Faith-in-the-Grove a/k/a faithPoints —Lessons From the Older Son
focusPoints:
The Parable of the Prodigal Son is one of the most preached on stories in the New Testament (Luke 15:25-32). The focus is usually on the younger of the two brothers. A focus on the older brother reveals some often overlooked characteristics. He displays for us the great danger of cold-heartedness (Fookes: Stockwell UMC Worship Message, 15 June 2008).
forwardPoints:
The older brother exhibits a likeness to most of us in the church. Many of us are usually closer to the older brother than the younger brother. Unless we are careful, we can begin to look down on the younger brothers of this world.
The older brother forgot two very important matters. May God help us from doing the same! Two important matters that we do well to ponder on this Father's Day Sunday!
fellowshipPoints:
1. The older brother forgot his own debt of gratitude.
He assumed that he deserved to be born the eldest son of a rich farmer. He just took for granted the good life that he enjoyed. In his own anger and resentment about the calf roasting on the barbecue for his own brother, he forgot that he had been feasting at his father's table for his entire life. You see, as Christians, we have received grace upon grace!
2. The older brother forgot his brother’s worth.
He refers to his younger brother as 'this son of yours' rather than 'my brother.' What are some possible explanations for the older son's reasoning?
findingPoints:
In Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations (2007), Missouri Conference UMC Bishop Robert Schnase (http://www.fivepractices.org/) reminds us that Christian hospitality refers to the active desire to invite, welcome, receive, and care for those who are strangers so that they find a spiritual home and discover for themselves the unending richness of life in Christ. It describes a genuine love for others who are not yet a part of the faith community; an outward focus, a reaching out to those not yet known, a love that motivates church members to openness and adaptability, willingness to change behaviors in order to accommodate the needs and receive the talents of newcomers. Beyond intention, hospitality practices the gracious love of Christ, respects the dignity of others, and expresses God's invitation to others, not our own (11-12).
In what ways do we exhibit love by engaging those not like us in our attitudes, behaviors, and programs? If we did a “gratitude audit” would we score the same as the “older brother?”
Radical means "drastically different from the ordinary practice, outside the normal," and so it provokes practices that exceed expectations, that go the second mile, that take welcoming the stranger to the max. It means people offering the absolute utmost of themselves, their creativity, their abilities, and their energy to offer the gracious invitation and reception of Christ to others (Schnase 2007, 21).
How do we treat guests and fellow church members in ways that radically exceed their expectations? In what ways do we treat guests and fellow church members in ways that radically entrench our resistance?
faithPoints:
As we remember gratitude we owe, let’s express that as affirmation of others’ worth.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
1 June 2008—9 Ordinary Time/Kingdomtide
Faith-in-the-Grove a/k/a faithPoints—Our Invisible Helper
focusPoints:
Marathon runners often talk about "hitting the wall." Somewhere between the 18th and 22nd mile of the twenty-six mile race, they often run out of steam. The question becomes for them, will they be able to finish the race or not. In life, we have times when we "hit the wall" so to speak. We come to the end of our resources and wonder if we can keep on. We need a resource. (Fookes: Stockwell UMC Worship Message, 1 June 2008)
forwardPoints:
Christ has promised us that as Christians we have an "invisible helper" available to us, and that if we are humble enough to ask, the Holy Spirit will provide the necessary resources to see us through.
In John's Gospel, chapter 15, we learn that the Holy Spirit is at work both INSIDE the church and OUTSIDE in the world. The Holy Spirit
--guides believers into all truth (verse 13),
--declares to us the things to come (verse 13), and
--will "take what is mine and declare it to you (verse 15).”
fellowshipPoints:
The Holy Spirit also has a mission outside the church. The Holy Spirit confronts the world with truth, often the kind of truth the world does not want to hear:
--convicts the world about sin.
--convicts the world about righteousness.
--convicts the world about judgment.
findingPoints:
In Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations (2007), Missouri Conference UMC Bishop Robert Schnase asks us to consider each others’ “bundles of hopes and anxieties, desires and discomforts” that we carry.
He notes that we (believers/unbelievers, Stockwell UMC members/non-members) are members of Jesus’ family, “and Jesus wants us to treat one another as we would treat Jesus himself if he were here.”
“What would be the quality of the welcome, the efforts to ease the awkwardness? What would be the enthusiasm to help, to serve, to graciously receive and support and encourage? Taking Jesus seriously changes congregational behavior (Schnase, 13).”
So, what is the Holy Spirit’s role to change our behavior and implement the five practices: Radical Hospitality, Passionate Worship, Intentional Faith Development, Risk-Taking Mission and Service, Extravagant Generosity? Some real-world situations:
Chris Madison, Senior Pastor First UMC, Wabash, recently posted on a the North Indiana Conference listserv, “I once asked someone to whom a certain church belonged. The answer was, "It belongs to me, my husband, my friends, etc." My response was, "No, I'm asking a theological question." The Church belongs to Jesus. It always has. It always will. And if we belong to Him, too, and we are part of His mission, the money will be there.
In what ways do we engage the Holy Spirit in so our church reflects belonging to Jesus and disengage the Holy Spirit reflecting belonging to someone else or not knowing to whom we belong?
David Springstead, Community UMC (Virginia Beach, VA) Worship Leader, recently posted on Methodist Musicians listserv, I had a discussion about the polity of the church, and how things could be run (and all decisions made) by a small cabal with the blessings of the pastor. One of the UMC Elders in this group kept bringing up the fact that the UMC isn't a "Congregational" run organization. We don't take church wide votes to make decisions, and the pastor of the church is the one responsible for what form worship is offered. Who are we doing worship for? I understand the primary purpose of worship is to praise God and offer up thanksgiving. If it makes some folks uncomfortable so be it... it's not about us.
How would the Holy Spirit instruct in resolving such dichotomies: Is being laid back an excuse for being unprepared? Is being passionate an excuse for not being patient? Is excluding people with divergent viewpoints an alternative to exploring similarities within differing opinions?
faithPoints:
Like polymer added to water to create a solid, what do I need to add to my life to make a solid Holy Spirit Connection? Like salt added to the polymer-water-created solid turns it back to water, what do I need to keep out of my life so as to not disconnect the Holy Spirit and keep my shape and form? How will I measure results? What will be the outcomes the Holy Spirit’s influence within my life?
Introducing Faith-in-the-Grove
During summer months we will be continuing the twice-a-month real-time gatherings of faithPoints as Faith-in-the-Grove.
Weather permitting, we'll be in the Gazebo on the Stockwell UMC church grounds 11-11:45am on the following Sundays:
Weather permitting, we'll be in the Gazebo on the Stockwell UMC church grounds 11-11:45am on the following Sundays:
- June 1
- June 15
- July 6
- July 20
- August 3
- August 17
- Radical hospitality
- Passionate worship
- Intentional faith development
- Risk-taking mission and service
- Extravagant generosity
If weather is too extreme, we'll meet inside. Come be a part of the conversation as we seek engaging possibilities and enriching discoveries.
(We plan to continue faithPoints October-February using the book Cultivating Christian Community.)
This is not a test ...
... but it is an opportunity for you to give feedback about faithPoints or to personally reflect upon the experience.
To help us assess faithPoints relevancy, please circle your response level to the reaction statements and complete the interaction statement prompts.
Facilitation Reaction
faithPoints helped me discern what God said to me.
Strongly Agree Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly Disagree
faithPoints caused me to consider new ideas and viewpoints.
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faithPoints reinforced my understandings.
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faithPoints provided me an opportunity to share openly.
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faithPoints generated/regenerated my God-created role to make disciples for the transformation of the world.
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Facilitation Interaction
A new idea or concept I learned through faithPoints was …
An idea or concept I knew but hadn’t thought about in awhile that was rekindled through faithPoints was …
Something I wished faithPoints would have do is …
To help us assess faithPoints relevancy, please circle your response level to the reaction statements and complete the interaction statement prompts.
Facilitation Reaction
faithPoints helped me discern what God said to me.
Strongly Agree Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly Disagree
faithPoints caused me to consider new ideas and viewpoints.
Strongly Agree Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly Disagree
faithPoints reinforced my understandings.
Strongly Agree Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly Disagree
faithPoints provided me an opportunity to share openly.
Strongly Agree Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly Disagree
faithPoints generated/regenerated my God-created role to make disciples for the transformation of the world.
Strongly Agree Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly Disagree
Facilitation Interaction
A new idea or concept I learned through faithPoints was …
An idea or concept I knew but hadn’t thought about in awhile that was rekindled through faithPoints was …
Something I wished faithPoints would have do is …
2 March 2008—4 Lent
The Villain of the Gospels
focusPoints
History has had more than its share of evil persons. The Scriptures contain stories of villains too! Queen Jezebel in the Old Testament or King Herod in the New Testament who wanted to kill the baby Jesus and did slaughter many infants around Bethlehem come to mind. And there was Judas, one of Jesus' own disciples.
The Jewish High Priest Caiaphas, who was in power during the time of Jesus, is another. He is part of the Gospel story in the eleventh chapter of John's gospel at a strategic moment in Jesus' life.
It is a matter of a few days before Jesus will enter Jerusalem for that last tension filled week, the week of the Passover festival (Fookes: Stockwell UMC Worship Message2 March 2008).
forwardPoints
In John chapter 11, Caiaphas makes some statements about Jesus that are profoundly true:
I. Jesus is a threat to the status quo. (11:48)
II. "This one man should die for the people." (11:50)
As Holy Week (the week before Easter), Good Friday, and Easter morning draw near, let’s consider:
I. When the way of Christ conflicts with the status quo, which side are you usually on?
II. Secondly, if indeed this man Jesus died for all people, have you affirmed that He died for you?
focusPoints
In The Book of Hard Choices: How to Make the Right Decisions at Work and Keep Your Self-Respect, James Autry and Peter Roy write this about integrity:
It’s easy to talk about and even easy to feel and to demonstration, as long as everything is going well and nothing comes along to put your integrity to the test. In other words, your sense of integrity, while admirable, is not made fully real until you have to live it in difficult and challenging circumstances (Autry & Roy 2006, 1).
In the chapter “Be a Manager or Be a Minister? How to deal with the things they don’t teach in seminary (or business school)” the authors invite:
Now think about this: The minister has to be visionary leader, spiritual counselor, teacher, and preacher for the very people who also are her/his boss, the people who hired her/him and can fire her/him.
One of the characteristics of not-for-profit (community profit) organizations is that alliances often develop between members of the paid staff and members of the volunteer board of directors, a very untidy situation in which directors are tempted to forget that their role is policy and, instead, involved themselves in operations and management, second- guessing the paid senior staff person (Autry & Roy 2006, 93-94).
findingPoints
What are some ways I might find myself drifting out of integrity, opposing different ideas only because they are different, and drifting into roles that are “untidy?”
What are some safeguards, self-checks, checks with a critical friend I can use to make sure I affirm Jesus died for me and that my integrity to looking beyond the status quo to become a more effective disciple-maker for the transformation of the world?
faithPoints
John Wesley, the person to whom the founding of Methodism is attributed, recommended that everyone be in an accountability group (he called them classes, societies, and bands) in order to edify, encourage, and enlighten each other.
In today’s society, finding like-minded people with whom to form such covenants and the time to get together is difficult (not impossible). Let’s at least seek and receive God’s guidance in being open to being accountable to the Holy Spirit who will more than equip us to make disciples for the transformation of the world.
focusPoints
History has had more than its share of evil persons. The Scriptures contain stories of villains too! Queen Jezebel in the Old Testament or King Herod in the New Testament who wanted to kill the baby Jesus and did slaughter many infants around Bethlehem come to mind. And there was Judas, one of Jesus' own disciples.
The Jewish High Priest Caiaphas, who was in power during the time of Jesus, is another. He is part of the Gospel story in the eleventh chapter of John's gospel at a strategic moment in Jesus' life.
It is a matter of a few days before Jesus will enter Jerusalem for that last tension filled week, the week of the Passover festival (Fookes: Stockwell UMC Worship Message2 March 2008).
forwardPoints
In John chapter 11, Caiaphas makes some statements about Jesus that are profoundly true:
I. Jesus is a threat to the status quo. (11:48)
II. "This one man should die for the people." (11:50)
As Holy Week (the week before Easter), Good Friday, and Easter morning draw near, let’s consider:
I. When the way of Christ conflicts with the status quo, which side are you usually on?
II. Secondly, if indeed this man Jesus died for all people, have you affirmed that He died for you?
focusPoints
In The Book of Hard Choices: How to Make the Right Decisions at Work and Keep Your Self-Respect, James Autry and Peter Roy write this about integrity:
It’s easy to talk about and even easy to feel and to demonstration, as long as everything is going well and nothing comes along to put your integrity to the test. In other words, your sense of integrity, while admirable, is not made fully real until you have to live it in difficult and challenging circumstances (Autry & Roy 2006, 1).
In the chapter “Be a Manager or Be a Minister? How to deal with the things they don’t teach in seminary (or business school)” the authors invite:
Now think about this: The minister has to be visionary leader, spiritual counselor, teacher, and preacher for the very people who also are her/his boss, the people who hired her/him and can fire her/him.
One of the characteristics of not-for-profit (community profit) organizations is that alliances often develop between members of the paid staff and members of the volunteer board of directors, a very untidy situation in which directors are tempted to forget that their role is policy and, instead, involved themselves in operations and management, second- guessing the paid senior staff person (Autry & Roy 2006, 93-94).
findingPoints
What are some ways I might find myself drifting out of integrity, opposing different ideas only because they are different, and drifting into roles that are “untidy?”
What are some safeguards, self-checks, checks with a critical friend I can use to make sure I affirm Jesus died for me and that my integrity to looking beyond the status quo to become a more effective disciple-maker for the transformation of the world?
faithPoints
John Wesley, the person to whom the founding of Methodism is attributed, recommended that everyone be in an accountability group (he called them classes, societies, and bands) in order to edify, encourage, and enlighten each other.
In today’s society, finding like-minded people with whom to form such covenants and the time to get together is difficult (not impossible). Let’s at least seek and receive God’s guidance in being open to being accountable to the Holy Spirit who will more than equip us to make disciples for the transformation of the world.
17 February 2008—2 Lent
The Supreme Test
focusPoints
There are numerous stories and passages in the Old Testament that foreshadow what is to come in the New Testament. The passage from Genesis 22 is certainly one of those. Genesis 22:1 tells that God “tested” Abraham.
Abraham received a command from the God that must have broken his heart—“to take your son, Isaac, whom you love, to the region of Moriah, and sacrifice him there on one of the mountains I will tell you about.
The Lord was testing Abraham. Abraham passed this supreme test and we honor him as our father in the faith (Fookes: Stockwell UMC Worship Message, 17 February 2008)
forwardPoints
From this scripture we find these truths:
All people of faith will be tested. Not as Abraham was, but all of us will be tested (James 1:13, James 1:24, Isaiah 48:10).
God will provide as much help as we need.
(I John 4:4, 2 Corinthians, 12:9)
(Fookes: Stockwell UMC Worship Message, 17 February 2008).
fellowshipPoints
In The Book of Hard Choices: How to Make the Right Decisions at Work and Keep Your Self-Respect, James Autry and Peter Roy recount a story about the publisher of Natural Foods Merchandiser being tested.
A cover story was run as editorial content used a particular manufacturer as a primary source, which was the competitor of the publication’s major advertiser.
The major advertiser was not happy because its competitor was made to look good. The major advertiser was demanding in bullying fashion that something be done or future advertising would be pulled.
The publisher explained that advertising did not drive editorial content and to be ethical nothing could be done—since the article in question was factual (Autry and Roy 2006, 31-41).
In the end, the major advertiser continued advertising and now treated the publication more as colleague than vendor reminding us that we should
· Appreciate the long-term effect of doing what we say we’re going to do.
· Remain calm and courteous even in the face of anger and verbal abuse.
· Never let ourselves be driven by the fear of failure.
· Don’t sacrifice our peace of mind for a short-term solution (Autry and Roy 2006, 41).
findingPoints
How can we better equip ourselves to be ready for tests and stay in command of situations that require us to provide an immediate response in which a short-term and long-term answer might be different?
What are the long-term implications of our short-term and long-term answers being consistent? For us? For others?
When Jesus asked his inner circle about being ready to drink the cup of which he was to drink there short-term answer was yes without considering the long-term consequences. What are some ways we can stop doing similar things in our lives and in the life of our church (universal, denominationalized, and parish)?
To what degree to you agree or disagree that “silence is consent?”
faithPoints
Mediate on this question—How much of Jesus’ cup are we willing to drink? If our answer is “less than all,” pray for ways to develop faith so that the answer can be “all.”
focusPoints
There are numerous stories and passages in the Old Testament that foreshadow what is to come in the New Testament. The passage from Genesis 22 is certainly one of those. Genesis 22:1 tells that God “tested” Abraham.
Abraham received a command from the God that must have broken his heart—“to take your son, Isaac, whom you love, to the region of Moriah, and sacrifice him there on one of the mountains I will tell you about.
The Lord was testing Abraham. Abraham passed this supreme test and we honor him as our father in the faith (Fookes: Stockwell UMC Worship Message, 17 February 2008)
forwardPoints
From this scripture we find these truths:
All people of faith will be tested. Not as Abraham was, but all of us will be tested (James 1:13, James 1:24, Isaiah 48:10).
God will provide as much help as we need.
(I John 4:4, 2 Corinthians, 12:9)
(Fookes: Stockwell UMC Worship Message, 17 February 2008).
fellowshipPoints
In The Book of Hard Choices: How to Make the Right Decisions at Work and Keep Your Self-Respect, James Autry and Peter Roy recount a story about the publisher of Natural Foods Merchandiser being tested.
A cover story was run as editorial content used a particular manufacturer as a primary source, which was the competitor of the publication’s major advertiser.
The major advertiser was not happy because its competitor was made to look good. The major advertiser was demanding in bullying fashion that something be done or future advertising would be pulled.
The publisher explained that advertising did not drive editorial content and to be ethical nothing could be done—since the article in question was factual (Autry and Roy 2006, 31-41).
In the end, the major advertiser continued advertising and now treated the publication more as colleague than vendor reminding us that we should
· Appreciate the long-term effect of doing what we say we’re going to do.
· Remain calm and courteous even in the face of anger and verbal abuse.
· Never let ourselves be driven by the fear of failure.
· Don’t sacrifice our peace of mind for a short-term solution (Autry and Roy 2006, 41).
findingPoints
How can we better equip ourselves to be ready for tests and stay in command of situations that require us to provide an immediate response in which a short-term and long-term answer might be different?
What are the long-term implications of our short-term and long-term answers being consistent? For us? For others?
When Jesus asked his inner circle about being ready to drink the cup of which he was to drink there short-term answer was yes without considering the long-term consequences. What are some ways we can stop doing similar things in our lives and in the life of our church (universal, denominationalized, and parish)?
To what degree to you agree or disagree that “silence is consent?”
faithPoints
Mediate on this question—How much of Jesus’ cup are we willing to drink? If our answer is “less than all,” pray for ways to develop faith so that the answer can be “all.”
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