What Really Counts
Can I ask you a question? Do you get frustrated when the church doesn’t look like the church? I think … Continue reading What Really Counts
Category: Christian Leadership
Can We Get Along?
When you hear the name Rodney King, our minds swirl with memories of what took place in Los Angeles between … Continue reading Can We Get Along?
It’s Not About Me
Every book written, every movie ever produced, every television show ever to make it onto a streaming service has a pivot.
That moment when the story, and its cast and players, have been introduced, the plot line has been developed, but now the action will turn towards its climax and final moments. No longer will the story be focused around developing themes and introducing you to who and what is taking place. With that important work accomplished, the focus can turn towards setting a course to the final chapters and how the story will come to its end.
This is where we find ourselves, this morning, in the Gospel of Matthew. Everything from Matthew 1:1-16:20 has introduced us to the players in the gospel. We’ve read the long genealogy that introduced us to the story. We’ve been with Joseph as he welcomed, along with Mary, the newborn Jesus. We’ve gone to the Mount of Beatitudes and heard Jesus teach. We’ve seen him gathering around him followers who would learn deeply and passionately from him what it meant to follow the Father. We’ve seen him heal people who were sick. We’ve seen him be challenged by the religious elites of the time. Continue reading “It’s Not About Me”
Reflections of a Pastor in Challenging Times
Every so often during this pandemic, I have used this space to offer some reflections on what it has been … Continue reading Reflections of a Pastor in Challenging Times
Building the Church
We make a lot of assumptions. I’m not sure if we are always aware of how many assumptions we make on a regular basis.
We assume people know what we are talking about when we share about something we are interested in. We believe everyone is aware of the background when we talk about a past moment or a reality that defines who we are or, even, our connections with one another. We believe everyone is on the same page, so we don’t take the time to define the background or to give the information that people need to truly make people aware of what we are talking about.
If we do this in our conversations with one another, imagine how much we do this within the church? Have you ever noticed how many assumptions we make about our shared life with one another. We drop more acronyms than I care to admit and assume everyone knows that UMCOM is United Methodist Communications or SPRC means Staff-Parish Relations Committee.
More than that, we’ll assume that people understand what different areas of the church mean or represent. We put out a green cloth on the altar and expect everyone to know what the color signifies. Quick question: Do you know why we have a green color on the altar table? It’s not a trick question. The green symbolizes creation and recognizes how we are called to live for Christ in the ordinary moments of life.
We don’t give a lot of attention to these things in our shared connection. Perhaps we should focus time on explaining these things. Maybe, though, that just scratches the surface of a deeper conversation about assumptions in our shared connection that we need to have with one another. How much time do we really spend talking about what the church is all about?
Don’t get me wrong, we spend plenty of time talking about the church in different context. We’ll talk about the church as a mission. We’ll talk about the church as a family. We’ll talk about the church as a place of discipleship. In many of our expressions about church, we veer upon an understanding that could be, at best, described as a voluntary organization of like-minded Christians who have gathered together. Continue reading “Building the Church”
