AfterWords: "A Church Strong: Talents"

 

1 Corinthians 12:1, 4-7

Just a few weeks ago, we began this journey of looking at the habits we vow to take up as members of the United Methodist Church: Prayer, Presence, Tithes, Talents, and Story.

As we engage in the habit of prayer, as we talk to God on behalf of our congregation, as we pray for one another, we are changed. Our relationship with God is changed, our relationships with each other are changed, we are changed.

As we become more and more present, whether in Sunday worship, Bible study classes, small groups or other gatherings, we are changed. We gather to give thanks to God, to receive mercy, and to encourage one another. When we do these things, we are changed.

As we develop a habit of generosity, our attitudes towards our money, our values, our reactions and responses to needs around us all change. As we give regularly and move slowly but surely towards the ‘tithe’ God dreams of from us, we are changed…and in turn begin to change the world through our giving.

Today, we look at using our talents, gifts, skills, and abilities. God is the Giver of our talents and abilities. Some of us are born with gifts and skills. Some of us work hard to develop skills and abilities. Some of us supernaturally blessed with gifts from God’s Spirit. No matter how they come to us, no matter when they come to us, the talents, skills, and abilities are gifts from God.

We need to remain aware of something that Paul impresses on the Corinthian church: “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:7). “…For the common good”—we are gifted not to make us great or in order to just celebrate ourselves. We are gifted that we might contribute to the “common good.”

This flies in the face of our present culture, a culture that celebrates the great “I.” With the advent of the smartphone and its rear facing camera, we have become a world focused on ‘self.’ The implication is that we are the center of the universe…and we happily oblige to such a notion. Paul’s counter-cultural words remind us that we are gifted and equipped in order to work with if not serve others. We come together, bringing our gifts, talents, skills, and abilities together … for the common good.

Through the years, some congregations—by intention or by accident—have forbidden some people to exercise their gifts. “You want to sing? Well, we really have a tight group already, but if we need you, we’ll let you know….” Or “Oh, thank you for offering, but we’re good now. If need anyone else on the committee, we’ll let you know.” Everyone should be given the opportunity to use their gifts and talents. And for those who don’t know their gifts and abilities, the congregation must help people find and use them.

In the end, when everyone in a congregation lives out of their strengths, when all use their God-given talents, abilities, and skills, we see a “church strong”—a congregation that works together and that is better able to shine the light and love of God into the world.

Sunday, October 13, 2024
“A Church Strong: Talents”
Watch/Listen: HERE

AfterWords: "A Church Strong: Giving"

 

Malachi 3:6-10

Many of us are very familiar with Malachi’s words about giving: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it” (Malachi 3:10). The call here—echoed through much of Scripture—is to give a tithe, a tenth, ten percent of our income, resources to God. Jesus echoes the same in Luke 6:38, and Paul calls for to give cheerfully in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7.

So, if Scripture is so clear on the issue—give a tithe to God, be generous towards God—why are we so reluctant to give? E. Peterson suggests, “Most people’s lack of generosity is due not to money problems but to greed problems…value problems” (from On Living Well). Could it be that the ancient, thoroughly human sin of greed holds us back from generosity? Are we afraid to give…afraid that we’ll run out of money if we give to God? Anne Frank, the voice of a child really, reminds us, “No one has ever become poor by giving.” So, why do we not give generously?

Perhaps it is because we do not really know or understand why we give. Yes, God has called us to be generous. Yes, we want to obey. But, we want to know, why? It is a fair question.

First of all, let’s answer this: Does God need our money? Does God really need your money or my money? Does God wait anxiously, hands wringing, every Sunday around 11am to see if enough will come in to make things happen in this world that He has created? The answer: God does not need your money nor mine. God is the Creator of the universe. God lacks nothing. Now, if that is the case—and I believe with all my mind and heart this is the case—then why does God ask us to give?

When we look back at what we’ve covered thus far in this series of sermons, we find that we’re called to prayer. Prayer changes everything…and it changes you and me. We are called to and invited to be a people of presence—present in worship, Bible studies, or small groups. Being present changes us…shapes us, molds us. And guess what—giving, being generous, changes us, shapes our attitudes, realigns our values. God calls us to give because we giving changes us.

When we reject lives of generosity, of giving, we struggle against the fabric and flow of the universe, for our God is a giving God. God has given us life, has given us everything. In fact, “God so loved the world that he gave….” He gave. And, as long as we reject giving and generosity, we struggle again the stream of this reality, against the flow of God’s creation.

If you have not been a giver by habit, your first step is to develop a habit of giving. If you have already developed the habit of giving, then it is time to move towards giving a tithe—make it a one-year or two-year goal. If you are already tithing, look for ways to go above-and-beyond. God invites us to be a people of generosity, of giving. When we embrace this holy habit, we align ourselves with God’s reality…and we open ourselves to being changed, transformed more and more into the best versions of ourselves. Decide today to embrace and embody the holy habits that make for a ‘church strong.’

Sunday, October 6, 2024
“A Church Strong: Presence”
Watch/Listen: HERE

AfterWords: "A Church Strong - Presence"

 

Hebrews 10:23-25

The film-maker, Woody Allen, once said, “80% of life is just showing up.” Whether we like his films or not, he just might have something there. When I talk with businesspeople and restaurant owners, I often ask, “What is the greatest frustration of your work?” Almost without exception: Workers don’t show up.

We value presence in our society. Recently, two of my grandsons received high-attendance awards at their schools. We celebrate being present.

When I was a professor in college, I could tell my students without hesitation that the secret to passing my class (and most college classes) was simple: show up + do the work.

Presence is an important habit…and it is among those ‘holy habits,’ part of ‘religious rhythm’ in our lives. Along with prayer, giving, using our talents, and telling our stories, being present is important.

For those who were present the Sunday I shared this message, I was very obviously “preaching to the choir,” but maybe there is something new to be learned about ‘presence,’ so stay with me.

Why be present? First, as followers of Jesus, we are present because Jesus was. He showed up (Luke 4:16). Second, when we go to the Psalms (and many other parts of Scripture), we find God’s people gathering and being called to gather (see Psalm 27:4, Ps. 122:1; Ps. 133). We find that they and we gather 1) to give thanks to God for the gift of grace and 2) to receive the gift of mercy—forgiveness for our sins. Then, we come to Hebrews 10:23ff, and here we find a new reason for gathering.

In former churches, I have heard people say, “Well, I just don’t get a lot out the service…” or “I don’t really like organized religion (what, you like chaos?!), I worship God alone in nature….”

When we read Hebrews, we find the third compelling reason to gather, to “meet together”: to stir up one another to love and good works…to encourage one another. Do you see it? We gather not for ourselves but for those who are around us. When we gather, you encourage me, and I encourage you. You share your load with me, and I share mine with you. Sometimes, one of us is worn and weary, and it’s a one-way sharing—and that is fine, too. But, we don’t gather for what we can get out of the service; we gather for what we can bring to each other. If we could effect that shift in our thinking, how different gathering, being present might be: We gather not for what it does for me, but for what we can offer one another in the life of faith.

So, we pray for one another—for God’s grace and mercy in each other’s lives, for God to open doors, provide healing, and bring peace. And, we show up—we are present for one another so we can be stirred up and encouraged. Let’s encourage one another to live into these holy habits of Christian life. Amen.

Sunday, September 29, 2024
“A Church Strong: Presence”
Watch/Listen: HERE

AfterWords: "A Church Strong - Prayer"

 

Philippians 4:4-7

Habits, rituals, and rhythm have a positive impact on our lives. Research around the world reveals that habits and rituals strengthen families and have a positive impact on individuals. Just think, how do we feel when we miss something that is an important habit in our lives, an important ritual for our families? The importance of even the most seemingly insignificant habit is made very clear in Adm Wm. McRaven’s UT commencement speech in 2016: “Make Your Bed!”.

As a household of faith, the habits and rituals of our church family are important as well. In 1992, Jeanne and I stood before the small and loving congregation of Living Mission Methodist Church just outside of Cleveland, Ga., and there and then we said ‘yes’ to supporting the congregation through our “prayers, presence, tithes, talents, and story.” Many of you have affirmed the same. Yes, these are often referred to as “church vows,” but really it’s one vow to make all of these habits a part of our lives—something we will do over and over and over again in order to strengthen the congregation.

Prayer is the first of these habits. Prayer is the amazing and incomparable gift we are given wherein we are able to talk with and hear from the Creator of all things. Prayer is sharing with God from our hearts and minds, and prayer is opening our hearts and minds to hear from God. The very first recorded conversation between God and humanity is found in Genesis 3. The man and woman have just eaten from the tree that God has warned them to avoid. God arrives in the garden and calls out, “Where are you?” The man explains that they are hiding because of their shame…. And, this conversation continues to be played out through the centuries until today—God is always there calling out to us, “Where are you?” God always wants to talk with us, to hear from us, to walk with us. And we—out of shame, doubt, or busyness—we are often nowhere to be found.

We pray because God calls us to pray…and through Scripture we are called again and again to be a people of prayer: “…If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (II Chron. 7:14). The entire center of our Bibles is filled with prayers—the Psalms. And, we pray because Jesus models the practice for us (Mark 1:35).

But, how do we pray? We learn to pray the very way children learn to walk and to talk—we watch, we try, we fail, we get up, we try again, we listen, we mimic…we read Scripture, we listen in worship. We pray by doing and trying…by talking with God and listening. In Matthew 6:6, Jesus tells us prayer works best when we shut out the world around us and focus on God. In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we are instructed to pray by lifting to God our needs and by offering our thanksgiving.

“Prayer Works!” We’ve seen or heard this said or posted online, I imagine. Prayer works when we do the hard work of prayer. Prayer does not come naturally or easy—just as no good habit comes easily.

“Prayer Changes Things!” Again, we may have seen, heard, or even said this. Actually, prayer changes everything—changes the one who prays, the one(s) prayed for, our relationship with God, our relationship with one another, our very way of seeing the world. Prayer changes everything. Imagine what could happen if we—this congregation—lived into the habit of prayer and daily we prayed for each other and for our congregation! God could change everything….

Sunday, September 22, 2024
“A Church Strong: Prayer”
Watch/Listen: HERE

AfterWords: Some Bridges Need to Burn

 

I Kings 19:19-21

Conventional wisdom says, “Don’t burn your bridges!” Have something to go back to. Have someone to fall back on. Have an escape plan. We guard those bridges in case the job doesn’t work out, in case the relationship falls apart, in case the dream doesn’t quite come true.

The reading from I Kings 19 shows us in no uncertain terms that times come when we need to burn bridges. As the chapter opens, Elijah is facing some serious doubts and fears. All the prophets of God are being killed. He feels so very alone. This is the passage in which God promises to pass near to Elijah. A powerful wind, an earthquake, a fire all clamor by, and “after the fire came a gentle whisper” (v.11, 12). Elijah knows that God is in the whisper. While this passage is often preached and taught, and while knowing that God speaks in a “whisper” is important, the end of the chapter is where we focus—a little gem-of-a-passage where we learn that some bridges need to burn.

After the experience above, Elijah calls Elisha (as instructed by God) to be a prophet, and Elisha sets off to follow Elijah. As he is walking away from home, Elisha says to Elijah, “Wait…I want to tell my family goodbye.” He runs back to the farm and while there, he takes his precious oxen and slaughters them. He takes his priceless plow and harness, cuts them up, and sets them on fire. Then, he roasts the oxen meat over the fire and feeds everyone there. He throws a kind of ‘good-bye’ party.

Elisha burns his bridge—he slaughters his oxen and destroys his plowing equipment. Those are probably the only things of real value he has, and they are his way of making a living. He will face hard times just like Elijah—times of doubt and fear—but he will not be looking back towards home because he has burned the bridge that might take him back. Burning that bridge frees him to follow God without distraction, without looking over his shoulder. When things inevitably become difficult, instead of looking backwards, he will look forward towards God.

What are the bridges in our lives that distract us from following Jesus, that keep us from living life forward? They can be people, places, things, ideas, dreams…phone numbers, email addresses, social media contacts. “Bridges” in and of themselves are not bad things. They are problematic when we trust our bridges more than we trust God. Bridges can distract us from living where we are and living forward—we keep glancing back at them, checking on them, keeping them in good shape.

As people who trust in God, who trust in Jesus, we need to let some bridges burn. We need to trust in our forward-looking, forward-moving God rather in some bridge from the past. After all, we don’t really need bridges anyway—we trust in the One who walks on water. So, what bridges do you need to burn?

Sunday, September 8, 2024
“Some Bridges Need to Burn”
Watch/Listen: HERE

AfterWords: Walking ... into Battle

 

Ephesians 6:10-18

At the end of my time in Basic Training for service in the US Army Reserves, our platoon was put into the field one night to test our skills and to make sure we knew how to use our tools—maps and compasses, field radios, hand-grenades, M-16-A1 rifles, flashlights, and more. The platoon was divided up into squads of five or six soldiers each, and we were given a spot on the other side of the valley we had to make it to without being discovered by others who were looking for us. We did fine, even though I was going through the motions with ‘walking pneumonia’ (my sergeant made it clear—“you can go to sick bay and start the training over, or you can push on through and graduate with your platoon…”). One of the takeaways from that night is the obvious fact that our tools do nothing for us unless we use them.

Paul, writing to the church at Ephesus, wanted to share the same message with them as I learned that night in Basic Training. God gives us tools to fight against evil, chaos, and darkness. Like our world today, the same forces of evil pushed against the followers of Jesus in Ephesus. Evil can be understood as anything or anyone who works against God and the ways of God. So, those ideas and messages that encourage us to think only of ourselves, to break the rules when it suits us, to say whatever we want and however we want, to think too highly of ourselves or too lowly of ourselves—these are all evil.

Paul reminds the church of the tools we’ve been given to combat the works and voices of evil: truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and prayer. Just like the tools Uncle Sam gave me to fight enemies, “foreign and domestic,” God gives us tools to fight against evil, against chaos, against darkness. The verbs Paul uses make it very clear that the tools rely on our using them—take up, put on, hold on to. We have to act. We have to put these tools to use.

We need truth—the truth of God’s amazing love for us in world where we are told constantly that we’re not good enough. Righteousness (or ‘rightness’)—to do what is right, even when it may not ‘benefit’ us, in a world that whispers to us that we should take shortcuts or do whatever gets us ahead. Peace—in a world filled with violence…violent acts and violent words. Faith (or trust)—in God’s goodness, in God’s presence, in God’s promise to work all things together for good. Salvation—knowing it is ours thanks be to God’s grace…whether we feel saved or not. The Word of God—to remind of all we know and to teach us what we need to know. And, prayer—the one thing that connects us to God.

With these tools, we combat the works and words of evil. With confidence, we can walk into battle.

Sunday, September 1, 2024
“Walking…into Battle”
Watch/Listen: HERE

AfterWords: Walking...onto the Stage

 

Ephesians 4:1-7

My son-in-law, Edgar Rodriguez, or “Mr. Rodz” as he’s known at McAllen Memorial High School, lives and breathes ‘theatre.’ He has been an actor, set-builder, and is now a teacher and director. I am amazed and astounded to see how he works with young people in high school. He is able both to see that ‘something’ inside his students and pull it out of them. The shy, timid young lady is cast in a part that taps something inside of her…and two months later she stands boldly on the stage reciting her lines. The rough and rowdy young fellow takes a part, dons the costume, and six weeks later stands before the audience composed, focused. My son-in-law takes a random group of young people, hands them a script, constructs a set, gives them costumes, and they present a work, a musical, a drama that somehow touches our hearts.

Shakespeare says, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts….” He is right. The world is a stage, and you and I are part of a vast cosmic drama being played out through history, a drama that reveals the story of God’s love for the world and enacts the redemption of this world. God is the director, his son has the lead role, and you and I the supporting cast.

Perhaps due to the accident of architecture, we often get it wrong. For some reason, we construct the buildings where our congregations gather kind of like theatres. We have rows of seats or pews filled with people all facing a raised platform…a platform where a few folks speak, read, sing, pray, and so forth. It might even feel like those who sit in the rows are observers or an audience. But, in this cosmic drama, there is an audience of one—God. All the rest of us are players. Nowhere in Scripture are we called to be ‘spectators,’ nowhere. All of us have a part to play … and that is what Paul points out in todays reading. We have received ‘gifts’—parts to play.

We receive a playbook (the Bible), a director’s guide if you will, that lays out the history of the narrative, that provides the plot. Of course, the plot is God’s unfolding redemption of the Creation…a redemption that includes you and me and all of us. The guide doesn’t give us lines to say—we get to ad lib. But, we are shown how to speak—with grace, with kindness, with forgiveness. The playbook doesn’t lay out all of our actions and turns. But, we are taught how to move—serving, helping, building. And, we are given character, persona, shape in our lives. We have often called these ‘spiritual gifts,’ but we can just as well call them costume and character. God by His Spirit gifts us with parts to play (see 1 Cor. 12:1-11).

Shakespeare gets one thing wrong: “…and all men and women merely players….” In God’s drama, there are no “merely.” Every player matters, every character is important, every gift given is done so with purpose. We are players in God’s cosmic drama of redemption. Every Sunday we gather, we greet, we serve, we learn, we sing, we read, we pray, we hear God’s word—yet, all of this on Sunday is a dress rehearsal for playing out this redemption drama in our daily lives: at home, at school, at work, in the streets, at the stores, in the restaurants and bars, in the parks.

Silence on the set. Lights. Action! Let us live our part in the story of redemption today….

Sunday, August 25, 2024
“Walking…onto the Stage” (Also, “Walking…for the Long Haul”)
Watch/Listen: HERE