A Few Moments for Worship

A Prayer for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Spirit of wisdom and understanding, enlighten our minds to perceive the mysteries of the universe in relation to eternity. Spirit of right judgment and courage, guide us and make us firm in our baptismal decision to follow Jesus' way of love. Spirit of knowledge and reverence, help us to see the lasting value of justice and mercy in our everyday dealings with one another. May we respect life as we work to solve problems of family and nation, economy and ecology. Spirit of God, spark our faith, hope and love into new action each day. Fill our lives with wonder and awe in your presence which penetrates all creation. Amen.

Thomas Jefferson on Reason, Christianity, and God

Truth is Stranger than Fiction 2009.14

Police: Robbers hit NY gas station, ran out of gas

From Associated Press

July 01, 2009 9:06 PM EDT

KIRKWOOD, N.Y. - State police in New York say two Pennsylvania men robbed a gas station and might have gotten away if they had also fueled up. Troopers said they caught 29-year-old Lonnie Meckwood, of Carbondale, and 51-year-old Phillip Weeks, of Tunkhannock, after their getaway car ran out of gas while the were trying to escape late Monday night.

They're accused of using a knife to rob a clerk at the Quickway Convenience Store in Kirkwood, near the New York-Pennsylvania border about 80 miles south of Syracuse. The clerk wasn't hurt.

Police found the pair about a mile away. Their car was on the side of the road.

They're being held in the Broome County Jail without bail. Troopers don't know if they have lawyers.

Competition for the Kingdom

Years ago there were two churches in a certain community, a Methodist church and a Baptist Church.

The Baptists were temporarily without a pastor when a church deacon died. The family asked the Methodist pastor if he would conduct the funeral service.

This was the Methodist's pastor's first year in the ministry, and he felt he needed approval from the bishop of the area. So he sent a telegram asking, "May I have approval to bury a Baptist deacon?"

The bishop quickly replied with a telegram that read, "Bury all the Baptists you can!"*

Even though this story is humorous, I think it is often sadly true. One of the things that distresses me in my ministry is when I encounter clergy and laity who think their congregation is competing for members with other churches in the community. I must say that most of the time throughout my twenty-five years in ministry, I have encountered fellow clergy in the community to be very open to shared ministry between churches. But every now and then I have dealt with a pastor who refuses to be a part of anything beyond the local congregation he serves (Yes, for no particular reason it has always been a male) because he is afraid some of his "sheep" will be attracted to another congregation. I did, however, know of one pastor who liked shared ministry because he wanted to bring members of other churches to his congregation.

If anything I find the laity in general to be more resistant to shared ministry. Trying to get a shared youth ministry started is like pulling teeth. Adults are worried about losing some of their youth to other churches, even though they would gladly take young people from other congregations. And I have actually known laity who secretly rejoice when another church doesn't like its current pastor, hoping that some of those folks "over there" will end up coming "over here."

Brothers and sisters, these things ought not to be. There is only one church of Jesus Christ made up of individual churches, to be sure, but it is still one Body of Christ with one mission. If the church has competition, it is not the congregation down the street, but the principalities and powers who continue to make mischief in this world, and who work their will in believers by convincing them that it's OK for them to take their children out of church for an entire summer in order to play baseball, or that God understands when we don't tithe because we have run up too much debt buying more stuff we don't need and spending too much money on our expensive hobbies. Our competition is found in those forces that have distracted believers into being distant from the church and distracted from its ministries.

No, a church's competition is not to be found in other churches. We are competing in a struggle for the place of our children's allegiance, not to another congregation, but with everything that distracts people away from their discipleship and subsequently their relationship with Jesus Christ. All Christians have a common Lord and thus a common mission-- Methodists, Baptists, Catholics, and all followers of Jesus have the same task. Let us not fight over each other's sheep, but in following the Good Shepherd, let us work to bring those not of Christ into his fold. And, as individual congregations, let us work with each other in shared ministry in a common cause.

There is one Lord Jesus Christ and one Body of Christ in this world.

---

*Michael E. Hodgin, 1002 Humorous Illustrations for Public Speaking (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004), 96.

Have the Bones of St. Paul Been Discovered?

The New Testament gives us no indication as to how or when the Apostle Paul died. The Book of Acts ends with Paul under house arrest in Rome (approximately AD 60), where Luke tells us he spent "two whole years at his own expense" (28:30). The great question is whether or not Paul was brought to trial and executed at the end of his imprisonment, or released after those two years only to be executed in Rome a short time to a few months up to a couple of years later. (Did he get to Spain in the intervening time?)

Church tradition is unanimous that Paul was executed under the persecution of Nero, although some accounts say it took place while Nero was away from Rome and that the order was given by the prefects of the city. The tradition also asserts that Paul was beheaded, which seems likely given that he was a Roman citizen and would have been spared the shame and the agony of crucifixion.

He was buried not too far away from the traditional site of his execution. His tomb was a place of pilgrimage early on, perhaps even shortly after his death. The Emperor Constantine built a basilica over his tomb, and in the fourth century the Emperor Theodosius ordered a second basilica to be built on the site as well.

The tomb of St. Paul has now been discovered by archaeologists in basically the location that has been marked by an altar. The only question is whether or not the remains in the sarcophagus are in fact those of the great Apostle. Pope Benedict XVI allowed for the drilling of a small hole in the sarcophagus (which is dated from at least AD 390) in which a probe was inserted. Some tiny bone fragments were removed and carbon dated. The person in the sarcophagus lived in the first to the second century AD.

The pope has stated that this seems to confirm the unanimous tradition. He is right. But the most that can be said from the carbon dating alone is that the individual buried there lived in or around the Apostle Paul's time-- nothing more. If it were possible to open the tomb then there might be enough remains to discover more about the person buried there. Was the person male? Approximately what was his age at the time of death? Most significantly of all, was he beheaded? It is doubtful that the pontiff will allow that kind of disturbance of the tomb. According to tradition, Paul's head is not with his body. The skull or at least portions of it are at the St. John Lateran Basilica in Rome.

On scientific grounds alone it cannot be confirmed nor denied at this point that St. Paul is buried in that spot, but the historian has more evidence to go on. The tradition that Paul was buried there is not confused. Surely, Paul's contemporaries would have known where he was buried. The only question somewhere along the way through the decades is whether or not that spot was somehow forgotten and another incorrect location took its place, but there is no evidence from the historical records we have that such a thing happened. So, one would have to argue that Paul's contemporaries got his burial location wrong right from the beginning. But is such a possibility believable?

Of course, if indeed the remains of Paul have been found this does nothing to "prove" the truth of Christianity, although some will want to see it in that way. All it will demonstrate is what we already know-- Paul of Tarsus actually lived and was a follower of Jesus and later on in his life, he went to Rome and was executed.

Nevertheless, that the tomb of Paul may have been found is quite intriguing and exciting.

The Old Political Adage Has Just Been Proven True Beyond a Shadow of a Doubt

It is now official-- Al Franken has been elected by the people of Minnesota to the United States Senate. The old saying has now been proven true beyond dispute-- Anyone, and I mean absolutely anyone, can be elected to Congress.

The Quotable C.S. Lewis #20: The Seductive Nature of Temptation

"Our warped natures, the devils who tempt us, and all contemporary propaganda for lust, combine to make us feel that the desires we are resisting are so 'natural', so 'healthy', and so reasonable, that it is almost perverse and abnormal to resist them. Poster after poster, film after film, novel after novel, associate the idea of sexual indulgence with the ideas of health, normality, youth, frankness, and good humour. Now this association is a lie. Like all powerful lies, it is based on a truth-- the truth, acknowledged above, that sex in itself (apart from the excesses and obsessions that have grown round it) is 'normal' and 'healthy', and all the rest of it. The lie consists in the suggestion that any sexual act to which you are tempted at the moment is also healthy and normal. Now this, on any conceivable view, and quite apart from Christianity, must be nonsense. Surrender to all our desires obviously leads to impotence, disease, jealousies, lies, concealment, and everything that is the reverse of health, good humour, and frankness."

--Mere Christianity

Jailhouse Rock

Today's audio sermon from Acts 16:16-34.

A Prayer for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Breathe in me O Holy Spirit that my thoughts may all be holy;

Act in me O Holy Spirit that my works, too, may be holy;

Draw my heart O Holy Spirit that I love but what is holy;

Strengthen me O Holy Spirit to defend that is holy;

Guard me then O Holy Spirit that I always may be holy.

St. Augustine of Hippo (AD 354-430)

The Methodist Blogs Weekly Roundup 2009.19.198

Submit your post to umweeklyroundup@yahoo.com by noon EST on Saturday to guarantee that your post is included.

*Rules for Inclusion

Important Note: There will be no Weekly Roundup next weekend. The MBWR will return the following weekend. What can I say-- it's summertime.

The week in review in the Methobogosphere!

Dale Tedder publishes The Introduction to his Tedder Catechism.

John Lomperis reviews the top ten myths about the UMC constitutional amendments.

Wayne Cook reflects on his congregation and Bishop Willimon's post "It's All in the Numbers."

Are you running on empty? Read Bishop Robert Schnase.

Theresa Coleman is contemplating the delay of the Second Coming in the context of cat theology.

Michell Hargrave is pulling pranks on the mission trip.

Will Grady lists the biblical conversations he wishes he could have overheard.

Reflections on sowing and reaping with God at Stonewall from Tiffany Steinwert.

"God the Father Almighty Like a Mammy"-- A sermon by Kevin Baker.

Jeremy Smith ponders the church as Shakespeare.

Betty Newman is down from the mountain.

Lorna Koskela cogitates on evangelism and those we despise and prefer to ignore.

Some thoughts from Abi Carlisle-wilke on fear and Father's Day.

A difficulty with "reality" is on the mind of Brian Vinson.

Stephen Taylor writes on Father's Day at the font.

To Twitter or not to Twitter... that is the question from Rick Mang.

Why it is good that world wide church amendments are going down in flames, according to John Battern.

Dave Camphouse posts his new church bio.

Dave Perry wants to disempower patriarchy.

Craig L. Adams is attempting to bridge the gap on homosexuality. Best of the Methoblogosphere!

Reflections on the death of Chaplain Tim Vakoc from Mitch Lewis.

John Meunier asks, "Do we know a bad pastor when we see one?"

Ken Hagler ponders the giving and taking of criticism. Best of the Methoblogosphere!

Why do we have to question if God takes care of everything? Jim Parsons works through the question.

Chris Roberts reflects on the problems of the amendments to paragraph four of the UMC Constitution.

Dave Warnock writes on the hidden advantage of church over business.

David Hallam posts on preachers at the pit.

"Gee, thanks for asking," says Questing Parson.

Matt Kelley offers his reflections on Annual Conference.

Should the U.S. break up? Read Gerry Charlotte Phelps.

Deb Spaulding loves being on the porch!

Is your church Google or Microsoft? Steve Heyduck wants to know.

Richard Heyduck offers some thoughts on a biblical worldview.

Greg Hazelrig posts his thought for the day on Matthew 5:33 & 37.

Kim Matthews shares her reflections on surprising God.

Family values and health care according to Tony Mitchell.

Andrew Stoddard posts reflections on 1 Samuel 7:2-17, Acts 6:1-15, and Luke 22:14-23.

Dave Faulkner writes on the death of the child-man, Michael Jackson.

Olive Morgan posts on the centenary celebrations at Caversham Heights Methodist Church.

Love, repentance and God-- ponderments from Sally Coleman.

Andy Bryan makes his case for the power of touch.

Ken Carter on what happens when icons are destroyed.

Brian Russell offers miscellaneous thoughts on biblical languages in the 21st century.

Reflections with thanks from Kim Fabricius on the life of Ray Anderson.

Shane Raynor puts forth five components of supernatural Christianity.

"Open Wide Your Hearts"-- a sermon by Beth Quick.

Mark Winter wants to be taken out to the ballgame.

Yes, someone was late for his own funeral! Read Sky McCracken.

Defining a Christian nation according to Michael Daniel.

Kevin Watson writes on the explosive growth of Methodism from 1776-1850.

Daniel McLain Hixon asks if there is a culture clash in France.

Joseph Slife believes that United Methodist are saying "no" to their leaders in rejecting the constitutional amendments.

Andrew Thompson writes on what to do about our graying church.

Here We Go Again!

Congressman Barney Frank, one of the chief architects of the current housing crisis, is once again asking Freddie and Fannie to relax restrictions on condo loans. Yes, the opposite of progress is Congress. The full story is here.

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Cross-Posted at RedBlueChristian

Presidential Tone on Iran

President Obama has taken criticism from Republicans and from some others for what they say has been his weak and timid statements and his tone on the protests taking place in Iran after the recent election, which has returned Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the role of puppet under the control of the puppet masters formally know as the mullahs. President Obama finally made a very strong statement yesterday at a press conference, but some feel that it was too long in coming.

But I think the president's critics are being unfair on this one. I do wish the president had said a little more at the beginning of the protests about the right of all people to protest and assemble and to have free and fair elections without singling our Iran specifically; after all, the signs of the Iranian protesters that were in English were not directed at the people in the streets with them, but they were sending a message to the United States for support. The president could have done a little more in the beginning to affirm in a tactful way our support for their gatherings. I also think it was a mistake for the president to say that even if the other candidate for president, Mir Hossein Mousavi had won, nothing would have changed. That may in fact be true since Mousavi was in the government under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, but the problem is that such a comment sends a message to the Iranian protesters that their election ultimately doesn't matter because if their candidate had won, it would still be business as usual. But the issue of the moment was not whether Mousavi would have brought change, but the fact that the people want change and they were being denied the right to make a difference in their nation. The president should have addressed the aspirations of the people, not the reality of the policies of their candidate.

I also do not buy the argument that the president needs to watch what he says so that the mullahs cannot charge the U.S. with fomenting the protests. They were were doing that long before President Obama said anything. It is, and has been for some years, standard practice for the Iranian government to blame the United States for everything. The president could have remained completely silent on the what was happening and the mullahs would still have cast aspersions on the U.S.

So, while I wish the president would have said a little more early on in a careful and diplomatic way to let the Iranian people know that our government supports their cause, I think the criticism that the president has been too timid is unfair. Anyone who has paid any attention to President Obama's style thus far knows that he moves in a careful and deliberative way. He wants to consider the different angles before he speaks. That doesn't mean that he is always right. People who move carefully and people who tend to act swiftly both get things right and wrong. But the president's mode of operation is in his DNA. Asking President Obama to speak before he has gone through a deliberative consideration process would have been like asking President Reagan to be less swift, decisive, and to the point. What I am suggesting is that what we are witnessing here is a matter of style not substance. The President will govern within that style. Everyone needs to understand that.

It has been noted that the statements of the governments of our European allies have been stronger than ours, but those governments have a different relationship with Iran from that of the United States. This is one of those times when strong statements from the Europeans, who have diplomatic ties with Iran, could be more productive than such a statement from the U.S. government.

The fact of the matter is I do not think it will make a difference whether the president's words are swift or deliberate, or diplomatic or harsh. The outcome would not have been different one way or another. I am more interested in what is happening on the streets of Iran and behind the scenes. There are things happening that we do not know about and that will not be reported in the press. That is much more significant than what is being bandied back and forth at a presidential news conference.

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Cross-Posted at RedBlueChristian

He's Come to Save the Day!

Another great one from the folks at Jib Jab.

HT: LM Zinda

Opinion Central Poll 2009.26: Final Results

In recent polls, Dick Cheney now has a higher approval rating than Nancy Pelosi. Which of the two do you view more favorably?

God Is Not an Absentee Landlord

Approximately fifteen years ago, I went through a very difficult time in pastoral ministry. I began to question my call. I started thinking of ways to find employment other than in ministry. It was an extremely depressing situation. I suffered through this for several months. I never shared my thoughts and feelings with anyone except for my wife, and she did not share my struggles with anyone either. I prayed hard about it, but it seemed as if God was simply not answering my petitions for help. I felt I had reached the end of my rope.

Then something unexpected started to happen. People in the church began to affirm my ministry in an unsolicited manner. On one occasion I was leaving the church building after worship and someone approached me in the hallway and said, "I just want to tell you how thankful I am that God has called you to our church." And then a few days later a former parishioner, who had moved out of state, called for no reason other than to share how much he missed my preaching on Sunday morning. Another person stopped by the office and shared with me what a positive impact I had on her family. This went on three to four times a week for about a month. It took me a couple of weeks, but I began to realize that what was happening was not coincidental, but that God was indeed supplying his answer to my prayers.

It has become fashionable in some circles today to view God as an absentee landlord, as one who is not too involved in our lives, who is rather distant. There are those who find comfort in an uninvolved deity. A distant God doesn't meddle in our affairs and doesn't threaten the way we want to live our lives. And it is indeed true that God's will for our lives can come into tension with life as we have it planned. But it is also the case that the presence and the leading of God in our midst demonstrates the depth of God's love and concern for us. When God's will steps on what we want, even that shows God's love in that God wants what is good for us; and how true it is that we do not always know what is best. A distant God is a deity that does not care.

God is with us, as the Psalmist says, "Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?" (139:7). In the noise of the day God is there. In the silence of our pain God is there. In the wilderness of our confusion God is there. In this moment as you read this post, God is with you.

God is not an absentee landlord. Thanks be to God!

Of Reptiles and Gentiles

Today's audio sermon from Acts 10:1-23

A Prayer for Father's Day

God our Father, in your wisdom and love you made all things. Bless these men, that they may be strengthened as Christian fathers. Let the example of their faith and love shine forth. Grant that we, their sons and daughters, may honor them always with a spirit of profound respect.

Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Quote of the Day 2009.9: Go Into All the World and Make Only a Few Disciples Here and There

Although I've never heard this comment from a bishop, a pastor, or a church that was growing, a frequently heard comment in response to our Conference Priorities, from those who have limited their ministry to decline is, "So? It's all about the numbers."

Though I don't see much indication that we have become infatuated with numbers (I was miserable at math in school) in our evaluation and deployment of our pastors, in our evaluation and leadership of our churches (most of our churches are still declining rather than growing) some question our historic Wesleyan focus on numbers of baptisms, attendance, membership, giving, and mission. The church is all about Jesus Christ and his mission. Are we now guilty of moving toward an "It's all about numbers" posture?

We loaded up our car for our annual family vacation. I had been clear with the family about our time of departure for the beach. Patsy had dutifully loaded the car. I had dutifully been clear about the time of departure. Harriet was there. Where was William?

"We have two children. We are not going anywhere without everybody," Patsy commanded, in love.

"One, two, whatever," I responded. "So? It's all about numbers! What difference does it really make whether we have all of our children or half of our children? The important thing is the quality of our family interaction on the vacation. This is about love, not numbers!"

You can read Bishop William Willimon's entire post, "It's All About Numbers," here.

I'm Tired of Being Told that We Need to Act Before We Think

Begin Rant

Former President George W. Bush told us that we needed to rush into war with Iraq or Saddam Hussein was going to use weapons of mass destruction, which apparently never existed in the first place.

Then President Barack Obama told us that if we didn't pass his stimuporkulus package quickly the economy might never recover. Now he is telling us that we need to support his health care proposals now or the economy will continue to lag. (I challenge anyone to give me one example of a program that got cheaper after the government took it over. I mean I'm speaking of the same people who brought us Medicare, the U.S. Post Office, and Social Security. Need I say more?)

Yesterday at Annual Conference, we were told that our proposed constitutional amendments would give our United Methodist brothers and sisters around the world more equality with United Methodists in America. When asked how that would be achieved by the change, we were told that no one was sure, but that we should vote for the amendments anyway in order to move forward to see what happens, and that it was time to quit talking and just act.

I am sick and tired of being told that everything is an emergency and we have to act before we think. Rahm Emanuel says never waste a good crisis, but I say never step before you look. Dog poop on your shoe smells terrible.

End Rant