I posted my Facebook status as "Hard to believe that this Sunday will already be the 4th Sunday of Advent".  Time goes by a lot more quickly as an adult than it did when I was a child waiting for Christmas to arrive.  It seemed to take forever!

I remember fondly my time at Boston Avenue UMC with memories of lighting the Advent Wreath in Bishop's Hall before the Sunday school hour began.  We also put out luminaries to line the walk-ways that we made as youth.  They were decorated paper bags filled with sand with a candle in each one. 

What I really remember about them is trying to light them on a cold, windy Oklahoma night.  I think it must have been for the Christmas Eve services.  This was before the nice long bic lighters that we have today.  I remember burnt fingers which wasn't so bad considering that otherwise they would have been numb.  When I went back to inspect them following the service, I saw where more than one caught on fire.  I don't think we did those again after that year but I could be wrong.

As I grew older, I remember singing in Boston Avenue's production of Handel's Messiah with my parents, Eldon and Betty and my brother Bob.  It was the highlight of my Christmas season that year and I still look back on it fondly (but I couldn't tell you any material presents I received that year.  Hmm).

On Saturday, Sheryl and I took the kids to Quail Springs Mall's food court (against my better judgment - oh the crowds!) for a flash mob presentation of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah.  Well, it wasn't much of a flash mob because not very many seemed surprised (we were all gathered around waiting for about half an hour).  But it was a nice rendition by singers from the Canterbury Choral Society.  It was moving to look over all the people who took time out of their shopping to consider why they were at the mall buying gifts in the first place.

I thought this video that Nancy Smith sent me more closely represents the surprise of a flash mob experience:

May your waiting time be holy time and may you have a very Merry Christmas!

On Sunday evening, we had a discussion on free will at Charis Worship.  How much freedom are we given by God to make our decisions in life?

If we are truly given free will, this limits God's power or control over the universe.  God grants us the ability to choose either wisely or poorly our own course of actions.  Thus, you may have some people decide to crash an airplane into a building.

Why did God allow this to happen?  Because we are not puppets and have the free will to live our lives the way we see fit.

We listened to a song at Charis by Rush entited, "Free Will".

This song allows us to ask the question, do we blame other things for actions that are really our responsibility, as in "the devil made me do it" or "it was just fated to happen"?  I do see some people attributing awful things to God simply to defend God's sovereign power.

For instance, when NFL player Donte Stallworth struck and killed Mario Reyes with his vehicle which Stallworth was operating while intoxicated, someone may say, "well, God must have needed Mario in heaven" which tacitly implies that God was behind the death rather than Stallworth's poor choice to drive drunk.

By allowing Stallworth free will, God chooses to self-limit divine power. 

Furthermore, our Wesleyan tradition upholds the notion of free will with specific examples coming from John Wesley's sermon entitled "Free Grace" which really takes a strong stand against predestination.

Donald Haynes, a professor of United Methodist studies, claims that Rick Warren's theology in his popular book, A Purpose Driven Life, serves as an apologetic for God's sovereignty when Warren states that God chooses "...the exact time of your birth and death..."  This would imply that Stallworth was merely acting as God's agent in the divine scheme of things when he ran over poor Mr. Reyes.  Maybe that's why Stallworth only got 30 days in prison.

I don't believe that we're a vast computer program, running through the motions.  I'm not even that big a fan of puppets when human beings control them let alone thinking that I might be one.

Even when the studies of birth order, generational dynamics and genetic predisposition tend to force us into a behavioral box, I still assert free will and personal responsibility.  After all, isn't this the true gift parents finally relinquish to their children?  The gift to make their own decisions?

In the words of John Rusco, "Thank God for that gift!"

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free"

 Okay, the words from the Statue of Liberty sound like they could also be religious words from a prophet or preacher.  They could be words from our church.

They are inviting words but they are also instill an image of hope and transformation - as if your current condition means nothing to the possibility of who you could be here as one of us.

Annual Conferences in The United Methodist Church will be voting on an amendment to paragraph 4 of the 2008 Book of Discipline dealing with the language of invitation. 

As amended the new paragraph would read:

Inclusiveness of the Church — The United Methodist Church is a part of the church universal, which is one Body in Christ.  The United Methodist Church acknowledges that all persons are of sacred worth and that we are in ministry to all.  All persons shall be eligible to attend its worship services, participate in its programs, receive the sacraments, and upon baptism be admitted as baptized members.  All persons, upon taking vows declaring the Christian faith and relationship in Jesus Christ, shall be eligible to become professing members in any local church in the connection. In the United Methodist Church no conference or other organizational unit of the Church shall be structured so as to exclude any member or any constituent body.

This changed paragraph is not all that different from the current language.  The amendment deletes the following categories from being excluded:

  "...race, color, national origin, status or economic condition"

and allows the simpler wording of "all" knowing that when you start listing categories, someone else's group or identity could be listed as well.

The "shall" language is already present in our current wording.

I've given my theological rationale in a video on Youtube but was asked by some for the actual wording of the amendment.

My duty as the pastor is to explain what people are stating when they take the vows of membership.  Once this knowledge is shared, if they feel that they are ready, we are ready to receive them.

I suppose that there could be some problem members that enter the congregation but I've always looked upon these people as placed before us by God.  Maybe they'll experience the transforming grace that we receive in membership as a part of the body of Christ.  But we'll never know unless we take the risk.

Those outside the church know about the hopsitality of Jesus toward those considered "unclean" by the religious establishment.  They may not be aware of the demands of discipleship that Jesus also gave us.  But unless we lead with grace, they may never want to find out.

In the hymn, "Easter People, Raise Your Voices" , the song declares, "Every day to us is Easter, with its resurrection song."

Of course it is speaking of the resurrection being the defining point of faith for Christians everywhere.  Resurrection marks us with a hope for new life to rise out of tragic or seemingly disastrous situations (such as the cross).  It becomes a part of our outlook.

For me, every day is also "Earth Day".  And by earth day, I mean a day in which we can respect and hold reverence for our planet with which we've been blessed to inherit.

My theology has often held a respect or reverence for God as creator.  This does not mean I am a creationist.  Rather, I see science continuously enriching our understanding of God who created the universe.

Even though theological giants like Karl Barth, have generally rejected Natural Theology which would include a general revelation of God through the natural world, I would see Prevenient Grace as leading us toward God through the wonder so many feel as they experience the awe within the natural world.

My own life has been puncuated by spiritual experiences that have occurred outdoors.

So for me, earth day is a stewardship issue.  It's why I recycle and seek to lessen my ecological impact upon the world.

It is a part of my Christianity as I take seriously the opening lines of the Gospel of John:

"In the beginning was the Word (Jesus Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through him, and without him, not one thing came into being."

                                                                                           John 1:1-3a (NRSV)

I would also say that my theology has been influenced by Celtic thought, such as St. Columbanus who claims, "If you want to understand the Creator seek to understand created things."

So have a happy Earth Day today and every day and may God bless your viewing!

Everyone sing along:

I am the church!

You are the church!

We are the church together!

All who follow Jesus,

All around the world.

Yes, we're the church together!

The church is not a building

The church is not a steeple

The church is not a resting place

The church is the people!

This is a good thought to remember since earlier today, the old White Church located at 415 Monroe Street was torn down.  This building was started in 1903 and I believe was completed sometime in 1904.  It was the oldest church structure in Piedmont.

Since the sale of our old facility at 4th and Monroe to the Soldier Creek Church of Christ, we knew that this was probably coming.  But to actually see it produces some grief for a lot of people, myself included.

The building has served the community of Piedmont well through many generations.  It was witness to baptisms, conversions, weddings, and funerals.  It would be hard to estimate how many casseroles were consumed there!

When I arrived in Piedmont in 2001, it was not in use.  We turned it over to the youth who quickly made it their own.

I was accosted by several of our senior high youth last night when they heard the news of the impending destruction of their beloved building.  And so the grief is largely felt by the oldest in our congregation but also by our youth.  Ask some of them about the pillow game and you might coax a smile out of them!

For the older members experiencing grief, we remember that it was remodeled in the 1970's and no longer had the original sanctuary on the inside.  We see the earliest pictures and remember that it no longer had the bell tower that once stood proudly.  We remember and we grieve the loss.

I do not regret our decision to sell the old facility.  It had served our congregation well.  Nor do I hold any ill will toward Soldier Creek because it would have been a money pit for them.  But God does call us to make sacrifices.  We move onward, remembering that our primary responsibility is that of discipleship.  We are not in the museum business or about preservation for preservation's sake.  These are important functions of a society but not necessarily the functions of a church.

Our job is to look forward.

And so if you are mourning, I invite you to mourn with me.  We remember the good times.  But let us also remember that we were shaped in the faith there.  A faith that bids us to recognize the life-changing nature of our relationship in Jesus Christ.  A faith that calls us to introduce others to this relationship as well.  In order for us to do that as effectively as possible, sacrifices sometimes have to be made.

So we thank God for those pioneering members that constructed it.  May we seek to be as faithful as they!