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.

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!

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!

• I often replay in my mind the incident that hurt me.

• Deep in my heart, I wouldn’t mind if something bad happened to the person(s)who hurt me.

• I often find myself telling others how this person has hurt me.

• A lot of my conversations revolve around this situation.

• Whenever his or her name comes up, I am more likely to say something negative than something positive about him or her.

These eight statements are taken from the book, Choosing Forgiveness by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

Our society often teaches that mercy is for the weak.  However, I think only a strong person can extend mercy because only a strong person has the ability to forgive the pain they've suffered.

Although I have heard stories about people taking advantage of someone's forgiving nature, I've heard far more positive stories of the peace and serenity a person feels after forgiving the person who has wronged them.  

As we look at trying to become more Christlike in nature, it is only logical that we would seek to become more forgiving since the forgiveness of sins is the chief attribute people think of when we look at the cross.

I suppose this is why so many quote from Alexander Pope's "An Essay on Criticism", saying, "To err is human, to forgive, divine." 

Today is Ash Wednesday.

This day is the start of the Lenten season which lasts forty days not including Sundays (making it forty-six days in all).

During the worship service (ours is at 7:00 pm), Ashes are made in the sign of the cross on the foreheads of those who wish to receive them.

As I put on the cross, I say, "Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return" which is from Genesis 3:19. 

This allows us to contemplate our mortality.  We follow Jesus during Lent on the road to the cross.  We each realize that someday we will die.

This contemplation of death allows us to ask, "How are we living?"

"What are we doing with our time?"

"Are we giving back to the world more than we are taking?"

My hope for you is that this Lenten season will allow you to be spiritually reflective upon your life as we prepare for the joy of Easter!

I heard several people (many of them kids) say that they were giving up pop for Lent at the Ash Wednesday service the other night.

While I applaud this discipline, it might be easier said than done if you're addicted to caffeine.

As a kid, getting a pop was a real treat.  Does anyone else remember the kid-sized mugs of Root Beer that children got for free at A&W?

I started on my water drinking kick in high school.  I didn't do it because I disliked pop but moreso from an economic standpoint.  We had an open campus in high school and I was given $2 per day on which to eat lunch. 

If I drank ice water (free at restaurants) rather than pop, I had more money for which I could buy food.  As a teenage boy, this became a no-brainer for me.

The world has changed since then.

For one thing, size seems to really matter these days.  As a kid, you had the choice of small, medium or large for your drink order.  Now, the size once considered large is now called medium.  Large got larger.  For those that need more, you now have the choice of extra or super large.  Small just disappeared altogether.

The price has also gone up considerably.  Most people regularly pay over $1 for their soft drinks at fast food places.  If you order it from a waitress while sitting at a table, be prepared to pay at least $2 for your soda.

Lots of people are in the routine of buying a Coke at Sonic or a convenience store each day.  Studies and books like The World is Fat tell us that all this extra syrup we're putting into our diets is not the healthiest of habits.

This is not even taking into account the energy drinks that make up the latest fad.

So next time you are thirsty, you should obey your thirst.  But rather than grab a Sprite, why not give your body what it really needs (rather than wants)?  Tap water.

Don't even get me started on bottled water.  That's a blog for another day.

Darwin's publication of On the Origin of Species in 1859 rocked the world with the theories of natural selection which led to our modern understanding of evolution.

It wasn't well received from the church.

The problem lies in a literal reading of Genesis for our origins.  It is hard to talk about millions of years in evolution when the Bible says six days.  A binary thinker will say it's either one or the other.  It cannot be both.

We know that evolution is accepted by the scientific community.  If we, as a church, believe in education (we support various institutions of higher learning - the closest being Oklahoma City University), we sometimes get caught in the middle of this debate.  Is it millions of years or six days?

Is it some combination of the two?  Is it all or nothing?

Largely, as a denomination we have said very little regarding evolution versus creation.

That is, until the 2008 General Conference.

A couple of petitions that passed as resolutions by The United Methodist Church clearly take a stand in the whole debate.

One changed the language of our Book of Discipline.  The 2008 edition now reads in paragraph 160F (on Science and Technology):

"We find that science’s descriptions of cosmological, geological, and biological evolution are not in conflict with theology. "

and

"We find that as science expands human understanding of the natural world, our understanding of the mysteries of God's creation and word are enhanced."

and

"Science and theology are complementary rather than mutually incompatible."

Furthermore, this General Conference passed a resolution (5052) entitled "Evolution and Intelligent Design" that reads:

"Therefore, be it resolved, that the General Conference of The United Methodist Church go on record as opposing the introduction of any faith-based theories such as Creationism or Intelligent Design into the science curriculum of our public schools."

 I find these changes to be expressive of my position as a Christian and a pastor.  I believe that these are helpful in expressing who we are as a denomination.  Most Christians are represented by literalists and those that have a scientific cosmology often feel that their beliefs are not compatible with those of the church.

We offer an alternative.  For those feeling shut out because of thier views on science, I would invite you to give us a try!

We saw a cool video that showed United Methodists from around the world speaking on this subject.  When I inquired as to where I could download this video for use in the congregation, I was told that they would eventually put it on DVD and I could have it mailed to me for $5 or so.

The irony of this statement seemed lost on the speaker and I will likely forget to ever order the DVD.  What the church leadership needs to understand is that putting the media on a DVD is already archaic.  To be truly global, the access needs to be on the World Wide Web so that those featured on the video can actually watch it.

Sadly, this is not the first instance of our denomination missing the mark concerning resource availability.  At General Conference, we voted on a petition that would allow the Book of Discipline (our United Methodist understanding of how we conduct ourselves) online for free. 

I guess "countless" doesn't include free online access.

Okay, I think tinted windows are just as cool as the next guy.  However, I feel kind of like a dork looking into them.

I usually wave at people I know in town.  It seems a friendly thing to do.  So I look in the other car's windows to see if I recognize the person (which I often do).

If I look into a car with tinted windows, I usually smile half-heartedly because I realize that I have no idea who is driving that car.  Maybe it looks more like a grimace.  I have no idea if this is a stranger I'm smiling at or someone I know.  If it is a stranger, they probably think that I'm pretty strange myself.  If it is someone I know, they may be wondering why I have this pained look on my face everytime I pass them in the car.

So now you know.  If your windows are tinted, I'm really not mad at you.  I just can't see you.