spiristirrer

 

This weekend we gather in the midst of new resolutions. I don’t know about you but I do not have a great track record of keeping my promises made for a new year. The numbers tell us that I am not alone, most of us do not keep our resolutions, no matter how helpful, important, or desired. In spite of this year after year we look forward to a fresh start, to being able to try to do some things different, and it is helpful that we put it in writing, share it with friends, and build an accountability network around us.

At the center of the Christian faith is a call to conversion. Conversion is at it’s core about changing, growing, maturing, and a new start. What if this year we think about our resolutions more reasonably through the lenses of our Christian faith?

What would reasonable resolutions look like? For us as individuals? For us as a body called Grace Community?

In my first gathering with our church leaders last year I shared an antiphon from a setting of the 23rd Psalm by one of my favorite contemporary hymn writers Marty Haugen:

“Shepherd me, O God, beyond my wants, beyond my fears, from death into life”

I recognize today that before we can begin making resolutions for a different kind of life we must first let go of our own desires, agendas, and plans. We must allow God to “wipe the slate clean” and help us see with the eyes of Christ! It is only then that our resolutions for ourselves and our community can begin to guide all of us from death (life-taking, life-draining, same actions expecting different results, anxiety and fear centered, self-centered, etc.) into life (life giving, joy producing, fruitful, freedom and peace centered, reconciling and common good based, etc.).

Along the way there are three movements that we might want to think about and watch for:

The first is that at times our plans will have to be adjusted. Circumstances change, we change, we learn more information, are better aware of ourselves and those around us . . . the list is endless but our willingness to re-route is key to our ongoing conversion from death to life, from self-likeness to Christ-likeness.

We also need to recognize that we cannot do it alone neither can we do it for someone else. Our transformation as individuals and as a community begins with us, with recognizing our need for God, our brokenness, our pain, and our propensity for self-deception. But then we move to the recognition that we are indeed related to others, that the community around us also struggles in these ways, and that we have the opportunity to find others to guide us towards wholeness (towards salvation) and as we heal we then have the opportunity to guide others. We are called to a related life.

Finally we are called to reach out in word and deed as a transformed people!  The fact that most Americans make resolutions tells us that our culture is hungry for change, for transformation, for something more. We as people of faith know the answer to that hunger, to the ways that our world does not reflect the love, peace, and joy of Jesus Christ, and to the heartbreak of feeling like nothing changes year after year. To reach out as a converting people means that we are space makers for reconciliation, that we are constantly seeking justice, restoration, and transformation. 

I’m excited about a new year with its possibilities, potential, and surprises. I am thankful that we have a new opportunity to renew our call to restored lives that are companioned, formed, and sent as a missionary people, agents of God in the transformation of our city and beyond!!

May it be so . . .

¹⁰He said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but to others I speak in parables, so that ‘looking they may not perceive, and listening they may not understand.’

Luke 8:10

Every weekend we gather together. We greet one another, sing, pray for each other and the world, and hear a sermon. Most of us do not necessarily attend this gathering weekly but we still have an expectation that we’ll do what we do. A sermon, message, homily, or talk is expected and we expect it to “hear a good preacher.” Although I did not discern a call to the pastoral life from a desire to preach I can say today that preaching is one of the primary joys of being a pastor.

So many things go through my mind as I prepare for a weekly sermon. The scriptural text haunts me all week, so do the stories that unfold in my daily life. There’s also the themes that we have been working with and the direction of travel that we are aiming towards. Often I find myself thinking about the hearers, those that will be gathering in expectation of a word. I think of their stories, if I know them, and where they seem to be in their faith journey: are they seeking, responding, growing, mature? I can also see the faces in my mind of children, youth, college students, is what’s emerging in my soul something that speaks to these folks?

Recently a question has emerged as I continue preparing for preaching next year, what is the purpose of the sermon?

Often when I hear about the role of the sermon today the conversation turns to Jesus and his use of parables.

This week I am once again humbled by your generosity and investment in our future. The image of each of you coming forward making visible a commitment to support the call of your body to to be a grace agent in our city brings me joy, pride, and inspiration.

As we continue to receive commitments towards 2015 I want to share with you some of what I see taking shape for our ministry together in this next year.

There are three phrases that I believe describe the blue print for our ministry as a missionary people in 2015: seeking justice, restoring lives, & transforming the city.

“Seeking Justice:” Justice is not a political code word or a goal that’s exclusive of personal holiness. It is our commitment to engage our city from the perspective of God’s call to “shalom/peace,” our call to the repentance and conversion of all things, people and systems, to God’s loving intention. Our commitment to being an open and diverse community, our passion for joy-filled sensory worship, and our willingness to speak boldly about the power of Christ to seek and make whole all that is counter to God’s call to love speaks to our vision of being justice seekers in all that we do.

“Restoring Lives:” Our conviction that salvation begins with the call of God’s Spirit to acknowledge our brokenness and the brokenness of the world. That we have failed God and neighbor by things that we have done and, as the prayer of confession says, by “things that we have left undone.” Recognizing our need for grace we open the doors of our hearts, souls, and minds, to a renewed spirit, a whole existence, a restored life! Our ministry in 2015 will place growing emphasis in the the many ways that we support our growth in grace (the restoration of our life). We want all people to engage in communities of grace, small groups of believers who gather weekly to care for one another in love. Small groups, prayers groups, and recovery groups, are some of the ways that this takes place and we look forward to having more people growing in grace through these groups.

“Transforming the City:” The purpose of seeking justice (Christ’s kingdom as the ultimate destination) and restoring lives (grace nurturing community) is the rehearsing (the practicing) of God’s kingdom in the place that we have been planted. For 22 years we have been about this work through the many missional commitments (Common Ground, New Room, etc.), through establishing a presence where people are living and seeking, and through our worship life. We’ll continue our missional commitments but also hope to become a more robust community partner by being part of the community conversation seeking to make Shreveport/Bossier a better community and to advocate for the least, the last, and the lost.

Hear what God says!

In the last days,
I will offer My Spirit to humanity as a libation.
Your children will boldly speak the word of the Lord.
Young warriors will see visions,
and your elders will dream dreams.

Acts 2:17 (The Voice Bible)

Join us as we continue dreaming dreams and seeing visions. Invest in God’s future for us here, you can pledge online or print your pledge card and mail it to the church office. See you this weekend!

Salvation is an important word in the story of our faith. It’s origins are in words like healing, wholeness, deliverance (from that which gets in the way of our well being), rescue, and restoration. In the larger narrative of our faith salvation is directly connected to the Israelite deliverance from slavery, it’s journey in the wilderness, and its entrance into the promise land. In our Wesleyan tradition this idea is placed in the context of the restoration of God’s image in all of humanity and a call to becoming and being instruments of a new creation.

“As followers of Jesus Christ, we seek through the power of the Holy Spirit to do what he says to do, go where he leads, welcome those whom he loves and for whom he died, participate in the community he forms, and anticipate his final reign over all creation.” Kenneth Carder & Laceye Warner in Grace to Lead: Practicing Leadership in the Wesleyan Tradition (p. 10)

As we continue telling our story again we must keep the reality of salvation at the forefront. In other words, this story exist because it is a salvation story. We tell it again in order for a new generation to hear it, claim it, and live it.

So we are indeed the V.O.I.C.E that cries out. For we are a people who know what is like to be in bondage, slaves to our own desires, drowning in our self delusions, broken in our relationships with God, others, and creation. We cry out not as victors (Jesus is the one and only victor) but as humble servants, not as ones who have the answers but as those who acknowledge that we indeed do not have the answers, not as ones who judge others but as those who engage others in loving and restorative relationships.

I am often reminded of the power of love to transform lives. Love is the heart of sanctification as we become set apart as a body that comes together to discern, interpret, and proclaim. This requires real engagement so that we are able to weave the story with our story and the story of others. It also requires constant attention to the movements and voice of the Spirit for it “blows all around us as if it has a will of its own; we feel and hear it, but we do not understand where it has come from or where it will end up.” John 3:8 (The Voice)

So let’s continue praying for that God will give us a courageous and loving voice so that all those that hear us will experience God’s salvation!

I still remember talking to a group of Latino/a students at Exploration 2002 in Chicago. They were excited to be speaking their native language, hearing stories from others like them and also finding ways to connect with one another. I too was blessed by the stories and their presence and also felt their slight discomfort at being one of the few minorities at the event.

Each day our communities are becoming increasingly diverse. People from all over the world are finding their home in the United States, making lives here, and trying to find God here. This growing diversity brings about challenges and opportunities in our neighborhoods and in our church.

What if the church became one of the primary places where we can have healthy and transformative conversations about race and ethnicity, power and privilege?

I am thankful that for the first time Exploration is making space for people of color to come together and have honest and important discussions about race, ethnicity, racism, privilege, and living life together. Our facilitator will be Jessica Vazquez-Torres who is an organizer/trainer with CrossRoads AntiRacism Organizing & Training. Jessica is a gifted peacemaker, truthteller, and hearer of stories. My prayer is that these conversations help young people discerning a call to ministry can include race relations as a key aspect of their shalom making wherever they serve.

May this be a new beginning for our denomination as we commit to making space, building bridges and being agents of God’s reconciling kingdom. See you in Denver!!

This week we begin an unusual Lenten study series. Normally during Lenten season the church studies and practices prayer, fasting, & alms giving. These are the basic practices of Christianity and because of that we give them closer attention during the Lenten season. Those that practice these important disciplines will grow in their faith and will want to share with others the reason for their transformed life. This conversation, the sharing, is evangelism.

I have had difficulties with evangelism. I’ve felt manipulated, harrased, and judged by people who claimed to be doing evangelism. I am sure that you could share similar stories of times when you had a difficult encounter with those doing evangelism. Because of this reason many mainline churches have not placed much emphasis on this important spiritual practice.

I grew up in a tradition where evangelism was pivotal. Part of the reason for its importance was a concern that if it was not done then people would go to hell. That explained the passion in this tradition for the practice of evangelism.

What drives our tradition? What is the place of evangelism in the UMC? What is the place of evangelism at Squyres UMC?

These are some of the questions that we will be asking as we study together. Join us in the journey!

Peace, Juan+

“We are more interested in making money than following Jesus” Chad Myers

We are constantly bombarded with our need for stuff. From the moment we wake up in the to the time we go to bed there is the constant buzz that tells us that we need, we need, we need! Cars, jewelry, gadgets, the latest this or that . . . we need these things to be human, to be successful, to be part of the “american dream.”

Often in the church we are no different. We want stuff that will help us, make us comfortable, and will make us feel better. All of this wanting (turn to needing to make us feel better) causes us to loose focus and blinds us to the real needs in us and in our world.

Then comes the teaching of Jesus . . . the last shall be first, the poor will inherit the kingdom, the powerful will be brought down and the lowly will be lifted up, those who are in darkness will be given light, those who are proud will be humbled.

Jesus shows us (directs us towards) our real need! Our need for community, our need for connectedness, our need for something larger than ourselves.

Jesus turns us from a constant concern over ourselves, our needs, our wants, our desires, our consumption. To a concern over the needs of the world, their hurts, their illness, their need for new life.

Jesus transforms us from consumers to producers, from takers, to givers, from needy, to fulfilled, from broken to whole.

All of this means that this gospel is needed in the world. We need to support and work towards a sustainable economy, a just economy, an economy that is centered on the management of God given resources for the life and redemption of the world.

As we do this, as we become this, we become witnesses (agents, catalyst) of the ministry of Jesus in the world.

Peace, Juan+

P.S. Coming soon “Catholicity & Locality: The Church as Many Gifts but One Spirit”

 

 

“Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be known to God.” Philippians 4:6

It’s not easy for me not to worry. In some ways its part of my nature. There are so many needs around me and sometimes there is little I can do about those. Listening to the talking heads on television makes it worst . . . the needs of the world are even more overwhelming. But what if there are good reasons to worry, to be concerned?

For the last few weeks we have watched our economy go on a nosedive. Financial institutions have failed, markets have tumble, and people are anxious. The price for basic necessities continue to go up and our salaries remain the same. Many are losing their jobs and others are losing their pensions. These are worrisome times.

Our faith teaches us not to worry instead to bring our concerns to God. This is not a simple “just pray and it will get better.” Instead is a re-prioritizing connection to the one who gives us what we need.

Worry does not help us in any way. Politicians, economist, and other “experts” just add to the anxiety. Their opinions and solutions are obviously not rooted in the ethics of Jesus. They are not rooted in the struggles of the least, of the needy, of the voiceless. They are not rooted in simplicity and in the sharing of resources. Instead the main concern is on saving big corporations, getting them back so that they make more money and somehow have that money trickle down to those who work very hard each day to make a living. If worry does not help neither does our reliance on these leaders.

I’m making my request to God. I am acknowledging my own greed and desire for more. I am relying on the one who has never left me. I am depending on the one who created the world.

As for the crisis . . . it will continue until we begin to deal with the source of the problem (an ethic incompatible with the Gospel) and we change our ways (repent) and begin to live in new ways (the way of Jesus). In the meantime we will continue to do “the things that [we] have learned and received and heard and seen.” (Philippians 4:9) We will continue to proclaim the Good News of Jesus in the midst of the storm.

Thanks be to God!

Peace, Juan+

In a recent flight to Dayton, Ohio, friend and colleague Katie McKay asked me about what kind of community I dream about serving. After a few seconds I gave her what seemed to me later like a convoluted answer.

I continued thinking about the question as we both enjoyed our time with the Young Pastors Network and the Change the World Conference.

One of those mornings it came to me . . . I would love to lead a liturgical, sacramental, contemplative, progressive, missional congregation.

Wow!!! That seems like a lot to ask!

In the next few weeks I hope to tease these characteristics out in the hopes that others catch a vision for this kind of faith community.

Maybe is not a crazy dream at all . . .

Peace, Juan+