Post-Election

It has been a week since the election and, in spite of my best intentions, I have failed to blog about how I experience this 24 hour period. The picture says it all: I prayed and challenged others to pray. OCA serves as a polling place, so there were signs VOTE HERE TODAY. I decided to open our sanctuary for drop in prayer all day. I made and hung a sign PRAY HERE TODAY. I spent the majority of my day in the sanctuary praying. There were some that came and joined me. 

It reminded me that our world cannot trust in political parties or candidates or even democracy. Our allegience is to Jesus and we align ourselves with Him and learn from him in all of life. We cling to Jesus!

********************RE-POST FROM BOARD OF BISHOPS, FMC***********************
The world woke up on Wednesday morning to the surprising news of a Trump victory. Some Free Methodists cried; some Free Methodists celebrated. But even those who celebrated did so with grave concerns over the moral demise of this country. To those who cried, it seemed the end of life as we know it.
May we, as your bishops, offer words of orientation and encouragement to the church:

1) Followers of Jesus are good citizens and patriots, but our primary citizenship is in the kingdom of our God; He is our Lord. Neither our identity, our success or our failure is tied to any particular political party, politician or country. We are “supra-citizens” with as much concern for the well-being of all countries as for our own.

So what? We are neither elated nor discouraged by what happens to our government; Jesus is Lord. Be at peace.

2) Followers of Jesus win by losing. Perhaps that’s stating it too crudely, but Jesus won by dying, and we live by serving. Followers of Jesus do not grasp power as the world knows it. We don’t win by imposition of laws or morality. We win by inside-out transformations of men and women, families and communities.

So what? Nothing significant was won or lost in the elections. Everything of eternal significance is being gained through a powerless process of transformation. Be at peace.

3) The church of Jesus thrives in persecution. The church rarely thrives when the church has no opposition. In our self-sufficiency, we are led to the delusion of thinking we are gods.

So what? The church is willing to suffer if it purifies us and enables stronger witness to the power of Jesus in our lives. Be at peace in the suffering.

4) In a world of anger, division and strife, followers of Jesus must be agents of reconciliation, Peter would name us “priests.” Seek to know people who are different, befriend them, and defend them against aggressors.

So what? Demonstrate that the lives of those different from us matter. If we are white, that means that black lives matter. It means persons of other religions, even Islam, matter. It means that those who voted other than you in the recent election, matter. Be at peace.

5) In a world of anger and violence that spins into scary and vengeful cycles, terrorizes people and cannibalizes humanity, we will not live that way — not face-to-face and not on social media. We love our enemies. We pray for our persecutors. We pay back good for evil. We calmly and prophetically seek the grace to love peace and to make peace, even if it kills us, trusting Jesus’ word that making peace marks the makers as children of God.

So what? Be at peace.

6) In obedience to the Scriptures, we pray for those in authority over us — civil (Romans) and spiritual (Hebrews). Rather than complain, or argumentatively resist leadership on every level, we understand that our best posture is submission and seeking God’s will to be realized not only for our leaders but through them. We believe, as John Wesley himself was convinced, that God does much if not everything He does in answer to prayer. So what? Let’s pray — alone, in our churches, with those we love and with those who view life and politics differently.

Free Methodists come from an activist tradition. We pay attention to our cultural context, and we advocate for good. We denounce evil in all its forms and engage in every way, including politics, to make the world more pleasing to the God and Father of all humankind. As your bishops, we are not advocating withdrawal from the world or some kind of numbing of our citizenship responsibilities. We are simply reminding ourselves of our ultimate citizenship, our ultimate loyalty, our ultimate hope and our ultimate peace.

Board of Bishops
Free Methodist Church – USA

Obedience is thicker than blood in the Kingdom of God - Luke 12:49-56

Michelle Carter won the gold medal in Rio last week by shot putting 20.63 meters which is 67.68 feet. This is amazing!  This was her 3rd Olympics and she is the first woman from the United States to win gold in the shot put. She was a surprise champion. Among the other amazing things about this is that her father is her coach. He expressed his pride in her accomplishment and was ecstatic as he shared her glory as her coach. He said, "As parents, we jump for joy, are happy, but as her coach, I'm responsible for what happens when she fails. But she finally succeeded. The coach has retired for this year and the dad is now just walking around happy, with his chest stuck out."

It strikes me that a family such as the Carters are much like all families. It is clear that they love one another. They have values, priorities, and a way of communicating that. It could be said that the members of the Carter family treasure one another and they also treasure shot putting.

Jesus' words in Luke 12:49-56 are hard because we also treasure our families. We are encouraged to do so by our families, by our society, and even by our Judeo-Christian faith. 


“I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three;they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain’; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?'"

This scripture is doubly hard because, at first glance, with only a superficial reading of it, Jesus seems to contradict other scriptures that tell us that peace is offered to us through His word and work in our lives. (By the way, these are some very favorite scriptures of mine) These passages seem to say the very opposite of what Jesus is saying in Luke 12:49-56. Consider these:

Philippians 4:6-7 - Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 26:3 - You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.

John 14:27 -  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

It is possible to hold all of this together at the same time. In fact, these truths are all essential in understanding the nature of discipleship and obedience.

Jesus introduces his followers here in Luke 12:49-56 to the basic, shocking fact that obedience is thicker than blood. He is now heading toward Jerusalem where he will be immersed in difficulty. The truth that Jesus has proclaimed, has lived, and is inviting us into demands our absolute ALL. His way has to become our way. If Jesus' way becomes our primary loyalty, we are headed for fire.It is inevitable that those who are closest to us - even our family members- will want us to follow their values, their priorities, their goals. There are times that this brings crises. We are given a choice, will we choose our family's way or will we follow Jesus' way? Will we accept radical change in our lives which mean that we end up "treasuring" that which seems a little ridiculous to those who are most dear to us?Even though this seems shocking, it has a ring of truth. To those listening to this for the first time, to the disciples, they would know that they had indeed left their families to follow. For instance, James and John, the sons of Zebedee heard Jesus call right there in their fishing boat with their dad. They literally left their dad in the boat, left the family enterprise of fishing,the priorities and values of their father, to become Jesus' apprentices. It is obvious that Zebedee would not have agreed or understood such a shocking and maybe even disrespectful act. He very well might have thought and said, "My sons hate me!"

John Wesley's covenant prayer gives us a way of understanding and praying this hard reality. We embrace Jesus call and sometimes this means being emptied or abandoned. However, it is true that as we walk with Jesus, he provides everything that we need. Here is the prayer: "Make us what you will Lord, and send us where we are to go. Let us be vessels of silver or gold, or vessels of wood or stone; as long as we are vessels of honor we are content. If we are not the head or the eye or the ear, one of the nobler or more honorable instruments, then let us be the hands, or the feet, as one of the lowest and least esteemed of all the servants of our Lord. Lord, place us in your kingdom in roles you have designed for us. Lord make all of us your servants. In exalted places, or humble places. Let us be full, let us be empty. Let us have all things, let us have nothing. We freely and gladly embrace our places in your kingdom."

Jesus Speaks and It is Done - Recap of Luke 6:46-8:39

Disease, death, and demons know Jesus. We follow Jesus around as he faces the great threats to human existence and to human flourishing. None of these are a match for Jesus. People in these stories call him a prophet, they call him "Master." His words and work cause us wonder and amazement. We know that it is beyond what we see in others. We even look at him facing the boiling cauldron of sea with the whispering rumors of evil that abides there and he simply speaks and the wind and waves become calm. The disciples in the boat are wondering "who then is this that the wind and waves obey him?" Yes, creation has always obeyed God's spoken word. We look around at the incredible life change that Jesus brings to ourselves and to those around us, it is clear that it must be the work of God.

Photo by Erin Cook taken of "bonus" sunflowers planted by God
 with the cooperation of the birds, August 2015.

 By words, God’s power goes out to accomplish His purposes:

Creation: 

Genesis 1:2-26 “God said…and it was so. God saw that it was good”

Hebrews 11:3 “By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.”

2 Peter 3:5 “They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water”

Creation is sustained and ordered:

Colossian 1:16-17 “for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers – all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things and in him all things hold together.”

Re-Creation which is healing:

Galatians 1:4, the Lord Jesus Christ, “who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age”

1 Peter 1:23 “You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.”

John 17:17 “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth”

Jesus speaks into our hearts and we have a choice. Will we listen to His word, will we accept His word, and will we see that the purposes of God are truly good news to us? Will we become responsive and obedient people? Will we invite this kind of re-creating compassion into our lives and open our lives as lights on a stand so that the whole world might see the great offer of abundant life in God's kingdom?

Experimenting with Infused Water on our Porch

Questions that we bat around on the front porch: What is ours to do in making the world a better place? How do we offer a safe place and invite people into conversations? Are we telling our stories and listening to others as they also have stories to tell? What if the other person's story makes us want to run away and hide? What kind of person would I need to be in order to make sitting with people and deeply listening to them possible? Is it possible and desirable to become such a person?

Heather has been my neighbor next door for a while now. We do not really hang out on the porch much....until recently. She is a generous and gracious person and noticing that I got super excited about infusing water earlier this summer offered her old mason jar to me for my new hobby. As we were talking one day, it suddenly emerged this idea of offering infused water for our community.

Every day, I slice stuff and put it along with ice and water in the jug and set it out on the front porch. Just in the last few weeks, there has been a lot of good conversation and stories around the water on the porch. I decided to add a conversation starter/trivia/scripture/practice for the day there in case people wanted another kind of infusion along with the water.

Here is a sample: (starting with the concept of hospitality for obvious reasons) Orange-Pineapple - conversation starter: recall and share a story of a time when someone showed you extraordinary hospitality. Cantaloupe and cucumber - exercise: today listen twice as much as you speak. Reflect on this exercise. Was it easy or hard? Did you learn anything about yourself? Share these insights with someone and notice if they listen.

This Dream, Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

The pressure behind my eyes was fierce. Tears had been flowing for a long time. It felt like all day, but maybe it was just a half hour or so. I couldn't convince my tear ducts to quit, but the headache was on the verge of unbearable.

I was reading Ta-Nehisi Coates' Between the World and Me. As part of my required reading for book club, ironically, since my dissertation reading has ceased, I have read more than a few frivolous books such as this one dealing with the evils of racism. He recounts from his perspective racism in this county. It is his personal account written as a letter to his 15 year old son. It depicts how black bodies have been, in the history of our country, enslaved, locked up, raped, and murdered. He tells how he has witnessed the lack of responsibility taken and lack of real justice done in his lifetime, with his family, and friends. He speaks of the Dream that we have of our country being a place of justice and freedom and how all of us will go to great lengths to preserve the dream even when we suspect that it really is a lie.

He acknowledges the temptation to turn away, to run and hide, to try to debunk these realities as anomalies. If we are tempted to look away and dismiss these realities, we are at a place of transformation. Listening to the news stories from riots in Baltimore and Furgeson, MO can be difficult and the high profile cases of Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin is difficult. But, if you (and I) are white and if you say you follow Jesus, this is not your time to run away and hide. This is your time to listen. It is our time to pull up a chair and listen. What if we listened without making excuses or becoming defensive or dismissing it as "their fault?"

Listening to Ta-Nehisi Coates' story was torture for me, but I did it and I'm glad I did. I'm glad I did because it reminds me that I have so much to learn. I have a lot to learn from African Americans and I'm intending for them to increasingly become my teachers. They are under no obligation to become my teachers....they do not owe me anything. It is the other way around. I owe them a love that begins by listening. We all, as Coates suggests, have a capacity to become haters. We must face our own capacity to plunder and to separate ourselves from those who are not like us. Hate gives identity. (page 60) I'm surrendering my Dream and I am laying my own capacity to run, distance, plunder, and hate firmly in the loving arms of Jesus. I'm convinced that if anyone can re-order my heart, my community, and this world, it is him and his love.

One cat, one dog, and three rodents

It is spring break so most of my neighbors are in exotic locations: Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee or Illinois. I have been here finishing a project and by default, became responsible for pet sitting. I rather enjoy it really. There is no glamour in it, though. Yesterday, I put my hand through the hole in order to feed the rodents. One of them darted for the opening and startled me half to death. I spilled their food and made it out alive. The rodent did not escape. Mission accomplished.

I’m willing to provide for these various animals because I realize the value of doing small gestures of love for my neighbors. I show up because I can do the job and I am willing to do it.

There are times when I have to say “no” to requests. I may be able to do the job, however it may not be mine to do. There may be other, more glamorous jobs, that I have to decline. Recently, I’ve been talking to God a lot about this. In many decisions, big and small, I am learning how to be a good steward of my time and of my influence. It is no mystery why Jesus gives us that teaching about allowing our “yes” to be “yes” and our “no” to be “no” (Matthew 5:37).

Perhaps, left to our own devices, we would never face this perennial challenge of our own dominion. It is at the basic level of what it means to be human. Male and female were made in the image of God. We are told that we have a say. We have dominion. We are in charge of stuff. We have a realm of influence. Furthermore, when we acknowledge this and realize that we need help, God is more than happy to give us his presence and power (Philippians 4:13). Strength does not come from one’s body necessarily, but from God. Indeed, when ordinary men and women embody the power and presence of God in their everyday experiences, the extraordinary happens.

A few days ago, I had a unique opportunity to worship at a historic black church in my area. “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…hide it under a bush, oh, no, I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine let it shine.” The words of the song were sung by young and old, black and white, male and female. There is real power in seeing our own power. In terms of social power, the little three year old girl sitting in front of me had very little, yet, when she needed to go to the restroom, she used the power of her voice to communicate her need. She has a voice and she has the ability to shine.

This journey with God has showed me how much influence I have. I am challenged every day to partner with God and become a better steward of my influence. This very popular phrase “man-up” is one that I am re-considering. Men and women alike need God's power to use influence in a way that is good. Now, I am giving all those around me the charge to recognize how much influence you really have. God has given us a powerful imperative. It is a recommendation or maybe even a command given to all of my friends who may feel like they have very little spheres of influence. It is tempting to buy that lie. However, you must resist it as being just that. You have great power and great influence. Now, it is your time, my sisters, to “woman-up” and claim your place in your everyday life. You have the ability to shine.