The Assurance UMC Blog

I am immersed in the throws of Lent (the 40 days, minus Sundays that lead to Easter) which is meant to be a time of spiritual preparation and self denial. I have always found this time to be so odd – this season of drawing closer to God.  Often this season is associated with “giving something up”. It seems that this practice is actually coming back into style.  Especially with folks in their 20’s and 30’s who haven’t been “without” much in their life are hungry for the rhythm and the discipline of “letting” go of something for a time as a small price to pay for participating in the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus offers. I love that people are actually excited about going without, as a statement of perspective and a gesture of faith. Giving something up, which in the eyes of a world that says take all you can get, is a radical statement of following one who teaches us that the “last shall be first and the first shall be last.”

Barbara Brown Taylor reflections on the season give me perspective: 

Do not bother looking for Lent in your Bible dictionary. There was no such thing in biblical times. There is some evidence that early Christians fasted 40 hours between Good Friday and Easter, but the custom of spending 40 days in prayer and self-denial did not arise until later, when the initial rush of Christian adrenaline was over and believers had gotten very ho-hum about their faith.

When the world did not end as Jesus himself had said it would, his followers stopped expecting so much from God or from themselves. They hung a wooden cross on the wall and settled back into their more or less comfortable routines, remembering their once passionate devotion to God the way they remembered the other enthusiasms of their youth.

Little by little, Christians became devoted to their comforts instead: the soft couch, the flannel sheets, the leg of lamb roasted with rosemary. These things made them feel safe and cared for if not by God, then by themselves. They decided there was no contradiction between being comfortable and being Christian, and before long it was very hard to pick them out from the population at large. They no longer distinguished themselves by their bold love for one another. They did not get arrested for championing the poor. They blended in. They avoided extremes. They decided to be nice instead of holy, and God moaned out loud.

I am inviting us all to live a different kind of season.  A season where “going without” something helps us let go of a piece of our comfort and prosperity.  With part of that stripped away, we can hear God speaking more clearly.  That’s the whole purpose of “prayer and fasting” in the scriptures, that going without makes one more receptive to the God who is speaking through the witness of Jesus the Christ. 

Will you join me and “give up” something of substance?  Something that matters just to you.  Don’t be giving up something that you won’t miss – but make a sacrifice that hurts a little and counts a lot.  I think it would be awesome if you would post what you are willing to give up for these 40 days.  Not as a sign of boasting, but as a community of Christ followers praying for each other to make sacrifices together that compromise our comfort and help us rediscover God.  What are you letting go of for a time?

I was recently selected to attend a program called LEAD with 24 other United Methodist Pastors in Western North Carolina to explore best practices in the areas of Evangelism and Discipleship. This week I am attending my first meeting with this group, in West Palm Beach Florida at a church called Christ Fellowship. Just to clarify, we are in West Palm Beach but we are in meetings almost every hour so I won’t even get to see the Beach while I am here. But what I am witnessing is so much better.  Christ Fellowship is a 26 year old church that currently serves about 20,000 people. It is a non denominational church that has reached deep into their community and tranformed it with God’s love.  Of course, they are a little bigger than Assurance and do things on a scale much larger than we do.  But what is awesome is that they have experienced in their history, all the struggles and challenges that we have and will experience in our growth. It has been helpful to see the scale and passion for which they offer the love of God and it makes me grateful that I get to see that kind of love at Assurance. Most pastors that are here aren’t in churches that are growing the way Assurance is and many don’t have the broad and large vision that we are called to. It is nice to see a vision stretched even larger than ours. It helps me to be stretched to think bigger even as we ask questions around how we serve our current congregation better by offering better opportunities to grow in our faith together. When I visit a church that has come up out of nowhere to be the spiritual center of their community, I think of you. I think about where we have been but more importantly, where we are going. I think about the people that Assurance has reached and am reminded of the thousands that we are yet to serve. When I am here, I am thinking of you. The things we will do together to, in our own way, share the love of Jesus with North Mecklenburg county.

Not too long ago I was popping popcorn the old fashioned way, on the stove. Soon I realized that I must have filled it with too much popcorn because it began to push on the lid of the pot. The lid was off , which was a little scary at first and then exciting because it was time to eat. Assurance – the lid is off and I pray that this excites you as much as it does me. This trip and a glimpse into a church that is doing ministry on such a large scale, reminds me of how exciting and unique our journey truly is.  I feel so blessed to be on it with you!

Sunday at church we asked the question, “Does God care about what we eat?” Through some study – we looked back at Kosher laws (Leviticus 11) to see that God used to care a lot about what we ate. Lauren Winner, a Christian who grew up Jewish and used to observe Kosher law, says that kosher eating is an example that if God cares about even the hairs upon our head – then God is interested in the details of our life and Kosher eating is to “infuse the simple act of feeding oneself with meaning and consequence.” Like the kosher requirement that animals are killed humanely and with compassion. She rightly notes that most Christians believe the moral codes of the Old Testament are still important but the dietary and more peculiar codes of conduct in Leviticus are outdated and that we are exempt through Jesus’ death on the cross. She rightly notes that the Apostle Peter and his vision in Acts that God has made all food clean – has exempted Christians from this code.  But “while Christians are not bound by the particularities of deuteronomic dietary law, we may still want to pay attention to the basic principle that underlines kosher eating; God cares about our dietary choices.” God cares about the most basic aspects of our life. “At it’s most basic level, keeping kosher requires you to be present to your food. Of course, so does the Atkins diet.” But the real difference is God. Diets honor the body but kosher honors God. Jews know that Kosher makes no sense unless God cares about even the simplest details of our life. Dieting is often for us – but kosher – this spiritual code of eating – is not for us but for God.  What does this look like for us today? What should this look like? Does God care about what we eat?  Please post your thoughts!

I had a very interesting New Year’s Eve Eve. We had a couple of days in the mountains and decided we were going to go see the remnants of the Christmas Lights in the Gatlinburg – Pigeon Forge, TN area. From Lake Junaluska, NC there are two ways to go which each take about 90 minutes. There is the Interstate way of I-40 across “the gorge” and then some country roads into Pigeon Forge. Or you can go “across the mountain” via the Great Smokey Mountains Parkway, a little shorter but often closed because of snow and ice this time of year. I-40 is closed because of a rock slide and won’t reopen for several months. A call to the Highway Patrol told us that the “parkway” was open so we ventured out and got to our destination. We visited some shops, checked out some lights and got some dinner. And around 10pm started heading back over the mountain until we saw the sign that made my heart sank – “Detour”. “Road Closed due to Snow and Ice” – “How do you close a mountain?” I thought. Evidently the rain at lower elevations was snow and ice at the higher elevations and this set us on the most inconvenient and most frustrating detour I have ever experienced. Remember the other way was closed – so after 3 hours and 15 minutes of driving and a tour of the state of Tennessee, this “little” trip was finally over.
This detour was unwelcome, inconvenient and down-right frustrating – as most detours are. Interesting way to spend the second to last day of the old year, because every year is filled with it’s “out of the way” detours. We find that the way that we thought we were to go is “closed” and we have to forge a new way. Whether it is a job that goes away, or a dream that changes, a health condition, or a relationship that takes a different shape – often unwelcome, inconvenient and down-right frustrating. But detours are also a normal and natural part of life where we often are faced with the choice: do we quit until the road opens or do we follow the detour signs that will lead us home. They don’t always lead the way we want to go but we get there nonetheless, even if “there” isn’t where we thought it was.  Don’t know what is the latest detour that you have encountered but I am hoping that you follow the signs and at times, even make your own way. It’s a new year – with endless possibilities.
“He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” Psalm 23

There it was – a sight I had never expected to see before as we joined some friends from church, for a hayride through Tanglewood Park to see the Christmas lights.  It was a chilly but awesome experience!  The lights reflecting off of the snowfall – it was really cool!  But I found it interesting – that in the hundreds of light displays – that when we found the display of the nativity it was in a very interesting place.  It was inbetween the Polar Express and Santa in a golf cart.  My first response was, “That is an odd place for the nativity scene?”  Very different from the next night where I was walking down a candlelit path to approach a live nativity that was the whole show!  The live nativity and it’s simplicity spoke to me again, as it always does.  But today my mind goes back to that Nativity stuck inbetween the Polar Express and the Golfing Santa.  Is it crazy for me to think that that is where Jesus wants to be because that is certainly where Jesus is.   Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday in worship we studied Mary’s song – the song she sang in praise to God after the announcement that she would birth Jesus into the world. I like Brian McClaren’s translation of her words in “The Voice of Luke”:
“My soul lifts up the Lord! My Spirit celebrates God, my Liberator! For though I’m God’s humble servant, God has noticed me. Now and forever, I will be considered blessed by all generations. For the mighty One has done great things for me; holy is God’s name! From generation to generation God’s lovingkindness endures for those who revere Him. God’s arm has accomplished mighty deeds. The proud in mind and heart, God has sent away in disarray. The rulers from high positions of power, God has brought down low. And those who were humble and lowly, God has elevated with dignity. The hungry – God has filled with fine food. The rich – God has dismissed with nothing in their hands. To Israel, God’s servant, God has given help, As promised to our ancestors, remembering Abraham and his descendants in mercy forever.”

Mary’s song is troubling and hopeful, all at the same time.  Mary is singing about a day when God’s priorities are our priorities.  Where that which God values and what we value are the same!

I can’t help but think about one of my sports heroes this week. He is my favorite professional athlete and I hurt for his family and for him.  Of course, I am speaking about Tiger Woods.  No doubt they are broken and hurting and his behavior has been irresponsible and, well, immoral – even by his own admission.  But the amount of media attention this story has gotten has even shocked me!  He will not receive the kind of privacy he has begged for and I will leave it up to you to make a judgement about that.  Normally,  I am often all for a public discussion of what is right and moral!  But this one I am wrestling with!  It is interesting which “lapse in morality” makes the front pages of the paper or the first story of the network news!

Did you know that 1.02 billion people across the world are hungry. I didn’t hear about that this week -

Did you know that every day, almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes–one child every five seconds. No doubt immoral that we all stand by and let that happen, but it didn’t make the cover of People Magazine!  Not “sexy” enough I guess.  No selacious details of infidelity so it must not be printworthy!

According to the Red Cross 3 million people die annually because of lack of access to clean water.
All of us admit that that’s wrong too, right?

And still, even in our time and in this world, Mary sings:  “God is lifting up the lowly and has
filled the hungry with good things.”

I obviously think that “morality” matters a lot, especially from those who are role models to our children and especially from those in whom we see greatness.  But I just wonder if we are now ready to have a conversation about a different kind of morality that will never make the cover of the tabloids.