What is forgiveness?

In Luke 18:9-14, two men go into the Temple. One takes pride in himself. The other asks for mercy.

What is forgiveness? Is it something we do or something we ask of God? 

We know that only God can forgive, even the most grievous of sins. Too often we equate our emotions--what we feel--with what actually happened--what God did. If we didn't feel moved, then something is wrong.

I have only had a couple of those "heart strangely warmed" moments. But I've never doubted the work of God. In our prayer of confession we are assured by the minister, "Christ died for us while we were yet sinners."

Yet.

That means that no matter what we do, we are yet saved. We are yet forgiven.

A table is still a piece of furniture. Even if it is scratched, dented, bruised, covered with permanent marker from a four and a half year old, it is yet a table. We are yet sinners, yet are we not forgiven.

That table can be smoothed, restored cleaned. And it will still be a piece of furniture at which people can share a meal, you can study, rest, or even give that permanent marker back to the four year old to make a drawing out of love.

Forgiveness is not seeking something for ourselves, but accepting what God has already given to us.

What do you picture when you hear the word "church"?

What’s your image of the church? A steeple, a building, Sunday worship?

Mine is now a wave. A wave hello is my picture of the church.

Two Sundays ago we celebrated and remembered our baptism at all services. We had an opportunity to touch the water. I had the opportunity to help with the Young Worshippers at the church during the 8:45 service. What you do when you help out is walk with the kids into the sanctuary and back, sit with them during the children’s moments, and teach a brief lesson while the service is going on. I’ve never done it before this last year and I highly encourage you to sign up to do it at least once. Here’s why:

You get to see the congregation differently than you would sitting in the pews.

That day, Mimi Brunson, Director of Evangelism, gave the children’s sermon about church family and baptism. She had all the kids wave at the congregation. Then she had all the congregation wave at the kids.

Wow.

My son, who I was lucky enough to sit by immediately then saw his preschool teacher. He saw the family that has watched him every Monday and been a part of his life since he was 6 months old. And he got excited. I was his family sitting next to him but he was so excited to see the people that he knew and he knew loved him--even at four years old.

That’s the church. That’s the reason why I’ll understand the church as a wave “hello” from now on.

I invite you to come say “Hello” to us at Peachtree Road whenever you get the chance. May God bless you in all you do.

-Thomas

Daily Questions: Love of Neighbor

How many email subscriptions do you receive on a daily basis? How many of them do you actually read? Do any of them actually make you a better Christian/parent/spouse/person?

I receive a lot of religion newsletters, but most seem concerned with being right, increasing traffic, or selling advertising. Very few seem concerned with deepening my spiritual life and more with keeping me as a subscriber.

John Wesley has questions that he would ask himself at the end of everyday. Every day has a different virtue and a different set of questions. It’s one thing when other people ask questions of you because you can dismiss them. It’s another thing when you ask yourself a question in the silence and solitude of meditation and reflection before your maker.

Monday’s virtue is Love of Neighbor. Here are the questions (question #7 always pushes me).

1. Have I done anything today without considering how it might advance God’s purposes in small or large ways?
2. Have I been quick and eager to do what good I could do this day?
3. Have I sought God’s purposes in all my interactions with other people today?
4. How have I sought to use this day to grow in love for my neighbor?
5. Have I allowed myself to feel and share my neighbor’s joy and sorrow?
6. Have I responded to my neighbor’s weakness with understanding rather than with irritation?
7. Have I yielded to my neighbor the right to have the last word in a disagreement?
8. What will I do to prepare for today’s virtue?

Worry and Perspective

In Mathew’s account of the Gospel, Jesus says, “And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?” (Mt. 6:27) 

There is a lot to worry and fret over, yet Jesus calls us to consider the lilies of the field. 

I came across a website, “Here is Today” and it puts things in perspective. All the stress and worry that I have matters to me and believe it matters to God and others in my life. But in the grand scale of life, is what I’m upset about really worth the extra energy? (A good reminder as emotions are about to be at an all time high this weekend with College Football starting back up the eminent birth of our daughter.)

Jesus goes onto say, “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (Mt. 6:34)

Heaven help us all

What is going on?

I, probably like most Americans would be fearful to admit,  get a lot of my news from my news feeds in social media. If I only follow my friends, or people I like or agree with, my view is fairly self-serving. If I am not following people who I know have different views, I am not a part of the conversation. I am part of the noise. [This is an observation of a problem.]

What is the remedy to the problem stated above? Follow more people who have differing opinions? Get off social media?

What’s going on in this world?

ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Martial Law, riots, and a police state in our own country. The death of a beloved actor.

There are countless other stories that are happening in this world that need to be told, but these three in particular stand out because they force us to face reality that we would at times rather not face.

War is real.

Racism is real.

Depression is real.

The problem is not only that these evils exist, but that people somehow now find it their job to use these things as opportunities to prove how correct they are in their thinking, and how other people are wrong.

Think about it: how many articles have you read that are trying to prove a point, that are perhaps guised as articles of awareness?

So this is a post trying to prove how right I am. Yup. I’m one those.

But I’m not trying to prove my rightness (that’s self-righteousness). I want to think deeper about the way in which God calls us to live through Christ.

Here is a question for those who consider themselves part of the Christian faith: “When did we start taking things that humans say more seriously than what Jesus said?”

Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God (Mt.5:9).”

But wait, didn’t Jesus also say five chapters later, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”

Oops. Come on, Jesus. Be consistent. At least make it easy for us.

But that’s not the way. We’d rather be right, hiding behind the black and white, picking and choosing what works for us when convenient, rather than struggling with Christ’s words and call.

We’d rather use scripture against our enemies than let God use scripture against our own souls.

War is real.

Racism is real.

Depression is real.

We learned that this week. Did you enter into the conversation? Did you tell the truth or the convenience?

This week, our scripture for worship is Revelation 2:1-4. It talks about starting strong in the faith. But the church in Ephesus has abandoned the love they had at first. The love that they had at first was not a love for God. That was a given. Read in conjunction with Ephesians 1:15, there we read that the first love that the people there was to God and others...just as Jesus commanded.

When our love breaks down, we are left with hate. Or, as The Lumineers suggest, the opposite of love’s indifference.

Evil is real. In the Christian tradition, we call this sin. Sin is real. So is temptation.

We have lost our first love, our first call--to love God and to love other people. We enter into this fallen world and try to make it a little better with God’s help. When we insist upon our own way, we are not following our first love.

Heaven help us, when our first love is ourselves.

Start with One, near or far

Yesterday while making visits to one of our members, I met her friend who was from Turkana, Kenya. It is about a 12 hour drive from Nakura, Kenya where Start with One is based. Right now, we have a team of members over there who are "Changing the world, one life at a time..."

I have never been but to talk with the people who come back from these trips, their outlook on life has changed, their hearts are changed, their capacity to love has changed.

You don't need to go to Kenya or Honduras or The Republic of Georgia, or Nicaragua (where we have another team now). But you do need to be vulnerable. You do have to open yourself up to new experiences. You have to believe that if you fail, everything is going to be okay.

Peachtree Road UMC does amazing things in the world internationally, but also locally.

If you can't find a way to go on one of our mission trips, consider signing up for the Great Day of service next Saturday.

Yesterday, I had no idea how far Turnaka, Kenya was from Nakuru, Kenya. I do know now. But the lady who was from Kenya was overjoyed that people here were doing something.

Daris McCullough, who went with our church on a trip Kenya three years ago, once told me "People never care how much you know, until they know how much you care."

In this world, whether you are faithfully serving in Kenya, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, the Republic of Georgia, or the state of Georgia, take time to let people know that you care.

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. (I Peter 5:7).

Thanks and Praise

Recently, I have found myself both on the receiving end and giving end of reference letters. It is one thing to ask for people to give honest feedback (that takes humility and a willingness to learn and hear what someone else is saying) and it is another thing to be in a position to give feedback to others.

As I write recommendations for people, I am struck by how infrequently I actually take the time to tell the people in my life what I really think and offer them thanks and praise.

It is a discipline to compliment others and say, "Thank you" or offer praise for a job well done.

But it forces each of us to think about the things we appreciate and the people we appreciate.

During Lent we talk about what we will give up. Think of ways in which this Lenten season you will take time to build others around you up and encourage them. Don't wait for them to ask for a recommendation letter. Tell someone in your life what they mean to you.

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." 

(I Thessalonians 5:11)

Thoughts on Revelation (the Book of)

This past year, my church, Peachtree Road UMC has been reading through the New Testament. We are about to embark on reading the Old Testament in 2014. I have been writing the wrap-ups for Revelation. Here is my final thought on Revelation.

Revelation leaves me with a lot of bigger questions. The biggest one is this: Does hell exist and what does it look like? Most of our imagery is shaped by poetry and Milton's Paradise Lost. I believe that there really is a lake of fire, as we read in Chapter 20, but as I read the chapter, I realize one major thing: It is not my place to judge. That's not my job. I do believe as John Wesley does, as he notes in his sermon On Hell, that hell is the experience of loss. "Hell is the loss of beauty, music, pleasant memories, kindness, loved ones, friendship, love, and most importantly a sense of having been created and loved by God. Hell is also a felt experience; a place of hate, horror, greed, rage, lust, unsatisfied desires, envy, jealousy, malice and revenge, characterized by fear, guilt, and shame" (Wesley Study Bible, note on Hell, pg1556).

We live in a fallen world, full of beauty and pain. Life is short but beautiful. It brings love and the loss of that love brings pain. That is the world we live in. Yet we find ourselves in the midst of God's grace here and now, and we wait for the completion of time in which God will reveal all things and draw all creation into God's self. Until that day, we wait for the New Jerusalem.

Sermon from October 13, 2013

Here is a link to the sermon I preached on October 13. The scripture was Jeremiah 29:1,4-7. The idea was that we basically skip to the 11th verse: "I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord; plans to prosper and not to harm, for hope and a future." What we often fail to do is take into account the path it takes to get there, often times planting ourselves where we did not expect.

Sermon from Sunday, October 6th, 2013

Going to play catch-up the next couple of days, starting with posting sermons from the morning service. Here is the sermon based on the passage, Luke 17:1-4.

The last couple of weeks

From our first Sunday

In many ways, the last two weeks have been the time when realistically we should have been settling into a rhythm. Only as we set to do so, everyone in the country went on vacation. They have year-round school here and the academic year just is done. When kids go back to school on Tuesday, 8 October, they will have been promoted.

Worship on Sundays have been great as have been the regular weekly adult Bible studies that I have been a part of. On September 22nd, I preached on the Shrewd Manager. Here is a link to the audio clip.

It has been different with no office to go to. I've been visiting members in their homes at their invitation as well as stopping in to see people who have not been able to make it to church regularly. Having no regular responsibilities has also given Leslie and I the opportunity to make day trips here and there.

Monday, September 23rd we took the train into Sydney and walked around. It was fun but rushed. I did not fully understand the train schedule so we took a 3 hour train ride there, had 3 hours in the city, then another 3 hours back on the train. It was fun to see the varying landscapes of the coast.

Davis and Leslie in front of the Sydney Opera House

Tuesday was morning prayer and visits. Wednesday was a day around Gerringong, sermon writing, and preparing for Operation Christmas Child/Samaritan's Purse Sunday.

Thursday and Friday were more administration and some grocery shopping (it's always an adventure to see how different/same everything is).

Saturday, the Anglican church in town had a spring festival that was fun to spend time at.

Sunday, we then had the church's Operation Christmas Child/Samaritan's Purse Sunday. The church and community packed 88 boxes and raised the money to ship each one. They will be going to Papua New Guinea, which is a country that closely boarders Australia (for those like me that needed a geography remedial lesson).

 These photos are a snapshot of the Sunday.

Then, Leslie and I were off that afternoon to Sydney for a night away. Thanks to some friends in the church who volunteered to watch Davis, we left and got to stay in another member's unit there. We had an amazing dinner at Hartsyard and then went to see Foals at the Enmore Theatre thanks to some of our friends who gave Leslie a very generous gift before we came. It was a fun night.

Monday morning, we did the Sydney Bridge climb which was an amazing experience. We saw the city of Sydney from the highest point and got a history lesson in the process...all while climbing 56 stories, up and down, over 2 hours.

Wednesday we were off again to visit our friend, Nicole's parents in Canberra. It's like our Washington DC (only open for business). It's the nation's capital and 100 years old. We were graciously welcomed into their home and Davis loved playing with Nicole and her sister's old toys as well as learning the Vegemite song.

Tomorrow we will celebrate World Communion Sunday at Gerringong while others around the world remember the Holy Mystery that we share in the sacrament.

For those who don't know, Leslie is also keeping a blog about our experiences. She also take better pictures than I do. You can take a look here: www.lifewhereweareplanted.com.

Oh yeah, Go Braves!!!

Work on a Thursday

On Thursday, I went to meet a Men's Group for Breakfast. They meet fortnightly (every two weeks, in the morning, not at night) to discuss the book, Pilgrim in the Cosmos by Dean Drayton. He used to be the head of the Uniting Church in Australia and was one of the professors while Peter Chapman was at Bible College. Chapter 5 was about Drayton's experience as a Student Pastor in America while working on his PhD.

After that, I worked on sermon and office stuff and met with a woman whose mother is not doing well. After lunch at the Chinese Restaurant, went back to reading/prepping for the sermon and doing other administrative stuff to prepare for Sunday's worship services. Preaching on the Shrewd Manager, Luke 16:-13.

When Davis woke up from a nap we got out to see the Harvest Moon rising. We went to an area called Boat Harbour, which used to be the boat harbour/pier area for boats coming into Gerringong. There is a rock pool overlooking the ocean, but at 58* F with 15 mph winds, we aren't going swimming anytime soon. We did get some good pictures.

Leslie, Davis, and moon

Panoramic with Leslie and Davis on each end

Moon over Werri Beach

Following dinner, I went to Bible study in which we discussed Ephesians 6:5-9. Why do we work? Who do we really work for? Who do we seek praise from? How do we share our faith? In work, specifically do we seek the approval of God or of man? That was a good reminder. Too often we try to win the approval of others, we compare ourselves to others, but God does not see us as anything other than God's children. He doesn't look at our business cards or titles. God looks at our hearts. Perhaps that was the best place to end a day of "work."

First (Solo) Sunday at GUC

Panoramic view after church

On my first Sunday in "full command"* I preached the morning service at 9:00am, joined with the saints of the church for coffee, tea, and biscuits afterwards, and helped lead the evening service at which we had people from the local YWAM (Youth with a Mission) come and speak about the work they are doing globally. It continues to be a blessing to be a part of the leadership of Gerringong Uniting Church. They are a mission minded community and very caring. They even had a cupcake for Davis' birthday and sang Happy Birthday to him Sunday night. The music was wonderful all day long. It is a small congregation but a very singing congregation. Half of the congregation in the morning is in the choir.

The last couple of days have provided much wind and rain, which was much needed in the farming areas of the community. People here are grateful. And we are grateful.

Below is a link to the sermon I preached that morning. At the very end, you can hear a member of the congregation saying, "Nice job." It was humbling and gracious.

Tomorrow I will help teach Bible at the local elementary school, help lead a night study for kids, and work on sermon/bulletin stuff for Sunday and Sunday evening. Today is Davis' birthday so we will go get pizza, bring home his cake, and celebrate his 3rd birthday down under.

Sermon, Lost and Found, Luke 15:1-10

*It should be noted that I am seldom in full command. There is a dynamic lay leadership team here which allows me to participate in the already excellent ministries of the church. It is definitely a team effort.

On our own

Today, the Chapmans began their leg of the voyage. We moved into their lovely home and it is quiet. We've spent almost all of our time with them the last few days here in their house. Now, it is quiet. We are praying for safe travel for our new friends.

Today began my first day with Peter's responsibilities. I began by helping lead Bible class at the public elementary school in Gerringong. 

Technical difficulties followed me as my computer projected everything in a blue-ish tent. After some administrative work and our first trip to the grocery store (American mustard costs $3.50) I was off to BiG: Boys in Gerringong. 

They meet every Wednesday night school is in session from 6:30-8pm. They play games, have a speaker, pray, do an activity, then play until 8. It's a lot of fun. From kindergarten to 4th grade (year 4). 

For those of you wondering, they do have GiG (Girls in Gerringong) which meets at the same time. 

Thoughts are with all those who travel today and everyday, by land, sea, or air and all of our friends back home. 

We're Here

Actually, we've been here a while. Still trying to sort out phones and wifi. Just finished a lunch meeting with the church leadership. A picnic table became a prayer table became a business table.

It was a blessed experience while we sat and talked and Davis ran around the back yard. 

We are safe, well rested, and well cared for. More to come later but for now, we continue to be grateful to our family, our PRUMC family and our new Gerringong Uniting Church family. 

First leg of the trip

Just arrived in LAX. 5 hour trip. We have begun a long, exciting journey. We are filled with gratitude to so many people right now. More to come later. 

Oh, it's an hour past someone's bedtime right now 

Exchange

In 2011, Leslie and I applied for a Ministerial Exchange program. I heard about it from several of my dad's colleagues who did exchanges in England, Ireland, or Scotland. We did not get selected for those countries in 2012. However, we did get a phone call in October of 2012 saying that we had been selected to exchange with a minister in Australia.

Hold up. Australia? Where in Australia? Isn't it 85% arid desert? Tell me more please.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. Once you are selected, they will tell you the country, but no other details to avoid people being picky and choosy about where they go.

So are you in, yes or no?

Yes!

Fast forward a year and we are less than a month away from leaving Atlanta, GA for 3 months and going to Gerringong, New South Wales, Australia. I will be serving Gerringong United Church, a community church of around 300 people.

(Gerringong Uniting Church)

We fly out on September 4th and arrive on September 6th. We do not exist for a day. Who said time travel wasn't possible?

Peter Chapman is the exchange minister and we have had several chances to Skype over the past year or so. Peter and his wife Carlie have four children. We feel very comfortable with them, like we've known them all our lives.

And that's a good thing, considering that we will be exchanging everything but the clothes off our backs. They will be driving our cars and we will be driving theirs. They will be living in our house and we in theirs. They will be looking at the pictures of friends and family that we have in our house and we will be looking at theirs.

It will be culture shock for both of us as we go to a town of 4000 people and they come to a church of 7000+ members.

(Peachtree Road United Methodist Church)

But we both celebrate the fact that we serve God's church in our various locations. We celebrate the fact that we have been chosen. We celebrate the fact that we have the opportunity to share this experience with our wonderful congregations as it makes us better pastors and better people.

You can follow Peter and his family here at their blog: http://gerringongtoatlanta.wordpress.com/.

We look forward to sharing our experience with friends and family and if you want to come visit us, we are two hours south of Sydney.

Celebration of Freedom

             Our two and a half year old son loves to walk by the edge of Peachtree Road. So we usually walk the dogs along Peachtree Road and he can see cars, ambulances, motorcycles, fire trucks, and various other cars. Recently, he has found a fascination running in between the ribbons that our church displays as a part of our Prayers for Peace display. It is sacred ground, where each yellow ribbon carries the name of a soldier who has died in service to the country in the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. The blue ribbons represent the civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan. The green ribbons represent those who pray for peace in their own lives.

            At first, we were trying to discourage this behavior—this running in and out of ribbons. Then we realized, instead of trying to teach a 2 ½ year old about appropriate behavior, we would take the time to look at the names on the ribbons that he was running through and offer a quick prayer for the families involved. Instead of making about our son's behavior, we made it an issue of what can we do to pray for peace.

            It’s easy to identify the problem. It’s tempting to even fix the problem ourselves. It is much different to express gratitude instead of complain. In that moment, we decided to choose to be grateful. To me, that is what the celebration of freedom Sunday at PRUMC is all about—being grateful.

We choose to be grateful for this country, for those who have given their lives to build it, to keep it free, and to sustain it in its time of need.

The challenge that each one of us is faced with is the question of what we will do with this freedom? Will we stand on the side and complain, criticize, and correct or will we be a part of something bigger than each one of us?

            There will come a day in which we teach our son the respect due for those names of people he will never know which he runs through, but for now, we remain ever grateful for the freedom that allows a two year old to run in a field of yellow, blue, and green ribbons.

Singing Stories of Faith

I have always been a music fan. I attach myself to the words because the words tell a story. Couple that with the experience of listening to music, wanting to play it, (wanting to write it), wanting to perform it, I have put together a lesson based upon some of my favorite songs.

These are not just my favorite songs, but they tell a story. The hold a sense of truth. They tell our story.

The recording is crude. There are several tuning and singing mistakes. Hopefully, however, the message is helpful in thinking through the ways in which our faith and the language of our faith tells a story out in the world. The link to the file to download is below. Many thank to Eric Johnson who backed me up on guitars and vocals. He is a better musician than I am.

Singing and Stories of Faith

The Religious Experience

Dedication, photo by Taylor Brown

This past weekend, I spent time in the rain at a music festival. It wasn't my first. It won't be my last. I was there to see several bands play throughout the day, but I was most looking forward to seeing Jim James take the stage. He did not disappoint. Even though we were soaking wet, our shoes and pants were muddy, and we had been standing for hours, it was a religious experience.

I do not mean necessarily that I went to Shaky Knees music festival to seek the face of God, but I think that for the majority of the people there, they had a religious experience.

You give yourself over to the music, the rain, the mud, the crowds, the shouting, the yelling, the singing, and all of a sudden you've joined into a group that is moving together and seeking to experience the same thing.

That is similar to what worship is. Worship is about giving yourself over to something greater than yourself. You bring yourself to worship, or to the concert, and you leave having experienced something.

The big difference is that Christians believe that worship is more than an experience. It is something that shapes us. Being in community shapes us, forms us, and informs us of the world around us. You still feel, you still experience, you still give yourself over to a higher power. But you expect to be more than entertained.

Too often, we describe what we like in church or what we dislike in church in terms of what we felt. We would do better to describe what we like in church with the question, "How did this draw me closer to God?" or "Did this change my relationship with other people?"

Music festivals only come around every so often. It was good to be with friends from high school who I do not see but once or twice a year. That made it special. The mud made it special. The music made it special.

Church is always there. We will not always worship at the festival (the ancient Israelites didn't). We do not spend our married lives on the Honeymoon. We will always live in the real world. Religious experiences are worth seeking out. If they don't change us, then it has been self-serving.

My religious experience was at the festival with friends. It changed me to be a better friend and to continue to be in relationship with others.

The real religious experience for me came as my friends walked into the chapel where I was preaching to hear me and support me. That changed me. I will always be grateful for the weekend of religious experiences.