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Denominations & Missional Ministry
I’ve wondered about the connection between the missional Church and denominations quite a bit, so yesterday when I stumbled across this advice from Tim Keller on DJ Chuang’s blog I decided I needed to share it. He doesn’t mention Methodism as one of the historic traditions, but I’d include it in there. What I love here is his recognition that we can work within flawed structures to accomplish something far greater than denominational politics and agendas. Most of the pastors I know having a significant impact seem to really be taking this advice already.
I wonder where you’d go to find a truly missional denomination? I don’t know of any. For missionally minded churches, any denominational connection will bring you into relationship with some other churches and ministers who downright embarass you. This will be true of any ecclesiastical body with more than 5 churches in it. I don’t think that going independent and only staying connected in to a missional ‘network’–which has no disciplinary authority–is the answer either.
My counsel: 1) inhabit a denomination with a historic tradition you admire (Reformed, Lutheran, Anglican, Baptist) 2) stay in a denomination if it gives you space to follow your calling, 3) don’t be marginal to it–be active in the denomination, but 4) don’t be too absorbed in all its workings and especially not in its politics
Why Pray?
For the last two weeks, I have been teaching one of our young adult classes at Servant. We worked on tough questions that they submitted by email prior to the class. One of the questions I didn’t get to answer, I promised to answer here on the blog. The question is this:
How does someone pray when they know/trust that God either already knows the situation and is on the job or that God knows better what the outcome should be than the one praying? For instance, how does a person ask God to heal someone when that may or may not be God’s plan? I really struggle with this. I can be grateful all day long. I can ask for guidance for myself. But to ask for others seems like I am telling God something that I assume he doesn’t already know.
When someting is troubling, what do I ask for? Peace that passes understanding, I realize is the ultimate goal. But when that is all that is said in a prayer, after a while, the result is a bit of a disconnect. I liken it to an old couple who has been together for years. They still love each other, they still have their little jokes, but when they go out to eat, they don’t talk much.
Got anything for me?
This is obviously a tough question from someone who has really given this some serious thought, and there is a lot of theology underneath this question. The two main questions here, as I see them, are these:
- Why are we supposed to pray when God is already omniscient (all-knowing)? After all, we aren’t telling God something he doesn’t already know, and he knows far better than we do what to do in any given situation.
- If all I ask God for is generic things like “peace” or “comfort,” how can prayer be truly relational?
To begin with, I think we (this includes me, by the way) sometimes have a mixed up view of prayer. We are tempted to think of God as the “Big Vending Machine in the Sky.” We put in our quarters (prayer), and out pops the Snickers bar (whatever we ask for). This is how we sometimes hear verses like John 15:7 interpreted, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” And yet, Jesus also tells us, “…your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” in Matthew 6:8.
So, what are we supposed to do? Philip Yancey, in his incredible book, Prayer: Does it Make Any Difference? writes,
The main purpose of prayer is not to make life easier, nor to gain magical powers, but to know God. I need God more than anything I might get from God.
I think this is one of the keys to answering the questions above. Prayer, ultimately is about intimacy and relationship with God, and that relationship is no less dynamic or predictable than any other relationship we find ourselves in. God knows all the problems and needs in the world, and yet for reasons beyond our understanding, God still wants to be in a deep relationship with us. He wants to hear our thoughts, feelings, and desires for our lives and the world around us. We only need to look at Jesus’ prayers and the Psalms to see a great record of these kinds of prayers.
And somehow, in the middle of all of this, God responds to our prayers. We’re not in control of God, but we are given the privilege of working together with him. So, in a sense, the answer to question two is this: prayer that is generic isn’t the kind of relationship God wants to have. He wants to know our deepest thoughts, feelings, and desires both for our own lives and the lives of those around us. He wants us to ask for people to be healed, and even though we can’t comprehend how, our prayers are included and make a difference in the way God works and moves in the world. Again, prayer isn’t predictable (that would put us in control of God), but it is powerful.
In the end, the analogy of an old husband and wife is probably very much what God desires. A relationship that is intimate and deeper than words is only the result of a lifetime of conversation. So, keep praying, don’t be afraid to be specific, share everything with God, and get to know him more than you ever have before. That’s the kind of “abiding” that Jesus says is integral to prayer.
In the end, entire books have been written about these questions, and we are still asking them. I hope this begins to touch on wrestling with this question and gives you food for thought.
Methodist Discipleship
My friend Kevin Watson has a great series starting over at his blog, Deeply Committed. He’s looking at one of the tools John Wesley used to spark revival and renewal in the Church, the Methodist Class Meeting.
You won’t want to miss his insights, which he puts in accessible yet informative language – typical Watsonian style (I wanted to be the first to use that one before the academics beat me to it!). Go check it out:
Persistence Personified: Hebrews 11
This post is from a sermon I preached back in 2007. Over the last few days I’ve had tons of hits on a sermon I preached along with the lectionary for August 1st. This inspired me to post one of my old sermons from the lectionary. In this one, I try to introduce the congregations I served not only to the message of Hebrews 11, but also to the life of John Wesley.
Living the life of faith is not always easy. In case you don’t believe me, let me tell you a little about the ministry of John Wesley. Wesley felt God’s call to inspire and challenge the Church of England, and eventually the Methodist Church developed out of that great passion for renewal, mission, and ministry. Over the years, Wesley preached all over England and kept a meticulous journal of his activities – which we still have today. Some of the entries might just surprise you. Here are a few entries from his journal that were written in the early years of the Methodist movement:
Sunday, May 7th: I preached at St. Lawrence’s in the morning, and afterward at St. Katherine Cree’s Church. I was enabled to speak strong words at both; and was therefore the less surprised at being informed that I was not to preach any more in either of those churches.
Sunday, May 14th: I preached in the morning at St. Ann’s, Aldersgate; and in the afternoon at the Savoy Chapel, free salvation by faith in the blood of Christ. I was quickly apprised that at St. Ann’s, likewise, I am to preach no more.
Friday, May 19th: I preached at St. John’s, Wapping at three and at St. Bennett’s, Paul’s Wharf, in the evening. At these churches, likewise, I am to preach no more.
Friday, November 3rd: I preached at St. Antholin’s;
Sunday, 5, in the morning, at St. Botolph’s, Bishopsgate; in the afternoon, at Islington; and in the evening, to such a congregation as I never saw before, at St. Clement’s, in the Strand. As this was the first time of my preaching here, I suppose it is to be the last.
To be honest, I think I might just give up after I was kicked out of the third or fourth church, if not sooner! There can be no denying that Wesley’s faced more than his fair share of challenges, and I have no doubt that it would have been easy for him to give up and quit.
The earliest Christians were in the same boat. They faced threats on every side because of their newfound commitment to Jesus. On one hand, they faced threats from the Imperial Government in Rome. When fires swept across Rome in 64 AD, the Emperor Nero blamed Christians for setting the blaze, and ordered their mass arrest and execution across the city. On the other hand they faced persecution from local authorities. Throughout the first three hundred years of the Church, many people felt that Christians were pagans because they only worshiped one God. In fact early Christians were often called atheists because they refused to worship the numerous gods who were worshiped. They were feared so much that many people believed having Christians in their towns would upset their gods! Tertullian, one of early Christians who observed these persecutions wrote, “if the Tiber rises to the walls, if the Nile does not rise to the fields; if the sky stands still, if the earth moves, if there is famine, if there is pestilence, the cry goes up, ‘Christians to the lion.’” There are countless stories of Christians appearing before their accusers, who asked them to deny and renounce their faith!
That’s the kind of environment in which the letter of Hebrews was written. The early Christians who first read Hebrews were sorely tempted to turn their back on the faith and escape the torture, imprisonment, and execution they could easily be facing. They needed encouragement to persevere, and they needed resources that would allow them to stick with their faith even in the face of incredible odds. I believe that’s why the book of Hebrews gives one of the clearest descriptions of the kind of perseverance and endurance we’re called to have as Christians, even in the face of insurmountable challenges.
This passage from Hebrews provided those Christians with the kind of encouragement they needed to stand their ground. “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for – the conviction of things not seen.” Abraham is then described as a living example of this incredible definition of faith. God called Abraham and his family to leave their home across the desert in order to travel to a land they had never seen. Even though he’d never seen this land, he trusted God in faith. It was Abraham’s faith that convinced him to move his family somewhere they had never seen. Later on, God promised he would create a great nation of people out of Abraham’s descendents, even though he and Sarah were too old for children. It was Abraham’s strong faith that convinced him of this thing that seemed impossible. It was his great faith that continually convinced him of things that he couldn’t see. Over and over again, Abraham’s faith was the only thing that gave him the confidence and assurance to keep pressing on in faith. Even though he couldn’t see the outcome, Abraham knew that God’s promises are more real than anything else in this world. His faith in God was what gave him the strength to press on, to keep the faith, to persevere.
When I was little, there were times that I would get sick and tired of something I started. I remember specifically one summer when I got tired of Little League Baseball, and I was ready to quit. My dad wouldn’t have it! He wouldn’t let me quit, and let me know in no uncertain terms that we Judkins were not quitters. This was a man who worked over forty years at the same job, so I knew not to argue! Little did I know that what my dad was trying to instill in me back then was one of the greatest resources we have in our faith. Sometimes things don’t go the way we expect in our lives, and we think it would just be easier to give up. Sometimes, we’re tossed to and fro by storms in our lives and we think it might just be easier to quit. But the message of Hebrews reminds us that faith means never giving up. Faith is what allows us to press forward even though things don’t seem to look so good. Faith is trusting God who enables us to keep pressing on in faith even when things get rough! Faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen.
Wesley’s story began with him being kicked out of almost as many Churches as he preached in and it had to challenge his faith. Yet, because he had faith in the invisible God, because he trusted in God’s promises, because he trusted in Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit, the things that happened in the beginning of his life did not end up being the final word. As he neared his 85th birthday, on Saturday, August 22nd, Wesley wrote in his journal as he had continued doing throughout his life:
I crossed over to Redruth and at six preached to a huge multitude, as usual, from the steps of the market house. The Word seemed to sink deep into every heart. I know not that ever I spent such a week in Cornwall before. Sunday, August 23.–I preached there again in the morning and in the evening at the amphitheater, I suppose, for the last time. My voice cannot now command the still increasing multitude. It was supposed they were now more than [five and?] twenty thousand.
Because of the power of Jesus Christ and the reality of the resurrection (the ultimate promise of faith), Wesley was able to press on in his faith, preaching a message of forgiveness and God’s power to change lives. He persevered like the great saints of old, like Abraham and Sarah. Because of his faith, Wesley never stopped proclaiming the good news. And so we find him, in the 85th year of his life, sharing the message of faith with more than 20,000 people. That is what faith is all about – it’s the reminder that God’s promises and God’s power more real than anything else in the world. When we feel like we can’t go on, when life seems so rough, we need to persevere and continue trusting in the one whose promises never fail and never end – no matter what.
In Defense of the Megachurch
Lately, I’ve heard and read several conversations wondering about the megachurch. Some question its authenticity, others question its methodology, while some just question whether big is good. As these questions bounce around in my head, I’m serving on staff at the largest United Methodist congregation in Oklahoma City. Needless to say, I’ve got a little different take on the megachurch than some of the voices you hear.
Just this week we started Vacation Bible School. Yesterday, those of us here in OKC were just about washed away in a torrent of rain, and we ended up having to cancel the first day of VBS. As a result, several of our members who were volunteering quickly found themselves as volunteers without a cause. In the end this was a real blessing, because I was able to have some great conversations with the folks who waited inside to avoid going home in the hardest rain.
As I was speaking to one of our volunteers, we began to talk about her children. As we talked she mentioned a friend of her children who has experienced some hard times, but is facing those difficulties with the help of an amazing community surrounding them. As she described the beauty of this caring community, she gestured around at our building and the people gathered there and said, “You know, this is that community for our kids, and it has been since they were little.”
In that moment, I realized something. This family has specifically chosen to raise their kids in an intentional way, surrounded by incredible men and women of faith, and it just so happens to be here in a megachurch. When I look at this family, I can say the same thing for myself. I want my kids to grow up in a community of faith like the one I’m appointed to serve.
Although megachurches are bigger than the churches many of you attend or pastor, they are no less communities of faith and discipleship. In fact, they aren’t even necessarily big for the sake of bigness. In a very large urban or suburban area, the megachurch actually shrinks the city and becomes a smaller community of faith and discipleship within that setting. We aren’t the big box store selling religious experiences or goods; we are a community of people, albeit a large community, who’ve said, “This is where I want my family to grow and be shaped in their faith. This is the place where I want to live out my faith, both inside and outside the walls. This is the place where I want to nurture Christian friendships and live out my commitment to Jesus Christ.”
Are we bigger than some of the small towns in Oklahoma? Sure we are. But just as people who live in those towns are shaped by the life of those communities, people here at Servant are shaped and formed into the image of Jesus Christ because of the living, breathing, faithful men and women who come here to celebrate the goodness and grace of Jesus.
Who is Your Tribe?
Michael Hyatt’s excellent blog has a guest post by Mary DeMuth that explores how she discovered her tribe (a la Seth Godin‘s, Tribes). This post got me thinking about the ways we find our tribe. How do we figure out the group where we have the most potential for impact and influence? DeMuth has a few suggestions.
- Ask others, “What is my one thing?” My friend Alex has often said everyone has a “one thing.” This is the theme of your life and ministry – the well you find yourself continually returning to when you feel dry. If someone asked you to communicate one message (verbally or through actions) and one message only, what would that be? DeMuth suggests sending a wide variety of people you know an email asking them to help you define you and your ministry (or calling). I may do this.
- Seek Professional Help. As an author, DeMuth had the ability to consult with a variety of experts to help her whittle down to the core of what she lives to communicate.
- Finally, so some soul-searching. Here, I’ll quote DeMuth in full, “Frederick Buechner says that the place that you ought to serve is “where your greatest joy meets the world’s greatest need.” So define that. In your opinion, what is the world’s greatest need? (Everyone’s will be different). What is your greatest joy? How do they intersect in your life right now? How would you like them to? Another exercise: List your three favorite movies. (Don’t think about it; just list them.) Now look over your list. What is the common thread in all three? That common thread is typically your passion colliding with the world’s greatest need.”
I’d take the movie thing with a grain of salt, because I’m not quite sure what gritty westerns (Tombstone, Unforgiven, etc.) and stupid comedies (Talladega Nights, Dumb & Dumber, etc.) have to do with my passion colliding with the world’s greatest need, so take the movie thing with a grain of salt.
However, it could definitely be a good exercise to spend some time thinking about your greatest joy, your understanding of the world’s greatest need, and how you see those intersecting in your life. If you’ve identified your tribe, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.
A Few Things
I’ve noticed several of our friends writing more personal blog posts, and man, I’ve really enjoyed reading that stuff. This made something click in my mind. Hey, maybe some of you wouldn’t mind reading that kind of stuff from me. So, I think I’m going to start write more than what I’ve stuck to for the last few months, especially since that hasn’t been coming with any regularity!
So here are a few new things in the life of the Judkins of Creek Heights Drive. Nanci and I have really been looking forward to our trip to Madison, NJ for the Drew University graduation ceremony. I’ve been working on a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) degree in Congregational Development for the last three years, and I’m finally finished! So, we’re going to take a weekend off and head out so I can walk across the stage for the LAST time. One of my goals has always been to get a doctoral degree, so I can finally check this off my list.
Life in Oklahoma City is good, and things are going well at Church of the Servant UMC. We will be welcoming a new Associate Minister in June, the Rev., soon to be Rev. Dr., Robyn Goggs (we’re both graduating with our Dr. degrees within a week or two of one another). Everyone is excited about her arrival, and we are looking forward to welcoming her and her family to the Servant family. After Robyn arrives, my role will shift to an area that we’ve been planning and dreaming about ever since I arrived at Servant as I will be charged with developing a new worshipping community. It’s still in the developmental stages, but I can’t wait to tell you more about it!
In the meantime the kids are growing quickly with Emma (7), Caleb (4), and Blake (1), growing and changing every single day. Emma is so ready for Summer vacation, and I think Nanci is too. Then, they can all sleep in instead of getting up and ready for school every day. We’re all rooting on the Thunder and loving the fact we get to be in OKC for their first playoff experience. Even though we’re fifteen minutes from downtown, I think we can hear the cheers from the Ford Center at our house!
OK, that’s it for now. I’m going to need to get back in the swing of writing, so I’ll need to work back up to longer postings. In the meantime, I’m going back to studying Psalm 51 for this Sunday’s Servant Walk lesson.
Mainline or Methodist (Part 6)
Today we reach the final chapter in Dr. Scott Kisker’s book, Mainline or Methodist. Thank you to everyone who has been reading along with this series. In the final chapter, Kisker admits that he is a historian and not someone who easily makes suggestions about directions to take in the future. However, as a committed United Methodist, he uses this chapter to propose several ways forward.
More than anything, he hopes to recover Methodism within United Methodism. While this may seem like a strange comment to people outside of the UMC, Kisker reminds us of something very important.
Methodism was always most church (defined, as Wesley did, as “a company of faithful” people) when it was a movement…Methodists became more “churchy,” and we gradually ceased to be “one” through schisms, we ceased to be “holy” through lax discipline and compromise, we ceased to be “catholic” through denominational prejudice, and we ceased to be “apostolic” (that is, a “sent people”) through sloth.
Kisker imagines that Methodism might be recovered by once again becoming a movement rather than a church, and could mean that someone could be Methodist (in discipline and practice) as part of any denomination whatsoever. More than that, this suggests being United Methodist doesn’t necessarily make you a Methodist! He goes on to say that this movement toward recovering Methodism could begin with groups of individuals starting class meetings on their own, or even having Sunday school classes reframe their purpose in ways that modeled the class meeting. This kind of small group life would involve asking seriously, “How does your soul prosper,” or in today’s language, “How are you doing spiritually?” No vague comment about spirituality will suffice to grow as disciples. We need to regain the practice of reporting to fellow Christians how we are doing in the traditional means of grace: prayer, scripture reading, study, etc.
This means that we would have to take the character of our tradition seriously. Kisker even suggests that our official vision statement, “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world,” is too vague. Although it is certainly Christian, it doesn’t really suggest who we are. He proposes returning to Wesley’s call, “to spread scriptural holiness over these lands.” Imagine that!
We United Methodists have been playing church for a long time without being a Christian society. We have [as Wesley feared] been “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” (1 Timothy 3:5, KJV)
To quit playing church and begin being the church, we need a renewed commitment to salvation,
A renewed commitment to holiness necessitates a renewed commitment to salvation, since holiness is the purpose of salvation.
After many other helpful suggestions and dreams, Kisker closes with helpful words,
Methodism began as a means of grace and a system of accountability. It was an order within the larger church for the renewal of the Church. If we are to recover that usefulness to the kingdom of God in the world, we need what we once had: a missional focus, clear simple rules, and a clear simple and flexible structure.
Can this be done within the United Methodist Church? I personally think it can. However, we will need strength and resolve to continue spreading scriptural holiness over the land, because this vision isn’t shared by everyone. And like other phrases, “scriptural holiness” can be shaped and defined by whoever is using it. My prayer is that we will continue to move closer in line with the work of God’s Holy Spirit and capture the passionate desire for salvation that the early Methodists had. Then, we will see true renewal and revitalization.
Mainline or Methodist (Part 5)
In chapter 5, Kisker turns his attention to conferencing in the Methodist tradition. His description of the way annual and general conferences function is not much different than my experience with them over the past five years. We meet as an Annual Conference every year. We ordain a new group of Deacons and Elders, we honor those who cease active service, we remember those who have died in the previous year. We also get to spend time in worship and in reviewing legislation that comes from various committees across the conference. Additionally we get to reconnect with sisters and brothers in Christ that we haven’t seen much in the prior year.
Kisker believes the majority of United Methodists would be surprised that none of these activities are the reason conferencing was established within Methodism by John Wesley. That, instead, grew out of Wesley’s oversight of the Methodist movement. It is describes beautifully here,
In 1738, a high church Anglican, Oxford academic met Jesus for real and began acting very contrary to character. He lowered himself to preach outside of a church and to focus his attentions not on the promising young men in the university, but on the working class men and women struggling along in early industrial England.
As a result, Wesley incorporated lay leadership and lay preaching in the leadership of the early Methodist groups. The first conference, then, was designed to gather the spiritual leaders of these Methodist groups, those in particular who were open to the leading of the Holy Spirit, to think, talk, and pray together as they sought God’s direction. All of their questions reflected these general questions,
- What to teach;
- How to teach;
- What to do; that is, how to regulate our doctrine, discipline, and practice
The early Methodists didn’t gather to discuss legislation that made little difference in the lives of the people they served. Instead of meeting and using the same tactics and practices as congress, we are called to confer for only one reason,
We confer for one reason and one reason only. Because we are called to play a part in a movement of God’s Spirit. And that movement is big…United Methodism matters only if it is connected to, a part of, that movement. If not, it is worthless, and might as well cease to exist. To make sure we are continuing to be part of that movement requires discernment. And discerning the Spirit of God requires a seeking community.
I agree wholeheartedly with Kisker’s read on the situation at this point. Not only our churches, but any of our institutions cease to matter if they are disconnected from the movement of God’s Spirit.
After a discussion of the steps it would take to truly conference in our world today, Kisker closes with a segment that provides hope for what could be,
It might amaze people to find out that at one time conference was a place of expectation – where revival might break out – where people might get converted to God…Conference was a place where ordinary people might find something extraordinary to pledge their lives to – a movement of God’s Spirit sweeping this world… Many a newcomer gets converted at annual conference, but I fear it is generally not to Jesus.
I actually think this (conversion) could happen at our annual conference, if only based on the strength of our Bishop’s preaching. He effectively offers the gospel in ways that call people to repentance and conversion. I can picture women and men giving their lives to the extraordinary call of Christ in response to the worship that we sometimes encounter at conference – if you were at last year’s ordination service, you’ll know what I’m talking about.
However, I also sense the frustration that Kisker describes. Sometimes we spend thirty minutes to an hour working on a piece of legislation that is basically passing a proclamation about something or another that apparently goes in a file that never impacts anything. I still remember a piece of legislation that proposed the highest paid employee of a church couldn’t make more than a certain percentage more than the lowest paid employee. It was poorly thought out and didn’t factor in a consideration of rural churches whatsoever, but we spent forever talking about this inane piece of legislation. That’s the kind of thing conference can devolve into.
All in all, I think Kisker’s hope for conferencing probably won’t happen in my lifetime, and it is probably the weakest chapter in an excellent book. In the next (and final!) installment, we’ll look at his thoughts for a way forward.
