What’s a Methodist? – Part 4 of 4

A Methodist is a Christian training to love God with all his or her heart, soul, and mind. A Methodist is also a Christian training to love his or her neighbor as himself or herself.

In this final post of the series I will explore the meaning of how Methodists train to love their neighbors as themselves. I’ll begin with why loving the neighbor is necessary to Christian discipleship. Then I’ll look at the neighbor Christians are commanded to love. Finally I’ll explore the nature of the love Jesus teaches us to practice.

Why love neighbors? The writer of 1 John is very direct:

“Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The command we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also” (1 John 4:20-21).

It’s really quite simple. If you say you love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, then it logically follows that you must love what God loves; which means loving those whom God loves. Scripture is clear: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…” If God loves the world, which I’m guessing means everyone in the world, then all who profess to love God must necessarily love the world that God loves.

Jesus is very clear about who and how his followers are to love.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:43-48).

Active love of God and those whom God loves is the way of perfection. Here to be “perfect” means to be complete and whole. It means to be fully the person God created you to be, in the image of Christ. When we love people who do not love us we imitate God. The more we imitate God we become more like Jesus. The way of love is the way of holiness and wholeness.

Jesus is unambiguous when describing how his followers are to love their neighbors in Matthew 25:31-46. He tells us to give food and drink to the hungry and thirsty, welcome the strangers, give clothing to people who are naked, care for the sick, and visit the prisoners. Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40). Jesus identifies himself with the people who are hungry, alone, thirsty, naked, sick, and imprisoned. They are the neighbors Christians are commanded to love. When we are with them we are in the physical presence of Jesus. When we love the people Jesus loves, we become more like Jesus; which means we become more genuinely the persons God created us to be.

The Scriptures cited above clearly tell us that the “neighbors” Jesus commands his followers to love cannot be limited to the people who live next door or in the neighborhood. The neighbor is anyone, anywhere in the world who is in need. Jesus answers the question “And who is my neighbor” with the parable of the “Good Samaritan” in Luke 10:29-37. John Wesley helps us understand the meaning of “who is my neighbor?” in General Rule #2:

It is expected of all who continue in these societies that they should continue to evidence their desire of salvation,

Secondly: By doing good; by being in every kind merciful after their power; as they have opportunity, doing good of every possible sort, and, as far as possible, to all men: To their bodies, of the ability which God giveth, by giving food to the hungry, by clothing the naked, by visiting or helping them that are sick or in prison.

To their souls, by instructing, reproving, or exhorting all we have any intercourse with; trampling under foot that enthusiastic doctrine that “we are not to do good unless our hearts be free to it.”

By doing good, especially to them that are of the household of faith or groaning so to be; employing them preferably to others; buying one of another, helping each other in business, and so much the more because the world will love its own and them only.

By all possible diligence and frugality, that the gospel be not blamed.

By running with patience the race which is set before them, denying themselves, and taking up their cross daily; submitting to bear the reproach of Christ, to be as the filth and offscouring of the world; and looking that men should say all manner of evil of them falsely, for the Lord’s sake.

Here, in the words of Jesus and John Wesley, we see that the neighbor Christians are commanded to love include both the people we know and love, people who are strangers near and far, all people who are suffering and living in want, and even those who hate and persecute us. When we love people who do not love us we imitate Christ Jesus who loves even the people who hate him. Practicing such selfless, self-giving love leads to transformation of the heart and life such that we become more and more fully the persons God created us to be, in the image of Christ.

Finally, how can love be commanded? What kind of love are we called to practice? The love Jesus commands is very different from the love that is commonly spoken of in the culture, and even in the church. The common concept of love emphasizes feelings. When we say we “love” something or someone we mean that we have strong feelings of affection and attraction for the thing or person. The culture convinces us that feelings cannot be commanded. They must emerge naturally and spontaneously. This is why the idea of commanding us to love is such a foreign concept today.

Jesus is teaches a different kind of love. It has much more to do with behavior than with feelings. For Jesus, and John Wesley, love is a way of life. This is why Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan in response to the question “And who is my neighbor?”. Rather than tell his audience to think kind thoughts about their neighbors, he tells a story about what a Samaritan did when he encountered a Jewish traveler bloody and beaten on the side of the road. He didn’t feel loving thoughts toward the man lying face down in the dust. Rather, Jesus tells how the Samaritan stopped to help the man, even though he was from a different tribe, and likely had little natural sympathy for him. Nevertheless, because he loved God, the Samaritan stopped to tend to the man’s wounds, put him on his donkey and took him to an inn where he instructed the innkeeper to care for him and left money to cover any costs.

Jesus teaches that his way of loving the neighbor is a practice that must be taught and learned until it becomes a habit. This way of love is the very heart of what it means to be a Methodist. The class meeting was the place where Methodists learned the discipline of love. John Wesley called them “works of mercy.” They are described above in the second part of the General Rules. Today we summarize the practices of love as “acts of compassion” and “acts of justice.” Compassion is the act of kindness toward the person who is grieving, hurt, hungry, sick, lonely, or imprisoned. Justice is the act of Christians joined together to ask why people are suffering and acting to change the systems that cause the suffering.

When Christians habitually practice Jesus’ way of love they become Jesus imitators. Imitation ultimately leads to people whose character and behavior are reflections of the Master. This is the goal of Christian discipleship. God supplies the grace and the means (Christian community and the practices known as “means of grace”) we need to become the people he created us to be. As Christians learn and practice the discipline of love the are equipped to participate with Christ in his mission of preparing this world for the coming reign of God on earth as it is in heaven.

What’s a Methodist? (part 3 of 4)

I began this series of posts by telling the story of a Wednesday night church dinner conversation with a young woman who asked, “What’s a Methodist?” In reply I said, “A Methodist is a Christian who loves God with all his or her heart, soul, and mind and loves his or her neighbor as himself for herself.” But after giving more thought to the question, long after parting company with the young woman, I realized a more correct response to her query is, “A Methodist is a Christian who is in training to love God with all his or her heart, soul, and mind, and love his or her neighbor as himself or herself.”

I then decided my definition needs some “unpacking.” I am doing so with a series of three posts. In the first post I argue a Christian is a person who follows and witnesses to Jesus Christ in the world and whose life is shaped by the Baptismal Covenant. In this post I’ll say more about how a Methodist is a Christian who is in training to love God with all his or her heart, soul, and mind.

Methodists are people who know that God gives us the ability to love. “We love because he fist loved us” (1 John 4:19). Love is a gift from God. It is grace. Wesley believed that love and grace are the same. Grace is love. Love is grace. We can love because God loved us first. We can love because God made us in God’s image. “God is love” (1 John 4:16b). Methodists know God is love, being created in God’s image, we love because God first loved us.

Love is at the very heart of Methodism. The way of love is the way of Jesus. Methodists, therefore, follow and obey Jesus’ teaching summarized in Matthew 22:37-40. The focus here is on the first commandment:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”

Notice how many times the word “all” appears in this commandment. “The commend to love God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind is really an invitation to fall in love, to engage one-on-one in a personal sharing that is nothing less than a severe emotional stripping. And like any love affair, it will be ardent and arduous both” (Robin Maas, Crucified Love: The Practice of Christian Perfection, page 47). Loving in this way requires participation in the life of the beloved. Participation means learning and taking on practices that draw us closer and closer to our beloved. As love grows and matures over time we become more and more like the one we love.

God provides the practices we need to obey Jesus and to grow in loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind. John Wesley named these practices “works of piety.” He also referred to them as the “ordinances of God.” He believed all Christians should habitually practice them because Christ commands us to do so in Scripture. They were part of Jesus’ life. He taught them to his disciples so they could learn his way and grow in loving God. The goal is to love God completely and unreservedly. Jesus commanded his disciples to love his way because he knew that humans become what we love.

Methodists are Christians who are training to love God with all their hearts, souls, and minds. Training implies discipline. Love requires discipline. Methodist discipline begins with the works of piety Wesley calls the “ordinances of God” in the Methodist rule of life known as “The General Rules”:

• The public worship of God
• The ministry of the Word, either read or expounded
• The Supper of the Lord
• Family and private prayer
• Searching the Scriptures
• Fasting or abstinence

These practices are the disciplines for loving God. We practice them, first, because Christ commands we do. Secondly, they are how Christians participate in the way of Jesus and the life of God. They direct our daily life toward God, keep us with him, help us to learn Christ (his person and his way of life), and conform our thinking, wants, and motivation to that of Christ. They help us attain toward the goal as described by the Apostle Paul, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). As these practices become habits we become more and more like Jesus in our behavior, thinking, and purpose.

When an athlete or musician is training he or she spends hours each day practicing the basics of his or her discipline. A musician practices scales and chord progressions over and over and over and over again. The purpose is to build mental and muscle memory so that the scales and progressions become second nature. They come as natural as breathing or walking. In the same way, Christians practice the works of piety every day and week, over and over and over and over again until they become holy habits.

Upon closer examination you notice that the first three of the works of piety are social. They are practices that Christians do together in community. The other three are personal. They are practiced when we are alone or with a small group who “watch over one another in love.” Wesley provides a healthy balance between the social and personal dimensions of loving God and growing in holiness of heart and life. This is the same way athletes and musicians train. They put in countless hours of personal practice, balanced with equally long hours of team or ensemble practice. Both contribute to the formation of habits and character. We grow more and more into the persons God created us to be and contribute to the life and mission of the community centered in the life and mission of Jesus Christ.

Witness to Jesus Christ in the World through Acts of Justice

How is your group doing with acts of justice? If you are in a typical Covenant Discipleship group, I suspect you find justice to be the most difficult part of the covenant to keep. This is why groups frequently place the acts of justice at the bottom of their covenant. I think this done because we like to put off things that are difficult to understand and to do. Is this true for your group?

In Scripture justice is rooted in the person of God who is always on the side of the poor, the hungry, the widow, the orphan, the oppressed, the troubled, and the afflicted. God loves justice because his desire is for the rights of all people to have all they need to live and to participate fully in the life of the community. When these rights are denied or violated, God’s judgment falls upon the persons and systems responsible. And God’s prophets call upon the covenant community to rise up to restore justice, to be the advocate for the poor and vulnerable who suffer as a result of unjust systems and laws.

Jesus is the incarnation of God and his love. Jesus reveals God’s option for the poor. He was born to Mary of Nazareth, betrothed to a poor carpenter in a remote town in a Galilee. Jesus lived and traveled among the poor, the sick, and the outcasts. As Galilean Jew he was one of and one with the oppressed living under occupation by the Roman Empire.

Jesus is the incarnation of God’s justice-love. Justice is the always the fruit of love. This justice-love is described by Jesus when he read his mission statement from the book of the prophet Isaiah in his home-town synagogue (Luke 4:18-19):

‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’

Jesus calls his disciples and the church that bears his name to be a people who are with him in the homes of the poor, vulnerable, and oppressed people of the world.

Acts of justice are the actions Christians take with others to address the causes of injustice and suffering anywhere in the world. Acts of justice are the public dimension of the works of mercy. They are related to acts of compassion that relieve the suffering of individuals. Acts of justice address the systems, laws, and other causes that require us to engage in acts of compassion.

The internet and social media are great resources for participation in acts of justice. Here are a few organizations that help me to be aware of needs and prompt me to practice acts of justice:

• ONE (http://www.one.org) is an international organization fighting global poverty and AIDS

• CREDO Action (http://www.credoaction.com) is a network of activist organizations supported by Working Assets (http://www.workingassets.com).

• Sojourners (http://sojo.net) is an evangelical social justice organization founded by Rev. Jim Wallis. They provide opportunities to address poverty, war & peace, and economic justice.

• General Board of Church and Society (http://umc-gbcs.org/) is the lobbying agency of The United Methodist Church. Their headquarters are in the Methodist Building, the only non-government owned building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

These are the resources I use to help me practice acts of justice. I invite you to learn more about them, sign up to get their action alerts and get involved.

“Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24).

 

It’s Time to Register for the next Wesley Pilgrimage in England
April 15-25, 2013

Time is running out to be part of the next Wesley Pilgrimage in England that will gather at Sarum College in Salisbury, England on April 15, 2013. Leaders for the 2013 pilgrimage will be Dr. Paul W. Chilcote and Dr. Steve Manskar.

The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry is once again partnering with GBOD by providing $800 scholarships for the first 15 commissioned provisional elders and deacons who register for the pilgrimage. A few scholarship remain. Claim yours today! Don’t miss out on this great continuing education opportunity.

For details and registration go to: http://www.gbod.org/wesleypilgrimage.

If you have questions, please contact Steve Manskar at smanskar@gbod.org or call him toll free at 877-899-2780, ext. 1765.

 

Holiness & Christmas

“The Word became flesh and blood,
and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
the one-of-a-kind glory,
like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out,
true from start to finish.”

John 1:14 from The Message by Eugene Peterson

Christmas has become a sentimentalized celebration of gift giving and gluttony. We read the story about Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus; about no room at the inn and the manger; about the shepherds and the angels; about the wise men from the east who follow a mysterious star to Bethlehem. This story is surrounded by songs about Santa Claus, flying reindeer, chestnuts roasting, and presents under the tree. It’s all comforting and cozy and sweet.

What gets lost in all the religious and secular trappings of Christmas we all enjoy is the call to holiness contained in what God has done, and is doing, in the incarnation. I like the way Eugene Peterson translates John 1:14 that summarizes what began in that Bethlehem stable:

“The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.”

This is a powerful description of what God did through Mary and Joseph, with a little help from some shepherds and a few angels. In Charles Wesley’s words, God “emptied himself of all but love” (see “And Can It Be that I Should Gain”, stanza 3). God willingly set aside his omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience and became a flesh and blood human being. He came into the world just like all of us. Mary suffered the pains of labor and Jesus came into this world through all the suffering, blood, and amniotic fluid of childbirth.

“The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.”

The story of Jesus’ birth has become so familiar and sentimentalized that much of its power has been muted. It’s important for us to pay attention to the people God chose to participate in his incarnation. They were poor, unknown, and oppressed Jews living in an occupied land in a region known for rebellion (Galilee). I think it’s important to realize that God could have chosen to “move into the neighborhood” of the privileged, powerful, and religious elite. But he didn’t. He chose to “move into the neighborhood” with people who had no standing or power. The ruler of the universe, the King of kings, and Lord of lords chose to be born to a Jewish girl betrothed to a carpenter from Nazareth (“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” – John 1:46). The gospel accounts of the incarnation tell us that God “moved into the neighborhood” with the poor, oppressed, powerless, and working people of the world.

“The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.”

The incarnation of God in Jesus reveals the nature of holiness of heart and life. It is the life of self-giving, self-emptying love of God and those whom God loves (neighbor and self). John Wesley puts it this way:

“I have learned that true Christianity consists, not in a set of opinions or of forms and ceremonies, but in holiness of heart and life, in a thorough imitation of our divine Master.”

Holiness, in other words, is what happens when we join Jesus and the work he is doing in our neighborhood. It is embodying the love of God for the world in the places we live, work, and play. The Christmas story tells us that Christians are to particularly embody the love of God in the places and among the people he knows best: the poor, oppressed, and voiceless.

The mission of Covenant Discipleship is to form a culture of holiness in the congregation. The General Rule of Discipleship provides a practical guide for “imitation of our divine Master”: To witness to Jesus Christ in the world and to follow his teachings through acts of compassion, justice, worship, and devotion under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In Covenant Discipleship groups ordinary Christians meet weekly to help each other grow in holiness of heart and life by “watching over one another in love” through mutual accountability and support for discerning what God is up to in the neighborhood and find ways to participate in that work. Along the way the group members become leaders in discipleship, some of whom answer God’s call to the ministry of Class Leader. They become disciples who disciple others by extending the General Rule of Discipleship into the congregation.

“The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.”

For Methodists Christmas reveals the depth of God’s love for the world. The story of Mary giving birth to God’s son in a barn is good news for the world, especially the poor and voiceless people everywhere. God’s love and justice is for all. All people who bear the name “Christian” and profess love for God are called to embody that love by the way they live.

I’ll close with the following words from John Wesley:

“By Methodists I mean, a people who profess to pursue (in whatsoever measure they have attained) holiness of heart and life, inward and outward conformity in all things to the revealed will of God; who place religion in an uniform resemblance of the great object of it; in a steady imitation of Him they worship, in all his imitable perfections; more particularly, in justice, mercy, and truth, or universal love filling the heart, and governing the life.”

And this Christmas hymn from Charles Wesley:

Glory be to God on high,
And peace on earth descend:
God comes down, he bows the sky,
And shows himself our friend:
God the invisible appears:
God, the blest, the great I AM,
Sojourns in this vale of tears,
And Jesus is his name.

Him the angels all adored,
Their Maker and their King;
Tidings of their humbled Lord
They now to mortals bring.
Emptied of his majesty,
Of his dazzling glories shorn,
Being’s source begins to be,
And God himself is born!

See the eternal Son of God
A mortal son of man
Dwelling in an earthly clod
Whom heaven cannot contain!
Stand amazed, ye heavens, at this!
See the Lord of earth and skies;
Humbled to the dust he is,
And in a manger lies.

We, earth’s children, now rejoice,
The Prince of Peace proclaim;
With heaven’s host lift up our voice,
And shout Immanuel’s name:
Knees and hearts to him we bow;
Of our flesh and of our bone,
Jesus is our brother now,
And God is all our own.

Videos from 2012 Wesleyan Leadership Conference

The third annual Wesleyan Leadership Conference met at the General Board of Discipleship in Nashville, TN November 1-3, 2012. Dr. David Lowes Watson was the keynote speaker. His topic was “Sharing Pastoral Power: Wesleyan Foundations for Leadership in the Congregation.”

Dr. Watson is the author of three books that serve as foundational resources for helping congregations make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world in the Wesleyan way. The books are:

Covenant Discipleship: Christian Formation Through Mutual Accountability

Class Leader: Recovering a Tradition

Forming Christian Disciples: The Role of Covenant Discipleship and Class Leaders in the Congregation

You may view videos of Dr. Watson’s presentations to the conference below:

Session 1: Cultural Challenge & Wesleyan Tradition

Session 1 Q&A: Pastoral Power Defined

Session 2: Patterns of Discipleship

Session 3: Patterns of Congregational Leadership

Session 4: Benefits of Shared Pastoral Power

The Promise of the Lord’s Coming

The following is the New Testament lesson for Monday in the first week of Advent from A Disciple’s Journal 2013:

2 Peter 3:1-18 (NRSV)

The Promise of the Lord’s Coming

This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you; in them I am trying to arouse your sincere intention by reminding you that you should remember the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken through your apostles. First of all you must understand this, that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts and saying, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!’ They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water, through which the world of that time was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the godless.

But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed.

Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire? But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.

Final Exhortation and Doxology

Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given to him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. You therefore, beloved, since you are forewarned, beware that you are not carried away with the error of the lawless and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

 

Reflections from the First Sunday of Advent

How many of you have ever waited for someone or something? How many of you have ever watched for a loved one to come home late at night? What did that waiting and watching feel like?

I remember last month when a friend of mine and I agreed to meet for lunch at a restaurant. We agreed that we would meet at the restaurant at 12:30. I arrived a few minutes early and got a table. 12:30 came and went; no friend. Ten minutes went by. No friend. I didn’t bring anything to pass the time so I found myself reading the menu and all the promotional stuff on the table; wondering if my friend was ever going to arrive. He finally arrived a little after 1:00.

During that time I asked the waitress if there were any other restaurants by the same name in town. She assured me there were none. My feelings during the waiting ranged from concern, to a little anger, to anxiety and anticipation. Finally, just before I was about to give up and leave, my friend’s familiar face peered around the corner with a sheepish grin on his face. He had gotten a late start and got lost trying to find the restaurant.

I hate waiting. It is filled with a curious mixture of anxiety and anticipation. Anxiety over wondering where the person is, if they are okay, if they have forgotten about me, or decided to stand me up. Anticipation for the end of the waiting; for seeing the familiar face and hearing a friendly voice in the midst of strangers. Anticipating the time in a friend’s company. Waiting is no fun. It is sometimes a difficult and painful thing to do. But it feels good when it is over.

Waiting and watching are what Advent is all about. Today we begin a holy season of waiting, watching, and preparing. This is an odd, often difficult season for people today. A season that calls us to waiting and watching in the midst of all the rush and crush of “the holidays.” It is odd and difficult because advent waiting and watching requires silence, quiet, confession, and self-examination. Advent is awkward for us because we don’t want to wait.
We want to rush right into Christmas. We want to rush right into the celebration of the past event of Jesus’ birth, the shepherds and the gift giving. But in Advent the Spirit helps remind us who and what we are waiting and watching for.

This season has a two-fold nature; a sort of split personality. The one we enjoy, the one we want to rush into is that of preparing to remember and celebrate the birth of God’s son.

Advent is a time to prepare to remember and celebrate the day when God became flesh and lived among us in Jesus Christ. But that comes later. Today we are confronted with the other, more difficult part of Advent; the waiting and watching and preparing for the crucified and risen Christ’s promised coming; the promised coming that will bring to completion the reign of God; his reign of justice and righteousness for all people.

The Scripture lessons for the first Sunday of Advent are about this more difficult part of Advent. The lessons from Jeremiah and Luke tell us that God is faithful, that God will keep his promises, and faith in God gives us hope in what seem to be hopeless times.

Jeremiah was a prophet in Jerusalem. He lived during a time when the city was besieged and later destroyed by the invading armies of Babylon. The armies swept down on Jerusalem, destroyed the great temple of Solomon and took the leaders of the city back to Babylon where they lived in exile. Everything the people knew and held sacred was destroyed. They were forced out of their homes to live as foreigners in a foreign land. In the midst of this hopelessness, Jeremiah wrote:

The days are surely coming, says the Lord,
when I will fulfill the promise I made …
In those days and at that time I will cause a
righteous Branch to spring up for David;
and he shall execute justice and righteousness
in the land…
And this is the name by which it will be called:
“The Lord is our righteousness.”

The exile was a time of judgment during which the people were punished for disobeying God’s law, worshiping idols, and oppressing the poor. But in the midst of judgment, God promised to restore the nation. God promised to raise up a messiah who would rule with righteousness and justice. Jeremiah offered the people hope in the midst of hopelessness. He assured them that God would not abandon them, even in exile. Nothing could break God’s covenant with them. Nothing.

Jesus told his disciples to watch for the signs that will tell them of the coming of God’s kingdom. He told them,

There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among the nations, confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken (Luke 21:25-26).

Like Jeremiah, Jesus was telling his disciples and everyone gathered in the temple in Jerusalem about a time of judgment coming upon the earth. Only this time, the judgment would not be limited to only Israel. It would involve the entire universe. He was warning his disciples that these things were coming and they needed to be ready for them.

This coming of the risen Christ is what Christians are waiting and watching for. The signs are all around us, and they have been for hundreds of years: wars, natural disasters, violence, chaos, despair and hopelessness. All of these have been with humanity for centuries. Jesus is also very clear that only God knows the time. God and only God will determine the “when” of God’s coming and his day of judgment.

So then what are we to do in the mean time? Jesus tells us to not concentrate so much on the “When” but rather to concentrate on the “Who.” In other words, the church is called by Christ to be a sign community; a sign community pointing the world to Christ. We cannot be the kingdom of God, but we are called to point people in its direction. That is what a sign does, it points people towards something and tells them how to get there. The church was created by Christ to be a community that points the world to him and the reign of God that is present now and is coming. The gospel urges the people of the church to pray that they will show the world what they are waiting for by the way they live.

Let us keep a holy Advent. Let’s take time to watch and wait and prepare our hearts for the coming of the crucified and risen Christ. As we are watching and waiting, let us pray about the ways we are a sign community that points people toward Christ and his kingdom. Will we be ready when he comes?

Waiting is difficult for all of us. It is all the more difficult when we are waiting for something that is very near and dear to our hearts. During Advent we are reminded that we are waiting for the fulfillment of God’s promised salvation. We are waiting for God’s future to be fulfilled. In the midst of these uncertain times, God gives us hope in the assurance that God’s future will come. God’s justice and righteousness will triumph. While we are waiting for Christ’s coming, watch for the signs and live as channels of justice and righteousness and grace. Live as signs pointing a lost and hurting world toward Christ and his kingdom.

“Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints” (1 Thessalonians 3:11-13).

Communitas

One of my all time favorite movies is The Lord of The Rings trilogy directed by Peter Jackson. The films are based on the novel of the same name written by J.R.R. Tolkien. The focus of the story is a band of Hobbits lead by Frodo Baggins. Their task is to carry the long-lost ring of power to Mount Doom in Mordor. All the while they must keep it away from the evil Lord Sauron. The Hobbits, with the help of many men, elves, and a dwarf, endure many adventures that include struggle and suffering. It’s never easy when the forces of evil are organized against you.

In the end Frodo and his trusted companion, Samwise Gamgee, manage to destroy the ring and return home to their beloved Shire where they are reunited with their friends Pippin and Peregrin Took. All four played important roles in the quest to destroy the ring of power and the defeat of Sauron.

The shared experience of the quest changed all four characters. The change is made apparent in a scene near the end of The Return of the King. The four Hobbits have returned to the Shire. One evening they all meet at a local tavern to share a pint of ale. The tavern is filled with Hobbits having a good time. There is lots of noisy talking, singing and dancing. In the midst of all this merry-making sit Frodo, Sam, Pippin, and Pere. They are happy to be home. But as they look into each other’s faces they know all of them have been changed forever by their experience with the ring. We see in their expressions that there is now a bond between the four Hobbits. Before the quest they were acquaintances. Now they are brothers.

The Hobbits experienced what sociologists call liminality and communitas.  Alan Hirsch writes about these two important concepts in The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church. He argues that congregations need to cultivate communitas by providing liminal experiences:

“Liminality … applies to a situation where people find themselves in an in-between, marginal state in relation to the surrounding society, a place that could involve significant danger and disorientation, but not necessarily so. … Communitas is therefore always linked with the experience of liminality. It involves adventure and movement, and it describes that unique experience of togetherness that only really happens among a group of people inspired by the vision of a better world who actually attempt to do something about it” (page 220 & 221).

Early Methodist societies were communities marked by liminality and communitas. The routine of weekly class and society meetings, daily life shaped by the General Rules, and the expectation that they grow in holiness of heart and life set the people called Methodists apart from their neighbors. Methodist people were equipped to live and witness as “salt and light” for the church and the world. Regularly practicing the means of grace (acts of compassion, justice, worship, and devotion) coupled with mutual accountability and support formed people who shared significant connection with one another through their common commitment to growth in holiness of heart and life.

Disciple-making requires more than Christian community. It requires a community that provides regular opportunities for members to experience liminality and communitas. Covenant Discipleship groups and the lay pastoral leadership they develop foster a Christ-centered, rather than a church-centered, culture. A Christ-centered culture forms congregations into a pilgrim people who participate in Christ’s mission in, with, and for the world.

Discipleship does not often require us to fight Orcs or go to battle against evil wizards. But it is a way of life that sets us against the grain of the culture of consumerism that dominates the contemporary North American church and the world. The practice of discipleship provides experiences of liminality that lead to the communitas Christians need to participate in Christ’s mission in the world.

How does your congregation provide experiences of liminality?
Where do you see communitas in your congregation?
What is your congregation doing to develop a culture of communitas?

The Meaning of Membership in The United Methodist Church

Following are paragraphs from The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church – 2008 pertaining to membership. On Sunday, January 8, many United Methodist congregations will read and hear the gospel account of Jesus’ baptism by John. I pray that many congregations will re-affirm the Baptismal Covenant (see The United Methodist Hymnal, Baptismal Covenant IV on pages 50-52).

Church membership is established in the Baptismal Covenant. This is reflected in the paragraphs that follow. Membership is shaped Christian discipleship which requires intentional support and accountability for following and serving with Jesus Christ in the world.

What is striking to me is that in every United Methodist congregation in my experience membership is much more akin to a voluntary association in which people expect to be served rather than to serve with Christ. I have yet to find a congregation that is intentionally living as  a community of discipleship found in the Book of Discipline and the Baptismal Covenant. What is your experience?

THE MEANING OF MEMBERSHIP

¶ 216. 1. Christ constitutes the church as his body by the power of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13, 27). The church draws new people into itself as it seeks to remain faithful to its commission to proclaim and exemplify the gospel. Baptism is the sacrament of initiation and incorporation into the body of Christ. After baptism, the church provides the nurture that makes possible a comprehensive and lifelong process of growing in grace. Becoming a professing member requires the answer of faith of the baptized person made visible in a service of profession of Christian faith and confirmation using the of the Baptismal Covenant.
a) Baptized infants and children are to be instructed and nurtured in the meaning of the faith, the rights and responsibilities of their baptism, and spiritual and moral formation using materials approved by The United Methodist Church. Using the services of the Baptismal Covenant, youth will profess their faith, commit themselves to a life of discipleship, and be confirmed. Confirmation is both a human act of commitment and the gracious action of the Holy Spirit strengthening and empowering discipleship.
b) Youth and adults who have not been baptized and who are seeking to be saved from their sins and profess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are proper candidates for baptism in The United Methodist Church. It shall be the duty of the congregation, led by the pastor, to instruct them in the meaning of baptism, in the meaning of the Christian faith, and in the history, organization, and teachings of The United Methodist Church, using materials approved by The United Methodist Church for that purpose. After the completion of the period of nurture and instruction, the sponsor(s) and pastor shall bring the candidates before the congregation and administer the services of Baptismal Covenant, in which people are baptized, confirmed, and received into the Church.

2. a) Formation in the Baptismal Covenant and in the call to ministry in daily life is a lifelong process and is carried on through all the activities that have educational value. The pastor gives specific leadership that prepares youth for their profession of faith and commitment to discipleship and for the Holy Spirit’s action confirming them in their faith and empowering their discipleship. This preparation focuses attention upon the meaning of discipleship and the need for members to be in mission in all of life’s relationships.
b) There are many occasions as people mature in the faith when the Holy Spirit’s confirming action may be celebrated, such as in the reaffirmation of the Baptismal Covenant or other services related to life passages. Unlike baptism, which is a once-made covenant and can only be reaffirmed and not repeated, confirmation is a dynamic action of the Holy Spirit that can be repeated.

3. Preparation for the experience of profession of faith and confirmation shall be provided for all people, including adults. Youth who are completing the sixth grade shall normally be the youngest people recruited for such preparation. When younger people, of their own volition, seek enrollment in preparation for profession of faith and confirmation, such preparation shall be at the discretion of the pastor.

¶ 217. When persons unite as professing members with a local United Methodist church, they profess their faith in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; in Jesus Christ his only Son, and in the Holy Spirit. Thus, they make known their desire to live their daily lives as disciples of Jesus Christ. They covenant together with God and with the members of the local church to keep the vows which are a part of the order of confirmation and reception into the Church:
1. To renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of the world, and repent of their sin;
2. To accept the freedom and power God gives them to resist evil, injustice, and oppression;
3. To confess Jesus Christ as Savior, put their whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as their Lord;
4. To remain faithful members of Christ’s holy church and serve as Christ’s representatives in the world;
5. To be loyal to Christ through The United Methodist Church and do all in their power to strengthen its ministries;
6. To faithfully participate in its ministries by their prayers, their presence, their gifts, their service, and their witness;
7. To receive and profess the Christian faith as contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.

¶ 218. Growth in Faithful Discipleship—Faithful membership in the local church is essential for personal growth and for developing a deeper commitment to the will and grace of God. As members involve themselves in private and public prayer, worship, the sacraments, study, Christian action, systematic giving, and holy discipline, they grow in their appreciation of Christ, understanding of God at work in history and the natural order, and an understanding of themselves.

¶ 219. Mutual Responsibility—Faithful discipleship includes the obligation to participate in the corporate life of the congregation with fellow members of the body of Christ. A member is bound in sacred covenant to shoulder the burdens, share the risks, and celebrate the joys of fellow members. A Christian is called to speak the truth in love, always ready to confront conflict in the spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation.

¶ 220. The Call to Ministry of All the Baptized—All members of Christ’s universal church are called to share in the ministry which is committed to the whole church of Jesus Christ. Therefore, each member of The United Methodist Church is to be a servant of Christ on mission in the local and worldwide community. This servanthood is performed in family life, daily work, recreation and social activities, responsible citizenship, the stewardship of property and accumulated resources, the issues of corporate life, and all attitudes toward other persons. Participation in disciplined groups is an expected part of personal mission involvement. Each member is called upon to be a witness for Christ in the world, a light and leaven in society, and a reconciler in a culture of conflict. Each member is to identify with the agony and suffering of the world and to radiate and exemplify the Christ of hope. The standards of attitude and conduct set forth in the Social Principles (Part IV) shall be considered as an essential resource for guiding each member of the Church in being a servant of Christ on mission.

¶ 221. Accountability—1. All members are to be held accountable for faithfulness to their covenant of baptism.

2. If a baptized member neglects faithfulness and discipline in terms of the Baptismal Covenant, every means of encouraging that member to return and of nurturing him or her to assume the vows of professing membership should be made.

3. If a professing member should be accused of violating the covenant and failing to keep the vows as stated in ¶ 217, then it shall be the responsibility of the local church, working through its pastor and its agencies, to minister to that member in compliance with the provisions of ¶ 228 in an effort to enable the member to faithfully perform the vows and covenant of membership.

4. In the event that those efforts fail, then the professing member and the local church may agree to voluntary mediation in which the parties are assisted by a trained, neutral third-party mediator, mediation team, and/or their district superintendent in reaching a settlement or agreement satisfactory to all parties.

5. In the further event that those efforts fail to effect reconciliation and reaffirmation of the vows and covenant of ¶ 217 by the professing member, then the professing members of the church may pursue the procedures set forth in ¶¶ 2702.3, 2706.5, and 2714.