church.

Taylor is not the only pastor who has left the church. The burnout rate for church pastors is ridiculous. Sometimes it is a right a good thing that a person moves into another season of life and ministry. But sometimes the time is not right but the life is overwhelming. We should all be part of avoiding that.

Even if you are not interested in all that, the book is fun, funny and poignant. Barbara Brown Taylor is a gift to Christ's church.

peace,

will